Fallen Sky

[Gift: Breath of Life]

[Description: Accelerate cell growth and division]

[Enhancement: Breath of Life is applied to self]

Emile stared blankly into the air as his soul responded to him. He could hear a soft voice in his head go over the attributes, but he also had a vivid picture of them in his head.

"Breath of Life…" Emile mumbled to himself a moment later.

"Oh by the way, don't tell people your gift unless you really trust them." Warden May advised.

Afterwards the trio continued talking for a bit. The stretch of buildings they were in was a collections camp used by the military. The spider species was ordered by their queen using different pheromones and after years of study the kingdom was able to recreate it. The lighthouse on the surface released the pheromone that called the spiders and once they were sent to their appropriate bases the pheromone was released and they fought soldiers.

There were three facilities like this in the Fallen Sky Kingdom and they each collected a separate creature that was used for training. Afterwards Warden May suggested that Emile and Emma go to the Tower in the center of the kingdom. The tower was the primary station for the military within this kingdom.

Stepping outside of the great hall Emile and Emma found themselves on top of a large hill overlooking the kingdom. The kingdom was incredibly vast and sat inside a spectacular cavern. The thousands of buildings in the kingdom were the same ivory stone as the lighthouse, the dome of rock around the kingdom was the same stone as well.

Looking up, Emile couldn't believe that he saw a light blue sky. Then his eyes noticed the strange gaps in color. Reflected in the blue sky was the white kingdom.

Awestruck turned to realization. The sky was a huge body of water. The kingdom existed on the ceiling looking down.

Emile and Emma walked through the marble streets past men and women of various ages. Carriages were being pulled by enormous four-legged beasts with four, massive tusks hanging below their jaws.

The people of the kingdom could be described as being stern. Nobody had stopped and waved to the two youths, nobody nodded their heads or gave a polite smile. Every person they saw appeared to be in a rush.

Emile and Emma arrived at the tower and nervously walked in. They could not speak or understand the spoken language, so Warden May wrote them a letter of introduction.

Handing the letter to the young man at the front desk, Emile waited while he read it. He finished the letter, his eyes scanned Emile and Emma from top to bottom and a frown appeared on his face. Standing up, he took the letter and walked to the back.

Twenty minutes later a man walked in. His white hair contrasted greatly with his dark skin tone. He wore a dark green uniform with gold medallions across his chest. Signaling to the two youths, he brought them back to a separate room with nothing more than a desk and a few chairs.

The three of them sat around the table in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Emile and Emma were too nervous to speak and even if they wanted to, what could they say? After such a long wait, another man entered the room and his voice was immediately transmitted to the three people sitting before him.

The words Emile and Emma heard in their heads were unfamiliar, but they both instinctively understood the meaning.

"Well I hope that solves our unexpected issue." He cheerfully said as he pulled a chair around and sat leisurely, a polite smile glued to his face.

"I understand you two come from the surface and are looking for a place to settle," the man dressed in uniform communicated, "we can offer you a place to stay within the protection of this kingdom and we can also feed you–assuming you are willing to become citizens of our kingdom and therefore will abide by our laws."

"Yes, that won't be a problem." Emile immediately responded.

A new person, a woman this time, entered the room with two pieces of parchment and handed them to the man. He placed a page in front of both Emile and Emma and pointed to the first line.

"This is your name, below is your sex, then age…" he continued to read down the list of things Emile and Emma needed to answer. Finally, the last line of the page was the rank of one's soul core.

"What are the names for the ranks?" Emile asked.

The man rolled his eyes. "First you have Chosen, this term refers to all people with soul cores and is the general term for them while also being the weakest stage. Next is Enlightened; this stage is marked by your gifts expansion oftentimes allowing it to apply to more or in grander ways and a secondary effect will be granted. Third is Perfected and is marked by a shift in your gifts nature, as if your gift itself evolves into something greater. Then you become a Royal. Your blood itself transcends to a higher being and your body physically adapts to your gift. Finally, you become a King, your body and gift merge and you become an embodiment of what your gift represents. Now which are you?"

Emile communicated that he was a chosen and that Emma was too before she could answer herself. Warden May was surprised that Emma had not been a Chosen, implying everyone in the kingdom, or at least the vast majority, were Chosen. And he knew they could unlock her gift as soon as they settled somewhere.

The man collected the sheets of parchment and handed them back to the woman. He then stood up and gave his parting words.

"As per the Law of Citizens, you two are to report to Second base tomorrow morning where you will undergo training to become a Fallen Knight. Here is a map to the base and your new home. You may refer to me as Commander Niles." And with that Niles turned and walked away.