Nero carefully observed as each of his members were scanned, even going as far as sensing the aether fluctuations in the area. He was trying to understand what the machine was searching for, and how it worked to begin with, but he couldn't tell much.
The only thing that was obvious was that everyone else took much less time than him to get scanned. Nero came up with multiple theories for why that might be, though none of them made sense. For example, he even thought that maybe having a seventh card on his person, compared to everyone else who only had six, made the machine slow.
But that didn't make sense, because everyone was carrying their card cases. They all had many cards with them.
He considered that maybe it had judged his ability was more potent. It might be because he was the last one to wake up his ability, or many more reasons. But a majority of his theories had to be thrown out when Remi climbed up, and her scan took much longer than any of them!
"Why does the machine take different times for different people?" Nero ultimately asked.
The soldier shrugged.
"We don't understand most of what these machines do. I can tell you it's scanning all of you to give you access to various parts of the city. Why these levels are needed, or what it's judging are things we can only guess. Most of the time it's easy. The higher the realm, the greater the access. But, within the same level, why there are differences, we have no idea."
Ultimately, they got no answer for why the machine was taking so long, but something unexpected did happen that shocked even the escort soldier.
While the rest of their team only got the most basic access level, Remi got the same access level as an Initiate! But even if he was stunned, the soldier only gave her an extra look and did nothing else.
They didn't receive any tokens or passes or anything of the sort. The city had just recorded their access level, which could be checked using some machine. They could now enter.
After reporting that they needed to be taken to the cathedral they were assigned a guide who would basically walk them through Lumina.
It was obvious that the city in its entirety had not been excavated yet. What essentially served as the ground level right now was equivalent to the first floor of most buildings, with the basement being even further down.
The army was trying to dig all the way to the actual ground level, but progress was slow, mostly because the city's defences prevented them from taking drastic action. The dirt had to be dug manually. If abilities or cards were used to speed up the process, the user would immediately be tagged as a delinquent and put in the local prison.
Breaking out of prison would revoke their access to the city entirely.
Even so, what was revealed of the city was spectacular. Kolar, in general, maintained a theme of symmetry in all its construction, and in general liked to apply a grid system for city design.
Some element of this was implemented across the entire country. This was a result of trying to find the most optimal way to develop and provide basic necessities for all citizens, since manufacturing of any kind was quite difficult. With a focus on surviving instead of thriving, the city architecture took on a very bland appearance.
Only in the most recent decade had there been a push for some kind of beautification of the general living environment.
So, compared to the mostly grey coloured cities with everything in blocks, Lumina had a lot more emphasis on aesthetics. Each building seemed like a beautiful mesh of carvings, design, vibrant colours as well as functionality.
There were also a lot of statues, though he could not help but notice that while many parts of the buildings remained in pristine condition, some of the statues had seemingly been destroyed on purpose.
"It was like that when the city was discovered," the soldier mentioned as he too stared at one of the destroyed statues, the only evidence of its existence the special platform for it in front of a certain building.
"We suspect that all statues that bear the visage of the Eldrim were destroyed by someone or something before the city was buried under the mountain."
"Can you tell how old this city is?" Nero asked, even though he did not expect an answer. But, unexpectedly, the escort did not answer immediately. He looked around the city hesitantly, then asked a question instead.
"How much do you know about history?"
"Everything that was taught in school," Nero answered, "and a little besides that I looked up on my own."
The soldier shook his head.
"In school you'll only learn about the rise and fall of the Velariyan empire, and the recent wars. But do you know anything about what life was like before Emperor Iskunder?"
"There are too few records of the era before the emperor. It's almost impossible to determine what that time was like."
At least, that was the official answer that they had been taught in school.
That answer seemed to disappoint the soldier, but before he could say something, Gabriel pitched in.
"It is said that back then, humans lived a nomadic lifestyle involving many small families of tribes. The tribes used to meet or intermingle for trade or marriage purposes, but most of the time they would try and survive on their own. To date, some of the powerful families in all six countries can trace their heritage back to some of the larger tribes from those days. But that does not make sense.
"A group of humans, no matter how big, cannot survive if all of them are around the Neophyte level. Any random curse could wipe them all out."
"And yet, humans clearly survived. Unless humans just popped out of nowhere in the emperor's era, they had to have means to survive even back then. Don't you think it's strange that this city, made for and by the Eldrim, which is so technologically advanced that we cannot even begin to understand it, can recognise and give access to humans?
Just so you know, other animals cannot get access levels at all. They are automatically categorised as pets."
"Are you saying the Eldrim took care of the humans?" Nero asked, not really surprised by the suggestion. The question of what the world was like before the emperor was a popular one which gave birth to many theories. Nero had also wondered about that for a while, though he had a different take on things.
"Took care of? Who's to say that the Eldrim existed to begin with? I've been in this city for months, and I haven't seen anything to suggest that they're any different from humans at all. If I had to bet… I'd say that this city is not that old, maybe a few decades or at most a century older than the emperor.
Something must have happened back then that destroyed civilization, and humans dropped from their peak all the way down to a few tribes, fighting for scraps. Maybe whatever happened back then is what caused the appearance of curses to begin with. If we can understand what happened, maybe we can eliminate all the curses."
Nero looked at the escort who had a zealous look in his eyes, and read his name on his badge. He was Ford Hammel.
This theory that the humans themselves were the Eldrim was quite popular, though Nero felt like it seemed more like the dreams and hopes of the desperate than anything else.
But Nero himself did not have a proper answer to what happened in those years back then. He was, however, leaning towards the thought of humans just suddenly appearing here one day. Although the idea was absurd, there was one fact that he could not overlook. Unlike every other living being in this world, only humans naturally lacked the ability to use aether.
It was like they were foreigners in this land, who were slowly adapting over time.
But in some ways, this theory was even more absurd than thinking that humans were Eldrim. Either way, they had no answers, nor would they get them any time soon.
Although the distance to the cathedral was not great, since they could not cut through the city in a straight line, it took them nearly an hour to reach the rectangular building. Although the city itself, despite being eerily empty, was grand, the cathedral was even moreso.
Six towers rose into the sky, with four being on each corner and two rising from the middle. Up in the air, a glass bridge connected the six towers, to the middle though Nero could see cracks on the glass.
He didn't know what the reason for such a display was, but it certainly appeared majestic. If Nero had to guess, he would have said that this was the house or manor of someone important. He wondered why it had been designated as a cathedral. None of the information in the files he'd been given revealed that detail.