Ascenders Rift

Two days quickly passed, as Evan and the others were now nearing the EarlingStar train station, from within the train their group sat within separate resting compartments staring towards the various buildings in the distance. Occasionally, one would see a few areas that were filled with rising smoke, as distant flying drones and police cars were hovering about those areas, giving one a slight feeling of unrest. Currently, Evan, Rick, and Fatty Joe were seated within the same compartment, gazing at the scene through a full glass window with various expressions on their faces.

"So, it turns out that the world is slowly turning into hell as you've said, Evan. No wonder when I called father, he told me to stay put within the academy and avoid going out much," Joe said as he stared outside with a look of worry, his eyes flashing as he recalled the recent call made with his father.

Evan sighed as he replied, "This is only the beginning Fatty, we'll each have to work hard from now on to at least prevent our world from falling."

Joe, hearing this gripped his fists tightly as he didn't reply but decided in his mind, 'I won't let that happen, never!'

Evan noted Joe's silence; he saw the look in his eyes and nodded, not bothering to disturb him. He then turned and noticed that Rick was a bit absent-minded, he pondered, 'I wonder, could he be worried about the King?'

As Evan though this, he spoke, "Rick."

Rick, hearing Evan glanced towards him with a look of annoyance as he spoke, "What?"

Evan shook his head and questioned, "You went to see your father, right? It's about time you told me what's happening on his side of the fence, how are things in his domain?"

As he heard Evan's words, Rick knew that he was referring to the palace and its circumstances. He looked at Evan for a moment, before shifting his eyes towards the scenery outside as he spoke, "Things aren't so good, during the last visit he warned me of something that I believe will eventually happen, saying that there are eyes everywhere. No one at that place can prevent what's going to transpire, so I must protect myself and bide my time."

Joe was looking outside, narrowed his eyes as he turned and glanced at Rick with confusion, but he didn't say anything and only listened silently.

Evan, on the other hand, frowned as he spoke, "Eyes everywhere? Hmm, could he mean RADA?"

Rick shook his head and replied, "I wasn't certain, you see a few months back, we had received visitors with wild claims, those were people that I believe were naturally related with RADA. However, based on my father's words, something was quite different about his warning; he wasn't even able to tell me of it directly."

Evan knitted his brows as he pondered, 'How odd? It is most certainly related to RADA; there is no other power out there that can be a potential threat to the kingdom, after all. But, if anything, those who could directly harm the king's life would be related to the royal palace itself. The royal palace... wait, that's right!'

As Evan thought here, his eyes flashed as if he vaguely recalled someone, he looked at Rick and spoke, "Rick, what of your brother? What is he up to these days? Is he in the faction that is supportive of those visitors from RADA?"

When Rick heard this, his eyes showed a complex look as he replied, "With his current standing, yes, he was one of the first to welcome them. He didn't even hesitate, and at one point, I even thought that he was the one who had convinced my father to support them. But, after speaking with father, I can't say for certain that my brother was foolish enough to be swayed by them either, but this, in the end, is only but my suspicions. At the end of the day, when it comes to my brother, I truly don't know much about him..."

As Evan heard this, he felt strange, he thought for a moment, 'Interesting, he doesn't even know much about the Crown Prince, I suppose it's a given since it's a royal family, and in such circumstances, those related by blood find it even harder to get along. Still, why can't I recall much about that fellow? What was his name to begin with?'

When Evan said this, he turned to Rick and spoke again, "Rick, what's his name? That brother of yours, I can't seem to recall hearing it."

Rick, hearing this showed Evan a puzzled look as he spoke, "Huh? How can you not know something that is common knowledge? Did you live under a rock or something?"

Evan hearing this felt a bit embarrassed, he knew his past life circumstances, back then, where did he have the interest to focus on anything?

At this time, Joe who was listening to them, finally got annoyed and spoke out, "What are you guys discussing? What brother of Rick is so well known?"

Rick, hearing this started to sweat, he thought to himself, 'Shit! I momentarily forgot he was here! That darn Evan, if he didn't ask such a stupid question, I wouldn't have made such an outburst.'

Evan looked at Rick's expression with a smirk; he quickly spoke, "Joe, it's nothing, for now, just rest easy, I promise that once Rick is ready, he'll tell you and every one his story."

Rick showed Evan a look of gratitude for the first time, but Joe merely snorted at this, he got up and headed towards the door while speaking, "Fine, whatever, since he doesn't want to share see if I care. I'm going to spend time with 'my' lovely little Emmy."

Joe had especially dragged out 'my' when he referred to Emilia before leaving the room with a devious smirk. Though he didn't seem up to speed at times, one mustn't forget that Joe is a businessman's son, and he is very keen and adept when it comes to specific affairs.

While he might not have figured things out clearly, he still picked up bits of clues, and thus, he used the only 'bait' he had to dangle at a starving tiger to rile him up.

Rick's face turned pale at those words; he bit his lips and glared at Joe's back that vanished after he closed the door. He knew that he was baited, and if he wanted to have any progression with his dearest, he would need to cough up the necessary info.

"Hahaha, Joe... he's even more sly than I thought, Rick, you're going to have to speak soon," Evan said with a hearty laugh.

"Che! Well fine, it's not like I was planning on hiding it for long anyway," Rick said with a slightly painful expression, but deep down he thought, 'Darn, I didn't want her to know my status, I wanted to chase her without being found out as a prince. Now, it looks like this might have to take a different approach. I suppose it's best to go at this head-on as one's true self...'

After clearing his thoughts, Rick then looked at Evan and spoke, "You wanted to know the name of my brother, right? Then here it is..."

Evan's eyes grew sharp as he keenly awaited Rick's next words, yet, the moment Rick opened his mouth to speak, the train made an announcement.

Ting-Dong!

"All passengers, please remain seated as the train is now arriving at Terminal E of the EarlingStar station!" A lively woman's voice said.

As Evan and Rick heard this, they looked out the window, noticing that the train was already within the station and was slowly moving towards a designated sector. Soon, the train came to a stop, followed by another announcement, Rick and Evan looked at each other before gathering their things and leaving.

As they exited the compartment, Rick's voice sounded by Evan's side, "His name is Elumar, Elumar Erickson..."

'Elumar...? Such a name, I can't even associate with anything in my previous life. After the kingdom had fallen, no trace of this name remains in my memory. He must have died quite early, or maybe, I just didn't pay attention to the palace's circumstances,' Evan thought to himself.

Evan wanted to ponder more, but he soon saw Layla, Joe, Emilia, and Breya, headed towards them, he cleared his mind while looking ahead.

"Haha, everyone, let's first get something to eat, as this evening dinner will be on me!" Joe said with a loud laugh.

Layla and Breya smiled and nodded as Emilia's eyes beamed with happiness as she cheered, "Yeah, I was feeling famished, brother."

Rick saw Emilia's look and could not help but speak out, "Ahem, and if anyone else is feeling for dessert, I don't mind taking care of it."

Everyone showed a surprising look as they turned to stare at Rick, being a prince Rick wasn't fearful of attention, but Emilia's beaming expression made his face turned slightly red he lowered his head slightly.

Evan seeing this smirked before helping, "Well, since we're getting treated, it's best not to waste time, let's go."

"Yay!" The crowd of youths cheered as they left the station, vanishing in a sparse crowd that went about various locations.

However, while Evan and the others were about to celebrate their triumphant return from a perilous journey, there was another who was about to have a celebration of his own.