Standing beside Alexa in the bathroom, Nam tried not to get in her way as his wife’s wings brushed against the mirror while adjusting the towel wrapped around her shoulders.
The dim lighting gave their reflections a softer edge, but nothing could hide the furrowed line creasing her brow. She stared at her wings—brilliant and angelic—but to her, they were just another reminder of how she wasn’t the same anymore.
“They’re…bigger,” she muttered, fingertips running lightly over the feathers.
Nam glanced up from tying his hair back, catching the tone beneath her words. She feels like I’m uncomfortable helping her get ready for bed… As complicated as it is, how can I let her know my feelings for her haven’t decreased without making her feel even more insecure? We have a solution to regain her more adult figure…but thirty minutes isn’t nearly long enough.
Carefully stepping around her wings, he leaned against the sink, arms folded. “Bigger, sure, but cooler too,” he teased, trying to ease the tension. “I mean, you can phase them through your nightgown. That’s a magical girl power-up if I’ve ever seen one.”
Alexa huffed, a faint smile tugging at her lips, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You always find a way to make me feel like this is some kind of cosplay… You liked it when I’d cosplay…right?”
“I did,” he soothed, being more than truthful; it was less about the cosplay itself and more about how excited and animated she’d get while showing herself off to him. “I’m not going anywhere, Alexa, and neither are you.”
She scooted closer to him, her wings brushing against his arm and sending a strange rush through his veins that felt both energizing and relieving. A lump dropped down her throat as she took his hand to rub the back of it and stare at her star-like eyes in the mirror.
“Thanks… I’ve never seen a magical girl anime that had…this kind of trouble,” she mumbled, her lips tightening while staring at her 13-year-old frame. Sighing, his wife turned to look up at him. “You’re always good at making me feel better about this whole…situation.”
Nam smiled, gently pulling her forward to wrap an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She shivered as his hair brushed against her halo. “Hey, I’ve got a soft spot for magical girls. You know that.” He gave her a gentle squeeze, sensing her unease.
Alexa let out a long sigh, eyes fixed on her reflection again. “I’m trying to be okay with this,” she whispered. “But it’s hard. I mean, I was mostly normal again for thirty minutes… Now, I look like I’m stuck in some strange in-between adolescence and teen state. It’s weird being, mmgm…this.”
Her wince made him retreat a step to study her. “The voices again?”
“Not for a while,” she mumbled, reaching up to touch the glowing ring above her head. “It’s more…feelings now—impressions.”
Nam frowned slightly, hating how hard she was on herself. He tilted her chin up gently to meet his eyes in the mirror, using a word that always used to make her smile due to the color of her hair. “You’re not stuck, honey. You’re evolving—like a magical girl going through her transformation arc, right? And I’m here, the main love interest, always here to catch you when you need it.”
Her smile was small but genuine this time, and she leaned into him, resting her head against his chest; the halo pressing against his collar bone was warm, sending comfort like pulses of electricity. “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Nam,” she murmured.
As they stood there in the quiet, the air shifted slightly, Alexa’s hand suddenly flying up to press against her temple. “Ow…”
Nam immediately straightened. “What is it? Are you sure it’s not the voices again? Please, talk to me.”
She shook her head, wincing and pulling away slightly. “No…not the voices. Like I said, it’s more like…a feeling. Something’s wrong, Nam.”
Nam’s stomach tightened. They’d dealt with strange occurrences before, but her tone this time felt different. He forced a calm tone into his voice to reassure her, even if he felt like calling his sister for further support. She was probably listening; although, her ears couldn’t be everywhere at once, and he knew that.
“Rachel’s got a sharp ear on everything. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Alexa pressed her fingers harder against her temple, shaking her head. “I know, but…can you just check the house? Please? After the assassin thing… Umm. Yeah, I’ve just been feeling anxious, I guess, and… I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, like someone was in the house while we were gone.”
Nam nodded, understanding the weight of her fear due to almost dying himself that night. However, there was another concern he had to address before beginning the search.
Does she want me to search the bedroom and once secured lock the door and check the rest of the house…or does she want to come with me and not to be alone? Probably both… She’s scared to be alone but scared to come with me…and scared something may be here that could hurt me. What a tangled situation… How do I handle this?
“Yeah, no, of course,” he mumbled, the tightness in his chest increasing as he looked at the bathroom door. “You wanna come with me to the room?” He offered, knowing she didn’t want to be left alone in the bathroom.
