"A god?" Alia, Kirin, and Robin all looked up from where they were.

"Ah, my lady!" The gray-skinned man's eyes twinkled with concern under lightly scrunched eyebrows. "I'm sorry I have let you witness me in this state." He took a step forward.

"Back away, creeper!" Kirin leaped and stood ground to block the man's path. "If you get any closer..."

"What's a puny human going to do with me? I could crush you with one sway of my fingers."

Embarrassment pinched Kirin's cheeks. "A creeper and a player, are we? Stick flirting with one girl!"

"Get out of my way! Forgotten Keeper. Oblivion Grip!"

A force pulled Kirin to a side and sent him flying towards a wall. The trap transformed to a bat, flapped frantically, and shifted back to his human form, skidding backwards but on his feet.

"Sky King's Rush!" Faolan flashed in front of the god and bashed his sword. "Sky King's Claws!"

"Forgotten Keeper. Vacuum," the god mumbled.

Faolan's flames extinguished themselves, and the force that had thrown Kirin returned to toss Faolan at the trap.

"Kya!" Kirin gasped, and couldn't help but bite his lip as Faolan's weight brought the two of them down, locking Faolan on his back, head stuck on Kirin's stomach and the coolth of his armor spreading between Kirin's legs.

Onyx clenched his blade and his teeth between his grit.

"Amnesia!" The god casted, invoking black particles that made the blue knight's nerves burn blue and froze him in his position. "Hold on a moment. Onyx?"

"I won't let you touch her!" Alia held Robin close and buried the lady's face in her chest.

Robin cried and grabbed onto Alia's shoulders. "Please don't hurt us!"

"I--" The god looked at Robin, then Onyx, then back to Robin again, and then at Faolan helping Kirin rise. His eyes briefly travelled to find displaced furniture and torn clothes, and then back up at the lady sobbing. "I'm sorry. I meant not hurt your friends. They attacked first! I've merely come to visit you one more time before I return to my domain, my love."

"Your love?" Robin lifted her face from Alia's chest and twisted to see.

"You've forgotten me again." The man showed a genuine smile, failing to hide hints of pain and disappointment. "But that is no problem. Like I have in the past nights we've spent together, I shall remind you again of the deepness that our emotions have carried us to."

"What are you talking about?"

"Come with me." The man kneeled and extended an inviting hand. "Trust me and we'll dance as we have in the tranquility of our grove. You need not bring your song, for the birds and bugs shall sing for us over their brilliant waters."

Robin frowned, staring at the man for a good minute. Her expression said many things. She was confused and scared, and yet was actually considering to take the offer.

"Believe me."

Robin looked around to see Kirin and Alia's reactions.

"You leave my miss alone!" Mr. Elvin shouted as he uncapped a lamp and tossed.

The gleaming orange liquid spilled out of the container and sprayed all over the god.

"Why you--" Distracted as smoke hissed off of his arm's gray skin, the man failed to maintain Onyx's binding spell.

Onyx freed himself and went to swing his edge.

Alas, the god caught sight of him too quickly, and used his magic to create vacuums at multiple points in the room, dragging everyone to all sorts of directions. He used this moment to separate Alia and Robin, captured the lady, and used one more spell to wrap a cloak of shadows around the two of them, then darted out of the balcony.

"No!" Alia summoned her wings and chased as fast as she could. She tried to hold out, but realized she couldn't help when her fingers closed without anything in between.

"Everyone go!" Onyx ran and jumped off of the balcony. "Gravitate!"

Faolan followed and flew with his wings out. Kirin transformed to a bat once again.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Purple Emperor's Magic! Amethyst Blood!" Alia casted on herself, wrapping herself with purple swirls of energy. With purple lightning zapping her feet, she jumped and soared faster than everybody else as she chased after the shadow cloak.

"Follow Alia!" Onyx called, hopping from roof to roof. "We have to take Robin back from him by all means. That man is dangerous."

"We all saw!" Kirin squeaked.

"Onyx, that man... he sounded like he knew you," brought up Faolan.

"You should know him too," Onyx answered sternly. "That man is the current God of Oblivion. My uncle, Olibas."

***

"Night Stalker," Onyx whispered, enfolding Kirin and Faolan with magic and turning the three of them invisible.

The Towering Willow's green flowerbeds rustled and swayed as they passed, and the forest's teal fireflies constantly buzzed into them, probably wondering what the heck they were bumping into.

"Pff!" Kirin waved in front of his face and wiped his lips.

"Quiet." Onyx hissed. "There's no point in us being invisible if you're loud."

"A bug got in my mouth."

"There they are." Faolan alerted as two plants parted to give them a better view of the scene.

A blue, luminescent lake was rippling as its black and white fishes kissed the atmosphere and nudged wet pads of green water lilies along. Antlered owls were perched on roots of willows diving into the water. Nearby, little clusters of gleaming mushrooms have circled around an open space, where fallen logs have been arranged by a blue-flamed campfire.

