“The sky is so big,” I say to Alva, who sits beside me on the mountain, our legs dangling over the chasm below.

“It is easy to get enraptured, be careful not to stare too long, or you will get lost.” She says, lying on her back and staring into the sky.

“Coming from you, that is some advice,” I say playfully.

She sits up and stares at me. “What did you want to talk about, Emelia?”

I sigh. “How do I grow stronger?”

Alva looks out onto the horizon. “You are strong, Emelia.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not. The princess just obliterated me two days ago in the field. And you did back at the stadium. Evidence proves I am trash!” I pound my fist into the mountain’s jagged surface.

Alva looks at me again. “Emelia Victoria has been fighting since she was ten years old. She has twelve years of experience of fighting under her belt. Some of the best fighters in the entire world trained her.”

I stand up and walk away so I can pace and pick up the pieces of my puzzled mind and piece it back together.

“What about the stadium?” I ask her.

“During the stadium attack, everyone experienced surprise. Even Sakura and I couldn’t get that situation under control,” Alva says while standing up and brushing off her clothes. Even Sakura and I could not get that situation under control.

“Maybe, but then what about?” My words catch in my throat, sticky and unmoving. It’s like I swallowed a tub of tree bark syrup.

“No, Bladesfall was an absolute disaster that few could have stopped,” Alva says grazing me over with her highly tuned eyes that judge your very soul.

My eyes drop from the heavy stare for a moment to resolve myself, then look back up at her.

“Could you have stopped them?” I ask her, still trying to keep eye contact.

Alva stares into mine, matching my gaze with no hesitation. Her eyes are hard and focused all the time; they never waver, but if you look long enough, you can see something more behind them.

“Genuinely, I am not sure. Oto died almost a millennium ago, and very few still know exactly what he is capable of.”

Hearing Alva, one of the strongest in the world, say she doesn’t know if she could win is not as motivating as I was hoping this conversation would go.

“That woman in blue is another situation entirely. She is on the same level as Lamden in terms of raw magic power that seem to have no end.” Alva puts a hand to her chin and looks up to the sky again.

“If there was no one around to get hurt and cities that could be destroyed, then I might choose to engage in a fight with one of them. I doubt even I could take both on at once, but I believe I could hold my own against the woman in blue that I am confident about. Oto is too much of a mystery to know for certain.” She says and looks at me and smiles slightly.

“What about me? Could I hold my own against them?” I ask her.

She walks up to me and holds out a hand. “May I place a hand on your chest?” Alva asks.

I nod. “Uh, sure. Go ahead.”

Alva places her hand on my chest just below my neck. I feel a bit of her magic enter me as my body absorbs it and the magic’s warm tendrils wrap around my metacore. Alva closes her eyes and we sit in silence for a few passing moments as her magic searches my metacore. Then she nods several times, then backs away and smiles at me.

“You have potential, Emelia, just like Victoria said. Listen to Victoria. She is brash, but knows potential when she sees it.” Alva says with confidence.

“She has trained grown men to become hardy soldiers when she was just sixteen. She knows how to mold potential into something that will shine. That is a guarantee.” Alva smiles warmly.

“Her? I know she’s strong, but is she that good?” Without hesitation, Alva nods.

“Emelia, if anyone in this world could surpass me, it is Victoria,” Alva says, her blood-red eyes telling me how truthful she is.

“Really? She is that strong?” I remember when she bit that Deus on the neck and never stopped to realize how brave that was. Alva cuts off my thoughts by placing a hand on my shoulder.

“You just need training, and I promise all of us will help you grow. Now let us get back to town and speak with Venus and the crew. We need to discuss the status of that army marching towards us from the mountain’s west side.” She slaps my shoulder and teleports us back to town.

Stolen novel; please report.

A few hours after the meeting about the army, I am now at the field in town, running some drills Lucy taught me. I sprint in short bursts up and down the field, then I shoot a few wind blasts at some dummies I set up. With a quick spin attack, I kick the head off one of them and hear clapping behind me. I turn to see a man I have never seen before who is the source of the clapping.

The man is tall and has a toned build to him. He wears a red cloak with silver embroidery etched onto it. He has long, dirt-colored hair that goes down to his back. With nice white teeth, he smiles, causing his beautiful hazel-colored eyes to shine, but his pupils are not normal. They’re just Xs he waves me over to him.

“Who are you?” I ask immediately, getting an evil vibe from him.

“I am Jace. That is all I will divulge unless you come with me.” He smiles.

“Are you with the Embers?” I ask, my fists clenching.

“Yes,” he says, with no hesitation.

“What’s stopping me from calling for help?” I wouldn’t say I like how he is here and standing where everyone can see him.

“I am not here; I am just a projection I have put before your eyes.”

“Shit, you’re a Memory illusionist.” Not good.

“Yes, now please come with me so we can talk.” He turns and walks to the far end of town.

