Anika staggered back, dropping the candle in the process. It couldn't be. The Mother of Obscure was real, and she was laying in a bed of white lilies. She wouldn't move, neither did she seem alive. She was dead, wasn't she? Anika made choked-up sounds, unable to process what she was seeing. The woman in her dreams was dead. Yet how did she speak to her?

Unless she was alive and still capable of projecting her own image into people's dreams, but that was unheard of. No one in her city could do such a thing. Yet, she wasn't there anymore. She was in the Outerlands, where anything is possible. Which meant that this was possible, too. It made it a little bit less unsettling, but Anika still felt concerned. She swore she saw the woman in her dream in full health, perfectly fine. But now, she looked wounded. Judging by the transparent scar on her chest, she could tell that something happened to cause it. It was not like the other transparent parts on her body, which were a very pale blue. This one was as red as Moon's hair.

In the corner of her eye, Anika saw someone stand up from a table. They weren't there before. When she got to the courtyard she vividly remembered not seeing anyone with her. She was completely alone. Now someone was there, and either they came here silently or simply appeared from the air. They quietly walked over to her, carrying a cup of tea. The tea let off a waft of white steam, and it smelled fragrant. It wasn't anything Anika knew of, so it had to have been from a plant in this world.

"I know, shocking." Surprisingly the person was a man, but much older than Anika was. Looking up at him, Anika saw that the man had black hair and elf-like ears. He had an outfit like Crow did in her dream. It was the same exact outfit. Actually... Taking a good look at the man, it was Crow himself. He was real. Not just an image in her dream, but a real person. Anika was at a loss for words. She tried to speak but stuttered in the process.

"I-i... You... You're..." She could barely form a sentence, but she took in a deep breath and tried to say at least one word.

".. Crow?"

The man raised a brow. He sipped his tea, then he frowned.

"How do you know my name, girl?" He asked, walking past Anika and towards the edge of the flower bed. He stayed there, not looking back or moving elsewhere. He continued to sip his tea when he went silent, waiting for an explanation.

"I saw you in a dream, with the Mother of Obscure and a man named Moon! The Mother saved me from a nightmare and...-" Anika blurted out, starting to panic. Things were happening too fast. First, she had a weird dream, now the people in the said dream were actually real.

Crow froze, his eyes widening. He turned around to face Anika. The look on his face alone cut her off. He lowered the cup but kept it close to himself.

"So it seems, then. You were the one she told me about." He relaxed his gaze, shaking his head.

"Mother told me about a girl who survived an atomic bomb, she saved her for an unknown purpose, but she told me that she wanted her to be protected." He explained, but as he didn't know the full extent of the story, he didn't say anything else.

Everyone knew about her. The atomic bomb, the rescue. The word spread like wildfire. Her story was tragic and involved things that no Church member could even comprehend. The millions of people that died that day, and her being a possible sole survivor. She was truly in the favor of the Gods, not just the ones humans believed in back home, but the ones in this odd world.

"But why is she here, resting on the flowers?" Anika came to Crow's side, looking down at the Mother of Obscure.

"... She has been in a coma for years, ever since we were about eighteen. She was struck with an enchanted spear meant to kill the God that rules this Church, Meirkien. She didn't die only because we could save her before her soul left her body. Now, she's in an eternal rest that we don't know if she will wake up from." Crow let out a sigh. But he soon caught a glimpse of the air rippling nearby. He turned his head, seeing someone squatted down on an elegant stone arch. He had ruby red hair and a golden visor. Anika realized that it was Moon. He was real too.

"It's her, eh?" Moon jumped down from the ledge and came over to Anika's side. He had a sad grin on his face as he took a good look at her. He was the same as the Moon she saw in her dream. The same red hair, same grin, same golden visor. His outfit was white and gold like the one in the dream. A white scarf rested on his neck, one end hanging and barely touching the ground beneath.

"Didn't think I'd see her in person, mother spoke about her a lot."

"Yes indeed, brother.."

