Chronicle of the Eternal: Volume 1 (31 page)

Mr. Razor and Miss Yatta
frown at him as they have done so many times before, but don’t say anything to
him. This is because he is a part of a guild and isn’t just any normal guild
member, but the guild master of the Celestial Flames Guild, a powerful guild
that is situated in the upper floors of Theore. They know anything they say to
Mr. River is useless, so all they can do is report it to his guild executives.

Mr. River is notorious for
never doing anything, and only became a teacher from the pressure of all the
executive members of his guild gathering together to force him to stop being so
inert. They are also the ones who had deal with all the complaints against him.

The ceremony soon ends as
the teachers, minus Mr. River, hand a silver transmission plate and a golden
identity plate to each graduating student. Both plates immediately become a
part of the students and are stored in a special pocket of their inventory.
This way, they can’t be lost even if thrown away, as they will only reappear
within the student’s inventory.

Afterwards, the teachers
look on from the sidelines as the students excitedly start registering all
their friends with their transmission plates, creating a list of names that
seems to shimmer beneath the silvery surface of the plate. Most of them test it
out as well, holding their transmission plates out in front of them and
speaking to each other through them, even though they are only thirty feet away
from one another.

Regal is much like the
other students, first registering his squad members, and then everyone else who
he has friendly relations with.

Veronica has long since
become the prettiest girl in the academy, her womanly charm overshadowing both
that of Piora and Hazel. As such, a lot of boys approach her even though she is
clinging to Regal’s arm and ask to register her as a friend. Predictably,
Veronica refuses every request, only registering herself with Regal and the
other squad members.

Piora is the opposite,
receiving a lot of requests and not being able to refuse them. Her tomboyish
attitude is completely lost as she is overwhelmed by people and becomes
increasingly shy. Regal watches this scene with great amusement, but is caught
by Piora who glares daggers at him.

In the midst of all the
former students’ excitement, the parents stand with their children and ask
about what they want to do in the future, some giving strong suggestions to
them based on their past experiences.

Regal is the only
exception to this, whose parents have long since entered the eternal rest. He
feels a bitter pain in his chest when he sees the families getting along, but
Shen Wan Xing’s notebook has given him a sense of responsibility that far
outweighs that.

Veronica, Astore and
Kilde’s parents are average hunters, not belonging to any guild or settlement,
so they don’t have any wishes of their children other than to return home once
in awhile. Veronica’s parents are especially fond of Regal, questioning him
about every detail of his life with an intensity that makes him turn timid.

Piora has some trouble
with her mother, who is adamant that she must join the guild she governs over
as leader, before exploring the world with some of their members to help her
become stronger. Piora adamantly refuses, eventually storming away in a fit of
anger and returning to Regal’s side while still fuming.

Just as Regal is watching
all the families interacting like a spectator that doesn’t belong, an excitable
and familiar voice comes from behind him.

“Regal, that’s where you
are!”

Regal turns around and
raises his voice in surprise, “Aqua! And Tanner?! What are you doing here?”

Tanner is the one to
respond, placing his hand on top of Aqua’s head to quiet her. “Of course we
came. You are the only one without a parent, so we thought you would be
lonely.”

“Umm, it’s alright. I’m
not really lonely.”

“You’re a terrible liar!”
Aqua bursts out, receiving a quick scolding look from her father.

Tanner quietly takes Regal
away from his friends, telling them to wait momentarily while he continues to
talk with Regal in private. Aqua quickly follows after them with a strange
expectation in her eyes.

“Without any parents, you
don’t have anywhere you particularly belong anymore. I wanted to ask you if you
want to become a part of our family?”

“Your family?!” Regal is
extremely shocked. The last thing he expected was for Tanner to invite him to
join his family. “I mean, I’m sorry. I can’t join your family... A certain
someone left me his final wishes, and I want to carry them out.”

“Hah, you don’t even know
who I am yet. Is this person you’re speaking of important to you?”

“Well, I never knew him
myself, but I am grateful of what he left behind. His name was Shen Wan Xing.”

