Order.

Below the blood-red twilight, Talen and Alora strolled through one of Arronsburgs' many alleyways. She scanned the trashy corridor, occasionally glancing back to check their distant rear.

"You can stop checking. Even if they did catch up to us, we could just eliminate them. What're you so worried about anyway?" he asked.

Alora sighed, lowering her head. "Dunno. I guess I feel a bit guilty. We just left Uriel with the enemy. There's still so much we don't know about how they switch. I just don't understand why he'd sacrifice himself so willingly," she said.

"Think about it this way. If Uriel dies and the two of us are left remaining, I can still kill Monstrum."

She stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. "Why would you say that? Isn't he your best friend?"

"Shut up." Talen continued walking, facing forward. "I have trust in him. He'll come back. I know he will."

Alora's pupils gradually reduced. She sighed. Silently, she resumed her advance, lagging behind her taller friend. Their legs inevitably faltered to face an abandoned apartment building towering over the two comrades.

Talen yawned and stretched his arms into the air. "Mmm... Good enough."

Alora revealed her phone, putting it to her ear and calling the Prince's number.

Uriel currently stood on the rooftops on the other side of the city, eyes squinted, snowy locks swaying.

'I haven't been able to steadily pay attention, but their eyes are still there. When we entered the city and while we were fighting Monstrum, two people watched us. Why? And who? Am I the only one who noticed? No, that can't be. Alora isn't as powerful as Talen, but they both should've. There's no doubt about it. I've felt one of those auras somewhere before. Could it be—?'

Anthony scratched his head and slowly sat up. "What the…? Where am I?"

Uri turned to face the boy. "You're still in Arronsburg. Just on one of the rooftops. I'm Uriel Barron," he said.

Tony's eyes widened. "Uriel—? You're the Prince! What the hell're you doing here?"

"Malum Monstrum. The strongest Displacement has reincarnated into your flesh after you consumed one of his many arms. I'm sure you've noticed. We were assigned by the Syndicate of Dictation to eliminate both of you… and the Monster God within you."

"Eliminate me? That's insane! I didn't ask for this!" he yelled.

"Keep your voice down—" Eyes widened, the Prince hastily knelt before him and grabbed him by both arms. "Hold on. Back up a second. You didn't ask for this? What do you mean? Did someone force you to eat it?" he asked.

Tony nodded. "Y-yeah. A man with brown hair and green eyes, two moles under them. I'd seen him before but—" he groaned, scratching his head. "—I can't remember where."

Uri sighed, slowly standing up. 'Brown hair and green eyes with two moles under them. I was right. Apollo Moloch is involved with this. But how? And why? Is he the one who fed Tony the limb? Even ingesting a finger is enough to incarnate Monstrum fully. Tch. There's still so much we don't—' His phone's irritant ringtone intruded his train of thought.

Seeing the text plastered across the lock screen was good enough for him. In the same instant he withdrew it, he pocketed the device again and turned around.

"Alright. We're heading somewhere else. Come here."

Anthony stood from the platform to face the older man, letting their long hair move with the wind. Tony snickered.

"What?" asked Uri, slightly turning his head.

"Nothing. Actually, uh, I've been meaning to ask this of someone." Tony smiled. "How do you take care of your long hair?"

The Prince's brow quirked. "Well, that's new. Nobody's ever been that interested in my hair before now…"

"Uh—" Tony's hands raised. "S-sorry. Didn't wanna ask a weird question or anything."

"No, it's fine. But you probably shouldn't ask me anyway. I use different hair products than everyone else. What about you? Any secret you're withholding?" Uri asked, smirking.

"Not really. My hair's a bit too spiky so I wanted to ask you if you had any tips on how to straighten it."

"Oh. That's easy. You just get a straightener. I'll lend you mine when we get home. Maybe we can change hairstyles. I'm curious to see how yours would un-spiked."

The Prince turned away, simultaneously throwing his locks into the air behind him while marching toward that golden gate.

Anthony's eyes sparkled—reflecting that legendary man advancing before him and the otherworldly aura engulfing him. What was this feeling surging from within? Had he ever experienced such warmth before? The sensation this young man carried was incomparable. Perhaps he was overthinking it.

But it meant something. Even after his body was used to slaughter countless innocents, those in this world still saw him for himself. It was undeniable. This man was an Angel incarnate. If any of his comrades were remotely like him, maybe… there did exist special people. The legends his grandparents told him about.

