02-12-2017, 12:35 AM
The other disadvantage of the monopoloized sky became apparent soon after the mercenaries had left the bar behind them: no more of the quickest way to judge the current time. It felt like an hour or so had passed since the devil hunter had come down here, but he wouldn't be able to tell that by looking up into the sky. Such a thing just got you a view of a digital void made starless by the light pollution of the living city; there wasn't even a view of any sort of moon. Rather, if there was such a view, the towering buildings that dominated the skyline made said sight indistinguishable.
Strickly speaking, did time even matter in a plane of existance where several different dimensional spaces lay tethered together?
That thought was decidedly too heavy, in Dante's mind. Stopping on the corner of Kuiper Street and 13th Avenue, the red-coat absorbed the immediate surroundings for a moment as Hammer punched a button on a traffic post. Various vehicles, traditional and hover-based, roared along to the tune of the bustling buildings flanking the streets- though they did so more sparsely compared to crammed city center. On the opposide corner from the two travelers, a lone Stormtrooper had stopped their patrol momentarily to harass an individual shaded under a too-large hoodie. Down the street just ahead was the suggestively-colored "Love Planet" - the neon tubing that outlined the shape of an exotic female offered as much of an advertisement as one could need.
Dante found himself wanting to know the time. He fished out his Dataverse Device, after patting the wrong pocket twice and being concerned that some deft rat might've swiped the thing. The digital readout spelled out 17:36- four hours after noon. Between the constant night sky and the endless stretches of brilliantly-lit buildings, Tier 4 served as a textbook example of a city that never sleeps. It reminded the devil hunter of that one long eve back home, but with significantly more life as opposed to unlife. He unfortunately got the dread feeling this might end up becoming another one of those nights. But with a reasonable goal finally in sight, the devil hunter firmly stepped forward- as the crossing light turned white, of course.
Hammer led the way down a couple more city blocks, the distinct chill of a breeze suddenly taking hold. If a least-populated area of the Tier-4 city existed, this had to be it- though the fair abundance of vehicles and vibrant adverts still overdid any modern city Dante lived in before. The idea, Dante would realize later, proved astounding, in the scope of this being only one later in the grandoise megatropolis that called itself Coruscant. This world existed as if it held the highest population of all the other Verses combined, and perhaps that thought was even fact- Dante didn't care to find out just yet.
The mercenaries waited at another corner, the crosswalk leading to the flat head of a T-shaped intersection, with a meager two-story building on that side of the path. "So," Dante spoke up, for the first time since they had left the bar behind them, "Anything big that I should know about if I stick around here?"
The bald veteran looked over at Dante, arms crossed, scrutinizing the hunter's light face. That tone didn't sound like the kind to be making small talk just for the sake of conversation. "This side of town is watched over by a big-name boss. Calls himself The Lord," Hammer replied, humoring the red-coat's request. "Major hand in the drug trades. He's awful strict on stuff like traffic and real estate through his 'zone', but I honestly couldn't tell ya why."
Dante scoffed at that description, cocking his head as he averted his gaze across the street. "Doubt he can pay attention to everything at once," came the ensuing remark, right on time. The ex-soldier proved less than impressed with the cockiness on display, but said display also bore a good point worth elaborating upon.
"Not at once, maybe," Hammer interjected himself after Dante, "But he's uncanny. He's got ways to track everything in the district. God knows how he manages it, but he does." The veteran shakes his head for a moment, looking merely overwhelmed by the idea of what he had said- or perhaps trying to shrug off some unseemly thought from the brain. The next crossing light flared white, and the two mercenaries began to cross.
"It's not like the Empire's stuff, either- those guys are not even subtle about it, just suffocating streets with their sight and planting trackers and bugs in everything." Dante nodded at Hammer's explanation, starting to see the juxtapostion before it was made clear. "Lord, though, you wouldn't even know. You could be living in a lead-lined bunker, and you'd still get a knock on your door and a pistol to the head. It's like, freaky-"
"Or magic," The devil hunter piped up, taking the first step onto the last sidewalk before their destination. Hammer almost forgot to follow Dante, to which the latter turned back with a curtly-raised eyebrow. "What, you don't think that's impossible, do you?"
The bald man couldn't form an immediate answer. He seemed to mix several responses behind his mouth, coming close to speaking a few times but holding back at the last moment. Perhaps the simplest answer he could offer would just say, "I hadn't considered that." However, keeping in mind what had made him resign from the military before being dragged into this crazy world, it would be awfully remiss of him not to consider the use of magic... somehow.
Finally, Hammer came up with something reasonable, but also true: "It's just, well, nothing I've ever seen before." Dante, already standing with a hand ready to push open the double doors, shot a glance back. It was an acceptable answer, yes, but the time it took to reach that conclusion left various doubts in the air like unsettling wisps.
