The Art of Trouble

Chapter 33: The Kingdom of Arkimedia

The air was thick with an eerie stillness as Lucy descended into the land that lay before her. Arkimedia, the kingdom she had been traveling towards for days, unfolded like a dream—or perhaps a mirage. It was vast, almost uncomfortably so, with horizons stretching further than her eyes could trace. Towering structures loomed over the landscape, their architecture a blend of ancient elegance and futuristic precision. Buildings and spires shimmered in the golden light of the setting sun, their surfaces reflecting the soft glow as though they were alive with secrets.

The kingdom felt… untouchable. As if it were a suspended world, a fragile bubble untouched by time. The air was fresh and pure, yet there was something heavy in the silence, an unsettling quiet that clung to everything like a second skin. Lucy couldn’t quite place it, but something in the atmosphere here seemed to carry the weight of centuries, of history locked away from the outside world.

Her boots crunched softly against the gravel path as she walked deeper into the city, her gaze drifting from one towering structure to the next. A glimmer of movement caught her eye, and she turned to see a figure approaching. He was tall, his features sharp, but it was his presence that captured her attention. There was an inherent power in the way he moved, an undeniable authority that emanated from him, even in his quiet stride. He wore simple, yet regal attire, his cloak trailing behind him like a dark shadow, and his eyes seemed to search through her with a depth that made her heart skip.

“I’m glad you’ve arrived,” he said, his voice calm, controlled.

Lucy hesitated for a moment, sensing that there was more to this man than he was letting on. He did not introduce himself, nor did he offer any explanation, but she knew without question that he was someone of importance—perhaps even the ruler of this strange place. His presence was that commanding, as though his identity was not something that needed stating. He had the bearing of royalty, but even more, the weight of a legacy that stretched far beyond the present.

“You must be curious about Arkimedia,” he said, his voice steady, and Lucy found herself nodding in response.

“I am,” she replied, her words laced with intrigue. “But more than that, I need to know what happened to your world.’’

The man’s gaze hardened slightly, and for a moment, he did not speak. Instead, he looked past her, as if searching for something far off in the distance. Then, without a word, he turned and began walking toward a nearby structure—an ancient-looking library, its walls adorned with swirling symbols and patterns that seemed to move as the light shifted.

“What you probably meant was our world,” he said, his voice carrying a quiet authority. “There is something I must show you.”

Lucy followed him, a mixture of anticipation and caution rising in her chest. The library’s doors creaked open, revealing an interior that took her breath away. It was unlike any place she had ever seen—vast, but intricately designed, as though it was part observatory, part ancient archive. The walls were lined with shelves that stretched upward into the heavens, each shelf packed with books, scrolls, and strange devices that hummed with a soft energy. The room was bathed in the light of hundreds of crystal orbs, casting a soft, ethereal glow across everything.

But what captured her attention most was the center of the room—a massive, circular platform beneath a dome that seemed to stretch infinitely above them. The ceiling was made of dark glass, through which the stars of the night sky twinkled. Yet, this was no ordinary sky. The stars were not just fixed points of light. They moved like a series of montage. As though the heavens themselves were in motion, telling a story of things long past and yet to come.