Chapter 474 - Across The Tracks

"...I don't have any problems with this, Sirius," he stated, "but, how do you think Beatrice will take this?"

Sirius shrugged, "I doubt she'll mind. We're still operating as Outlanders either way, aren't we? It's really just a change in style and official titles under your guild." 

"That's true," Iris added, fiddling with her blue locks. 

Sora looked exasperated, shaking his head a bit but knowing full well that once the man decided something like this, there was no getting around it. 

"Speaking of which," Sirius veered the subject, "when are you going to get that guild established?"

He stopped for a moment, playing with the food on his plate, "...How does right now sound?"

Sirius and him shared a smile at his answer–and without much planning, or informing of others, the three left the cafeteria, following Sirius' lead. 

"So where is this place? The "Office of Guild Formation and Subsidiaries", I mean," he asked.

"Just follow me," Sirius answered with a cheeky smile. 

He only asked because the corridors of the Hollow Foundation were not only seemingly boundless in lengthy and quantity, but repetitive in design. Naturally, he questioned the knowledge of the one he followed after trudging the same, monotonous metal floor for what felt like an eternity. 

"You said that an hour ago…" He sighed. 

"That's just how the foundation is," Iris assured him, grabbing his hand and holding it with a gentle grasp, "it's as large as a country, at least that's what Mother told me."

Sirius added as they ascended stairs together, "What she said. Don't worry, though, we're almost to our ride."

"Our ride…?" He and Iris asked in synchronization. 

Arriving at a set of imposing doors embedded into the rightmost section of the current corridor, he watched as Sirius used the adventurer's insignia from his necklace as a sort of key to open the lock. 

"What's that about?" He whispered to Iris. 

She answered, "It's probably a door exclusive to certain ranks of adventurers."

"Certain ranks?"

Iris nodded, "That's how the Hollow Foundation works, I've heard. It's a society of adventurers, mercenaries, and merchants…for adventurers, your status gives you access to certain privileges that lower ranks don't have. 

"Huh," he muttered, "I don't know how to feel about that." 

Following Sirius through the set of reinforced, cobalt doors, they curiously stepped into a tunnel-like section of the foundation. 

Waiting on luminescent rails that were accompanied by what looks like runes, a sleek, stygian vehicle resembling a train was waiting. 

It didn't just resemble one–upon closer inspection as he laid eyes on the behemoth of meticulously crafted steel and engineering genius, he realized it was what he thought. 

"Is that…a train?" He asked in surprise, in awe at the sight of the technology that shouldn't exist in that world. 

"Surprised?" Sirius asked with a smile, hopping onto one of the cars of the humble-sized train. 

They followed him onto the moderately sized train, seating themselves on the velvet, lavish cushioned seats. 

"What's a 'train'?" Iris asked, looking at him. 

He answered while enamored with the sleek, spotless interior of the vehicle, "It's something that exists on Earth–only, it was invented way after the era this world seems to be in. That's what I'm curious about, Sirius."

Sirius lounged on the seat across from them, resting his arms on the vacant windows as the vehicle seemed to awaken just by their presence. 

"To the "Office of Guild formation", prompto!" Sirius commanded the train, slapping the exterior as he reached his arm outside of the window. 

It was a confusing action, but he was more interested in what was said directly after, as the magenta-eyed, youthful man smiled at him. 

"You answered your own question, Ren," Sirius answered vaguely. 

"Huh? Come on, don't mess with me," He sighed. 

As steam blew from atop the mystical, unorthodox train, it began to move, taking off at a steady pace as it traversed the lengthy tunnel system. 

Answered my own question? He pondered. 

"I think I get it," he whispered to himself. 

"Ren?" Iris looked at him, keeping her hands atop her skirt. 

He raised his gaze to Sirius, who seemed interested in if he understood what he meant, "This exists because it already existed on Earth. I think that's what you meant, anyway, right?"

"Bingo," Sirius clapped his hands quietly. 

Iris looked between the two, left behind in the conversation due to her lack of memories of their home world, "What do you mean, Ren?"

"This train only exists here because an otherworlder designed it," he answered with a smile. 

For some reason, this knowledge made her smile as she looked up at the roof of the moving train, gently swaying her legs. 

"So…this is something from Earth, then?" She smiled warmly, running her hands across the cushioned seats. 

"Yeah," he answered with a smile of his own, feeling oddly nostalgic by the rumbles of machinery that came with the train's movement, "they're a pretty big deal on Earth. Everyone uses them; they can take you anywhere in the world." 

"Really? Anywhere?" She looked at him, tilting her head with childlike wonder. 

"Anywhere you want," he assured her, "once you set off, nothing can stop you–it's just a journey through the world, just you and your destination." 

It was relaxing; the continuous sound of the train's wheels passing over the tracks, guiding through the stygian tunnel, illuminated by orange lights by virtue of the many runes that occupied the transportation tunnel. 

After a few minutes, getting comfortable on the seats, he glanced around. 

"Is it really just us on here?" He asked, looking side-to-side as if expecting to find any silent passengers. 

Sirius answered, "Yup, courtesy of yours truly–the 'Bastion of Connection', they call this train. It's one of a kind in this world, so it's exclusive only to stygian-ranks and above. Well, it's only one part of the larger set of trains here."

"Really? So everybody else is forced to walk around this giant foundation?" He asked with a wry expression. 

The military-uniform-esque man nodded with a smile, flicking his perfectly-hanging fringes, "Yup! Pretty awesome, aren't I?"

"You know, usually I'd deny it, but I really am appreciating your awesomeness right about now," He said, letting out a sigh of comfort as he relaxed in his seat. 

"Guess you're glad he decided to join our guild then, right?" Iris looked to him with a smile. 

"You betcha', I wouldn't be caught dead marching through those corridors again with this available to us," he placed his hands behind his head. 

Rumbling over the tracks, the length of the ride truly set into his mind the vast size of the foundation–and also made him that much more appreciative of the train ride itself. 

"So, Ren, have you looked into anybody you want to recruit into the guild? "Gladiolus", right?" Sirius asked while lounging his arms outside of the window, allowing his jet-black locks to be pulled in the passing wind.