Tanner listens casually
while Aqua has a sly grin on her face like she knows some secret Regal doesn’t.
The moment Tanner hears Regal speak the person’s name, his eyes go wide and he
astonishingly says, “Uncle Shen?! You mean the human, Shen Wan Xing?!”

It is then Regal’s turn to
utter in confusion and disbelief, “Uncle Shen? Yes, I mean the human, Shen Wan
Xing. Do you also know of him, Tanner?”

“Regal, can I see what
Uncle Shen left behind as his last words?”

“I’m... really not sure.
He asked for me to not pass on the information...”

“Regal, I am Tanner
Theore, the king of Grand City Theore. I am also one of the first generation
Immortalis. Uncle Shen... Uncle Shen was always there with me as I was growing
up, teaching me what was right and what was wrong. He was always there for me
like a father, and it has been nearly two hundred years since I last saw him.
Can you please show me what he left behind?”

Regal stands as still as a
statue, slowly realizing the massively important figure that Tanner really is.
When thinking about that, it also means that Aqua is actually a princess. The
most important of all however, is an important question that starts to bother
Regal.

“Umm, Tanner- My
apologies! King Tanner, doesn’t that mean you have been down here for the past
eighteen years? Shouldn’t you be... governing the city?”

“Just call me Tanner like
you always have, or Uncle Tanner. Aqua has two older brothers and there is a
whole entourage of nobles who take care of the city affairs in my absence. Now,
Uncle Shen?”

“Y-yes, of course!”

Regal takes out the book
Shen Wan Xing left behind and confides to him the fourth floor of Theore
Substructure. King Tanner takes a hold of the book and reads through it at an
extremely fast speed. He then hands the book back to Regal with a complicated
look in his eyes.

King Tanner speaks quietly,
as if to himself, “Uncle Shen was always smiling, but at the same time never
seemed happy even once, as if there was a pain deep within him. To view himself
as abandoning his humanity... I think I understand why he could never truly
smile now.”

“... King Tanner?” Regal
nervously asks, seeing the large man lost in thought.

“Regal, I told you, call
me Uncle Tanner! Regardless, I truly thank you for finding this and showing it
to me.”

“You weren’t surprised by
what was inside?”

“No, I knew most of it. I,
too, was charged with duties toward my people. It is more Uncle Shen’s thoughts
that I didn’t know. I am in your debt for allowing me to see this, if there is
anything you need in the future, feel free to tell me. Here, let’s register our
transmission plates!”

King Tanner is absolutely
insistent that Regal take out his transmission plate so they can register each
other at that very moment. He settles down only after it is done, giving Regal
an amiable smile that Regal feels is unbefitting a man of his stature.

“Regal, what do you plan
to do after this? After reading Uncle Shen’s notebook, I understand you
probably want to go create your own community?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Take my advice. Before
you do that, go join a community outside these walls first. Learn how they
operate the community, this way you will have more experience when you start
one of your own. Also, take Aqua with you. I want her to experience the outside
world and grow stronger, and who better to trust her to than you.”

“Oh! How could I pos-”

“Yes! I will be coming
with you,” Aqua adamantly demands, cutting off Regal and not giving him a
chance to question her.

King Tanner gives Regal a
brief sly grin before speaking to Aqua, “I will leave you here with Regal,
Aqua. My smith is now closed so why don’t you stay with Regal until you head
out? It would likely be within a few days, or a week at the most. Regal will
have to pay the yearly city tax now that he has graduated, which has
coincidentally been raised to a hundred gold for his house alone. If he isn’t
gone with you by then, he will be forced out of the city for not paying his
tax.”

Regal is about to refuse
Aqua living with him, but then he remembers that Tanner is in fact King Tanner,
the highest authority within the city. In that moment of hesitation, Tanner
quickly exits the academy and leaves Aqua behind with the stunned Regal.

Seeing Tanner leave,
Veronica, Astore, Kilde and Piora, who don’t know that he is the king of the
city, come over and ask what’s the news.

With Regal at a loss of
words, Aqua speaks in his stead. She doesn’t know Regal’s friends, and speaks
to them indifferently without worrying about being too blunt with her words.

