The Hidden World

“Miss, where are my companions?” Yuki asked as the angel led her down a hallway. 

“Others have gone to receive them. You will be reunited shortly,” the angel replied. “We have been expecting your arrival for some time now.”

Yuki frowned at that. She couldn’t see how the angels could expect them unless they had the power to see into the future. That or someone who knew that Yuki and the rest were heading to the angels. 

‘Wait. Ember knows how to come here,’ Yuki thought.

Ember had left to go to the dragon cities to speak with what she called the council. Yuki assumed that she would wait there for them, but it was possible that she came to the angels once she had finished up there. It did take them a while to get to reach their destination. There was more than enough time.

It was either that, or this was a trap.

‘But what kind of place traps someone by letting them run free without any restraints.’

Her worries were answered when she walked down a set of stairs into what looked to be a reception area of sorts. Erica and Akira were both there, with Yuna and Mathali walking down a second set of stairs on the other side of the room. With them, Ember was waiting. Her expression lit up when she saw Yuki.

“There you are!” she smiled. She hurried over to Yuki and gave her a hug. “What took you all so long? It shouldn’t have taken more than five days from where we started.”

“We were trying to use a shortcut,” Yuki replied as she hugged Ember back. “How was your trip?”

“It went well,” Ember said. “Went to the council, yelled at some of them for a bit then explained what happened. They’re letting me stay with you as a representative of sorts. I watch what happens and then report back. Then they’ll decide if it’s important enough for me to be directly involved.”

“Well. At least they let you stay with me,” Yuki said. “That’s good enough for me.”

“They also want you to visit.”

Yuki frowned.

“They want to evaluate you,” Ember explained. “You’re a dragon who hasn’t been raised in the cities. I think they want to make sure that you abide by the codes.”

“I see. That’s no problem. When do they want to see me?”

“I’m supposed to bring you as soon as possible. So, whenever you’re up to it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Are you two finished with your conversation?” the angel that escorted Yuki asked. “Your audience is approaching.”

“Ah, sorry. Ember, you’ll be coming with us, right?” Yuki asked.

“Of course.”

“Please. Lead the way,” Yuki said to the angel. 

“Come with me,” she replied. She walked ahead of them and Yuki followed her. The rest came with her. Behind, two more angels came with them. 

They exited the reception room and entered the city for the first time. All around Yuki were towering structures that were topped by large circular platforms. These towers were spaced apart enough for each platform to be a few yards away from one another. 

The platforms casted shadows down onto the ground below where Yuki walked. She realised that there seemed to be no actual roads. They were weaving between the structures. Before they got far, the angel that was leading them stopped and whirled around with a panicked expression.

“I nearly forgot,” she said. “Are you all alright?”

Yuki replied with a confused smile. 

“I’m quite fine,” Yuki replied. “Why do you ask?”

“How about your companions? The air is quite thin up here,” the angel explained. “We haven’t had guests for a while, so I had forgotten that many aren’t accustomed to such an atmosphere.”

“Now that you mentioned it, it has been a bit harder to breathe,” Akira said. “It’s nothing too bad. Just don’t expect me to run marathons.”

“Just you?” the angel asked, arching a brow. 

“I’ve had training for these types of altitudes,” Erica said. 

‘And I’m a dragon, so these heights are nothing,’ Yuki thought. It was probably the same for Ember. If Yuki’s theory about Yuna was right, then she was an angel and these heights wouldn’t bother her either.

“I see. Well, here,” the angel said. She offered a cloth mask to Akira who took it with a curious expression. “It has magic that will gather air around you so that you can breath better.”

“Oh, thank you,” Akira replied before putting on the mask.

“Alright. With that sorted out, let’s continue.”

The angel set off again and Yuki continued following her. She observed the structures around her some more. A distinct pattern she found was that everything was a bright white. The shade from the platforms made most of it bearable to look at, but whenever the sun hit the structures directly, it was blinding to Yuki’s sensitive eyes. 

“Miss,” Yuki said. The angel looked back for a moment, still walking.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I was curious. Why are all the buildings so bright?” 

“Ah. I guess that would be something someone outside would find interesting,” the angel said. “It’s because of the sun. If we had darker colors, the sunlight would start heating everything up like a stove. It doesn’t do too much, but every little bit helps.”

“Do you have something at the top of those platforms to deal with the rest?” 

“That we do. We convert the light into energy that we feed back into cooling out living spaces,” she said. “It’s a very nice loop.”

“I see.” 

“Ah, we’re here,” the angel announced. She stopped in front of what looked to be the largest structure that Yuki had seen in the entire city so far. “Come on in.”

In the structure was only an elevator. They all went inside it and the angel hit a button that closed the door. Then they all shot up at a surprisingly fast speed. In ten seconds, the elevator doors reopened.

When Yuki stepped out, she found herself in a spacious room. In the center was a circular table that was surrounded by eight chairs. What looked like a water cooler stood in a corner of the room. 

“Take a seat,” the angel said, gesturing towards a couch that sat near the elevator doors. “The archangels will be arriving shortly.”

With that, she gave the two angels that accompanied her a nod before leaving the room. The two angels stayed behind, standing beside the metal doors of the elevator. 

“This place has changed a bit since I’ve last been here,” Ember commented as she took a seat on the couch. 

“How so?” Yuki asked.

“It’s a bit newer looking,” she replied. 

“It’s much more modern than the last time I was here,” Mathali said. 

“I see,” Yuki said. She looked at the table with its eight chairs. “I wonder how the archangels are like. Mat, you said that things were happening before with them?”

“Yes, my lady. But it might have been resolved if the peaceful nature of the city says anything.”

“Mmm.”

As if they heard what Yuki had said, shadows began swooping in from outside. The room had a balcony outside where angels began landing on. One after another, people with brilliant white wings lighted onto the platform. The glass wall that was there opened up and eight beings walked inside.

“Welcome, guests,” the first angel boomed in a baritone. “Let us begin the meeting.”