Looking around to see if anyone is watching, I shrug and follow the man. We walk toward the farthest end of the town. We are a few meters outside the town now, and then he stops and looks at me.

“In precisely four minutes, Zara and his cronies will descend upon this town. Along with two of our strongest soldiers.” The man says, staring at me with a calm gaze.

I reel and take a few steps back.”What I have to tell everyone." Before I can run, an invisible barrier surrounds me, keeping me in place.

“Please, I must finish this. You will have time to warn your friends. I give you my word.” He says, his eyes glowing with his light brown magic.

“How can I trust your word?” I ask him, trying to hide my racing heart.

“You can. I am not an enemy.” The man says I can feel the genuine feelings coming through his aura.

“Fine,” I say and walk to the edge of the barrier and cross my arms, trying to hide their shaking. As I cross my arms, I try to hide their shaking while resisting the urge to collapse into a heap of panicked and frayed nerves.

Taking a deep breath, he says, “When they arrive, things will collapse quickly.”

I cover my mouth to stop the scream.”Bestial Wolves! How many?“ How many?” I ask him, feeling my heartbeat in my throat, manually controlling my breathing as the thought of one of those otherworldly beats coming here overwhelms me!

“Ten,” he says flatly.

“No.” I collapse to my knees, arms wrapped around my body, not hiding my uncontrollable shaking.

Two of them attacked Bladesfall ten years ago, killing thousands of people. I can still see those hollow sockets with tiny red dots in them and the ten tendrils it has instead of a tail. That foul-smelling rotten gray mist they let off singed my nose hairs. What terrifies me the most is the absolute power they showed. It was not of this world. Luckily, Janet was there and could handle them, or the city would have suffered more damage than it did during her fight with them.

The man walks before me and bends down to look me in the eye. “The wolves are a tremendous problem for your friends, but you have one in your group who can take them.”

I look up at the man, surprised at how kind his eyes are. “Who?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “They will handle it. I promise you that when they see the monsters arrive, they will spring into action. You have a smart bunch with you. What I am here to tell you, Emelia, is that you must stop the two soldiers. Team up with the princess and defeat them.” He smiles at me.

“I am the weakest here. I can’t beat anyone.” All the last two months passed me by and brought the horror back to the forefront of my mind.

“You are stronger than you think. Janet and Lucy taught you better than you give them credit for.”

My eyes lock onto his, and I feel scared as this man mentions their names so casually.

“Who are you? How do you know Janet and Lucy?” He shakes his head again and stands up.

“It’s not important. You must find your strength soon because the two soldiers are powerful and will kill you quickly unless you figure out how not to be fearful of them.” He says, pushing himself to his feet.

I stand up alongside the man. “Why warn me? If you are with the embers, why tell me this?” I ask the man.

“I am a lower member of the Embers, yes, but I do not work for them. Trust me, I have your best intentions at heart.” He smiles and waves his hand, and my barrier drops.

“Now, there are two minutes left. Warn your friends.” Then the man disappears. The barrier goes with him.

Without a thought, I shoot up into the air and use the wind to fly towards Venus’s home.

The city still stands as I reach it again. I land directly in front of Venus’ house, kicking up dirt, trying to stop myself. I scramble inside and see the entire group all discussing and laughing.

“They’re here!” I scream and all of them jump up and look at me.

“Who is Emelia?” Venus locks eyes with me.

“Zara and he Has Bestial Wolves with him and a small army.

Alva and Venus lock eyes. “Men get ready to.” An explosion rocks the mountainside. Then the screams come and all of us run outside.

The sight becomes unbearable as the enemies scatter bodies across the mountainside, chasing down Slyphans one by one.

Above the town floats Zara with his grey skin, red suit and bow tie, and top hat set a strange picture. But the man reeks of malice and power. He gives off such a strong odor of blood it’s like the air is heavy with iron.

“Zara!” Screams Venus as she flies up to meet the creature in the air.

The beast cackles as its featureless face opens up with just a mouth of sharp teeth. His otherworldly voice is faint, but it rings inside your head.

“Dear sweet Venus, oh look at how lovely you are!” He claps.

“You look as delectable as you did that day we first met. Except you’ve matured like a fine vintage.” Zara hugs himself.

“My Oh my, you are going to be so sweet when I devour you. I’ll savor your…” Before Zara can finish, Venus sends him flying halfway across the mountain.

She looks down at us. “Save my people.”

Then she shoots off after Zara.

“You heard her save the citizens’ lethal force authorized.” Alva then teleports off.

Rene looks at me. “Okay, Emmy, you stay with Victoria and get to the south side of the city, then head east. Levi and I will go to cover the North side of town and the west side.” She pulls out her dual daggers.

Victoria lays a hand on my shoulder. “Alright, Shroud, stay close and follow my orders, understood?”

I look at her and nod. “Yes, mam.” She smiles.

“Good, let’s get going.”