The Geared Immortal

The Kingdom of Bail

/*unedited*/

The endless space would always call those who are brave enough to enter it. Hundreds and thousands have lost their dreams and lives trying to break through the barrier separating space and the planet.

Within the land of the mages, as their power grows strong many have tried to pry open the crevice of space and wanted to learn from it. But it would seem that something is holding them back, someone who is more powerful than they are.

Then a mage discovered a way, a way to break through the layer that's preventing them to leave the planet. And that was the discovery of the gate spells or portals.

The mages began to engage themselves in researching gates and portals and how to create it. After hundreds of years, a kingdom has finally discovered a way and everyone celebrated in glee. In this celebration, the king decided to show it to the rest of the other kingdoms. This way, they can show how the mages in his kingdom were able to first breakthrough to space itself.

The day of the celebration happened and the kingdom prepares.

The kingdom is just a small kingdom in one corner of the land of the mages. It is called the kingdom of Bail.

The kingdom of Bail, though small, commands a large fleet of warships and other small flying aircraft. These aircraft use rune technology and are driven by mana.

No other kingdom dares to invade this small kingdom because of its military might. However, the kingdom is also not inclined to invade others because they don't want to break the peace they are enjoying.

Today is one of those days where the kingdom would show the world it might in technological advancement and prowess.

"My king, everything is in order." said one of the knights as he reported to the king's chamber inlaid with silver and gold decorations.

"That is good… go! I expect everything to be ready as I go out… this is a glorious day for me and my kingdom. Haha…" the king said with his majestic voice.

Beside him stood a young man with a regal appearance while wearing the royal robe of the prince.

"Xinyi, my son… I want you to see what we have accomplished so far in our pursuit of knowledge." The king said as he stood from his seat.

The king walked with his son while being followed by a group of knights and mages.

They walk outside the palace and into a wide space where in the middle is a large construct surrounded by a 3-feet tall gray obelisk with many runes written on its surface. The mages wearing white laboratory gowns busily check the machines that use mana, the crystals, and the equipment in their surroundings.

"Everything is good!" shouted a mage with a wizened look donning a long silver beard which made him look like a very wise and powerful mage.

Seeing the king and the crown prince coming out, everyone had the look of excitement in their faces. Many people are already sitting on the side which the palace has provided for their viewing pleasure and in the seats, powerful figures can be seen coming from the other kingdoms as their representative.

The king began his speech as he introduces the machine his kingdom has made through the sweat and blood of the mages.

While this is happening, one of the mage technicians approached the wizen old man which is the head of their research group.

"Ma… Master… I… I think there are some… pro… problems… with the equation in this part." The mage said with a bit of hesitation in his tone.

And true to his conjecture, when the old man heard this, his eyes darted towards the man while giving him a burning gaze of annoyance.

"Humph… Do you think this old man would make such mistakes? You are just an assistant, how dare you say that I made a mistake with my calculation! Shut up and move to the side."

"But… but master!"

With a signal from the old man, two mage assistants drag the man while silencing him.

This commotion gathered some attention but didn't interrupt the king's speech. However, this caught the prince's eyes as he decided to investigate.

Prince Xinyi Anderson is a very curious yet cautious man. This is due to his upbringing by his mother the late queen.

He excuses himself from his father's side and directly went towards the mage who was taken inside one of the rooms in the palace.

Inside the room, the mage walks back and forth in worry. He knew that he was right and that his calculation was the correct one. If the head mage continues on this test, then there is a chance that a portal would not open using the construct but instead, something else would happen.

While trying to protest and making noises the mage began to feel hopeless. He was worried about his wife who is among the crowd watching the spectacle.

But then what can he do?

However, the huge door of the room suddenly opens and a handsome young man walks in.

"Huh? Pri… Prince Xinyi! Crown prince Xinyi, this commoner greets you!"

The mage said while taking a knee in paying his respect. But then he quickly got up and decided to try his luck.

"My prince, we have to stop the demonstration! I suspect that something wrong is going to happen." He said with a pleading tone.

"You suspect? Why?" Xinyi asked with a knitted brow.

Although he thought otherwise unless the man could show him some evidence he would not believe him.

"According to my calculations, the runes engraved to the obelisk is not complete. If this exercise would continue, something bad would happen. Please, my prince, please stop the demonstration. My wife… my wife is within the crowd… I… I don't want anything to happen… Please!" the man pleaded with worry and anxiety in his eyes.

Xinyi looks at the man and though for a while. Although the man doesn't have any evidence he is sure that the man is telling the truth. But he could not decide anything from the situation yet. Hence he decided to take the man with him.

"Come follow me…" he said as he went out of the room.

As they walk out, the two suddenly felt the ground trembling as if a huge earthquake is happening.

"No! No! We're too late!" the man cried as he ran as fast as he could.

Xinyi followed and when they came upon the open ground in front of the palace, they saw a huge tear in space at the top in the center of the obelisks formation.

The man didn't bother with anything and just run towards his wife's location. And from his sight, he saw her with fear in her eyes.

Without thinking of other things, the man ran and ran until he was able to grab his wife within his arms. The woman cried in his husband's arms as the two hugged each other trying to comfort one another.

Then it happened…

Xinyi saw a flash of light and almost everyone sitting in those stages prepared for the viewing was suddenly turned into stone. The most powerful mages, knights, and even his father the king of the kingdom were turned into stones in that instant.

The unbelievable sight was engraved in Xinyi's mind even until today.

"Your majesty… your majesty…" a voice interrupted Xinyi's stupor as he was taken to the present.

He is currently looking at the relic of the past in front of him where they decided to preserve the obelisks and the statues of the people involved in the incident.

His eyes are particularly glued to the couple hugging each other with peace in their eyes amid this tragedy.

"Thank you..." he thought.

Every time he passes by this area, he would utter those words in his mind as he was truly grateful to the guy, which was the cause why he was spared at that time. 

"Tell me the report…" he said as he continues walking towards the council building.

"The princess has successfully sent us some images from the other side. It seems that many changes happened. We still need to send some drones… if the information given to us is true then it means that the portal is connected to another continent and not the land of the mages." The man reported.

"That is still acceptable. It has been long since we have been stuck in this place. Although we have grown in numbers yet many have also perished. If we cannot get enough mana, our bodies would also crumble to dust and succumb to death on this planet… I will not let this happen."

"My king, this would not happen…" the man said in a low voice as a smile crept into his face.

He too shared the same sentiment as the king and would not let everything end just like that.

And so, a meeting was convened with the king and the rest of his ministers.. They decided to visit the man responsible for making everything possible, the young man named Shin Jiao.