Why would Ezekiel decide to revive the Keepers? After what his Father had us do? Was all the suffering and blood that stained our hands, especially mine? Was it not enough? I turned my back on the Keepers when the rest went rogue during the Civil War. I left them to put an end to our tyranny.

*Bam*

Pain shoots up my arm as I smash my fist into the stone wall of the castle.

I left that life behind!

So then tell me why, Ezekiel? Why do you wish to revive the very concept that brought nightmares to this kingdom? Are we not to bring peace to the people? They’ve all suffered so much already. People will not look fondly upon the name being brought back from the dead.

The star down bathes the world in a blood-red haze, making my mood somber. One of my favorite things is looking down at the bustling city below me from the castle balconies. The noises of the people laughing, shouting, or crying, whatever it could be, make me smile.

Giving them the chance to do that is one of the reasons why I fight for this kingdom despite the pain and terror I once caused it. The people still do not enjoy my presence, but in fairness to them, I am the Reaper of Esterpine, after all.

On a different thought, what is Emelia? She is not normal, or why would the Embers try to kill her? As far as the files and Intel, I read nothing makes it any clearer. When I teleported to the Lunar archives in the Tandandrin province, I found files on the Shroud family, an old family dating back to the Jupiter era. Tandandrin now holds all the files and scrolls from the now-dead Tolhurst kingdom, a lot of secrets about the family, but they have had forty percent of all the reported cases of Wind Elementals. It makes sense why Ezekiel is so interested in her.

Except there is not a single file about Emelia between her birth and her just being abandoned at the doorstep of Janet Smite. Emelia’s grandfather Dominic Shroud fought for King Cain and his kingdom, but Allegedly died in the cataclysmic battle fifteen years ago, wiping the entire kingdom off the map. I have my doubts that the old man died. He was always a tricky one. If anyone survived that incident, it was him.

“So what importance does she play? She is just a child, not even out of school. Why would this cult go after her?” I say.

“Emelia is a special case. A mixture of Blessing and Destruction.” A voice says from behind me.

Turning to the voice, I come face to face with a red-haired woman in a beautiful grey cloak—the cloak has the Star Killer Volcano, the Royal symbol of the Tyvor Clan.

I smile. “Lady Tyvor, what brings you to the kingdom?” She drops her hood, and the staggering beauty of the Queen of the Ashfall Kingdom stands tall and shines in the setting sun.

Long red hair, beautiful terrifying eyes with what seem to be thousands of stars adrift in an endless void, with one bright one giving them the illusion of pupils. a very firm chin line. The only person equal to her in political power is Ezekiel. All four kings in the alliance are powerful and have a lot of pull. Despite that, they can not stand on the same platform as these two superpowers.

“Rumor has it you seem to have a very peculiar visitor in the capital. I wished to confirm that for myself.” She says, her eyes never dropping from mine.

“Emelia, correct? As you just said, her name?”

She nods. “Yes, Emelia is someone I’ve been looking for, for many years.”

I ponder over the thought.

“Why would the most powerful queen in the world have trouble finding one girl?” I ask.

“Emelia is special. She’s an enigma that shouldn’t be. She is the mistake, so it’s my job to discover why.” Lady Tyvor is always so very vague.

“What does that mean, mistake? She is just a little girl.” Lady Tyvor shakes her head.

“Emelia is so much more than just a young girl. She is to be one of two things.” Lady Tyvor walks over towards me. She holds up to fingers.

“The End, or The Beginning, which one is too hazy for me to know for now, but I must speak with her so I can know which is to be true.”

“I stop and think this might be a great way to gather more. Information on her and the shroud family.

“Do you know why Emelia ended up at Janet’s doorstep?” First question and it could help me piece some of the puzzle together, or at least finish the edge of it.

Lady Tyvor walks over to stand next to me and looks out over the horizon of the capital. Her hair blows from the ocean breeze from below. Emelia is not just a girl; however, I am not entirely sure what else she is.