"...Are you gonna just stand there, or show me the place?"
Snapping up, the soldier rolled his shoulders and straightened out his coat, and quickly jogged up as Dante leaned into the door and gave way to the docile interior.
Strickly speaking, did time even matter in a plane of existance where several different dimensional spaces lay tethered together?
That thought was decidedly too heavy, in Dante's mind. Stopping on the corner of Kuiper Street and 13th Avenue, the red-coat absorbed the immediate surroundings for a moment as Hammer punched a button on a traffic post. Various vehicles, traditional and hover-based, roared along to the tune of the bustling buildings flanking the streets- though they did so more sparsely compared to crammed city center. On the opposide corner from the two travelers, a lone Stormtrooper had stopped their patrol momentarily to harass an individual shaded under a too-large hoodie. Down the street just ahead was the suggestively-colored "Love Planet" - the neon tubing that outlined the shape of an exotic female offered as much of an advertisement as one could need.
Dante found himself wanting to know the time. He fished out his Dataverse Device, after patting the wrong pocket twice and being concerned that some deft rat might've swiped the thing. The digital readout spelled out 17:36- four hours after noon. Between the constant night sky and the endless stretches of brilliantly-lit buildings, Tier 4 served as a textbook example of a city that never sleeps. It reminded the devil hunter of that one long eve back home, but with significantly more life as opposed to unlife. He unfortunately got the dread feeling this might end up becoming another one of those nights. But with a reasonable goal finally in sight, the devil hunter firmly stepped forward- as the crossing light turned white, of course.
Hammer led the way down a couple more city blocks, the distinct chill of a breeze suddenly taking hold. If a least-populated area of the Tier-4 city existed, this had to be it- though the fair abundance of vehicles and vibrant adverts still overdid any modern city Dante lived in before. The idea, Dante would realize later, proved astounding, in the scope of this being only one later in the grandoise megatropolis that called itself Coruscant. This world existed as if it held the highest population of all the other Verses combined, and perhaps that thought was even fact- Dante didn't care to find out just yet.
The mercenaries waited at another corner, the crosswalk leading to the flat head of a T-shaped intersection, with a meager two-story building on that side of the path. "So," Dante spoke up, for the first time since they had left the bar behind them, "Anything big that I should know about if I stick around here?"
The bald veteran looked over at Dante, arms crossed, scrutinizing the hunter's light face. That tone didn't sound like the kind to be making small talk just for the sake of conversation. "This side of town is watched over by a big-name boss. Calls himself The Lord," Hammer replied, humoring the red-coat's request. "Major hand in the drug trades. He's awful strict on stuff like traffic and real estate through his 'zone', but I honestly couldn't tell ya why."
Dante scoffed at that description, cocking his head as he averted his gaze across the street. "Doubt he can pay attention to everything at once," came the ensuing remark, right on time. The ex-soldier proved less than impressed with the cockiness on display, but said display also bore a good point worth elaborating upon.
"Not at once, maybe," Hammer interjected himself after Dante, "But he's uncanny. He's got ways to track everything in the district. God knows how he manages it, but he does." The veteran shakes his head for a moment, looking merely overwhelmed by the idea of what he had said- or perhaps trying to shrug off some unseemly thought from the brain. The next crossing light flared white, and the two mercenaries began to cross.
"It's not like the Empire's stuff, either- those guys are not even subtle about it, just suffocating streets with their sight and planting trackers and bugs in everything." Dante nodded at Hammer's explanation, starting to see the juxtapostion before it was made clear. "Lord, though, you wouldn't even know. You could be living in a lead-lined bunker, and you'd still get a knock on your door and a pistol to the head. It's like, freaky-"
"Or magic," The devil hunter piped up, taking the first step onto the last sidewalk before their destination. Hammer almost forgot to follow Dante, to which the latter turned back with a curtly-raised eyebrow. "What, you don't think that's impossible, do you?"
The bald man couldn't form an immediate answer. He seemed to mix several responses behind his mouth, coming close to speaking a few times but holding back at the last moment. Perhaps the simplest answer he could offer would just say, "I hadn't considered that." However, keeping in mind what had made him resign from the military before being dragged into this crazy world, it would be awfully remiss of him not to consider the use of magic... somehow.
Finally, Hammer came up with something reasonable, but also true: "It's just, well, nothing I've ever seen before." Dante, already standing with a hand ready to push open the double doors, shot a glance back. It was an acceptable answer, yes, but the time it took to reach that conclusion left various doubts in the air like unsettling wisps.
"...Are you gonna just stand there, or show me the place?"
Snapping up, the soldier rolled his shoulders and straightened out his coat, and quickly jogged up as Dante leaned into the door and gave way to the docile interior.