Unlike the crumbling towns on Wunderdum's outskirts, the tops of the inner-city houses were cleanly kept tiles, and many windows proudly bolstered gold and azure flags: colors that represented Arthur's kingdom. Scribbled rivers ran all through the city's ducts with artistic walkways crossing over them and small rafts traveling under, many leading to market squares drawing in copious crowds with shops and stands.
In these hotpots of commerce and tourism, restaurants and bars lined up every path one could take and created a bustling symphony of beefy smells, colors, and ringing sounds too numerous to fully grasp. It was quite the change from the small peasant village Brax had grown accustomed to for many years. He was amazed how it never slept and moved like one large entity; a majestic being he couldn't stop looking at, no matter how hard he tried to look away.
And while the sights of everything from above and afar were bewildering, it must be mentioned that in all of Wunderdum, there were two peculiar jewels that stood taller and grander than all others: Avalon's guild building, a place Brax and Xinyu had already been acquainted with, and Arthur's grand home, Tintagel Castle, which sat at the center of everything.
The great Tintagel Castle was a sprawling building comprised of a glistening rose stone, dubbed "Fairy Quartz", and shone as a result of being infused with the fairy magic arts, a type of magic thought to be lost when the fairies went extinct.
Gold-brimstone walls surrounding the castle stretched to the clouds and had detailed carvings etched lovingly into each inch. Atop the watchtower within the castle grounds, sat great bronze beasts encapsulated in statue and stone. They took the form of a phoenix, a dragon, a sea serpent, a minowaka, and many other mythical creatures as they perched themselves atop heaven-piercing blue brick towers, all wearing golden helmets. These watch posts were equipped with crystal lights that were dim during the day, but bright during the night to always illuminate the kingdom with the watchful eyes of Arthur's guard. The castle was a representation of human will, and the result of hundreds of years of discovery, fascination, and magic. Nothing in all of the Westlands, nor the world, came close to being as grand or large, and was secure enough to serve as the final bastion should humanity face extinction.
As the cart approached the spectacular castle, Xinyu's eyes welled with wonder. Even in the east, she had never been somewhere with a palace, or at least, was never able to get near one. To her, these places of royalty were representative of mysticism and legend. Brax was the same way. He'd been to Wunderdum and Zenith a few times before, but never dwelled far from the entrance. People like him could only stare longingly from the outskirts at the tiny golden speck in the distance, dreaming what it was like in a life so far away.
When the carriage finally landed at the bottom of Tintagel's stairs, Brax and Xinyu were met with the sight of azul steel-clad guards marching around the perimeter, patrolling it with keen eyes. Up the sprawling steps was a floating obsidian platform, and in the center of that was the actual castle, surrounded by two layers of walls: a shorter outer one named Persephone and a sky-scraping inner one named Hades. Their names were derived from a legend about two cursed deities - one of star-crossed lovers eternally separated - a legend which could be found in bookstores all over the Westlands.
The shiny obsidian platform that lifted Tintagel was low enough that it couldn't be seen from too far away, but as Brax and Xinyu walked up the dozens of scattered stairs to the top of it, they realized it was massive enough to hold up a small city if the castle grounds had not been there. Levitated by more strange fairy magic that radiated from the rose quartz castle, it perpetually hovered over the earth and could only be accessed by stairs or flight.
"Why do we gotta climb up this oversized cube?" Brax panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Didn't we just have a flyin' horse?"
"Arthur's guard, Wunderdum's main police force, is as strict as can be when it comes to Tintagel Castle," Lily said. "It holds knowledge and weapons that could destroy humanity, and riches that could last a thousand generations. There's nowhere more significant to the Westlands than this castle."
"Is that not dangerous?" Xinyu asked. "Putting all your eggs into a single basket is not always safe."
"Maybe not, but it makes guarding everything easier," Lily said. "Especially when you've got the might of Arthur's kingdom."
"A full basket might have been woven from iron, but that will not save anything if the cracks emerge from within," Xinyu said.
"That's something we can agree on," Lily said, looking at the castle. "Keep up, the top isn't much farther."
Once at the peak, the three made their way to the gate of the first wall and noticed something peculiar held in the middle of the stone lovers. Between Persephone and Hades was a sparkling golden river of pure magic energy, flowing all around the perimeter and giving off a lustrous, bright glow. It was so gold, so divine, so mysterious.
One could melt all the gold in the world and dye the clearest spring river with that wealthy nectar, and it would still pale in comparison to the radiance portrayed by one of Wunderdum's greatest hidden treasures. Known as Starlight River, it was the accumulation of the city's magic since Arthur created it. Brax and Xinyu were escorted across a bridge over those incredible waters to the entrance by Lily. Many of the burly men and women guards marching by stared at them, sharply focusing on Xinyu's eyes, but made no moves or comments as they moved past. Even with all the looks, neither Xinyu nor Brax could keep their eyes off the glorious river right below the oak bridge.