She hesitated but nodded. “Yeah…but can you check the room first? This place…” She glanced through the bathroom door into the master bedroom, her voice lowering. “It’s weird sleeping in someone else’s house.” Her eyes drifted to the family photos on the wall. “They seem…happy. Now, who knows where they are.”
Nam sighed, glancing at the pictures as he moved to check the closet. “That’s what formal pictures usually do, sweetheart,” he muttered. “I’m not unhappy or see you differently. Trust me… Nothing in the closet.”
“I know…” she whispered, barely high enough for him to hear as she moved further into the closed bedroom to look at the family of five. “It’s just…hard for me because I don’t want others to view you in any weird way because, well… Yeah.”
Her throat broke as she cupped her mouth while looking at the mother of the house in the photo, holding a baby. The pressure gripping his chest increased as he closed the distance to hold her from behind and kissed the side of her head.
“We’ll figure this out, Alexa. I promise. I know you have dreams and a picture for our future that has been flipped on its head. I’m here with you. I’m yours, through sickness, health, and weird magical transformations… Always.”
She forced a smile, silent melancholy laughter shaking her frame as she tried to stop herself from crying, unable to look away from the photo. “Mhm… So, umm, I’m worried about Aella,” she redirected, clearing her throat. “Sure, put on a brave front but…but Rachel’s so brutal—and I know she has to be; I get it—but…Aella was almost beaten to death. She’s vulnerable right now. Maria was really exhausted when she came back, too.”
Kissing her again, he gently squeezed his wife to reassure her. I can see why you’re connecting to Aella, despite how she acted before… We’ll be okay.
She winced again, her body going stiff. “Mmgm! Nam… It’s getting worse. Something’s wrong. I know it. I’m worried about the others and, and… Can you…”
“Yeah, I’ll look. I’ll look,” he reassured, pulling back to see her halo glowing brighter than normal and the quakes that ripped through her wings. “Just try to relax a bit. I’ll check under the bed and look through the house again.”
She squeezed his hand and gave him a thankful smile when he pulled away, mouthing ‘thank you.’ Returning the pressure, he could see the shame in her eyes that killed him; it wasn’t like she could change how she felt either.
We’ll be okay, he repeated in his mind, stepping toward the california king bed to pull back the veil. As he bent down to look under it, a creeping sense of dread filled him for the first time. Now that he’d done what he could for his wife, something else was taking its place.
Lifting the sheet draped over the bed, his breath caught in his throat. A soft red glow met his wide eyes; beneath the bed, a red canister sat, dense liquid swirling inside as if blood.
Panic surged through him, unsure what it was but knowing it certainly wasn’t anything that should have been there. What is… Shit!
“Alexa, get—”
Before he could finish the sentence, the canister dyed blue, illuminated, and the glass opened. Heat and fire expanded in a violent wave. Nam’s vision went white, the force of the explosion hitting him in the chest, then…nothing. He couldn’t feel the scorching heat consuming him… It didn’t burn.
He blinked, his body tingling with a strange, unfamiliar sensation as the world began to come back into focus. A dense blue, red, and white fog veiled everything. Rising to his feet, he instantly lurched turned where Alexa had been, stumbling out of the haze—frozen mid-turn, as if time itself had stopped, his wife was motionless.
Nam’s pulse thundered in his ears as the surreal world around him shifted, colors vibrant and distorted. His body glowed like the heart of a dying star, the energy within him blazing in furious cycles. His breath hitched as the voice, soft yet commanding, broke through the chaos.
“Unusual but not unexpected, given the oddity that is your family… You’ve passed beyond the third-dimensional barrier.”
He spun on instinct, his fists clenched, half-expecting an enemy. Instead, he found someone Rachel had described to him during her recovery.
“Eostre?”
Her autumn-hued hair, streaked with vivid shades of copper and gold, cascaded over her shoulders, dotted with delicate blossoms that seemed to bloom directly from her. Her eyes, the deep amber of a fading sunset, regarded him with a mix of curiosity and awe. She looked like something out of an ancient painting, gentle yet commanding. A goddess came to mind.
“I’ve never sensed anything like you before,” she whispered, taking a step closer, her gaze fixed on the radiant light spilling from his shifting figure. There was a flicker of something in her expression—wonder, maybe concern. “I apologize for the abrupt introduction, but you’ve shattered your Lesser Seed, Nam…and it’s flowing into something far deeper. Something beyond even my sight.”
