How to go from a simple meeting to a prison break in one week (2)

"AH!?"

Spooked by the sudden yell, the few doves that were perched on top of the windowsill flew away.

The sound of their wings nearly drowned out the merry bustle from the street down below.

Beyond the window with the peach-coloured curtains, tired golden eyes blinked slowly, not reacting the slightest when the sun shone onto the young girl, who was tangled in her blanket on the carpeted floor.

In the distance, frantic footsteps slowly drew closer.

Marlia sighed, freeing one of her hands and brushing it over her face.

Mentally, she started the countdown.

Three...

Two...

One...

"Marlia are you alright? Did something happen? I heard you yell,"

Tayo asked as he barged into her room with a worried expression. 

His hand rested on the doorframe, while the other was occupied by a spatula.

Tayo looked like he came fresh out of the kitchen, judging by the apron and the smell of food that waft inside through the open door.

He seemed surprised, even if that surprise soon got replaced by blatant amusement. 

No wonder, since he was greeted by the sight of his half-asleep daughter, who was trapped in her blanket on the floor and had most likely fallen out of her bed. Again.

"Oh dear, how do you manage to do that every time?"

He murmured, a chuckle disrupting his words as he approached her to help.

While his hands were busy gently prying away the offending fabric, he noticed that, much to his surprise, Asgira hadn't done as much as shift in their sleep, their still figure lying on the other side of the bed.

They seemed to be a heavy sleeper if all of that commotion hadn't woken them up yet.

How interesting. He had expected something else.

Yawning loudly, Marlia rubbed her eyes and stood up, now free from the blanket that had caused her descent from the heavenly throne called bed.

"Everything alright, nothing hurts?"

He asked softly, searching her face for any signs of discomfort.

"Yeah yeah, I just fell out of bed, don't worry about it I'm fine," Marlia answered with a small smile on her face.

"Alright then, get changed and wake up Asgira, we're having breakfast soon."

Patting her shoulder lovingly, he turned around and left to a hopefully not-burned-down kitchen.

Marlia had to stop herself from jumping up and down on the spot. Her golden eyes brimming with life and excitement.

All of her sleepiness vanished as soon as he mentioned breakfast.

How could she not?

After all, she knew no better cook in her family other than him.

It would be a crime not to eat it.

A mischievous grin crept onto her face.

Her gaze drifted to the other figure sleeping in her bed, unbothered by the sunlight that hit their face.

That won't do.

Rushing to the bathroom with newly lit determination and clean clothes in her arms, she sped through her morning routine, sprinted back, and jumped onto the bed with a wild grin.

"AH?! WHAT THE FUCK!"

The poor birds outside couldn't get a break.

Dishevelled pale blond hair, hazy black/yellow eyes, and an absolutely furious expression.

All that could be seen on the poor victim of Marlia's attack.

If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that they'd pounce her with those slitted pupils and sharpened nails on their hands.

But that wasn't the case, as mere moments later, the other thirteen-year-old sighed in defeat and let their head hit the floor. Staring at her with an annoyed expression.

"Can't you just wake me like a normal person?"

They grumbled, their body slowly moving upwards like a limp bag of flesh because Marlia grabbed their arm and pulled them up with a stubborn look in her eyes.

"Nope."

She replied, popping the "p" with a mischievous grin.

Asgira looked at her with a deadpanned face and huffed,  scratching their head with a mildly aching arm.

The pointy ears, which were even longer than those of the Virkasas, twitched lightly.

Marlia, restless and still brimming with excitement, began to scurry around her room and clean up the mess she had left behind when she went to the temple.

The dull ache beneath the symbol on her forehead was barely noticeable, as she was too focused on her racing thoughts.

"What time is it anyway?"

Asgira asked as they finally stood up and stretched, the joints in their back popping one by one.

"Oh, it's nearly twelve o'clock," Marlia replied, her eyes flicking to the clock on her nightstand while she handed Asgira their travel bag so that they could change and resumed picking up the junk from the carpet.

"To be honest, I thought that I would sleep longer,"

She continued, not noticing the disbelief on her friend's face as her back was turned towards them.

"Why would you think that?"

The bewildered tone was slightly muffled by the white shirt that they were pulling over their head. Having found it just now next to a clean pair of pants. Each pair of clothing was embroidered with a blooming white rose that was surrounded by thorns.

"Well, usually when I'm extremely tired, I can sleep for over fifteen hours."

Marlia explained, losing herself in a rant about her sleeping habits as she unceremoniously dumped the mechanical parts into a messily labelled box that stood next to her desk.

The reason for the mess in her room was simple.

Before she got summoned to the temple, she had been busy building a small device that resembled a dragon, though it looked more like a wyvern now that she looked at it.

Sadly, she didn't manage to finish it before her leave and they forbid her to bring something that could be "potentially dangerous" in their words.

She didn't know what the problem was. It was just an unfinished figure, and it's not like she could bestow it life all of a sudden, that would be ridiculous.

Nevertheless, since she had read the invitation a little too late -she forgot about it until the last minute-, Marlia had to leave her room in such a state and hurry to the temple before its gates closed.

The Isanti temple worked like this.

Every time, when a person would manifest the all-knowing eye, they would receive an invitation from the temple and get a chance to learn how to control it.

During that time period that they spent at the temple, they learned all the basics of its usage and get a choice in the end. Either they would continue to learn and master it, or they could get it sealed by the Sphinx so that they would never be able to use it again.

Those who stayed could decide if they wanted to continue their studies in the temple or return to their personal lives as long as they didn't stop practising.

And now Marlia was here, taking a leave from her full-time studies and relaxing with her family at home.

She looked around with a satisfied expression as she dusted off her hands for the dramatic effect.

Her room looked much better than before if you ignored a few places here and there that still needed cleaning.

Humming lightly, she opened the door again and led Asgira to the kitchen, who had silently watched her space out for about five minutes before being dragged away as usual.

As soon as they entered, Marlia's eyes turned the size of saucers, her mouth watering and stomach growling loudly at the sight.

Splayed out on the table were all of her favourite dishes. Still hot and just waiting to be devoured by her.

With a high-pitched squeal, she flung herself onto her seat and started shovelling a mountain of food onto her plate. Forgetting all the manners that her mother had taught her for social gatherings.

Asgira, confused but amused nonetheless, gingerly sat down next to her and inspected the food, not really knowing how to act in her home as this was their first visit.

Marlia's sudden gasp made their ears twitch, the smack of a spatula hitting flesh resounding in their ears.

Curious, their eyes wandered towards their friend, face turning into a grimace as they tried to contain their laughter. Their piranha-like teeth glinting in the light.

Marlia's face had twisted into a disgruntled and shocked expression as she rubbed the hand that had been hit just now.

Staring at her in disapproval was her father. His gaze stern and disappointed.

"Didn't you forget something?"

He asked, glancing at their guest whose plate was still empty as most of the food had landed on his daughter's plate.

Marlia blanched.

Realizing her mistake.

"Oh- I'm sorry Asgira, I shouldn't have started eating just like that,"

She stammered, deeply ashamed of her behaviour as it was proper etiquette to let the guest eat first and that one should not start eating until everyone was seated.

Tayo, still in his apron, nodded his head in satisfaction. Watching how Marlia continuously apologized to her friend, who in turn, looked a little worried at the sudden behaviour change.

Hah, children these days.

Sighing, he wiped his forehead and went back to the sink.

Today was his lucky day he mused as he washed the pots and pans before setting them up to dry, removing his apron, and finally joining the kids to eat.

He felt pride bubble in his chest as he observed their reactions.