“Oh, you’re Regal’s
friends, aren’t you? My father invited him to join our family, talked about
someone he knew a long times ago and gave him some advice. Also, it has been
decided that Regal and I will be leaving Theore within a week, and that until
then, I will be staying with him.”

Everyone is shocked and
surprised, including Astore and Kilde who almost never show any emotion. Piora
shifts her eyes between Regal, Veronica and Aqua, finishing back on Regal with
a murderous look.

Veronica is the first to
speak, and for someone who has never gotten angry before, voices a single word
with clear hostility.

“No.”

Aqua is taken aback as
Veronica moves forward and grabs onto Regal’s arm, holding him tightly enough
that Regal’s arm becomes painful.

“Regal?” Aqua looks
heartbroken at first, but then becomes extremely stubborn. “It doesn’t matter.
I will be living with Regal over the next week.”

Veronica, being a
Soulless, gives Aqua no leeway or room for negotiation as she adamantly refuses
her. Eventually she looks at Regal and states the only method she deems to be
able to keep Aqua away from Regal.

“I will be staying with
you. She can stay at a tavern.”

Veronica quickly drags
Regal away from Aqua. The rest of Regal’s squad quickly follow with Aqua
stubbornly chasing them. The entirety of Bluemist Academy’s graduates are still
in the midst of celebration as Regal, Veronica, Kilde, Astore, Piora, and Aqua
head out of the academy for the last time, heading into their lives and the
future ahead of them.

The Veronica and Aqua
problem isn’t resolved until later that night, with Regal exhaustedly sleeping
in his own bed, Aqua sleeping in his parents previous room, and Veronica
sleeping on the couch. Had Regal known the sleepless nights to come, he surely
would have refused them both.

Meanwhile, on Regal’s
identity plate, the class he decided on which suits him best glows within his
inventory.

Tanner Pier was a lively
and daring youth, one who got along well with all the other first generation
Immortalis. He was born in Theore, a towering city that stretched far beyond
the clouds.

When he was thirteen years
old, before he became the king everyone knows, he was fond of exploring the city
that seemed to be full of endless mysteries. On one particular day, he was on
the third floor of Grand Theore, standing at the precipice of the airship
docks.

The winds at the docks
were sometimes gentle, other times buffeting against him and threatening to
throw him off the edge. The distance to the ground was six thousand feet, a
height that would kill anyone who fell unless they could fly.

“Tanner, what are you
doing out there?!” An aged voice of a wizened man in his late fifties sounds
out behind him in a panic.

Tanner is startled from
the noise, his foot slipping and barely managing to save himself by throwing
all his weight backwards.

“U-uncle Shen! I was
just... enjoying the view a little.”

“View my arse! If you want
to enjoy the view, there is no need to stand so close to the edge! I started
looking after the younger kids and before I know it you’re all the way out
here!”

Tanner’s Uncle Shen, one
of the humans, has been looking after him since he could walk. As such, Tanner
views him as more of a father than any of the other humans. He is the one
person Tanner can rely on more than anyone else.

Shen Wan Xing chastises
Tanner for a while before smiling at him and taking him back inside Grand
Theore. Tanner may be young, but he is quite intelligent. He feels a pain in
his chest whenever he sees Shen Wan Xing’s smile. He can tell that while his
mouth is smiling, his eyes are filled with an unfathomable pain.

All the way until
seventeen years old, Tanner was rebellious in nature. He often ran away from the
humans, aiming to explore new and different areas of the city. Some of his
younger brothers and sisters from the second generation Immortalis would also
fall victim to his charisma and sneak away with him.

The city is a lonely and
desolate place without many people, so the extra company while exploring was
incredibly exciting for Tanner. He often took his younger siblings to strange
places and vast lands within the city that he had explored previously, teaching
them all about what he had discovered, even if much of what he said was
exaggerated. His youngest follower, Sampson, would listen to him fervently,
always turning wide-eyed at Tanner’s boasting.

Tanner’s group of close
friends reached forty people, who would strut around the grand city like they
owned it. They would also go through punishments given to them by the humans
together, but of course, they had broken the rules together as well.