He didn’t care about any of what she’d just said. His eyes darted back to Alexa, frozen in the middle of their bedroom, her face twisted in confusion as the explosion of fire inched toward her—fire raging toward his wife. Time was still, but the dread in Nam’s chest burned hotter than the flames.
“It doesn’t matter!” His voice was raw with urgency, fear. “Whatever this is, I don’t care. What do I need to do to stop that?” He gestured wildly to the mix of color, vapor, and fire engulfing the home. “Can you stop it?”
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The sadness in Eostre’s eyes was unmistakable as she looked at the spot where the bed had been before glancing at where his wife now stood, trapped, the explosion barely held in check by whatever dimensional shift Nam had triggered by shattering his Seed.
“Scarlet’s barriers…” she murmured, a note of frustration threading through her usually calm voice. “They block interactions between realms. I can’t interfere—not directly.”
Nam’s chest tightened. “Then tell me what to do!” His hands shook as he took a step toward her, the radiant energy flaring around him. “You have to know something—anything!”
Eostre hesitated, her focus drifting to his glowing form, and for the first time, her confident demeanor wavered. She sighed, eyes locking with his.
“There is a way, I believe, but it’s dangerous—dangerous even for someone like you, whatever you are.” She paused, searching his face as if weighing her next words carefully. “The energy pouring into your Core… It’s more than powerful enough to generate a barrier to protect those around you, yet…it’s connected to something far deeper, something beyond that blazing star inside your soul.”
Nam felt the power boiling inside him, threatening to spill over. It was a torrent he barely understood, but none of that mattered. He couldn’t let anything more happen to his wife. His heart clenched painfully, and he nodded without hesitation.
“What do I need to do before this thing inside me stops or snuffs out?”
Eostre’s gaze lingered on him, something almost like regret flashing across her features before she spoke, no doubt having many other things she’d rather tell him to give to his sister. He couldn’t give a damn right now, though. Alexa was his only priority.
“You’ll need to channel that energy into manifesting whatever lies beyond your Core, whatever that light is resting within it.” Her voice softened. “It may allow you to convert an insignificant amount of it to counter the magical flames—enough to protect them. But…forcefully doing so will leave a crack within that seal blocking it. I cannot be sure what that will mean in the long run. However, I am sure it will bring you back to the lower third dimension. Forcing your descension early like that could kill you.”
The weight of her words didn’t dissuade him. The thought of leaving Alexa alone killed him in itself yet she was his priority, his responsibility, his heart. Nam’s resolve didn’t falter. His eyes locked onto his wife.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said quietly, his fists tightening. “She’s my wife. If it’s the only way. It’s the only decision to be made.”
Eostre studied him for a moment, her lips pressed into a thin line, and then she nodded, though uncertainty still clouded her amber eyes. “If you wake…tell Rachel that as dark as this is for her…”
She paused, looking past the flames and buildings. To Nam’s shock, he could peel back the layers within the environment as if they were illusions, only to see the Crystal in the parking lot, and whatever constituted his blood froze upon spotting a pulsing light within it but it was the sensation he received from it—an indomitable force of conquest.
“As bad as this is for her, every deity on the planet fears what is through that wormhole. Athena, Selene, and Chang’e have chosen to stand by her. Even with them, with Nike empowering Rachel… It feels hopeless to us. Others will join the faction if she manages to succeed, but…there is something else lingering on the opposite side, and they want to be seen… Something beyond the 7th dimension.”
Unable to help a bit of frustration at the precious seconds lost that could be critical to saving his wife’s life, he nodded. “Tell me what I need to do!”
“Focus, Nam,” she responded, her fingers tightening against her front at his tone. “Use your willpower to grasp the energy inside you, but be careful not to grip it too tightly. Send that out to those who you wish to protect. Whatever is in that Core of yours is…unknown to me, and it is dangerous, yet it can be molded, I believe.”
Nam barely heard her. His attention was fixed on his wife, his heart pounding in his chest as he braced himself for whatever was to come. The light around him grew brighter, more intense, his body shining like a miniature sun. He could feel the power coursing through him, his skin blackening and flaking away, a wild, uncontained force, but he reached deeper, forcing himself to draw it toward the intent of his heart.
The pulsing strength felt endless, like he was tapping into something far larger than himself. His skin burned with heat, yet there was an overwhelming calm that settled in his mind as he reached toward that light inside him. He gritted his teeth, forcing the chaotic energy to bend to his will.
