Chapter 7 - Starlight

APOL

He was only distracted for a split second as Tala and Nalya disappeared, teleporting somewhere safe; he hoped to his home, Arawni.

Yelling to his right brought his attention back: Erina. She stood solo at the start of the driveway, the wind waving the coattails of her long black coat. She had a taunting smirk across her face, content with her unexpected attack. She seemed particularly delighted as her brow raised and the smirk turned into a devilish smile when she saw the soot smeared across Noli's, Apol's, and Eleri's faces.

"Good morning," She waved; the sound of her voice clear and crisp, as if she were standing right next to the three, "hope you don't mind me…crashing the party."

Apol's fists clenched, pure fury in his eyes, his exhales like scorching gusts of wind.

But he spoke flatly, to not give Erina any satisfaction, "There was a doorbell, you know."

"Leave, Erina!" Noli called out.

Erina began walking down the driveway and levitated halfway towards them. She replied, "Noli. It's been too long. What, a couple hundred years?"

Eleri instinctively stepped forward, acting as a shield to Noli. Erina noticed and laughed, "Is that your protector, Noli? She's as young as a newborn! What's she going to do, blow wind at my face?"

Out of pride, a soft glow began to emanate from Eleri's right hand, a warning shot meant for Erina. Noli lightly touched her wrist, asking her to back down. Eleri was a kinara, a race of winged beings who possess elemental powers of fire. Although she was considered one of the strongest of the kinara, Erina held a more superior power, one Eleri wouldn't have been able to overcome.

Though known amongst the immortals as the Miasma, Erina was feared by mortals, infamous for her wickedness, her name a curse on their lips. The presence she emitted was a pall of dread and decay from her shadowy form, draped in robes enveloped in darkness. Eyes encircled by an unusual haunting crimson glare; she was the epitome of an otherworldly aura of malevolence.

But Erina saw the glow on Eleri's hand and her attention quickly shifted to the young kinara whose bubbly personality had turned bitter. Erina challenged, "Subukan mo'ko. Do it."

Tendrils of coiled clouds formed from Erina's arms and through her fingers, directing them towards Eleri.

"Enough." Apol commanded, sending a shield in front of Eleri. As powerful as Erina was, even she couldn't disregard a command from a god, much less from one who presided over the Heavenly Order.

"You're so boring, Apolaki." Erina clicked her tongue, her attention back to Apol.

"You destroyed my house."

"Where is she?" Erina's eyes narrowed, unamused that she couldn't detect a particular presence.

"You destroyed my house." Apol repeated.

Erina rolled her eyes, tucking loose strands of her curly hair behind her ear, "Di mo to bahay, Apolaki. Now…where is she?"

No one answered her.

Her fury escalated, materializing into a cloud of noxious smoke, enveloping both Noli and Eleri and suffocating them. It was only a matter of seconds before the pair began to gasp and cough desperately as the smoke fully engulfed them, choking their lungs, each inhale became more painful than the next.

A bright light suddenly catapulted Erina a mile away, immediately dispersing the smoke. Apol quickly rushed to Noli and Eleri and checked for a pulse.

Both barely conscious, their breaths shallow.

As the Miasma's toxic fog was notorious for its lethality and Apol knew he had no choice but to teleport them both back to Arawni.

"Apol." Noli's voice was raspy, barely audible, "Eyes. Red."

In the somber depths of the Death Court, where shadows dance to forgotten sorrows and pains, obsidian orbs are reflected on the eyes of those who dwell beneath the earth. They are dark as midnight and void of emotion, an abyss of darkness. But among them is a singular pair that fashions a bloody color.

Consumption of human souls casts a crimson hue upon the eyes of the one who dare indulge – the more souls consumed, the brighter the glow. But within the Heavenly Realm, a solemn decree has continued to echo for eons: it is forbidden to consume human souls, and to defy this ensures a descent to the Abyss, a realm where lost beings reverberate for eternity.

Only one god is permitted to consume human souls, and it was not Erina.

Apol blinked once, twice, comprehending the gravity of what Noli just said. His attention quickly shifted over his back, sensing Erina returning. He looked over Noli and saw Eleri unconscious.

He needed to send them away, fast.

"Send…her back," Noli coughed, "I…You can't fight…Erina alone."

"You can't even breathe."

"Ap—"

Apol closed his eyes and put his hand out above Noli and Eleri. Then he said to no one, "Heal them."

Then they both vanished.

