"Right, that’s the last of them!” Shouted Iowa as she carried her last case into the carriage. Isuzu climbed in, carrying all the clothes and basic items she was given.

Iowa hoisted herself up and sat beside Isuzu as Celeste approached the two,

“All set?” She asked.

The two nodded as they hugged some of the luggage. Celeste approached the driver’s seat, sat down and drove away.

The gates opened before them as the guards saluted Iowa as soon as they noticed she was inside the carriage.

Iowa saluted back as they passed through the black iron gates with the South British coat of arms engraved in the middle of them.

They exited the building and turned right. For the first time, Isuzu has seen what the capital of South Britain looked like.

Huddles of houses made with brick complete with balconies and windows for every room and to her right were tall black fences that separated Raymond Palace from the surrounding houses and shops.

Beyond those fences were nothing but grass as far as the eye could see, but she still could catch a glimpse of the large pond beside the garden.

Before Celeste could turn to the crossroads a policeman halted the carriage to let a group of horses from the other side manoeuvre safely.

Isuzu watched the several carriages march together in a single file, accompanied by pedestrians walking alongside the stallions.

Isuzu could not help but smile at the sight, to think that the people were so accustomed to such chaotic situations.

But then, someone suddenly rang a bell close to her ear.

“Frozen desserts, get a taste of South British frozen desserts!”

“Eh?!” Isuzu looked beside her to see an old man, carrying around a large box with wheels.

“You don’t look like someone from here eh?” The old man told Isuzu.

“Oh, me?” Asked Isuzu.

The old man nodded happily, “Yep, but I do know this fellow here.” He then pointed at Iowa sleeping peacefully as she used the luggage as pillows.

“Iowa!” The old man tapped her back. Iowa slowly woke back up to see the old man smiling at her.

“Uncle Clarkson!” Iowa exclaimed.

“Iowa, dear who is this new fellow?” He asked.

“Oh, that’s Isuzu, a good friend of mine!” Iowa answered.

“Ah, Isuzu, well, call me old but I never forget names! Isn’t that correct dear?” He asked Iowa.

“No sir!” Answered Iowa.

“Ehehe… nice to meet you too Mr Clarkson,” said Isuzu.

“Right then, you three with the lady over there would you like some frozen desserts?” He then asked.

“Oh, sorry, we didn’t bring any coins today, maybe I could ask Celeste!” Iowa approached Celeste as Isuzu watched Uncle Clarkson take off one of the lids of his box and take a large spoon.

He then started scraping the inside of it as he took three cups from a shelf.

“Hey, Celeste, do you have some coins there?” Iowa asked Celeste.

“Go ahead and look,” Celeste answered as she took out a purse from her pocket and took some money out of it.

"How does it taste my dear?” Uncle Clarkson asked as she reached Isuzu one of the cups. She was given a small spoon and tasted the creamy dessert.

Isuzu smiled as the cream melted on her tongue.

She nodded with a large smile on her face. The old man giggled, “All of humanity could agree that there is no person in this world who doesn’t like frozen desserts!”

“Too right, mate!” Iowa laughed as she gave him the coins.

He then gave the other two spoons and picked up his box, “Well then, I wish the three of you a safe journey! A lot has been happening lately around this city.” Uncle Clarkson said.

“What happened?” Asked Iowa as she scooped the dessert and ate it.

“Well, I don’t know I think it’s about that Divinity again.” He answered.

“What about them?”

“Well, rumours had been going around that their holy day is about to come.” He answered.

“Sanctum Day?” Then asked Isuzu.

“Yeah, that,” Answered Iowa.

“It’s supposed to be their day. How on earth do they keep on forgetting that?” Wondered the old man.

“It only happens when the moon is perfectly linked with the star pillars,” Answered Iowa as they looked up above to see the star pillars.

“So, in short, they’ll just have to guess which day it is?” He asked.

