Chapter 8: Chapter 7: A Sublime Symposium

Rene awoke with his back soaked in sweat, he opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.

Not a dream…

Something soft was beneath him, a bed. He was also in a luxurious room, with walls of dark and floors of white. The opulent furniture littered around the room were made of metal, yet they emanate a warmth and softness unlike the temperament of steel. It was certainly a room decorated with a silver theme, nearly everything was trimmed with the shiny grey metal.

This should be Mr. Siluvar’s home.

On the right of the room, the sun's rays shone through a window, below which was a desk and chair. The sun’s light reassured him, he found himself staring at it for some time. The two red lights were now in two different locations, it seems that they were quite a distance away from the police station.

Two black doors trimmed with silver were in front of him, presumably the exit and bathroom. On the left was another door—he got rid of his earlier thought, one of these doors was the exit.

He lifted the blanket to find himself still in his original clothing, this eased a worry he didn’t know he had until now.

Just as he was about to get off his bed, he spotted the pair of Aon glasses on the bedside table, Rene instinctively reached out for his face—nothing.

What? I can see now? Why now? Why here?

There was a note written in red ink under the glasses, there was no point in examining it since Rene couldn’t read anyways. He did notice that this world seemed to have a habit of using red to write; nearly all the instances of writing he saw had a bloody hue.

He put on the Aon Glasses and only detected a slight change in light level, it seemed like he really didn’t need them any longer. He returned them to their original location and explored where the doors led to.

Wait, Rene stopped in his tracks, he turned around and pocketed the glasses; as if he could be so careless.

The leftmost door was the exit, it led to a hallway. As for the next door, it led to some small chamber; Rene didn’t have the faintest idea what it was used for. The walls, floor, and ceiling were layered with glass, but the walls were of steel, so what was the point of the glass if there was nothing to see through?

There was a single chair in the small room. He sat in it and closed the door, which also happened to be covered in glass on the other side. Inside the chamber was dark; the air felt stagnant—no, everything felt stagnant. It was a strange sensation like that of being in a sensory deprivation chamber; Rene quickly stepped out.

What an odd feeling.

The third door led to a rather large bathroom. A mirror hung on the wall and a sink hung beneath it. Rene spotted a large bowl thing which he guessed to be a bathtub. He then noticed the smooth metal flooring; despite their appearance, it wasn’t slippery nor cold.

Rene looked to the toilet, or the thing he thought was a latrine only because there was a roll of toilet paper hanging beside it; A hollowed out metal cylinder with a hole on top, it appeared more like a trash can than anything else. Rene looked down the hole: pitch black.

This better be the toilet or I’ll have much explaining to do…

Once Rene had finished with his business, the walls of the pitch black hole began emitting a dim yellow light. It was only afterwards that he realized this ‘toilet’ didn’t emit the smell he was expecting, instead, there was no smell at all. Horrified at the prospect that he had just shat down the trash chute, he quickly backed away.

(Author’s Note: My dear readers, I can assure you that describing Rene’s first time defecating in Aphelion is essential for the plot. I’m serious. This note is technically a spoiler.)

In the mirror, he found his cheekbones to be more angular than before, he had clearly lost weight. The mirror also brought attention to his bandages, they were all now slightly lighter green, every wound had been rewrapped while he was sleeping, only the cast on his left arm remained the same.

My bandages were rewrapped? How nice of him.

Hm? Are my eyes darker or is it just me?

Ignoring the barely visible change in shade of his pupils, his focus went back to how to turn on the tap that had no handles.

On the sinktop was this pale white statue, it was shaped like a pawn (the chess piece) and sized like one too, after some fiddling with the tap for a while, Rene figured out he had placed this statue within a white circle which was also on the sinktop to make water run.

The bathtub worked the same way, with great effort, he took a ‘bath’, careful to not wet his wounds. After dressing up in a new white pair of clothes he found in a closet, Rene finally exited to the hallway.

The hallway continued only in one way; Rene took note of where his room was before he went down it. It led to the top of a double staircase. Made with dark stone and lined with silver, a vehement display of financial prowess.

This guy is loaded! I wonder how much 10 rounds is really worth in terms of dollars.

