Chapter 7; Yami; Hemhir 26th, 329SR; 8:05

The room was lit by the morning sunlight, the clock ticked repeatedly. Yami slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the red dragon he used to play with sitting on top of a closet. 'Zeus isn't up yet? Must be sleeping in because he's hungry…' Yami turned over, then took a deep breath as he got comfortable again. 'That might be a bad thing actually? Ah, he’s probably okay. I can still hear him sleeping…' Yami lounged in bed for a little while longer, listening to the silence in the room. The only other breath in the room was Nova. Yami’s eyes shot open. ‘Wait…’

Yami pushed himself up and looked at Zeus's bed for a few seconds. The quilt was thrown to the side, the sheets were wrinkled, but there was no sign of his brother. Yami glanced to the other side of the room where Nova's bed was, she was sound asleep.

"Huh… Zeus didn't wake me up…" Yami said to himself as he pushed himself out of the bed.

Yami walked through the room, he was rubbing his right eye as he passed Eos's bed. ‘Huh…’ Yami took three steps back, then turned to the left. Eos’s bed was empty. ‘Eos didn’t wake me up either? Strange… I bet he went out to practice before our race…’ Yami scratched his head and yawned. He walked out of the room, took a right down the hall, and went to the washroom. There were no other sounds in the house. 'Is Zeus outside already?'

***

The warm water flowed over his palms as he washed his hands. 'I wonder if Nova will let me swim in that pool… It belongs to Loomy, so she might get upset…' Yami dried off his hands, then stepped out of the bathroom. 'Wait… I wonder if Eos can run fast enough to sprint on the water, that'd be pretty cool…' A door opened to his left. Theresia stepped out of her office, she was slouched over, and her expression looked drained. Her black hair was a mess, she rubbed her eyes as she started down the hall.

“Morning…” Theresia yawned.

"What's for breakfast?" Yami asked lazily, his eyes were closed.

"I'm not making you eggs, you had those yesterday and the day before…" Theresia said with a slight smile as she walked past Yami, entered the washroom and closed the door. "Especially if you don't turn on the fan! Ugh!"

"Oh, sorry!" Yami walked away as he laughed quietly to himself.

As he approached the room, Nova walked out while rubbing her eyes. She looked more groggy than usual.

"Mom took the washroom upstairs already," Yami mentioned as he walked by.

"Tsk…" Nova kissed her teeth. "Ah, I hate going downstairs…"

As Yami passed by the bedroom, he glanced at the empty beds once more. ‘They must be downstairs…’ Yami walked down the steps, expecting to see one of his brothers in the kitchen. But it was empty.

"Huh…" Yami didn't think much of it.

Yami walked across the white tiled kitchen floor and reached for one of three cereal boxes on the counter. He set the box down next to the sink, the word ‘Peanut Puff’s’ was written on this box. Yami stopped as he noticed the sink was empty. ‘Hm… Did Zeus and Eos even eat breakfast? They usually never wash their dishes…’ Yami opened the cupboard, and all the large white bowls were still stacked. He reached up as far as he could, his fingers just barely touching the rim of the bowl. He managed to pull it, then got two fingers on it and pulled it out of the cupboard. Yami turned the knob of the sink and started to wash the bowl, he looked out the window and saw the yard. But he squinted as he noticed someone sprinting toward the front of the house. It was Zeus.

"Huh?" Yami set the bowl down and then walked out of the kitchen, taking a right toward the front door to open it.

Yami opened the door and stepped onto the patio with his bare feet. "Yo, what are you doing so early? Were you looking for food out-"

Yami paused as he saw the frantic look on Zeus's face as he came closer. The black haired boy had never had such a frightened look before. Zeus's foot gave out, he grunted as he fell on all fours and panted heavily.

"Yo… What happened? Why are you-"

"Where's mom? Is she awake!" Zeus shouted.

"Huh… She… Just went into the bathroom?" Yami noticed the sweat running down Zeus's head. "You okay?"

"Huh, me, oh, yeah, yeah… I'm fine, no problem! We didn't do anything! I gotta get up the stairs before mom finds me out of bed!" Zeus hurried past Yami.

