Fated II

The stars and galaxies above continued to twirl across the sky, their movements uninterrupted by the chaos happening on the ground.

At one moment, small sparks appeared from the darkness. The sparks' fiery blaze gradually became visible as it fell closer, engulfing stones and debris from other planets on its descent.

It was the fiery rain that had started falling from the sky, a phenomenon that had occurred exactly during The Invasion.

The fiery rain was a prelude to the arrival of the extraterrestrial beings, who were responsible for the destruction and devastation that had ravaged the planet.

The fiery rain triggered a traumatic response in Adelle, causing her heart to ache and her eyes to fixate on the falling fire rocks.

She trembled uncontrollably, her mind screaming a message to get away from there.

"S-shouldn't we ... get away from here?" she stuttered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the meteor shower. The memories of her village being slaughtered by demons flooded her mind.

Adelle's eyes widened as the fiery meteor drew closer and closer, crashing down on their location with a deafening roar. She realized that running was futile, as the impact would be too great to escape.

She was about to scream, but after the loud and booming bang, Adelle's face was in confusion, as her body was completely fine.

"What just happened?" she whispered, staring at the spot where the meteor had crashed.

Claire pressed her hand over her mouth, fighting back a giggle while Ervian looked at her in disbelief.

"We're in a Vision, Adelle. Nothing will affect us here," he said, grinning.

She wheezed, trying to catch her breath. It was her first time experiencing a Vision, and everything around her felt too surreal to be just an illusion.

After the explosion, Adelle's eyes caught sight of an ancient runic formation etched deeply onto the meteor's surface that left a massive crater behind. The runes seemed to be glowing with an ethereal light, pulsating in a rhythmic pattern.

Then, a calamitous monster emerged from the runes, the huge dragon-headed demonic snake.

The monster dove straight up into the air. Its eerie-red colored scales were jagged, as sharp as the sharpest sword man ever made.

The creature's large fin next to its head began to flap as its demonic snake-like eyes lit up with a bright orange glow.

Strings of runic formation formed on the surrounding ground. From it, the demonic snake summoned forth a pack of lesser demon hellhounds. These hellhounds had furless, thick skin and no eyes, yet they were not impaired in navigating the environment.

"Another Invasion, happened in the Nethereal?"

Claire did not answer right away. Instead, she pointed behind the boy with her finger. "Look."

Ervian was surely shocked to see the giant stone structure. It was the Great Gate that connected the Nethereal to the Earth and there was an overwhelming aura.

A figure stood boldly in front of the Great Gate, unfazed by the approaching horde of diabolical demons.

"Me?!"

As Ervian's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the Nethereal, he realized that he was looking at his mirror image.

However, there were clear differences between the two: the other Ervian's face was covered in blood spatters, and he was wearing a rugged leather protective garment. Six Primordial Crystals floated behind his worn cape, the source of the incredibly powerful presence.

Ervian couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and fear at the same time. It was clearly the Divine Vision, just like the one that he saw in the Nethereal, right in the middle of the war, not long before his death and Lika.

Suddenly, the sound of cracking filled the air. The space around them seemed to shatter like broken glass mirrors.

"Mrs. Claire, what happened?"

Claire wobbled on her feet, her head spinning with dizziness. "I'm sorry, my power was running out."

On the last desperate attempt to stand on her own feet, she looked at Ervian. "Listen, look for my grandson, Leriat. I entrust him all the Visions I saw—"

Without warning, the world around them shattered into pieces, leaving only an empty void. The suddenness of it all caught them off guard, and they screamed as they felt themselves falling into a seemingly bottomless abyss.

Ervian and Adelle found themselves back in the abandoned horse carriage, down on their knees. Their minds were still reeling from the strange and surreal experience they had just gone through.

Once Adelle had grasp of it, she looked at her companion. "Ervian?"

"Hm?"

"Was what we saw earlier going to be real?"

Ervian stood up and took a moment to catch his breath. He let his Sensus slowly radiate outward, visualizing Adelle's figure that was staring at him with a serious expression.

She already knew about a seer that could harness the divination power to foresee the future. But Auspex was a word she just knew 'till today.

"No doubt. She is the Auspex. Similar to a seer, but her power originated from the Primordial Crystals instead of the constellations."

Ervian let out a long sigh. 'This day couldn't be better. Not only did she know about the Crystal of Terra that I possess, but she also knows about the Divine Vision now.'

"It's better for you to pretend like you didn't see anything."

"O-okay."

The weight of what Adelle had just witnessed was evident on her face as a slight look of fear crept in.

Her previously simple thoughts about what could go wrong in this peaceful time had now turned into doubts and uncertainty.

"She deserved better than to be left out like this."

Using the power of the Crystal of Terra, Ervian created a burial site for Claire on the ground, not far into the woods. He then lowered her body gently onto the ground, feeling a deep regret that he hadn't had the chance to know her better while she was still alive.

Auspex, with its wisdom, was there to complement the Elementalist that holds the Crystals' power. Their foreseeing prowess captured the moment of both past and future.

For every Elementalist, there would be also Auspex.

'If only I had met her sooner.'

"Hey, Ervy."

"What?"

"Don't be a wet blanket. I don't think you're here just by coincidence." She caught his expression early on.