Chapter one

Star of Melody

Sewer tunnel

Downtown, Chicago

Terra, Earth's Solar system

Neutral free Zone

 Ianuarius 14th Y-909 C.E

Leon gazed up at the midnight sky, millions of stars trailing across the sky while he was laid back on the grasslands in Xiargos Mountain. The stars were what made the night so beautiful, each speck of stars dotted up in the sky like paintings. And though there were millions of them up there, that feeling of loneliness struck his heart from just looking at them. The surrounding area was beautiful, tall giant trees below the Mountains, with a stream of rivers that led to a nearby lake, and a cool breeze that was not polluted like the world of Terrans. But nothing was more beautiful than the face of the girl who was staring down at him. She was in her early twenties, her brown skin shined brighter in the night, and her honey colored hair brushed against his ear as she whispered his name to him. Leon drew her close to himself, pressing his lips against hers softly while he breathed in the smell of lemons and junipers, the smell making his body relax enough for him to close his eyes. The feeling of exhilaration was so intense that Leon couldn't bear to close his eyes anymore. He opened his eyes to find the girl was gone and something was wrong with his surroundings. There was black smoke in the sky from the fire that was burning through the Giant forest below him. Leon tried moving towards it but then the shadows materialized from the ground, surrounding him on all sides. The shadows began to morph into humanoid shapes, the stench of Infernal energy oozing off them. He heard someone scream his name as one of the shadow shapes shoved a blade through him. He was tumbling, and then the shadows stepped aside to reveal a girl running towards him. It was the same girl from before but she looked different. She still looked amazing to behold but her Terran appearance was gone, replaced by an alien shade of green hair and golden green eyes. She was beautiful and fierce though a great sadness was within her. She knelt beside him on the ground, crying and calling his name. Leon wanted to clear away the tears from her face because he had made a promise to her. A promise that she would never have the need to shed tears for him. But something held him back. All he could do was watch the darkness surround her, taking her away from him, pulling him towards the raging light at...

"Leon! Leon! Wake the fuck up already." Emily's voice snapped, as her hand followed in slapping Leon Haravok back to the stinking sewage of Chicago. The place was dark with the sound of flowing water mixed with the disgusting smell of waste products. He blinked away the fog that was burning through his mind, remembering where he was and what he was here for. Leon pulled himself off the ground, groaning as Emily helped him up to his feet.

"That was close," He said smiling as he checked his armor. The energy blast that the Erlking had blasted him with had sent Leon flying across the sewer. He had been unconscious for some time- enough for him to delve back into his subconsciousness where his dreams had been waiting for him. He wished he had the time to find out the meaning behind these dreams, to analyze them, and to find out why they were troubling him... But time, it seems, was not on his side nor did he even have the patience for it. He was so close...

"You're lucky that blast didn't rip a hole through your chest," Emily said. "Lucky for you your Defensive skill is up to par." The pink highlight in her hair was stained with dirt. And so were the rest of her body. Sweat beaded her dark brown forehead, the sweat making her midnight black hair stick to cover half of her face. Her black jacket was torn and I could see a gash across her leg that seemed to still be bleeding, though it was slowly healing. Other than that, she was okay. Leon, on the other hand, was still feeling the brunt of the Erlking's attack. His ribs felt like they had been hit by a sledgehammer. If he hadn't activated his defensive skill at the moment of impact, he would be dead right now. His body shivered at the thought of it. This hunting trip wasn't going as smoothly as he had planned.

"I doubt luck had anything to do with it," Leon responded. It just wasn't his fate to die here. Leon thought to himself at the same time. It had been two months since the Senate had kicked them out of the collective planets within the Tellus Federation and they were forced to relocate to Helix Academy- an institute that was located in Genesis, one of the various planets that neighbored Terra in the Neutral Free Zone. Leon had spent most of his now free time chasing down any leads that would finally get him to the Fallen stars. But so far none of them had held up to be real. This was the twelfth one that he was chasing down and Emily had insisted on coming with him. The information he possessed had pointed him towards the shitty sewers of the backward planet of Terra. It was there where he and Emily had encountered the Dark creature breaking the Sacred Accord between the Hidden world and Starlight order. Leon's first thought was that this lead was going to be easier than the other leads that he had previously followed on other planets. Reality had turned out to be more cruel than he realized. It turned out that the Erlking was more powerful than he had anticipated and due to that, Leon had underestimated the Fae. Fae Magic was dangerous and unpredictable and he was feeling its effects. The memory of the vision came to his mind but he ignored it. He had to focus on what was at stake. Leon turned to Emily whose eyes were closed. She was tracking the creature's movement with her mind. Better her than him. Emily's skill as a tracker was above been his.