"Ahem, you must be quite shocked about all of this, no?" Moon got serious, his grin fading. He glanced over at his mother, who was still in the same position. Anika didn't know what to say, or even what to think. It was too much to take in. She nodded, but could only keep staring at the woman. It was a miracle she was still alive. But she wondered why she hadn't been taken inside where it was warmer. Maybe there was a reason for it, along with why there were flowers around her. She rubbed her head, letting out a soft sigh. At least she got her answer, that the three were indeed real and not just dream images.

Crow went over to a nearby bench and sat down, sipping on his tea again. He remained silent, letting Moon take over for him. The red-haired man patted Anika on the shoulder. He then went into the bed of flowers and knelt down next to his mother.

"Her name is Justitiam. We sometimes call her Justi. She is our beloved mother who adopted us at a young age. We both came from very different families and backgrounds. But she saw us as equals and loved us both equally. She trained us, not missing a single subject. She fixed our weak points and strengthened our skills. But she taught us to fight the evil, and bring justice." He reached out, gently touching the woman's hand.

"We miss her dearly. But we know that what she did was for our own good and that of the Church. Without her sacrifice, everything would fall. We would not be here, neither would you." He dug his hand into his pocket, digging for something. He stopped, then took out the object. It was a small marble-like object. But when it was exposed to the air, it burst into a blue-green flame. It resembled a soul. Moon laid it onto Justitiam's chest, and it began to glow brightly. Then it disappeared as it was absorbed into the woman's body. Blue veins spread across her body before fading away. The soul seemed to be restoring something in Justitiam. Perhaps energy? Or was it food?

"One day she'll come back, I know it. She sounds like a very nice woman." Anika smiled a little, hoping to brighten up the mood.

"You guys can't lose hope, she did a lot for you both. You can't give up on her. I'm sure she'll return to you both." She sat down on the cold stone floor, brushing a finger against a white lily. As she said that, the white lily began to glow. Tiny white orbs floated up into the air. One by one, the flowers lit up, releasing the orbs into the sky.

Moon and Crow stared in silence, watching the orbs float up. Crow began to tear up, but he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Moon slowly took off his visor, revealing his all-black eyes. Neither knew how to react. Their mother has to have heard those words and set off a chain reaction. Anika stared at Justitiam, only to see a ghostly figure standing over her. It was a ghost of her, looking down at her. For a moment, she saw the world brighten up, becoming the dream world. A beautiful willow tree sprouted behind Justitiam.

"You barely know us, and yet you give such words of encouragement," Justitiam said, slowly taking off her blindfold. She revealed her eyes, which were black with orange pupils. They reflected so many different feelings, many of which Anika could not understand.

"You are truly special, aren't you?" She asked her, now looking at the blindfold carefully. Not knowing what she meant, Anika remained silent.

"One day you'll figure things out. But please, Anika... Do not give up, search for what lays within." Justitiam's image vanished. The world around her rippled and turned back into the current world. There was no ghost, and everything was still again. The orbs had stopped floating and slowly disappeared. Anika got up onto her feet, turning to Crow and Moon. They had started walking off towards another exit to the courtyard. Anika ran to them before they left, not wanting to be left alone.

"W-wait! Why are you two leaving?" She gasped for air, trying to keep up.

"We can't linger in the past. We have to move on. Yet, we have to find a way for her to wake up, and a way for us to become stronger than ever for when she returns." Crow finished his tea. He carried the empty cup in his hands, staying next to Moon.

While they walked, they passed by large tapestries depicting Justitiam with an elegant bow and arrow, shooting the arrow into the sky. She was much different there. She wore armor and had bladed wings. Many swords were on her belt, even hidden blades on her wrists. A large part of the tapestry was woven with gold, meaning that she was important. Important to Obscure, likely. Or just important to the world in general.

Anika quietly observed the tapestries, all of them varied in shape, detail, and size. While some depicted the woman, others depicted the strange God with three heads, and some depicted other strange creatures. The three-headed God had a halo behind his head, which was woven with gold. He had to be the main God, Meirkien. Only someone highly important had such a halo, especially in gold. Anika wondered to herself if she ever would meet Meirkien. But he didn't seem very friendly... She saw one tapestry where he was destroying an entire civilization on his own. She shuddered but didn't focus on it anymore. She kept up with Crow and Moon, who then started to speed walk. Something didn't look right. Judging by their looks, they seemed to have noticed something out of the ordinary. They began whispering things to each other, which Anika couldn't understand. She stared at them in confusion and with some worry.

