Inside the castle: Part 1

Isaac looked around to see the crater growing larger as time went by. He quickly waved his hand and commanded, "Fix the planet!"

"Eh?! ME?!" Lilith shouted in disbelief. She had never been used like this before, but she knew that it was now or never. "What the hell, dad?!"

The planet began to whirl faster, its edges spinning so fast they were almost invisible. Then suddenly, a huge crack formed in the middle of the planet, splitting it down the center. The two halves spun wildly around each other until, finally, one half shot into space. It continued moving through empty space for what seemed like an eternity before disappearing from sight.

"Now or never, Lilith! Use your power!" Isaac shouted desperately.

"You focus your mind on holding the planet from falling apart and then concentrate all of your energy inside it. "

"I AM TRYING! I CAN'T DO IT!" Lilith screamed, her eyes filled with tears as she watched the planet fall apart.

The planet fell out of sight, replaced by a vast blackness. Then, suddenly, there was a flash. Everything was still again, except for the bright light shining straight ahead. Isaac floated with extended hands toward the remnants of a broken planet.

"This is how you do it." Isaac sighed softly as he turned around. "Observe."

"O-Okay..." Lilith muttered.

Isaac focused on the broken pieces of the destroyed planet, holding them together. Suddenly, the shards began snapping back into place. Mana filled the gaps between each rock. The entire planet rose into the vacuum above Lilith's head, glowing red brightly.

"W-Woah..." Lilith gasped. "That... is amazing."

Isaac closed his eyes and cooled off the burning planet, reducing its temperature to suit the living. Once he finished, he opened his eyes again and released the planet from his control. It slowly drifted away, eventually falling into the black void of space.

"Now we're ready," Isaac said triumphantly. As he grabbed Lilith's hand and created a portal back to the planet that Isaac recreated.

Once again, the two landed in a small patch of grass just outside their home. However, this time the castle was made from white stone, and the towers that once stood here were gone.

"Welcome home," Isaac said happily as he helped Lilith out of the portal. "Shall we continue the training session?"

"EH?!" Lilith's face turned pale. Just the idea of sparring with her father made her sick to the stomach. "Are you insane?!" she exclaimed.

"EH?!" Isaac gasped, but only for a moment. Then he smiled wickedly. "You're the one who asked us to train together."

"Well, sure, but-"

"So, you're giving up?" Isaac laughed as he gently patted Lilith's head. "No worries. It's not as if you're going to get killed."

Lilith glared at Isaac, her fists clenched tightly beneath her chin.

"If you want to quit, fine." Isaac shrugged. "But I still think you should learn to fight a stronger opponent than yourself." He said, thinking about demon lords on planet Lightburn.

"Fine." Lilith nodded stiffly. "But some other time... I am tired." She said, turning to go inside the castle.

"Is that a promise?" Isaac called after her.

Lilith stopped short, her shoulders slumping as she turned around. "Yes, sir."

"Good girl." Isaac chuckled as he followed Lilith inside the castle, leaving the door open behind him.

**************

Lucas woke up inside the bed, in the castle. He tried to get up, but his body was sore and stiff. He groaned as he rolled over, trying to sit up. For a moment, he didn't know where he was and panicked.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Lucas swore softly. He remembered everything now; the horrible battle against the demon, and how he passes out. "Great. I was taken to the castle."

He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that he was in a large bed with a canopy. The room was decorated with gold accents and silk curtains. A young woman in a black dress with silver hair was sitting next to the bed, listening intently to something on her earphones. She had her eyes closed and didn't notice that Lucas woke up.

"Aghhhh. This is worse than a hangover." Lucas groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Mmmm?" The woman looked up, her eyes widening slightly at seeing Lucas awake. "Oh, good morning! I'm sorry. I didn't know you were already awake." She frowned apologetically. "I should've told someone about it. Are you feeling better?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Lucas replied with a question, pushing himself upright in bed. He stretched his arms out above his head, cracking his neck and shoulders.

"My name is Selena. I am Thomas's sister-in-law." Selena extended her hand towards Lucas. "Would you like to sit up? I can help you."

"Why would I need your help?" Lucas asked suspiciously. "Better question. Does Thomas know that you're here?"

Selena sighed as she shook her head. "Thomas doesn't know that I'm here.."

"Of course. Do you know why he wouldn't let you come here?" Lucas asked with a smirk. Lucas's eyes started glowing red, but the moment he released his mana, he coughed and spat blood onto the floor.

"Oh my God, what happened to me?" Lucas cried in a panic.

"Calm down!" Selena admonished, placing both her hands on Lucas's chest. Her hands glowed green as healing magic flowed through her fingertips. After a few moments, Lucas's body calmed down and his breathing became regular. "There, that should be enough."

"T-Thanks..." Lucas said awkwardly, his face flushed from embarrassment. He coughed a couple times more and lied back down on the bed. "Sorry for being a dick. But... Why are you here?"

"It's fine. I just wanted to see the guy who had enough power to rough up my bro. " Selena smirked. "And also, I heard that you're an angel! Is that true?!" her eyes sparkled in excitement as she leaned closer to Lucas waiting for an answer.

"How did you find out about that?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow. "D-Did Thomas tell her?" Lucas's eyes were wide open in shock. 'That piece of shit! Why would he give information like that to humans?!' he cursed in his mind.

"Oh, I have my ways." Selena grinned.