How his daughter's eyes glowed with happiness at the familiar taste, while Asgiras face lit up like fireworks before they too started tearing into the food like a starved animal.

A good thing that he had cooked so much then, as he had been certain that they hadn't had the time to eat during their travels.

Tayo smiled, taking a bite of his creation and humming at the taste.

Today, he woke up at seven o'clock, which was a lot earlier than he expected.

Being bored and not wanting to continue working on his project if he could spend time with his daughter instead, he finished cleaning the shop by himself and then decided to conquer the kitchen for the first time in weeks.

It seemed that this course of action was the right choice, as he watched the happy faces of the children in front of him, the smile never leaving his face.

A sharp gasp sliced through the domestic atmosphere. Followed by the clattering of a fork.

Marlia trembled as she clutched her head.

A faint golden sheen covering her eyes.

Similar to a translucent blindfold.

The mark on her forehead glowed faintly, almost pulsating with life.

It disturbed him in a way that he could not explain.

Tayo shared a worried look with Asgira, who also didn't seem to know what was going on.

He didn't like that one bit.

They both moved towards her, touching her lightly so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt herself with how much she was shaking, and gently pried away her hands that had been gripping her face so hard that it left marks on the warm brown skin.

Marlia gasped again.

Both persons flinched back at the sudden sound.

The golden sheen vanished like a snapping thread.

"I remember!"

She exclaimed, a beaming smile splitting her face as though she hadn't scared them mere moments ago.

"What?"

"I remembered the vision I had last night!"

Tayo bristled at those words. Secretly hoping that it wouldn't show on his face.

He didn't know much about visions, but he had heard that sometimes, the people with an all-knowing eye would suddenly lose consciousness and once they woke up, they wouldn't be the same person anymore.

Often babbling nonsense or seeing things that weren't there.

The first time he heard that, was when his daughter had manifested the eye.

Of course, since the loss of his beloved wife had still been fresh in his mind, he was against letting his daughter go to the temple when she received their invitation letter.

Not wanting to lose someone precious again so soon.

But she, just like himself, was stubborn to a fault and begged him over and over to let her go there until he couldn't deny her anymore. Because, even though he sometimes didn't notice, he was weak for his precious daughter and couldn't bear to see her sad. 

Though, he did make her promise to write him a letter every week with the threat of coming and getting her himself if she didn't.

After all, no matter how much he loved her, her safety and well-being always came first.

Tayo rubbed his forehead.

A wave of tiredness washed over him.

If he was being honest, and that he was, he still wasn't happy about it.

But he had to admit that she seemed happy with her decision.

Even happier, now that she had a best friend over there.

"Dad! We have to go and find Vira after breakfast immediately!"

"Huh?"

Tayo looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah! I saw it! The vision showed me a raven and I knew it was her immediately! So c'mon hurry hurry hurry!!!"

Vigorously stuffing her remaining food into her mouth, Marlia was nearly done and ready to jump out of the window if necessary when he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Wait wait wait wait! Hold up! What do you mean we have to find Vira? Why all of a sudden?"

Tayo asked, his eyes perfectly portraying the inner turmoil at the turn of events.

"I just told you, the vision showed me!"

The young black girl exclaimed, trying to escape his arms to get ready.

He sighed, tightening his grip on her shoulders and turning her towards him. Not paying attention to Asgira who stood awkwardly in the doorway and watched it all unfold.

It was so weird being in your friend's home and witnessing family dramas as a guest.

"Marlia, we talked about this, what do we do when another person doesn't immediately understand what you mean?"

Tayo asked, his voice a little strained but calm, as he had dealt with this for years.

"We explain it?"

Marlia answered, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She would not meet his eyes and bowed her head, her curls bouncing a little with each and every one of her movements.

"Exactly, now tell me again, in detail, what you saw and why we have to find Vira."

Tayo talked as if he had all the time in the world. Which, in some way, he had, because he was a very patient person.

His daughter shared more personality traits with his wife Akilah than him.

That was why he knew how her mind worked because both of them were complex thinkers.

Due to that, they never really seemed to learn how to deal with socializing and talking to other people as well as conveying their thoughts into words that everyone understood.

For that, they thankfully had him.

The only person that was patient enough to listen to them and their thoughts, and help them with their lack of social skills when they needed it.

As such, he did his best to teach his daughter the importance of social etiquette and the way of speaking so she wouldn't accidentally make the wrong people angry.

Especially now that she was thirteen and her puberty would start soon.

Meanwhile, when she went on to explain what she saw, in the southeast of the country, two pairs of feet made their way to a Café in Silfar.

Completely unaware of their soon-to-be fateful encounter with some rather interesting people and the information that they would reveal.

Acelia sighed.

Feeling a little squeamish from the silence that enveloped the two of them while they walked.

Ever since she and Lutho had left the headquarters, he had been quiet. Too quiet.

His black eyes staring at empty air and shaking lightly. 

Contrary to their atmosphere, the weather outside was simply splendid.

The sun was shining brightly, causing the still-wet pavement to sparkle with its light as their footsteps disrupted the puddles in their path.

A merry bustle filled the streets on this bright midday. Many people were outside and enjoyed the sun as they went shopping or took a break from work.

But she had no time to enjoy the atmosphere, as her thoughts were elsewhere right now.

Acelia had a strong suspicion that Ryker Orsol had something to do with Lutho's weird behaviour. Though she couldn't fathom what.

Even though she stood in the doorway and witnessed the whole exchange, they had spoken way too quietly for her to hear with her bad hearing.

A condition that had been getting gradually worse since her childhood.

Due to that, she learned sign language in case she would go deaf. Which was a very high possibility according to her doctor and her line of work.

Anyway.

It was a good thing that she knew what Café he had wanted to take her to, so she could comfortably lead them there without needing his guidance. Which was an impossible feat right now, with how spaced out he was.

She couldn't even count how often she had to move his body out of the way so he wouldn't bump into random people. Though if each time would cost a Cera, she would be five Cera richer and able to buy a cup of her favourite coffee.

Acelia checked her pocket watch, a small and simple-looking thing that had been a gift from her twin.

In about three minutes it would be twelve o'clock.

The time of day were workers would flood the streets and conquer all of the stalls, Cafés, and restaurants in their path.

It also made it very difficult to navigate if you could only see the heads of people with her height.

That's why they had to hurry.

And thankfully the Café was already in sight.

She had never been so glad that she had sacrificed Kyron and Eurea to the masses that filled the plaza so that she could escape with her friend. A truly cruel fate that she had the displeasure of experiencing firsthand, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

They had been annoying enough during the meeting. A little revenge wouldn't hurt.

And, the sight of so many people immediately swarming the two archenemies was absolutely hilarious.

She cackled at the memory.

A smile threatening to burst on her face.

The clock struck twelve.

The loud bell from the bell tower that stood in the north, rang all across the city.

Just in time for her to enter the building that she had been hunting down for the past fifteen minutes.

The small bell at the entrance chimed a cute little melody.

It was quite cosy.

Acelia thought as she looked around. Her yellow eyes widened with interest when she saw the large number of options that were written above the counter.

The other guests stared at them a little dumbfounded. Though only two out of the four recognized the people that just came in.

From an outsider's perspective, the pair looked pretty strange.

A tall, muscular, black-haired male with hazy eyes and a military uniform, leaning onto a black woman with bright yellow eyes who wore an even nicer military uniform and was a head shorter than him?

Tell that to anyone else and they would think that some drunkards had attempted to cosplay again.

The Café itself was coloured in creme, adorned with warm brown wood, and especially interesting due to the articulate designs that weaved themselves around the wooden frames of the door and windows.