Yami stepped to the side, he watched Zeus run up the steps quickly. 'Why is he in such a hurry to get back to bed, I wonder if Eos is also outside…' Yami turned and looked at the forest across the yard. Eos wasn't there.

"Was Eos with you?" Yami asked.

Zeus had just turned into the bedroom, only to stop as Yami said that. Zeus looked between the room and Yami, and his face went pale. The black haired boy stepped back, a look of horror on his face. Yami had never seen his brother so shaken up before.

"Or… Did Eos go out after you woke up?" Yami asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Eos isn't here…" Zeus uttered as he looked into the room.

"I thought he was with you?"

Zeus just stared at Yami for several seconds, his expression didn't change at all. Theresia walked out of the washroom and started down the same hall. She saw Zeus at the top of the steps, then glanced into the bedroom. She noticed the two children, then looked at Yami with a raised eyebrow. Yami shrugged in confusion.

"What's going on?" Theresia dried her hair with a towel.

"Fuck…" Zeus uttered, a hint of panic in his voice.

Yami's jaw dropped as he heard that. Theresia blinked in surprise as Zeus suddenly cursed. She looked more confused than mad.

"Uh… I'm standing… Right here you know?" Theresia shook her head in confusion.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Zeus bolted down the stairs and ran for the door.

Yami moved out of the way again as Zeus stormed back outside.

"What the hell was that…" Theresia muttered.

"I… I don't know… I just asked him if he went out with Eos…" Yami admitted.

"What…" Theresia went pale.

"I didn't see Eos or Zeus in bed this morning… And when I was making breakfast I-"

Theresia ran past Yami and went outside as well.

"Zeus!" Theresia shrieked.

Zeus was already halfway toward the forest when Theresia shouted.

"Where did you go?!" Theresia hissed angrily. "You went back to the forest didn't you!"

"I- I-"

"Where is Eos! Did he go with you?!"

"I don't know, he was right behind me, and and-"

"Wait… Calm down… Both of you…" Yami tried to ease the tension, he was confused himself.

"I'm not talking to you right now, Yami! Go back inside!" Theresia snapped.

Yami felt incredibly small behind her, his entire body shook with fear. He turned back toward the house, only to see Nova peaking through the door.

"Zeus! Where is Eos! Answer the question!" Theresia shouted, louder than she'd ever shouted before.

"We went through the door… And then we saw someone… Someone with a gold mask…" Zeus explained hesitantly, he looked like he was about to cry. "I told Eos to run… I thought he came back here… But…"

"You idiot!" Theresia shouted. "Why would you- How many times have I told you not to go into the forest!"

"But mom… Me and Eos went in yesterday and you didn't say anything…"

"Yami! Not right now!" Theresia hissed.

"No… No, he's right! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Zeus suddenly grit his teeth at his mother. "What was that back there!"

"You watch your tone this-"

"You lied to us!" Zeus screamed.

Theresia froze with wide eyes. Yami and Nova’s lips felt like they were glued shut.

"Why did you lie?! This whole place is just… Some big… Room!"

"Huh?" Nova tilted her head.

"We can go check right now! Me and Eos saw it for ourselves! This is just some massive room, with big windows, it's not a mountain at all! You told us to always read those stupid books, and nothing in those books is out there! Where are the rivers? Where is the ocean?! Where are the cities and roads!"

"Zeus, hold on-"

“And… And… There was…” Zeus stuttered. “There was… Something… Some weird thing back there that me and Eos found! It looked like a person!”

A red light started to crackle off of Theresia's body. Yami noticed it and froze, he felt a wave of fear.

"That's not a mountain on the other side! It's just a giant wall! Me and Eos went through the door! We saw what was there! What was that! Why did you-" Zeus suddenly fell forward, he looked drowsy all of a sudden, before landing on the grass, flat on his face.

"Huh…" Yami uttered in silence.

Nova stepped forward as Zeus laid on the ground motionless. His eyes were still open.

"Zeus?" Nova called. "Zeus!"

