Thames was astounded by the sight of Renny, the wanted man who previously escaped Ode and Lin.
He had allegedly been evading the sight of the Tower Assocation as well as national authorities, but here he was on a busy commercial street, weaving in and out of the crowds.
After collecting himself, Thames continued to follow Renny.
His heart gradually started to beat faster with each step, trailing him, and he slowly slipped the ring given by Ode to the tip of his finger, ready to drop it at a moment's notice.
What do I do...? Do I just hope Ode gets here fast enough?
Overwhelmed in his thoughts, he doesn't notice that Renny had stopped until he was facing him directly.
With his blueish cracked lips opened, a single word escaped him:
"Shi-"
"[Freeze.]"
Just as Thames went to release the ring, the air around him stiffened up, preventing any movement, even his words failed.
A smirk spread across Renny's face as he stepped closer to him, his steps sounding like a giant in this empty street.
"Poor, poor dog of Ode. Why are you so obvious when you trail me?"
Thames attempted to squirm free of the spells grasp, but it was useless.
His pupils began to shake wildly as Renny raised his left hand to Thames' forehead.
"[Teleport.]'
The simple phrase flowed from his lips, causing the two of them to vanish from the street, reappearing in what appeared to be a basement.
Despite still being frozen, Thames could feel the dampness of the small room. The walls were laid with clay bricks, and the floor was made of smooth stone.
Stepping away from him, Renny looked back towards Thames, but his eyes were focused on something just past him.
"[Annul.]"
The heavy word hung in the air as the artifact around Thames' finger crumbled to dust, and as the dust fell to the floor, he felt something hard against the back of his head.
Wha?!?
And just like that, his consciousness fading to black.
"AH!"
Thames yelped as he jumped up from where he lied.
Where am I...?
A familiar sight of rolling hills dotted in flowers, windmills, and farms entered his eyes. A warm emotion crept into his heart as he stepped forward slowly, the tall grass brushing against his hands.
With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and thought.
Outside the capital? Why would he send me here...?
Turning around, expecting the sight of the fortress city, but his eyes were only met with continuous hills, dotted perfectly with identical things.
Am I not outside the capital?
He continued to walk towards where he thought the capital was, his mind gradually covering the various possibilities.
Further away? Outside Nira instead? A different country?
Running into a farm, he noticed a small hut fit for a single person.
Someone should be around... I'll ask them.
He brilliantly thought, then began to walk quickly towards the hut. Brushing through the evenly planted wheat, nearly ready for harvest, Thames finally reached the hut.
It was made shoddily from cobblestone, with a single carved out window, and a wooden door. It fit the description for most farm huts he had read about.
But as he knocked on the door, it creaked open slowly, revealing the small inside with hay ground.
Peaking in, he expected to see a bed and maybe a dresser, but all that greeted him was a stool positioned in front of an easel with a canvas.
...A dream-
"Up already?"
The familiar, hostile voice crept into his left ear as his eyes fluttered open, back to the basement he was in.
Oh... It was just a dream...
He lurched forward but was stopped by a rope that fixed him to an uncomfortable wooden chair.
"Careful now, dog of Ode... If you hurt yourself on the floor he might hurt us."
Renny's statement was followed by laughter as he stepped in front of Thames, looking down at him.
Just past Ren, he could see a group of different people wrapped in shadows, concealing their appearances.
"Why were you following me, rookie magician?"
He continued to laugh obnoxiously as Thames remained silent.
"What? Don't be quiet! You're the one who was trailing me!"
His yelling shook the room as he pointed both his index fingers at Thames.
"You're a wanted man..."
He spat out plainly, looking up at Renny.
"Oh yeah... Wanted by who again? The Tower Association? Why am I wanted by them?"
"You're a rogue magician. The leader even! Why wouldn't you be wanted?"
More laughter was let out by Renny.
"Who decided what, rookie? Do you know why we're considered rogue magicians?"
His eyes flickering as he continued, not allowing Thames a moment to respond.
"We..." His arms spread out as he backed further away. "Are simply ushering in a new era of magic...! Do you know how the Towers stay in power?"
Silence filled the room.
"Do you know why faulty churches like Tenis run amok?"
Renny pointed upwards, straight towards the ceiling.
"We live under those 'deities'... And the Tower exists to keep it that way! But we... We will give magic to the people... The world will go back to before the Naissance Era... To before deities!"
Now fully encased in the shadows along with the other people, Renny pointed at Thames.
"Tell Ode to bear witness... Our defiance will echo to heaven."
A whisper could barely be heard as the shadows in the basement shook, vanishing along with Renny and the others.
What???
Thames continued to squirm but heard the sound of destruction quickly approaching from above.
Huh?
Growing closer, appearing to be directly above him, he began to hurriedly scoot away.
CRASH!
Lin, wielding her great hammer, came crashing through the roof, the sunlight beaming down on her grey skin and reflecting off her golden jewelry.
"You alright?" She asked with a smile.
"No." He responded flatly.
"Mm... That'd make sense!"
With that, she quickly walked behind him, cutting the rope.
"What happened?"
Lin asked while grabbing him.
"Renny Syn... I saw him so I started to trail him, but he noticed I guess... And kidnapped me."
The great hammer vanished as she looked down as Thames.
"Ya did fine! Ode was stressin' when he sensed the ring vanish...! Be glad I'm an expert!"
With that, she jumped up through the hole, clearly showing off her physical prowess.
After four jumps, the two appeared atop an observatory overlooking Lino.
Observatories were relatively new but had begun in Lino thanks to the city being home to Pluton's largest church. This observatory was one of four in the capital, but based off where it was Thames could discern that it was the first one made.
It was well-known partly because it was the first observatory, but also because of what it observed solely now.
It observed the brightest star in the sky, the sky that once guided many sailors and travelers.