There were even a few flowers here and there, the Café standing in a place where the sun could always reach it.

From the outside, it may not look like a lot, but it was in fact one of the most popular places for guards and soldiers to take a break, as it included splendid service, coffee, tea, snacks, and pastries.

As a matter of fact, such little resting places were very common in Silfar, since the business was booming with how many students would come there for part-time jobs or to do their studies in peace.

Of course, no matter how well-known these were, no city in all of Acren could compare to the culinary masterpieces made in Aurys, the golden city of food and Alchemy.

Acren was a country that was held up by the four capital cities,  each focused on one aspect to help the country flourish.

Silfar was located in the south and was the city of knowledge and arts, well known for being a city with not only the strongest military but also the largest amount of academies.

The people there focused on education and freedom of learning instead of forcing the students into a box, and even though they did have aspects of magic, it had nothing to do with natural magic but, symbolic one instead. 

Ortaga was the city of technology and science located in the northeast. It was famous for those things because the majority of its population was made up of Markaci, who did not have any magic to aid them as their only power was related to time.

So, to make up for that void, they spent their time inventing new machines and gadgets to keep up with the world and explore the unknown.

Aurys was the city of dreamers and magic, that was located in the southwest, near the continental border.

Even though they were known to be a city of magic, they had more to do with psychology, dreams, and things like the improvement of the human body and mind, as well as the wonders of Alchemical and Biological sciences.

All sorts of elemental and natural sources of magic were prohibited and those who sought to learn such things would need to seek out the elemental spirits that ruled over nature or one of the eight shifter races.

And the last city that was also the most mysterious one was Tincre.

For some unknown reason, it had been abandoned and forsaken a long time ago, even going as far as not being mentioned in any of the records that their archives held.

As if that city never existed.

Yet, what made things even weirder, was the fact that its remains were located all the way up north.

For those few who came across it and didn't freeze to death, they described it as being an eerie place filled with frozen ruins due to an unending snowstorm that seemed to worsen every time someone tried to approach the gates. 

That's why it had rightfully earned itself the name of the silent city.

Speaking of silence, the silence in the soon-to-be overflowing Café was painfully obvious as the other four guests stared at the two strange people who seemed oblivious to all of the attention that they were getting.

While Acelia inspected the menu options after having found a comfortable seat near the window, she didn't notice how clarity slowly returned to Lutho's eyes.

He shook his head lightly and groaned.

Rubbing his face with his gloved hands.

Black eyes flickered upward and widened in surprise.

Acelia noticed the sudden movement. Her yellow eyes met his confused gaze.

She grinned, tapping his nose with the menu in her hands.

"Welcome back to the living sleeping beauty, how was it being carried by me all the way over here?"

He scoffed, eyeing her with doubt.

"You?"

Lutho asked, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Yes."

"You carried me all the way here?"

"Yup."

"On your own? With your body build?"

"You know my answer won't change right?"

The pleasant smile that she sported during this interaction slowly tensed and turned into a grimace. Her eye twitched lightly.

She wasn't that weak you know?

It was already a risky situation due to her being a head shorter than him. No need to make fun of her lean build too, she was, after all, built for running and quick movement.

Unbeknownst to the two who were now locked in an intense staring contest, more and more guards on break trickled in, surprised to see their superiors in such a casual place.

The waitress, having spotted them just now, approached the pair with a tired expression. A few drops of red staining the white blouse of her uniform.

"Hello, what can I get for you?"

She asked, the short black hair being held back by hairclips in a way, that made the small beauty mark beneath her eye stand out even more.

Her black eyes flicked from her board to her customers.

"Lutho?!"

"Hm?"

He looked up at the surprised exclamation.

Their eyes locked.

"Ugh, how did you know I work here hm? Did you look at my calendar again?"

Vira deadpanned, already tired from the mission she had had earlier this morning, but he didn't need to know about that.

"W-what? No, I didn't this is just a coincidence!"

Lutho stammered, embarrassed by the suspicious look Acelia was sending him.

"Yeah sure, you're getting back at me for threatening your precious book yesterday aren't you?"

"Stop assuming things you rotten gremlin! Can't a man have a peaceful conversation with his friend or do you want me to track you down on purpose now?"

She scoffed, clicking her tongue as she glared at him, her pen hitting the board repeatedly.

"Pah! As if you could, you old man. Go back to your paperwork jungle instead of bothering me at work you ugly cockroach."

Vira dismissively waved at him, already turning away to get to another customer so he couldn't continue getting on her nerves.

But she froze.

His previously embarrassed and frenzied expression shifted into something else. As if he had reached enlightenment from some god or something.

Leaning back in his seat, he smiled sweetly at her, a thing that sent shivers down her spine.

"Did you forget that I'm a customer and there's an etiquette you need to uphold dear sister of mine?"

He asked, his voice dripping with the highest quantity of sarcasm a person could possibly have.

Acelia, who was watching this exchange from the sidelines felt giddy and amused. This was even better than those soap operas they would perform in theatres sometimes. Not that she watched them or anything. She was just bored. 

Gosh, if only she had some snacks with her.

Ah!

Her eyes lit up.

Damn, she was a genius.

"Excuse me? I hate to break this up but could you bring me some snacks and a cup of coffee with milk and sugar?"

She asked the woman in front of her, who looked at Lutho with disgust and shock.

However, she quickly schooled her expression and smiled at her with that infamous customer smile.

"Of course. Would you also like anything good sir?"

Lutho grinned like an idiot at the gritted-out question, happily ordering a few things before she stomped back into the kitchen. Most definitely imagining different ways to murder him. 

"Sooo~"

Acelia smirked evilly.

Folding her hands and placing her head on top of them.

"Who was that? Hm? Your girlfriend or something? Don't worry, I can keep secrets very well you see."

Lutho choked on his spit.

"No! What the fuck no! She's my sister I clearly said that just moments ago! Stop messing with me!"

He exclaimed, his face flaming with embarrassment, as he tried to suppress a coughing fit so they would not gather even more unwanted attention.

She cackled loudly at the look on his face, slapping the table lightly with her hand.

"Haaa~ ahaha, you're just too fun to tease you know?"

Her voice went through at least ten different pitches as she said that, her laughter interrupting her multiple times.

"Now while we're at it, tell me about what you've been up to these past few weeks. I want to know all the details!"

Lutho huffed at her enthusiasm, his cough finally gone and embarrassed blush fading slowly as he engrossed himself in talking about his family and complaining about work.

A shadow crept up behind the duo.

"Here are your orders."

The small yelp that escaped the usually stoic Captain would be something that Vira would never let him forget, judging by the satisfied smile on her face at his reaction.

Vira placed the dishes on the table and locked eyes with a giddy-looking Acelia.

It was a little awkward, to be honest, but nothing that couldn't be resolved.

"Hello, I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Acelia Kol, I guess you have heard about me already am I right?"

"Ah yes, you're that former trainee my dumbass brother picked up a while ago. Impressive that you've managed to become commander at such a young age."

Ignoring the fact that the woman had called her a mere trainee, Acelia lightly scratched her cheek at the praise as it was a hard-to-come-by thing from Lutho.

And if his siblings were even a little similar to him, this was the greatest honour one could ever receive.

"Thanks, but that's not what I wanted to talk about," wetting her dry lips with the coffee, Acelias eyes sported an evil glint as she asked, "Do you perhaps have any-"

"You want blackmail on my brother? Sure, I've got plenty of that. Just contact me and I can send them to you at any time."

Her jaw dropped.

