the sight was shocking. he looked and squinted his eyes, but no matter what he did, he couldn't see the other half of the wall. the city was so large that even the supposedly circular wall he was standing on, looked like it was going in a straight line. the wall itself was around 50,000 miles long altogether. there were buildings as far as he could see, weather they were shops or restaurants. but there were two buildings in particular that caught his eyes. a large castle that was about 5,000 miles, surrounded by it's own wall, that was a little taller than the wall surrounding the city. then there was a gigantic building, that although it was directly in the middle of the imperial city, he was still able to see it.

"hey, what are you doing up here?" as levi was lost in his own thoughts, a shout dragged him back to reality. "..." levi silently looked up at the two imperial guards clad in silver armor. "didn't you hear the question?! why the f- didn't i tell you to fix that temper of yours?" the leader cut off the man. "but captain, this brat was ignoring us!" the man said. "people have their own circ.u.mstances. you don't know what this child's are, so you shouldn't jump to conclusions." the captain patiently explained. "i'm sorry boy, but common folk are not allowed on the wall. could it be that you didn't know about this? or did you come from a different place?" the middle aged captain asked nicely. "apologies." levi said, before walking towards the stairs. "see captain?! he just ignored your question! see? see? se-oaf!-shut up you moron!" the captain slapped back of the young guards head.

"what happened to circ.u.mstances...." the young guard mumbled, feeling wronged. "d'you say something?" a glint flashed in the captains eyes. "no-nothing...." the young guard could only swallow his complaints back down. 'i wonder if that boy was even human, but i guess he is since he was able to come into this city at all. the records of those terrifying beasts had a few lines in it, stating that those beasts with higher levels or purer bloodlines could change their form, making them look no different than us. supposedly, one of their key characteristics was that they were all extremely beautiful, regardless of if they were male or female. but killing people just because they were more beautiful than others would be stupid, so the royalty just did nothing in the end. the records go on to say that a mysterious person came to the city and carved ancient runes into the entire wall in one night. it said that the runes would be able to detect those beasts if they ever got close or tried to enter the city. but since none were ever detected, it was just used to guard against sneak attacks in times of war. after millions of years i wouldn't be surprised if the runes weren't able to detect those beasts anymore. but it did give a strange reaction to that boy, i wonder why.' the captain stared into the city while lost in his own thoughts.

"captain?" the young guard asked with a hint of concern. although the old man was was a bit irritating, without him, he would have been dead in a ditch a long time ago. he was abandoned at a young age, because his parents didn't have the money to raise a child. he resorted to stealing to fill his stomach, until he was caught one time. as he thought his arm or even possibly his head was about to be cut off, the imperial guard said. 'oh? you're hungry? come with me.' not a trace of anger could be seen on the guards face, even though his money was almost stolen. spank!"ah?! the h.e.l.l're you doin old man?!?" the young guard erupted with fury after a slap to his face. "you had a stupid look on your face. truthfully, it was your stupid face that hit my hand, so how are you going to compensate me, huh?" the captain said, an arrogant expression on his face. "you....sigh, i just can't win, can i?" the young guard sighed, a smile creeping onto his face.

...

while the the two guards were chatting on the wall, levi was once again walking through the gigantic city, trying to find his way back to the rundown inn. as the sun was on the horizon, many stall owners were packing up, getting ready to go back to their homes for the day. thump! multiple thumping sounds were heard as levi dropped a few silver coins onto an empty part of a stall, picking up a red apple like fruit, it was the size and shape of a baby's hand. he had seen a lot of these weird looking fruits and vegetables and wanted to find out how they tasted. it had a sweet, slight tangy taste, he finished it in no time.

as he was walking down an alley heard a man and a woman talking. "what are we going to do if my father finds out?" the woman shouted softly. "don't worry, i will ask my royal father for your hand in marriage soon." the man said rea.s.suringly. "what if he refuses? what if your siblings find out about this and somehow it got to our fathers ears? they would try to kill us and each other!" the girl said. "don't worry too much. i always talk about you with my royal father, so he knows how much i love you. and although our fathers are on bad terms, i think he would still give my father some face and let us marry." the boy said rea.s.suringly.

"....ok." the girl said after thinking about it. "good, then go back home for the time being. i will contact you in a few days." the boy said as he urged the girl to go. this happened in a matter of seconds, so by the time levi got to the alley they were in, the girl was already gone. step, step. levi walked calmly, not an expression to be seen on his face. "you...how long were you here?" the boys eyes narrowed under his hood, even a faint killing intent could be felt. levi glanced at him for 1-2 seconds as he walked by him silently. as the man looked into levi's eyes, he felt slightly uncomfortable. he wasn't afraid of levi, he was at the peak qi refining levels after all, he wouldn't be afraid of someone weaker than himself. but something about those golden eyes that didn't look like they belonged to a human made him uncomfortable. after levi walked off silently, the boy did the same.