Then Moon stopped in his tracks. He quickly pulled out a weapon, which was a large greatsword.

".. Anika, I apologize but something came up. We will speak again soon." He looked at her with a smile on his face. Then he vanished into thin air alongside Crow.

Anika frowned, stopping where the two had disappeared. She felt disappointed but more worried than ever. She hoped to keep spending time with Crow and Moon, but they had their own lives. Whatever danger lay ahead of them that they had to take down was their own thing. It wasn't hers. She could not fight or didn't want to either. It was none of her business. However, it wouldn't stop her from wanting to explore more about the mother. Surely there had to be someplace where there was plenty of information. A library, actually. She started to run, unsure of where she was going. The Church felt like a whole city, with many rooms and halls. The hallways were as long as street blocks, and the ceilings of the hallways were high as some small buildings. Her footsteps echoed softly because of the ceiling. Maybe if she even whispered just a little she could hear herself.

Now the chandeliers were lit, and there were people silently wandering the halls. A small group walked in formation, following a robed woman with a decorated skull. Anika watched them with curiosity, but the woman stopped. She looked in one direction, then the other. She said something and everyone began to run. Anika slowed down as she noticed how the group broke up and ran in different directions. Some others not in the group broke into a dead sprint. Something went wrong. She could hear the echo of something making ungodly sounds. Now she knew she was in danger. Although it didn't stop her from still trying to seek the library. She started to sprint, heading to the intersection ahead and making a sharp right turn. She nearly toppled over but quickly caught herself before she fell. Heavy footsteps sounded from behind in one other part of the intersection. Then they changed. They were in her direction. Anika didn't want to look back. She turned another corner, quickly picking up the pace. She saw an open set of wooden doors and a golden light flooding out. Although, her legs started to get tired. Whatever was behind her only was getting closer. The doors were close by, and Anika made a bold decision to dive in.

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She turned, diving inside of the room. Then she grabbed the doors and shut them just as the strange creature swung at her. All she saw was a tall, deranged-looking man with six eyes. His eyes were turning all black with flashing orange pupils... But whatever it was, it couldn't hurt her now. Anika bolted the doors shut, then rested against them. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was racing. It pounded against her chest, but as time went on it slowed down back to normal. The creature outside was making weird sounds, but thankfully Anika now heard others outside, trying to contain or fight the beast. One of them sounded oddly like Moon. Though, many people here could sound like. So there was a chance that the person she heard may have been someone else.

Anika looked up, noticing that she was in the library! It was massive, with multiple floors, a few fireplaces, a ton of socializing spots, reading nooks, and more. A chandelier larger than any other she had seen hanging from the ceiling. Anika slowly stood up, gasping in awe. There were far more books than she had imagined. All of them were sorted neatly, better than she had seen in the local libraries. Compared to this one, the local ones were dirty and books were everywhere on the floor because of small children. Yet here everything was kept clean and organized. She walked over to the nearest bookshelf, which was labeled "Timeline." The books had to be about the world, start to present. But she wasn't looking for that. She wanted to find out more about Justitiam. She skimmed through the backs of the books, trying to find anything about her.

".. Battle of Azthaliya... Creation... First Empires... Birth of Justice?" Anika stopped at an emerald green book. She pulled it out and noticed the cover art. It was an Ancient Greek-style temple, but it was on fire. Standing among the ruins was a woman holding a scale. She had a skull and six curled horns.

"Bingo!" Anika grinned, quickly finding a chair nearby the grand fireplace and she sat down. The fire was still going strong. It warmed her up and made her relax. She opened the book but took in the scent of paper. It was something she already missed. Now reading, the first page read:

"No sinner is free from the Arrows of Judgement. Only those who have not committed a crime against the world shall be saved."