Robin and Olibas have each occupied their own logs, Olibas gazing at Robin hugging her own legs.

Alia was also there, frozen hovering with her wings wide open, hand beckoning for air to come. She was probably calling for Robin when the god casted a binding spell on her.

"I'm really sorry I had to take you like that. I got desperate." Olibas rested his elbows on his thighs as he tilted forwards to see Robin's face. "This will be the last time I'll be able to stay out of the Kingdom of Lethe for a while. I just wanted to spend more time together before I returned home."

Robin looked up. "It was you? All these past nights?"

Olibas offered a kind yet afflicted smile.

"Why don't I remember you? Why do I never remember anything?"

Olibas got to his feet. With wary steps, he approached the lady and lowered right in front of her. Then, with careful fingers, he lifted and caressed her chin, and gazed right into her diamond-like eyes. "As The God of Oblivion, I come with many curses."

Robin's forehead crumpled, and her eyes gleamed with desperation.

"Among them is to be forgotten. Even by the woman I love." The god lightly touched his ring finger along the lady's forehead to gather up some loose strands of hair and tuck them behind her ear. "There is no point fretting over that now. Best we can do is delight in what moments we still have together." He took several steps back and offered a palm for her to hold on to. "Though tonight the sky is dim, and the moon and stars refuse to grace us with their presence... this evening can be as beautiful as any. I beg of you to take my hand and join yours truly in a dance."

"A dance?" Robin glanced around.

Antlered owls tilted their heads as they met her eyes.

"What would we even dance to?"

Olibas took his hand back, turned to face the lake, and then gestured gracefully as if orchestrating a choir in the waters. "Forgotten Keeper. Unsung Songs."

Gray and blue mists faded in. As if they had always been there, hiding invisible behind the winds. When they did, surrounding fireflies slowed and hovered to follow in revolving orbits. Black birds with lapis blue tails glided from the sky and roosted on bushes. From the lake, two ladies with glowing white eyes and fins on their faces surfaced, and crawled towards the beach.

"Plenty are the songs that have been forgotten by the world. Many ages old, and many never heard by anyone other than their makers." Olibas offered his hand once again, as the finned ladies began to carol and the firelies and birds began to chirp. "Although I am cursed, I am also blessed by the responsibility of safekeeping these treasures.."

"It's... beautiful..." Robin lifted her hand and accepted the man's, not appearing to be thinking whilst she gaped in awe at the creatures dancing and fluttering all over her.

Olibas laughed softly. He helped the lady up and lightly tugged her close, held one of her hands firmly and guided the other onto his shoulder. His eyes never left her expression. And as the music began to transition to a melody so beautiful that even Kirin's heart began to feel alone, the pair began to sway side to side, slowly drifting deeply into the moment.

"Even though I've forgotten, every single time..." Robin whispered, twirling under the god's arm. "...I have always felt happy every time I opened my eyes. My arm wrapped around my pillow... I knew somebody had been there."

"Sometimes, even when the mind forgets, the body remembers." Olibas whispered back, hugging Robin from behind and grazing her ear with his nose.

"My heart is part of my body."

"Has it forgotten?"

"It n--"

"Argh." Olibas pulled away, hurrying to hold his neck as his body began flashing in and out of existence. "St-- b-ck."

"What... What's happening?" Robin cupped her mouth and took quick frightened steps away.

Olibas fell on his knees and reached out for his love, eyes tearing up with desperation. "M-- reli-- is cons-mi-- m--. My l---." As he struggled to breath, he rested his hands on the ground to support himself, even his gasps, full of pain, beginning to stagger with static.

"No!" Robin extended a hand and was about to run towards the god, when Alia, finally unfrozen, had caught her by her shoulders.

Alia wrapped her arms around the lady's waist and fluttered as fast as she could. "Robin, it could be dangerous."

"But he's...!"

"Now!" Faolan and Onyx leaped from where they were hiding, and were about to swing their weapons at Olibas.

The god noticed.

Though in pain, he mustered magic into one of his palms and shot a spell towards the finned ladies by the lake. "For--en K--p-r. Uns--- War-iors."

The creatures sheened and emerged out of the water, exposing their teal breasts and other unmentionables. They sprung to block with scutes on their arms against the men's blades.

"Kirin!" Faolan shouted.

"Present!" Kirin transformed from being a bat and landed with a kicking foot on one of the women's heads. "Vampire Magic! Moon's Call."

The ladies hissed and hunted Kirin instead.

Easy enough.

Aside from them though, the fireflies and blue-tailed birds started to pay attention as well, flocked around the trap, and created a barrier that blocked his vision.

They started pecking and stinging here and there.

To Kirin's liking.

"Kya...ah..."