Inside an endless, indescribable space, a tiny flame of golden color flickered, barely holding onto life.

Aurora’s eyes opened in a jolt, the image of the small, vulnerable flame still present before her inner eye. Something burned inside her chest where her heart should be. She could feel it, could feel the tiny golden flame as though it had always been there. It threatened to fade.

The world around was blurry, but the scent of ash, blood and burned flesh hung in the air, pungent enough to make her nauseous.

She felt incredibly weak, feeble even.

The blur of colors in front of her became sharper, letting her make out Arakiel through the curtains of her golden hair. He lay opposite of her, his eyes closed, face pale and drenched with sweat.

He was breathing, albeit shallowly.

The ground around her was thoroughly blackened as though a massive conflagration had devastated anything in its path.

She tried to recall, but her thoughts were scrambled, unable to string words into coherent sentences.

Aurora wanted to roll on her stomach, but her sense of direction was so scrambled that she rolled on her back instead and something there protested against this rough, unannounced treatment, at which point her mind seemingly recalled her to have sprouted wings.

She tried to use them as a means to stabilize her, but they, too, felt so weak and it actually hurt quite a bit, so she quickly stopped and rolled around two more times, making her grunt with exertion every single time.

The ground below her had turned pitch black, but now and then, a few remnant traces of golden flame held onto something that could fuel their momentary existence.

Under great strain, she rose to her knees and then somehow managed to let herself fall back a little so that she knelt upright on the ground first, but then had to lean forward to a hunched position right away, her elbows supporting her far too heavy upper body.

She felt drained, like all of her strength had been sapped from her, yet judging by Arakiel’s pale and sickly appearance, he did not fare much better.

And then she heard someone else – a young female voice – exerting herself and when she looked up, her gaze fell over burnt remnants of what she faintly recalled to be a golden four-pointed star.

Now, only scattered remnants remained and to her right, she saw a petite, naked girl with long silver hair scrambling to get onto her knees, a pair of delicate thrice-layered feathery wings growing straight out of her back.

Lone, dying flames of silver had been scattered around her.

A pale, blonde man lay next to her, his body appearing almost withered, the skin cracked in some parts.

Aurora tried to speak, but her throat was parched and nothing but a pitiful wheeze escaped, but it was enough to make the silver-haired girl look towards her.

Around her neck, a thin band of silver glistened. Her eyes lacked focus, but she tried to signal something along the lines of her having taken notice of Aurora.

But then, a new sound joined in, one that caused a shiver to run down her spine and wings. Somewhere, it sounded as though something had been set ablaze.

Behind the argent, a small silver fire had reached one of the blankets covering the furniture that had been in the background – a flame that now eagerly partook of the fabric offered – fabric that went up in smoke and flame. Judging by the way the silver-haired girl’s eyes widened, something similar happened behind Aurora as well.

Fright jolting through her, she crawled over towards Arakiel who seemed alive, but weakened. Something had sapped his energy even worse than hers and when her body covered his face with shadow, he slowly opened one eyelid revealing an amber eye that lacked focus beneath. It twitched as though it was looking for something.

“Weak…” Aurora heard the other girl whisper in a hoarse voice. “Why… weak?”

Aurora’s muscles gave out and she collapsed onto him, the flame inside her about to extinguish and she somehow knew that if it was snuffed out, she’d die.

And then, a clear, concise and especially melodious female voice resounded throughout the room. “Oh, you are still alive.”

Aurora’s vision turned blurry, everything starting to lose its focus. All returned to a mishmash of colors.

Below her, Arakiel’s chest raise and fell. He was warm, but she no longer had the strength to reach out for him.

Something bright-yellow entered her vision. Someone was approaching, but she couldn’t make out who or what.

“Now, I guess it would be a bit impolite if I just leave you here to burn along this hideout.” The voice went on and by now, the yellow was so close it nearly blinded Aurora’s fading sight.

“Hmm, curious.” The female voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It made Aurora’s head hurt, if she still had the capacity to feel pain.

Everything seemed so distant now.

“You owe me a favor, Arakiel.” the voice spoke and chuckled mischievously, whistling a merry tune. “Seems as though the champion is meant to kill the chosen after all.”

“Hey, golden one.” the voice addressed her and Aurora ever-so-slightly managed to tilt her head, but the yellow light in front of her was too bright.

