Ada stopped again, her heart beating furiously as old memories came back to her.

“Are you sure we're going in the right direction?”

Cragar's son nodded.

They came to a staircase leading to the upper floors. Havel looked up as the time-worn stone steps were illuminated by the filtering light of the Sun.

“We have to go up,” Shirei explained, “The fault is on the second floor.”

The leader took the initiative, starting to climb with a determined step. Ada followed him, casting a terrified glance at the empty passage. Once on the second floor, the group found themselves facing a long corridor that seemed to have no end.

“Another… fantastic” Ada commented acidly.

Half-open doors revealed empty and bare rooms, but one in particular attracted the attention of the Equinox Flowers. The door was ajar and a soft blue light was coming from it.

“There,” Shirei said, pointing.

They advanced cautiously, and when Havel gently pushed open the door, they were faced with a surreal scene. In the center of the room, a temporal rift opened across the floor, giving off a cerulean light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. The walls of the room were covered in glowing grooves, forcibly traced the moment the fault was opened.

“Here we are,” Havel murmured, approaching cautiously.

A metallic noise made them whirl around. From the door of the room, a line of armored figures made their way before them. Demigods, about twenty of them, lined up in a crescent shape with weapons drawn. In the center of the group, a young woman with pink hair cut into a bob stepped forward. She wore rose gold armor with crimson red highlights.

“Reveal your identity and your intentions, if you refuse I will consider myself authorized to imprison you.”

Havel stepped forward, his hand rising to keep his weapons within range. “We're not here to fight, at least not with you,” he said firmly. “We want to close the rift.”

The demigoddess nodded slowly. “I understand, but this is a dangerous area. We can't let just anyone in.”

Shirei took a step towards the fault and crouched at the entrance.

“Stop!” The pink haired girl shouted.

The armored demigods sprinted in unison, but were stopped by the appearance of Cragar's son's tenebrae. Ada turned to her companion, pointed to the creatures and shook her head.

“Are you crazy or what?”

“Holy Emion!” The demigoddess in the red armor jumped, “Ready for battle!”

“Calm down!” Ada moved forward until she reached the seat next to Havel, her eyes remaining fixed on the demigoddess at the head of the group. “We are the Equinox Flowers, we are demigods too,” she said. “We come from Lilies Park and we want to collaborate with you.”

The warriors did not seem to listen to her words.

“Shirei. Make the harpies disappear,” Rutia's daughter thundered.

The tenebrae immediately disappeared into thin air, causing the demigods present to breathe a sigh of relief. To everyone, except the pink-haired demigoddess. The girl was more shaken than before, but she forced herself to remain calm.

“W-welcome,” she said in a clear voice. “I am Samara Dearca, captain of the Scarlet Sparrowhawks, fourth regiment of the Daffodil Academy.”

Ada tried to mediate. “Hello, Captain Dearca. We have been commissioned by the divine Aena to close or annihilate the temporal rifts that have opened.”

Samara seemed to consider her words, then nodded her head. “Very good. But know that it won't be easy. Rift monsters are quite unpredictable.”

Ada approached the demigoddess. “Thank you, but that's what we're here for. Divine Emion should contact you shortly with all the details.”

Samara watched them for a long moment with her green irises, then noticed Shirei's purple eyes and took a step back. “T-then… I… okay” she was starting to splutter. “I didn't mean to get involved.”

The demigoddess seemed to be afraid of Shirei, so Ada took the boy by the arm and pulled him back a few meters.

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“Do you know her?” She whispered to him.

Cragar's son shook his head, “I have never seen any of them in my life.”

Havel spoke first, addressing Samara in an authoritative tone. “What's the situation here?” He asked, trying to understand the level of threat that awaited them.

The demigoddess managed to calm down and responded in a high-pitched voice. “The rift opens only at night, and the monsters that emerge are completely unknown, nothing we have ever faced. They have a humanoid appearance, but have differences based on their sex.”

“Can you give me more details?”

“The women have long straight hair, fangs and sharp claws. Their eyes are glassy and their skin is both dry and pale. They have a very thin body, with bat-like wings and a spine that sticks out to form a crest on their back,” she paused to wet his lips, “From the waist down, they almost look like snakes. If it weren't for the wings and strange composition, I would have said they were gorgons."

Havel nodded a few times and rubbed his chin, “But they are not, what about men?”

Samara glanced nervously at Shirei, but the leader of the Equinox Flowers brought her back to attention by snapping his fingers.

“Don't let the handsome dark prince kidnap you. We're talking,” he pointed to his eyes with his index and middle fingers. “Look at me.”