His body flared brighter as the radiance shifted, changing into something denser, something heavier. A searing pain lanced through his chest, but he pushed it aside, focusing on Alexa, focusing on his wife.
“It’s going to be okay, Alexa,” he repeated, more for himself than her, his voice barely audible over the roar of energy flooding him. “It’s going to be okay.”
Then, with a burst of power, the flames halted and he was sucked through what felt like a tiny tube, falling back into his native dimension. The radiant energy around him pulsed outward and all those who were around the house.
Alexa, Maria, Aella, the other soldiers caught in the blast radius, all those in threat of danger were pulled to him in a flash of heat, teleported to his side. An aura radiated outward. Not a barrier. A conversion of forces that made a safe space, but only around their souls, keeping them free from harm.
His teeth ground together as the deadly inferno engulfed him, feeling the burns seep. He could see the flames twist and writhe in a controlled spiral, focusing inward to the floating magical canister, amplifying its heat. He pushed through the pain, drawing strength by watching his blissful wife, consciousness falling into sleep to recover from whatever he’d channeled around her.
When the expanding tornado of fire incinerated the canister, it flickered out, and Nam exhaled, his body trembling as the weight of the energy began to take its toll. All strength left his body, skin charred black, streams of molten lava flowing through his veins, yet…it was enough.
A small smile lifted his cracked lips as the blackened wall was kicked through and Rachel raced through, ashen faced and looking more terrified than he’d ever seen his fearless sister. She’s safe… She’s safe…
* — * — *
Rachel’s heart pounded, the heat of the explosion still felt on her prickling skin as she crouched beside her brother. The Greater Moon of Abundance pulsed through her, feeding her information, a wealth of knowledge she couldn’t fully process but grasped enough.
Nam’s body lay charred and blackened, tendrils of molten light threading through cracks in his skin, yet…he was alive. Her breath slowed, the golden light enclosing her keeping her hostile emotions in check, though the cold anger simmered beneath it all.
Scarlet’s voice cut through the haze. “What do we do, Rachel? Was it the USSR?”
She barely heard her sister’s panic, Rachel’s gaze focused on her brother. The white flames of his eyes flickered before fading, but his chest still rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. She reached out, gently pressing her fingers against his charred neck. Somehow his pulse was faint but there, and a strange energy radiated from him that the moon couldn’t identify, something foreign and yet familiar in its heat.
“He’s alive,” Rachel murmured, voice calm despite the inferno roaring beneath the ice enclosing it. “Something’s happening to him…but he’ll live. He saved them.” Her eyes flicked to Maria, her aura already exhausted but steady enough to help when she awakened from the sharp spiritual flux that had enveloped the group her brother protected. “We just need Maria to stabilize him when she wakes up.”
Rachel’s ears twitched, picking up the faint shuffling of others nearby. Green stood a few feet away, her eyes wide and searching Rachel for answers, along with a few dozen other Myths and Legends who had gathered. Some were visibly shaken, others curious, but all of them were waiting for what she’d do.
Grace’s horse galloped through the settling ash, the cowgirl’s boots hitting the ground as she dismounted in one fluid motion, chest heaving. “Yo, w-what the hell happened here, Boss?”
Rachel didn’t answer immediately, her hand slipping into her pockets as she slowly rose to her feet. The cold fury in her chest tightened as the snow and ash mixed, causing black and white flakes to blanket them. She drew in a slow breath, her gaze lifting to take in the devastation around them [Strategic Mind] drawing together every little nugget of information the Greater Moon of Abundance fed her.
Everything within the blast radius was scorched—obliterated. The house was reduced to nothing but ash, debris barely recognizable as anything that had once stood there. The landscape, including the neighboring houses were blackened ruins, smoke rising in slow, curling tendrils from the ground. The air was thick with the scent of ash.
“Soldier!” Barbara’s voice was sharp as her ears caught the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow behind her. A man appeared from across the street, his radio already buzzing with the captain’s voice. “Report!”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed, half-turning to focus on his approach, clearly shaken by what he’d witnessed and trying to describe the colossal firestorm that had engulfed almost six mansions. She exhaled slowly, eyes turning to Nia.
“Handle it.”
Adult Nia gave a sobering nod as she turned to organize the recovery and protection of Nam and her group. The bun soldiers dropped out of the sky, swiftly forming a perimeter around Nam, their usual playful demeanor replaced with cold efficiency and hissing at anyone nearby to back away.
