CHAPTER 27 — Aetheria (1)
The car moved forward in a steady, smooth rhythm.
There was no shaking.
No uneven jolts.
Just a quiet hum beneath them as the wheels rolled across the road like they were gliding over water.
Rowan sat by the window.
Completely still.
His eyes were wide. Far too wide that it looked they will spill out.
His lips were slightly parted.
Maybe He didn't even realize it—but his face had been stuck in that same expression ever since they started moving.
His gaze clung to everything outside like it might vanish if he blinked.
Outside—
The world rushed past him.
Trees blurred into streaks of green. Stone paths turned into long winding roads. Small houses slowly disappeared behind them, replaced by larger structures, unfamiliar shapes, and distant silhouettes that stretched toward the horizon.
The further they went—
The more the world began to change.
Trees grew denser. Structures became taller. Roads widened into something almost unrecognizable.
Rowan leaned slightly closer to the window.
His fingers pressed lightly against the glass.
"…Whoa…"
The word slipped out without him noticing.
Everything felt—
Fast.
Too fast.
Like the world itself had decided to move forward without waiting for him.
Time passed quietly.
Without announcement.
Without any pause.
Rowan couldn't even tell how long they had been traveling.
Minutes?
Hours?
It all felt the same.
His reflection faintly appeared against the glass—eyes shining, jaw slightly parted.
For someone like him—
This wasn't just travel.
It felt like stepping into a completely different world.
"So you are this year's recommendie."
The voice cut through the silence suddenly.
Sharp enough to pull Rowan out of his thoughts.
"Huh?"
Rowan blinked.
His head turned quickly, eyes scanning the inside of the car as if trying to locate the source of the voice.
Then—
He saw him.
The driver.
His hands rested casually on the steering wheel, fingers tapping lightly as he adjusted the rearview mirror just enough to glance at
Rowan through it.
Rowan leaned forward slightly.
"…Recommendie?" he repeated under his breath.
The word felt strange and unfamiliar.
But before he could think further—
A hand suddenly came near his ear.
"It means the winner of the competition, you idiot."
Eldric's wishper landed bluntly.
Rowan flinched slightly and straightened his back quickly.
"Oh— yes, yes I am."
He nodded.
Perhaps a little too fast.
The driver chuckled softly, the sound low and amused.
"Relax," he said. "No need to sound like you're answering a test."
Rowan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ok, put on your seatbelt."the driver added "It's gonna be a long drive."
"Seatbelt?"
Rowan looked down.
His eyes scanned the strange strap lying beside him.
He picked it up slightly and turned it up side down.
'How does this even—'
Click!
Before he could finish—
Eldric had already leaned over and fastened it across Rowan's chest in one smooth motion.
"There," Eldric muttered. "Don't touch it."
Rowan blinked.
"…Oh, Okay."
The driver pressed his foot down.
The car surged forward.Faster than before.
The sudden acceleration pushed Rowan slightly into his seat.
"…Whoa!"
His eyes widened again as the outside scenery began to move even faster.
The wind against the windows grew sharper.
The world blurred further.
Rowan stayed quiet after that.
But—
The curiosity didn't leave his eyes.
Not even a little.
His fingers tapped lightly against his knee before he finally spoke again.
"Hey… um…"
The driver glanced at the mirror again.
"Yeah?"
Not helping it. He leaned forward slightly and asked.
"Hey-! Ahh... I wanted to ask where did you get this thing from."
His eyes moved around the car again.
The smooth interior.
The polished surfaces.
The strange mechanisms.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life."
The driver chuckled,"It's not something that would be available in a country side city like Darve."
"Huh... Really." Rowan's eyes lit up.
"The cars are only available in big cities." the driver continued. "Places where money moves faster than people."
Rowan nodded slowly, absorbing every word.
"You must be making a lot of money now,"
Eldric added lazily from the side, resting his chin on his palm.
"last time you had brought a red one."
The driver answered with a grin.
Rowan shifted his gaze between Eldric and driver.
"Hey... Umm I have been curious for a while but... do you two know each other?"
Eldric sighed,"Yeah we both were students at the Darve dojo."
Rowan tilted his head,"wait, does that mean you both were friends?"
"..."
"Hello?"
No reply came, and a long awkward silence streched inside the car. Maybe longer than it should have been.
"…Hello?"
Still nothing.
He looked at Eldric then at the driver. Both of them stared forward.
As if the question had never been asked.
Rowan narrowed his eyes slightly.
'Why does things always turn out like this when he meets someone he knows. It was the same with that woman in that office.'
Rowan looked around Trying to ease the awkwardness, he quickly spoke again..
"Oh yeah, by the way, how did you get this thing. I would also like to get one if I could."
The driver chuckled,"haha... Well it's quite expensive. More than you can imagine."
Rowan swallowed. "That much?"
"But..." The driver added,"You would be able to buy this if you become a decent mage."
Rowan's eyes widened slightly.
"…Really?"