Suddenly, he heard chatter. Mr. Siluvar’s voice came from below. Going down the stairs, Rene was greeted with the gentleman’s warm smile.

“Ah, Mr. Spring! You came at the perfect time! Please, join us for lunch.” Mr. Siluvar was wearing the same white suit as he was in the police station.

He sat at the top of a large dinner table centered in an oval dining room of imperial magnificence. Windows lined the surrounding walls, allowing natural light to brighten the strange assortment of dark foods laid out on silver plates. There was another person sitting at the table of which Rene didn’t recognise. The Aphelion woman wore a black dress shirt with silver buttons alongside an equally silver suit jacket and gloves. Black dress pants and combat boots, there was a single silver earring on her right ear; she greeted Rene with a smile.

Seeing the duo dress so professionally made Rene feel naked, he was only wearing some random white shirt he found that fit him.

There were only three chairs spaced out around the massive dining table; as if he had been expected to arrive, a plate was placed in front of the only empty chair. Behind Mr. Siluvar stood an old man wearing a black suit, another Aphelian; this entire home, even the maids, was made up entirely of Aphelians, which didn't assist Rene's desire to fit in.

Rene awkwardly waddled up to the table and sat in the open seat across from the blonde lady.

Mr. Siluvar wiped his mouth with a napkin and began speaking, “Mr. Spring, regarding the contacts, we weren’t sure how sensitive Artharian eyes were, they were only set to 5% strength. Well, how are they, too bright? Dim?”

So I’m wearing contacts, that's why I can see—oh, that’s probably what was written in that note.

“Yes, they’re good, y-yes.”

“Splendid,” he smiled politely. Mr. Spring, allow me to introduce my daughter,” Mr. Siluvar gestured towards the blonde; the lady stood up with a smile and extended an arm, “Stelle Siluvar, pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Spring.”

“Uh, R-Rene.” He returned the handshake while fumbling over his words. It couldn’t be helped, the suit loving family was too polite.

Bloody moron, why are you so nervous? Just stop stuttering already. Talk normally.

Rene had some positive thoughts about himself as Mr. Siluvar spoke again, “What are your thoughts on the meal selection? Are they to your liking?”

As if someone had accidentally spilled black food coloring over the ingredients, the food in front of him all shared a dark theme. At least nothing was moving, they looked edible.

As for his answer to the gentleman’s question, how could he know if he would enjoy them?

“They’re fine—yes.” He lied as easily as he breathed.

““They look fine—y-yes.” He lied as easily as he breathed.

“Wonderful, my praises to the chef. Pray forgive us for not preparing any Artharian cuisine, any information regarding the island is seldom spread, including that of its native foods. The cuisine before you is made from Aphelion produce, some of these dishes are native to Cessa, please enjoy them.”

Rene shivered.

Why is he being so polite? He’s treating me like I’m his father or something…

Once Rene had learned how to use the Aphelion utensils by observing the Siluvars, he tried the food. A bit bland, but it was fine, perhaps this world didn’t have an abundant amount of spices like Earth. There were a few instances of chatter, but Rene couldn’t glean much information from them.

Mr. Siluvar spoke again once the food was finished, “Mr. Spring, you need not remind me of your wish to go to a specific library. Unfortunately I am currently occupied with urgent business, but Stelle may serve as your guide to Cessa in my stead. Please ask her any questions you might ask me, despite her age, she is a high ranking executive at Siluvar Steel; there won’t be much she doesn’t know.”

Silence…

Wait, are they waiting for me to reply?

“You–”

“Shall—my apologies, you were saying?” Stelle began to speak just as Rene did.

“Y-you have my thanks.”

Rene was a bloody university graduate that didn’t even have a master’s, people only ever treated him as equals or looked down on him. He was also a bio-mechanical engineering major, as you can imagine, Rene was accustomed to only talking to other nerds. This level of courtesy and respect was completely unprecedented, it made him incredibly embarrassed, causing him to act awkwardly, which only made him more embarrassed; it was a never ending cycle of shame. He could only punch himself inwardly to lighten the cringe he felt.