"How...how did you know?"

Vira smirked.

Lazily waving her pen around and ignoring the murderous glare that pricked at the back of her neck.

"You have that look in your eyes. It wasn't hard to figure out. You're welcome."

She made a little bow.

Grinning like a maniac on a sugar rush Acelia thanked her profusely, not even acknowledging the betrayed look that Lutho was sending her as she bonded with her new friend.

He let out a deep sigh, absently noting how a co-worker approached his sister and pried her away from his way too happy friend.

He lamented the fact that soon, his fear of a club that dedicated itself to bring his demise would become reality.

He could already imagine the name, something... something with dark. Yeah. Something like that.

It would definitely fit.

About half an hour later, which they spent chatting over baseless things, their fun little break was over and they had to return to work. Even though that only applied to Lutho as Acelia had taken a day off to travel to the meeting.

Taking pity on him, when she saw the dejected look on his face at the thought of seeing those papers again, she offered to help him with his paperwork, a thing that he not only immediately accepted but also greatly appreciated.

Given the radiant smile that he gave her as soon as she offered to accompany him.

Leaving a generous tip behind, they were almost at the exit when Lutho suddenly stopped. Having remembered something important.

"Uh, Vira?"

He called, gaining the attention of his sister who was just about to enter the kitchen to get an order.

"What is it?"

She hissed, reappearing in front of him in a black flash as she wiped her hands on the white apron that she was wearing.

Her eyes clearly showing her displeasure, not only because it was him, but also because it was forbidden to shift or use one's powers on a large scale in cities without a permit or in a non-emergency situation.

And she didn't want to be labelled as a criminal just to be arrested by her brother of all people.

"These next few days, maybe even a week, we will be extremely busy with the preparations for a trial and I won't be able to look after O-, I mean Nozan. Could you make sure that he shows up to his appointments and doesn't overdo it with training?"

Her expression turned sombre for a few seconds before it vanished, replaced by an indifferent gaze.

"Don't worry, I got this. Just don't collapse on me anymore okay? You two are already a handful to deal with."

Despite the dismissive way that she said that, Vira couldn't hide the warmth that seeped into her voice.

"Thanks."

Lutho's eyes teared up a little, prompting him to give her a short side hug.

He was truly grateful, for her help.

His face said it all.

Bowing slightly, Lutho left the Café with Acelia, and Vira returned to work, relieved that she could continue her shift in peace until she had to go to that one bookshop where she worked at.

She had a little too many side jobs.

A fact that greatly annoyed her brothers and friends since they never knew where she was right now.

Walking back to where she had been standing previously, she picked up the tray with dirty dishes and carefully made her way back to the kitchen to get rid of them and take the next order.

In that instant, the door slammed open.

Her tray nearly fell from her hands as a pair of arms encircled her waist. Holding her in a tight hug and refusing to let her go.

The poor bell on the door rang like the bell on the collar of a cat that had its zoomies, wildly swinging around from the impact of the door.

Vira looked down.

Surprise marring her face.

Her fists and legs trembled with how tightly she tensed them. Trying not to lash out on instinct.

Gripping her waist like life and death depended on it was Marlia. The child that she had known since she first discovered the family's shop.

Her mother had been a very nice woman.

The resemblance between the two was almost uncanny, from appearance to personality one would've thought that they were clones.

But she still regained several features and traits from her father. Mainly the curlier hair, tendency to pick at her nails, and of course, the overworking that, thankfully, wasn't as severe as her father's for now.

Asgira, who Vira only noticed now, stood a little further away, their chest heaving slightly as they stared at the display with strangely hazy eyes.

The feeling of eyes itched on her skin.

Her shoulders tensing a little.

Her head snapped up.

Black eyes glaring at the guests that quickly averted their gaze as soon as their eyes met hers, giving them their deserved privacy.

Sending a last apologetic look at her poor coworkers who could only sigh and wave her away, as such sudden scenarios were far from new, Vira motioned Asgira to follow her as she led them to a deserted table that stood in one of the darker corners.

Gently dislodging the clingy child, she sat them both down, keeping a chair empty for when Tayo arrived as he was never one to be far away from his family and friends, and slumped in on herself.

Taking a few seconds to collect her thoughts she closed her eyes, listening to the Café's ambience and the ragged breathing that approached their table, which soon transformed into the screeching of chairs and the sound of a body plopping down.

Opening her eyes, Vira brushed some strands of her short hair out of her face and put her chin onto her folded hands.

She ignored Tayo for now.

Giving him some space to remember how to live again with those weak asthmatic lungs of his, as he sat next to her, wheezing and licking his chapped lips. Busy signalling a waiter to bring him some water.

That poor guy.

She nearly felt bad...

Anyway,

"Alright, let's make this quick, why are you here? I'm in the middle of work as you can see."

Vira stated, looking at them with an expectant expression.

"I got a vision about you."

Surprised, she turned to Marlia, whose golden eyes seemed sharper and more focused than usual.

"Excuse me?"

"I got a vision about you. It seemed pretty important and urgent so I thought I could just tell you now,"

The girl explained, her mouth speeding up as more and more words threatened to spill, before a large, warm hand dropped onto Marlias shoulder, silencing her blabbermouth.

"I'm sorry about this Vira,"

Tayo apologized sheepishly as he rubbed his growing beard. A now empty cup standing on the table beside him.

"We didn't want to just barge in like that, but Marlia couldn't wait to tell you when we got here so she ran off and we had to chase after her."

Marlia huffed a little. Pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly disliking the description of her father as she thought that she was pretty patient and they were just slow.

Vira sighed in exasperation, cradling her head in her hands.

Every single time she was at work. Some sort of mysterious bullshit would happen to mess with her day.

Like that one time the ravens that she had befriended through the blessing of Asternum (nature spirits of the plants) flew into the bookshop and left it in shambles.

Or that other time when she was busy with gardening when her little brother Onyx crashed into her neatly trimmed Rose bushes and destroyed all of her hard work.

And now this.

Not even one, but two interferences in her supposedly peaceful work environment, and that so early into her shift.

No wonder she smoked.

"Alright," she sighed, accepting her defeat and raising her gaze to look at Marlia who straightened in her seat. "Just tell me what it is that you saw and get on with your life, I really have to get back to work soon."

Nodding eagerly, Marlia shared a glance with Asgira, who nodded at her encouragingly, never having been one of many words, and opened her mouth.

The symbol on her forehead flashed once.

A light, near-transparent sheen spreading across her eyes and turning her face stoic.

In a monotone voice and a faraway look in her eyes, Marlia spoke,

"I'm in a desolate street. Everything around me is silver and there is a lamppost. A raven is staring at me from the top of the lamppost. The scene changed. There's a dark purple liquid with dark red and grey mixed into it. It's oozing out from eyes and wounds." Her breath hitched a little, goose bumps spreading across her skin. 

Vira grew worried.

Even though this was the first time that she witnessed someone receive a vision, she had heard a lot of things from coworkers and clients about how the people could become traumatized by what they see or even feel what was happening to them in the vision they got. Which were more often than not, visions about bad things.

"The images are glitching. I see eyes with coloured rings stretching throughout the iris. The rings have the same colour as the liquid."

Marlia spasmed a little, flinching here and there. Her voice quivering from the imagines that she was seeing.

Tayo felt anxious. It was clear as day by his expression and the pain in his eyes.

Vira could relate. It deeply unsettled her to see a child having to witness such things from what she was hearing.

"Many bright lights are surrounding me. They almost look like stars."

The girl flinched more violently. Brows furrowed and eyes squinting as if she were looking at the sun.