Nova ran past Yami and Theresia, kneeling down next to him and pushing him onto his back. Yami turned his head to his mother, her head was low as a red energy pulsed off of her body.

"Zeus, Zeus! What happened! Mom what…" Nova stopped as she looked up at Theresia. "Mom?"

"Go to sleep, Nova," Theresia spoke with a calm intensity.

"What, but Zeus…" Nova suddenly seemed drowsy as well. "Zeus…"

Yami watched as Nova leaned forward and fell asleep on top of her brother. 'What just happened…' Yami asked himself as he stood behind Theresia, she raised her right arm. A small shield, similar to a buckler appeared on her wrist. What caught Yami off guard was the blood red eye on the face of the silver shield. At the same time, two red rings of light appeared behind her, one small and one large. The two circles overlapped, and almost looked like an eye staring at Yami.

"Mom…" Yami uttered, hesitance in his tone.

Theresia didn't turn, her head was still low. A red spark flashed off of the eye embedded in the shield, and a black substance seemed to spill from it. Yami watched the thick black liquid fall onto the grass and spread out. The pool started to ripple. All of a sudden, two black limbs stretched forth from the liquid. It grasped the dirt and pulled itself out.

It was horrific, like a nightmare given form. The thing's hands pushed the rest of its mass out of the ground, the snapping and crackling of bone made Yami cringe. Its head struggled out of the ground, but despite its size, it had no mouth and made no noise. It possessed horns and dense muscle all over its body, but didn’t have legs. It had one massive red eye fixed into the right side of its face. Its brain seemed to be ripping through its own exposed skull. The thing looked down at Yami, then spread its massive wings. ‘What the… What is that thing… Where are its legs?!’ The bottom of the creature's chest started to bubble. At the base of its spine, where its stomach should have been, a pink translucent sack seemed to expand. It expanded like a bubble, before bursting into hundreds of small black specks. The specks seemed to float in the air.

“Find Eos… Bring him back to me…” Theresia ordered, but her voice sounded like it reverberated.

The strange black specks in the air started to move away, spreading out in every direction. ‘Huh… Her voice…’ Theresia turned to Yami, her bright red eye sent shivers down his spine.

"I'm sorry… Yami…" she apologized.

Yami took a step back as the massive creature approached his siblings. Azure appeared on his shoulders with its wings outstretched. Yami could feel the hostility from Azure, his spirit was trying to protect him. Part of him wanted to run, but he felt despair at the thought of leaving Nova and Zeus.

"What… What did you do to them!" Yami suddenly shouted, he breathed heavily.

"Don’t worry, they are just sleeping… You’ll be joining them soon…" said Theresia.

"Mom… What are you talking about… What's going on!" Yami demanded an answer.

Azure pecked and pulled at Yami's hair, urging him to run. Theresia looked down as she let out a sharp breath, her eyes were full of pain. Theresia's finger moved slightly. Yami and Azure merged immediately, two bright blue wings appeared on his back as he jumped back. Yami breathed in and out repeatedly, his heart was beating rapidly as he soared backward. The figure of his mother grew further and further away, but her red eyes were still visible from a distance. 'I can't leave Nova and Zeus! And Eos is somewhere too! Why is this happening!" Yami flew through the trees, then stopped and turned as his wings lowered.

'I have to keep that monster away from them… Where did it even come from? It was massive! I have to avoid mom… I don't know what she did, but she put them to sleep without moving a finger! Did mom… Did mom have a gift all this time?!' Yami shook his head, but froze as he looked up and noticed Theresia was gone. He heard the sound of water behind him, and he turned to see Theresia rising from a shadow.

"What the- Ah!" Yami fell to both knees and put his own hands behind him, his own body wasn’t listening to him. “What is this?!”

"Don't make this any harder for me than it already is, Yami…" Theresia spoke as she raised her palm and reached for his face.

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Yami tried to pull himself free, but his limbs weren't listening to him. His body felt numb. 'I can't move! What is this!' Yami shut his eyes and cowered, whimpering out of fear as her hand came closer. His heart beat rapidly, his teeth rattled against each other, he had never felt so scared in his life. However, he didn’t feel anything. Yami opened his eyes slowly.