"It seems to be injured but it's still moving." She said as she opened her eyes. "This way" She ran off with him after her. They ran so fast that they were like the wind blowing through the sewer, moving as inhumanly fast as possible. Leon had to keep a mental note to slow his speed down to Emily's level as she was the one tracking the Fae. The sewer was dark, but it did not affect them as their eyes were able to adjust to the darkness, Well enough that Leon could pick out the creatures waiting to ambush them within it. He pulled out his Seriphium blade as the Striges- bat-like creatures with a human looking face with a beak for a mouth and a long thin tail with a blade at its end. Leon channeled Od through his blades, activating its power as he slashed through the creatures. He cut through them so easily, not caring for their numbers as they tried to use it to overwhelm them. Emily was also fighting behind him, cutting them apart with her usual stoic face, her blade flashing silver in the darkness of the tunnel. Fucking Erlking. Striges were not inhabitants of Terra, so where in the hell did he get these from? Heat was flowing through his veins as his blades shined brighter with it. He didn't want to waste his Od dealing with these weak creatures, but he needed to get rid of them to get to the Mad Fae. So Leon released a Level four Command incantation, rays of golden light shot like bullets, wiping the rest of the Striges.

"You couldn't do that at the start," Emily said as she continued tracking the Erlking. They resumed going deeper within the tunnel. Emily stopped moving as soon as they came to a dead-end and Leon stopped right by her side. The Erlking was waiting for them by the wall, one of its hands caught off thanks to Leon. It had stopped bleeding and no doubt if left alone, It would regenerate the lost limb. The creature was tall and huge with black fur covering his entire shoulders. It wore dirty pants that were ripped around the legs. The Erlking's eyes were bloodshot, its mouth opening to reveal the rounds of fangs that it had. The Erlking was playing around with symbols that were etched on the wall. They were glowing orange, power activating it as a crack formed on the wall, revealing a portal. 

"Leaving already. And I thought we were having so much fun," Leon smiled. Swirling his blade around, Leon got into a battle stance. " Before you leave, mind telling me what I want to know, pretty please."

"Stop playing with the prey and let's finish him off," Emily said with a bit of an edge to her voice. Though her face held no emotions, Leon could tell that her guard was really up and she was exercising a lot of caution. He, on the other hand, had given up putting any defense. "That's what made him blast you before. Because you wanted to do it the easy way." He groaned desiring to drag the fight on as much as he could, putting some excitement that he had been missing out for weeks but Emily was right, as usual. He needed to get what he came for as quickly as possible and get rid of it.

"You're the ones who are gonna die, Paladins." The Erlking roared. "We've all heard the rumors that the precious Leonard Haravok of Starlight has fallen from grace. Kicked aside like the dirt trash that he is. You were their crown jewel and now they've abandoned you because they couldn't control you, their hound dog. I had heard that you were obsessed with finding the Fallen stars but I never imagined you would be so foolish to attack me in my turf." To be honest, Leon wasn't surprised that rumor about the incident that saw him banished had reached all the way to this planet. Terra might be a backward planet but the planet still had more connections to the Tellus Federation than most lesser planets within the Neutral free zones. The Erlking jumped right at him at the same time that Leon leaped towards the Fae. Leon quickly used Sky-walk to move through the air away from it as he hacked his blade across its ribs. Blood splashed out as the beast tried lunging for Emily. Bad mistake there, Fae. Leon thought to himself. A thick layer of frost manifested around Emily, her cold eyes shined bluish as she manipulated the frosty wind to slam the Erlking against the wall. Ice formed around it, binding the creature's movement, the cold permeating throughout its body. Leon swiftly landed in front of the creature. The beast was seething with rage, a thick spurt of saliva was coming out of his razor-sharp teeth. He felt a spike in the Odyllic around him, and the Fae's magic power increased slightly. It released a blast of energy that melted the ice away, and with a huge sonic boom, his razor-sharp claws came for Leon's neck. He grinned ecstatically at the pathetic display of the Fae that was trying its best to fight back. Leon felt relief at the opportunity to release some of his pent up emotions against the pitiful creature. He summoned a blade of pure golden light that went through the backhand of its clawed palm, using the blade to drag the Erlking through the space around him, and then pined the creature to the ground. Blood gushed out, the heat of the light burning through the creature's flesh. The smell of the burnt skin only made Leon's heart beat faster. He swept his Seriphium blade at it, but the creature, in its desperation to avoid his blade, tore his hand from his Light blade. The exhilaration from this fight was beginning to wane, cause Leon could tell that this creature was not enough of a threat to him. Leon was a Paladin of the House of Leo, and sure he might be banished right now by the Federation, but he was the best of the best for a reason. Leon sighed as he judged the wound all over the Erlking. Some of its minor injuries were healing, but its torn left arm was regenerating slowly and its right hand was severely damaged. Maybe I should put it out of its misery. He thought...

