With their appointment with Lord Janus scheduled tomorrow, Guang and Jin immediately set out to Notitia City. Notitia City, otherwise known as the City of Information, is home to the Twilight Tower, where the Ministry of Intelligence is located.
As it was located nearer to the mountains, Notitia City was bone-chillingly cold, eerily shrouded in thick mist. Jin had wrapped himself up in thick, warm clothing, with gloves and earmuffs to go with it, and had insisted Guang do the same. Resisting the urge to laugh at Jin's puffed up look, Guang had refused to, only because he can heat himself up with his fire powers.
While Guang and Jin wandered in the streets of Notitia City, Guang noticed that, unlike Starlight Metropolis, Notitia City wasn't big, bright and lively. Perhaps because of the mist, the city appeared less populated and darker. There weren't many people out and about, but when Guang spotted some, they were always grouped together like a school of fish; talking in hushed voices and extremely cautious of their surroundings, as if it was them against the world. Police officers were populous, crawling like ants around the city. No matter where Guang looked, there would always be a police officer on duty, overlooking the citizens like a watchful hawk.
As visitors, Guang and Jin attracted many gazes. Whether it was the way they talked, the way they walked or the way they looked, it seemed that every citizen and police officer had picked up that they were not locals and were watching them closely. Their gazes were like lasers, painfully searing themselves into Guang's body. The air was dense, squeezing him from all directions, choking him, like a giant serpent constricting its prey. It was so bad that Guang struggled to breathe.
What surprised Guang was that Jin was fine. In fact, Jin seemed completely unperturbed by the pressure of the environment, which flabbergasted Guang. How could he ignore the laser-like gazes of every single person within the vicinity?
The moment they arrived in their hotel room, Guang moved to lock the doors and draw the curtains. Only then did he collapse onto his bed, letting out a breath of relief.
As Jin wandered around to check the room, he questioned offhandedly, "What's wrong?"
"The city is what's wrong!" Guang groaned. "Did you not feel it? The way everyone was watching us?"
"Yes."
"How are you not creeped out by it?" Guang whined.
"If they don't bother me, I won't bother them."
To be able to say such words with total nonchalance! Guang wished he could have an attitude like Jin's. Try as he might, it would still bother him. In the end, he just wouldn't be true to himself. Guang buried himself under the blanket, where, hopefully, no watchful eyes would reach him.
"I wanna go back."
Cruelly, the blanket was ripped off of him. Blanket in one hand, Jin was scowling like the criminal he was. "You were the one who wanted to meet Lord Janus, so stop whining like a child. If you want to go back now, just cancel the appointment."
"But that'd be rude," Guang pouted.
"Exactly. So own up to your own decisions."
Dramatically turning on his heels, Jin left, leaving Guang to his own devices. Guang fell back onto his bed once more. He wasn't exactly serious when he said he wanted to go back. Sure, the city gave him the heebie-jeebies, but it wasn't enough to quell his determination to try to change the law. Yes, it was crazy, and he probably wouldn't succeed. But in order for things to change, someone needed to get the ball rolling. He had decided the day he visited Sister Rachel and Jason's graves that if Valerie wouldn't be that person, then he would.
The next day, to formally present themselves, Guang and Jin had dressed themselves as neatly as possible. Guang tied his hair up in a ponytail as usual and was wearing his knightly uniform - a white button up with gold trims and a red cape. Jin was wearing a black coat over a white collared shirt, a black tie and grey trousers. Guang was amazed by Jin's choice of colour. Could he ever wear anything other than black, grey and white?
With Jin leading the way, the two of them made their way to Twilight Tower. Guang expected that with such a foreboding name, Twilight Tower would be a tall, looming building that sent shivers down your spine. However, when they arrived at a wide, flat building, with only what seemed to be four floors, Guang was downright confused.
Even when Jin returned with visitor tags from the guard house, Guang was still staring at the building with his mouth agape.
Jin followed Guang's gaze. "What is it?"
"Isn't Twilight Tower supposed to be a tower?"
Incredulously, Jin raised an eyebrow. "That's what you were- never mind. Well, the answer is no. What you are seeing is Twilight Tower, albeit its four floors. It's part of the building's name, but the actual building itself is no tower."
Like a balloon, Guang deflated. He had been looking forward to seeing an astounding sight. The Ministry of Intelligence, a crucial part of the government, would surely be working in somewhere astounding, right? Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Seeing Guang's disappointment, Jin sighed. Reluctantly, he droned, "It's been rumoured that Twilight Tower got its name as an upside down tower that buries deep into ground. The building that you see now is only the tip of the iceberg - the actual tower is underground."
Despite obviously being led on by a carrot, Guang regained his energy back. "Huh...that's actually pretty cool!"
"It's just a rumour, though," Jin said curtly. "Don't take what I said seriously."
"Yeah, yeah, OK," Guang chirped merrily. "Let's find out if Twilight Tower lives up to their name!"
As expected of the government branch that overlooked information, security was extremely tight. Before entering the building, they got patted down and scanned with a metal detector by security guards. Next, they had their faces scanned by a camera. Only once their identity was recognised as registered visitors were they allowed entry into the building.
Guang took in a deep breath, putting on a serious expression. Here goes nothing. He took a step forwards and the glass doors slid open, taking his breath away with a blast of warm air.
