Garius: As a child, I remember my mother sitting me on her lap beside the fire, she would speak to me so gently and with a warmth like no other, while she began to tell a story about success and failure.
5,000 years ago, a gate appeared in Zesa, which was the former capital of the empire. Many adventurers from all across the world came to view the gate as well as try their hands at going into it.
One day, a party of 20 skilled adventurers led by the legendary Ergo Mosscrest.
My ancestor.
Led the party into the Zesa gate, it's said that when they entered, they were transported to a place of no constructs, having been described as a sanctuary not being bound by time or a void.
Ergo kept a journal of what they encountered on their adventure, and he would write about the animals and terrain that they saw.
There was life within the gates, violent as well as docile, you name it, he wrote it.
The party spent only a month within the gate, but when it was time for them to exit, it was only Ergo.
He had entered as an already legendary hero for his efforts in the battle of Nycon as a young man. But when he returned, he had aged significantly, coming back alone, a shell of his former self, and only claiming he saw God.
After that gates started to pop up, all across the world causing panic and revolts in major cities from skeptics spreading rumors of gates that could suck up entire cities whole.
After that, the ground froze over, and life was taken from the planet, causing the people to move from the surface to underground.
As more gates appeared, instead of being deterred, more people began to explore them in hopes that they would find whatever they were searching for inside.
Some Gates were peaceful and became homes for people, such as the Mirad Nation in the south, inside a gate.
While others were far too dangerous, being closed off from normal people.
This is why in the year 657 the Tianamon Empire created the Bound unit.
The Bound Unit was established under the rule of King Jerous IV in the former capital of Tianamon Zesa.
The purpose of the unit was to explore, loot, and colonize as many gates as possible. Due to the fact that too many people were being lost to reckless venturing.
As well as make sure another Ergo incident never occurs again.
They are an elite Unit in the Tianamon Empire that must sacrifice everything in order to enter the gates due to the commitment that comes with the job.
They are given the name those bounded to gates because to become a member of the Bound unit, you must unbound yourself from all attachments in life to commit to the hope of finding whatever you may desire, as well as defend against the 7 major devils' followers.
And WE WILL TOO!
You and I, Aoto, will travel to Zesa and take the exam 3 years from now, and both will become Bounded to the gates. My dream is to be a greater adventurer than Ergo was and explore every single gate there is, because what's the point of growing old and dying in some cave than going out in a blaze of glory like an adventurer?
Right?
By the time Garius had finished telling his story to Aoto about his goals and the appearance of gates, as well as the bound unit, the sun had already risen.
Garius: F**K I went on talking for too long, since the suns up do you mind just waiting here Aoto I have some business around here that I wouldn't want you to get mixed up in so just sit tight okay?
Aoto: fine.
With that, Garius got up out of his seat, grabbed the silver jacket that he had placed along the back side of the chair, exited the pub, and left Aoto by himself.
Aoto watched Garius' tall figure leave and followed him with his eyes for as long as he could until he was out of sight.
Alone, Aoto, unable to communicate with anyone, was left yet again in self-isolation and was forced to talk to himself.
Aoto: Why is this happening to me what the F*ck is going on?!
Gates, Bounders, Go,d like I EVEN CARE I just wanna go home, I miss mom and dad, I miss my life. I miss being in the coma, at least then I knew what was going on, I'm afraid.
I'm afraid of dying here alone. I'm lost.
Sound: "Why do you claim you're lost, Aoto?"
Aoto: What? It's that voice I hear.
Sound: "Why do you wallow and drown yourself in your insecurities and fears? I GAVE YOU ANOTHER CHANCE, and you chose to act like this. The second you are left alone, how pathetic can you be?"
Aoto: IM SORRY, OKAY IM JUST afraid.
Sound: "STOP APOLOGIZING AND LETTING YOUR FEAR CONTROL YOU."
Aoto: WHAT SHOULD I DO THEN "oh WISE voice" IF YOU WANT TO GIVE OUT SOME MANY ORDERS WITHOUT ACTUALLY TELLING ME SOMETHING OF USE.
Sound: "Follow the sounds that call out."
Aoto: What does that even mean?!
.
.
.
Hello…..hello...HELLO.
I guess they're gone again, what a prick that voice is coming into my self-monologues and interrupting them just to spew some nonsense about following a sound that calls.