“No, their higher-ups know when to start, have you heard an announcement yet?” Iowa then asked. Uncle Clarkson shook his head.

“Sorry dear, I haven’t, but I’ll tell you when we meet again!” He answered.

And when the policeman finally signalled their lane to proceed, “Well then, until we cross paths! Nice to meet you, Ms Isuzu!” The old man said as he gave them a big smile as he took off his beret and waved them goodbye.

The two waved the old man goodbye as the carriage drove away to the heart of the city.

Iowa chuckled, “He’s one of the good ones left, that old man.”

“Why?” Isuzu asked.

“Well, pretty much our workers here have found some form of influence with the Divinity lately and it’s just up to parliament and what’s left of the old churches to check on them." Explained Iowa.

As they rode through the busy intersections, Iowa gave Isuzu a large blanket.

“Finish your dessert and cover yourself, after all, you’re still a target.” She smiled.

“Are you two going to be alright?” Asked Isuzu.

Iowa nodded as she wrapped the blanket around her, “Yup! You should get some rest as well, it’s a long way until your destination OK?”

“OK, good luck,” Isuzu answered as she covered her head with the blanket and rested her head beside Iowa.

Iowa’s smile slowly faded as she looked at Celeste, “Next turn should be less crowded and we should avoid the churches.” Iowa told Celeste as she took her revolver hidden under her and made sure it was ready to fire.

“Is Isuzu asleep?” Celeste asked.

“Yup,” Iowa answered.

Meanwhile in the Dutch colony of Korji,

Two girls were walking along the sidewalks of the Dutch settlement. One was tall and older, the other was short and younger.

They both had short, black hair, hidden behind a cloak which they shared as they walked along.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"How far is it?" Asked the younger.

"We're pretty close now, all that's important now is that we get to them first." Replied the older.

The older then looked at the short girl beside her as she placed her hand on her head, "We'll be fine, but we can't just let those cultists do whatever they want with us!" Sighed the older.

As the older looked back at the road ahead, they then heard the trotting of a carriage behind them.

"Don't look behind you." Whispered the older as she pulled the younger closer to her.

"Right..." Answered the younger.

The carriage passed right through them, letting the girls see cloaked members sitting on it.

"We'll take the forest, wait for the trees to hide us..." Added the older as they watched with shivers down their spines.

The younger looked at the older, "Were they the ones who tricked papa?"

The older nodded, "Yes."

A few minutes later, in a large house, a group of people knocked on the door.

Inside the house, a family gathered around a table with food and empty plates.

There was a father, a mother, and two children. They held hands together and prayed. But as soon as their prayer stopped, they heard knocking on the door.

The mother nodded at the father, gesturing him to open the door.

The father stood up and walked to the door. He took a look on to the peephole to see hooded people, Divinity members waiting on the doorstep.

He opened the door and stared at the tall hooded figures accompanied by two more at the back. Without saying anything else, the father went outside the house and closed the door.

He gestured the hooded figures to follow the man to the farm beside his house. The farm was empty, dry, and infertile. One of the figures approached one of the rows of soil and gently placed his hand on it.

After a few seconds of complete silence, the hooded figure’s hand started to glow as it held on to the soil and as they pulled back their hand, they looked at the others and nodded.

The tall hooded figure looked at the father and shook his hand as the other two figures took shovels and sacks and without a second thought, started digging the soil.

The father nodded and got back to his house. He closed the door and locked it as he got back to the dining table where his family sits.

The mother held the father’s hand and gave him a sweet smile. She then looked at the two children and smiled at them as well. The father smiled and clapped his hand once and finally ate the food in front of them.

And then, under the trees that surrounded the farm,

"Stay low..." Said the older, placing her finger on her lips.

"Right." Replied the younger, hiding her stature under the bushes as they watched the members dig up all the soil.

The older focused on the members, "One... two... three...," counting every single one of them.

"Five," she then concluded.

"What are going to do?" Asked the younger.

"Like practise." Vaguely replied the older.

