Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Stop…/

/Clack…/

The car stopped and its doors opened, allowing Dale and Mei to leave.

"This is it for me, there's not much an hologram can do." Roger said as he crossed his arms

"We'll be seeing each other soon, so focus on your task."

"Remember to keep your eyes open, albeit this is a neutral zone, there may be people willing to break and bend the rules a little if it means getting their point across."

"Some with enough power to disregard them to a certain extent, just like me."

"And on that subject, I implore you to exert caution, do not let into your emotions as you did at the airport… Let the law of this place do its job." He said as he pointed at Dale

"It would be very troublesome if a situation like the previous one were to occur here of all place… At least consider my words if something does come."

'I hope it doesn't though.'

"I will, I'm not too keen on losing my time in meaningless disputes either."

"I know… And that's what worries me…"

'That'll you see dealing with your fist as faster with your words…'

"Mei will guide you throughout the remainder of your journey, and if all goes well, you'll be returning to the Aiport within a few hours tops, just as we discussed." Roger said as the doors of the car slowly closed

"Time's up, you're on your own from here on out... And remember! Violence as a last resource for self def..."

/Clack/

The car doors closed, muting Roger's words completely before he could finish.

/Fuom…/

/Shua…/

'With that, the car took off, flying to the side as it entered a strange dark structure, likely a floating car parking slot for later retrieval.'

"Mr Houston, if you will." Mei said as she called him

"... I'm going." Dale replied as he took a look around

There wasn't much around them as they were deep in the forest.

Tall trees surrounded them, blocking the sun and the sky above, although if they weren't there, it would be hard to say if those were real or not.

To his left, there was a large rectangular building shaped like the walls of a beehive, full of individual cells where dozens of cars could be seen parked, waiting for their turn to be called.

Underneath him, there was a large metallic landing zone, and if he tapped his foot on the platform, he could feel that the vibrations echo into the forest behind him.

It was likely that there was an underground metallic pathway hidden in the forest, it was the way through which these flying cars moved around.

Otherwise, it would make no sense that they floated unless they were truly flying cars... Albeit at this point he wouldn't be surprised if they were.

If he followed him, he would likely return to the airport, although it was another thing to actually do so as he did not doubt the path was heavily fortified.

There wasn't much to his left, only a metallic fence that led to the deep jungle.

In front of him on the other hand, there was a path of arched trees and vines, it couldn't be more obvious where he should move...

There were even lights on the ground that flickered quickly, moving towards the path...

And of course, all around him were soldiers and other kinds of military machinery, even some trees seemed to be fake and full of gadgets.

Dale could tell they weren't real mostly due to their strong smell and the hidden cameras that flashed infrared light at his face from time to time, causing him to squint as he wasn't blind to it.

Not completely, he could sense infrared if he so chose to do so, it was mostly a trick taught to him during his classes with Tina.

One could even call it a Spell… Dale liked to call it a trick though.

If that wasn't enough, Dale could easily tell some trees had no life within them, yet they looked too 'alive'.

It was a rather obvious inconsistency.

…

/Walk walk…/

They continued to walk for around ten minutes until they stopped in front of a large clearing with a huge stone temple around ten floors high in the middle, giving Dale strange vibes.

"I'm pretty sure there were no civilizations of such caliber in this part of the Amazon rainforest…" Dale muttered as he squinted his eyes

'This place is rather strange... It's like a hidden city.'

'I can feel hundreds of people in my immediate vicinity, do they all live here?'

'I imagine they have to since these soldiers can't come and go all the time, and we should be very deep in the forest for there to be any city for they to move in and out...'

'But then again, who's stopping the countries from just building a city for that exactly purpose?'

"And you would be correct to believe so." A man said from behind Dale

"???"

Dale turned his head with some surprise, disbelief written across his face as he stared at the newcomer.

"Roger?"

"It's good to see you kid." Roger, in the flesh, replied as he smiled widely

"I thought… We wouldn't see each other in a while." Dale said as he scratched his head

"Didn't I tell you we would see each other soon though?"

He had a playfull expression on his face, finding Dale's surprise quite fun.

"This is too soon… I thought Mei would accompany me on my way…"

"And she did, she led you through the forest, didn't she?"

"... It was a straight path…"

"You would be surprised how many got lost in it!" Roger replied with a chuckle as he looked at the temple

"As you likely already figured out, this is a Mayan Temple, how it got all the way here is a mystery to many."

Roger then pointed at the side.

"If you look over there, you'll see an Aztec sacrificial Altar and if you look over there you'll see an Inca town."

"And those are but a few of the many strange architectural designs of this place, they span all of the Americas across thousands of years..."

"Some of these are so grand they are unique, not seen anywhere else except here, like this temple over here."

"I see, but... Why are there so many distinctive cultures here?"

"Hard to say, but to a certain degree, it is believed they were manifested directly from the Crucible, likely because their respective civilizations made their imprints on time and left their legacies across the generations..."

"One of the theories suggests the Crucibles have existed long before our estimations and that they slowly absorbed aspects of world culture for their formation, eventually manifesting once the time was right."

"Others say it's due to the people that crossed these lands over the centuries, that each of them left their own mark here... A testimony to their existence."

"In a sense they wouldn't be wrong, the Crucibles can 'compel' people to... 'Work'..."

"Regardless, they pose little purpose apart from being landmarks, and now, establishments for the travelers who make their way here."

"We'll have all the time in the world to check them out if you wish later, until then, our destination lies elsewhere, follow me." Roger said as he began walking

"Alright, let's… Wait, what about Mei?" Dale asked as he saw Mei stop on the side

"Oh? She'll wait for us here, not everyone can be granted access to the Crucible at any given moment, and even if she wanted to she wouldn't be able to follow us as she had already been there recently."

"..."

'She doesn't look surprise... It's as I expected.' .

'As if a highly praised Assistent of Roger would be normal, I felt Mana flowing within her, but it wasn't substantial enough for me to claim anything.'

Dale had a thought, from the moment he first saw her.

He had always felt she was somewhat unordinary, he had felt her 'aura' when they first met.

And the fact she was allowed to come this far proved it, albeit it made him upset as to how she hadn't made it clear when they met with that nuisance at the airport.

"Don't worry for me Mr Houston, the customer service here is top-notch and all of our expenses are already accounted for, it's something akin to a paid holiday." She said with a chuckle as she looked at him

"Hahaha…"

'Can you say that in front of your Boss?'

"She's right, I envy her even, they have quite a few delicacies here…" Roger said with a scoff as he exhaled loudly

"Alas, we have a schedule and people don't like when you're out of it here, so let's move on before one of them complains."

"... Right."

'Roger led Dale to the center Temple of this strange city, and as expected, it was heavily fortified with a small crowd surrounding it.'

'It was time to see this 'Crucible' for himself.'

…

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Notes

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