Beneath the quote was a drawing of a bow and arrow. Holding it against the light, it shimmered. It was made from pure gold.

"Seems like anyone important has gold. Haven't seen it since the Medieval Ages.." Anika mumbled to herself, flipping the page. She read the first paragraph out loud.

"For as long as humans could remember, justice never existed. The concept of law and justice did not come to mind, resulting in utter chaos. Wars, treasons, arson, and robberies. Crimes of all types sprung up across the universe and Earth itself. There was no one to keep order among beast and man. Many feared leaving the safety of their homes and venturing out into the world of anarchy and chaos. They hoped for someone to one day come into the world and put an end to their fear. Someone who would strike down upon evil and crimes, allowing the innocent to thrive once more. Perhaps their hopes would be answered. Something would come to end all crimes. Someone strong yet with a heart of gold and fists of iron."

Anika stopped there, staring at the page. She pondered for a moment, trying to process and analyze the words she read.

"So.. All those years ago justice and law never existed. Even though in schools we were taught that it came to exist during the first developed civilization in Mesopotamia. We learned lies, then. Because if this is the truth.." Anika stopped there, now wanting to read more.

"Born from fire, a pale skeletal being rose from flames and ashes. The fires of war burned fearlessly, consuming anything and everything in her way. As the entity stood, the flames wrapped around her body. They formed armor, weapons, and clothing. She raised her hand up into the air as the flames followed it. They swirled around her hand, and soon, molten gold and silver began to follow. It formed into an elegant scale. A scale that weighs sin and good deeds."

"She stepped forward, lowering her scale. As she walked a bladed cape formed on her back. The ruins of the temple that once stood began to come back together. Marble and cement fragments pieced themselves together, beheaded statues regained their heads and limbs, tapestries were woven back to perfection. The temple came to life as the entity walked out of it. Flames extinguished at her arrival, becoming lush grass and soft earth. The wars in the distance halted when they saw the entity emerge from the temple. They watched her slowly walk towards them, carrying her scale ever so delicately. As if the scale were to break or fall at any moment. She stopped some yards away from the scene, looking down towards the men who fought for their goals. Among those men, many criminals stood. Not everyone was pure. She raised the scale into the air, announcing to the people in the war." Before she continued on, Anika stared at a tapestry hanging on the balcony. Justitiam was capable of restoring things, just by existing. However, maybe it was just during her birth. She might not be able to do such a thing now. Especially now when she wasn't awake, only stuck in a coma for eternity. There had to be a way to get her out of it. Maybe using the help of another God. She suddenly had a thought.

'Wait. If she's been here in a coma for so long, why hasn't Meirkien used his powers to save her?' He had a reason, maybe he just wanted her to wake up on her own. Or, there was something far more sinister. Justitiam didn't seem like the kind of person to actually cause harm to people though. If she strived for justice, she couldn't just harm people. It went against her morals and what she stood for. What the Obscure fought for. Anika continued to read the book, seeing how Justitiam used her Arrows of Judgement to wipe the world of crime. She set up law systems and birthed justice into the universe. She adopted two boys at one point. She named one "City of the Moon" and the other "Man of Crows." Of course, she seemed to love her sons dearly. Along the way, she created the Obscure, the Bailiffs, everyone who was in charge of keeping peace in the Church. But something caught her eye.

"Decrepit... She became the Mother of Decrepit." Anika had her finger stuck onto the word. It was another faction it seemed. But how come she hadn't seen it before? She wanted to know more but the information was... Not there. Wherever it was about to get into Decrepit, the words were replaced by blank spaces. Then it got into how the Church was attacked by the Sect of Resonance, an enemy faction. They were planning on assassinating Meirkien with an enchanted spear meant to kill Gods.

Justitiam took the hit, not wanting the God she knew fondly to die. If she didn't take the hit, the Church would not have existed any longer. It was a miracle. But results weren't so great for the Obscure and Decrepit, especially Moon and Crow. With Justitiam in an eternal coma, the two slowly vanished from the public.