"OK..." Said the younger as the older took off her cloak, watching as the younger's blue eyes start to glow, and just like the younger, the older's green eyes started to glow as well,

"Papa... We're sorry..."

As the members piled up all the soil on large sacks, they started hearing rustling beneath the soil.

One of the figures looked down to see the soil rumbling. They looked at each other in confusion as they tried to make sense out of it, but they never got to find out as they suddenly heard a piece of metal bang with something soft, followed by one of their mates' groaning in pain.

They looked back to see the younger holding a shovel with their mate knocked down in front of her.

The hooded figures took their short swords out as they unveiled their cloaks, ready for combat. The tremors stopped, but not before the members realised that the older had disappeared.

The older was then suddenly beside the younger, who was worn out.

"Are you OK?" Asked the older.

"Yeah, but you have to be quick," panted the younger in between words, "Let me catch my breath first..." She added.

The older nodded, taking out a packet of sweets from her pocket, "Here." She smiled.

"What? How did you get this?!" The younger asked, her eyes widening as she saw the sweets.

"I can't have you passing out on me." Giggled the older.

"Right, wish me luck..." Added the older as her smile plummeted.

The younger nodded, watching as the older's green eyes glow once more as she slowly vanished from her sight.

The figures up ahead, picked up their unconscious colleague and tried to escape, taking as much soil as they could. The younger saw this as she indulged on her candy. Her eyes glowed once again, letting off tremors beneath them, making the horses panic as everyone could hear cracks opening under them.

The family inside stayed in one room as they thought an earthquake has happened.

The members weren't able to reach their carriage however, dropping their sacks of soil as they lost balance every time they tried to stand up and run to the carriage.

The older re-appeared at the back on the carriage, immediately placing her hand on the carriage as her the glowing of her eyes amplified even more.

Previously like the older, the carriage slowly started to vanish. The members watched as their only escaped vanished before their eyes.

The members looked at the older's eyes, glowing brightly as she stared back at them. The members felt that the girl's expression was nothing but disgust, hatred and anger.

They weren't able to say anything else, as soon as the older disappeared, the earthquake stopped. Leaving the members to stand up and make a run for it.

The older appeared back beside the younger, followed by the younger giving her a big hug. But they weren't able to celebrate their victory however as Dutch colonial troops started to arrive.

Before they took off, however, "Look!" Exclaimed the younger.

"What is it?" Asked the older.

The younger pointed at a piece of paper lying down on the torn sacks.

"Right!" Nodded the older, disappearing as she took the piece of paper and immediately grabbing the younger afterwards, leaving the area to the Dutch soldiers.

As this was all happening, Celeste, Isuzu, and Iowa, finally left the capital and slowly made their way to the pine woodlands that surrounded the capital.

Isuzu fell asleep as soon as they left the capital with Iowa on guard for any suspicious activity near their carriage.

Isuzu’s mind fell into a deep sleep as she started dreaming as usual, but as she was dreaming, her visions started to fade until all she could see is black.

And then,

She suddenly rose, gasping for air as she looked around to see everything in black.

“Where am I?” She asked herself as she looked around. She could barely see her clothes as she stood up.

She then felt liquid drip out of her back and legs.

“Water?” She asked as she stood up and squeezed her wet clothes.

“Hello?" She called out but was only answered by echoes once again.

“There should be lamps here somewhere.” She told herself as she walked around, watching the water ripple as stepped around

“This is a dream, I don’t think Iowa or Celeste is here...” She said, recalling the dream she had previously.

“How did I got out of the first one? Right, I was wakened up, but I can’t call out anyone here.”

“The lights perhaps? Maybe if I-…” Before she could finish, however, she bumped into an unknown object.

“Ow!” She exclaimed as she got knocked out of balance and crashed into the liquid floor, but instead of just dropping to the floor, she rapidly sank.

She was pulled down to a dark trench with no chance of getting back to the surface as the pull was too strong for Isuzu.

