An hour had passed, and by now, the landscape below was vastly different from what they had left behind.
The seemingly endless forest had long since disappeared behind them, replaced by mostly barren terrain with only the occasional patch of green scattered across the land.
"Hmmm?"
Frost narrowed his eyes as something unusual appeared along the distant horizon they were rapidly approaching.
It was a wall.
An incredibly long, arched wall stretched across the landscape, separating the land into two sides.
The side they were currently approaching from was mostly barren, with sparse patches of greenery here and there, while the terrain beyond the wall appeared mostly the same at first glance.
What truly caught Frost's attention, however, was the massive tower built along a smaller arch protruding from the wall.
Both the wall and the tower seemed to be constructed from the same strange material, their surfaces covered in a dull metallic frame that reflected almost none of the sunlight shining down upon them.
Perhaps sensing their confusion, Syrn glanced back over her shoulder from the front.
"The wall keeps beasts, and other things out, and that's the first outpost tower."
Frost didn't even want to ask how many of those they had.
If the people of this world had been forced to build such a massive wall and multiple outposts just to feel some modicum of safety, then this place had to be an absolute hellhole.
A moment later, a silent beam of crimson light suddenly flashed from the top of the distant tower, shooting high into the sky before disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared.
Frost's eyes followed it curiously.
"We're landing..." Syrn said a moment later.
Frost barely had time to process her words before Aeolus tilted her enormous body downward.
His stomach lurched.
'Again with this shit...!'
The massive bird began descending toward the tower in a wide arc, although thankfully, it was nowhere near as violent as their initial takeoff.
Frost still instinctively tightened his grip around the thick feathers beneath him, while several of the others did the same.
As they drew closer, Frost finally began to appreciate just how enormous the structure actually was.
From a distance, the outpost tower had looked large, but that perspective had been deceptive.
The thing was colossal, rising hundreds of metres above the surrounding landscape, while the wall connected to it was easily several dozen metres tall and thick enough that Frost could make out what appeared to be an entire road running along its upper surface.
'That's not a wall. That's a fucking fortress.'
And there were people up there.
Dozens of them.
Frost narrowed his eyes as Aeolus continued descending, allowing him to make out several figures standing along the top of the wall and around the tower.
Most wore unfamiliar dark grey bodysuits that clung tightly to their bodies.
Several enormous mounted weapons were positioned along the edges as well, their long metallic barrels pointed toward the barren wilderness they had just come from.
Aeolus released a quieter caw as she approached the tower, and several figures below immediately began moving.
A section near the top of the structure opened before them.
Frost blinked.
What he had initially mistaken for part of the tower's metallic exterior separated into several enormous panels, revealing a wide platform hidden inside.
It was more than large enough for Aeolus to land comfortably, and judging by the markings carved across its surface, this was probably far from the first giant flying creature to use it.
Aeolus spread her wings.
The sudden resistance from the air threw Frost forward slightly.
THUMP!
Her enormous feet struck the platform.
Frost bounced once against the feathers before quickly steadying himself. Someone behind him released a long breath.
"Finally..."
Frost couldn't help but agree.
Flying had been incredible for perhaps the first ten minutes, but after an hour of sitting several hundred metres above the ground with nothing between him and a very unpleasant death besides the goodwill of an oversized bird, the novelty had worn off considerably.
"Everyone off," Syrn said as she casually floated down from Aeolus's back.
Frost stared at her.
'Easy for you to say.'
Getting onto Aeolus had been one thing when they were mysteriously suspended in the air, but getting down from her now made Frost realise just how large the bird actually was.
Jennifer went first again, carefully climbing down along the lowered wing before dropping the final short distance onto the platform. Naomi followed, then Jason, and gradually the others began making their way down.
Frost waited until there was enough room before following.
The moment his shoes touched solid ground, he felt strangely relieved.
He took two steps away from Aeolus before stopping.
"Huh..."
His legs felt weird.
Not weak exactly, but after spending an hour flying through the sky, standing on something that wasn't moving felt strangely unnatural.
Before Frost could dwell on it, the sound of approaching footsteps drew his attention.
Several people were walking toward them from deeper within the tower.
There were seven in total, all dressed in the same dark-grey bodysuits Frost had noticed from above. Up close, however, he could finally make out far more detail.
The suits weren't made from any fabric he recognised.
They clung tightly to their bodies while still appearing strangely thick, with thin metallic lines running across their arms, legs, and torsos in intricate patterns.
Small pieces of dull metal covered certain areas around their shoulders, forearms, knees, and chests, though there wasn't nearly enough of it for Frost to consider the outfits proper armour.
More interestingly, almost all of them were armed.
One carried a long spear across his back, another had a sword hanging from his waist, while the woman beside him carried something that looked suspiciously like a rifle at first glance, although its strange shape and the faint blue lines running along its surface quickly made Frost reconsider that assumption.
'What kind of technological clusterfuck is this world supposed to be?'
So far, he had seen magic, giant flying birds, enormous metallic fortifications, what looked like advanced firearms, and people walking around with swords and spears as though none of those things contradicted one another in the slightest.
Then again, perhaps they didn't.
Frost reminded himself that he knew absolutely nothing about this world.