Nah, fuck that. He vanished from his spot and appeared beside the creature, sending a kick at its face. The Erlking hit the wall with a booming sound that echoed through the sewer, but Leon didn't wait for it to recover as he made more combo attacks at it at frightening speed, a speed that was close to the subsonic speed. When the creature became disoriented enough, its body unable to support itself due to the vertigo it was experiencing, Leon finally summoned more of his Light blades which resulted in a golden shower of weapons on the Fae. When the dust cleared, a pool of blood was drenching his boots. The Erlking was bound to the same spot, golden swords, and spears pierced through its body into the ground. It was bleeding profusely, though it was still alive. Unlike the mortal inhabitants of this planet, Faes were more tenacious, especially one that feasted on human flesh.

"I'll tell you nothing," it muttered, throwing up blood. Leon with disgust in his mouth grabbed the beast by the mouth, smelling the taste of its fear. There was also the smell of urine and shit mixed in with it but Leon couldn't resist the tingling pleasure at the creature's pain. He smacked its head, breaking some of its fangs. It howled in pain, but that didn't stop him from smacking it again and again. The ecstasy that Leon once felt was gone, leaving behind nothing but a hollow feeling. But he still kept smacking the miserable creature till most of its fangs were gone. Then he grabbed the hair on its head and brought his face down to its ear.

"You don't have to tell us anything," Leon said. He nodded at Emily who grabbed hold of the Erlking's neck. Leon took some steps back to watch as Emily did her thing.

"Do you think that this female can get what you want from me?" It tried to roar but all it could do was groan out its words.

"Emily's the best at getting information," Leon said. "Don't worry, you don't have to talk for it to work." Leon quickly cut its tongue as it tried roaring again. Blood sprinkled out, staining its fur. He was tired of it making so much noise.

"This is going to hurt more," Emily said as she placed her hand at the Erlking's temple. The Fae screamed in pain as Emily drilled through pieces of its psyche. Leon watched impatiently as Emily tore through every mental ward that it might have placed in its mind. As he stood there watching Emily, he couldn't help going back to the time when they were in Agartha before the Stellar Councils. It had been the fourth time Leon had been brought before them about his actions during missions. He remembered the way the Truth Seeker had dug through his head to see events from his perspective. It had not been a pleasant experience, someone being able to break down his wards and violate his thoughts. He could imagine what the Erlking was going through but it wasn't enough to make him change his mind about letting Emily do the same to it. The scream stopped as Emily let go of it. He vanished the weapons that were impaling the creature, letting it slump to the ground.

"His mind was strong but I was able to break through every single ward. I'm..afraid there was nothing there. He knows nothing." She said in a low voice. Though there wasn't a single shred of emotion on Emily's face, he could tell that she despised what she had done even though it was to a Dark Sidhe. The Erlking roared in laughter as it tried to get up from the ground with its remaining arm. Its tongue was probably back. It healed the tongue faster than the rest of its body.

"Fools. You have no idea what's com-" Leon shoved his blade through its throat, cutting him off. He couldn't help but watch as the blood spilled out of its mouth, the speck of light and life within its eyes that was snuffed away, bringing him as close to genuine pleasure, unlike the way their fight had ended up. Leon pulled his blade away and cleaned it with the sleeves of his jacket. The kill was not enough to satisfy his frustration.

"Well, that's a waste of our time," Emily said. "You know we could have just taken it in for confinement. I'm sure the Guardians wouldn't mind us doing their job for them. Plus, Helix won't like us leaving dead bodies around, even if they are Dark Sidhe"

"Helix needs to remember that we're not his students anymore," Leon said. "And besides I doubt he would care about this piece of shit. Not after how many lives it's taken."

"I think he does," Emily said. "You know how sensitive he can be about life and all that."

"For someone not so human, he can be pretty human-like sometimes," Leon said, bringing out a flask to chug on it. He figured that alcohol might put him in a better mood. "Morals and ethics are so very boring."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that Helix isn't you. Won't want the next generations of Paladins to be like us." Emily said. "Still though, I wonder where the Fae was planning to go." We turned to the portal on the wall that had been deactivated as soon as the Erlking was dead.

"Probably somewhere in the Hidden world," Leon said, sipping the alcohol. Emily had gone over to the wall, examining the symbols on it. The runes on the wall looked to be ancient, though Leon had no idea how something like this could be underground in the sewer of Chicago of all places.

"I've never seen runes like this before," She said. Emily was very knowledgeable when it came to the Arcane art, so the fact that she couldn't recognize it meant something "There's a slight similarity between the runes we use but it's not the same. Do you recognize it?" Leon took a look at the strange symbols, trying to make heads of them. The runes looked similar to the Celestial runes used by the Clerics of Starlight Temples but something about it felt different.

"Must be some kind of offshoot rune," He said. Leon touched it, and there was a spark of resistance that pushed his fingers off it. "Ouch," He sucked his index finger from the soreness. Emily bought out her Zodiak and began to capture the image of the wall. After she was satisfied with what she had, she turned to Leon.