Tears fell from Theresia's eyes, her teeth were clenched with a guilty look on her face. Her hand shook, her red eyes faltered as she stared at Yami's terrified expression. The young boy didn't understand why she stopped. 'Azure!' The blue bird flew out of Yami’s chest, Theresia raised her shield to block. The impact sent blue energy outward, Theresia was caught off guard as she launched off her feet. Yami felt his arms again, and he was able to move. He stood up to run, but he turned as he heard her hit the tree.

"Ah!" Theresia grunted, she landed on her rear.

"I'm sorry!" Yami stepped back, but he remembered what he had to do.

The wings sprouted off of his back, and he skipped backwards. His wings flapped as he jumped and he took off, the monster from before was gently lifting Zeus and Nova.

"Azure! Rain!" Yami screamed as he charged forward.

Yami stopped and spread his wings, releasing hundreds of blue pellets at the strange creature. It shielded its face with one arm, Zeus and Nova were laying on its other palm. Yami quickly flew under its left arm, and grabbed his two siblings out of the right. Yami grimaced as he felt their weight pull him down, but he kept flapping his wings like his life depended on it.

"Ahh! Azure! Fly! Fly away!" Yami grunted as he struggled to carry his siblings.

Yami flew directly upward, with each wing beat he went higher and higher. He approached the bright blue sky. 'Almost… Almost there-' Yami slammed face-first into the blue sky. 'Huh!' He spread his wings out and readjusted himself to stay airborne. What he believed to be the sky, was simply just a ceiling painted blue. Zeus's words came back to him as his thoughts were racing.

'This whole place is just… One big… Room!'

Yami gulped nervously, a sinking feeling grew in his gut. 'How do I get out of here…'

"It's pointless," said Theresia. "Put them down, Yami!"

Yami turned, his eyes widened. The creature from before was carrying his mother by the shoulders. Its massive wings flapped as they flew toward Yami. All of his senses screamed at him to run, but he didn't know where to go. Yami just shook his head as sweat dripped off his chin.

"You cannot defy me, I created you, all of you…" Theresia explained.

"Why…" Yami uttered. "Mom, why are you doing this!"

Theresia looked down. "It wasn't supposed to be like this… But, I'm afraid this was always inevitable…"

"What… Ah!" Yami yelped as a different creature grasped him.

Its hands were bigger than his whole body, he looked up to see another strange creature with one eye. It stretched out of a black puddle on the ceiling. It had six hands, and a horrifying face with mandibles for lips. Its other hands grasped Nova and Zeus.

"No!" Yami cried.

The monster slipped out of the shadow, landing on the ground while it held the three children. Its body was different from the other, while the other had wings, this one was just two legs and six arms all connected to a torso. Yami kicked and struggled as much as he could. He looked at Nova and Zeus. 'I have to get them out of here! Azure! Come on, we need to break free!'

"Ah!" Yami screamed as he tried to push free from the grip. “Let! Go!”

Theresia continued to look down, Yami could only see her red eyes beneath her bangs. Azure's wings disappeared, then reformed between Yami and the creature's hand. He pushed against its grip as hard as he could. The wings spread apart just enough for Yami to free himself. The wings dissipated, and he fell out of the monster's grip. Yami immediately bolted for the hands that held Zeus and Nova. But before he could reach them, his entire body froze on the spot.

"Damn! Aaagh! What is this!" Yami struggled.

"I told you… There's nothing you can do to defy me," said Theresia.

“Azure!”

The bird flew out of Yami once more, and charged at Theresia. 'While Azur keeps her busy, I'll go for that door Zeus was talking about! There should be a way out from-' A single lash was all Yami heard, followed by the Azure’s pained squawk. He turned back to see his spirit on the ground, he wasn’t moving. Yami's expression sank as Theresia approached.

"You're protecting your siblings… Even when it's futile…" Theresia raised her hand. “You’re a good brother…”

"Azure!" Yami cried, he grit his teeth and put all his strength into moving his right arm. “Ah!”