“And you have ours.” Stelle was clearly much more adept than him, she replied in perfect decorum in accordance with a radiant smile, “Now, shall we board the carriage right away, or did you have a later date in mind?”

“Um, let’s go now.”

“Very well, please follow me.” Stelle got out of her seat, Rene followed suit; he presumed Stelle was taking him to the carriage.

“Mr. Spring!” Mr. Siluvar shouted from behind him, “Please do not forget to complete the ID documents when you return. I had made a promise in my name to return them tonight, so if you’d be so kind… Shall they be placed on the desk in your room?”

Rene nodded, and the gentleman smiled.

Stelle brought him outside the mansion to where the silver carriage was, Stelle was driving while Rene sat in the back.

“Which library did you have in mind, Mr. Spring?”

Oh I don’t know its name. That library has a rather distinct appearance however, hopefully she’ll know after I describe it to her. In the worst case scenario I can just tell her to follow the red light—wait, can she even see the red light? I’ve never seen anyone else directly look at them; the recording devices were designed by Lorn to be as discrete and secretive as possible right? So why can I see them?

Ahhh—stop stop, stop thinking, someone’s waiting for you.

After describing the library's extravagant features, Stelle gave him a look of understanding.

“Mr. Spring, you appear to be describing the ‘Sublime Symposium’, the library constructed in honor of her eminence Sublime Spirit. I’m rather surprised that word regarding one of our buildings has spread even to the lands of Arthas.” The Carriage began moving, the destination was set.

Rene winced at ‘Mr. Spring’, the word ‘was now greatly damaging to his psyche; it was supposed to be a quick transaction: after being taken to the library and absorbing the red light, he would either accept or decline the contract based on its terms. Simple right? Rene had initially estimated everything would be over in less than three hours, but of course, reality never conformed to plans.

His plans were immediately destroyed upon seeing the night sky, but now, things have turned even worse. He fell asleep in Mr. Siluvar’s car, had his bandages changed, and was provided a pair of contacts with an unknown price tag. Next, he offered a room fit for Buckingham Palace, had a chef cook for him, and now, Mr. Siluvar’s daughter—one of Siluvar Steel’s executives—was acting as his personal driver.

What did Rene do in return? He shat in their garbage can, took their clothing, soiled the bed with his sweat, and ate their food. Worst of all, he was still considering declining the contract if its terms didn’t seem favorable to him!

Trash like him was completely undeserving of such courtesy. They’ve already gone too far in treating him, and ‘Mr. Spring’ was the limit. The filth that was Rene still had a scrap of dignity left within him.

“S-Stelle, please call me Rene.”

“As you wish, Mr. Rene.”

Kill me. Kill me now.

“Um, j-just Rene is fine.”

“Sure—Rene, if you have any questions regarding Cessa, feel free to ask me. I grew up in this city, I know it like the back of my hand.”

Rene sighed, with how nice this family was, unless the contract specified for him to become a slave or something, he planned to overlook any other terms. Shifting to the topic at hand. As an Artharian, it wouldn’t be strange if he were to ask about Cessa, and now was a perfect moment.

“Could you give me a general overview of Cessa? Its history?”

“Of course,” she said while driving, “Despite its current population of over 4 million people, the city was actually founded only 8 years ago by the crown prince acting on the king’s orders. It was thanks to his support alongside the various Aphelian aspeirals that it was able to flourish into its current state today.”

Prince? 4 Million in 8 years? Aspeirals? Maybe I should’ve just waited until I got to the library and learn through the books. I have no idea what I’m supposed to ask about or know about…

Stelle kept going with her expository dialogue: “One cannot talk about Cessa without mentioning its geopolitical importance. Situated at the very end of Aphelion, it serves as a bridge between Aphelion and Lustrious, strengthening the bond between Aphelians and Lustrians. Naturally, the relationship isn’t one sided; Atarax, Cessa’s sister city in Lustrious, is equally grand and impressive.”

Pausing to take a breath, she continued: “Thanks to the constellation railway line connecting them, the Cessa/Atarax project is perhaps the first time in history cross-sector trade is occurring at such a grand scale; since the city is located so close to the circumcenter, such a connection had also allowed Cessa to become a city of unparalleled diversity in respect to not only culture and people, but also in a phenomenological sense.”