"I'm going to send it to Ginny, and see what she thinks of it," Emily said. She put away her device, bought out a silver disk from her pocket, and placed it on the ground. "Ready to get out of here."

"Yeah," Leon said. Emily tapped the red button in the middle of the Exodus which activated a gateway. Blue light swept out of it and covered them, taking them away from the sewers of Chicago and back to the penthouse suite they had booked for their stay in Chicago. It was one of the few major hotels in this land that had among its clientele members of the Hidden World. As Leon and Emily walked through the entrance hall, one of the Receptionists came over to them. It was a Demi-human female, dressed in the hotel's black and red uniform. Her fox ear sprouted from her long braided brown hair, her fox tail twisting excitedly as she came to Leon. She had in her hand a tray that was covered with foil and was excited to give him the dish.

"Leo..Mister Haravok, Here's the dish I spoke of," She said, pushing the dish onto his hand. Leon remembered the receptionist from two nights ago. They had met in the bar of the hotel where he had briefly spoken about some of the Delicacies of the Hidden world he would love to try while he was in Terra. Later that night, he walked her to her place and some fun stuff happened while he had been there. He warmly received the dish from her, giving her a smile. She blushed, trying to avoid looking at him.

"Thanks, Alicia," He said sniffing the tray. It was an unfamiliar scent but a good one nonetheless. Alicia squeaked and went back to her desk while Emily and he took the elevator up to their suite. He uncovered the dish as warm steam came off it. It was a brownish pud of meat. Leon took the fork, cut some chunks of it, and ate it. Hmm. It had a soft and warm texture that felt like it was sizzling as he swallowed it. He turned the dish to Emily who only gave him a look. It was a cold glare, but it said a lot more.

"It's really good," He said.

"Thanks, but I'm not really interested in fried Slime pudding," Emily said as the Elevator opened to where their suite was. Leon had booked the room for their use in hunting for the clues and it turned out to be a good thing cause it had taken them quite some time to even get the intel that led them to the Erlking. The penthouse suite wasn't as luxurious as the ones back in the Federation, though it was still good enough for a planet like Terra. There was a fine view of the city that you could view from the terrace, two-level floors with four separate rooms upstairs, one of them a luxurious bathroom with an incredibly hot water system. The living room was filled with design-like furniture, an electric fireplace warming the room. It was all very mundane and backward for Leon's liking. He finished the dish and dumped it in the sink of the Kitchen.

"So when are we leaving for Genesis," Emily asked. She was quite tired of being on this planet. Since their arrival on Terra, Emily had gotten quite sick of the planet itself. The food sucked, the air felt wrong, and the color of the planet just felt sickening to her. But she had kept all that to herself, not wanting to complain or make a big deal out of it.

"Not yet," Leon said as he took off his jacket and jumped on the couch stretching his body.

"Leon-"

"I still have things to check out," Leon said.

"Fine. I'm going to wash up," Emily said. She couldn't stand the smell of the planet on herself. Leon nodded as he pulled out a silver tablet from the inside of the jacket he had taken off while drinking some more from his flask. While Emily cleaned up, he decided to check the Starlight network. He tapped the screen of the tablet. Sigils and glyphs sprung up from the screen, containing information that only a Paladin could read. Starlight Network was a telecommunication system used by Starlight to post missions and assignments for any Paladins who were interested in it. It could also be used by Paladins to send secret messages to one another if one didn't want to use the traditional Firelight system. Leoon swiped through the usual information that was stored there. There wasn't that much information about the Fallen stars except for the ones that he already knew about. A group of former Paladins who had turned against the Starlight order and the Federation and had started an Uprising twenty years ago. While most of them had been killed off or imprisoned for their "crimes", there were still fallen Star members out there waiting in the shadows for a second chance to start another Uprising. And Leon couldn't afford to let that happen again. He didn't care if Starlight and the Federation were trying to move on from what had happened, he wasn't and couldn't. Leon knew they were still a threat and he was going to do something about it. Finding them was just the issue. No accurate information out there except for the rumor that they had taken refuge in one of the worlds in the Neutral free zones. Though some of the information he had chased in the past was truly bogus, he really believed that they were hiding somewhere in the Neutral Zones. Thank the gods they had been banished in this Quadrant of the universe and not somewhere else. Leon paused sensing that there was something strange about the Network. There were no recent reports or posts of any attack in Terra, which was kind of weird. There was always an attack of some sort in the Neutral Zones. Either it had something to do with an Infernal invasion or the local inhabitant doing something that went beyond the Sacred Accord. Because no matter what the Federation wanted them to believe, we weren't living in any damn age of peace. There were still monsters out there in the world that were in the shadows, that needed to be hunted and put down. But the Federations didn't care about the well-being of planets outside its territory. After the Uprising, Starlight's influence and power had decreased so they barely paid any attention to the Neutral Free zones. But still though, no reports. I shrugged it off as nothing that concerned me as I had bigger fish to fry.

