Shadow, Alyssa, and Flame fell through the sky, plummeting toward the floating city beneath them. Alyssa, knowing her ability, wished for them to get hurt by the fall.

However, when they crashed into the ground, nothing happened. They weren't hurt in the slightest. They just hit the ground with a thud, and that was it.

Flame slowly sat up, not paying attention to his surroundings but thinking about the man he saw, Goren. He wondered to himself why he didn't just use Devouring Flames, but he knew why deep down. He just didn't want to come to terms with it.

He wouldn't have enough time to even consume a bit of skin from that man, and it pissed him off. He sighed, knowing he would just have to eat more in order to destroy that man in the future.

Flame turned to Shadow, walking over to him. "So, uh... This is Purgatory?" He asked as if Shadow would know.

"Well, that was the Would You Rather question, right?" Shadow said sarcastically as he made sure Alyssa and himself were okay.

"Don't get smart with me!" Flame said as he looked around. They were in the center of the city, right next to a large fountain. They were surrounded by shops and a few quaint houses; some were just a mixture of both. People walked by the strange trio, primarily staring at Flame.

Flame looked around for a map or anything to give them any sort of whereabouts. "Dammit... Nothing."

"Oh dear... stray children." A man said to his wife.

"Don't interact with them, dear... If they haven't been picked up by the Church of The Divine Goddess, then they must be deemed cursed..." His wife whispered. Flame's hearing was much more than exceptional.

He held his tongue, which wasn't really like him, but it was all he could do. After all, this was uncharted territory.

Just then, as he was thinking about it, a man in a white robe slowly walked toward them. He was bald and had a square jaw, blue eyes, and a rough-looking face. He stood quite tall compared to the children and seemed to be in his late 40s. "Ahh, young ones. Have you been led astray? Abandoned by your families and in need of a home?"

Before Flame could even speak a word, Shadow immediately covered his mouth. "YES!" He yelled, the priest seemingly taken aback by the sudden outburst. He became a little flustered and looked down sheepishly.

"Ahem... Very well then. I will guide you to the nearest orphanage run by the church. There you will be taken care of until someone comes and adopts you." The priest extended his hand.

The group looked hesitant, aside from Shadow. Anywhere they could say and gather their bearings, he wouldn't mind taking that chance. So far, Shadow was the best shot they had at rationality. Alyssa was too young, and Flame... Well, was just crazy.

"Very well then. Just follow me." He turned around, beginning to walk down the crowded streets. The three began to follow him, sticking close behind.

Flame, however, despite his madness, had the knowledge of an adult. He didn't trust this man in the slightest.

While he didn't doubt some people stuck to their faith, some had ulterior motives. "I could care less about Shadow and that whiny sister he has!" Flame thought to himself.

"But they do need my help after all. They're not strong enough to survive on their own." Flame told himself he didn't care, but something about these two made him want to stay around them longer.

"Sir? We're new to this world; mind telling us what goes on here?" Flame asked, and the priest stopped dead in his tracks.

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"Another world, you say, young one?" The priest turned around, chuckling. "This is even better than I thought. You must be a gift of The Sentinel of Divinity!"

The three seemed confused. While Shadow knew the basics of Sentinels, beings that were said to have reached Sources, he had never heard of one being named Divinity.

"Do... Otherworlders come often?" Alyssa asked, making the priest raise a brow.

"Only when our world is in dire need of it. They are called Heroes, akin to our world's Saints and Saintesses; they are those but from another world." He explained as he continued to walk forward. The three continued to follow behind him.

The priest walked up to a man clad in simple knight's armor and mumbled something to him. He then patted his shoulder and walked away. The knight walked up to them, his face obscured by the helmet and visor. "Come with me, little ones. I will send you off to Queen Teresa Molgith."

Shadow and Alyssa both seemed a bit happier. Instead of going to an orphanage, they were going to meet a queen! How fortuitous!

They began to follow the knight, eventually coming to the edge of the sky island. The knight reached behind him and took out a small horn, blowing on it. "Give it a moment." He said, watching as a wyvern flew high into the air.

"Get ready to jump on! These things don't stop moving!" The knight yelled as Alyssa and Shadow got ready.

As the Wyvern made a turn around, the three managed to hop on, all while gripping onto the leather saddle on the dragon's back.

---

"You're telling me a source was found?" Queen Teresa looked down at a green-haired male with glasses, his gaze cold yet calculating.

"Correct." He said, having his hands in his pockets and a slouched posture. He had green eyes and fair skin and a pretty handsome face. "The Source was found in the Morisfield caves in the Morn Forest, southeast of here."

Teresa nodded. "Well, I assume it's stable since you're alive."

"Correct." The man said as a woman with a hoodie, shorts, and some sneakers walked into the room. She had dark skin and blue eyes. Her hair was an ocean hue that faded to purple around the back and edges.

"Sup, Intel! You giving Ms. Teresa a hard time or something?" Neolia said with a grin.

"Shut up, Lia. I'm just doing my report. A source has been found." He said, shrugging. "Anything else, Teresa?"

The queen narrowed her purple eyes. "Alert the guards to secure the perimeter. We can't let anyone get it."

Just then, a guard burst through the large oak doors, causing everyone to shift their attention to him. He took a knee at the throne. "My queen! A travel wyvern has arrived, delivering three otherworlders!"

The queen's eyes widened slightly. "We just received these two last week. What could possibly be coming for us to need five?!"

---

A bandit had been running from authorities. His mind had been racing, his heart pounding. "What the hell?! One of them had been a mage! Fuck!"

He looked behind himself, not seeing anyone. As he turned back around, he tripped over a branch and fell down a hole.

Thud!

"Ugh..." The bandit came to, waking up with a groan. The bandit stood up, or at least tried to. His left leg had been broken from the fall, and he could feel blood dripping down his forehead.

"Holy... Agh!" He felt a sharp pain in his skull, not due to the fall, but because he heard a screech, a voice, a cry, beckoning him. The voice forced its way in.

"MISUSED SOUL, ACCEPT IMMORTALITY."

The bandit blacked out for a moment before standing before a giant sphere with an orange outline. He felt himself being dragged toward it, like he was being sucked in. He tried to resist, but his left leg gave out on him, causing him to trip and get sucked into the sphere.

Knowledge flooded his mind. He had fallen into a source. Sources are things that grant power once absorbed, but not everyone can handle it. After all, a source can be anything.

The source then collapsed in on itself, leaving behind the man. His eyes were milky white, and he seemed dazed. He vomited on the ground and clenched his head as he felt his body begin to heat up. Not long after, he burst into flames.

He screamed in agony, trying to put out the fire, but it was of no use. Feathers began to grow on him, and his pupils narrowed. His new form cast an eerie shadow on the cave walls.