Rene quickly realized her explanation was not useful at all. Maybe he should’ve asked something more specific.

He remembered a thought he had in the police station: ‘where were the skyscrapers?’ If he could find out why this world didn’t, his knowledge from Earth might be able to provide a solution.

“Why are the buildings in Cessa so short? Do you not have the materials to build taller?”

Crap, did I just insult the entirety of Cessa? That was incredibly insensitive wasn’t it…

Rene immediately regret phrasing it the way he did, the Stelle didn’t seem to mind.

“Haha, the part where we’re in now doesn’t represent the entire city, if you look down at Cessa from above, you’d see two completely different cities. Old Cessa, and New Cessa.”

“Old Cessa can be considered the original city which the Aspeirals built, it’s also where the node for the railway is. The buildings are far taller there, but in my opinion, far uglier as well.”

“We’re currently driving through New Cessa. Some people consider this place to be an expansion to the old. But in terms of culture, people, architectural style and much more, New Cessa could be regarded as a completely different city. Construction of New Cessa first began when Old Cessa reached its maximum population capacity. This is a city built by mortal people. In which everything you see, from the roads to the buildings were constructed by mortal hands with mortal materials. With exception to the Sublime Symposium of course, something built in her name could never be sullied with anything below the Aspeiral level.”

She’s referencing the brutalist and Victorian areas of the city. Finally, something makes sense. Wait, what’s the point of specifying that ‘mortal people’ built New Cessa? Are Aspeirals not people? They’re not mortal? Who’s ‘her’?

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“Cessa as a whole only has 8 years worth of history, New Cessa has even less, but due to the constant influx of people from central Aphelion, Lustrious, and sometimes the fringes of Perenia, the demand for new homes is at a constant climb. As you might expect, this rapid growth, one consisting of an incredibly diverse cast, was rather bearing on the—non-existent city planning commission at the time. We have one now, but the chaotic assortment of buildings has ingrained itself within New Cessa’s identity.”

“These buildings don’t simply differ in terms of visual style, their very essence has been modified to accommodate the need of the multitudinous Sources and their respective strands. Perhaps I’m simply biased, but I do have to admit our architecture style is rather enchanting, despite the difficulty in building tall due to the interference between the various strands.”

“Of course, the city planning commission has…”

What? Interference?

Saffry’s voice suddenly overlapped with Stelle’s, ‘interference’ had become Rene’s trigger phrase; His ears no longer picked up anything else after that word was said.

“W-wait, wait, what do you mean by interference? What does it have to do with the buildings?”

Stelle, who was still talking, didn’t seem to mind being interrupted. She looked at him with a smile through the rearview mirror.

“Pray forgive me, but Rene, did you perhaps just confirm the rumors regarding Arthas’ phenomenological diversity?” She asked with a small chuckle.

Phenomenological what? How would I know? Don’t ask me…

Oh, she’s gonna take my silence as a yes–

“Naturally, Cessa lacks the profound methods of Resplendent Paradise to nullify the interference between buildings, of which we discovered increases with height.”

Wait, something can nullify the interference!? Resplendent Paradise… What is it? Another island?

“What is Resplendent Paradise?” Rene asked with haste.

Stelle responded in a slightly embarrassed tone, “Ahem, my apologies, I didn’t hear your question correctly.”

Was I too quiet?

He spoke louder this time, “You mentioned ‘Resplendent Paradise’ earlier, can you explain what it is?”

The rear view mirror reflected Stelle’s dark pupils, Rene saw her frown and furrow her brows before her eyes went back to focus on the road.

Shit, I wasn’t supposed to ask that was I? Stupid, I was too impulsive and didn’t think before I spoke.

“The embodiment of the strand of life.” Stelle declared with a bold voice, leaving Rene all but more confused.

“The sixth Aspeiral Monad of Temperance.”

Rene frowned.

What the hell is she talking about? Just how badly did I mess up? What in the world is Resplendent Paradise? A country? Did I just ask what a country is?

“The almighty creator of Arthas.”

Fuck.

