Amidst the Wheat Fields

As the world shifted, Michael felt a disorienting rush as if he was being pulled through time and space. When the blinding whiteness subsided, he found himself standing in a vast expanse of rolling hills and lush green fields. The air was crisp and clean, carrying with it the scent of wildflowers and earth. The sky above stretched endlessly, a canvas of vibrant blues and soft wisps of white clouds drifting lazily by.

For a moment, Michael simply stood there, taking in the peaceful scenery of his surroundings. It was a welcome break from the constant battles and dangers that had consumed his life in recent times. Here, in this place, which reminded him of the countryside, he felt a sense of calm wash over him, feeling strangely similar to The Nebula Point, in terms of the peace and calm he felt.

"Is this where your Lord Hamlinzok resides?" asked Michael nonchalantly.

The angel slightly walked forward toward the direction of a forest, which was at some distance, that seemed to be nothing but an endless sea of trees. 

"Yes. It's a bit further, though." He stopped. "However, I must leave to fulfill my duties. Although, I will alert the commander you're-"

"No need." A voice interrupted, "I'm already here."

The angel was startled but immediately began to kneel as another angel descended from above and landed before it.

"I have successfully brought The One Who Wields to Lord Hamlinzok's place. His name is Michael Truce and I have suspected him to be truly exceptional."

"Thank you, Seraphiel. You may now leave to inform the others." 

"Got it, sir." The angel disappeared. 

The new angel, unlike his subordinates, wore no helmet, his icy blue skin and hair visible for all to see. His presence commanded respect, his gaze piercing and unwavering as he surveyed the surroundings with keen eyes. His armor, adorned with intricate designs and symbols, spoke of his status as a leader among the celestial beings. Despite his imposing presence, there was a sense of grace and nobility in his demeanor. His large wings were spread gracefully in a wide arc, spreading behind him. He was several inches shorter than Michael and there was a sheathe for a sword hanging on his belt, which looked to be for a Shotel.

As he approached Michael, his gaze locked onto him with intensity, assessing him with a keen eye. It was clear that he recognized the significance of The One Who Wields. 

"My name is Xyel." He spoke clearly, " I'm the Commander of the Messengers. I'm pretty sure Seraphiel explained everything. I'll be accompanying you on your journey, Michael Truce." He began walking towards the forest.

"Journey?" Michael started to walk alongside him.

"You could say that." He smiled, "This realm is separate from Earth."

"I can see that." Michael replied, " How about you tell me whatever you know about The eye?"

"Solispectra? All I know is its name, which was given to it by the Allfather and he saw it in a dream as some sort of savior or destruction. The problem is, that he never had dreams. So it became some sort of prophecy." He pointed at Michael's right eye, " It seems like it came true."

"Seems strange enough to believe in. What is Jolain's current movements?"

"Jolain…well he's gone underground. Although after The Eye was activated, it seems, The Corrupted Ones were quick to reach you. It was so stupid of me to only send one angel for you. I didn't realize he sent in a general there too. But now that I think about it, I'm rather glad. You proved yourself capable."

"Oh please. You people already know about my presence. I was the key figure in The Great Defense. The Eye just proves that I have something more powerful in my arsenal other than my combat. And your angel was slacking off after killing a few of The Corrupted Ones."

"Ah, I remember now. I had totally forgotten about that war. You were so young, yet so powerful."

Michael sighed, he'd heard this countless times before.

Suddenly the laugh of a little child's laughter filled the air and a gust of wind sharply hit him in his eyes.

Instinctively, Michael reached for the rope dart at his side, his muscles tensing as he prepared for whatever the source of this sound was. However, Xyel did quite the opposite, his face growing into a heartfelt smile as he opened his arms.

A little girl who appeared to be around five years old, with a cascade of golden curls framing her sweet face. Her rosy cheeks were flushed with excitement, and a dimpled smile adorned her lips as she ran towards Xyel with arms outstretched.

 She was dressed in a simple yet elegant gown that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. Her small hands reached out eagerly and her laughter filled the air with a sense of joy and wonder. Despite her tender age, there was a wisdom in Arial's eyes that seemed to betray her years, as if she held secrets of the universe within her innocent gaze.

 As she approached Xyel, her laughter softened into a gentle giggle, and she reached up to him with an expression of pure adoration. Xyel's smile widened at the sight of Arial, and he knelt down to her level with open arms, hugging her gently.