“That is obvious from what I fought back in Bladesfall.” I turn to see her staring directly at me.

Lady Tyvor, who I have never seen eyes go wide. “What did you see?”

“I try not to remember that day. “I saw a creature that looked like a bug, with four wings, dark chitinous armor, and two large horns.”

It was so much more than that, but she still is a queen from a different kingdom. I still have to keep something secret.

Then Lady Tyvor turns towards the door. “I must go. There is truly not much I can tell you as I am also blind to certain facts. But I can find out more now due to what you just told me.”

“Be careful. Your fate and Emelia are now intertwined. The future will not be kind to you, Alva Copper.”

She turns to me and smiles strangely, like she doesn’t understand the gesture. “I apologize for what’s coming. Try not to despair too much.

“Take care and stay safe until we meet again. We shall speak again soon.”

Lady Tyvor disappears into the darkness of the doorway with a small wave. Or melts into it? Not sure of the best way to describe such an occurrence.

She has never been one for words and she is a Queen with her secrets. I lean back over the railing to see the city once more.

“I more than anyone, know that fate is never kind to anyone.” A pang of guilt always washes over me when Lady Tyvor leaves. It is an unexplainable conundrum. It’s like I watched a loved one leave me or something of that nature.

That thought does not matter; it’s time to prepare for what’s next. I should figure out Ezekiel’s idea for his Keepers Plan then I shall do some digging into Emelia’s past some more. The ocean wind prickles at my skin almost menacingly; the world will soon face a horrible danger, like Lady Tyvor said.

I need to be more vigilant from here on out. With saying that, my magic rolls over my body then, in a moment, I part from the world, teleporting away to find Sakura.

The doors to the Council room open, and inside, I can see Ezekiel, Sakura, and Lamden sitting at the table, talking. “Good, you’ve arrived, Alva. Please sit. There’s a lot I wish to discuss with you.” Ezekiel points to a chair. I oblige and sit.

“Now, I want to get you all up to speed on what’s happening in the Kingdom.” Ezekiel, typically so focused, has an absent look as he speaks.

“The Embers are not kidding around with this war, not that I had thought they were lying. I just had to hope they’d not be as big of a threat as they are.” Ezekiel says he stops to whisper something to a maid and then continues.

“They have amassed a large army. Our scouts can’t even get a good number of how many are working for them. We would say at least twenty thousand as a rough estimate of what the reports say.” Ezikiel’s face is still absent of any emotion.

“The idea is preposterous. If they have an army of twenty thousand, how are they hiding them?” Sakura asks.

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“I would like to know as well?” Lamden asks as well.

Ezekiel shakes his head. “We’re not positive, but we know they have one because cities have been going missing. We believe they’re forcing people to fight for them. Or they have some kind of brainwashing technique.”

That catches my attention. “Entire cities gone missing?”

“Yes, a little girl escaped, and one of the scouts found her dirty and bleeding. They figured out which city she came from. They had the girl show them back to her city. There they found the entire populace of the city had just vanished.” Ezekiel says in a cheerless tone.

“How can you just make a city’s population vanish with no sign of struggle?” I look at anyone for an answer.

“The girl said she was out picking berries for her mother when a God’s light swallowed the city and carried away everyone,” Sakura says this time she finally takes a seat next to Ezekiel.

“My head scout was the one to interview her, and he gave me that news,” Sakura say

Ezekiel, you and your secrets. It reminds me of your father.

“Not meaning to change the direction of the conversation, but why did you make us the Keepers?” I ask, ready for any excuse he can make.

“We need to kill the Embers. As far as I now know from info about them, their group is unfathomably powerful. We know Johnathan is in it, that woman in blue who attacked Lamden and her light powers which are for sure behind the cities’s disappearances, The Kira twins, Giant King Oto, and A few others we still don’t know of, but we can expect this group to be almost unstoppable.” Ezekiel says.