"Of course."
The driver's voice softened.
His eyes flickered on rearview mirror briefly.
"When the time comes you should move forward. If you always remained in some backwater country side place then you would never get here."
"Oh!"Rowan fell silent.
The words settled deeper than expected.
But Before he could respond—
"Hey-dolt!" Rowan turned, Eldric was looking at him this time.
"Forgetting where you came from," Eldric said quietly, "is worse than never moving forward at all."
Rowan stared blankly then nodded his head.
"Ha~Hahahahah." the driver broke Into a chuckle. Not loudly but enough to catch Rowan off guard.
Rowan frowned slightly and stared at the driver with confused eyes.
'Huh...? Was that a joke or something?.'
The driver reached into a compartment and pulled out a small packet of cigarettes.
He tapped one out and lit it casually.
A faint glow flickered at the tip as he inhaled, then exhaled slowly,Smoke curled upward in thin spirals.
"Want a smoke?" he asked, extending the pack towards Eldric.
Eldric scoffed,"Hah... Only kids smoke, Reymon." he turned his head away.."talked
to me if you have got any drinks."
Reymon opened another compartment and pulled out a can extending it towards Eldric.
"I do have soda. But I don't think it's to your liking." Reymon looked towards Rowan,"Hey kid. You can have it if you want."
He tossed the can,Rowan grabs it. He stared at the can, turning it upside down. Looking at that Eldric sighed. He grabbed the can and opened it with a sharp hiss.
"Here."
Rowan took it and brought it to his lips,he took a sip and His expression froze.
"…What is this…?"
"How is it?" Reymon asked.
Rownan clicked his tongue,"taste like someone has mixed both sugar and salt in water."
Reymon chuckled at that reply.
---
Aetheria
The car hummed smoothly along the way. Rowan looked outside the window his eyes wide and jaw opened in awe.
The scenery changed.
Slowly at first.
Then—
All at once.
Rowan leaned closer to the window.
His eyes widened further.
The buildings stoods in line. Each having a different design and style. Everything looked organised clean and alive.
Cars moved in lines,People filled the streets.
Voices blended into a distant hum.
As they drive. It looked like a completely different world. The Darve City that was the closest from his town can't even come to the comparison against this place.
"what's this place."
Rowan's breath slowed.
"It feels like I have come to a completely different world."
"It's Aetheria. The place where Grand Aetherion academy is." Eldric replied looking outside. "Hmm, it has become even more crazy."
"Have you been here before?", Rowan asked.
Eldric coughed,"Yeah, i had come here in my student days too. This place has become even more insane since then."
Reymon chuckled,"There is a reason this city is called the continent's capital."
"Continent's captial?" Rowan blinked.
Eldric replied,"Yeah. Didn't I teach you in the class."
Rowan's eyebrows twitch as a memory flickered in his mind.
He remembered Eldric, Master class.
There was a map pinned on the black board Eldric was holding a stick pointing it at some location.
"So students. Today we are gonna learn basic geography."
He pointed his stick towards the map.
"So first of all. This giant map of land that you guys are seeing here. It's called Aetheris. The continent we live in. Though a continent doesn't have a capital like States or districts..."
he shifted the wooden stick to another location marked as a star in the map.
"This place, 'Aetheria' it's called the continent's capital. Keep that in mind."
The memory fades.
Rowan sat still looking out the window after remembering it.
"yeah! I remember. So where is that Grand academy."
Eldric took a deep breath,"this city is divided in four region by Athis river. Amian, Arcian, Astrian and Aetherion. Right now we are in Amian region. After crossing Arcian. We will reach Aetherion where Grand Aetherion academy is."
"Wow! So just how big is this city." Rowan's gaze turned outside.
"Well big enough that 20 or 30 Darve City's can easily fit in." Reymon exclaimed.
He saw other cars and the number of people were overwhelming.
"This city sure is crowded."
"Well. It's entrance exam season, so ofcourse many other students from various institutes would be here." Eldric muttered.
"But this many—"Rowan looked at the crowd in awe.
"That might not even be all of it. I'm sure more will be coming. Afterall this place is called the epicenter of learning." Eldric exclaimed looking at the number of people outside.
"Hah." Reymon scoffed,"More like the epicenter of conflicts."
Eldric nodded in agreement.
Looking at that Rowan asked,"Epicenter of conflicts?"
"You will know soon. We are here." Reymon slowly pressed breaks and the car slowly stopped at a parking.
Rowan tried to unplug his seatbelt.,',what the, how do I take this off.'
Eldric unplugged Rowan's seatbelt. As they both exited the car.
"bye Eldric." Reymond said leaning on the car window. "Bye boy, good luck for the exam."
Eldric and Rowan waved him goodbye. As the car shook and started moving again.
Eldric and Rowan stood side by side.
"So... Uhh. What now?" Rowan asked in confusion.
Eldric rubbed his chin,"there is still sometime left until the entrance exam so... Let's go and eat."