Soon Tanner turned
eighteen, which heralded the first time he left Grand Theore. He, and all the
other first generation Immortalis, left under the guidance of their human
caretakers to gain knowledge and experience in the outside world. The humans
didn’t go themselves, but they passed on all the information they could to
prepare for them.

Tanner visited various
dungeons and regions around the world, his strength and skill soaring above the
others and taking the lead position above everyone else. He, and all his
companions, died over a dozen times in their journey.

Each time they revived in
Theore, the humans would give them heavy punishments while pressing the
importance of life onto them every time. Shen Wan Xing was the harshest on
Tanner, imposing his will that it is his position as a leader to ensure
everyone’s safety. Slowly, under Tanner’s lead, they began to stop dying,
safely maneuvering in any situation.

Once the younger
Immortalis reached eighteen, they also started to leave and explore the world.
Sampson and several others joined with Tanner, who returned at that time to see
Sampson for his eighteenth birthday. Tanner already had four years of
experience, so he guided him as a leader and mentor.

Tanner, Sampson, and the
other Immortalis in his group also travelled to the other grand cities, where
more Immortalis and humans resided. There were seventeen in total, but could
only reach three of them before they returned back to Thoere four years later.
Most Immortalis only took four years of experience in the world before they
returned to guide the younger generations and learn how to raise the young from
the humans.

When Tanner returned, he
found his Uncle Shen to have aged even more than he expected. Shen Wan Xing’s
face was a mask of weariness, his eyes glowing dim beneath his fatigue. This
was the first time Tanner had seen him like this, and immediately panicked.

“Uncle Shen, what’s
wrong?!”

A spark of life seemed to
reignite in Shen Wan Xing when he saw the child that he had personally raised
and a faint smile played on the corner of his lips.

“Ah, Tanner, I’m glad you
are back. I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you again before I left. You
vanished so quickly with that young Sampson last time that I didn’t get the
chance to see you.”

“You’re leaving? Why?
Can’t you just stay here?” Tanner’s words rushed out in a flurry as he didn’t
know what was wrong with his Uncle Shen or what to do.

“Tanner, we told you the
predicament of the human race a long time ago. I’m afraid that our time is
finally up. I don’t want to leave you, but we’ve been prepared for this for a
long time. However, for the time to finally be coming... I had planned to
contact you through the transmission plate, but I didn’t know what to say.
Secretly, I hoped you would leave and never come back to this city, never
knowing I was gone.”

A faint tear could be seen
forming in the corner of Shen Wan Xing’s eye as he slowly spoke. He leaned
forward and hugged Tanner, who was rigid as a pole with a heart breaking into
smaller and smaller pieces.

“Uncle Shen, how much
longer do you have?”

“A year at the most, but
we aren’t exactly sure when.”

“...”

“Tanner, after we are
gone, it will be up to you and the other first few generation Immortalis to
guide our race and continue existing. We have passed on all that we can, and
given you your duties toward your brethren. There really isn’t much left we can
do.”

“...”

“We will be leaving in six
months, sealing this world away and hoping you continue to exist forever. This
world resides in a system that has more secrets than we can begin to fathom, so
the future is still uncertain.”

“...”

“You are the most popular
among all the other Immortalis, Tanner. I want you to ascend to the top of this
city and become its king. Guide and protect your people. Do this, and this old
man can finally rest peacefully.”

“... Uncle Shen... please,
stay a little longer.”

“I can’t Tanner. It is my
fate to move on back in my world.”

Tanner remained by Shen
Wan Xing’s side for the next six months in a sombre mood. They shared many
peaceful days, but it came to an end far too fast. Shen Wan Xing’s farewell was
a tragic day for Tanner, and it was the last day he ever shed a tear.

Carrying on his Uncle’s
final wish for him, Tanner rose to become the king of Grand City Theore,
casting aside his previous name and becoming Tanner Theore. He looked down from
above, guiding his city and its ever growing population. His heart was steel,
and his will was iron.

Some of other early
generation Immortalis became nobility of the city, administrating the king’s
tasks as needed and in return received to vast areas of land within the city’s
upper levels. Tanner’s closest friends slowly distanced themselves from him as
his previous smile disappeared and his expression became like stone.