“That I understand, but you know of all people what the original keepers did. I don’t know if I can wear that name proudly.”

Lamden places a hand on my shoulder. “Alva, we know what you did when you were a keeper. Except you’ve done so much good since then. You were a young girl being used by a haggard old man.”

Lamden glances at Ezekiel. “No offense.”

Ezekiel chuckles. “None taken. I was the one who put the dagger in his heart, so I have nothing to say.”

“Very well. I will put together a group that can match the Keepers.” I state.

Ezekiel nods. “Good, you have a good start with Levi; Rene, Emelia, and Evan. But Evan will join you in Madrin city when you arrive."

“Sweet Fates, not him, anyone but that wretched man,” I say, exasperated.

“Yes, yes, I know Evan is a lot to handle. But he is a great addition to the Keepers. You know his strength better than anyone.” Ezekiel says with a devilish smirk.

I sigh." I know he is strong, but he aggravates me with incessantly flirting with anyone who blinks at him."

Father bellows with laughter." That reminds me back when he and I were at Lady Carrion’s wedding ceremony."

The memory makes a chuckle come from me as well.

“Ha, yes, that was a mess for me to clean up. I had to give Lady Tanya a brand-new wardrobe, and also, what a political storm that was to fix.” Ezekiel shakes his head. “I can not believe he slept with Lady Carrion’s groom in her bed.”

We all laugh, and then Sakura raises her hand. “I wish to discuss Emelia.”

There it is; someone has finally addressed the elephant in the room.

“What would you like to discuss?” Lamden asks.

“What is she, and why are these Zealots these... Embers after one girl? Do any of you not find this strange?” Sakura asks, her voice raising slightly.

“Yes, Emelia is strange, so young and yet full of power. But there’s something hidden behind those eyes of hers, darkness so bottomless you’d never get out.” Ezekiel says solemnly.

Emelia has something dark in her. I agree with Ezekiel. Could she be housing a demon? It could explain the State of Bladesfall. And the monster I told Lady Tyvor about. However, the White Council exterminated most of them during the Civil War.

I think back to the city and see the army of all three thousand men torn to shreds, their blood flowing through the city streets into the drains. Honestly, the power that would be required leaves only one explanation.

“She has to be a Keeper to an Archdemon,” I say, and the three of them look at me, eyes wide.

“You truly believe that?” He stares directly at me, his dilated.

“Honestly, I thought little of the creature when you first mentioned it.”

Father stays silent.

“How? What Archdemon choose her as a Keeper? We know of at least—twenty-five Fiends currently in the Kingdom. The only remaining Archdemon is Xion, and he is imprisoned in the Ethereal Catacombs.

We all stay silent, thinking, then Father speaks up. “What makes you believe she is an Archdemon Alva?”

I think back to where I found Emelia in the city surrounded by all that black ooze, the dark mist that would slowly suffocate you as it absorbed your life, those monsters that crawled out from those dark portals.

“You didn’t see Bladesfall. It was a nightmare come to life. It took me four days to reach the depths of the city. The creatures that came from those black portals, that thick ooze that covered every inch of the city. All of it was an immense struggle, even for me. I almost died trying to reach the source of the power in the city.

“When I finally got to the source, do you know what I found, father?” He shakes his head.

“I found a four-winged beast clad in dark miasma like a coat of utter nothingness, with burning orange eyes and two large horns jutting out from its head. It had extremely dense chitin armor. It had sharp, knife-like protrusions on its forearms. Claws as long as a broadsword.” I take a breath.

I lose my words remembering the power of that beast I fought. How it melted everything it touched with that ooze, the spike it shot out from the void on its back. The fear that thing inflicted on me coiled around my mind and would not let go.

“Alva?” Father says, waving his hands.

“Sorry, it was one of the hardest battles I have ever fought. If not, the hardest.” I shake away the feelings it brought back up.

“Did it?” Father asks stopping before saying the word. His eyes stare directly at mine as he blinks rapidly.

