Beyond the haven

Golden armour.

Fort, sector 4.

409 AF.

The buildings here were generally short, but still very much identical. They weren't all houses though. Some of them were machines Huge, house sized power plants.

The light was much dimmer here for some reason. The noise of people going about their day was non-existent. Instead, the only noise that could be heard was the constant hum of the plants.

There was this strange sight that could be seen in the middle of the road. A man sitting on a horse, and posing.

Animals weren't particularly prominent in the Fort. But for some reason there was a not-really all that handsome man sitting on a white horse. The crazy thing was; there were no other people on the road.

He had white hair, though he was young—looking like he's in his early twenties. The man had an expensive apparel on; a white suit with a golden tie, and a white hat on his head. So he wasn't poor. In the Fort, wealth and power go hand in hand. If he could afford extravagant clothes, he had to be important.

But the young man had a certain presence around him. It was as though the air itself was suddenly lighter, and the ground became softer for some reason. Was it some sort of esper ability?

Tara stared at him a bit longer.

"Crushing on me?" The young man said, with a narcissistic grin.

"No. I just want to go to the exit, can you show me?"

"Oh, but you must know that I'm handsome."

Tara frowned. She turned her head away from him staring at a nearby tree.

"Oi. Oi. Girl. Listen to me!"

Tara stared walking away, her feet shuffling forward faster than usual.

The young man jumped out of the horse, and the girl broke into a run.

"You really want to get away from me that much?"

She silently nodded, still running.

"The exit is not that way!"

Tara stopped. She turned 180° slowly, until she was facing the young man's direction.

"Where is it?"

"Straight to the point, huh? It's this way." He pointed to his left.

Tara took a deep breath, closed her eyes, got into stance and then opened her eyes. Then she took off, sprinting at full speed towards the direction he had shown her. She moved so quickly that she appeared like a blur to any onlookers for just that one moment.

Because by the next moment she stopped abruptly.

She had ran head first into a wall.

Tara laid on the ground with her face down, clutching her head. She stayed there for a while.

"Umm. Are you okay?"

"Fuck you." She turned to look at him. She didn't have a scratch on her, but her eyes told him that she was pissed.

"What does that mean?"

"It's an expression used in the olden days. It means I really really really don't like you."

The man nodded.

"Good to know. My name is Ivan by the way. Ivan Damocles. I know, really unpopular surname. But there's a reason for..."

Tara raised her middle finger.

Ivan raised an eyebrow.

"This is the symbol that represents the phrase I just told you."

"Yeah, I have a feeling you don't mean that. Now, I was talking about my name..."

"Please, just shut up already!"

"You're rude."

"It's what I do. Now, take me to the exit."

Ivan shook his head.

"It's impolite to just command people. You should ask nicely."

"Stop treating me like a kid."

"But you look so cute."

Tara stared back with a blank expression.

"Fine. At least tell me why you want to go there."

"I'm an adventurer. I want to leave the Fort." Tara brought out a small token – the same one the lady from the Wyrm Guild gave to her. She showed it to Ivan.

The handsome man was visibly shocked.

"It's a real one. How the heck did they let you become an adventurer?"

Tara stared at him. Though her expression was blank, Ivan could've sworn he saw her eyes turn red for a moment.

"Umm.. sorry. Of course you're an adventurer. You still haven't told me why you want to go there though."

Tara stared at him for another moment, then sighed.

"I want to meet someone outside the Fort. It's my sister. She's waiting for me."

"Okay. I won't pry any deeper. I volunteer to escort you to your sister and make sure you arrive there safely."

"You don't have to."

"I insist."

"I don't want you to."

"I insist. I won't take you there if I'm not escorting you."

"I'm not paying you anything." She glared at him with a suspicious expression.

"I'm not in need of coin."

Her expression only got more wary. She almost looked afraid of him.

But she still nodded her head and took his outstretched hand. Ivan pulled her up. Afterwards, she forcefully dragged her hand away from his.

"This way."

He climbed on to the horse and gestured for her to get on. Tara didn't make a fuss of it. She sat down behind Ivan and gripped on to his waist like her life depended on it.

The two of them rode along the road, taking turns when it was necessary. Strangely, Ivan somehow managed to keep silent throughout the entire ride.

Tara could look around and enjoy the scenery while he rode. There were a lot more trees in sector four than in sector one, but the buildings were fewer and more spaced out.

Soon, the two of them came down from the horse. Before them, barely a mile away, was a huge metal gate, and the massive walls of the Fort.

"Here we are. Now, watch my awesomeness."

Tara sighed, for the umpteenth time.

Suddenly, Ivan produced a small round shield from inside his suit. It appeared to be made of gold.

"How.... What is that?"

"I know. It's magnificent. But, that's not all." Ivan used a finger to search through the surface of the shield until he found a very small button, which he pressed. The moment he did, the shield suddenly split apart into so many different directions. These smaller pieces suspended themselves in mid air somehow, and started fitting together, forming some kind of structure. In about half a minute, the transformation was complete.

It was a massive golden armour, just as tall as Ivan, standing on the floor right in front of him.

"This is the legendary golden armour."

"How original. The Legendary silver armour of Stalwart still exists, you know."

"You and I know there's a big difference between silver and gold."

"One is shiny and the other is... more shiny."

Ivan took his time climbing into the cumbersome armour. When he was done, he looked a bit taller all of a sudden.

"Alright, girlie. Never fear. This brave knight shall protect you on your..." His voice was different inside the armour. It sounded as though he was actually manly, and heroic.

"Shut up."

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