The swarm of creatures the monster released before returned. They flew in a cluster, like a cloud of dust in the sky. Thousands of the tiny creatures surrounded Yami and Theresia. Now that they were closer, he realized there was a small red light on each of them.

“Escaped,” Yami heard the word whispered from the cloud repeatedly all at once.

“What? No, search again!” Theresia ordered. “He has to be in the facility! There's no way Eos got that far!”

“Escaped,” the creatures repeated once again.

“Huh… I said search again! Search as many times as you have to! Don’t stop searching until you die!” Theresia ordered with grit teeth, huffing in and out as her eyes shook with fear. “Leamas will… No… I can’t start again… I can’t start everything all over again!” Theresia manically rambled to herself.

Yami pushed his arms as hard as he could, but no matter how much he tried, his body didn’t listen. ‘Move! Move! Move! What kind of older brother are you! Move!’ Yami grit his teeth, as he pushed with all his strength again.

“It’s over…” Theresia whimpered to herself, she turned to Yami with a look of sorrow. "It’s okay Yami… You'll wake up soon and forget this entire thing happened… Nova and Zeus will be safe…"

"Rgh!" Yami struggled as much as he could.

"A man will be here in some time… He will take you to the surface…"

"Huh!"

"When you’re there… Don't cause people trouble, mind your manners… And… And… Don't stay up too long… You need to sleep a lot… And make sure you brush your teeth… And… And-"

Theresia stopped, her eyes went wide as she put a hand over her own mouth. The look of confusion and fear on Yami's face made her tears spill. Her eyes quivered, she shut her eyes as she skipped a breath.

"What am I saying…" Theresia's voice cracked. "You four were too pure to deserve a monster like me as your mother…"

"What…" Yami uttered in confusion.

"I've been here too long for my own good… It was never supposed to be like this, but I can’t help it…" Theresia sobbed as she embraced Yami tightly. “You four… Were everything I’ve ever wanted…”

Yami felt his eyelids suddenly fall. He shook his head, but lost the strength to keep his eyes open.

"Goodbye," said Theresia. “I love you, all of you…”

***

"Ah!" Yami gasped as his eyes shot open.

He found himself in bed, looking around the room for a moment. 'I slept in… Shit! I was supposed to…' Yami looked across the room to the one bed which wasn't along the back of the room. Eos wasn't there, his sheets were neatly folded. 'I slept in?' Yami stopped as he looked at the clock. There were still four hours till noon. ‘Or… Not… It’s really early…’

"Why are you so spooked?" Zeus asked as he sat up.

Yami turned to the right and saw Zeus, he stared at him for a few seconds. Yami looked past his bed and saw Nova slowly rise, she stretched her arms as she turned to her brothers.

"Eos is already up?" Nova yawned as she shifted out of bed.

Nova rubbed her eyes as she dragged her feet across the room. She took a right into the hallway, stepping down the creaking wooden floor. The creaks of the wooden floor were the only other noise in the house.

"You have a bad dream or something?" Zeus asked Yami.

"Huh… Oh… I… I'm trying to remember but… I can't…" Yami muttered as he held his head.

"Huh…" Zeus's eyes wandered around. "What the?"

Zeus bounced out of bed and picked up an aluminum package on the floor. He lifted it up and turned it around. The toilet flushed down the hall, and the sound of the door opening followed.

"Huh… What's this doing here?" Zeus asked as he turned the package of biscuits.

"I don’t know… I don’t remember bringing it up, I think it's yours…" Yami shrugged.

"I don’t remember that, but i'm not complaining…” Zeus squinted at the bag. “Why is it so dusty…”

"Maybe you forgot it there a while ago?"

"Huh…" Zeus stared at Yami, at the same time he pulled the bag open. "Well, I'm hungry so…" He threw one biscuit into his mouth. “Pleh!”

Zeus spat the cookie out. Yami tilted his head. ‘Wait…’ Yami noticed something different about Zeus, he pulled himself out of bed, but didn’t expect his feet to touch the floor. ‘Huh…’ Yami sat on the bed, and his feet reached the floor. ‘Did I get taller?’