IM DEAF dumb ass. What sound could you possibly be talking about?
You can go follow the sound, how about that VOICE?
Where am I anyway? I know Garius said we were somewhat close to the town square, but where exactly is this pub?
To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention while following Garius, but now that he's gon, I can focus, and I think I've come to a sort of consensus.
THIS PLACE SUCKS.
I mean, this whole world reminds me of something I'd watch in an apocalypse movie, living in underground cities, wanting to unravel truths. I mean, how much more uninspired can this place get, not to even mention the state of technology this Empire is in? How are you gonna sit there and tell me that you've been aware of mystical portals that contain all that you could want, and have been around for at least 5,000+ years, and are STILL running off of animal-powered equipment and oil lamps like this is the dark ages.
For all of this misery, I will say that this slave tattoo on my back is pretty sick, I mean, not the slave part, just the fact that mine is special. Honestly, I feel pretty safe around Garius. So far, he's been nothing but nice, even offering a potential solution to my deafness. Sure, he can be incredibly intimidating. For one, his size doesn't help him come off as a nice upstanding guy, and neither does his attitude, but I feel like the more time I spend alongside him, the better things will get.t I'm sure of it.
I wonder where he went. I'm sure that he'll be gone for a while. He did tell me to stay put and not go venturing out, but what's the worst that could happen? I get hit by a car again? I need to go somewhere, or at least walk. I feel like I'm crammed in that cage again.
UGH!
Aoto grabbed his chest with his left hand, his whole body trembling as he stood up in the pub, placing both feet on the ground, he could feel the vibrations of the people walking outside course throughout his whole body causing him to get startled, but Aoto still chose to walk out of the pub scarcely and started to head towards the center following the guide points that beamed through the ceiling.
The streets of Nycon were each named after an apparent hero; the street that Aoto happened to be on was called Ribrus.
Ribrus seemed to be the red light district of Nycon, having Aoto's eyes wandering to every other window as he continued his stride down to the town center. To Aoto, it was very reminiscent of the city of Amsterdam in Germany that Aoto never went to, but was very similar to what he had in his imagination.
Aoto, being a young man, still going through puberty, was, of course, infatuated with this idea of window prostitution and was drawn towards one of the women in particular.
She was about Aoto's age and was tall with long silky black hair that almost seemed to mimic ink being blotted onto paper, her skin pale and had a glow to it. To Aoto, her beauty was like no other; you could call it love at first sight.
Aoto: I'm gonna do okay, come on! Aoto you got this, you're gonna walk up the stairs, knock on the door, and talk to her you got this!
I mean, you never have talked to a girl to begin with, even back in New York, but you were kind of an anti-social loser in your late years, plus the whole I can't hear thing, but now.
YOU ARE A MAN WITH A PURPOSE.
Aoto begrudgingly snapped himself out of the trance that had a hold on him, took a deep breath in, and walked up the stairs. Aoto raised his right hand and knocked on the giant oak cellar door that was between him and his destiny.
"knock"
"knock"
"knock"
Aoto: um…hello….I…..I
A large woman with pointy elvish ears opened the door. She was covered head to toe in lavish clothing, having an extruding chest, and she called herself "the Mistress of this establishment."
Mistress: Can I help you, young boy?
What, or should I say who, would you like, boy?
Aoto, incredibly flustered, was unable to spit words, let alone a sentence. His face was beet-red and his heart racing at a mile a minute. This was the first time he had ever done anything like this. Up until this point, Aoto's views towards women had been pure, not even imagining them in the light that he was witnessing before his very eyes. Due to that, all he was able to do at the moment was point towards the window that she was working in.
His fingers trembling, his face red, his heart beating out of his chest, Aoto managed to mutter out a single word. Please.
Mistress: HA HA HA HA HA HER?!
Boy, you don't look like you've ever done something like this before, have you?
Aoto now had his head facing towards the ground out of sheer embarrassment, and was unaware that the Mistress was speaking to him since he couldn't see her lips.
Mistress: Boy, how much money do you have exactly, because my girls don't come cheap they come at a cost and frankly I don't think you can afford it.
Aoto, still having his head towards the ground, was oblivious to the Mistress' speech, which did not bode well on his part, because to the Mistress, she was being ignored by some common boy.
Mistress: Hey, boy, are you even listening to me...
BOY….
The Mistress had had enough of Aoto's disrespectful behavior towards her and her establishment.