"So what's it like out there?" He looked up to see Emily climbing down the stairs, all cleaned up spotting a clean pink t-shirt and a black skirt with black leggings, her favorite black combat boot.

"Too quiet," Leon said.

"Any more information about the Fallen stars," Emily said. He knew she knew the answer to that but she wanted him to say it out loud.

"Emily..."

"No, Listen to me Leon, enough is enough. You've spent the last eight years of your life and mine, which I forgive you, by the way, chasing down any leads on the Fallens. And so far none of them have panned out anything." Emily said. She didn't look as exasperated as she sounded, the contrast between the sound of her voice and her expression was not something new to him. But he could tell that she was tired of this planet, and wished to get back to Genesis.

"My source told me that I might find what I was looking for here," Leon said, thinking about the broker he had met who had sold him the information. Maybe he should pay her a visit again. He had paid dearly for the information, and nothing had come out of it.

"Might. Well, it turns out that you didn't." Emily said.

"Maybe he did something to himself," Leon mumbled that part to himself. "Some kind of protection… Hen might have been able to alter his memory some way-"

 "He didn't. And who is this source anyway? Is it the same one that got us banished? Why won't you tell me who it is?" Emily asked. 

"You promised you wouldn't ask questions," Leon said. Leon didn't want to think about the incident that got them banished, even though he was grateful for Emily following him into his exile.

"Look, Leon. You know that I want to help you but we've been digging this hole for too long and we haven't found any bones yet." Emily said. "Maybe we should just let go and ride out this banishment till the Federation lifts it."

"You and I know that the Federation is not that forgiving," Leon said standing up from the couch. "The only way that we get to go back home is to prove that we were right all along and that the Fallen stars are out there." He dropped the tablet on the coffee table and headed towards the stairs.

"Where are you going now ?" Emily asked.

"I'm gonna go freshen up and get some answers," He said.

 *

Harlot Club - located within North Broadway Chicago in Rogers Park, was one of the few Terran bars associated with anything to do with the Hidden World. The club was the smallest out of all the other buildings around it, most of them were food stores and local restaurants. Leon could sense the presence of the Grey, the mysterious barrier that divided the space between the Hidden world and the Mundane world of the humans. Terra was the only planet within the Neutral Free zone that kept the humans ignorant of the existence of the preternatural side. Not only were they ignorant, but their civilization hadn't progressed to the level of other planets. Leon stood outside the club, analyzing the outside appearance that stood before him. Humans passed by him, unable to perceive him or even aware of the building that was placed within the local stores. Leon's mouth pulled itself into a smile seeing the club in the city. Not long ago, the club had been halfway across the states, and now surprisingly it was also here. The inside was kind of dark with black painted gothic interiors, dancers all dressed in black clothing, their bodies snaking through each other as they danced to the beat of the music. Leon noticed some humans sitting at one of the exclusive tables, the suits they wore showed they were members of the elite part of the human society who were aware of the Hidden world. Some of them were beginning to stare at him, a look of fascination and apprehension on their faces. Leon couldn't blame them. They knew...or more specifically.. somewhere within their primitive mind, they could tell that there was more to him than what they could see. His appearance was after all not what a normal Terran would look like. His features were sharper than even the best of the humans, his cheekbones high along with his strong jawlines. He was dressed in black like them, a black armor jacket and a t-shirt with black jeans and black combat boots. His hair was naturally amber, which went well with his naturally tanned olive skin and his luminous blue eyes. Some of the Demihumans in the club knew exactly who he was, so they made sure to distance themselves from him, unlike the humans who were fascinated with his kind. On this planet, Humans who were aware of the truth were known as Mystic. And this club was full of them.

"Leonard Haravok!," A voice boomed through the raging sound of the club. Leon sighed as he pushed through the dancers towards Landar Al' Roth. He was a Demi-human with canine fangs, hair of ashen gray color, with bright wolfish yellow eyes. He was sitting at the most expensive table, surrounded by other female Demihumans. He was wearing an open sleeve shirt with a golden chain around his neck. 

"Landar," Leon said. He was the owner and proprietor of the club, and the one responsible for making the club move around. Leon had known him since he was a kid who used to visit Terra. They had been childhood friends though Landar was the one who viewed him more as a friend while Leon only cared about the value that Landar brought to him.

"Are you stalking me," Leon said.

"Stalking... Who do you think I am," Landar said. He snapped his hands, and a waitress came over with more bottles of champagne. She left the bottles on the table and then left. Landar opened the bottle and poured Leon a drink. "New York was beginning to feel dry." Leon gulped the drink, enjoying the stinging alcohol.

"So is she here," Leon asked as he took the champagne bottle from Landar, and began to drink directly from it. Landar sighed as he gestured across the table towards the corner that was far away from the dance floor and the others.

