It was like a city.
But instead of a skyscraper skyline, the buildings were gothic.
Tall, with their tips piercing the heavens.
All of them shimmered in golden color.
The only other hue besides gold was white—these two dominated the entire city.
There weren’t many traces of technology, yet all around him were various creatures.
Large golden birds that closely resembled eagles—like the Amun he rode—were the most predominant.
Many soared beside him, but on the ground roamed beastly four-legged creatures, the majority of which were cats.
They were insanely fast, blitzing around like streaks of lightning.
There seemed to be no demarcation for roads; the floors were covered in a white-golden gem, glowing from beneath and creating an otherworldly vista.
And true to Old Jack’s words, the majority of the people walking by were Fallens.
All of them Fallens, with most at the Eternity stage.
Aside from children darting about on their little animal pets, there were almost no adults at the Dominion stage.
The Cataclysm and Eternity stages were the most predominant by far.
[It’s a much stronger civilization.]
The system notification flashed before Ryuk’s gaze, and he gave a subtle nod.
"And even though I see no sign of technology, I get the feeling it’s more advanced than even Endearth..." he mused silently as the Amun continued forward.
Soon enough, they approached a dome of golden energy curving over part of the area.
They pierced through it.
"The Outlier Identification Dome," Ryuk muttered to himself as the Amun gradually descended.
Inside the dome, there weren’t just Fallens.
A great many other races could be seen—some humanoid, some beastly, and others simply indescribable.
Ryuk slipped off the Amun. The other Fallens dismounted alongside him.
"There..." One pointed toward the tallest building in the distance before speaking.
"That is where the test will take place. You give them that golden card, and they’ll evaluate you. Once you’re done, return here. We’ll be waiting."
"If it takes more than 24 hours, we’ll assume you’re dead," the Fallen added with casual indifference.
Ryuk had already grown used to their tone, so he simply turned his back, blending into the crowd of foreign races and disappearing quickly.
"Tell me, Rodriguez, what do you think of him?" one of the Fallens asked as the trio’s eyes lingered on Ryuk, whose silhouette soon vanished.
"He’s calm for his age. Too calm. I haven’t seen the slightest reaction—almost as if he’s deaf," Rodriguez replied, brows tightening.
"You’re right. His composure is unsettling," the first remarked. The third added,
"His card is for the Combatant Identification Test. Do you think he’ll survive it?"
"I doubt it. His cultivation is hard to gauge, but his Mana Aura is only at the Eternal Stage—barely at the beginning."
"Even if he passes, he’ll only be given a low-level identification and probably won’t earn many Ammora Points," Rodriguez answered, as if he could already see Ryuk’s fate.
"I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see..."
______________
When he stepped through the revolving glass doors—golden, of course—he was met with an enormous hall filled with foreign races bustling in and out.
They crowded half the entire space, and at the front were Fallen Angels sitting behind golden desks, attending to them.
There was a queue, a long one. But as his sharp gaze skimmed across the hall, he noticed a distinct area.
A section obscured from view by a golden, mirror-like barrier.
There was no queue at all.
Ryuk’s brows furrowed slightly as he read the tag etched in a runic symbol before the glass.
In the next instant, he moved toward the golden barrier.
Before he could reach it, a figure suddenly materialized in front of him, hand extended to halt his steps.
Another Fallen Guard.
"Only those with a recommendation card are allowed entry to this area. You must—" he began, but fell silent as Ryuk lifted his palm, revealing the golden card in his hand.
The Fallen paused mid-sentence, then slowly lowered his hand and shifted aside.
"Please proceed."
Ryuk resumed walking.
Just like before, he easily phased through the golden barrier.
Inside was another golden chamber, much like the previous one, except this space was devoid of foreigners.
There were only three Fallens here, one of whom sat at the front desk.
Another Seraphim Initiate, Ryuk noted silently as the Seraphim lifted her head.
Yes, she was female, even younger than the one he had previously met.
She extended her hand toward him.
Ryuk wordlessly held out his card.
She took it, her brows faintly knitting.
"I’ll attend to him, Radiant Avaia," a Fallen man nearby offered, but the lady raised her hand to silence him.
"It’s fine. I’ll assist him myself," she replied. The Fallen faintly bowed in response.
Then she rose to her feet, and a golden vortex swirled into existence in the center of the room.
"Come with me," she said before stepping into the vortex and vanishing.
Ryuk’s gaze calmly swept over the chamber one last time, and he noticed there wasn’t that much of a change in their expression.
Clearly, this was all part of their protocol.
Without a change in expression, he followed and disappeared into the vortex, which soon zipped into a close.
"Seems like her Miss Avaia took an interest in him." One of the Fallen said, elbowing the other, who rolled his eyes.
"It’s just business." He defended, but it couldn’t hide the trace of jealousy in his tone.
"Surprising though. That dude doesn’t mean to be of any of the important races. At least a race worthy of her standing to attend to him..."
"How weird."
_____________
"The Identification consists of five simple tests..." The Voice echoed through the area where just two figures could be seen, surrounded by a Void.
But it was no ordinary Void.
It was a void lighted up brilliantly by the waving golden dots of light that flickered through, wafting through the Void and providing illumination.
Ryuk stood in the Void, and before him was the Seraphim Initiate, Radiant Avia, with his golden card floating before, acting as an energy source that linked the various other holographics.
"We’ll be starting with a Memory Trace..."