Now it may not have been Aoto's fault since he is deaf and was unable to hear the Mistress' words but never the less she was unaware of that fact, and it just so happened that the moment that Aoto finally was ready to lift his head back up was the exact moment the Mistress kicked him straight in the gut.
This caused Aoto to lose balance and end up rolling back down the stairs on which he had climbed up, while Aoto was falling down, his shirt was ripped in the back by a sharp edge on the stairs, exposing his markings.
Aoto: OWWWWW WHAT THE F**K, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT.
Mistress: NEVER COME BACK HERE, BOY, BOY. MATTER OF FACT, DON'T WALK THROUGH THIS DISTRICT AGAIN.
Aoto: WHAT??
In complete shock, Aoto lay face down on the ground for a moment, he could feel the air coming from the ventilation system rooted above him hitting his back like when he was a child playing down in the sand at the beach. During this time on the ground, Aoto's back was fully expose,showing the marking leading up to his ears, before he snapped himself out of the mind fog that he was in the Mistress had noticed Aoto's markings.
Unbeknownst to Aoto, the Mistress had noticed Aoto's markings and was put into a state of utter fear. She immediately apologized from the top of the stairs by bowing her head and leaving money beside Aoto's body before closing the door as well as the blinds in a hurry.
Aoto continued to lie on the ground for some time, eventually, Aoto picked himself up and noticed the money beside him and wondered where it came from. You see, Aoto had been knocked unconscious and had been lying on the ground not from sheer will but from just not being there. Aoto wondered why no one bothered to rob or even kidnap him since Garius had warned him about how kidnapping slaves had become more common within the city. But before he had time to think about that, he realized that his back was fully exposed, showing off the marking, leading him to try and cover it with his hands to no avail.
Once Aoto was able to get a hold of himself, the sun had already set, and the city seemed to have been brought to life, having people crowding the streets. Aoto couldn't hear what was going on but was able to sense the vibrations that each person around him made. He began to walk away from the brothel and took one last glance at the window, where noticed the girl that caused him all of this trouble had been watching the interaction and then knocked out the whole time and was now starring him down, almost mimicking exactly how he did with Garius earlier in the day.
Aoto nervously waved his hand in a goodbye signal towards the girl.
Making sure to look back discreetly while he was walking away, to see if she waved back.
She did.
Aoto: YES I got a wave back, I mean the whole being kicked down a flight of stairs and having my shirt get ripped wasn't fun, but I got a Goddess, to notice m,e I'd say that was a successful mission.
Now all that's left is to figure out how I can get in good regards with the Mistress again because I really wanna go see her again. I wanna go see…
Wait, I didn't even get her name.
DAMMITTTT
How dumb am I? Maybe Garius was right. WAIT.
GARIUS, sh*t he must be wondering where I went, I had planned to be back to the pub before sundown but I ran into a little trouble. I wish I still had my phone. Why does this world need to be so primitive? It's okay, I'll just walk back to the pub, he's probably there waiting for me. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
As a child, it just so happened that Aoto would be late to school every day, not due to his hearing but his sense of direction. Aoto would somehow manage to get lost on his way to school every day, even though it was the same path he had taken his whole life. This unfortunate tendency happened to carry over to his late teen years. In return, Aoto was just an awful navigator, which didn't exactly bode well for him, because he was lost.
Aoto: Was it left? Or maybe it was right?
Damn how did I let this happen, think Aoto what can you do if your lost and you don't know your way back. Look for a landmark or something memorable.
The roof and wait for the guide points.
I know that Garius told me not to go towards the town square without him, but I can't think of any other place that I could go to; it's not like there's a giant hole in the ceiling directly above the pub. Plus, Garius is a smart guy; he'll figure out that I got lost and went to the town square, and he'll probably get mad and yell at me. That won't be fun, but what choice do I have?
At night the ceiling in Nycon glimmered due to sentiment in the rock that caused the moons light to reflect off of them and down onto the city; it was something that Aoto had only seen in fairy tales.
Aoto: you know maybe this world won't be so bad after all, hopefully, I can get my hearing back and from their I think I could get used to this new life just as long as I don't get kicked in the gut again as well as a new found passion for the Goddess.
With a course look on his face, Aoto kept walking straight down Ribrus in hopes of making his way to the center of Nycon and finding Garius.