“You love Arakiel, don’t you?”

With her very last remaining strength, Aurora attempted a nod – whether it worked or not, she couldn’t tell.

“Then surely you don’t mind if I sacrifice you for him, do you? He’s dying, you’re dying… and I wanna see his face when another one of his pets sacrifices herself for him.”

“Shem…!” A male voice croaked feebly beneath Aurora. “Dare… not.”

“Ooh, you’re awake. Good news!” The voice that had to belong to Shemyaza went on. “The covenant worked – for me!”

She chuckled and added. “Not so much for you I’m afraid. That’s the bad news.”

“Touch… her.”

“You wanna touch her? Sweet… but I’d rather not witness anymore sex for the time being. It’s ugly you know, doesn’t feel great at all.”

“Do… not… touch…” Arakiel wheezed and then coughed bitterly, his body arching under great strain while Aurora’s flame fizzled out.

She was fading.

“Fine,” the voice returned sullenly, sounding almost insulted. “Die then with your little golden one! Good riddance!”

The light left her eyes, both the yellow and everything else.

“Aurora…”

Her mouth opened to form the words ‘Arakiel’, but no sound escaped.

Soon, very soon – it’d be over.

Darkness closed in.

In the distance, she heard another voice.

“And you Ezekiel, I should cut your dick off, but it’s more appropriate if it burns away with the rest of your rotten self! Selene ast Rhea I will take with me, though. I’ve always wanted to get back at Miss Lunaria the bitch and I’m sure she’ll be delighted when I have her daughter perform tricks for my pleasure.”

“Kill… you…!” A weak voice croaked and then another voice yelled. It held a little more strength, but not a lot.

“Master, help me!” It spoke first and then a little later. “No, unhand me! Let me go you crazy… No!”

The voice turned shrill and the weaker voice tried to sound threatening, but it wasn’t. “Shem you… leave…Mine!”

“Oh stop struggling…!”

“Master!”

“Sel...ne!”

“Okay this is quite enough!”

“Ow!”

“More of this if you don’t behave!”

“You… you hit me!?”

“I’m going to…”

“He never hit me unless I…”

Aurora thought that she heard voices arguing but had all grown far, far too distant at this point. A wisp remained of her life and soon, it’d be snuffed out as well.

She felt too feeble for regret, even.

Just a while ago, she had been at the height of her life, burning ablaze with emotions, literally and figuratively.

And now…

Nothing.

But at least she had become Arakiel’s dawn once.

Alas, it seemed to be a singular event…

She wanted to say that she was content, but she wasn’t.

Aurora did not want to die, did not wish to die.

She wanted to enjoy more emotions, wanted to experience more of what life had to offer. Wanted to eat honey tarts, drink Selenyean nectar, eat emerald beef and play more music for herself and for Arakiel.

There were so many things she still wanted to do…

Why did it need to end now?

For some reason, Aurora thought to of elder sister once again, the sister she had never gotten to know.

She was no longer lonely… so why would she… how did she…?

Thoughts were hard to form, coherent strings of words even more.

She lacked the strength for both.

Nothing but a glimmer remained.

A spark came from somewhere and nowhere, igniting the glimmer.

And where one had led the way, tiny motes followed – dying embers rushing to feed the fading flame, fueling it anew.

Aurora opened her eyes and felt Arakiel’s face right in front of hers, their lips touching while his eyes looked straight into hers.

He fed her traces of golden flame, flame that rushed to her chest in order to fuel the flame of her life, her very soul.

No, that wasn’t true. She drained the flame from him, for it was hers to give and take.

There was a faint golden sheen around his amber irises that grew paler and weaker by the second which made her gasp and pull away. There, she saw strands of saliva connecting from his lips to hers, but that wasn’t quite what drew her attention – it was the thin band of flickering golden flame that did.

Inside her, the flame demanded more if it was to grant her wish and so, with a heavy heart, she began to press her lips onto his once more, drawing more and more of her flame out of him.

The fire in her chest greedily collected everything it was offered and when it had grown to a healthy size, it began to spread all throughout her body along her veins and where it went, it burned away her fatigue, her weakness and her feebleness.

From one moment to another, Aurora regained full control of her senses and she jolted up, looking around in order to get her bearings.