Michael watched in disbelief.

Xyel got to his feet and picked her up, giving her a piggyback ride.

"Did he kidnap her?" asked Michael casually.

"HOW IS THAT YOUR FIRST QUESTION?!"

Michael shrugged.

"Her name is Arial. A fragment of The Core hit her during the Synufix Face-Off when it went loose and hit Earth. So Hamlinzok decided to take her in because she couldn't age, physically and mentally. After all, The Core is timeless."

"So, basically kidnapping in simple terms."

"WHAT? NO! She was already an orphan. Plus, Jolain suspected her to be The One Who Wields at that time, just because it seemed convenient to assume that. So Hamlinzok's decision also involved her safety."

Michael nodded, inspecting Arial, unamused, who, in response, cheerfully smiled back at him.

"Where's Hammie, Arial?" asked Xyel childishly.

"Hammie!" She pointed further into the forest.

"Alrighty then." Xyel smiled.

"Pff…Hammie?" said Michael, his tone laced with incredulity, as if he couldn't quite believe that someone was using such a ridiculous nickname, "Seems Absurd."

They walked into the forest. The wind was blowing gently and there were tons of leaves falling in the forest, making it impossible to walk in there without having to clear your face every two seconds.

Arial seemed to be enjoying it, Xyel was smiling, and Michael seemed to be frustrated.

"What is up with…" He cleared his face, " these leaves." 

"The wind obeys Arial here," replied Xyel. "She likes to play with it."

"So many useless things." grunted Michael, "Tell me what The Core and The Synufix Face-Off are?"

"The Core is the place which connects all the universes. Synufix was a kind of resort type of universe where all the brothers used to come to relax. It got destroyed when Jolain fought his first war there, so it's called the Synufix Face-Off because of that. It's also the war where Horizon decided to betray Jolain."

"Who is Horizon now?" 

"You'll meet him soon enough, unfortunately."

"Must be tragic."

"Hammie!" Arial suddenly shouted and began pointing upwards.

Both Xyel and Michael looked up towards a massive tree.

Hamlinzok sat perched on a sturdy branch of the massive tree, his long brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail that cascaded down his back. His eyes, a warm shade of brown, were fixed intently on the book in his hands, his expression concentrated. He wore casual clothes, a simple white buttoned shirt, and pants, with a long stubble framing his jawline. By his looks, he looked to be around his 30s.

 As Arial called out to him with enthusiasm, Hamlinzok looked down, a gentle smile spreading across his face as he acknowledged her presence.

"Welcome, Xyel and Michael." He jumped down and landed in front of them. The book in his hand suddenly disappeared. His height was similar to that of Xyel.

 "Long time no see, Michael Truce." Hamlinzok smiled warmly.

Michael nodded slowly in agreement.

"Well, let's talk when we get to the cottage. So follow me." He smiled again, turned around to face the tree trunk, and motioned his hand.

The tree suddenly disappeared; instead of that, there was now a clear path cutting through the forest. Hamlinzok immediately began walking the path he just created.

Michael and Xyel followed, with Arial on Xyel's shoulders.

At long last, they exited the forest to an open field where a wheat farm stretched endlessly. In the center of it, was a small cottage.

"Are you in some sort of countryside? Why are you farming wheat here?"

Hamlinzok laughed lively,

"You're right. It does resemble that. I like it here, feels peaceful to reside here, I suppose. And the wheat doesn't grow any further, nor does it rot. I like it the way it is. That's all there is to it."

" You are a strange man."

Xyel nudged his Elbow in Michael's ribs lightly. "Do you know who that is?" He whispered somewhat angrily.

"Of course I do, I fought alongside him in The Great Defence. And you too."

"I'm rather forgetful."

Hamlinzok opened the gate to his cottage and welcomed them in.

The cottage's interior surprised Michael as it was exactly how one would expect it to be in the normal world—wooden furniture, mats, and so on.

"Here," He beamed, gesturing at the couch, "Have a seat." 

They both went and politely sat down on the couch. Arial decided to sit beside Michael, out of all these people.

Hamlinzok sat down on the opposite couch to Michael. 

"Are you hungry?" He asked worriedly.

"N-" Michael began.

"YES!" Xyel cut him off.

Hamlinzok chuckled warmly and with a swift motion of his hand, the table before them was filled with numerous foods ranging from steak to pies. A ten-course meal with the movement of the hand. That looked convenient.