Her breath faded away as she tried everything she could to pull herself back. When her energy was drained she was turned around by the current to see that she was being pulled into something bright, its reflections rippling around the water as she gets pulled into it.

As she got close enough to the light, she started to see strings glowing just like the light in front of her. And as she finally was able to get herself to the surface, she took a deep breath and looked around to see the lanterns and flowers from before.

“The garden?” She mumbled she looked around to realise she was at the pond all along. This time however she could see strings of light that accompanied the blood-like glowing colours of the flower.

“What?” She again asked herself, trying to make sense of it all as she climbed out of the water and laid down on the floor, once again gasping for air.

She looked beside her to see the cracks in between the cobblestone floor start to glow from her hand. She rose to see the cracks glow as well and when she looked at her arm she realised it too was glowing a ray of light.

“What!?” She exclaimed, demanding an explanation as she looked around the garden.

“Iowa, Celeste! Can you hear me?!” She shouted across the garden as she followed the lights.

Meanwhile on the carriage.

“Where are we going exactly?” Iowa asked as she watched the sleeping Isuzu.

“A very special place indeed. No Serviteur in Terra Australis knows about this place.” Celeste answered as they travelled deeper into the woods.

“You see, angels rely on a type of soil that lets them use their capabilities. I am the Angel of Natural Stability so I must keep this place out of the Divinity or anyone.” Celeste explained.

“Did Mel had to do anything about it?” Iowa asked.

Celeste giggled, “She was the person who told me to guard it even before the Divinity was even a real threat!” She answered.

“So the soil, do you just feel its presence?” Iowa asked.

“Yeah, we feel our capabilities surge whenever we’re close to them,” Celeste answered.

“What about Isuzu?” Iowa asked.

“Mhm! Especially her, she’s the trigger angel after all!” Celeste answered.

“What does trigger angels do anyway?” Iowa asked as she looked at Isuzu.

“I’m not sure, but Mel thinks they're really important,” Celeste answered.

But then, Iowa felt something wrong with Isuzu, twitching as she unconsciously started to shake her hands.

She then asked Celeste, “Hey is it normal that the trigger angel is acting weird when sleeping near the soil you’re talking about?”

“Yeah? Why?” Celeste answered.

“I need you to look at Isuzu,” Iowa said.

“Why, what’s happening?

Isuzu followed the trail of light emitting from the cracks of the pavement, but as she kept following, she could not help just feel like something was odd.

Her heart pounded fast as she nervously took each step. Slowly, she started to pick up the pace as constantly looked behind her, then, from walking to jogging, and from jogging to running.

The lights caught up with her speed but her mind kept on telling her to run quickly for she started to feel something behind her.

“I’ll pick up the pace, wake Isuzu up immediately!” Celeste exclaimed as the horses started to gallop away.

Iowa started shaking Isuzu. “Isuzu, wake up!” She shouted frequently as she shook the sleeping girl.

Isuzu kept on running away from something she believed was behind her but she could not keep on running. She gradually started to slow down, gasping for air with every step.

She tripped down the ground, still exhausted as she slowly picked herself up. Behind her was supposed to be a world of pitch black, except she could see something in the distance.

She watched as it slowly approached her and then against from all the silence, she heard a footstep echo and then,

GASP

“Isuzu, are you OK!” Iowa exclaimed as soon as she saw Isuzu’s eyes suddenly blink. “Iowa-…” Isuzu said as she got off from her blanket and hugged her.

“What happened, are you OK?” Iowa asked again as she wrapped her arms around her back.

“Yeah…” Isuzu replied then followed a sneeze.

“Do you have a cold?” Iowa asked as she placed her hand around Isuzu’s neck.

“I don’t know,” Isuzu answered. “Don’t worry Isuzu, we’re getting close!” Celeste said as the carriage rode away.

As Isuzu let go of Iowa, she only thought of one thing,

“Who was that person?”