Vira wanted to curse, resisting the urge to wake her up because waking someone from a vision was like waking up a sleepwalker.

"There's- there's a huge explosion. It looks like it's in a prison and- and there are eyes again. Burning orange eyes with gold dripping from them."

Gasp!

Marlia's body surged forward, her hands clutching the table so tightly that all the blood left her fingers. Golden eyes clear once more.

The conversations around them quieted a little from the outburst, before returning to a normal volume again.

"Are you alright sweetie?"

Tayo gently asked, slowly prying her tense fingers away from the table.

Asgira, who had been silent the entire time, rubbed their friend's back with a sad expression.

It seemed like such instances were quite common for them.

Vira clenched her fists.

Even though the vision was pretty broken, it did not paint a pretty picture.

Especially the part with the prison.

Of course, it could be any random prison in the world, but the timing made her suspicious.

Squinting her black eyes in thought, she barely registered the frantic waving of one of her co-workers, who signalled her to get back to her shift.

Vira stood up, her chair scraping the floor a little.

Gaining the attention of the small group in front of her.

"Thank you for the information sunshine. You don't have to tell me everything. This was plenty of stuff, so don't go overboard. It didn't seem like a pleasant experience."

Marlia lowered her eyes, the usually bubbly girl being replaced by a more timid one. The feeling of guilt nagging at her.

Similar to how she had been when the loss of her mother still weighed down upon her.

"But- but I didn't want to trigger it again?! I just wanted to tell you the important parts!"

Marlia exclaimed, her voice so guilty for making others worry about her that it made Vira burn with fury, but she remained calm. Suppressing the anger.

"You already told me more than enough Marlia. No need to beat yourself up about such things. You're still a child, you get to make mistakes."

Vira smiled gently, patting the girl's shoulder that sported a weak smile. It still wasn't better, but it was progress.

"I'll bring you guys some desserts and stuff until everything's calmed down alright? And thanks again for the Information."

The group smiled gratefully as Vira walked away, her mind pondering over the vision.

Even if she didn't know how to piece that stuff together, she would contact Lutho regardless just to be safe. Especially since she had a feeling that more trouble was to come.

A week passed by in a flash, and the long-awaited trial of truth was starting soon.

Only the Sphinx had yet to arrive.

It was good that they weren't in a hurry.

Orelio, who had finally gotten rid of the casing that enveloped his broken arm was tapping his foot impatiently.

His fingers absently tracing the new golden lines that had appeared on the places where his skin had been broken due to the previously broken arm.

It was still itchy and quite uncomfortable, and he had to restrain himself from scratching the still-tender skin.

Orelio had been sent to greet the Sphinx and show her the way to the trial chamber that they had prepared, alongside one of his co-workers who worked under Captain Dargo's division.

Finally a change in his boring routine.

But since she still hadn't arrived, he had to stand here and suffer for twenty minutes of nonstop talking from that other guy whose name he hadn't bothered remembering, who did nothing but complain about some other guy named Trevor and how bad of a job he was doing.

He stifled a yawn, tuning out the constant chatter of the Akrealis beside him, and let his hazel-brown eyes wander.

As usual, whenever the Sphinx or a representative of the other nations visited and had to hold a trial or something similar, they would be granted access to the Platinum tower and the necessary equipment for their goal.

This was his first time in the Platinum tower as they awaited the Sphinx at the entrance.

And Orelio had to admit, that he was very impressed.

Although he was a Beskahre (a gryphon) and had always been surrounded by gold during his childhood, a custody of the gigantic golden tree that they kept safe and took care of in their home, his interest never failed to spark whenever he was faced with something shiny.

So, the pretty door definitely caught his attention with the bunch of -pretty unnecessary- jewels that were embedded in the platinum-coated iron.

In this world, there were many different races and species spread across the five continents in a similar manner to earth.

Next to Phoenixes and Gryphons, there were also four distinct types of dragons and the two Basilisk species that inhabited the western continents. While the Virkasas and Yaganis inhabited the Eastern ones.

Or at least a big part of those.

The youngest species in this world were the Markaci, which were formerly known as humans and a very interesting bunch, with the ability to view the past of everything they touched, but at the cost of their own memories.

While the oldest races, which had been here since they had been first created, were the Virkasas and the Yaganis, who had once been part of the same species but were forced to split apart and evolve separately due to a great calamity.

Last but not least were the shifters, who had randomly appeared over the millenias, one race after the other until the land had been divided evenly between them.

And then there were the spirits.

The kind that lived in nature and took care of it, next to a lot of other creatures and beasts.

The nature spirits were divided into five types, depending on the element.

That's why they were called elemental spirits. Although there were some exceptions like light for example.

The five elements were fire, water, earth, air, and plants. Light being one of the special ones that took a different form.

While the rest depended on the form of animals such as tigers, birds, foxes, wolves, and lions, light spirits- specifically sun and moonlight ones- remained as wisps and little ghostly lights that appeared wherever they pleased.

Orelio, who was still looking at the jewels, recalled a memory that he had made when he was very young and on a little field trip with his mother.

The area where they lived was a big mountain range, with different villages and cities spread across the land, all built near one of the tree's roots, to keep it safe and away from other plants.

The green field seemed endless as it stretched before his eyes, the hills rolling across the plain and with the mountains and forests in the distance.

"The sky is so pretty don't you think Orelio?"

His mother asked with crescent eyes, her brown hair fluttering in the wing as she stretched her wings and tail. Currently appearing in her half-transformation.

He nodded eagerly, sending her a big toothy grin as he ran ahead and tumbled through the high grass. Laughing all the way even when his sandy blonde hair and soft wings got dirtied with grass stains and leaves.

His mother's laughter followed him and soon she was sprawled beside him, the two of them watching the clouds as they travelled across the blue sky, their freckles speckled with the sunlight that filtered through the grass.

The gentle sound of the wind that caressed the grass filled his ears. He began to grow sleepy, as he felt his mother's hands stroke his head.

"Did you know? Sometimes, in times like these when the sun is at its highest point, you can see little lights dancing on the fields, like those fireflies at night."

She whispered excitedly, his own eyes growing big and curious like those of a cat.

"Really?!"

He whisper yelled back, turning onto his side to see her face.

She grinned and nodded, pointing at the sky with her clawed fingers.

"Maybe if we wait long enough, we might see some of them!"

His mother exclaimed, rolling onto her back and exhaling softly as she made herself comfortable.

Brimming with excitement, Orelio copied his mother and waited.

The sun pranced across the sky, the shadows growing longer and longer and Orelio fell asleep after a while.

Only when the last rays of sunlight cast an orange glow over the field did he wake again, his mother fast asleep beside him, her wings curled over his body.

He was disappointed that he had not seen any of those lights yet, but he sat up regardless, enjoying the warm, fading sunlight on his tanned skin.

Then, he noticed small lights that appeared around him, forming a circle as they danced around his head.

He was perplexed, thinking that the fireflies must've come out early today.

But when he looked closer, his eyes already very sharp due to his gryphon genes, he noticed that something was off about them, as it looked like there were small sprites or something at the centre of those lights.

He heard his mother gasp.

Staring at him and the dancing lights with troubled eyes, the glow of twilight at the horizon, and the eerie silence except for the wind, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

Orelio didn't know why she was reacting that way, after all, from what she told him, this should be a joyous occasion.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she pulled him into her arms, the cold wind that blew over them making him shiver. He didn't know if she was crying from sadness or joy.

The lights faded away and made way for the night, the darkness distracting him from the quiet apologies that spouted from his mother's mouth. Muffled mumblings of "I knew you could do it!" and "they chose you, my son, I'm so relieved!" Echoing in his ears.

