CRYSTALLUM LOST DREAMS | Fantasy Novel |

Chapter 5 - Part 1

The Silver Bullet exited the tunnel and slowed down, the lights inside the carriage dimming in intensity. Cora was already awake and was the first to spot the city of Edel: a forest of glass and steel rising up along the highland. A garden of iron guarded by two massive statues at the exact center of the urban agglomeration, both towering at least twice as high as the most impressive skyscraper.

Elidana turned around with a sleepy expression and her blonde lock fell onto her face. "Have we arrived?" she whispered as she adjusted her hair clip.

"Yes," Cora startled. Elidana's face was barely a hand span away from his, her breath tickling the skin on his neck. Too close, way too close. He widened his eyes, looking for an escape route. The window! He thought. He clung to it like a mollusk to a rock. He was safe from that embarrassing situation, but in the meantime, Elidana had pressed herself against the seat to avoid hitting her head.

"Sorry," he told her, trying not to collapse on her.

"It's okay, but now move," she said.

"Fez, Aran, hurry! Look over here," Cora finally said. Caught off guard, Fez slapped Aran with an open hand on his cheek. A full-fledged slap. Allet's eyes widened and only a moment later he squinted in his friend's direction. "Fez, do that again and I'll throw you off the train..." he snapped, "but when it's moving!"

However, Fez didn't seem to listen, captivated as he was by the view outside. Soon Aran followed his gaze and was left speechless. "It's immense!" he mumbled.

Four, five times larger than Clodia, it almost seemed to have no end. The starry sky of dawn paled in comparison to the lights of Edel. A panorama that could only be fully appreciated from that elevated position. The buildings were rigid stalagmites with pointed tips, each of different harmony. Entire neighborhoods welcomed symmetric artificial lakes surrounded by vegetation. There, with a slow and regular cadence, water splashed between the glares and took on the shape of orderly geometric patterns.

"That on the platform is the Upper Edel," Lucas said with a playful voice. He pointed to an indistinct spot below. The whole city was arranged on two distinct levels. Lowering her gaze below the bridge they were crossing, Cora saw many small houses crowded together. The streets were arranged without any apparent logic, and vehicles powered by Seorite roamed the roads, leaving their pale trails visible even in daylight. A rainbow of changing colors mingled in a festive display.

Lucas looked back at Marmorel with his baggage already on his shoulder. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Enjoy your stay and have a great Grand Prix." He smiled and bid everyone farewell. "Now I have to catch up with my comrades, or I'll get a reprimand," he concluded.

"Lucas, it was nice meeting you too, and I hope to see you again," Marmorel tweeted in an apologetic tone.

"Attention: we will soon be arriving at our destination. Passengers are kindly requested to collect their luggage and line up near the doors," the speaker crackled.

They all remained in the center of the corridor, as the train braked for short intervals and continued its journey on the connecting bridge to the station. The upper city was getting closer, and in the area they had just entered, there was a general order in the arrangement of the buildings. The train passed under a series of arches that illuminated the tracks, each of a different color, offering a hypnotic alternation of lights. "Welcome to Edel," said the loudspeaker.

When the train stopped, the doors opened with a silent snap. The station was crowded with people. Even though it was only the early hours of the morning, it seemed like there was no peace.

The five of them descended in an orderly way and stretched their sore muscles. Aran took a moment to study the dense sequence of luminous panels, full of directions.