The tension between Rachel and the crowd pressed down like a physical force as she stepped toward the soldier, blonde braid swaying gently behind her. Grace, Scarlet, Green, and a few curious Myths and Legends followed.
[Lunar Spike: Greater Moon of Abundance - Deactivated]
Rachel extended her hand, and the man hesitated before giving her the radio. Her fingers wrapped around it, the gold in her hair slowly bleeding back to its glowing white as she brought the device to her lips.
“Barb…” Her voice was low, tail stiff, and heart cold as the Greater Moon’s influence left.
“Rachel? What’s happening?” Barbara’s voice crackled over the line, her usual calm tinged with a hint of concern. “Did something happen to your brother…”
She scanned the ruined landscape as she spoke. “This isn’t beef… I don’t know what to call this.” Her grip tightened and she forced a chuckle, ner nose twitching. “Whoever shot first better rush me because they won’t see the sun. I finally have someone to shoot at now, and I won’t miss.”
Rachel tossed the radio back to the soldier, her sharp gaze shifting toward Scarlet, the fear firmly replaced.
Scarlet’s eyes hardened. “What do you want me to do?”
She slowly shook her head, a smile lifting her lips that she didn’t feel as she walked past them into the falling snow and ash. “I honestly don’t know. Follow if you want…but my mom would kick my ass if I let some bitch in a can take an ax to my family tree. Bring Grace and Green if you want… I need a second to calm down before I snap.”
Rachel’s boots left faint imprints in the mix of snow and ash, her breath visible as she leaped onto the roof of a nearby building. The world had slowed to an eerie quiet, white static in her ears with her mind and emotions pressing inward.
The snowfall veiled the city in a heavy, suffocating silence. The soft orange glow of distant lampposts barely pierced through the swirling white veil of the storm, giving the world a dull, muted cast. Her gaze swept the snow piling on top of cars and rooftops, but her focus wasn’t on the freezing landscape. No, her mind was sharper than the bitter wind biting at her skin.
Someone wanted my attention, and now they have it, she thought, pulse steady despite the mess she’d just left behind.
With a fluid, effortless leap, she pushed further into the empty street ahead. The gathering snow softened her landing as she continued, her every movement precise and controlled. In a radiant pulse, her hammer materialized on her shoulder, twisting in her palm with her active mind, ears twitching.
I like challenges. I enjoy fighting. I have fun when someone tries to take my life… I have more pride than I can express… I love when a challenger steps forward, bold, unafraid, coming to stomp me out. But this? A snort escaped her lips. They don’t know shit about me if this is the kind of game they want to play. Well, okay, put your nuts on the table. Let’s play the game.
Her footsteps grew lighter, more calculated as she neared the next rooftop. Snow clung to her white braid and hot skin. If not for the Greater Harvest Moon feeding her information, she wouldn’t have had a clue about what triggered the explosion other than what Astra gave them. That magical fire vortex wasn’t an accident; it had been engineered. Designed.
The blizzard swirled around her, the ash mixing with the falling snow, creating an unnatural, almost surreal backdrop to the empty world below. The faint lights of the streetlamps cast long, ghostly shadows as she moved through the nearly deserted field where she had faced Green earlier.
She passed by the unaware soldiers and demi who were scattering, most moving in the direction of the house to see the damage for themselves or secure areas on orders from superiors. The snow crunched underfoot, yet the silence felt deafening. The world around her stood still, but inside her, a storm raged.
I’m done running around in circles around these clowns, trying to call me out. It’s like I’m listening to pussy ass dogs meow… Whoever orchestrated this wasn’t interested in killing me… No. This wasn’t squaring up to settle business. They aimed to tear my family apart… They wanted to send a message or redirect my anger onto their enemies.
Rachel landed in the field with a soft thud, her body tense with resolve. The air around her shimmered faintly, a pulse of energy flowing through her veins. It wasn’t fear driving her now, nor anger. It was something colder, sharper. Something that demanded justice.
First, someone goes after Mom, and she tells me to drop it… Fine. Then this… No, I’ll be damned if I let anyone take a shot like that again. Attacking me every day of the week. Attacking them? You’re not going to get another chance.
Her eyes lifted to the airship hovering high above, its silhouette faint against the whitewashed sky, and the tension in her jaw tightened. The snow thickened, swirling around her as she bent her knees, fed power into her thighs, and leaped high into the sky to land on the deck.
This whole plot point to get at my family. It’s done tonight.