Glamorous. If the sight had to be described in one word, it'd be glamorous. If Guang didn't confidently know this was the Ministry of Intelligence, he might have thought he had mistakenly stepped into a shopping mall. All sorts of cafes and restaurants lined the sides, filling the air with the rich, intoxicating aroma of savoury, mouth-watering delicacies. There were so many people wandering around as well, the entire place echoing with their laughter, gossips and cheering. It was such a contrast to the Notitia City Guang knew that he felt like he had been slapped across the face. He was simultaneously impressed and startled. Was the Ministry of Intelligence actually situated here?
So engrossed he was in taking in his surroundings that Jin had to literally take him by the hand to pull him through the bustling crowd. Unlike the people outside, the people here barely batted an eye at the two of them, engrossed with talking to their company, eating their food or rushing from one place to another. Guang was overwhelmingly relieved that the people here were way more normal.
Not far away, Guang spotted a famous burger chain from the city: Burger Queen. He thought of the pictures Jin had sent him a few months ago of his chicken burger and suddenly, his stomach gave a loud rumble. It was so loud that even Jin could hear it over the cacophony. Despite having Jin's back against him, Guang can imagine Jin sighing in exasperation. Jin quickly pulled Guang aside so that they wouldn't block others before turning to him.
"What do you want to eat?" Straight to the point, Jin already knew the drill. Guang didn't even have to explain himself.
Guang pointed at Burger Queen. "Can we get some burgers? You know, the one you sent me a photo of. I want to try that."
Jin raised an eyebrow. "You remembered that? Hero, that was so long ago."
Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, Guang admitted, "Yeah, I remember almost every photo you sent me. They mean a lot to me. You know. Cause I couldn't get out of the house."
Argh, that was such a sentimental, embarrassing thing to spout. But it was already out of his mouth, so he could only watch with bated breath on what Jin's reaction would be.
Jin, on the other hand, had an unreadable expression on his face. The lights overhead coincidentally shone on his glasses in such a way that Guang couldn't make out his eyes. His lips, however, were restless, as if he was trying to figure out the right words to say.
In the end, Jin asked stiffly, "You just want the chicken burger, right?"
"...did you not hear what I just said-"
Spotting Jin's reddened ears, though, Guang stopped short. Jin was flustered after all; he just didn't say anything, probably because he didn't know how to address sentimental stuff. Hero, his brother was so adorable.
"Yeah, just two chicken burgers will do."
Jin nodded, acting as if nothing happened. "I'll go buy the burgers. You stay here and wait; don't go anywhere, OK?"
Guang saluted. "Yes, sir."
For his playful tease, Guang received a punch to his shoulder. He yelped, much more in surprise than in pain. But seeing Jin's tiny smile, he too lit up.
"Don't take too long!" Guang shouted.
Jin made his way by himself through the crowd, raising an arm to indicate he had heard him. Guang smiled, feeling unusually giddy.
Now that he was alone, Guang looked around, observing everything but nothing in particular. It felt weird, being alone in an unfamiliar place. Surrounded by so many people yet disconnected with every single one of them.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone shouting. Their voice was high-pitched and squeaky, much like a child's.
Curious, Guang tried to find the source of the voice. It was a boy standing in the middle of the crowd, running about, calling out and looking around. He nearly had to double-take, unsure if what he saw was real. What could a child possibly be doing in Twilight Tower? The boy seemed to be looking for something or someone. Was the boy lost?
For a moment, the child got swallowed up by the crowd and disappeared from Guang's view. Concerned, Guang waded his way into the crowd, worried for the safety of the child. The crowd thinned, and the child came into view again.
Guang paused at the sight of the child. With one look, he could tell that the child was not from Alca. He wore a short-sleeved green garment with tailcoats over a high-collared white undershirt, an outfit style that Guang had never seen before. The child's mop of olive green hair bobbed up and down as he bounced around excitedly, offering strangers the ball in his hands. What Guang couldn't figure out were the two long extensions growing out from the back of his head. They were olive green, the same shade as his hair, yet they flowed and fluttered unlike hair. What were they?
Before, the child's voice was mixed into the cacophony of the environment, but now that Guang was closer, he could properly hear what the child was saying.
"Hi, miss! Do you have some time to spare? Mister, you look angry, let's play ball! It'll cheer you up! Miss, can you play with me?"
However, all his invitations fell on deaf ears. Everyone ignored him, some even bumping into him, as if he didn't even exist. The poor little boy struggled to even stay balanced, stumbling here and there as he was pushed around by the crowd. Despite that, the boy remained strong and hopeful, trying to get the people's attention energetically. Guang's heart squeezed in sympathy for the boy.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man ran right over the boy like a chugging train, not even looking back to see who he had bumped into. Panicked and furious, Guang surged forwards, catching the little boy in his arms.
He wanted to scold the man for doing such a thing, but the man was already gone and he had more important things to attend to. He immediately searched for injuries on the boy despite disrupting the flow of the crowd. The people stared, but Guang easily ignored them. In his arms, the startled little boy was shaking like a leaf, but thankfully, he was fine.
"Are you alright?" Guang asked.
The little boy peered up at him through his olive green hair. Warm, slitted golden eyes, like the first rays of sunshine, fixed him with a pure and innocent gaze. What intrigued Guang, though, was that under his eyes, on his cheek, there appeared to be scales, like those of a snake's.