Garden Of The Abyss

Unlike what he recalled from his very brief visits to Mastorn, the houses of Gallvania were double-storied, usually housing flower boxes atop their colorful rooftops as the lively airs of the country flourished it all the same.

As he ventured through the quiet, residential area, waving to the elderly occupants of Yulimium who sat on benches, sipping tea in the brisk morning, he found himself moving up a set of steps, ending up at a children's playground.

Expectedly, it was occupied by children, some playing with stickers to carve symbols into the soil of the play area, and some kicking and passing balls to each other.

A warm smile perched itself on his expression as he kept his hands tucked in his pockets, watching them play with the fresh sunlight peeking through the clouds that swept through the oceanic-blue sky.

In his eyes, seeing them play, he saw his younger siblings; giggling and enjoying themselves without a care in the world.

"Hey, mister!" One of them called out to him; a boy still missing some of his early teeth.

The boy waved him over, backed by the gleeful, somewhat mischievous smiles of the others as they held a red ball.

"...You think you can keep up with me?" He smirked playfully, accepting the offer as he brought his hands out of his pockets.

It was him against all half-dozen of the children, setting himself behind the line carved by a twig; a simple game of not allowing the ball to pass his side of the line–a concept that he wasn't surprised etched itself across worlds.

After the ponytailed, crimson-haired boy began by serving the ball, he promptly deflected it with a smile, then deflecting another launched by the lavender-haired girl.

With the chubby one of the bunch slapping the ball, he flicked it back, leaving all of their attempts fruitless as he released a smirk, running his thumb across the top of his lip.

"Is that all you've got, you snot-nosed brats?!" He called out with a smile.

A set of failed attempts came from the children, who were all left in shock at the smirking, youthful man's seeming indomitable skill at the game.

"No fair!" The pudgy one with light-brown hair called out.

"Yeah!" The brunette girl added in, "You're cheating, Mister!"

"He is!"

"Totally!"

All he could do at the accusations of the children was laugh like a mustache-twirling villain as they all went silent.

On the tip of his index finger, he spun the ball with a smile, "Cheating? No, this is the power–of an adult!"

With one throw, he shot the ball past their line of guards without trouble, pushing the red object past the blink of an eye.

After pulling off a complete, one-sided victory, he took his leave with a smile as the kids continued playing, though they insisted on giving him a shoddily-made charm formed of intertwined grass and flowers.

"Well…" He muttered to himself before placing it in his pocket.

Mementos don't hurt, he thought.

He found that he was wandering aimlessly around the large, capital city, soon finding himself in the bustling town square that was occupied by humans, dwarves, and even demi-humans.

There weren't many residential buildings, but mostly shops with smaller vendors occupying the front of the space, forming a busy marketplace.

"This is more like it," he spoke to himself with a smile.

Passing by a street entertainer who owned an obedient, lightning-striped tiger that was twice the size of the eccentrically-dressed man himself, he flipped a coin into the entertainer's hat.

"Ah-hah!" The performer showed his gratitude, guiding the large tiger to do a flip.

It's cool and all…but I do wonder how an apex predator of that size is allowed within city walls, he thought with a chuckle.

By the density of people flooding the width of the streets, occupying the markets, and the array of performers that danced and carried out their talents, he thought for a moment there was a festival occuring.

It was simply the way of Gallvania, he soon realized. In comparison to Mastorn, it was lively beyond comparison.

Even though it was hardly approaching noon, such a city was already in full motion.

There's no way I'm letting Mastorn ally with this place. They can keep their grimy hands away, he thought.

"How do you do, sir?"

"If you're interested in fashion, you've come to the right place!"

"Mastorn, Derjun, Akitein, and even Jinyue! We have jewels from every corner of the world!"

–Such loudly-spoken words came from the vendors he passed by, all trying to entice the coin from his pocket.

Though the town was full of peculiar-seeming occupants, some caught his eye; dressed normally like most citizens, some wore unblinking, wide eyes as if just seeing the most horrific events, yet they walked casually like all the rest.

Weird, he thought.

He spent a while sifting through the markets, though he wasn't much interested in the goods they displayed. Shiny jewels, proclaimed ancient weapons, and even relics, all displayed by the world-visiting merchants.

Though lavish goods weren't what he had in mind.

Groooowl.

His stomach roared in opposition. Before he knew it, he had explored the city for hours already, leaving the sun to begin to settle in the sky.

The fruit he had brought with him had only held him off for so long, but after the hike it took to reach the capital, his thoughts were flooded by the idea of trying out the cuisine of Gallvania for himself.

His eyes were raised, looking at each sign that jutted out from the array of well-kept, refined buildings, mostly crafted of tanned wood.

Though he found his eyes in this instance to pale in comparison to his nose, that caught a scent of something delectable in the midst.

Continuing on his path, guided by his nose, he passed through a section occupied by the smell of burnt steel; the sound of hammers being slammed against metal filled the alleyway.

It was a blacksmith shop, a large one at that; operated by dwarves, though they were drinking and bickering as they did their work.

Is it really this way? He thought.