“Put me down!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

If I make any more movements, I know the dragon will drop me without hesitation.

I tried my best to get a glance at the odd man’s face without moving my lower half but failed miserably because of the strong wind blasting against my face.

Finally the dragon slowed down and the odd man finally said something… It was faint.

“Don’t move.”

“ Wait why—-“ I yelped.

Before I could finish my sentence the dragon threw me mid air and barrelled below me. I was too stunned to even move but somehow landed safely on top of the dragon, just behind its rider.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“...Yuko” I mumbled, trying to get a sense of the situation.

“Haruki” replied the odd man and proceeded to stay silent for a while.

I expect Haruki to be his name.

I looked around in a daze. “What’s going on?” I thought to myself.

Panic started to kick in and I was feeling butterflies in my stomach. I was finally getting a hold of the situation.

The dragon flew higher and higher and I realised that I’m being kidnapped!

“Hey, where are you taking me?” I tried to gather myself calmly.

“Home”

“…But my home is… down below us”.

I noticed he wasn’t up for anymore conversation, so I kept the questions for later. I couldn’t really do something to escape since I am…7 km above ground!

A few minutes of silence went by and Haruki’s dragon started to fly slowly as if we reached our destination.

…Maybe I'm wrong. Because what's this? I don't see anything, it’s just clouds and the evening horizon.

“Say Emfanìsou.”

“Em..fani..sou??” I recited with confusion.

“That should work for you since you’re one of us”

“What do you mean-“

Before I could finish my sentence a huge blinding light flared in the distance and a floating city just faded into existence. I couldn’t believe what I'm seeing. In the middle stood a gigantic island the size of a city and four slightly smaller islands, just half its size.

Surrounding these five islands were dozens of tiny floating islands. Some were the size of a small plot of land and some were the size of football fields.

On the Largest island in the middle stood big white buildings, houses, manors, and more structures you can see in a regular city. These structures have beautiful white columns and elegant statues. Some buildings were designed with massive columns and reddish triangular roofs. It's almost as if I was transported into ancient Greece.

There are temples, market places, shopping districts, stadiums and more. Along the building there are marble roads leading from place to place and beside every path were perfectly groomed flower bushes and small trees. Even though it was already night time I could see all the corners of the place because of its ample amount of street lights.

Throughout the island there were grand manors that are dotted around the city. Even in an aerial view they definitely stand out amongst the other buildings. For one, they occupy a lot of land and two, they look more refined and expensive than the other houses. The manors had intricate marble columns lined with gold and gems as centrepieces, complete with gardens and fountains with expensive white statues around them.

In the middle of the central island there was a great hill where a massive magnificent looking building stood its place. It has a similar architecture like the buildings below it, but this particular building is more grander and bigger than the manors. It's a giant castle-like structure, and it's what you'd think of when you imagine what Mount Olympus would look like.

The more I looked closer, the more islands I noticed. I saw lots of small islands floating around, which were about the size of a small plot of land. Some of them had houses and some had grand manors on their own private island away from the city.

Not one of the empty islands was dark. All of them have at least one street light illuminating the whole island.

Beside the largest central island were four medium sized islands, they were big in size but much smaller compared to the largest island.

One island stood white small houses covering the side of a hill with domed and triangular roofs. I recognised the buildings and it looked like the city I saw on a travel magazine. If I remember correctly the city that was mentioned was called Santorini Greece. The island was full of small houses that are so close to each other, you almost can't see the ground of the place.

The second island is a vast farmland. From afar I saw all sorts of plants. There were fruit bearing trees, wheat, and vegetables that could definitely supply the whole city. There are barns and ponds for aquaculture, and also a few houses dotted around the place.

Of course it was also covered in lamps. Every nook and cranny of the farmland was covered with light.

The third floating island is located on the very top of all islands. It was covered with magnificent trees of different shades and species, as if an abundant part of a massive forest was uprooted and placed on top of a floating city.

In the middle of this glorious forest is a giant oak mother tree that is surrounded by a magnificent river. You can see the giant branches illuminated in the darkness with colourful hanging lamps made with giant crystals of different shades. At the edge of the floating forest you can see a glorious waterfall that connects to the other island’s waterways.

