I see the sun rise through the window. I laid awake all night in fear She might be there if I closed my eyes. Thing is that I'm not even tired and honestly staying awake gave me a lot of time to think.

My whole life up until this point has been a lie, and realizing that makes me rethink everything I thought I knew. I'm a god, and here just yesterday I thought my life served no purpose, I was wishing I was someone else and I got my wish but, it just doesn't feel right.

These nightmares I've had my entire life, they've meant something after all, and if this Daem is the reason for them... I don't really want to think about it anymore. The only thing I want to think about is finding a way off this planet and as far away from Her as possible. Maybe if I find the other children, or would I just be putting them in harms way?

I step out into the living room and Mia is sitting at the dinner table.

"Mom and Zen have been moving all the crates outside to the carriage all morning. Looks like we are ready to leave."

"Who is going to look after the animals?" I ask.

"Not sure. Zen said he asked some of the people in the village. I'm sure someone will take up the farm."

I nod. "Well, I guess we should get out there then."

I walk to the door and open it to see Zen talking to some people from the town. Mom, if I should even call her that, is sitting on the carriage. She looks down at me and smiles.

"Are you ready to go?" She asks.

"Don't really have a choice do I? I hated it here anyway. The only good thing was the beach."

She looks sad. "We can find another beach Hail."

Mia walks out from the front door. "Goodbye house"

She walks towards Eluna and gets ready to enter the carriage as Zen comes running over. "We have to go, now!"

"What's wrong?" Mia asks.

Men on dark veiled horses come pouring around from behind the house. They circle us and then come to a halt.

"Running again, I thought you were the god of combat Zen. Isn't this what you were made for?" A faint voice echos and then She appears from behind a group of horses.

"Vermidia..." Eluna steps off the carriage and walks towards her.

"Oh sister, how great to see you again."

Eluna frowns with disgust.

"Kids, get out of here. Eluna and I will deal with this."

"We can't leave you guys!" Mia shouts.

"Oh yes, don't leave, I need you." Vermidia reaches out towards Mia and begins to pull her towards herself without even touching her.

Mia screams as she begins to slide. I reach out and grab her arm pulling her back as Zen runs at Vermidia.

"Let her go!" He yells and in a quick motion he pulls his blade from his sheath.

Vermidia laughs. "Now that's what I'm talking about Zen!"

She throws her hand back at Mia and releases her from her grasp. Mia flys back and slams into me, knocking us both to the ground.

Eluna runs to us. "Are you two alright?"

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"I'm fine." Mia says.

She turns to me. "I'm alright."

"Good, now listen. Take this and get out of here. Zen and I will hold her off." She hands me her journal, the one I found yesterday.

"Wha..." I say as I take it from her hands.

"Everything you need to know is in that journal Hail. Keep it safe. Now go!" She turns and runs to aid Zen.

I place the journal in my pocket and grab Mia's hand. "Ready?"

She nods and I turn and start to run. The horse riders still stand guard and begin to run towards us.

"Hail, what do we do?" I pull Mia back into the house with me and lock the door.

The men begin to bang on the sides of the walls, trying to cut through.

———Zen———

I swing my blade at her waist but she pulls her hips back and slides backwards.

She cackles. "Oh Zen, you think you stand a chance in your weakened state?"

I swing again as I lunge forward. My blade sweeps from left to right and clings against hers. "Maybe not, but I'm willing to fight till my death."

"If you say so, just know I'll be more than willing to let you be if you hand the boy over to me."

"Scared to fight me?"

"Not a chance." She pushes her right hand into my side. Her nails cut deep as I flinch back, removing her claws from my abdomen. I pull my blade off of hers and swing again from right to left. She dodges to her right and the blade grazes her shoulder.

She stumbles as I hear Eluna running towards me.

"You witch, you'll pay for what you did to Magnus!"

Eluna crafts a star in her hand and casts out a beam of light at Vermidia.

"Finally something interesting." Vermidia taunts as she dashes into a cloud of smoke.

———Eluna———

"Tick tock Eluna... wouldn't want your boy to fall into the wrong hands would you..." I hear her voice all around me. She whispers into my ears. I feel her breath on my neck.

"Get out of my head!" I shout.

"He's going to die here..." she echos a deep and maniacal laugh.

"I said get out!" I scream and blast a ring of light around me.

She groans and is thrown back out in front of me. She slides across the ground as Zen jumps forward, holding his sword in both hands and pointing the blade to the ground, bringing it down on top of her.

She dashes through her void and appears standing behind him. "Not so fast now."