"Take it easy," Landar said. "I don't want my club blowing up," Leon moved to the opposite side of the club, and along the way it didn't take long before Leon attracted the attention of the opposite sex and they tried to gather around him. Leon found himself indulging in small talk with them. He recognized some of them from past dalliances though he couldn't remember their names. The more they talked the more bored he got till he found what he was there for. His eyes landed on a woman who was staring at him from across the room. She was seated all the way in the corner of the club, far from the dancers, but with a view to watch them. She looked different from everybody who was in the club. She had on a red-furred jacket with blue jeans and brown boots. Her white hair was braided in a ponytail. She had a smile that was directed at him but it was her eyes that held his attention. The heterochromia eyes of red and blue felt like they had seen things that Leon could barely think of. He took a shot before taking a sit across from her. The atmosphere around her was tense and off-putting but he ignored the warning vibes that she was giving off. She looked up from her drink and smiled at him. Those were not your friendly looking smile though he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. But there was something about her beauty that made him not admire it for what it was. He couldn't figure out why.

"You keep breaking all those hearts, one day it's going to come back and bite you," she said with a chuckle

"I never promised them anything other than my attention," Leon said with a charming smile.

"Huh uh?" She said. Vuelo Vysileaf's eyes tingled as she dropped her smile. She had pretty nice skin for someone who looked older than she was. "You're truly such a flirt, aren't you? Toying with their feelings."

"I don't really see myself as one," Leon said.

"Uh...Interesting. Then, I wonder how you view yourself, Leonard Haravok." She said, "So how has Chicago been? Did your hunt go as well as you had hoped or did it end up the same way? As it's normally been for you."

"You're a Seer, you tell me how it turned out, Vuelo," Leon said. He was doing a fine job of keeping his frustration under check. Something that he had recently begun working on. Leon had no intention of getting into any kind of scuffle while surrounded by Terrans. She was right about the part of things not going according to what he wanted.

"I see, not so well then?" Vuelo said. She was playing with a golden coin on her right finger, spinning it around with her thumb and index fingers. The coin caught Leon's attention for a moment but then he returned to glaring at Vuelo.

"I should ask for a refund for how much I paid you," Leon said. 

"Oh, Leon." She said, "You know I'm never wrong."

"The information you sold me led me to an Erlking that broke the Accord," Leon said. "Makes me feel like I was used to clean up a mess that wasn't of my doing".

"And within that mess, nothing caught your fancy," Vuelo said. He thought back to what had happened in the Sewer. The mysterious runes that had been etched on the wall. The Erlking had somehow managed to activate it, but the moment he died, the power that had been within the rune had disappeared. It didn't feel right to him that a mysterious power source was here in Terra of all places. 

"So there was," Vuelo said. There was a period of silence between them as they stared at each other. Leon felt tired and frustrated at Vuelo, himself, and most of all the stupid Council for being so short-sighted. He knew with all his guts that the Fallen stars were still out there. He thought back to the mission that had driven Emily and him away from Agartha. It had been a horrible experience and one that he tried countless nights to forget. But the events kept playing within his head making it hard not to. He took a glimpse at his hand, seeing the red that had once been there.

"Maybe it was for the best that it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to. The future is not a one way line or path. There are several paths, each of them forking out into different possibilities. This path that you're walking on is dangerous, Leon, and within it lies a fixed point. I have seen where your path ends and trust me, it is not pleasant." Leon said nothing to what she said. The Path was never easy for those of the Blood of Haravok. He had learned that at an early age.

"Forgive me for wasting your time," Leon said. He got up knowing exactly what he needed to do. He had to go back to that sewer. The answer he was after was there. There was no doubt about it. Maybe Emily missed something within his mind. Maybe...

"Death... it surrounds you, Leonard. If you continue down this path..death is all you will find." Vuelo said. His vision of himself being stabbed came back this time with full force. He was standing in a field of grass on top of a hill. The Faceless entity stood in front of him, the blade cutting inside him. It went through his ribcage, blood spluttering from his mouth. He saw the green haired girl running towards him, calling his name. And then it was gone.

"I think I've had enough talk of the future," Leon said. Talk of the future...especially his, was something he didn't have the stomach for nor care for. He turned around to leave but Vuelo grabbed his right hand. She had a strong grip which took him by surprise.

"The web of causality grows tighter around you," Vuelo said. " I know you think you know what you're looking for, but fate has a funny way of giving us what we want."

"What do you know of what I want," Leon whispered as he pulled his arms off her.

"I know it isn't your death," She said. She threw the golden coin at him which he caught. "That coin is made up of Adamant metal. Do be careful with it."

"And what am I to do with this?" Leon said raising the coin. He needed another drink or something to take the edge off. Something stronger than the garbage drink that he had wasted his time on. Maybe sex might not be a bad thing. He turned to the girls which he had left but none of them piqued his interest.