Over there, she saw Shemyaza ablaze in a yellow flame with a heavy orange tinge. The woman had just backhanded Selene so hard that she fell over, right on top of a withered Ezekiel whose amethyst irises gleamed with a silver sheen, almost like Arakiel’s had.

Above them, smoke had begun to gather while gold and silver flames began to consume the room around them at an alarming rate.

“Stop that!” Aurora shouted, causing Shemyaza to swirl around, her yellow-orange eyes to widen in surprise while her head showed a thin hairline of a similarly colored hair. Not a trace of her former, dark-auburn hair remained, and Aurora recalled it to have been quite long.

Still, this woman had to be Shemyaza, but she had undergone a rather striking transformation, almost like she took on aspects of the man she had killed. Her curves were much softer and less pronounced and her formerly athletic body had softened notably, her skin having regained a flawless fair complexion. She did not grow any wings, but these flames that now surrounded her like a fiery aura had belonged to the seraphim she killed.

“How sweet… you found out,” the woman fluted with a bright smile, lightly tilting her head while shrugging exaggeratedly. “What will you do stop me, oh little golden one?”

It was a good question, for Aurora had no idea what to do with her flames, nor had she any intention of fighting. So instead, she turned towards Selene who glared at Shemyaza with a mixture of fear and hate.

“Draw your flame from your champion, Selene! It’ll reinvigorate you!”

The silver-eyed girl looked at her, eyes widening in surprise. She mustn’t have noticed.

“Oh you little naughty girl!” Shemyaza exclaimed and chuckled as her eyes widened alongside her lips, making her appear rather unhinged.

Aurora blinked and then cried out in fear when the woman’s face was suddenly right in front of hers. She had blinked over to her and then let out a hearty laugh, causing Aurora to stumble back.

“Oh you little sweet child!” She claimed and laughed. “Stick to spreading those juicy legs of yours – morsels like you are meant to be fought over, not do the fighting.”

Aurora tripped and fell down as her wings fluttered in vain. She crashed onto the floor with a dull thump and while that hurt too, her pride had been hurt even more.

A little yelp of pain left her lips involuntarily.

“Cute,” Shemyaza commented yet Aurora found no flatter in it. “I think I’ll keep you after all.”

Aurora’s heart skipped a beat at first, and then several when the woman approached her, a thin and playful smile on her lips. Her eyes sought to feast on Aurora whose wings immediately preserved what little remained of her dignity, which wasn’t much.

But then, she suddenly felt her own golden flame responding to a call, an order. Inside, her flame began to exit her body through every opening it could find, be it her mouth, her nose or even her very skin. With it, her own previously attained vigor waned just like it had waxed, but when she realized where her fire converged, she felt another kind of warmth growing inside her.

Her golden flame rushed right towards Arakiel, where they rapidly converged in order to enter his body and as it begun to burn in soft fiery flames, her champion rose with renewed vigor, his body gaining color and strength while her own lost it.

Shemyaza stopped as soon as she noticed the occurrance and turned around, whistling first and then stating. “Oh. So it worked kind of, I guess?”

Over there, Arakiel was getting up while the golden aura vanished inside him.

Far further in the back, Selene had begun to kiss and hold Ezekiel and it seemed only a matter of time before he, too, would arise like Arakiel. If the silver fire hadn’t claimed him prior to that.

It was a real conflagration at this point and the amount of smoke had begun to press it down into the room and if Aurora still had strength, she’d try to raise awareness.

Alas, her champion had taken a bit too much, leaving her body too weak and her limbs too jelly to do anything.

“Shemyaza,” Arakiel growled and when his amber eyes snapped onto her, they narrowed notably. “I suggest we take our differences outside unless we all want to suffocate.”

“I always liked you for being sensible,” Shemyaza returned with no hostility remaining in her voice. “Let’s do that, then.”

A brief moment of surprise hushed across Arakiel’s face, but then he hurried over towards Aurora and gently picked her up, asking. “Are you unharmed? Are you well?”

“Just… weak…” She managed to mutter, which she was kind of proud of. It just felt so good to be close to him, to be near him. It gave her powers she shouldn’t have – at least she liked to imagine.

“We’ll go over all of this later. I’ll be honest, I swear.” He promised and she gave him a feeble noise of affirmation. “M-hm.”

He then hurried over towards Ezekiel while ensuring he kept Shemyaza in his field of view. The woman, though, seemed utterly relaxed and unfazed, playfully prancing over towards what should be the exit out of the room that would very, very soon turn into a real deathtrap.

