The City of Nexus

Chapter 1 || Strange Greetings

Sounds of thick water hit the cobblestone streets as a distant splash echos between the heavily condensed buildings of the higher district. Crowds of people scurry about to get to the dry indoors, while some remain outside with the pursuit to continue working. A young adult's wings stretch out slightly in an uncomfortable way, wishing to get the damp feeling of rain off his owl-shaped wings. His face makes a grotesque expression when thinking about how his clothes will stick to his skin later. It does not take much thought beyond that before he starts searching for a store that sells umbrellas.

The young man's soft pink eyes gaze around at the tall buildings that line the streets, his eyes eventually landing on a general store that just so happens to sell umbrellas. He moves forward in that direction, lurking to the sides to avoid the numerous people that still seem to be out and about despite the rain. As he makes it indoors he rings out his burgundy colored vest and white button up shirt, not wanting to deal with being soaked anymore. A bell rings overhead, which makes a shopkeep lift their head from behind a counter with purpose and captivation. Their voice chimes in lower decibels as their smile creeps awkwardly across their face. "Hello there, what might I do for you this evening?"

"I'm looking for an umbrella." The young man answers.

"Well, what type of umbrella? We have many brands, variations, and sizes."

"A regular one is fine."

"If you say so, might I have your name though to put on the receipt? This is for precaution due to the recent spike in thievery in the area."

"...Zet Yokai."

"Alright Zet, that will be 3 copper bolts for a regular umbrella."

Zet places 3 copper coins in the shopkeeper's hand and goes to an umbrella rack before grabbing a plain old umbrella. He is not particularly looking for anything fancy, after all, once this rain has passed he probably won't have another chance to use it until a few months from now. As he nods to the shopkeeper he walks outside and opens the umbrella, his pointed ears perking up as they hear the pattering sounds of rain against the umbrella's material. His burgundy leather dress shoes step into a puddle, and just as quickly as the water creeps away and back inward, he lifts his foot and continues walking. Zet's eyes trail the streets, but soon his body shivers in a sense of uncomfortability, with a feeling that someone is watching him.

At first, he does not see anything out of the ordinary, but upon closer examination of his surroundings a silhouette sticks out through the rain. Out of curiosity, he lurks closer to get a look, seeing a warforged man stand there silently before making his way down the cobblestone street. The man's top hat makes a similar sound to Zet's umbrella, and he does not even seem to mind the fact that Zet is slowly following behind him. As his footsteps continue to pat down on the roads Zet eventually finds himself on the outskirts of town with the strange man. The two of them make it clear that they both know one another's presence, and eventually come just outside the lower districts after walking for a while. Zet stares out in the direction of the wasteland, looking out to the warforged man before he suddenly disappears out of thin air. As though the man were a mere figment of his imagination.

Street lights shine a brilliant yellowish-orange as the candles inside the lamp posts still somehow manage to stay lit despite the heavy downfall from the dark gray sky. Zet comes to a halt, now being completely still as he just looks out into the flooding wastelands beyond the city. That man from before, he questions how he could have possibly disappeared like that without a trace. It nearly raises some level of concern, but he knows that there is nothing that can harm him even despite the suspicion of the situation. With the pounding he hears from his umbrella, a metal-like object drops from one of the many machines just along the brick walls keeping the city in. A spherical shape nonetheless, rolling along the cobblestone street and eventually spinning in a circle and stopping in its place. His soft pink eyes slowly drift to the side along with his head, looking away from the wastelands and down to this small piece of machinery. The more his eyes wander from this piece of metal to the rest of his surroundings, he looks up to three huge machines torn and broken to pieces. His primary thoughts are how such machines could have broken, especially with so many talented artificers in the area, including himself. He walks closer, examining it further before seeing glints of bright golden eyes within the shadows.