Chains rattled and creaked as they bound Erikathyr in place, the pressure emanating from him so strong that it pushed down the lava below.

Fallen Angels soared around his sphere of power, dark magics forming out of their finger tips and slowly siphoning off from the barrier with each passing.

A white-winged Arch Angel watched from above, bright brown hair kept long and pale blue eyes. Hovering far from reach, yet still hesitating from meeting the Dragon’s gaze which continuously stared at him, unmoving.

A rift then tore open by the Arch Angel, and a second fluttered out, bald and dark-skinned, with amber eyes. “How goes the watch, Jeremiel, brother?”

“Saraqael…Yes, a difficult one even as he lay bound by celestial power. We keep siphoning off his magic to keep him detained but…there are occasional bursts of energy that take with my followers.” Jeremiel replied, pale-faced as he watched the scene.

“Troublesome, with Kurzan dead, the three hells he rules over are now also wild. We will lose many forces.” Saraqael mused.

“And Xokith? How goes the diplomacy with the first Devil King?” Jeremiel asked back.

“Badly, brother Michael attempted to open talks of diplomacy, but the stubborn infernal refuses to address us on grounds of pride.” Saraqael groaned.

“That fool, he failed in kidnapping the empire’s heir, does he not realize he’s setting himself up to stand in the middle of the conflict alone? Gah, cannot be any worse than Azruxan, that barbarian used to kill each messenger we sent, and return no response.” Jeremiel added, “Is it…possible that Gabriel has joined with Xokith?”

Saraqael shook his head, “No, impossible. Xokith and Lucifer may have broken ties long ago, but Gabriel never forgets. That fool is far more stubborn than Xokith. If only he hadn’t escaped the rebellion…”

Jeremial nodded, “Yes…that damned beast of a demon that appeared towards the end…many of Heaven’s followers managed to get away even after brother Michael struck Raphael do-” When suddenly his eyes opened wide. “Silence…” He said, meeting the Dragon’s eyes for the first time, as Erikathyr grinned widely.

Saraqael followed his brother’s gaze and made the same realization. “He is chained, surrounded and overpowered but…He’s listening, isn’t he?”

“He’s studying us...” Jeremial said with a shudder. “We need to figure out a way to strike him down without approaching his area of power. Then, we can deal with Xokith’s fall.”

“No one ever said this war would be simple, or bloodless.” Saraqael sighed, “Us, the Avatar’s forgotten. Against the puny mortal toys it deemed more important. We will make our statement-”

When, an echoing laugh boomed out from beneath them, a wicked chuckle that made their hairs stand on end.

“So, I was wrong then.” Erikathyr mused, showing his fangs through his wide smirk. “Heaven and Hell, haven’t fully allied themselves. You simply bargained with one of its three kings. Now, two are dead.”

The two Arch-Angels gulped down their spittle, “Wait…you, you invaded Hell thinking you would-” Jeremial began to say.

“I expected the lot of your celestial birds, and both infernal armies waiting. Instead,” Erikathyr groaned and pulled on his chains, making several break and snap off, before relaxing down. “I come to find an un-coordinated mess.”

“Silence, drakon.” Saraqael snapped back, “You have lost the battle even against what you call a mess!”

Once again, that dreadful laughter filled the air. “For immortals, you are extremely short-sighted. A battle is naught but a single move on the board. To, unfortunately, quote that distasteful bellend. You think you’re winning? Hah…” A breath of smoke came out of Erikathyr’s lips, as his eyes refocused on them. “My family will come for me, if I do not break out first. Indeed, my daughter is lost, but she is not alone. My wives, they are preparing as we speak and…Not even I can read what my sons will do next. Your leader, Michael was it? Perhaps they’re where he is now.” He threatened, chuckling further. “Or perhaps…they’re right behind-” He said as his gaze went behind them, a wide smile forming.

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Both Arch-Angels immediately spun about, worked up and pale, their eyes scanned the hellish fields of lava.

As once again, the Dragon’s wicked chuckles reached their ears. They having seen nothing had come for them.

Yet.

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Elsewhere, two brothers meet.

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Erael waited around in the castle’s halls as outside the sound of repair of the walls sneaked in from the open windows. The same short-cut white hair with golden strands and bright golden slits for eyes, yet having grown taller, and much more muscular over the past two years. Sighing to himself, “Where are you…” the young teen mumbled out, glancing from side to side, until suddenly his twin brother Ziethael appeared before him.