Somewhere behind her, something had just collapsed.

“He’s not waking up!” Selene cried out frantically as they approached. She was ablaze in silver flames while the man beneath her looked utterly drained. “What must I do!?”

“You can’t do anything,” Arakiel responded in a relatively calm voice while he tightened his grip around Aurora who tried to keep her wings from being in the way, which wasn’t the easiest.

“Ezekiel you dingus. How long are you gonna keep your wife in suspense!?” Arakiel shouted, causing the blonde-haired man to suddenly draw in lots of silver flame and with it, his body restored in a matter of moments.

There was something awesome about the way the flesh knit and the color returned.

“Idiot!” Ezekiel called out in an irritated manner as he jolted up. “I was trying to get the drop on Shem!”

“You knew!?” The argent gasped in disbelief. “She hit me! Multiple times! She talked about…”

“I didn’t then.” Ezekiel interrupted, adding. “And I know what she said!”

“So do something about it!” Selene complained, adding further insult to injury, by repeating her earlier complaints. “She insulted me! Hit me! Talked about…”

She didn’t manage to finish as her body went limp, right into Ezekiel’s arms who picked her up with great care. Selene’s face once again portrayed a wide array of emotions, the most striking one surprise, but she could no longer voice her concerns.

The blonde man let out a relieved sigh, noting. “Damn, even if this is everything that remains… this might be the best thing yet.”

“Huh?”

“A Mute Selene Button – on demand, too.” Ezekiel returned with a chuckle. “She’s sweet n’ all but damn she’s spoiled rotten at times.”

“There’s gags you know… actually scratch that. We gotta get out of here!” Arakiel urged and the two began to move, each champion holding their respective seraphim.

“Aye we do… and then we’ll spank Shem’s ass and shove a plug up her bottom. She deserves it!” Ezekiel noted darkly, with Arakiel denying.

“No, we gotta find out what in Limbus’ name happened. I feel weak, much weaker than before!”

“I can’t blink,” Ezekiel then suddenly noted with worry in his voice, pausing. “Damn… it was the one thing I was proud of as Wanderer!”

“Something went absolutely wrong here… and only Shem knows!”

The two hurried over towards the only remaining door outside and Aurora half-expected it to be a trap or to fall shut at any moment, yet that was not the case.

Instead, it led into a relatively small stairwell that only went upstairs. The beige walls looked ancient, most of the color having come off in peels. Beneath, large holes spoke of a moved past.

With a loud bang, Arakiel slammed the heavy metal door shut behind them.

A gust of cool air blew from upstairs, rustling past Aurora’s naked body and wings. It felt good, but it also reinforced her embarrassment as things slowly turned to a more tolerable state.

And then, she felt a bit of fire returning and with it, she could breathe a lot easier.

“My love,” she whispered, lying. “Please find me something… I’m cold.”

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“You’re burning up in my hands… but I’ll find you a dress or something posthaste. Can’t say I’m used to walking around in the nude.”

“A novel experience, this.” Ezekiel commented when a voice from upstairs suddenly resounded, slightly echoing off of the stairwell’s walls.

“Come upstairs already you idiots. I wanna get this over with!” Shemyaza yelled and beckoned. She sounded irritated, but her voice held no real hostility.

“She has a point,” Ezekiel agreed and then lowered his voice. “Listen, Arakiel. Not sure how strong Shem is… but I’m also really bloody weak right now. Like, level one weak.”

“You too? Damn it… did she plan this!?” Arakiel returned, adding. “I can’t teleport anymore – it’s like I’m no longer a Traveler.”

“Dunno, just saying… and I can’t believe I say this: we gotta talk his out… She seems strong, much stronger than we are.”

Arakiel nodded when Shemyaza suddenly interrupted.

“I can hear you, boys. Come on up and get ready for your spanking!” Shemyaza beckoned again, following up with a hearty, mocking laughter.

“Oh perfect, bloody perfect.” Ezekiel noted and sighed. “Anyway… I always hated you, Arakiel. But your taste in women is great.”

“And I can’t believe you’re actually not so terrible-looking. Also, screw you.” Arakiel returned and when the two men were done bickering, they headed upstairs and Aurora didn’t know what to do.

For now, it seemed as though she was doomed to inaction… which was probably how it should be, lest she embarrass herself again.

