Last Transmigration: Overland Of The Apocalypse

11

Ray just simply stood there for a moment. He had expected to see a guild but instead he found a city within a city.

The headquarters stretched across several acres, its gleaming white towers connected by elevated walkways of enchanted crystal.

Massive training arenas echoed with the clang of swords and the thunder of spells. Hunters in every imaginable armor hurried across the grounds, while robed scholars copied glowing runes onto floating parchments.

Everything moved with purpose every single thing felt alive.

"...How many people work here?" Ray asked quietly.

Aria continued walking without looking back.

"Within this branch?" She thought for a moment. "Close to eight thousand."

"...Eight thousand?" He repeated as he stopped walking.

"And this is only one Sector." Kael chuckled.

"The Union has branches across every major city." Lucian added. "It existed long before either of us arrived."

"This world just keeps getting bigger..." Ray said looking around again.

Lily, who had spent most of the journey quietly holding Aria's hand, looked back at him with a bright smile.

"Mister..."

He looked down. "...Yeah?"

"Don't worry." She puffed out her tiny chest proudly. "Captain Aria knows everyone."

"That is an exaggeration." Aria sighed.

"Almost everyone." Lily said as she grinned mischievously.

As they stepped inside the Union's grand hall, conversations slowly died.

Hunters paused midway through meals.

Quest clerks stopped stamping documents.

Several apprentices stared openly at Aria before noticing the unfamiliar young man walking beside her.

"...Captain Valen is back."

"Didn't she leave on an investigation yesterday?"

"Who's the guy?"

"No Union emblem..."

"New recruit?"

"Doesn't look like one."

......

The murmurs followed them through the enormous hall.

Ray shifted uncomfortably. "...Do people always stare this much?" He asked.

"They're curious." Aria answered simply. "They'll stop eventually."

"...That's reassuring." Ray replied.

"It was not intended to be." She added.

"I definitely like her." Kael laughed. " I think we should definitely keep this one."

At the end of the hall sat a long crescent-shaped registration desk, stacks of books towered behind it.

Mana crystals floated lazily above each workstation, illuminating endless shelves of records.

A young woman with emerald-green hair looked up from her paperwork.

The moment she recognized Aria, she smiled.

"Captain!"

Then she noticed Lily and smile disappeared.

"Lily..."

'Oh thank the stars she said as she hurried around the desk and knelt before the little girl. "We've been searching all night."

Lily immediately threw herself into the woman's embrace. "I-I thought..."

"...I thought everyone was gone."

The receptionist hugged her tightly.

"It's alright, You're safe now."

Ray quietly looked away, he definitely had no place in that reunion and he knew it.

After several moments, the receptionist stood and bowed deeply toward Aria. "Thank you."

Aria shook her head. "Thank him," She said.

Every eye immediately shifted toward Ray.

"...Me?" He asked.

The receptionist smiled warmly. "My name is Mira, Senior Receptionist of the Adventurer Union." She added. "Thank you for bringing Lily back alive."

"I just happened to be there." He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Aria looked at him.

"No!" She added You chose to stay. You could have escaped, but You didn't."

For a brief moment neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other...

Mira cleared her throat with a knowing smile.

"So..." She added "I'm guessing this is why you requested an emergency registration?"

Aria nodded once. "He possesses an Authority."

Mira immediately became professional.

"Very well." She said as she retrieved a thick leather-bound ledger. "Let's begin."

She dipped a feathered pen into glowing blue ink.

"Name?"

"Just put Ray, for now."

Mira stared up at him with a confused look..

"It's a bit complicated." He explained.

"...Very well." She replied writing down

"Temporary designation."

She wrote carefully.

Unknown Male - Pending Identification

She continued. "Age?"

"...Around twenty?" He replied.

"You aren't sure?" She asked once again in confusion.

"I don't remember my birthday."

She moved on "...Place of birth?"

Ray froze again.

Earth.

He couldn't exactly say that.

"...Far away." He replied.

"How far?"

"...Very."

Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. "I warned you."

Mira looked between them before closing the ledger halfway. "...Captain." she added "Did you bring me an amnesiac?"

"...Possibly." Arain answered honestly

"...Possibly?"

"...It's complicated."

Mira sighed dramatically. "I dislike complicated."

"So do I." Ray admitted.

That earned the first genuine laugh from several Hunters nearby, even Aria's lips curved almost imperceptibly.

"Very well," Mira said after composing herself. "We'll continue with what we can verify."

She reopened the ledger.

"Race?"

"...Human?" He replied.

She looked at him over the rim of the book. "...That sounded like a question." She said.

"I mean... I think I'm human."

Kael burst into laughter.

Lucian couldn't hold back either.

Ray resisted the urge to groan. "This is humiliating."

"It is a little," Lucian admitted.

Mira eventually closed the book.

"I've completed registrations for dragonkin who couldn't write, beastkin who only spoke in growls, and one elderly dwarf who insisted his beard counted as identification."

She smiled.

"But you..." She added. "...are a first."

Mira tapped the desk lightly.

"Fortunately, The Union has another method."

She said looking toward Aria. "I assume that's why you brought him."

Aria nodded. "The Authority Assessment."

The room grew noticeably quieter, several nearby Hunters looked up.

One apprentice even whispered,

"...The Crystal?"

Another answered,

"...He gets tested today?"

Mira noticed the growing audience and smiled knowingly. "Word travels quickly."

She stepped away from the counter and motioned for Ray to follow.

"This way." She said.

They walked through several wide corridors lined with portraits.

Finally, they stopped before two enormous crystal doors.

Ancient runes pulsed across their surface and at their center was carved a single symbol.

A twelve-pointed silver star.

Mira placed her palm against the doors.

"They're about to test your Authority."

Her expression became serious.

"The Crystal of Origins has evaluated Awakened for over three hundred years." She explained. "It has never failed, It has never lied, It has never broken."

The heavy doors slowly began to open.

Beyond them, at the center of a vast circular chamber hovered a crystal sphere the size of a carriage.

Ray swallowed hard for reasons he couldn't explain. His heart suddenly began to race.

"...Be careful.." kael said. "Something doesn't feel right.