The Train

Things that had happened recently and the scary job that was now ahead of him filled his mind. It had been more than an hour since the meeting ended, but as he walked down the long hallway toward the exit, their conversation kept playing in his head, a constant drumbeat of duty and danger.

Outside, his brother Geno was waiting. He stood tall and straight, with a steady gaze that showed he was determined. He was a tower of strength against the military complex's sterile architecture. Shen stopped in front of him and met his stare.

Geno was happy that Shen had been chosen for this mission, but he couldn't hide the worry that was behind his eyes. When he finally broke the silence, he spoke steadily and calmly, with each word having a purpose.

President Tetelyus has called off the council meeting. He is getting ready to talk to the people of the country. The problem is under control for now, but it's still too early to trust anyone. We still need to be careful, even though they seem to be helping the King.

Shen listened carefully and took in everything that was said. It was not surprising that Geno was wary; it was a reflection of the knot of uneasiness that was twisting in his own stomach. This mission was like jumping into the dark because there were so many unknowns and risks. He stopped for a moment to let the question sink in before he said.

"Do you think he could have planned all of this?"

Geno's eyes searched Shen's, but his face stayed the same. This time, the silence was deeper, a place where worries and chances could be found. Finally, he let out a long, deep breath.

"I don't know," he said, and the words were very strong. But I hope you'll find the answer when you get there. No matter who tried to kill us, it's clear what we need to do. We need to be ready for anything and do the right thing.

Shen saw a quiet strength in his brother's faith. He made the one promise he knew he could keep, the only one he really believed he could keep.

"I'll do my best."

Geno put a firm but encouraging hand on Shen's shoulder and nodded in agreement. It was a last transfer of power, a way to ground someone. "Use the Republic's transportation system and take the train. It will take you to the parts of the Kingdom that are next to ours, which will make it easier for you to sneak into Regalia. Be careful.

Shen nodded and looked at his brother one last time before walking to the next station. A lot of thoughts came to mind as I walked. Who killed the person? Was the Republic's help just a cover for something bad, or was it really an ally? Could this have come from a different country? The questions kept coming up with no answers as he got closer to his goal.

The train spread out in front of him like a long, shiny snake that was nothing like any train he had ever seen before. It shone in the station's lights. Shen had expected to hear the familiar sound of steel wheels on steel tracks when they traveled. Instead, this amazing piece of engineering seemed to float just above a strange track system, pushed along by an unseen force that kept it in a quiet, frictionless hold.

It was quiet inside. Shen sat down in his seat and stared out the window. A lot of people were waiting in front of the capital's huge pyramid to hear the president speak. He shook his head a little to get his mind off the political drama. He had to focus on something else to calm the rage inside of him.

He closed his eyes as a soft, rising hum signaled the train's departure. The sound quickly turned into a calming drone, a background vibration for his racing mind, which kept weaving itself into a complicated, unbreakable web. As the darkness grew deeper behind his eyelids, he finally fell asleep because he was so tired from the day.

He was by himself. He floated in a never-ending, confusing vacuum where there was no earth or sky and no weight. He was slowly pulled down by a silent, unstoppable force toward a scene that appeared from the shadows: a place of cold, dark, and suffocating fear.

The sight became very clear and scary when his boots hit the ground with a shocking finality. He was in a dark jungle with trees that looked like they were made of bones and were falling apart. Huge rocks and boulders surrounded him like old, sleeping animals. The air was thick and heavy with the harsh, metallic smell of burning metal and the strong smell of smoke.

A loud scream broke the silence. The sound from far away made him shiver all the way down his spine. Shen spun around, his eyes racing through the thick darkness, but he couldn't see anything. This time, the scream was much closer and finally became words.

"You lied to her!"

The accusation made him feel like he was stuck in place, like an explosion in his ears. As his heart beat hard against his ribs, Shen felt like a prisoner in his own chest. The voice repeated its order, this time louder and more poisonous than before. His breath caught in his throat and came out in short, ragged gasps.

"You lied to her!"

The words hit him like a real blow, a mental hammer that would break him to pieces. He tried very hard to find the voice and figure out what it meant, but it was just an audio phantom with no name or origin—just direct, unfiltered condemnation.

His surroundings started to fall apart all of a sudden. The ground under his feet disappeared. The trees, rocks, and sky broke apart and disappeared into the void from which they had come, like dark glass. As the voice echoed in his mind, becoming a deafening chorus, Shen fell into an endless pit and lost control.

"You led her astray!"

The screaming in his head crushed and suffocated him. Breathing turned into a pointless, horrible battle. Everything was dark.

Shen's eyes suddenly opened wide.

He was gasping for air as he pushed air into his hungry lungs, and his chest heaved. His clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and his breathing was so irregular that it made a loud noise in the quiet train car. The voice's ghost was a whisper just out of reach, and the phantom pressure of the emptiness still held on to him.

He blinked quickly, bringing his surroundings into focus as the truth of his situation slowly came back to him. He took the train. He felt safe.

He sat still for a long time, shaken and confused by how violent the nightmare was. He realized then that the train's low hum had stopped. It had stopped.

A station stood out in the dim light outside the window. It was a lonely, deserted outpost surrounded by dark, scary land that seemed to suck up the light.

He was here. The Kingdom's lands were right in front of them, and the road to Regalia was beyond them.