“Eugh… Tastes so stale… How old are these?” Zeus looked at the package.

"Mom?" Nova yelled throughout the house. "Mom!"

Zeus and Yami turned to the door as Nova ran up the steps. She leaned against the door frame and poked her head into the room.

"Where's mom?" Nova asked.

"Eos is already awake, she might be outside with…” Yami stopped as he noticed Nova seemed different as well.

"What? He started playing without us?! That dork, I swear just because he's fast he thinks he can leave us behind now…" Zeus walked out of the room and ran downstairs.

Yami walked out of the room, turned right, and made his way to the bathroom. He stopped before he opened the door. ‘I don’t… Really feel like I need to go to the bathroom… That’s…’ Yami stopped as he looked down at the door knob. ‘Did the knob get smaller?’ Someone ran down the hall quickly, Yami expected Eos to come around the corner.

"I almost forgot to use the washroom!" Zeus came around the corner. "Get out of the way!"

"I wasn't going…" Yami whispered to himself, but stopped as he realized Zeus’s voice was deeper.

The washroom door shut as Yami turned the corner. He turned and looked at Theresia's room, the door was slightly open. Yami stared at the door for several seconds, but for some reason his body felt stiff. He continued down the hall, pushing Theresia's door open.

The room was empty, her bedsheets were neatly folded. Yami walked in, the books and files were still there. The table was clear. Everything in the room seemed neatly organized, it was usually messy.

"Hey Nova! I almost forgot! Let's fill that pool for Loomy!" Zeus shouted from the washroom.

"She's not here…" Yami whispered to himself.

There was a calendar on the wall, showing the days for the current year. Yami walked out of the room, he walked back the way he came and down the stairs. It was oddly quiet. As he entered the kitchen, a layer of dust stuck to his foot. He looked at his feet, and was surprised to see such a thick layer of dust. ‘I swear mom swept last night…’ Yami walked over to the cereal boxes and picked out his favorite, the box was also covered in dust. ‘Huh…’ Yami reached for the cupboard, pulling it open and seeing the bowls at eye level.

“I can’t find mom or Eos…” Nova walked in as she rubbed her eyes.

As Yami turned, he looked carefully at Nova. His sister tilted her head as Yami just looked at her from head to toe. He turned back to the cupboard, and then back to Nova. Loomy poked his head out of her shoulder, then looked at Yami. The red fox reared its head back.

“What’s wrong?” Nova asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Awa!” Loomy suddenly shook its head. “Rawra! Arf!”

Loomy suddenly went ballistic, the fox looked at Yami, and then Nova frantically. It jumped off Nova’s shoulders and looked at its own paws. Yami’s eyes widened as he realized it himself.

“What the heck has gotten into you…” Nova crouched down next to Loomy. “Why are you so jumpy?”

“Arf!” Loomy barked and put his paws on Nova’s knee.

“What do you mean something’s wrong?”

“You’re… No…” Yami skipped a breath. “Nova… You’re bigger…”

“What?” Nova looked confused, but then her eyes widened. “Wait… Wait, when did you get so tall!”

Zeus came down the stairs while he yawned. “Man, i’m hungry… I can eat a dozen eggs right… Huh… What’s up?”

“Zeus is taller too! And his voice!” Yami pointed out.

“Huh? What are you…” Zeus looked down, then looked at his arms. “Woah… That’s weird…”

“What kind of reaction was that?! Its more than weird!” Nova stood up. “Where’s mom?!”

“I… I don’t know…” Zeus scratched his head.

Yami walked past them, ran up the stairs, and then back to Theresia’s office. He threw the door open, looked around, but no one was there. Yami heard the front door open. Yami looked at the calendar, it was still the correct date.

“Zeus check outside!” said Nova. “Mom!”

Yami touched the calendar, but pulled his hand back as he felt the grainy texture. He dragged his fingers down the page, a pile of dust collected on his fingertip. Yami left the room and went back downstairs, but Zeus and Nova weren’t there. The front door was open, there was a faint voice coming from outside. ‘Did they find them?’ As Yami reached the bottom step, he saw something he didn't expect.