"I wouldn't go for them either," Vuelo said. She stood up from her seat and dropped a bill before addressing him again. "Speaking of the Erlking, I wonder if you got rid of the body."

"I'm sure it will be taken care of," Leon said. "Even on this planet, there are people who take care of stuff like that. After all, I did most of the work for them,"

"Thanks for making my job easier," Vuelo said. She was a seer who worked for the Golden Dawn, a mysterious organization responsible for maintaining the secret between the Hidden world and the Human world. According to the laws of the Hidden world, established through the accord between their government and Starlight order, Humans were under no circumstances, not allowed to know the truth of their planet and the universe. As such, encounters with the Faes and Demi-humans were something that rarely ever happened to them. However, there were some exceptional cases, like the unfortunate humans that the Erlking had feasted on. Leon had met Vuelo by chance through his acquaintance with Landar.

 "Leon, I hope you find what it is you're searching for. I really do." Vuelo said. "According to the flow of causality, it seems a new cycle is about to begin. A cycle of death, love, sadness, betrayal, and destruction." There was a look of sadness on her face that showed for a moment how old she was. He simply ignored the look, not needing her to understand why he was desperate to get what he wanted.

"So, basically history repeating itself, right," He scoffed. As it always did. " You don't think change is possible. That I could…" He didn't dare go there because he was not ready to voice that which haunted me deeply.

"You and I both know that such a thing is merely wishful thinking," She said grimly. "I've lived long enough to know that change is just an illusion," Vuelo said. "This universe in which we live is just a big ball of stagnant shit in every aspect. Goodbye, Leon, and May your gods be with you."

"Yeah, I doubt so," He said as she left him behind at the table. Change, uh. Yeah, one thing he agreed with Vuelo on. Change was not possible, especially when aspects of the world were made to be fixed, including your fate.

 ***

Watching over the city from up high as the sun rose down was one of the good things that Leon liked to do whenever he visited Terra. The place was kind of familiar just like Agartha, probably because of his childhood visits to this planet. There was beauty within the orange sky that seemed to burn through the clouds. He hovered within the clouds, his sight taking in all the view that Chicago had to offer. He could see the tiny dots of humans, going about their lives, so ignorant of the shadow that laid before them. He was also thinking about what Vuelo had said to him. A new cycle was beginning. One very similar to what had happened before. Could it have anything to do with the Fallen Stars? He wondered what she got from telling him nonsense wrapped up in some cryptic shit like it was meant to have some hidden meaning. Fucking seers. He could feel his blood roaring, a rush gathering that needed to be vented out. The release from sex that he had needed had changed into something else. He had never had the impulse to hit something as hard as he was feeling. Leon had to be careful not to lose control as there were humans below him even though they were unaware of his presence thanks to him being covered by the Grey. He was also careful in making sure that he wasn't spotted by any Faes or Mystics that could spot him. Luckily there weren't that many Pleiadians out in this Quadrant of the universe. His kind normally stuck to the Federation Quadrants. As he began to lower himself, trying to get back into Chicago as the Sun finally finished setting, he felt something burning within his pocket. He bought out the Gold coin Vuelo had given him. She had said that it was Adamant metal which had been surprising. Adamant was one of the few rare ores valuable to the Federation though from what he knew, sources of it had dried up. The metal from the ore was said to be very conducive to Od. Leon wondered why it was colored gold since the ore was said to be silvery white in color. The coin glowed bright and lay within his palm it felt like it was detecting something. Could it be… Adamant metal was good at detecting powerful Od, even those disguised or sealed. Could it be detecting the presence of a powerful Od wielder? Maybe a Fallen…Don't get too full of yourself. Lleon bashed himself mentally. As if he would just stumble upon the Fallens. He landed across a building where it seemed an event was going on. It was an art gallery called Reggie Sullivan Center. Why does that sound familiar... If he remembered it correctly, Wasn't this one of those buildings owned by Helix Institute that displays artists and their work... How the hell did he end up here? A lot of Terrans had shown up for whatever event that was going on. Leon didn't have much to say about Terrans, and though they may be an inferior species when it came to strength and power, there was no denying that they had imagination and passion. Though to be fair, most humans across the cosmos do share the same characteristics. It wasn't just exclusive to the Terrans. Maybe it had something to do with their short lifespan. Leon walked inside the building, still within the Grey. He didn't want to call any attention to himself while he was here. The room was spacious and filled with all kinds of pictures and paintings. It was a nice space he would give it that. The Humans flocked around whispering to themselves as they drank and ate whatever food it was they were serving. He swiftly picked up a glass of champagne from one of the trays of a waitress, covering the glass with the Grey so no one would see a floating glass. He walked around the paintings but none of them piqued any interest from him. They were beautiful and it seemed like a lot of work had been put into it but they never had that spark that he was looking for. He began to get bored and wanted to leave this place even with the gold coin burning hotter. But then his eyes landed on it. Leon froze as he was struck by some kind of force. He couldn't believe his eyes, nor could he believe his ears. A mystifying aura oozed from the painting, a swarm of bright gold and green mixed together pulled at his consciousness. And then there was the melody. The painting felt like a musical note... No, it was a musical note. The music symbols were engraved in a circular motion, painted across a midnight blue sky like stars. There were clefs that belonged to the ones Terrans had, but there were also clefs from other plants, music symbols developed by other civilizations that no Terrans should be aware of. As Leon stared at them, he could hear the melody of the notes rising. A song stirring within his heart, deeper than even that. The aura of the notes was so bright that they lit up the painting even with the dark background. He could feel the passion that the artist had put into it, to the point that the painting felt like... No, it was singing to him. But there was something more to it. Something that the painting brought up within me. This feeling... it was foreign yet it also felt familiar.