Monster Gods, golden portals, bloody battles. It had to be. He had to wonder though. Were they the only ones? Did Fate only choose specific people? And was he one of them? Could he… be special too?

Talen peeked out a hole in the abandoned building they were using, gazing at the vast metropolis of Arronsburg's kingdom. He scoffed.

"This place is pretty but nothing beats home," he said, walking away from the demolished window.

Alora, sitting against a stone pillar before him, raised her head. "Have you ever actually been to the other kingdoms before?"

Tal shook his head.

Her eyes rolled. "Of course, you haven't. It must be fun for you and Uri, being prodigies and whatnot. What can't you guys do?"

He sat opposite her, bordered by two holes in the wall. "Is that a rhetorical question? We've known each other since childhood, Lor. Do we have to go through this—?"

"Yes!"

Tal sighed. "You don't get it, okay? Being a prodigy or whatever isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Oh please—"

"SHUT UP!"

Alora was taken aback. He'd yelled at her. And not only that, but he stood up as he did it. The girl's shrunken pupils said it all. Only after he glimpsed that look in her eye did he avert his gaze and slowly turn away.

"I didn't ask to be born perfect. But that was decided for me the moment I was." His back settled into the stone pillar yet again. "I don't remember much about my childhood. Only little blurs and hazes. Having said that, they aren't good ones. I remember how much the bruises hurt from being trained as a boy or how loud my father yelled whenever I did something wrong. The only time I had time to be normal was when he wasn't there and it was only my mother. I could see the outside world. How normal people acted. That was… how I met you. In the end, it all seemed like everyone in this world was terrible. When the people outside my home were bad, I felt despair. Then you defended me. A random stranger—a girl, at that. I remember how furious the old man was. Regardless, mom's choice to let you into our family was righteous. Because of you, I successfully honed Fate to the maximum. I started to actually… confide in myself."

Alora's watery eyes abruptly turned away. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"No, it's fine." Tal leaned on his knuckles. "I always thought of you as my older sister. I wanted to be a good person. I wanted to be perfect… for you," he said.

The girl's eyes widened. If before she was trying to prevent the tears from endlessly flowing, now she was all but powerless. Once he turned back to her, the young man found himself noticing his eyes were watering too. In less than an instant, Alora traveled the distance and wrapped her arms around her brother's neck, holding him tightly as she sobbed into his shirt.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry. You don't have to be perfect. Not for me. Not for anyone. I love you just the way you are, little brother."

Tal's hand stroked her back slowly. The tears burst from his eyes before the grip his arms held tightened over her build, holding her tightly as he silently cried. He didn't need to say anything. Just this was enough. For both of them.

"What's this?" Uriel invaded. "And here I thought you two were as close as siblings. Then again, I can't say I wasn't rooting for you," he said.

Alora removed her arms and turned her head, glaring at Barron. "Shuddup. What took you so long anyway?"

"What's it matter? No police saw us and even if they did, we'd have dealt with them. You worry too much, Lora." Uriel swatted her aside and bent over, extending his hand. "You alright there?"

Tal snatched the hand, pulling himself up. "Better than ever. What about you? How's Monster kid over there?" he asked, peeking over his shoulder.

Uri glanced back and shrugged. "Dunno. He seems okay. That being said, we need information. I didn't get to ask him before we left but… I don't think he consumed Monstrum's Arm willingly. From the description of the perpetrator, it looks like the main suspect is Apollo Moloch."

"Moloch, huh? Interesting. If he's involved, we'll encounter Violator assassins. That being said, with us three together, they don't stand a chance so we don't need to worry about that. What intrigues me most is—"

"How Anthony's still alive, yes?" interrupted the Prince. "That interests me too. Do you think it could have something to do with his lineage? His grandparents were Fate-users, remember?"

"Is that important?"

"It could be. Our knowledge regarding Displacement is limited. Both manifestation conditions and power limitations are still a block box to us. They're called Displacements for a reason," Uriel said.

Talen sighed. "What a drag…"

"Excuse me?" Uri and Tal turned to face the shorter boy. "What are we doing here?"

"Waiting." Uriel turned to Tony. "Others are watching us. We don't know how powerful they are or how many so it's best we remain idle for the time being. At least til sunrise."

"Why don't we use this time we have to talk? There's still much we don't know 'bout you, kid, and I know Uri likes to wonder but I'm the curious type. You aren't the first one to have Monstrum manifest in your flesh. Instead, you're the first one able to control him. Do you have any idea how that's possible?" asked Talen.

