The world dimmed for a fleeting moment as the carriage rumbled into the tunnel of the main gate, while the sounds of the outside world were muffled by the thick stone walls that had stood for millennia.
"Behold," Dove spoke with a proud grin, "…Shinkotsu."
Then, light exploded at the end of the tunnel.
As the carriage burst out from the shadows and into the city proper, the muffled silence was instantly shattered by a wall of noise so vibrant it felt like a physical blow.
Nico's eyes widened with his jaw practically unhinging as he pressed his face against the glass, mirroring Nom-Nom beside him.
"Holy…"
If the line outside the gate was a painting of diversity, Shinkotsu was a living, breathing, chaotic masterpiece of civilization.
They had emerged into a massive, sprawling plaza that served as the beating heart of Shinkotsu's entrance.
The ground was paved with worn cobblestones that clattered under the horses' hooves and the wheels of countless wagons.
In the center of the square, a grand stone fountain sprayed crystal-clear water high into the air, with the mist catching the sunlight and creating miniature rainbows over the heads of the travelers stopping to refill their waterskins.
Stalls with striped canvas awnings lined the square's perimeter, selling everything from roasted meats on sticks to glittering and dubious-looking trinkets.
The air itself was thick with the scent of charcoal smoke, exotic spices, and thousands of travelers.
"You were right…" Peko pinched the bridge of her nose. "The smells are overwhelming."
But Nico's eyes remained glued to the sturdy buildings made of grey stone lined with intricate designs that screamed Dwarven craftsmanship, sitting right next to elegant, multi-story structures featuring timber framing and red-tiled roofs that looked distinctly human.
And right beside them were balconies melded into still-lush trees, with flowering vines cascading down towards the street below, which Nico instantly recognized as Elven architecture.
But as the carriage rolled slowly around the central fountain, Nico realized that the bubble of silence around them never really disappeared.
Despite the chaotic noise of the market, a strange pocket of quiet followed their vehicle.
Nico glanced beside him and found Nom-Nom was leaning forward again, her curiosity getting the better of her despite his earlier warning.
[Can't exactly blame her… I was doing the same thing…] Nico sighed.
She didn't need her massive draconic wings or imposing horns curling from her forehead, or a thick tail taking up space on the carriage floor.
It was her eyes.
Those shimmering, violet reptilian slits that seemed to glow with an internal light.
And more than that, it was her presence. Even sitting still and actively reigning in her draconic aura, she still radiated the presence of an absolute apex predator that prickled at the instincts of everyone nearby.
To an untrained eye at a distance, she might look like an unusually tall, strikingly beautiful woman.
But close to her vicinity, the illusion shattered.
Outside the window, a group of armed beast-folk adventurers froze mid-step with their ears flattening against their heads as their instincts screamed at them that death was watching them.
Merchants stopped shouting their wares as their eyes locked on the violet gaze staring out from the expensive carriage.
"Nom," Nico called out, half-embarrassed, not even a beat ago, he was doing the same thing, "… Dial it back a bit. You're spooking the locals."
"Oh!" Nom-Nom blinked as she gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry."
As the carriage pulled away from the square and onto a main thoroughfare, Nico's gaze was drawn upward, past the bustling streets of the city.
Dominating the northern skyline, dwarfing everything below it, sat a colossal structure that seemed to belong to an entirely different world.
It was a massive fortress built in the distinct style of a Japanese castle, sitting atop a towering plateau of sheer bedrock that rose sharply from the city below.
But as Nico studied it, a frown creased his brow.
"That's weird," he muttered.
Dove, who had been watching the city pass by with a look of quiet familiarity, turned to him. "What is?"
"The castle," Nico jerked his chin upward.
He traced the line of the massive outer walls of the castle, which seemed to run across the entire length of the city rather than encircling it, almost dividing the city in two.
He also noted the imposing gatehouses, the rows of arrow slits, and the subtle shimmer of defensive magical arrays engraved into the wall.
"It's facing south in a defensive manner…?"
"Did you skip your history lessons back at Pantheon?" Dove let out a soft chuckle, "... It's because of your founder, Arlen Hale... Long before this bustling side of Shinkotsu existed, Fugen was a nation of Beast-folk alone. And to the South, beyond where we just entered, lies the Great Southern Forest, home of the most dangerous Magic Beasts and monsters on the continent."
[Arlen Hale, huh… That dude seems to have dipped his paws in just about every cup of tea.]
Nico thought, following Dove's gesture toward the looming fortress.
"Honor and custom demanded that the Strong protect the Weak. Hence, the Royal Family refused to build their home in the safety of the rear. So, they built the Imperial Castle at the very forefront of their territory. Placing Fugen's highest seat of power directly before its biggest threat, acting as the shield for the nation. Behind the Imperial Castle and its walls is Old Shinkotsu."
Nico looked back at the magnificent structure in a new light.
It wasn't just a palace; it was a statement. A fortified vow that said, 'You have to get through us first.'
"Then… what about all this?" Nico gestured to the thriving streets passing outside their window.
"Irony," Dove smiled thinly. "Blindly trusting Arlen Hale and his promises, Fugen opened its borders three thousand years ago. And as per Arlen Hale's wishes, the foreigners were given the land in front of the fortress to settle. It started as a slum…"
She then looked out at the result of millennia of growth as she continued -
"But the foreigners brought trade, new knowledge, and new magic. Even brought the very concept of adventurers. And before we knew it, the slum became the New Shinkotsu you see today, reaching wealth even greater than the Old Shinkotsu behind the walls."
Nico nodded slowly, impressed by the history.
"So, our founder came along, and brought diversity of every race, and their skill and knowledge with them…"
"Indeed, he did it right in front of the Imperial Castle as proof that true progress cannot come from isolationism," Dove replied with a small smile.
With a sly chuckle, Nico asked, "Credit where it's due, yeah?"
"If only he hadn't done what he did..." Dove replied as her gaze began hardening, then she let out a deep sigh, "But yes, he did unify the entire world. For the first time, every race, every belief, mage or cultivator stood as one… Nico, I've read three thousand-year-old records in the Imperial Library stating how surreal it is to share a meal with the demon-folk who had been their greatest enemies since… forever."
A sneer then slowly spread across Dove's face as she continued, "Too bad it was all built on a lie he sold to the world to attain his own selfish goals… dooming the world in the end. You lot from Pantheon must think you're some heroes bravely fighting the horrors your master let loose in the world… But you're not. You're just a clean-up crew he left behind to clean his mess… a crew that knows deep down, it will fail."
The atmosphere in the carriage grew heavier as the silence stretched.
"Okay, a change of topic," Nico quickly said before it became unbearable, or worse, irreversible. "Which do you like better, the Old Shinkotsu up north or the New one?"
Dove blinked at the sudden question before raising an eyebrow, "The South has the coin. But the North…"
As the carriage began to incline, heading towards the massive old gates in the walls, Dove's expression softened.
"…The North has Shinkotsu's Soul."