It wasn't long after when Erina arrived, shrouded in black mist dancing around her in anger. A black orb appeared from her right hand, and she flung it towards Apol, sending him back a mile into a tree by the water.

At the speed of sound, she appeared in front of him. He breathed deeply, not leaving sight of her. Her attack was much more powerful than he anticipated, and it would have been foolish to let his guard down for even a sliver of a moment.

"Where. Is. She." Erina gritted her teeth, another orb forming in her hand.

"Erina." Apol stood; two orbs had formed from his palms. "Enough of this."

"Where is Maria?!" Erina screamed, the mist that was surrounding her turned into a dense fog.

The air thickened, crackling with energy as Apol unleashed the surge of power that was forming in his hands. A raging torrent of a thousand stars, it burned Erina, her screams echoing for miles.

She managed to teleport away, catching her breath. The sleeves of her clothing burned into her skin, and while she was skillful in self-healing, the damage of Apol's attack was taking its toll on her own capabilities. She then noticed her hands; as powerful as she had become, her hands were shaking, already beginning to weaken. Her eyes widened, not of fear, but of rage.

There was a hint of confusion swirling within her crimson orbs, as if questioning how she was hurt as badly as she was. She gritted her teeth, her resolve unyielding as she looked towards Apol, who was simply standing and looking at her.

In fury, she propelled her dense toxic fog towards him and lunged in full force and speed.

TALA

"Tala?" a voice sounded muffled, "Tala?!"

Tala, unaware of where she was, sat conscious but unresponsive, traumatized. Whatever happened within the last hour hadn't made any sense to her and as she looked around her surroundings, she became even more puzzled. It was nighttime, but the room was well-lit. It was a bedroom, and she was sitting on a small sofa in the corner, facing the window. It was open and the breeze was nice and cool; the sheer curtains were moving to the wind, dancing under the moon's shadows.

In front of Tala, a woman. Long dark hair, copper eyes, and a sharp jawline – she was beautiful. She looked a bit disheveled, but she mostly looked worried.

"Tala?" the woman said, "Tala. It's me, Nalya."

Like a rush of water leaving the shore, Tala came to, remembering the kitchen, pancakes…the explosion. Her breathing quickened, a sudden surge of fear and panic flooding her senses, paralyzing her.

"W-wh-what hap—where are we?" Her eyes were blinking nonstop, her heart beating rapidly.

"Shh," Nalya said, crouching on the floor and holding Tala's hands, "You're safe. The Sages will come and assess you."

"Who?"

"The Sages. They are our healers."

Tala shook her head, retreating her hands from Nalya's hold, "N-no. I…I don't—where are we?"

"Well, it's a little hard to show you. But you're safe." Nalya said and she began to reach her hand towards Tala again.

Tala instinctively pushed Nalya's hand away and stood up.

"Tala…" Nalya said, softly, "Please, you've got some small injuries. The Sages will be here soon."

"Where's Noli? And Eleri?" Tala asked.

Nalya didn't answer right away; Noli and Eleri just appeared a few moments ago in critical shape and it was the last thing that Tala needed to know.

"The Sages are with them." She answered Tala.

"Where's Apol?"

Nalya didn't have an answer for her. Apol was…well, he didn't return with Noli and Eleri, and it's not as if she could have asked them. Neither of them was conscious when they appeared, both barely breathing.

Tala turned to face Nalya, "Where is he?"

Nalya slowly walked towards Tala, "I'm sure he's coming. It's just—"

"What did you do to him?!" Tala yelled, "Where are Noli and Eleri?!"

"Tala, Tala, shh. Please, don't overexert yourself."

"What did you do to them?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a friend!"

"The hell you are!"

Suddenly, a radiant glow erupted from her, flooding the room with blinding luminosity. It was as if a miniature star ignited within Tala and scattered rays of starlight in every direction from her body. Nalya, instantly engulfed in the brilliance, screamed in agony as her eyesight nearly vanished from the glow.

Though stunned at what happened, Tala took the opportunity to run out of the room towards wherever she might have seen a way out of the house. For every door she encountered, a layer of guilt dug itself in her conscience. She would have wanted to open every single one to see if Noli, Eleri, or Apol were behind any, but there was no time to waste. She didn't know where an exit might have been, and she had no idea where she was.

Finally, she found an opening that led to a forest behind the house. As she left the grounds, she could hear Nalya yelling for her.

She only stopped momentarily to look back before continuing to run away from it.