---
Rowan and Eldric both walked through the streets of Aetherion. The streets were really streched very long and wide.
There are many students of various academy's roaming around. Each's uniform had different colours and held different emblems.
Rowan's eyes wondered endlessly.
Some students emblem was stitched on their pockets. So some's were on the back of their uniform. Rowan kept looking around looking at different students.
Some's uniforms were in plane colours. So some's uniform was in colours he didn't knew existed. Red, coral, olive, maroon. Each uniform with different colours and shade.
Eldric noticed Rowan looking at other students.
"Hey, dolt stop looking around like a weirdo."
At that Rowan asked,"I can't believe this many people are here, they all look my age. Are they also here for entrance exam."
Eldric nodded,"Yeah but don't look at them."
"Hmm." Rowan frowned,"Why?"
Eldric took a deep breath.
"The first rule of coming to Aetheria. Don't look around at others like a weirdo."
"huh... There are rules like that."
"No, but you better follow them if you don't wanna get into trouble."
"Ugh...Ok." Rowan nodded.
They both walked for sometime.
"So you said we are going to eat something. What are we going to eat?"
Eldric closed his eyes and licked his lips saliva coming out from his mouth.
"there are penalty of things we can eat. This place has the most delicious foods in the entire continent. for example..."
Eldric mind reeled back, pictures of various dishes started appearing in his mind.
'I would wanna eat, that juicy mount chicken and roasted tandoori paneer as main dishes. Some slime salad as a side dish, and the lemon rice.'
The drool started coming down Eldric's chin at the imagination of foods. Rowan looked at Eldric with worried eyes.
{Winsh resturant.}
They stopped in front of a large restaurant.
The entrance was divided into multiple archways, each carved with intricate patterns—flowing curves, layered engravings, and embedded stones that shimmered faintly under the light.
Inside—
The ceiling rose high above them, supported by polished pillars etched with swirling designs that resembled currents of wind and flowing mana.
The tables were Dark polished wood, edges carved with delicate patterns.
The chairs,Curved backs, smooth finish, designed both for comfort and elegance.
Rowan sat down slowly.
"…This place is insane…"
Eldric grabbed the menu.
His eyes moved quickly his fingers flipping through the paper pointing with his fingers.
"This… this… this… and for the drinks this."
The waiter stood beside them, dressed in layered robes that combined structure and flow—long sleeves tied neatly at the wrists, a fitted upper layer with embroidered patterns, and a sash wrapped around the waist holding small tools and a writing pad.
He nodded,Noted everything and left.
"Hah..." A wide smile was on Eldric's face.
"You seem very happy." Rowan asked.
Eldric nodded,"yeah I was bored eating the cheap food in the inn. Now it's time to eat some proper food."
Rowan's eyes brows twitched."Wait, you do have money right. Cuz I'm not gonna—"
Eldric waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Yeah. Yeah don't worry. I got lots of money from master before coming —"
Suddenly —
Eldric's eyes widened and the menu dropped from his hand.
"Huh..." Rowan looked back to know the reason. And saw. A group of boys. They were wearing silver uniforms. But something was different about them rather then an emblem on the uniform they had a crest on their uniforms. There were some waves of wind 🌬 carved in that crest.
At the centre of that group stood a boy, sharph features. Straight silver hairs and golden eyes that carried the look of a hunter.
Rowan looked at Eldric again at the motion of his eyes flickering. And followed them. He saw that another group of students entered the restaurant from another gate.
Their uniforms were a mix of bright white and light blue. One student turned and Rowan saw that there was an emblem of a cloud and thunder ⛈️ on the back of their uniforms.
Not only that, squinting his eyes Rowan saw that there were small similiar pattern designs on their uniforms of that emblem the cloud and thunder.
"Hey, waiter." Eldric called the waiter, his voice carrying an unusual urgency. "The food that I ordered. Can you pack it up."
The waiter nodded. Eldric Patted the waiter's shoulder." Thanks, please be quick."
Rowan looked around and saw other people who doesn't look like students. Had also started eating their food much faster then before.
"What happened? Why are you acting like this." Rowan asked.
But Eldric didn't replied as he rubbed the back of his hand violently.
Some people had started getting out of the restaurant already.
The waiter quickly came and place the food packaged in a medium size box infront of them. Eldric quickly grabbed the packages which were inside a paper bag and with his other hand grabbed Rowan's hand.
"Hey dolt! Let's get out of here quickly."
"Wh-what happened?" Rowan asked but Eldric quickly dragged him outside.
They reached outside the restaurant but Eldric still kept dragging Rowan, Rowan's face was full of confusion.
Only after they reached at a certain distance from the restaurant did Eldric release Rowan's hand.
"What happened why did you suddenly—"
Boom.
Before Rowan could finish his sentence, An explosion erupted inside the restaurant.
A shockwave followed.
Rowan shudder at the sudden sound of explosion.
---
CHAPTER ENDS.