“Huh…” Yami froze.

There were men in white robes all over the field, at least over fifteen. Each of them wore gold masks, with just two holes to see through. They surrounded Nova and Zeus, slowly inching closer. ‘Huh… Who is… Who are they…’ Yami’s confusion was amplified by the sudden sight of people. One of them grasped Nova’s arm, causing Loomy to start barking viciously.

"Let go of me! Who are you!" Nova shouted in a panic.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Zeus pointed his palm at the man. “Yycan!”

Yycan lunged forward from behind Zeus, tackling the masked man down and biting their shoulder. Loomy hissed at all the people, each of its tails pointed straight up. Nova looked back to the house and saw Yami. ‘Azure…’ The blue raven shot out of Yami’s chest as he jumped off the deck, before he landed, Azure flew into his back. The two bright wings expanded.

“Rain!” Yami roared.

Blue pellets of energy struck the left flank. The pellets of energy rained over the grass, leaving short divots in its path. The strange people in masks all dived out of the way, two of them who weren’t paying attention were launched by the blue energy.

"Ah! Get off me! Get off!" the masked man shouted in a panic, Yycan clawed and bit at their mask.

"I said to subdue the ethereals, not to harm them! What are you people doing?!" A blonde man at the edge of the forest shouted.

"But- Lord Lightbringer! They'll kill us?!"

"And?" the man to the left of the Lord squinted.

“But… Sir Arid…” another masked man tried to speak up, but he was ignored.

The one known as Lord Lightbringer had blue eyes and long blonde hair. His body was covered by a white robe with black details on it, under the robe Yami could see gold parts to his outfit. There was a circle of blue energy crackling behind him. As Yami saw the strange circle, his heart beat faster.

Next to Lord Lightbringer was the one named Arid, he had short black hair. He looked young, but had a stern gaze. The collar of his grey robe covered his mouth. On his chest was the golden symbol of sword with an eye on its guard. The man looked Yami in the eyes as he stood in front of Lord Lightbringer. Two angels grabbed Zeus and pulled him back, putting the boy into a headlock.

"Don't touch Zeus!" Nova cried.

"Let go of my brother!" Yami yelled.

He flew forward quickly. The massive wingspan and light caught the attention of the men with gold masks. Yami slammed his foot into one of them, then flipped in mid air and kicked the angel who held Zeus in the face. Zeus got out of the man’s grip, then grabbed the man's legs and pushed him to the ground.

"Nova! Zeus! Get back to the house!" said Yami.

"There's the third… But it's not the one we're looking for…" Arid muttered to himself. "Search the house…"

"Where is Theresia… Letting them out on their own… Does she think these are her kids or something… That fool must've gotten comfortable…" Lord Lightbringer scoffed.

Nova looked back over her shoulder, she squinted after hearing that. Two masked men tried to pry Yycan off the other, but the wolf suddenly morphed into a white liquid. The mass of thick white liquid bounced off the ground, taking the the form of a wolf once more as it pounced onto the man Zeus was trying to pin. Zeus jumped back as Yycan pressed both paws into their head, then clawed at their face. Another man tried to catch Yycan, only for Yami to slam his foot into their chest. Yycan pulled back, then looked up at Yami.

“House! Now!” Yami ran back to the deck.

“Arid, deal with this quickly please…” Lord Lightbringer groaned.

"Light magic! Solid light cage!" Arid chanted.

Yami and Yycan were about to reach the deck. But a golden wall of light suddenly surrounded them. Another one surrounded Nova and Zeus. Yami kicked the wall as Yycan tried to scratch through it. Yami looked past the translucent wall of light, and saw Nova cowering.

"What the fuck is this?!" Zeus shouted.

"Azure!" Yami called with a threatening tone. "Rain!"

His wings stretched out and started to fire blue pellets of energy. The wall of light rippled slightly, but it wasn't enough to break. Nova's legs shook, she fell backward as she looked up at the walls of light.

"Dammit!" Yami shouted as he punched the wall. “What is this?!”