Tony scratched his head. "Not really. I didn't have a mom or a dad. My grandparents and aunt were always there for me but my aunt died some years ago. I never really got to know her. Both grandpa and grandma tried teaching me about this thing called 'Fate' but since I was a kid, I didn't pay attention. Does that mean anything?"

Talen sighed. "Sort of. If your grandparents are Fate-users, your parents are too. The thing is, all Fate-users, regardless of the kingdom, have to go through checking. It was a law the King passed. My family, the Amits, are in charge of that. We never heard of any Whitlocks in Arronsburg that could manipulate Fate."

"Well, I have my dad's last name. They were my grandparents on my mother's side so it makes sense if they had a different one. Then again, it's not like we can check now. That house is now destroyed and… both of them are dead…"

Moonlight brightening half of his face, Tony looked down, teeth clenched and eyes watery. Talen's green eyes watched briefly; looking back to the Prince beside him.

"You can travel back to Barronia from here, right?" he asked.

Uri nodded. "Without someone else, yeah. Why?"

"I want you to warp back to my house and check the records. Anthony Whitlock should be in there, and so should his grandparents. Only when we get a bigger picture of this will we understand everything much better."

The Prince chuckled. "So you're giving orders now? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Nothing in particular. It's just—" Tal glanced at Tony before leaning into Uriel. "Remember what we talked about, alright?"

"Ah, alright. You don't have to worry about that. I'll take care of it."

The younger man's hand patted his partner's shoulder. "I appreciate it. Now follow my orders already and get lost, pretty boy."

Barron stepped back and saluted the black-haired agent, silently summoning the golden gate beneath him. The yellow portal sunk Uriel inward; Talen and Anthony witnessed once he abruptly vanished.

The boy's innocent red eyes turned to Amit. "So what now?"

Tal looked down at him. "Now? Now we wait." He walked back to the pillar between the destroyed walls and sat back against it, rummaging through his pockets.

Tony sighed. Only briefly did he glance at his raven-haired head, remembering the girl's feminine appearance upon turning back toward her. Engrossed in her little world Alora smoked a joint and watched her phone's screen.

These were the comrades of the Angelic Prince. While the man's gloominess was undeniably distinct, there was something about the girl that drew his attention. The way she looked and sat, pulling every so often from the smoking stick—everything about her was sickeningly alluring. Anthony couldn't understand. What were these feelings, surging from within? Had he ever felt this way simply by looking at someone's outer self?

"Uh, hello?"

Tony jerked back, staring at her intently. This wasn't a dream. She was genuine; this was reality.

"H-hey. Whaddup?"

Lora chuckled, loosening her wrist. "Nothing. It's Tony, right? Are you doing alright? If I were burdened by a curse like yours, I don't think I'd still be alive," she said.

He itched his cheek, crouching to sit on her left. "Well, I guess it's weird for me. Technically, I've killed hundreds. I should be lamenting all those lost lives. Maybe the only reason I haven't killed myself yet is that… it hasn't set in for me yet."

"I get that. We can't even act like nothing's changed. To the world, you're a monster. Yet to us, you're just a boy. It's not like you had any choice in the matter. I guess it's the same for us too, though," she said.

Tony tilted his head. 'Is she lamenting?' He sighed, eyes closed. "So we're all the same then?"

"Yeah. It looks like it." Alora snapped back, turning to face Anthony's curious face. She chuckled. "I'm sorry. I didn't even introduce myself. Alora Illustrious. Syndicate Agent."

Her hand extended. The young man wasted no time, taking her hand in his to actively shake it. He grinned.

"Anthony Whitlock. Though you already knew that."

Talen, seemingly entranced by the city lights, glimpsed at Tony and Alora enjoying their conversation.

He grinned. "Cute."

Meanwhile, Apollo just finished handing a billfold to a man with short hair and aviator sunglasses shading his eyes.

"This is the payment, huh?"

"No complaining. You get half before and half after. Frankly, this should be child's play for you. The only one who poses a semblance of a threat against you is—"

The old man stood from the rooftop edge. "The Amit boy, yeah, I know. The Unconquerable technique that family manipulates is seemingly impregnable. No worries, though. I've already formed a plan," said the assassin.

Apollo smirked, hand on his hip. "Is that so? What did you say your name was again?"

"Keres?"

"No." Apollo shook his head and grinned widely. "Your real name. Wasn't it… Illustrious?"

To Be Cont.