Ethos reached his hand forwards. In front of him, a chrome metal contraption with wheels manifested from thin air. 

“I could easily teleport us there but I believe a stylish entrance will leave a more lasting first impression,” he motioned toward the metallic creature, “come on, get in!” The sides of the vehicle opened up like doors. The doors pivoted from the door’s bottom left corner and rotated upwards. Ethos went in the door closest to the front while directing me to go to the back. The interior was equipped with soft leather seats reeking of its own leathery smell. 

“Get yourself seated and secure yourself with the strap attached to the seat,” he instructed. His combed, grey hair resting on top of his seat. Damn, seeing him dressed up will take some time to get used to. I got seated and all the doors closed simultaneously. What strange magic is working here? I noticed a slight smile forming on the corner of Ethos’ lips before a sudden acceleration smashed the back of my head against the seat. Vroom! This creature outran all the other creatures people ride in Mada. The scenery outside blurred past me. 

“We call this a car, kid,” Ethos remarked. “They invented it in Tera.”

The drastic shift in speed made me feel sick to my stomach. My nose tingled, and I wanted to vomit—the leather smell isn’t helping either. I closed my eyes to keep myself from getting disoriented. Ethos chuckled in the background. Yes Ethos, I know I look pathetic. Stop making fun of me. He should’ve teleported me instead. Would’ve been better than this nauseating experience.

“Brat, stop being a downer,” Ethos said, still facing forward. “It’s just your first time, there are also cars in Mera.” He continued driving forward, but the scenery remained the same. It’s as I assumed, his Domain of Reflection stretched out infinitely. But if that’s the case, why is Ethos so keen on driving forwards? He knows this place better than anyone else. Ethos cracked a smile and said, “Keep looking”. There was something in the distance. A beam of light came down from the skies. Ethos sped up, leaving me to deal with the recoil on my own. After a prolonged adrenaline rush, we reached the light. The ground sloped askew by ninety degrees and the car drove up toward the skies. 

“What the heck?” I said, dumbfounded. 

“Look in front of you.” The visage of a towering urban metropolis unveiled beyond the clouds. Its grand stature and scale shattered my expectations. Gravity acted weird in his realm—the land was mounted sideways against the clouds. We were also driving straight up toward the sky without gravitational resistance. The see-through road we drove on gained opacity, then became paved black as we entered the Index, the Land of the Deceased governed by Ethos himself. 

“Welcome to the Index,” he announced. “A sanctuary for everything that’s dead.” Carriages and quadrupedal creatures of various forms cast from crystals populated the roadways. Green and Red Lights dictated the order of traffic at every intersection. The towering structures skewered the clouds above, keeping them from entering our proximity. My first experience being exposed under a bright blue sky was recent, yet it was strange to see the clouds come down toward the land and get caught on the spire of the towers. 

The most prominent landmark in this nation was three intersections away. A large dome coated in strokes of blue, red and violet colours stole the attention of everyone nearby. Every side of the building had an entrance, inviting everyone to go inside as they opted for a large arch design in place of a door. We parked at the nearest side of the dome. The doors opened up once again. 

“We’re here,” he stated. “We’re going in.”

Ethos and I exited the car, and it dematerialized before me. We were in front of the large entrance, the height of 20 Ethos standing atop each other. It was most likely the busiest place in the entire nation. On the inside was a large plaza filled with venues and vendors peddling various kinds of goods. I suppose even in death, one cannot escape the desires of materialism. A ceiling was absent above the plaza, allowing it to receive natural light from the skies. It would be more accurate to call it a donut rather than a dome.

The people eventually noticed us and bowed down. “Welcome back, Lord Ethos,” they said in unison. Ethos raised his hand. They nodded and stood back up. It’s not a surprise that Ethos is revered here, it’s his nation after all. The citizens cleared our way toward the building in the centre of the plaza. It’s strange that Ethos didn’t say a single word during our walk. Oh, I get it. He has an image to uphold here. His people would lose respect for him if he was his usual, loincloth-wearing self.

We entered the building. The air inside chilled my skin and a minty aroma burned my nose. They lay the room out like a lobby. There was a reception desk with people lined up in front. The receptionist saw us and left the desk. “Lord Ethos!” they said in a feminine voice. “Is this child a newcomer?”

“Indeed,” he confirmed. “I want to register him as a citizen.”

“Very well,” the receptionist said, “please follow me.”

They led us to a private room with a table and a few chairs. The receptionist materialized several documents into their hand, laying them down on the table before me. “Please sign these documents to aid in your registration process,” they said in a polite tone. The documents were pretty straight-forward, asking for my name, birthday and other basic personal information. Though, I was in a bit of a dilemma. Should I use my identity as Thomas Talon or the one of my new life as Ouya Benneton? Even after living a few years of my life as Ouya Benneton, I was ultimately more familiar being Thomas Talon—so the former it is.

Now, I was introduced to an additional problem. My body was too underdeveloped to hold a pen properly, not to mention how difficult it would be to handwrite legibly. Ethos took notice and said, “I will write the documents in his stead.” They nodded in approval. Ethos appointed himself as my guardian and filled in the documents.

“Thank you very much,” said the receptionist. “The citizenship process will take 1-2 business days. We will also request you to come back here to take your photo. Is that ok?” Firstly, I want to know. What the heck is a photo?

Ethos pitied me, “It’s a shame that Mada regressed back to the archaic ages,” he muttered. He took something out of his suit pocket. He held out a piece of shiny paper. There was an image on it—wait, that image looks familiar. It looked like the underground city of Lucia. Hold on, is that King Edward walking on the street without clothes? Ethos smiled, “Ah, fond memories.”

After that fateful day, King’s Edward’s fate was still unknown. I had restless nights worrying about him and my family. What happened to Lucia after the Scarlet Storm? Will I ever get the chance to have these mysteries answered? Just maybe…

I asked Ethos, “Is Edward still alive?”

Ethos stood still.

“He’s dead,” he said firmly.

He dropped the bomb on me without hesitation. It only made sense that he didn’t survive. After all, he gave me the only thing he could defend himself with. Even so, I refused to accept his words. 

“How do you know?” I asked in a demanding tone. 

He looked me in the eye and furrowed his eyebrows.

“He is already a resident of the Index.”