"Stop! All of you…" Lord Lightbringer walked forward.

Yami slammed his hand into the wall of light. Lord Lightbringer and Arid approached as he struggled.

"You there, I take it you're the oldest…" Lord Lightbringer addressed Yami.

"Huh! Who are you! What do you want with us!" Yami hissed.

"He asked you a question…" the black haired man mentioned.

"Arid… Let me talk to them…" Lord Lightbringer raised his hand.

"Yes sire," Arid complied and stepped back.

"I believe… There has been… A misunderstanding… My name is Lucifer Lightbringer, king of Helios." the lord introduced himself as he stepped closer to the wall.

"Huh…" Yami replied, he stepped back.

"You three, you're Theresia's children, right?" Lucifer asked with a friendly tone.

"What?" Nova uttered.

"Mom?! How do you know mom!" Yami asked, his tone still defensive.

"Theresia and I are… Friends… She invited us here today… Where is she?" Lucifer asked.

"Huh…"

"Theresia, your mother… She's here, correct?"

"What the fuck do you want with mom!" Zeus tackled the wall of light once more.

"Mom… Invited you here?" Yami asked hesitantly.

"Yes… Oh… That, right there," Lucifer pointed to Yami's right.

Yami looked down, he didn't see anything to his right.

"No, no, in your pocket…" Lucifer laughed. "Only she could have made that…"

Yami stared blankly at the sash in his pocket. He pulled it out and it unraveled. ‘When did… When did I put this in my pocket…’ The light green cloth was embroidered with two interwoven curved lines on one side, and a straight line on the other.

"She often made things like that, she loved to sew… Ah, that takes me back. Theresia is inside, right?"

"N- No…" Yami replied calmly.

Lucifer looked at him with a blank smile, it was a little unnerving. He tilted his head and squinted. Arid looked at the house and squinted, he walked around the cage of light and toward the house.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, no?" Lucifer asked with a confused tone.

"She went out before we woke up…" said Yami.

"Out… Where?"

Yami shrugged. "She was gone when the three of us woke up…"

"T-Three of you?" Lucifer stuttered. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah… Our youngest brother Eos was also gone this morning…" Yami recounted, he felt a little less defensive.

"Eos… Eos is the youngest…" Lucifer repeated with a pale face.

"Yeah… That's… What I said?" Yami tilted his head.

"Lord Lightbringer!" Arid shouted from the door to the house.

Lucifer stood up with wide eyes.

"The house is empty…" said Arid.

Lucifer's shoulders slumped. Yami looked up at him with puzzled eyes. The cages of light faded. Yami turned and looked at Arid, then back to Lucifer. Yycan ran to Zeus and Nova and stayed close to them. Lucifer looked at the house with a blank stare, for some reason, he looked afraid.

"Hey…" Yami tugged at the back of his white robe. "Did you see mom on the way here?"

Lucifer didn't respond, instead, he just kept staring at the house.

"Uh, mister?" Yami tugged his shirt again.

Lucifer suddenly ripped his hand away. Yami stepped back, the sudden aggression caught him off guard.

"Oh… Uh… I… Yeah, we'll find your mother and youngest brother, don't… Don’t worry…"

"You’ll find Eos!?" Zeus looked hopeful.

“And mom?!” Nova added.

"Yes, yes…" Lucifer laughed strangely. "For now, we uh… Can't… We can't have you three staying here alone… Guards! Take them back to Helios! Make sure they are given proper living quarters, and all their needs are met."

"Helios? What's that…" Nova repeated.

"Helios, the capital city of the angels…" Lucifer answered as he walked toward the house.

"A city? We’re going to a city?" Yami looked up excitedly.

"Yes… I don't think Theresia ever told you," Lucifer turned.

"Told us… What?" Zeus tilted his head.

"The three of you, and Eos, will be the strongest angels in history. It is the destiny that Theresia intended for you, it is the destiny that the Celestial itself cannot even hinder."

Nova, Zeus, and Yami looked up at Lucifer with puzzled expressions. ‘The Celestial?’