Tanner took up
blacksmithing, which allowed him to vent some of his frustrations through a
hammer. For forty long years this cycle continued, until a surprising
notification appeared before him.

Tanner was completely
shocked to see the message. He was about to select no, due to his
responsibilities as king, until a faint memory of his Uncle Shen surfaced in
his mind. Images of the man who was a father to him swirled in his mind,
causing ripples to emerge in his heart.

Rather than selecting no,
Tanner decided to accept the responsibility. He then called all the upper
nobility to his estate on Grand Theore’s 49th floor and informed them of his
decision. The people who were normally focused on their appearance and manners
completely lost their composure as their jaws dropped and mouths hung agape.
Their king, who had become like a lump of steel, had suddenly decided to take
on the role as a father.

Ignoring their expressions
and questions, Tanner delegated all the major responsibilities to them, along
with the reminder to contact him should anything out of the ordinary arise. He
soon left his home, turning his king’s estate into an area where all the
nobility who were managing the city in his absence would meet to perform their
duties.

Tanner entered the first
floor of Grand Theore, aimlessly drifting around and looking at the places he
explored when he was younger. A dark alley he used to hide from Uncle Shen, who
seemed to have mysterious ways of locating him. A massive building he climbed
on top of back then because it looked like the tallest one. The grand clock
tower in the center of the floor that straddles the Theore Substructure
dungeon.

After taking in all these
sights and the nostalgia, Tanner found what he was looking for on Market
Street. It was old residence that had not been touched since before Market
Street became a bustling trading district. It only remained as such because he,
King Tanner, ordered it off limits.

The residence was in fact
the place where Shen Wan Xing used to reside. The interior had become covered
in dust over the years, and quite a few cobwebs filled the corners.

Tanner decided to remodel
the place himself, convinced that it is what his Uncle Shen would have told him
to do. He cleaned it up and turned it into a smith, blending into Market Street
like it was always there. He named the store Atelier Gun & Bullet, a smith
focusing on exactly that: guns and bullets.

Two months later, the next
generation of Immortalis were born, and Tanner was within the crowd of people
not as a king, but as another parent. There were many couples, but at least he
wasn’t the only person with the role as a single parent.

Tanner received a small
boy - his new son and a future prince of Theore. He named this child Shen
Theore, in honor of his Uncle Shen.

He was nervous at first
about raising a child, and perhaps too harsh in his punishments, resulting in
Shen rebelling against him. However, he did raise him well, and Shen grew up to
become a strong man who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a leader.

It was during this time,
when Tanner was living on Theore’s first floor, that he came across his
childhood friend Sampson, and several other early generation Immortalis.
Sampson was incredibly happy to see him, cooking him a meal that he had been
perfecting over the past few months.

Tanner next problem came
many years later, under the guise of the discriminatory name of those called
“Soulless”. These were children and adults who were not born during the four
year cycle of Immortalis birthing, but given birth through the procreation of a
man and a woman.

Both the name and the
source of the discrimination came from Immortalis who immigrated from other
grand cities. Grand Theore had always been completely unified, and these people
damaging that caused Tanner’s fury to burn.

He imposed heavy
punishments on calling someone else a Soulless, but that only made it shift to
whispers in dark corners rather than being spoken out in the open. With no
other option, he altered the education system, ensuring that it dealt with the
Soulless issue and taught the current students to see past the discrimination.
Tanner couldn’t do much about the Immortalis who moved to Grand Theore from the
other grand cities, but he could at least teach his young students right from
wrong.

With the situation under
control, Tanner eventually became the father of a second child. It was another
boy he named Julius Theore, also after one of the humans he greatly respected.

Even with a second son,
Tanner’s heart was still like steel. He didn’t even take a wife, dedicating
himself to his children and his people. It wasn’t until another hundred years
passed, and he adopted a third child that things began to change.

Tanner’s third child was a
girl, an adorable baby that immediately found its way into his steel-like heart
and became the most precious thing to him at the time. This child he named Aqua
Theore, due her bright blue eyes that seemed to contain boundless lakes within
them.