She was no fighter… and yet the flame inside her might suggest otherwise. She had never felt so strong in that brief moment down there.

Two levels further up, a double door led into a sparsely lit more-or-less empty hall in whose middle Shemyaza waited and before they even entered, she tossed them four sets of clothing out of nowhere. “I’m tired of seeing your flaccid, dangly bits, boys. The dresses cost extra, though.”

“And what kind of payment do you demand?” Arakiel returned as he gently let down Aurora who immediately dashed for one of the dresses. The plainest cut imaginable and grey in color. It was almost worse than being nude… almost.

But as soon as she began to shuffle on the dress, a massive problem became apparent… her wings wouldn’t fit – not even remotely. It was just stuck.

Meanwhile, Selene had another problem altogether, having regained enough energy to speak. “I can’t wear this. This looks awful – and the fabric isn’t even anything resembling the lowest quality silk. It’s practically cardboard… it’ll blemish my skin!”

“It’s all we’ve got,” Ezekiel returned as he put on the plain shirt and the pair of linen pants that made him appear like something less than a commoner.

“No, I refuse to.” Selene went on, once again talking herself into a storm. “You are to provide me with suitable attire. This is not suitable. A single color, tattered linen, two large straps and don’t even get me started on the sleeves. Sleeves – on a dress! I’d rather be naked than wearing this!”

“You are naked.” Ezekiel pointed out flatly.

“On second thought, Ezekiel – you can keep her!” Shemyaza shouted towards them mockingly. “You’re an awful slaver.”

“How uncouth!” Selene objected and harrumphed. At the same time, she deliberately kicked the linen dress away and the more Aurora looked at it, the more she felt inclined to agree.

This piece of clothing was kind of an insult to an aurea or even an argent… but this wasn’t a normal situation.

“Guess you’ll need dresses that leave your back exposed from now on, huh?” Arakiel joked and then apologized quietly. “Sorry, we’re kind of in a bind here.”

With the dress being no option, Aurora had to rely on her wings once again. She couldn’t quite use them willingly yet, but her subconscious desire to preserve some dignity probably helped.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel had once again turned to his seraphim, his face relaying a certain kind of being lost. But then it hardened a little, a trend his voice took on. “Selene… I’ve been very tolerant with you today… but if you don’t shut up soon, I will need to reconsider your position.”

The silver-eyed, silver-haired girl that used her own wings just like Aurora stared at Ezekiel and then responded in a flat, arrogant or perhaps sullen tone. “I don’t feel like your concubine right now, Master… so I’m taking some liberties.”

“You do realize we’re in a life or death situation here, do you?” Ezekiel returned, rolling his eyes. “Why are you like this!?”

“You trained me to let you handle everything, Master. I’m merely obeying you by being your ornament.” Selene pointed out matter-of-factly.

The girl’s behavior kept puzzling Aurora. It’s like she couldn’t decide what she was.

“My condolences, Ezekiel.”

“Oh shut up Arakiel.”

“Boys… I’m getting impatient.” Shemyaza warned from inside the room at some point. By now, the two men had hastily dressed and their seraphim had either given up or just straight up refused the choice they had been given. Granted, them having grown wings all of a sudden certainly complicated the possible range of attire.

Alas, the situation grew tense more or less immediately as Arakiel and Ezekiel approached Shemyaza, with Aurora and Selene remaining in the back, observing.

Aurora wasn’t yet sure how she should feel… but so far, the day had certainly offered her the widest possible palette of emotions she had ever felt – and would hopefully feel for a while.

Nearly dying once was quite enough for a while, yet a part of her mind was already wondering how to best bring it to song. It’d make for an excellent performance.

The two men stopped in some distance to Shemyaza, who was still ablaze in yellow-orange flames.

“Now then,” the woman spoke up as she gestured a shrug. “So how do we do this now that we have some time before this entire building collapses?”

The entire building would what?

Suddenly, Aurora didn’t feel so safe anymore, her attention returning fully to the room in front. There were a few wooden crates at the side, one of which had been opened. A few more metal objects had been pushed to the edge, but the oddly smooth grey ground and the four bright light crystals made it almost seem like an arena of some kind. Or an emptied storage room.

“How about you tell us what exactly happened? Why did you kill Helios?” Arakiel began, some of his hostility having ceased.