The fourth island stood one giant building about 50 metres tall, with massive columns on its size and a roof with the colour of crimson.

The building itself was spectacular, the inside must be huge, The interior of that building must be elaborate with lots of chambers and rooms, because of its height and width.

Around the giant building stood massive pillar-like mountains that looked like giant rocks stacked on one another. The four giant rock towers surrounding the giant building had structures on top of them and are only connected with a skinny wooden rope bridge.

Every island was covered with light sources, every structure was visible under the night sky because of the lights. Not a single part of the islands are dark, even the sides of the mountains are covered with light.

I was overwhelmed by the magnificent view, it's almost as if I was transported in a fantasy world, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was mesmerised by the sight and felt as if time had stopped.

I glanced at Huruki to see his reaction but it seems he was already aware of the floating city’s existence.

While I was still admiring the incredible city view,, Haruki landed us on a small island with a singular street lamp, just enough for his sapphire dragon to rest. I asked Haruki what's going on and why he took me here, but he was silent. He stood there for a good five minutes before finally deciding to speak up.

“This is the city of Euryphaessa, and I’d like to ask you a few questions, but before that we need to go somewhere more private.”

“Follow me” He gestured.

Haruki climbed up his dragon and held his hand. We flew off to a little island in the distance, not too far from the main island. In it stood an old tower with a box sized building beside it that looks like a storage room with a balcony. In front of the tower stood a short circular shaped building with white columns inside surrounding it like a veranda. We landed in the neatly trimmed lawn where I saw a working mechanical lawn mower trimming the lawn without anyone guiding it!

I looked around and saw other little contraptions moving on their own. Automatic flying sheers shaping the bushes, Mechanical gnomes watering the plants, mechanical butterflies flying about in the midnight lawn. It was a weird thing to witness, besides the fact that it’s the middle of the night, all the automatons seemed to be powered by a glowing blue gem embedded in their bodies.

I turned to see Haruki’s reaction and he was also as surprised as I was, well not really surprised but more of a disgruntled face. He whispered something like “this old man..” in a sighing tone, and then he yelled-

“Hey old man! Your pets are up again!

“Yuko, this is the only place you’ll see these automatons, please get used to it. I swear the whole city is more normal.”

Not a moment later an old scruffy man with a long white beard and balding hair burst out from the entrance of the circular building. He was covered in soot and wearing an off white chiton, which was also covered in muck. He was wearing a belt with a different assortment of tools hanging from it, his hair was untidy and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

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“Ah Drats, not again!” Yelled the old man and then held out his arm towards the automatons.

And I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The moment he held out his arm, I saw little specks of light emerging out from the blue gems. Slowly, the glow of the blue gems faded and the automatons collapsed in their place. Haruki was not pleased but the old man was laughing.

Haruki sighed

“Old man, don’t tell me you’ve been working all this time and forgot to shut down these guys ever since I left?”

The old man jokingly asked “When did you leave?” He was giggling under his breath and I saw Haruki face palmed in disbelief.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding” giggled the old man.

“I forgot to shut them down this morning when old Kars came to visit, don’t look at me like that”

“But old Kars visited you yesterday,” Haruki replied with a tired tone.

“Oh, oops.”

I stood there half laughing and glancing at the giggling old man and Haruki crossed armed in disappointment.

“Anyways, old man,” said Haruki trying to change the conversation.

“I brought this guy here to meet you”

The old man was stunned as if he saw a ghost.

I didn’t understand what Haruki meant but the old man seemed to get it. He hurriedly fixed his hair and urged us to come in. He quickly picked up some mechanical parts lying on the floor and pushed aside what looked like unfinished contraptions, and led us to sit down on a somewhat burned sofa. The inside was messy and full of cluttered mechanical parts, it didn't look unpleasant by any means but it looked sorta cool and ingenious.