“Y-yes,” the demigoddess promptly bowed her head to avert her sight from the son of Cragar, “Men are much more robust. They also have fangs and thick hair, but their skin is almost leathery and dark in color.”

As the conversation continued, Shirei began to feel uncomfortable. The demigods of the academy looked down on him as if they were searching for every little detail about him. Some gave him an awkward smile, but they didn't dare approach him for some strange reason.

Is it because I am a son of Cragar and they understood it?

He didn't wait for an answer to that question. He decided to move away from the group, seeking some tranquility. He left the room where the demigods were camped and walked along a dark corridor, the peeling walls reflected vague glimmers of light coming from outside, however this barely illuminated the path.

He stopped in front of a broken window, looking out at the deserted courtyard. The wind swayed the bare trees, creating ghostly shadows that danced across the ground. With a deep sigh, Shirei summoned his tenebrae, Reno. A dark, floating figure appeared beside him, eyes glowing in the darkness.

“Hello, boss. Did you miss me?”

“Reno,” Shirei began, his voice a whisper to avoid being heard, “I wanted to know your intentions. Now that we've defeated the rift monsters, you're free. I promised you."

The tenebrae floated silently for a moment, then responded with a melodious voice that crept into the demigod's head.

“Our contract is still valid. I said I would stand with you until the fault problem was resolved. I know you only meant the one where I met my death, but I intend to follow you until you return to your park.”

Shirei contemplated his subordinate's words. «Are you certain of this choice? I can give you the rest you deserve, you've done enough."

“Eternal life will be too long a rest, I don't have this great need of it at the moment. If you make Cragar add a few extras, though, I certainly won't throw it away.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

“Great. You are the best, boss.”

The sound of footsteps made the tenebrae disappear into thin air and made Shirei turn around. Ada and Havel were coming towards him, their expressions tense but determined.

“Shirei, we need to talk,” Ada said, stopping next to him.

“We've discovered something important,” Havel added. “The rift monsters only seem to appear in the evening and disappear at midnight. What we saw was an escaped infected woman who, for some strange reason, transformed into this creature.”

Shirei looked at his companions. “Don't we know anything else?” He asked, trying to stay calm.

“No, all we have to do is enter the fault,” Ada replied. “Although the demigods do not want to abandon their position, we must move and make use of the time we have.”

Havel added, “I'll do the negotiating. You two get ready to go in.”

Sidal's son walked away, heading towards the group of demigods led by Samara. His broad shoulders and arrogant posture conveyed a sense of authority that he hoped to use to his advantage.

Ada approached Shirei, whose gaze was still staring into space. The purple-eyed boy didn't fail to notice the slight trembling that his partner tried to hide.

“What do you think we'll find in there?” she asked, the tone of her voice revealing slight concern.

“I don't know,” Shirei replied, shaking his head. “We must find the fault anchor and take it away, or kill all the monsters inside.”

“Did your creature tell you this?”

Shirei didn't answer, but implied that it was just as she said. Ada nodded, gripping her weapons tighter. “We'll make it,” she said, more to herself than to Cragar's son. “No matter what lies ahead, we will emerge victorious.”

The two reached their leader just in time to hear him arguing with the captain of the mortarboards.

“We cannot afford to waste time. The rift must be closed and we must work together.”

Samara looked at him carefully, considering his words. “Our orders are to hold the position,” she said finally. “We cannot abandon our mission.”

“Then help us fulfill ours,” insisted the demigod, “If we don't close the rift, the monsters will continue to come out and we will all be forced to stay here.”

The girl nodded. “I will talk to my soldiers. We will leave you for a few days, after which you will automatically be reported missing and we will discuss how to deal with the problem.”

The two shook hands, “Perfect.”

As Shirei, Havel and Ada prepared to enter the fault, the atmosphere became increasingly tense. The group gathered around the entrance and the demigods were evacuated outside, with only Samara remaining.

“Don't worry. We'll take care of the monsters that manage to escape, you find a way to close it” the demigoddess greeted them, before disappearing through the door that led to the corridor.

A few minutes passed.

“Remember,” Havel said, his voice firm and commanding, “We must stand together. We don't know what awaits us on the other side, but as long as we fight together, we’ll always have a chance.”

Ada laughed, “Nice phrase, but don't try to be in an action movie, thanks.”

“I was just trying to…!” Sidal's son began to turn red. “You know what? I hate you, guys.”

With a deep breath, the three Equinox flowers crossed the entrance to the temporal rift. The energy enveloped them immediately, a wave of power that seemed to tear at reality itself, dragging them into a world far into the past.