Xyel had already dived into his food and was eating his heart out. It hadn't even been a minute since Hamlinzok had provided them with the food.

For the uncertain road ahead, Michael picked up some of the food from the table, such as some bread, that would last in the longer run compared to rest, and stored it in his jacket's pocket. He picked up an apple to eat for the time being. 

"Calm down, Xyel. You don't even need food to survive."

"It's true," He said in between his munches, "But why would I have taste buds if I don't even utilize them?"

Hamlinzok smiled, "At least give Arial some."

He tossed a piece of bread at her. She missed it but Michael caught it. He handed her the piece of food.

"Thank you, Mikey!" She yelled excitedly and laid her head in his lap. Michael cringed and his facial expression immediately changed to something similar to disgust.

"She doesn't bite, relax." Hamlinzok chuckled playfully.

The bread crumbs fell on Michael's clothes but there was nothing he could do about it without upsetting Hamlinzok, so he just tightened his jaw in frustration. 

"I have been waiting for you, Michael," said Hamlinzok abruptly.

"Why is that?" 

"The Solispectra, of course. A long-forgotten prophecy of our old man that suddenly came into existence certainly says a lot. Your combat skills are phenomenal, no doubt about that, but if you begin utilizing The Eye…well, you'd become unstoppable. The aura speaks for itself. It's like someone let a Shard run loose in the middle of my universe. It's detectable across the megaverse itself."

"What is the Shard, again?"

"The thing that powers the universes. The All-father divided it into 7 pieces before passing away between his seven sons. They're insanely powerful. We can't utilize them entirely, and Jolain is made up of one, so I suppose you understand how much strength he possesses."

"He did not do much in The Last Defense, though."

"That is because," Xyel spat in between his devouring, "Horizon and Juwexinof took care of him back then, forcing Jolain back into his universe. And the rest of his 3 billion army was taken care of by the remaining brothers, the angels, the Dwarfs, and Humans. Although it's pretty sad to see that you humans mistreated the Dwarfs after that battle, causing Duace to shut the travel between his universe and Hamlinzok's."

"Well, my creations do run wild from time to time."

" I still haven't apologized to Duace." He added in as an afterthought.

"Duace is the ruler of the Dwarves?" Asked Michael.

"Yes, my brother. I guess I must explain it to you since you don't know anything. Forizes is our oldest brother, and all the angels serve under him. I'm the second in line, then it's Duace, then it's Lucifer, nobody likes him honestly, he keeps to himself in his universe which is just fire and ashes anyway, then it's Juwexinof who resides in his domain. He just loves to fight. Then it's Sigrius, he keeps the Fallen Souls under him so it's just basically the dead. And then lastly our late youngest brother, Zignis, who created Jolain from his shard. Jolain realized he could just kill Zignis and overtake him and he did just that. Unfortunately, it was all a bit too late after we realized that Zignis had been killed. After that, Jolain decided to use up some of his shards to make up an army and also create Horizon from the tremendous amount of energy that was left after the All-father divided the Shard into 7 pieces. And then he decided to fight us in Synufix. We won that because Horizon decided to betray him there, just as how Jolain did to Zignis."

"How stupid of him," commented Xyel.

"And then he went away to his universe again, which he made with his shard. And then he popped back up a few years ago in the war you people call The Great Defense, only to get defeated by Horizon and Juwexinof, which was rather strange." Hamlinzok got up from the couch, " Anyways, now that you're aware of all of this I would wa-"

Suddenly an angel appeared beside Hamlinzok, kneeling and its head bowed.

"I'm afraid I must be the bearer of bad news, sir." the angel interrupted.

Hamlinzok's eyes widened in alarm as he turned to face the angel, "What's the matter, Gresile? Speak."

With measured words, Gresile revealed the dire situation, "Jolain's universe has suddenly vanished."

"VANISHED?" Hamlinzok's voice echoed with disbelief. "Then that means…Jolain is on the move."

"What does he mean Jolain's universe vanished?" Michael asked Xyel, who was equally stunned. Even his pie, suspended halfway to his mouth, seemed frozen in time. 

"It means he's fully utilizing his shard now. Though his army also draws from its power, preventing him from reaching his full potential."

"And…" The angel began but stopped midway.

"And, what? Is there anything more?" asked Hamlinzok, worried.

An uneasy pause hung in the air before Gresile hesitantly continued,

"And…Lord Sigrius has fallen to Jolain's hand."