As soon as Angor put away his notebook and was going to make some more objectives for his “dream project”, he heard Sennefer’s voice speaking from above.
“The escort team of Moonfrost Union shall assemble at the central guard station immediately.”
Angor opened the door of his room and saw Madelyne already waiting outside.
“The union must have decided what to do with Cinder Rock. Let’s hear them out.”
“What’s the possible plan?” asked Angor.
“What do you think? They either send all the men and resources back to the wizarding world, or to another establishment. But neither should concern us. Our job lies at the front line further ahead. Of course, more danger awaits over there, so be prepared.”
...
As Madelyne predicted, Sennefer called everyone over to clarify individual tasks in detail.
As planned, they would leave Cinder Rock and move to the “Gray Lamination Zone” three days later.
With that, Sennefer dismissed them. She did not mention what they would do with Cinder Rock or those still protecting it.
...
The central guard station was one of the tallest structures in the middle of Cinder Rock. The brief meeting was held on a higher floor. From a window nearby, they could leave by flying down.
Together with Madelyne, Angor moved to the window, looked down at the great streets below and suddenly came to halt.
“I had this dream...”
Madelyne didn’t look bothered by the interruption and patiently waited for him to continue.
“Here. I was right here.”
Slowly, Angor explained how he watched groups of demons and falling meteors that utterly destroyed the city.
“I don’t know... Is it a prediction or something?” Angor looked at the floor.
Madelyne shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. It’s likely that you had such a dream because you’re worrying too much. Though I’m not a professional when it comes to dreaming, so don’t take my words to the heart.
“Precognition or not, we’re only two insignificant passersby. Don’t let it drag you down.”
On their way back, Angor excused himself by saying that he would like to see more of the city.
“You go ahead.” Madelyne nodded. “If by some coincidence, this place will get wracked to ruins, this will be your last chance to enjoy the views.”
...
Slowly, Angor walked down different roads and blocks, only to see that most people thought to abandon the magnificent settlement as a whole. He felt as if he was witnessing a great turn in wizarding history. Everything would eventually come to an end, while it was up to historians to make sure it was not forgotten.
Right now, he was looking at the end of this city of human glory.
...
Several hours later, he returned to the magic hut. His cautious arrival had alerted Madelyne, who had been quietly reading a book beside a window.
“I’m back, ma’am.” Angor bowed politely.
“By the spirits... I recognized neither your new look nor your aura back there. I thought we had a thief in the house.”
Angor removed his Glamor effect. “I’m afraid this is necessary. I just saw more wizards who wished to talk to me.”
“I know how you feel, you can trust me on this one. I was also visited by a bunch of annoyances, especially that Meyer guy from something something performing academy. He’s killing me with his rambling.”
Angor grew a bit embarrassed—he brought all this trouble.
“Don’t worry. No harm done.” Madelyne shrugged it off. “So, what do you think of Cinder Rock?”
“This is only my first visit so... I still don’t know much about it. Though I do feel sad about the coming fate. If I’m to write my own traveling diary in the future, I’d be sure to include Cinder Rock in it.”
“Ho... Then I’m absolutely going to read it.” Madelyne grinned.
Angor let out an embarrassing chuckle. Even if he was going to do such a thing, it would have to wait until he became a wizard and enjoyed a lengthened life.
...
During the three days before departure, Angor found some time to explore the stone formation beneath Cinder Rock.
The Abyss was an energy-rich realm that gave birth to lots of exotic materials. When searching, Angor managed to collect a hefty amount. He could see that many of these components could be used to replace or improve commonly-known materials in the wizarding world. However, they were too unstable due to the volatile energy they contained.
When identifying his discoveries, Angor moved as carefully as he could but still caused several small-scale explosions, one of which punched a giant hole in Madelyne’s magic hut. From that point onward, Madelyne demanded that he did alchemy work far away from her.
He really hoped that he could own a personal alchemy workshop in which he could do whatever he saw fit.
Three days quickly passed, putting a halt to Angor’s never-ending research.
He did not find much about the abyssal materials he collected, though he did learn why he didn’t find anything about them in his alchemy books—any alchemist in their sane mind would not resolve to use these stuff when they had safer choices.
He recovered lots of new materials, yet only about a fifth of them was usable, on condition that they were handled with utmost care. An alchemist with shaky hands would surely turn them into more bombs.
“You can try looking for magical plants too, which are usually easier to use,” Madelyne spoke when she saw Angor’s dusty clothes. “But you won’t find any near settlements because they’d be cleaned out by other gatherers.”
Angor sighed. It seemed that it was always difficult to compete for resources no matter where he went.
“At least you found some use for the junks, which is already impressive. If you’re short of money, consider this to be a new profession. People will need your service,” Madelyne commented.
I’d make way more money if I spend all this time on genuine alchemy work, Angor thought.
...
On the fourth night after they came to the Abyss Plane, they bid farewell to Cinder Rock. This was when Angor finally learned how the Moonfrost Union would assist.
They left half of their team behind, who would escort all the workers and remaining guards of Cinder Rock to “Undying Street”, which was another human settlement about 50,000 kilometers from here.
At first, Angor thought the distance could be easily covered by using teleportation. But Madelyne told him that wizards usually wouldn’t teleport in the Abyss because the dimension was too unstable. Here, people couldn’t even fly freely because the sky had more danger than the ground.
Fortuna could teleport the team to Cinder Rock because there was a well-used dimensional connection between the Stone Formation and the burning land at the start of their expedition. She could not send people around as she wished.
After getting out of Cinder Rock, the Moonfrost Union took out a smaller Frozen Wing as a means of transportation. It did not have enough room for everyone, so only those who couldn’t fly would ride on it.
Angor simply took out his Gondola and invited Madelyne on board.
He turned back to look at the glowing city in the distance, which appeared almost like a dying saint guarding his inhabitants using the last bit of his strength.
Without a doubt, it would lose its final brilliance as everyone evacuated and left it to crumble on its own.
Angor silently offered his respect to the structural marvel, hoping to ease the grief gnawing at his mind.
...
Before long, Angor’s boat, which had been flying alongside the Frozen Wing, became the center of people’s attention. Both its lovely design and its outstanding speed greatly intrigued everyone, including those watching on the Frozen Wing and those who were using other flying vehicles, which clearly looked inferior.
After learning that Gondola was Angor’s work, several wizards who distrusted Angor’s fame all changed their minds.
“I think you just earned yet another new title, which is the ‘vehicle master’,” Madelyne told a joke when she looked at all the curious folks.
None of the travelers actually approached Angor to ask questions, because they knew they were fully exposed to the danger of the Abyss right now and could not afford to get carried away.
They would talk to Angor when they were somewhere safe again.