It was a sight to see, different kinds of cool looking contraptions both finished and unfinished lying around. There were mechanical robots that looked like animals and insects, dozens of mechanical parts hanging on the wall; pulleys, gears, bearings, and other parts I don't know.

We sat down and I noticed the old man doesn’t have a shadow like Haruki. I stayed quiet about it though, maybe they’ll explain eventually? I thought .

The old man waved his hand and pointed at a self heating kettle. A blue gemstone embedded in the kettle glowed bright blue and the kettle started heating up.

Haruki clears his throat and starts speaking.

“Yuko, this is my grandfather, Chron.”

Old man Chron seemed worried about something. There was silence for a few seconds, but then I finally had the courage to ask Haruki what’s going on.

“So.. why am I here?” I asked.

“You were so adamant on bringing me here, telling me you have so many questions but you haven’t asked me one bit. Can someone please explain to me what’s going on.”

I didn’t care to think that I might’ve been kidnapped here because in my mind all I could think of is why am I here, I could’ve been back home celebrating my birthday, eating a whole cake by myself. But instead I’ve been dragged into this place I never knew existed.

I bowed my head thinking that was rude of me then a few more moments of silence went on. Until the old man finally spoke up to break the silence. He was a little reluctant at first but then made up his mind. His eyes were watery and gave me a relieved yet sad look.

“You look so much like your father, Yuko…”

I felt conflicted about his sudden compliment. No one ever mentioned anything about my dad because I grew up an orphan, no one knows what my parents looked like.

I always knew I looked a lot like my dad. My mom always mentioned I’m a spitting image of him when he was younger. She would often take pictures of our family and I kept them as my most prized treasures. My dad has dark red and our features are mostly the same. The only things I got from my mom are her golden amber eyes and her smile.

“Yuko, do you know who your parents are?”

“You’re asking for their names? Yes, of course i know them, Kojin Katsuragi is the name of my dad and-“

Before I could finish my sentence, Haruki and old man Chron's started watering up.

“Thalia… is my mom” I said while questioning myself if I had said something wrong.

I asked what’s wrong, but then not a moment later the old man jumped out of his seat and hugged me.

“You’re alive!” He cried out with tears flowing down his cheeks. I glanced at Haruki who had looked away with a faint smile on his serious face.

“Yuko it is you. My dear grandson, Thank the Goddess!…”

I was surprised by the sudden reactions of the two, old man Chron is my grandfather, then who is Haruki to me?..

I didn’t notice it but I felt tears streaking down my cheeks. I didn’t know how to react after knowing that I had a family all this time. Throughout my life, I lived only knowing my mom and dad as my only family members, when they died I was all alone and orphaned.

I didn’t think of anything else. I just closed my eyes and hugged the man claiming to be my grandfather. Maybe deep down I was still yearning for people whom I could call family.

Old man Chron gently retreated from our hug and wiped his face wet with tears.

“You’re probably confused right now Yuko, these people who you just met have claimed to be your family, this is something that we should’ve done earlier. We deeply apologise that it took this long…” said the old man while wiping his tears away.

I sat there in shock with my face still wet with tears.

“Old man” said Haruki

“I think it’s right to tell Yuko what is going on right now.”

“You’re right”

“Yuko.. your dad is my son and Haruki here is your cousin.” He looked at Haruki, and Haruki nodded in exchange, urging him to go on.

“Your mom was the Princess of this land and your dad is the Great General of the Euryphaessa soldiers, he’s an established general and the strongest fighter to ever live..”

“The whole nation celebrated when they announced a baby is on the way. Everything was going well until the spirit of the oracle in this nation showed up in the midst of the celebration and foretold a prophecy of our nation.”

“What is the Spirit of the oracle?” I thought but I couldn't bring myself to speak, so I kept it to myself.

I looked at Haruki, expecting something but I didn’t know how to act. Haruki looked more serious than normal, which made the situation a lot more dire than it is now.

“What’s the prophecy?” i asked

Old mad Chron recited in a dream-like voice.

“A child of darkness shall be born,

When the day is covered by the shadow of dawn.

A child who wields the power of twilight,

The one who will join dark and light.