He felt strangely empty.

He couldn't understand what she was saying.

Why she was apologizing.

Did he do something wrong to upset her?

With those thoughts in mind, he simply hugged her shaking body and ignored the cold feeling that settled in his chest, the hysterical crying and deranged laughter of his mother once they got home and the whispers on the streets that seemed to follow him ever since.

A harsh slap on his shoulder ripped him out of his memories, coming face to face with his panicked co-worker and the Sphinx that stood in front of them with a pleasant yet stiff expression.

"I've been calling you for ten minutes man! What is going on with you?!"

His co-worker whisper yelled at him, all of his angry demeanour from before, gone in a flash.

Blinking perplexed, he let out an "uh" and straightened his back, bowing his head as he apologized to the woman before him.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting like this madam, this will not happen again, please follow us."

Stiff as a broom, he and his sweating colleague led the way to the prepared room, even though that was just formality since they were walking through a straight hallway.

Both of them painfully aware of the calculating and almost predatory gaze, the way to tall woman cast on them from behind.

Her steps were silent except for the jingling jewellery that hung off of her expensive and luxurious clothes.

She reminded Orelio of one of those nobles and celebrities that clad themselves in gold and silk and whatnot, to show off their status behind fake smiles and goodwill.

But unlike those loud and uncomfortable yapping dogs, she remained silent the entire time. Preferring to watch them and everything else around them with a small smirk on her tanned, feline face. As if she knew something that they didn't.

It was clear from her demeanour that she wasn't of mortal blood.

Or at least, that was what Orelio thought, as he noticed all those uncanny details about her.

The longer one looked the stranger it got, from the way that her eyes would widen or open in different places, the weird moving bumps beneath the tawny-brown skin, to the too wide smile that revealed her sharp fangs.

It was as unsettling as it was fascinating.

Just like when you stare at the ceiling or an object for too long and it starts to change and warp before your eyes.

Thankfully, he couldn't dwell on those thoughts any longer when they pushed the doors open to reveal the high court.

The seats of all the representatives formed a crescent shape around an empty arena with a big seal at the centre.

The heavy curtains were drawn shut, drowning the usually brightly lit room in darkness, with only the candles serving as a light source as well as for the dramatic flair.

The Sphinx smiled, the headpiece jewellery that she wore jingling lightly as she bowed her head.

Seemingly happy at the arrangement.

"This will suffice. Thank you for your hard work, you may leave now and fetch those souls that I need to interrogate."

With that, the woman smiled at them once more and kneeled down onto the glyph circle.

The eye on her forehead opened and glowed in a brilliant gold, countless of other eyes opening up all over her body.

Quiet murmurs rose from all around the room, followed by gentle cold yet warm breezes that caused the candles to flicker before she too joined the ghostly choir.

Chanting along with them under her breath, as more and more golden symbols appeared and covered the entire room up to the ceiling. Even overwriting the capture glyph on the floor that the Sphinx sat on.

Scared, Orelio shared a look with his colleague,  both quickly closing the doors and speed walking back to the entrance.

"She is absolutely terrifying!"

The Akrealis spat out, shaking like a leaf as he leaned against the wall, some passing guards looking at them with pity.

Orelio didn't look any better.

In his fear, even some feathers and other animalistic traits have popped up.

A thing that seldom happened.

Gulping, he croaked, "We still have to get the prisoners to her, so do you want to or should I-?..."

"Oh."

His colleague was gone, leaving only a few bright red feathers in his wake.

Pah, that coward, Orelio thought as he pushed himself away from the wall and went down to the fifth floor.

Grumbling something about how transformations were forbidden inside closed facilities, on the way there.

With a heavy sigh, still pissed that his partner ditched him like that, he unlocked the vault door and went to fetch the prisoners.

Too absorbed to notice that the prison was oddly devoid of the usual bustling from guards and prisoners alike.

The halls were quiet and peaceful as he walked along. Not having the energy to rush things.

He halted in his steps.

Ears, not his human ears but the gryphon ones, twitched lightly.

His eyes widened.

He could hear a voice in the distance.

Even though it was quite muted, it was clear as day that there was an unauthorised figure in this place.

That was highly suspicious.

No one should be able to enter as they pleased.

The only reason as to why he didn't immediately dismiss it as the prisoners chatting with each other was the fact there were moving footsteps.

Nothing really unusual per se, but he, who had already spent a long time within these walls, could clearly hear the difference.

These footsteps weren't slightly obscured by the faint whistling sound of the runes on the bars.

It was like being able to hear electricity if you were around it for long enough to notice.

He crept closer, his animalistic traits becoming more and more pronounced until the armour squashed him uncomfortably.

Hiding as best as he could in the rotunda-like building where there were no corners, he spotted a cloaked figure with only a pair of bright orange eyes visible beneath the hood.

They were angrily whispering at the prisoner inside the cell who kneeled before them, nearly unnoticeable tremors running through their body.

"...and look how you messed up! Now the key to the resurrection is gone because. Of. You!"

The voice of the hooded figure grew louder and louder until it devolved into a shout, the kneeling prisoner flinching back instinctively.

Even Orelio had to hold himself back, though he did find it strange that some of the bodies that he could see from this angle seemed strangely indifferent to this spectacle.

Lying limp on the floor as if they were nothing more than dolls.

"You're lucky that those in the council are incompetent enough to not trace back our steps, but I can't guarantee you that for long, you know that just as well as I do."

The hooded figure continued, now pacing back and forth.

Orelio itched farther away, praying that they wouldn't spot him eavesdropping.

If he were any stupider, he would've charged right ahead to confront them in the name of justice,  but if that someone could easily bypass the security and infiltrate the prison without anyone noticing, who was to say that they couldn't kill him as soon as he did as much as gasp?

"But Whisper, the cargo had entered the portal, had it not been delivered to you already?"

The prisoner, Orelio could now see that he was blonde, asked with a quivering voice that carried some underlying defiance with it.

"Would I be here to see failures if that were the case?"

The hooded figure, apparently called Whisper snarled, slamming against the bars with a loud bang.

Orelio tried really hard to keep his squeak muffled.

"...no. No, I guess not."

The prisoner answered quietly, in an indifferent and tired kind of tone.

The previous fear and anger gone from their voice without a trace. 

"Good. At least you haven't forgotten your place." Whisper stated, leaning back and pacing again.

"Now listen up, they plan to give you all an audience with the Sphinx to look into your mind. You know exactly what that means for you and the rest of you brats right?"

He nodded and straightened on the spot.

Orelio felt shivers run up his spine.

He was an idiot for staying here for so long and not reporting this immediately.

But he couldn't leave either, in case he got discovered.

Ah, what a dilemma.

Biting his lip until it bled, he grabbed the cymergin in his pocket and pressed the recording button, wanting to at least figure out how much that person knew before contacting his superiors.

The small device suddenly let out a crinkling sound.

"H-.... hello? O- .... e- ...lio ca... you hear me? Whe....a...re...you? "

The voice of his colleague crackled through.

"Shit!"

He cursed under his breath, desperately pressing the silencing button repeatedly.

Why in the world did that idiot call him now?!

Whisper's head snapped up. Her sharp orange gaze scanned the supposedly empty hallway that she was in.

"Who's there!"

She called, stalking forward to catch the spy.

Orelio scrambled away on his knees, the stupid device still crackling in his hands.

He did not want to die this way.

His heart jumped to his throat.

A pair of arms encircled him from behind and pulled him towards the wall.