Rene’s heart sank into the abyss. ‘Resplendent Paradise’ was a person’s name—the creator of Arthas out of all people. By asking who Resplendent Paradise is, he was effectively screaming that he is either a severe amnesiac or didn’t know the most basic shit.

I’m dead. They’re gonna stop me from signing the contract aren’t they.

He closed his eyes and deeply breathed out while he awaited Stelle to break the news.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to offend you.” An unexpected answer came from the driver’s seat.

What? She mistook my question as a provocation? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry—nevermind, I wanna cry…

I’m gonna stop asking anymore questions…

“I-it’s alright…”

Rene looked out the window at the passing buildings to distract himself, the rest of the trip was wordless.

The red light grew ever more bright as they approached, the dark pyramid entered Rene’s vision once again. Stelle parked in an open space with other “cars”; these strange transport vehicles had a range of colors and followed no design pattern, most were boxy, but some were actually aerodynamic to a degree.

“Mr. Spr– Rene, we’ve arrived.”

It was just then that Rene realized he didn’t know how to open the door, thankfully, Stelle opened it for him.

“Please follow me, I can guide you through the admittance process.” They walked together.

Leading to the entrance of the Sublime Symposium was a grand perron of stairs. Rene felt slightly nostalgic walking up them again. Like before, the stairs were littered with people doing whatever, chatting, loitering, reading—at least, before they saw him. People stared with unflinching eyes as their heads followed Rene’s position. Wherever he walked, chatter would cease, and people would stop what they were doing to gaze at him.

Rene followed closely behind Stelle and lowered his head to avoid the gazes, thankfully, everyone was only looking and doing nothing more.

“As you might be able to tell, Artharians aren’t exactly commonplace in Cessa. I can conjure up a hat if you wish.”

Conjure?

Upon seeing Rene’s confused face, Stelle pointed to her hair, “To cover up your hair, yes?”

It’s my hair?

“Y-yes, please.” Rene accepted without thinking, well, he couldn’t think with everyone observing him like he was walking naked in public.

Stelle stopped and placed her gloved hands together. Suddenly, a silver light then beamed from her palms as she slowly pulled her hands apart. Before Rene’s eyes, a metal hat began forming between her hands. The show ended within a matter of seconds.

Rene didn’t hide his amazement as Stelle handed to him this newly formed hat. Feeling it between his fingers, it was cold like metal, but also soft like fabric. It seemed to be made of whatever the contract was made of.

Putting it on, Rene instantly noticed the change. People who hadn’t seen him before no longer took notice, the hat seemed to hide the fact he was here.

It really was the hair? How?

The people around were 80% Aphelions: blond hair, dark eyes, white skin. 20% of people had black skin, curly hair, and golden eyes. Among the two types of people were no other traits. The shades for the hair/eyes/skin weren’t all exact for everyone in the same race, there was a range of variability; but this range only extended so far, Rene could still clearly distinguish between the two races. There was no overlapping of traits, no one appeared to be a mix of the two races, it was one or the other, as if they were only allowed to pick one side from birth.

There were a million questions he wanted to ask Stelle, but he decided to just wait a bit longer, the library was right in front of him.

“This is the entrance, once inside, we’ll be required to present our blood for identification purposes. Since you don’t have a hemo-stylus, please just place a finger on the white circle on the top of the machine.”

It’s that term again ‘hemo-stylus’. That police officer named ‘Stridor’ said it last time.

He would no longer ask questions. Rene was deathly scared of the possibility that after he asked what hemo-stylus are, Stelle would go ahead and reveal that it was one of Resplendent Paradise’s inventions.

Wait, this is an opportunity to learn what they are! Everyone except me will be using them right?

Rene nodded as casually as possible.

“Allow me,” the polite Stelle opened the entrance for him. The duo waited at the back of the line as the people in front drew their red lines on a protrusion coming out of the wall; that was all they had to do before the door leading into the library opened.

This…

Rene’s eyes widened as he connected this action to Lorette drawing on his notepad. The old man was using his index finger, holding it like a pencil.

The people here have a pen in their index? The red drawings, the red text, the red line—they’re red because it’s blood?