A friend of the shadows, a soldier of the light,

An enemy of those who were cursed by the goddess of sight.

When the shadow grows darker,

the wrath of lost souls shall no longer linger.

The city of light will be in great danger,

By the hands of the souls of those who seek the goddess’ anger.

The child of darkness will walk a lonely path,

A price to save the innocent, in exchange for death.

A journey of loss and regret,

To fulfil a promise one did not forget..”

I stared blankly for a while, trying to process what my grandfather just said.

“According to our scholars, the oracle said that you will unite Euryphaessa and shadows. She said you will help the shadows find their way.” Explained Haruki.

“Me and the old man here and both shadows-less. As you can see, We are called Euryphaessans, people who are born without shadows and can use light magic granted by our Goddess Theia. Our people have a long history of wars with the shadows, you see.

When the oracle announced that in the future you will help the shadows, this caused an uproar. Even though it was clearly said that you’ll help the city avoid destruction, they still can't get over the fact you’ll help the shadows”

“My parents were exiled.” I noticed both of them were trying not to say it but I understood it from their story.

“Yes,” the old man said with a sad tone.

“At first we tried to think of it as a way to end the long running war between the two sides by finally achieving coexistence but when you were born…. We couldn’t sway the people’s opinion anymore, because you were born with a shadow.”

“I’m sorry Yuko, this is probably not a good topic to talk about right when you just got here-“

“No,” I paused.

“Please continue, I want to know the truth.”

“The people think of the shadows as something disgraceful and impure, no one could think of any other reason as to why you would have a shadow other than you being cursed.” Haruki explained with his head down, he had a heavy sorrowful tone.

“Haruki” the old man called.

Let me explain this part, you had nothing to do with your Uncle’s fate.”

Old man Chron patted Haruki’s head and began to explain.

“Yuko, it’s my fault, because of my lack of power back then I couldn’t even be of help when your Father needed it most. Back then I just retired from my position as a Colonel but I didn't have a good reputation. I stood before everyone but I was ignored and scorned. I’m so sorry Yuko…”

The old man bowed with his head down on the floor as a way to apologise,

I wished I had done something to at least comfort him but I stood l there in silence with thoughts swirling in my head.

This cheery Old man Chron had a bad reputation as a soldier? My mom and dad are both famous and I never knew about it.

“When they left we were able to stay in contact with them for a few years. Thalia would often send us letters about their living conditions, how you’ve grown up to be a smart kid…how they were so proud of you, Yuko”

Tears once again fell from my eyes… Old man Chron gave me a weeping smile and patted my head. I couldn't say anything and just continued crying.

“It was going well,“ Old man Chron continued.

“Until a few months later the letters suddenly stopped and we lost contact with your parents. I was already retired as a soldier so I couldn't go down and look for them. The letters your mom wrote had no address on it for some reason too. I tried asking for help from the connections I had but no one was able to find them. As soon as Haruki became a soldier, he was able to get down to the human plane, and has been searching for your family's whereabouts ever since.”

Old man Chron’s voice turned feeble and his expression grew darker, he continued…

“Until a few years later, the gems from the accessories and equipment your parents left behind suddenly faded…”

I looked at Haruki with a confused expression. “What does he mean?”

“The gems are where we store the powers that we got from the light. When there’s daylight we can freely fight as we please because of the light from the sun. But when it's night there’s little to no light, that's why we store our light powers in gems to be able to fight. But when the owner of the gem dies the powers die along with it… There are special cases where the owner can leave their powers in the gems even when they die. Such cases can only happen with their first gem. It is special because it's the very first gem used to store their power on. Their first gem is mostly worn by the owner all the time and stores most of their light powers on it.”

“I see.”

Haruki continued… “Any other gems that they use will automatically fade the moment of their death. That is why we were able to find out about what happened to your parents.”

“That is right” Old man Chron carried on with his story. “When we saw your late parents' gems fade we immediately knew that they'd died. But with you on the other hand… we had no way of knowing whether you had died with them or not. That is why we never lost hope. That’s why Haruki flew off with you the moment he saw you.”