"I call it Star of Melody." A voice said just as the coin flared hotter. Leon unfroze as he turned around to look at the stranger that had spoken, the stranger to which the Adamant coin had been reacting to. Only it wasn't a stranger, but the girl from his dream. The girl he had been dreaming about for most of his life. She had on a black coat, with navy blue jeans and combat boots. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail with a smile on her light brown face. At first, he was struck by her beauty, but then he noticed something strange. She seemed different from the girl in his dream. Both in appearance and within the Odyllic. Something about her seemed so Terran that Leon wanted to run away from her. But his body refused to move. His instinct was to run away. He was fast. Faster than the human eye could follow. He could just flash away and it would be like he was never there. Like she had imagined him being there. But he didn't and the window he needed was gone. She pointed up at the painting. "Sorry for bothering you, but I couldn't help noticing that it's the only painting that seemed to grab your attention since you walked in."

"It's the only beauty here, isn't it," Leon said with a smile. She smiled while raising an eyebrow at him.

 "I suppose so," She said. Huh, Was she the one who painted it...wait a minute. Something was wrong. Leon was still within the Grey... So how the hell could she see him? He didn't sense any Infernal or Faeric presence about her. Which meant that she was human. Or maybe she wasn't. Vuelo's words about his desire came back to haunt him. Could she be what he was looking for? No... Damn it, Leon, get your shit together. Vuelo was a crazy old… but pretty bat and what he was searching for was not just any human girl. What I wanted was far more elusive than this. But this was the girl from my dream. It couldn't be a coincidence that I would meet her here of all places. As much as I hated the idea of fate, the universe runs on it. And the fact that she could see me meant that she was sensitive to the Odyllic. She had to be a Mystic.

"Well, it's a beautiful painting, I'll give you that. " He said. "Way better than the other mundane ones here."

"Thank you, though to be honest, I don't think mine is as impressive as some of the ones in here." She said. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled, there was so much warmth and pleasantness coming off her. Leon couldn't help liking her modesty. Probably because he lacked one. 

"So a modest artist, huh.." He said with a smile. Leon drained the glass of champagne. The drink somehow tasted good all of a sudden."First time showing off your art."

"Yeah." She said. " My T.A. encouraged me that it might do me some good to display my work." Ah, so she was one of the humans who went to Helix University. Might explain why she could see me. That place was one of Helix's experiment grounds that he had with the government of the Hidden World.

"Sounds like a smart person," Leon said. "I'm not surprised that someone as skilled as you got into Helix."

"Thanks," she said. He turned back to the painting, the song from within the painting had gone down, though its aura was still as bright.

"How did you come up with the idea," He asked. "It's brilliant using the clefs as symbols for stars. Feels like you're combining both your hobbies together."

"I like to paint. I also like to compose my own music. I thought why not do both," She said. "Of course, this is an old painting, so it might not have come out the way I intended it to," Leon had one of his eyebrows raised in surprise and she smiled like she wanted me to know that she thought it was silly. Just the way a normal human would. Not that he thought it was silly. Somehow this human girl had managed to imbue a piece of her soul within this painting, and she didn't even know. No human was capable of such feats... A slight pain struck him, bringing his thoughts to a pause. Was this some kind of mental attack? Another wave struck him again, this time stronger than the first one. The glass fell through his hand, making an ugly clash on the floor. But he ignored it and the girl staring at him with concern, only caring for the pain that he was feeling. Was he dying....no...no..not yet...he can't... Leon! Leon!... Help me... This voice...It belonged to Emily. He caught an image of her in his mind. In some kind of strange building, the ceiling had fallen on her. What the hell was Emily up to?

"Are you alright..." the girl said. Leon raised up his arm, signaling that he was okay.

"I'm good. I have to leave, unfortunately..." He paused, not sure if he wanted to leave. She was staring at him, that look of genuine concern threw him off. He might never see her again. His curiosity about her was palatable enough to keep him here, but the dying pain that he was getting from Emily gave him no choice. Leon gave her a smile and before she could say anything, he was gone.