The Fallen Spectator-Chapter 26: The City Of Gold

A Month Later.

"Why the hell do we have to come here for vacation? Wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere else?" Alina grumbled while walking on the street filled with local vendors.

"Hey, this place isn’t that bad. It is filled with historical wonders. Do you know? In ancient times, this city was known as the City of Gold." Dad said to Alina, showing his excitement about this place.

"It’s so hot here, my skin will get tanned," Alina grumbled again, not showing any interest in this Golden City.

"Alina, it isn’t as bad as you think. After all, we are all together, and this place is also beautiful." Mom stepped in, trying to show the good side of this place to Alina.

"Um..." Alina opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again without saying anything.

We continued to wander in the local market, Mom and Dad looking at some local arts, while Alina also tried on a few local dresses, which she didn’t like at all. Just like this, we continued to wander and explore this Golden City, which is now known as the Yellow City.

A few days ago, all of us decided to have a family trip because Dad got an invitation from the company to join an ancient exhibition. So, we all tagged along, but this wasn’t the only reason for me to come here. This Golden City is also the place where those ancient ruins exist.

In the past month, other dragon kings had been searching for the black dragon king, but they didn’t find any clues about him. Fortunately, they failed, but that black dragon king had found us. He was the one who invited us to this place.

Our meeting had been set at the ruins entrance, three days later. The same day, the exhibition will happen.

"Lucian, what are you thinking?" Alina asked me, carrying two cans of cold drinks in her hand.

"Nothing, the heat was messing with my head," I said, a bit more than my previous self; this time, no one found it odd, not even Alina. Everyone had gotten used to my new self.

I took the can from Alina, gulping it down in one shot. It was hard to enjoy this cold drink for me, because there is no taste, no cold, or heat. Just a liquid dripping down my neck.

"How is it? Do you want more?" Alina asked from the side, seeing how fast I emptied the can.

"No, it was enough. I can’t anymore." I denied her an extra can of Coke she was offering.

"Really?" She asked again.

"Hm" I nodded.

She didn’t pursue any further. We wandered in the local street for quite a while. After some time, Dad went to exhibitions for whatever works he had.

Alina and Mom continued their shopping; I just accompanied them from the side. They were trying some local jewellery; it took them almost an hour just to buy a pair of earrings and a necklace.

Just as I thought they were done with their shopping, Mom grabbed me in.

"Lucian, you should buy something for yourself as a souvenir. See how pretty these rings are. You should also try something; there are so many pretty things." Mom didn’t even give me a chance to deny, quickly giving a long lecture, implying that I must buy something.

I looked at the small shop, which had many different kinds of ornaments, pendants, bracelets, and many more. All then have almost the same identical style with different designs, highlighting the craftsmanship of this place.

I tried a few things on Mom and Alina’s recommendation, but they continued it like a game, never finalising anything. It was like I was just there to watch while they were doing their shopping.

"Well, finally this one, I liked it." I decided to end their rambling and chose a ring with a small green gem on top.

"If you like this, then so be it." Mom agreed.

"Huh, it looks ugly," Alina said not pleased with my choice at all.

"Ok, this final. The ring is for Lucian, let him choose himself, and it’s really pretty." Mom said, ending the jewellery quest.

"So, what should we do next?" Alina said while walking, right now she was wearing a thin-plated gold necklace with few red gems. Though it was slightly odd but looked good with her white dress. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Now we should return to our hotel. Dad will also meet us there, then after some rest, we can go again." Mom suggested.

"Hm", I just nodded, and we went to our hotel, taking a rest for some time because we had been walking straight for hours, in this burning heat.

This Golden City was amidst the desert, a place that, despite being in the middle of the desert, had the richest history and culture.

This place has electricity, water and almost necessary things required for living. Except for its excessive heat, it didn’t lack anything. Even people living were quite modern already; they have the internet, and even modern vehicles, especially modified for deserts.

After walking for half an hour more, we arrived at our hotel. We had booked two rooms, while one was shared by mom and dad, and the other by me and Alina.

I entered my room quickly, lying down on the bed and closing my eyes. Though I wasn’t sleepy or tired. But acting was part of my daily life.

Alina also came inside, sitting on the bed, but instead of relaxing, she started to scroll through her phone like usual. After a bit of scrolling, she also got bored and fell asleep while scrolling.

I put away her phone and adjusted her pillow so she could have a comfortable nap. After helping her out a bit, I stood up and went to the window, staring right at the burning sun in the sky. The heat it was emitting was already enough to burn the skin if exposed for too long.

In my eyes, it was just as black as this world.