“Yes, it killed me twice before I finally pinned the beast, then the miasma cleared.”

“Why did you not mention that in your report?” I hear Ezekiel ask.

“Sorry, but it is truly a battle that had me the closest to death since I fought Rhea.” That name sinks the mood in the room as everyone sits back.

“Was it truly so powerful?” Sakura asks me and even her eyes are worried as she tries to keep eye contact with me, seeing if I am truly there.

“Extremely. I only get three tries before I die, truly.” I turn to look at father because I feel a rise in his aura.

“Father I am okay.” He stands up and moves into a chair closer to me.

“What happened once you won?”

“The monster’s chitin armor broke away, leaving behind Emelia.”

Lamden shakes his head. “I have never heard of an Archdemon with that kind of power.”

I shake my head. “The biggest issue I had with the beast was that it was toying with me. It seemed like it had the potential to become stronger.” I tremble at the fear that the creature brought me, and my hands shake. I grip the side of the table tightly to stop the shaking.

“Should we have one of them investigate the city?” Sakura asks.

Ezekiel strokes his chin. “It could bear some fruit, but you know how I feel about using any of them to help. I would rather them stay in that crypt they live in.”

“If it helps, I will accompany whichever one goes.” Father offers.

Ezekiel looks at him. “Is this your way of telling me you are back?”

Father nods." Yes, I am here to stay for a while. Use me how you wish, my friend."

“Are you sure you want to accompany them on this journey?” Ezekiel asks.

“I can handle it. I want to see what’s become of Bladesfall.”

Father says.

“Very well, Lamden, go to Azrayel Crypt. Summon one of them and go to Bladesfall to see what you can figure out.” Ezekiel claps and stands up.

“Okay, let’s go. All of you go get some rest. We have a lot to do.”

Sakura and I begin to shuffle out of the room and see Father slowly approach the door right behind us.

“Alva, before you go, Lady Tyvor stopped by to ask me where you were. Did she find you?”

“Yes, I figured you didn’t know she was here.” Ezekiel chuckles.

“That woman comes and goes where she pleases.” He shakes his head.

In a war, both sides would be wiped out, so Lady Tyvor and Ezekiel have a mutually beneficial relationship.

“Lamden, stay behind for a bit, would you?” Ezekiel asks.

Father looks back at me." I’ll meet you at Timothy’s bar for our meal later, okay?" I nod to him and go out the door, and once I am ready to teleport away, I hear Ezekiel speak up.

I walk up to the door, leaning against the wall, and peek inside. Eavesdropping has been a specialty of mine since my childhood because of my enhanced hearing.

“Lamden, tell me, am I doing the right thing?” Ezekiel sits in his chair, hand on his face, shoulders slumped.

Father looks at him. “I am not sure. Do what you feel is the best option for the people.”

“Of course, I understand that, but the kingdom is still barely recovering from the Civil War, even after all these years. Now we’re going into another war. I am not sure if I can hold the Kingdom together through another war.” Ezekiel says, his voice softer than usual. He looks older and more frail even from this distance.

Father walks over to him and kneels next to him. “Ezekiel, you saved this kingdom from your father’s machinations. You stopped every king that tried to overtake our home after the war with your father. For the mother’s sake, Ezekiel, you created the Four Fates, the most significant thing you have ever done for the Kingdom and the world.”

I see Ezekiel look up at Lamden. “Right, but no matter how much I do, problems keep arising,” Ezekiel says.

“Also, I told you to stop praying to that woman,” Ezekiel says to Father.

“I told you that you’ll have to arrest me if you want me to stop.” He slaps him on the shoulder.

“There is not a prison in this world that could hold you, friend.” Ezekiel covers his face back up with both hands.

“My advice, Ezekiel, is to keep fighting until you find a way, just like you’ve always done.” Lamden smiles.

“Thanks, my friend. Glad to have you back.”

With their conversation finished, my snooping is over and I teleport away.