He nearly shrieked if not for the gloved hand that covered his mouth, the unknown assailant dragging him into the suddenly soft wall behind him before he was consumed by it.

His feet disappeared into the wall just as Whisper's head appeared. Her sharp gaze scrutinised the area.

She was certain that someone had been here just moments ago.

Stalking forward, the woman ran a hand along the wall, suddenly noticing a slight imperfection.

She frowned, bringing her face closer just to see that a small rosebud had appeared on the wall, the small flower quickly growing and unfurling its petals that were coloured in a radiant red.

Her orange eyes grew wide. Face distorting into one of hatred.

"Gah! Those blood bastards again! Curse them all."

Whisper exclaimed, storming back to the useless sacrifices in the cells.

"We've been discovered. You have to move quickly now if you want to not mess up the plan again. Just wait until you're at the weakest point and then use this."

She pulled out a small piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Silk. The urgent tone in her voice was enough to shut the kid up.

Staring at the paper in his hands, Silk raised his head to meet her gaze and nodded.

A steely determination settling in his chest.

Orelio breathed heavily, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Stay quiet."

A warbled voice murmured into his ear. He assumed that the person tried to comfort him somehow, but he was too distracted by the huge mass of shrieking and writhing black and red... things that surrounded them as they fell down.

The only thing he did know was that, either that stranger had saved him, or kidnapped him to who knows where.

As if that wasn't already terrifying.

A bright light appeared at the end of that disgusting tunnel, both falling through the hole and into a room.

Orelio laid on the floor. Heart pounding and stuttering in his chest while his veins were still filled with fear.

His Hazel eyes met the ones of his saviour.

He tried to smile in relief, but it quickly died as soon as he took a good look at the other person.

Black and yellow eyes, pale blond hair, the long pointy ears, complimented by the mechanical mask that covered the lower half of their face and the clothes with the red rose and thorns surrounding it.

That person was a Yaganis.

Some of the most mysterious and elusive people he knew, as they were always on the move and had their eyes and ears everywhere.

"You're- you're from the special unit!"

Orelio stuttered, not believing that someone with such a high status would randomly help him out of nowhere.

The other chuckled, their voice distorted from the device covering their mouth.

"Yes little guard, my name's Kosazir, leader of unit two. I was just checking on the condition of the seals on the walls when all of a sudden I heard angry whispering from one of the prison cells below and decided to check it out."

They smiled at him, running a clawed hand through their hair that was decorated by thin braids. Absently playing with one of the smaller ones.

Orelio shivered.

They, as all Yaganis, gave him the same uncanny feeling that he got from the Sphinx.

Just in a less severe form.

He didn't know why yet.

But, as far as he knew, he had this strange sort of sensitivity when it came to people and their connection to the spirit world.

"Now," Kosazir said, unaware of his inner turmoil, "colour me surprised when I see some random cloaked figure talk aggressively with the inmates and then have the misfortune to not only witness your slip up but also the pathetic display of stealth."

Orelio scoffed. Feeling strangely insulted by those words. But since their voice was rather monotone, maybe even sarcastic -he wasn't really good with sound recognition- he couldn't be sure.

"So, against my better judgement I interfered and saved you," They continued, waving their hands around a little as if to make a point, "though, it would be nice if you told me what your task was anyway because I don't usually transport strangers into my bedroom just like that."

Orelio froze.

"Your what?!"

Kosazirs eyes crinkled in amusement as they witnessed his flushed and panicked face. His eyes moving around wildly to see that yes, this was indeed a bedroom.

How embarrassing to not only humiliate himself in front of a superior but also end up in said superior's bedroom.

He scrambled onto his feet as fast as possible. Eyes searching for a quick escape route so he wouldn't die from shame.

His mother would have castrated him on the spot if she knew about that, though only if he already had a fated partner.

Which he didn't.

At least not yet.

Thank the golden tree.

"Ahem?"

Orelios eyes flicked up, meeting the impatient gaze of Kosazir, whose fingers drummed on their crossed legs as they sat on the table.

Looking down at Orelio from above, metaphorically and physically.

"Ah yes... I was sent to get the prisoners but... well you saw what was going on. Could you bring me back? My colleague is getting worried and I don't want to waste too much of your time sir."

The young guard answered, ashamed of this conversation.

The other just smiled and hopped down, landing lightly on their feet.

They stretched their hand out as if expecting him to take it. Removing the glove in the process.

Orelio was a little hesitant, but reached out nonetheless, grabbing the hand that was covered in black and dark red spiderweb-like cracks.

Kosazir shot him a quick smile, raising his other hand to his mouth to remove the mask with a light click, followed by steam that danced through the air in thin wisps.

As soon as the mouth guard was off, Kosazir yawned, revealing double rows of razor-sharp fangs that glinted in the light, the skin across their cheeks stretching so wide that holes appeared and showed the teeth and gums underneath.

Their jaws clicked shut, making Orelio realize that he had stared a little too long at those teeth and quickly averted his eyes.

Kosazir rubbed the muscles and mumbled something about them making more comfortable mouth guards.

Placing the mouth guard, an actually pretty beautiful thing, onto the table behind them Kosazir turned to him again, scrutinizing him with their gaze.

"Fine. I'll bring you back but remember, this was a one-time thing." Their gaze sharpened to something almost predatory.

Orelio bit back the urge to snarl at them from that obvious provocation, ripping his hand out of the suddenly way too-tight grip on instinct.

"Don't think that you can call me whenever you are stuck somewhere now that I've helped you once," They continued, talking about it as if it happened too often at this point,

"I am still stronger and older than you, and I know exactly how much you Beskahre care about respecting your elders."

Orelio, who hadn't noticed his half-transformation yet, fell into a defensive stance, fangs barred and nails turning into claws.

Not knowing the picture he painted with his laid-back gryphon ears, the yellow feline eyes, the spread wings and swishing tail behind him.

Looking like the unholy mixture of a threatened birdcat.

Kosazir smirked very faintly, giving him a light nod before stepping out of his personal space and moving their hands behind their back.

Apparently satisfied with what they were seeing.

"Then it's settled." Their face flashed back to that smiling and innocent facade, fake rainbows and imaginary flowers floating around them.

He didn't buy it one bit.

Now it just confirmed his suspicions.

He smiled, squashing down the pride he felt from driving the predator before him away and willing his appearance back to that of a human. A thing that he only noticed once Kosazir had stepped back.

They were dangerous. There was no doubt about it.

But so was he.

After all, there were two predators in this room and not just one.

"Indeed."

He grabbed their outstretched hand again. Now with the glove on.

Oh shit.

He regretted his decision immediately, as he felt that creepy portal or whatever opening up again beneath his feet.

Feeling his organs move around as they fell, with him desperately clutching the laughing body of Kosazir, they reappeared at the exact spot where they had left.

Just this time, without Whisper, the hooded stranger and a bright red rose at the spot where he got dragged into the wall.

"Well, I'll be off then. Don't get yourself into trouble too often kid. Bye~"

And with a last wave of their hand , Kosazir was gone.

Orelio didn't deny that this entire interaction felt more like a fever dream than anything else.

Maybe he really was sick and just hallucinated during this entire interaction.

Staggering slightly, he walk towards the cells and went through the routine procedure even though he was in a daze the whole time.

The next time he regained his senses was halfway down the hallway towards the high court, through the nagging tapping on his shoulder.

He blinked, shaking his head lightly.

"Are you sick by any chance? You've been acting weird the whole day,"

His colleague said, looking at him with a worried expression as he checked his forehead with his palm.

Following behind them like ducklings, were the twenty masked prisoners.