"Zen!" I shout but it doesn't matter. She drives her blade into his back and pulls it clean out his left side. His blood shoots out as he falls to the ground in a cry.

"Zen... you fucking monster!" I charge at her now and leap into the air. I begin to float as I raise my hands above my head. Light climbs up from my chest to my elbow and approaches my palms as a ball of starlight forms in the center of both my raised hands.

I throw my palms forward and the ball flies straight towards her. She runs but doesn't escape its radius as it collides with the ground. She's thrown back now and her robes catch fire and begin to smolder.

I pick up Zen's sword and begin to approach her on the ground as her eyes are closed.

"You are going to pay for everything you've put my family through." I raise the blade and hear Mia scream in the distance. I turn back to see the veiled men breaking through the walls of the house. "Kids..."

I go to run but feel my left arm grabbed by her hand. I see the blade swing from my right and slice my throat. "Your family are the ones who are going to pay for what they've done."

I feel the blood pouring down my chest as I fall to the ground. I try to gasp for a breath but my lungs fill with blood.

———Mia———

The men grab Hail and drag him away from me.

"Mia! Mia!" He yells as he reaches for me.

"Hail!" I scream as there are other men are holding me back now. They pull him out the door and begin to take me outside as well. Hail is facing me as the drag him but I see what's behind him. My eyes fill with tears.

"No, no why!" I sob.

Vermidia walks up behind Hail.

"You have no idea how long I've been searching for you child." She wipes her blade clean along her sleeve.

The men turn Hail around and throw him to the ground. He lands on his face and begins to pull himself up to his knees but remains head down, staring at the ground.

"What do you want?" He asks.

"Well that's a pretty broad question if I'm being honest. There are a lot of things I, need. I need, the Madium Throne to be unchallenged. I need, someone to aid me in those efforts. I need, The Blade your father used to kill his own brother while they were both in their full power, The DragonsBreath and finally, I need, the Amerei Crux. The device used by your father to merge the power and blood of all of the gods to create the Universe."

"What does any of that have to do with me?"

"Hmm, well let's say you joined my efforts. That would check off at least two of those necessities. Then you could help me find the DragonsBreath and the Amerei Crux."

"And why the hell would I join you?"

She laughs. "Well isn't it obvious, to save your sister..."

He raises his head now. He looks at her in the eyes and then turns back to me.

A man holds a blade to my throat now. "Hail..."

"Aah aah aah... you're to be seen and not heard child!" She raises her voice to me.

Hail turns back. "Don't talk to her that way!" He yells. I see his head turn and his eyes wander. He's looking past her now and sees what I see. Zen... Mom...

He looks to the ground again.

"You killed them..." there's a heavy breath to his voice. I can feel his emotion inside myself, his rage building. "You killed my father..." my heart is racing and I feel his blood pressure rising. "You fucking monster!" He shouts.

He rises from his knees and begins to hover in the air. A bright white light forms around him as the air swirls around his body. She stumbles back as a black smoke rises around her. The wind collapses in on him and then the air shoots out from his body and turns cold, as ice and snow blasts away from him in all directions while he screams in anger.

I can't see anything as the snow blows into my eyes in a white cloud around us. I feel every thing around me freeze solid in an instant. The cloud only lasts a few seconds and then I see him floating there in the air. He begins to descend back down to his knees and cries.

The air is static now. Nothing moves but a flurry of snowflakes in the air that slowly float around in a stasis around us. I feel an ice cold touch on my neck as I look down and see a blade covered in ice at my throat. I slowly move myself to the left and past the blade to see the man that was holding me now fully encased in ice. I look around to see everyone and everything in our vicinity covered in the same thick coat of ice, all frozen solid.

I look to where Vermidia stood but she's not there. I turn to Hail who still sits there sobbing. I walk closer to him and reach out to touch his shoulder.

The closer my hand gets the colder it feels. It almost burns as my fingers touch his shoulder. I pull back in a shiver and make an audible noise with my shutter.

"Hail?" I say softly. "Hail..." I walk in front of him now and kneel down to his level. "Hail look at me."

He looks up. His once dark brown bangs are now white, it fades and blends together as I move my eyes up towards his still brown roots.

"Where is she?"

"Gone." I say. "She disappeared. Everyone else is..." I don't know how to explain it really but he looks over his shoulder and then looks around to see what I'm referencing.

"How are you... still...?" He hesitates.

"I don't know... I guess, part of you knew not to touch me."

He reaches out for my hand and I take his. I pull him up and as he looks around more closely.

"What the fuck..." he mutters.