The book ended there, with a single drawing at the very end. It was a drawing of a sigil, but it seemed to have wings similar to those Justitiam had. It could be a clue to something. Maybe it was a clue for how to awaken the sleeping Goddess of Justice. There just had to be a way to awaken her one way or another. As Anika put down the book, she could see things that maybe no one else could.

She saw a younger version of Moon as he got word that his mother had been struck with the spear. A woman in red robes had run up to tell him. She was gravely injured but had enough strength to come. Moon started to scream, not at the woman but at himself. He had been fighting men in green robes, and he was covered in blood. He started to run out of the library, screaming "Mother!" At the top of his lungs.

Anika could only imagine the scene where Justitiam was struck. Blood was everywhere beneath her. She stumbled, then looked down at the spear lodged in her chest. Black veins began to spread from the wound. Then, she collapsed. Crow was there to save her from falling, but by the time Moon arrived she was barely hanging on.

The fight was over, as the Sect of Resonance ordered an immediate retreat. Many members rushed to save Justitiam before she was killed. Meirkien only watched, as if feeling regret for not helping, but... At the same time looked emotionless.

Then fast forwarding to sometime later, Crow carried Justitiam to the courtyard and laid her down. Flowers began to sprout around their mother, surrounding her in a gentle white glow. Moon stood by her side, weeping. Crow was also weeping but held his brother tight to let him cry on his shoulder. It rained for days straight, but many of the Obscure members came for hours on end to keep a shelter over Justitiam. Every single day, Moon and Crow came to pray for Justitiam's awakening. Sometimes they would bring things to her, or at times sleep near her. They wouldn't give up on her. But as time went on, they slowly stopped visiting. Their duties were getting heavy. They were also beginning to lose hope. Years went by, and their mother would not wake up. The boys grew, and then the tragedy happened. The atomic bomb exploded. It was Anika's arrival.

The moment the bomb exploded, Justitiam began to stir. The siblings were there at the moment when she made painful sounds and her body convulsed. Both of them began to yell for help. Soon enough help arrived. No one knew what was happening. But Anika had an idea. Maybe it was her body reacting to her projecting her body to the site of the explosion. The exact moment Anika was saved. Once it was done, Justitiam was stabilized. She returned to normal but seemed to be visibly weak. Thankfully with that, the siblings knew that their mother was still with them.

Anika shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. To her surprise, she saw Moon sitting next to her. Moon had a solemn look on his bloodied face.

"You read about mother, huh?" He looked at her. His visor was cracked. Blood was leaking beneath, which meant that the shard from the visor had cut him. He took off the visor and laid it next to him. He had a deep cut above his eyebrow.

"I was curious, I had to know more." Anika held the book close to herself. Then she looked at Moon and used the sleeve of her robe to gently wipe the blood off his face. He didn't mind it, but it hurt when she lightly brushed against the cut. He was a bit shocked to see how comfortable Anika was with him. No one was like that other than Crow and his mother. Usually many just ran from him or were hesitant. Anika just jumped right in to help him out. Many would think that the action was that of love, as... Usual. The stereotype and cliché that so many knew about. Girl helps a guy or vice versa, they're secretly in love. Anika only did it out of kindness, not for love or anything else. She saw how broken both he and Crow were because of their mother, and she wanted to share an act of kindness.

Moon began to tear up but he held back his tears. He forced a smile and gently nudged Anika.

"You're really an odd one. But I like it, we don't have many people with your personality here." He then ruffled her hair suddenly, causing Anika to yelp.

"Haha- My hair!" Anika then started to laugh.

"You have potential. Say, how about I help you adjust to the Church and get to know it better. Crow can also teach you a thing or two, and maybe we can even get you initiated?" Moon lowered his hand and prepared to stand up.

"I think it's a lovely idea, but... I want to rest for a moment... I'm still a little shaken up by what I saw outside the doors.." Anika shook her head and rested her head against the bookshelf.

"Right. I'll be here." Moon also rested his head against the bookshelf. But he looked at the doors, frowning. He knew well what that thing was, but to not worry Anika, he once again chose to say nothing.

'She can't know. She can't know what mother had been creating..'