With time, more and more people came out of the Carriages as if a chain had been started by Gabriel.
Before long, almost everyone was out of the Carriages and talking a walk outside. Curious, Gabriel observed everyone, counting how many people there actually were before them.
'He was right. There were more people here than I expected. It'll take somewhere around three hours to get the queue clear.'
Gabriel glanced back at Alexai, who was standing with his hands behind his back as gentle winds brushed against him, seemingly lost in some thoughts as he gazed at the setting sun.
Gabriel found the man really intriguing. The man talked to him. He wasn't friendly, but he didn't seem to be arrogant either. There was just something about him that was really fascinating, from his aura to his persona.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alexai noticed Gabriel's gaze. "Do you want something?"
"Just curious about your element."
"Don't act like it's your first time seeing an Earth Mage." Alexai frowned. "Tell me straight what you want."
"You know you don't have to be so rude."
Even though Gabriel was curious about Alexai and how he was connected to earth without using a spell, it was still too much for someone to talk to him like that.
"There are many things in this world that don't need to be, yet they are." The young man vaguely answered before he brought a book out of a bag.
He opened the book as if signaling to Gabriel that he was busy and that he didn't want to be distracted.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. He also stopped talking to the young man.
Throughout the next three hours, the two men didn't talk to each other. Gabriel just waited in silence as the queue moved ahead slowly.
After close to three hours, finally most of the queue was over, and it was Gabriel's turn.
This was the moment of truth where he was going to get an answer if he could fool the barrier or not. Both his hands were still covered in gloves that only revealed his fingers.
To get to the guards, he needed to first pass through the barrier. Holding the reins of his horse, Gabriel took a step forward.
His body touched the barrier. He didn't even face the slightest resistance as he passed through the barrier. It was as if the barrier wasn't even there.
Two guards approached Gabriel after he passed through the barrier, finding a notebook in their hands.
"Entry number 893. State your name."
"Karyk," Gabriel answered. He had already practiced this name with Alexai. The name came out naturally from his mouth without any hesitation on his face.
The guard wrote down the name.
"Age?" The guard asked.
"Twenty," Gabriel lied, hiding his actual age of just eighteen.
"Purpose of Visit?"
"To take part in the Academy of Elements exam."
The guard wrote down the reason, not even surprised. It was expected as almost every youngster who came here in recent days was here for the same thing."
"Element?" The guard lazily asked.
"Light," Gabriel answered.
He noticed that the Guards finally appeared to take some interest in him.
"You got a really nice element, kid. And at such a young age of twenty. You're fortunate." One of the Guards smiled at Gabriel.
"You'll need to show us your mark as evidence." Another guard stated.
Gabriel took off his left glove, showing the mark of light.
The guard wrote 'Element Verified' on the book before glancing at another guard.
The second guard stepped forward and placed a small badge on Gabriel's chest with a few numbers written on it.
The guard further explained. "This will be like your permit to be in the city. It'll only be valid for three days. You can never take it off. If you pass the exams, you'll be given a different badge which will have no number on it. If you fail, you'll have to leave the city. You understand?"
Gabriel nodded. "Got it."
He was already informed about this process before. Since it was a Royal City, they couldn't allow anyone to enter and settle here without permission. Only the elitest of the elites were allowed to stay in the city.
Everyone else was only allowed a temporary visit, and even for that, there was a really harsh checking. It was only during the Academy Exams that the checking was made somewhat lax for the youngsters.
All the guards took a few steps back. "You are clear to enter. Best of luck for the exams."
Gabriel got on the horse, finally being free to enter the city. He was finally here... The Royal City! The city that was the base of the Holy Church of Light. He had taken a step toward his destiny.
It took him the entire day to get inside the city, but he was finally here, being basked in the moonlight.
****
In another part of the city, a blue-haired girl sat on the roof of her house, gazing at the same moon.
It wasn't long ago when she was sitting just like this with a young man. She was still the same. The moon was still the same. Yet the companion was home, being stabbed by her own hands.
"Are you really alive... Gabriel?" she softly asked, gazing at the moon.
"Even if you are, you're forever cursed. You have become a vessel of darkness. I wish things were different. I wish you hadn't become one of them... Now you are also a demon of darkness. You will be killed even if you're alive before you can hurt any innocent."
She didn't know how to feel about this. Her thoughts were so complicated at the moment. The only thing she knew for sure was that Gabriel wasn't the same as before. The kind and innocent Gabriel who wanted to fight for light was dead, being swallowed by a demon of darkness.
She didn't want him to die, yet she tried to convince herself that it was good for this World since Gabriel wasn't who she knew.
"If you're alive, you must hate me a lot, right?"
Maya talked to the moon as if she was talking to Gabriel himself.
"You probably want to kill me and my family for what we had to do? This is the one place you can never enter... You can never hurt me and my family here... You'll only be killed by the Church of Light faster if you come here, so please don't. Please stay away... Please stay safe... Please stay alive..."
Sometimes Maya felt as if she had gone crazy. On one side, she wanted Gabriel to be dead so the world could be safe, going so far as to try to kill him with her own hands."
"On the other side, she prayed for his safety and for his life. She knew that if he ever came before her, he was going to be killed, and she wasn't going to protect him. So she prayed that he stayed away from this city and stayed safe at least."
*****
"Gabriel... I can't believe you came back from the dead." Back at the academy, even Hawrin couldn't forget Gabriel. Every time he remembered his father and his brother's death, he woke up cursing Gabriel.
"You bastard, I hope you are stupid enough to come to this city. Come here fast so the Holy Mages of the Church of Light can kill you and remove one more darkness trash from this world! You need to accept your death for your Sins; come and let us give you your death! Come to your death, don't be a coward!"
While Maya was praying for Gabriel to stay away from this place, Hawrin was praying for him to come to this city.
Even though both of them desired different things, none of them seriously believed that Gabriel was going to be stupid enough to come to this city. If only they knew...
"I am here," Gabriel muttered, gazing at the same moon. He arrived in the city where all his enemies were hiding... Also, the city where all his biggest threats stayed.
