Pillar of Yita

”The end of the world, perhaps it looks like this.” The young man muttered, gazing intently from beneath the brim of his wizard’s hat at the arched window outside.

In the distance, the earth-grey tower stands between the murky sky and ground, the wind dragging the sand into straight lines, making the world seem as if in perpetual darkness, where day and night blur into one. Far away, a cloth banner dances wildly with the wind—perhaps it is the flag of Istania, or maybe the prayer flags of the Androma Sanctuary.

This scene prompts a question—does the ancient Sleeper still protect this land? Meanwhile, the Believers pray steadfastly, the chanting echoing beneath the solemn Great Holy Cathedral. Maybe a few days later, this dust storm will pass, the sand raised will return to the sea of dust, and everything will return to its usual path, but do the Deities just watch all of this, even until the moment when the Star of Calamity descends?

Eteliria has endured two disasters before, but what did people truly gain from these calamities, what did the world gain, what does the Star of Calamity truly mean, why does it repeatedly descend upon this world, everything seems like an unknown riddle. Outside the wall, the wind blows fiercely, like a low howl from a distant direction, making people feel minuscule under the mighty force of nature, small enough to be driven to contemplation.

Are the two worlds truly unrelated, and can they really remain unscathed from the impending disaster?

”Let’s go.” Fang Hong pulled the guy back, preventing him from indulging in his fantasies further.

”It’s just a dust storm, even Earth has weather like this.”

”But dust storms on Earth, they don’t reach this magnitude. The central wind speed is nearly two hundred kilometers per hour, and the storm almost blankets the entire northern Silver Sand Sea. Not even the strongest ’black storm’ recorded in Earth’s history was this dramatic,” Luo Yu remarked, staring at the last message left on the community before it was cut off: ”The ether between sky and earth is extraordinarily violent, like waves rising on what used to be a calm sea. Astrologers, in hundreds of years of history, have never recorded such an occurrence.”

”I can even feel the elements in fear; they seem to be fleeing from something.” Luo Yu turned back to look at him, eyes steady in their dark depths: ”I don’t know if it’s just my illusion, Captain. But theoretically, all Elementalists can sense the state of the elements, and they indeed are... trembling.”

”I don’t know how to describe this state, but ’trembling’ is the only adjective I could think of, giving me the sense as if a monumental change is happening between heaven and earth.”

Fang Hong felt a bit surprised; he knew Luo Yu was different from Xiangzi, rarely speaking unnecessarily. And observing his expression, Luo Yu seemed to be... uneasy?

”What are you worried about?” he couldn’t help asking.

It’s just a dust storm; in Istania’s history, such dust storms have been recorded more than once. The intensity of Earth’s dust storms may not be as exaggerated, but the two are fundamentally different worlds.

In Eteliria, the natural climate is also influenced by Ether Magic Power. The heat and dryness in the Colin western regions are caused by the prevailing westerly winds blowing from the Hanruina Sea, bringing warm sea breezes rich in fire and gas elements, significantly altering the weather. This place has the most Fire System Sorcerers and Elementalists in the entire Colin Ishurian region, not by coincidence.

Luo Yu shook his head, saying this worry is more like an uneasy intuition, which might not be correct, just like how people could become paranoid instantly because of a sudden change in their environment during the deep of night.

Hearing this, Fang Hong did feel a tinge of doubt, but being the Captain, he needed to prioritize.

”Alright, let’s resolve the current issues first,” he said, ”Otherwise, regardless of what this dust storm might do, it would be irrelevant to us.”

Luo Yu nodded.

A thin layer of dirt laid by the dust storm on the narrow hallway created a soundproofing effect, their steps silent as cats on this dim, narrow corridor.

Outside, the swirling dust storm seemed to walk them through a corridor of murky time.

This place was near the center of the Inner City, connected by a passage to the nearby city wall, leading towards a tower close to the Inner City. Earlier, it was one of the few relatively safe routes Fang Hong observed leading into the Inner City. Though he hadn’t chosen to proceed further at the time, he was sure there would be guards there.

Apart from the violent wind outside, it was eerily quiet here, with no expected Sentinels, and no patrolling Guards; the defenses much weaker than anticipated.

Fang Hong instinctively felt that the guarding forces here might have been redeployed.

He considered this possibility, indicating that he might have achieved part of his anticipated goal.

After a while, a rustling sound came from ahead; it was a junction in the city wall, outside was a horse path exposed to the dust storm, the entrance about a meter off the ground. Fang Hong saw a shadow climbing up with some difficulty, lifting their head to spot them, showing a look of pleasant surprise:

”Boss, you made it?”