Shorter than Erael, Ziethael was leaner but still athletic, his hair kept long and tied up in a hair-band atop his head. Falling down to the side and still reaching his shoulder.

“Oh fu-” Erael jumped back in surprise, only for Ziethael to cover up his mouth, gesturing with his eyes to under his cloak.

Both boys silently nodded to each other, and quickly rushed into the room behind them, one of their bedrooms.

Ziethael quietly closed the door behind himself, as Erael immediately attempted to pull whatever he was hiding from under his cloak. Only for his brother’s hand to slap his, as both then shushed each other over the sound that made.

“Alright, settle down, I got it.” Ziethael whispered as he ushered his twin to the desk, Erael quietly taking off a massive battle-axe off it and a set of scribing tools he had been using to write runes over it, to make space.

As Ziethael then brought out the book, held in his hand with a dark black cloth wrapped around it, so that he did not directly touch it. Placing the book down, he then used the cloth to open it to the first page.

“Each page is the same sight, a barren grey desert, seemingly moving with gusts of wind but the time of day never changes.” Ziethael explained.

“And that means…what exactly?” Erael asked, looming over his brother to see.

“It means, that this portal will take you to a specific place and time, but there’s something else.” Ziethael then moved to the very last page where dark crimson runes lay inscribed. “Several magiks lay written down here, not just the portal spell.”

“Oh?” Erael mused, nodding each time.

“The base portal spell is the cover and hidden under it. Then there’s these, see these unpowered runes? This was the range enhancer and proximity detector which chain-reacted into the portal spell.” Ziethael explained.

“So…it’s not a trap anymore, we can touch it?” Erael pointed to the cloth his brother was using.

“No, touch will still activate the portal spell in the cover. But it won't activate from us just being near it, yes.” Ziethael then pointed to another set of runes. “This, is what worries me.”

Erael looked in closer, “Rescribing?”

“More akin to a randomizer effect.” Ziethael corrected. “And its not connected to the unpowered trap-chain, it is only connected to activate after the core portal spell activates. It’s meant to randomize the place and time the portal takes you to.”

“Wait so…Sis could be in the past or future too!?” Erael exclaimed in a hushed panicked voice.

Ziethael shook his head, “Doubtful,” he turned the book over and showed the torn back of it. “I checked the portal spell, the time section is at the end which is very odd. Then there’s the last section of the runes at the last page. It’s an additive inscriber. Understand?”

“Uhhh, sorta. I’m better with elemental runes man…” Erael groaned.

“It means that the time section of the portal was added last, alongside the randomizer effect. It is meant to deter people from following after the first target.” Ziethael said, sighing then. “Kailu could be…as you said, lost in the past or future. Sis is alone, brother.”

As Erael’s hands clenched-up hard around his battle axe, “That is the whole point of this.” He said, holding his weapon with one hand and placing the other over his brother’s shoulders.

“Point of-…what?” Ziethael asked with a raised brow, “I doubt us studying this book will be of much help to sis.”

“I mean, can you re-scribe the runes to remove the randomizer and the time-set to where any who would enter, then appear in the same time as now?” Erael asked with a smirk.

“Pfft,” Ziethael scoffed, “Of course I can!” Snatching the scribing tools from the bed then, he quickly went to work.

“You got all the equipment we agreed to have on us? Just in case this thing goes crazy and sucks us in anyway?” Erael asked.

“Yeah, all set up to survive, although finding a way back would be difficult.” Ziethael half-responded, folly focused on pouring his mana into the long wooden white pen as he tapped runes and changed their form.

Seemingly plucking them off the paper and altering them mid-air before placing them back down.

“Good, how’s it going?” Erael then asked.

“Good, what do you take me for?” Ziethael mused, “If father wasn’t gone, we wouldn’t be able to pull stealing this from miss Shizuka in the first place.”

Erael chuckled, “You did good, don’t underestimate yourself brother.”

“I never do, I am the smarter one.” Ziethael grumbled, “There, done, now any soldiers we send in will appear at the realm she is in, but the same time it is now also.”

“Smarter one eh?” Erael then mused, as Ziethael turned around to see his twin’s wide wicked smile.

“Er…You’re not thi-” Before his brother could finish, Erael grabbed his hand, and placed both his and his brother’s on the book.

Shadows rose out of the pages, engulfing the twins, as both shouted out.

“It works!”

“You moron!”

And both twins, disappeared.