Hemo-stylus… Blood stylus… It was even in the name, I could’ve figured this out earlier…

Why write with blood and not a pen? I’ve used pens before, they clearly exist. Also, are Aphelians born with a hemo-stylus or is it something like an implant?

The next person up wore glasses and was dark-skinned. From Stelle’s explanations about how Cessa was ‘bridge between Aphelion and Lustrious’, and from his time with Saffry, when he saw the railway head towards the white wall, Rene deduced that the white sector was called Lustrious. If Aphelians had white skin and black eyes, then this person was most likely–

A ‘Lustrian’... Rene was gaining clarity one step at a time.

I see, anyone who's from Aphelion will require additional equipment to see through the darkness. Lustrious is the white sector, but Arthas is an island, it can’t be the grey sector. Hmmm, didn’t Stelle say another name? P- something… Crap—I can’t remember.

The Lustrian didn’t draw his red line, instead, he placed it on a white circle on top of the protrusion. The door still opened without a hitch.

No hemo-stylus? So then it must be something exclusive for Aphelians. Is it a culture thing, or are they really born with a pen on their index?

The line kept moving forwards until it was finally Rene’s turn. Since he didn’t have a hemo-stylus either, he copied what the Lustrian did and placed his index within the white circle.

Ow–

He looked at his finger and saw a red droplet on his fingertip. There was also a drop of blood within the white circle; it quickly disappeared like water on a sponge.

They use blood for identification then? I guess that explains the hemo-stylus. But this can’t be sanitary…

Rene turned to enter the library and almost walked into a wall. The door was still there, unmoved.

Did I do something wrong?

Looking back to Stelle, she carried a confused expression, this probably wasn’t supposed to happen. “Try again,” she said.

He did, there was no change.

“Hehe, you need to remember to return your books young man, or else they won’t let you back in.” An old man with a hunch back said while waiting behind Stelle. More faces also peeked out from the line, attracted by the hold up.

“One more time.” Stelle assured him.

Trying again: no difference.

“Use the hemo-pad or get out! Stop wasting our time!” Someone shouted angrily from the back. Rene could notice the line growing.

Stelle gestured for him to follow her outside, “Apologies for the inconvenience, please wait here for a moment. Us Siluvars were big donors to the construction of this library; I'll go talk with the staff so we can use an alternative entrance.” With that said, she left.

Rene plopped himself on the stairs as he waited, why would nothing ever go right? Overlooking the perron, he saw people going about their day. Some rushed while others walked leisurely while reading their books. Cheerful laughter would occasionally burst out from chatting friends, smiling couples held hands while exiting with their borrowed books.

Rene let out a sigh as his gaze dejectedly fell towards the floor.

“Mister! Mister! I saw eyes! WOW! SO BLUE!” A small girl held a small book in one hand and dragged her mother by the other, she spoke to Rene with beaming eyes. “Can you tell me how big the octopus is, mister? Is it bigger than this library?”

Nearly jumping from the girl’s sudden appearance, Rene averted his gaze and hurriedly pushed down his hat, completely covering his eyes as well as the rest of his hair.

Seeing Rene turtle up bewildered the girl, “Hey, hey mister, is everything alright?”

“Now now, Lisa, don’t be rude;” The Aphelian mother lectured her daughter, “Can’t you see the kind sir isn’t trying to attract attention? Let’s stop bothering him alright?” The young girl flailed her arms while being dragged away, “But mama mama—I wanna know how big the octopus is! I heard it’s the biggest animal in the whole world!”

Her mama responded by patting her head, “Me too sweet, but no one will answer your questions if you don’t ask politely next time.” She wrestled her daughter down the stairs, and their bickering faded to blend in with the background noise, the mother mouthed ‘sorry’ to Rene,

I was seen through by my eye color… Are there no blue eyed Aphelians? Why is there such a lack of genetic diversity?

Once again, his mind was flooded with questions, but now, he was plagued with a question he’d never thought he’d ask.

Is Arthas really a giant octopus? Rene thought to himself before he heard a familiar voice come from behind him.

“Thank you for your patience Rene, please follow me, I found a way inside.”

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