"Hao! Incredible!" Xinyu said. "It is so pretty, yet there is limitless energy coming from it."
"I wonder how it tastes," Brax said. "I bet it's sweet like fruit ale."
"No, that's not right. I am sure it tastes like honey oolong tea," Xinyu said, closing her eyes and nodding. "Delicious!"
"You're both wrong," Lily said. "If you were to consume pure magic energy without filtering, it would conflict with your own magic, and you'd explode. Or something like that."
"I see," Xinyu said, disappointed. "I wonder what would happen should someone with no magic were to drink it then."
"Such a person couldn't exist," Lily said. "Everyone has innate magic power. It's not something we can live without."
"The world is wide. I am sure a person like that could be real," Xinyu said.
"Well, they'd be an anomaly," Lily said, leading the way through Hades's inner gate. "Come, let us enter the castle. It's just past the flower gardens."
As they walked through the colorful array of sweet-smelling flowers, a voice began to ring in Brax's head. At first, he thought he was imagining it, but realized quickly that it was someone familiar to him. It was Xinyu, and she was using magic to speak directly into his mind.
"Brax, do not react to anything I say," Xinyu's voice said, echoing in Brax's head. "We have been closely watched until this point. Be careful in what you do or say until we leave this kingdom. Something else is going on beneath the surface."
"What makes you say that?" Brax asked in his thoughts. It was a strange concept for him to talk to someone through his mind.
"While we were in that hospital, it seemed like someone was trying to kill me," Xinyu said.
"No way!" Brax thought. He was taken aback by this and noticed Lily's eyes instantly shift towards his subtle reaction. He promptly brushed it off as he awkwardly began peering at the tulips below as if he were interested in their saccharine aroma. He realized that they were still being watched.
"How can you be sure they were trying to kill you?" Brax asked.
"I sensed bloodlust towards me on many different occasions with Erlang's eyes," Xinyu said. "Men and women shrouded in shadows prowling all around with an undeniable intent to kill. I never gave them an opening to actually attack me as they knew better than to fight me while I was aware of their presence."
"Was it her?" Brax asked, nodding towards Lily.
"I am sure she had something to do with it, but she was not the one who was directly after me," Xinyu said.
"But why would they want you dead?" Brax asked. "It doesn't make a lick of sense."
"We live in times where sense is not reliable," Xinyu said.
"What about Cygnus, do you think he knows?" Brax asked.
"I am certain he does not," Xinyu said. "I do not think he or the king is part of this conspiracy, and so, I am sure that they are also in danger."
"So what should we do?" Brax asked.
"We will wait," Xinyu said. "My zodiac allies tell me that the Agents of Darkness believe there was only a single angel that attacked. The angel might have been strong, but I am sure they could have destroyed it if it made it to the city, though, who knows how many would have lost their lives. Still, if they believe that a single angel is the limit to my power, then we can use that to our advantage later, if we need to fight them."
"There were others? What happened with them?" Brax asked.
"They were taken care of," Xinyu said. "Though I am changrined that one was able to escape and take many more lives."
"That's insane," Brax said. "But if that's true, then wouldn't you be more useful to them alive?"
"That is what is weird," Xinyu said. "I am unsure of their motives, which is why you must not reveal the type of magic I use. You alone are the only one I have told, and we should keep it a secret for now."
"So you're sayin' we gotta keep our mouths shut n' keep cards up our sleeves until we have a chance to find out what they're up to?" Brax asked.
"The less they know about us, the safer we are," Xinyu said. "Do not say a word about the angels or the witch we encountered at the start of our journey. While I am sure that the black sorceress is the one behind this wretched decay, everything else is too unknown. We can not know who is watching or listening in the shadows and thus must feign ignorance until we are far away from this place. It seems wherever I go, the enemies never cease."
"Should we tell Cygnus?" Brax asked."
"Our duel has connected our souls and told me he is a man to trust," Xinyu said. "We will tell him when the time is right, but for now, he is too well-connected. As soon as he knows what we know, so will the rest of the kingdom. And if this happens too soon, I fear something bad will happen."
"Like what?" Brax asked.
"I do not know. It is just a feeling," Xinyu said as they reached the end of the bridge. "It is time for me to cut this connection. We are about to enter the castle. Keep in mind what I have told you, but do not concern yourself quite yet, Brax, for as long as I am alive, I will protect you and everything else. That, I promise. Let us just enjoy this experience to the fullest for now!"
Xinyu cut her telepathy in an instant as they walked through the giant opening that led into the corridors of Tintagel. Normally, Brax would've been worried about entering so brazenly into a territory seemingly filled with enemies, but he felt like he was on the winning side. After all, he was on the side that could kill angels. That was enough to wash away his fear.