The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) by Andrew M. Crusoe

with authority. “Are you both ready to see our fair city? Cumulatively, millions of thought-hours have gone into its realization.”
    “Sure!” Zahn said. “I’ve been hoping you’d ask.”
    “Then follow me.”

CHAPTER9
     
    WELCOME TO MIRAGE CITY
     
     
    Jyana led them toward the square patch of metal in the middle of the ceiling that had a faint, curved symbol engraved onto it. And as they neared the square, Zahn’s anticipation grew. What would this new world look like? If ideas became reality, then what were the limits? Zahn felt a familiar tickling sensation as they passed through the ceiling into a dark layer of rock. Here, he could see nothing, and continued upward until they sped through murky water and up through another thin surface.
    After a few seconds, a blinding light shone all around him, and he found himself standing on a perfectly smooth pathway above the sea.
    To his left, a huge conic structure towered into the white sky. At its tip was a single strand that led upward, but before his eye could follow the strand to its endpoint, he heard Asha call out beside him.
    “Look, Zahn! Over there!”
    Zahn spun around and saw a silver snakelike creature flying through the sky, just before it slipped behind a cloud.
    “What was that?”
    “Don’t worry about those,” Jyana said. “There are many etheric creatures, and most of them won’t bother you.”
    Zahn’s gaze drifted back down to the spiraling architecture all around him. Ahead, he saw a building hundreds of meters tall, shaped like a massive egg, simply hanging in the air. Below it, a wide platform formed a ring, also hanging in the air effortlessly. He saw now that the ring platform was part of the same pathway he was standing on, and hundreds more pathways branched off from the central ring in all directions, like spokes on a wheel. Spread over all of this were hundreds of figures, darting from place to place so fast that he could scarcely make out any detail except for the bright colors they were wearing. Some were heading around the massive egg; some were heading away, yet none went inside.
    Still, this was only a fraction of the colossal architecture that reigned all around him. In the far distance, he also saw spidering structures and flowing curves. It was as if there was a different architectural style in every direction, and he felt overwhelmed.
    To calm himself, he looked back up to the egg ahead, shimmering with a strange light. This egg seemed to be the central axis upon which the entire city turned. Zahn sensed great power behind it, but what was its purpose?
    “Welcome to Mirage City!” Jyana turned around to face them, beaming. “The core of our intentional civilization and central repository for Tavisian knowledge.”
    Still in the throes of sensory overload, Zahn turned to Asha and noticed her blank expression. “Asha, are you okay?”
    She said nothing, and Zahn put his hand on her back. He thought he could see tiny tears forming in her eyes. “Asha, you seem really quiet. How are you doing?”
    “I, I don’t know what’s coming over me. I’m just, overwhelmed.” She wiped some tears from her eyes and turned to Zahn. “I know, it’s probably silly. I’m just so happy to see this. I’m happy to know that my people still thrive, in their own way.”
    Jyana pursed her lips, studied Asha’s face, and nodded. “We’re happy to have you back, Ashakirta. You are so full of emotions, but you’ve allowed those emotions to make you strong. We need more people like you, more people in tune with their hearts. If we did, we wouldn’t have the problems we now face.”
    Zahn took Asha’s hand, feeling a warmth stir within him.
    “She’s the best healer I know,” he said.
    Asha squeezed his hand. “I’m the only healer you know, silly.”
    “Not true! We have great medical services on Avani. But no one like you.”
    She smiled. “Thanks.” And for a few moments, Asha studied the egg, still central to their