With two guards at the front, and another two in the back.

Although it certainly seemed that way, it wasn't very dangerous to transport so many people in such a tight space.

Since the walls were absolutely littered with protective runes, making it nearly impossible to escape or destroy this place.

"No no, I'm fine just... today is just a weird day you know?"

"Hm. Yeah, I suppose, but if you feel sick tell me immediately alright?"

Orelio frowned.

How often does he want to ask him if he was sick?

"Stop nagging me already."

He grumbled, turning away from the other, ignoring the offended gasp.

"I'm not nagging you?!".

The other exclaimed.

A hurt expression forming on the guy's face.

As if he cared.

"Yes you are, you sound like my-"

"Are these the poor souls that I need to take a look at?"

They both froze.

Slowly turning their heads, like those people in bad horror movies, they stared at the innocent-looking face of the Sphinx who stood in front of the door.

All prim and proper compared to the creepy sight that they had witnessed not too long ago.

"Ahem ahem."

Orelio cleared his throat, bowing his head apologetically for the second time today.

He refused to let his dissatisfaction over that fact show on his freckled face.

"Yes, they are the ones ma'am, I'm sorry for the delay."

She gently smiled down at them.

Her eyes crinkling in amusement.

Orelio scowled internally, as he genuinely didn't know what could possibly be amusing about this situation.

But he let it go.

Sometimes it was better to just ignore rather than to question.

In that instant, he felt a shift in the air.

Goose bumps appeared on his skin, while he stared at the Sphinx. But this time it wasn't because of her.

Her pleasant smile was frozen on her face, eyes sharpening at something behind them.

He and his colleague shared a confused glance, following her line of sight.

In the distance, frantic footsteps and the clattering of armour could be heard.

He felt a light sense of Deja-Vu.

One of the masked prisoners had pulled off their mask, revealing a young blond man with grey eyes and pale skin.

A steely resolve was plastered onto his face as he smiled at them.

It was a manic, almost insane smile.

His hand moved behind his body and pulled out a piece of paper.

Orelio reached for his sword, his colleague mirroring his motion.

It was very hard to do so, because of the immense pressure that unfurled behind them, both of them fully aware that they shouldn't, under any circumstances, turn around and look at the Sphinx.

The piece of paper touched the floor.

In that instant, a sound akin to a lightning strike was heard.

Millions of white cracks spread through the hallway, immediately suppressing all runes that were surrounding it in a radius of twelve meters. The gentle glowing symbols flickering like lights during a thunderstorm.

It was as if time had stopped.

His eyes never leaving the deranged, nearly desperate face of the prisoner, even when tiny bolts of lightning danced across his skin.

The walls around them chipped away little by little like the splitters of a shattered crystal.

He could feel the fear from the person beside him, sweat rolling down his neck and his own grip tightening painfully around the hilt of his sword.

With a brilliant flash, the paper burned.

The suppressed energy surging back to fill the void where the paper had once been.

He gasped.

Across the field of disaster, Orelio spotted his Captain running towards them with a terrified expression on his face.

His hand reaching out towards them with something black surrounding it.

And then he felt it.

The split second were a sudden heat gnawed on his skin before it all went black and an indescribable pain filled his body.

As if all of his cells were being ripped apart.

The next thing he knew was that he was outside.

Leaning onto the shoulder of his Captain whose mouth formed words that were drowned out by the deafening ringing in his ears.

His eyes drifted from the flushed and panicked face of Lutho to the tower before them.

Staring at the giant explosion, that was right where he stood seconds ago, in disbelief.

The only people that were there beside him, other than his Captain, were the three other guards and the Sphinx, who all looked equally shocked at the disaster before them.

"How?..."

One of them whispered.

His pupils shook in fear as he clutched his chest, where his necklace with a picture of his family was located right beneath the silver blue armour.

Another was shaking so much that she fell to her knees and promptly threw up onto the grass beneath her.

Their fear only increasing when they heard the bone-chilling screeching from above.

Large slimy vines sprung free from the walls that had been damaged, thousands of eyes and mouths along them as they intertwined and trashed around, sending the unstable parts of the wall crashing onto the ground.

The resulting splatters of dirt and huge dust clouds obscuring their view of the catastrophe up there, as they were forced to shield themselves from the small shockwave that came their way.

That evening, all radios and newspapers were filled with the news of the large explosion that happened in the prison.

It was said to have been a terrifying sight, as the smoke from the explosion could be seen from miles away, with some nearby eyewitnesses claiming that they heard unholy screeching soon after that.

But until now, no concrete proof had been found to support that statement, as there were no sightings of malevolent spirits and they didn't live close to the continental border and thus far away from the Tequas in the cracks.

Hearing that, many residents refused to leave their homes. Terrified of the aspect that a new group of terrorists could've emerged, and flinching at every sound around them in fear of another attack.

The following nights, all in the city could hear the footsteps and wild chases on top of their rooftops.

The military having sent out their special unit to retrieve the escaped criminals that managed to flee as soon as the explosion had blasted a hole into the walls.

Leaving a giant gap in the bridge that led to the Platinum tower.

Though that gap was strangely nowhere to be found the next morning, except for the debris that piled up beneath it.

A gloved hand lightly clicked the off button on the small radio that they carried around.

Kosazirs eyes roamed over the dark horizon, the wind ripping at their cloak with the rose emblem sewn onto it.

They could hear the cries of their fellow hunters that were tracking the prey down in the darkness.

Still unsuccessful in finding those bastards even though this was the third night of their search.

Their yellow eyes turned red at the thought, the thirst for blood to vanquish the pain of the spiderweb cracks that slowly crept up their body, now stronger than before.

A final sigh left their lips and Kosazir stretched, fully aware of the presence behind them, that clearly thought it could evade them just because it was invisible.

They grinned lightly and let go of the reigns that they held on their physical form.

Kosazirs body instantly grew as tall as two adult humans standing on top of each other, becoming leaner, faster and stronger than before.

Their skin ripped and tore apart, the tanned colour fading for a myriad of black, purple and red liquid, that all swirled into one another and hardened as soon as it settled, feeling soft yet cold and smooth under the touch.

Their ears grew longer, fingers sharpening into claws and hair changing into a wild flowing mane of black and red fur that retained a few white tips, seemingly glittering with every movement.

The humane features on their face disappeared too, leaving behind a blank face with glowing white eyes and a sharp jaw. Their nose and any obvious sign of a mouth gone without a trace.

And lastly, if one ignored the reshaped and powerful legs, they also gained a long tail with black and red fur at the end.

Such a creature that could nearly be called alien, now crouched at the edge of a building.

The Yaganis having revealed their true form that was as close as it could get to how their ancestors once looked.

As they, indeed, did not hail from this world.

'Hah, what an eventful night.'

With that final thought, Kosazir straightened and set off to chase the invisible fool, knowing full well that he could never escape their grasp as long as he was hunted.

Meanwhile, a different kind of news was broadcasted on earth, as people from several different countries reported the wondrous phenomenon of a sudden meteor shower.

Not even NASA could explain the appearance of such a radiant spectacle that seemed to light up the sky with how brightly they burned in the earth's atmosphere.

Of course, such a sight rose several speculations, from a new, undiscovered Asteroid that broke into pieces to the sign of God's blessing.

Which both, could be interpreted as good or bad.

But a few individuals could only smile at the frustrated scientist and religious fanatics as they watched the news.

Lovingly stroking the head of the small baby that they had discovered in front of their door or somewhere nearby. Carefully wrapped in a white blanket that seemed to have been woven from starlight itself.