This little pause had given all of their tempers a bit of time to cool down, apparently.

Still, Aurora could not really feel any hostility from Shemyaza, but she found her impossibly hard to read. The woman’s mood seemed to swing in a wide arc.

“The covenant succeeded, I think.” Shemyaza noted as she spread her arms, letting some of her yellow flame burn a little higher. “I have become divine… as you can see.”

“You’ve become younger and prettier, aye… but divine?” Ezekiel offered doubt right away. “I’ve heard rumors of people on the Path of Gold… they’d have just killed us with a single thought and whisked our slaves away… which you did not.”

“Ezekiel, Ezekiel. Tsk. Tsk,” the woman began, lightly shaking her head. “We’ve been working together for years at this point… I couldn’t just kill you or leave you behind.”

“You would’ve left us to die, Shem – don’t deny it.” Arakiel accused and the woman shrugged.

“I’ve no obligation to you, Arakiel. Or to you, Ezekiel. You watched Helios abuse me and did nothing!”

“You realize we were stuck in the ritual that you devised, don’t you?” Arakiel pointed out.

“Maybe – that still doesn’t excuse it.” Shemyaza went on and put on a heartbroken face. “My virginity… taken by an uncouth ruffian. How will I ever face my promised husband!?”

“An uncouth ruffian you held prisoner for over a decade – and from what I recall, the orgy was the whole point with it forming a union!?” Arakiel returned and Aurora listened closely.

Had all of this been planned? It almost appeared like it.

“Why yes, but he still popped my cherry so forgive me if I’m a little irritated right now.” Shemyaza went on, sounding only half-angry. If anything, she seemed upset about something else entirely, but maybe Aurora’s feeling was off.

“You destroyed the ritual! Look at what happened!” Ezekiel accused and she shrugged, giving him a mocking grin.

“Dunno, worked for me.”

“Did it though!?” Ezekiel challenged, taking a step towards her. “I’m half inclined to believe you’re just bluffing right now.”

From one moment to another, Shemyaza’s outline blurred and she appeared behind Ezekiel, intending to strike at his groin, yet the blonde-haired man had somehow anticipated it, evading to the side while blocking Shem’s kick.

“Damn, you’re slow.” Arakiel commented and when Shemyaza spun around in an impressive motion in order to kick high, he evaded and blocked it as well.

Shemyaza landed on all fours and quickly blinked a bit away, her flame suddenly flaring a little higher as she slowly got up. “I’m being merciful with you two because I do kind of like you.”

“You hate my guts, Shem,” Ezekiel pointed out.

“It’s easy to hate you, Ezekiel.” Arakiel felt the need to comment.

“I give that right back to you, Arakiel.”

Was this how Arakiel was really, Aurora wondered. He seemed to enjoy bickering with Ezekiel. Were these two friends, perhaps? Bros, as some novels liked to write?

“Will you SHUT UP!?” Shemyaza suddenly yelled, only to cover her mouth, eyes a little apologetic. “Sorry, habit of mine.”

“Shem… you don’t want to fight else we wouldn’t talk all this time. So let’s just get this over with… what happened really?” Arakiel began again.

“Master… may I remind you that you need to punish this woman to restore my honor?” Selene then cut in.

Ezekiel straight up ignored her, causing her to puff her cheeks as she glared daggers at him.

“You should really be quiet and listen…” Aurora whispered and when Selene looked over towards her, she asked.

“Which royal family do you belong to… aurea?” The silver-eyed woman demanded to know, her tone having turned regal.

“I… don’t know?” Aurora returned.

“Then you should address me as ‘Your Highness’, regardless of…” Selene began to explain but Aurora stopped listening midway as the talks between the three planeswalkers proceeded.

“I told you, I don’t know,” Shemyaza returned. “The solution was to form a union between you and a newly awakened seraphim. An immortal’s soul only manifests when they become adults – a protection measure to blend in with mortals I think. The covenant was to swap powers, so to speak. We take the power of the immortals and they get our classes, which will immediately dissolve as immortals cannot interact with the Class System.”

She held out her hands. “It worked for me… I guess the difference is that I killed my seraphim… so that might be the difference.”

“Shem… you don’t understand. The union part worked… but the result is pathetic!” Arakiel laid out, stretching a particular point that caused Aurora to feel down. “I’m not a Traveler anymore, but now I can draw in Aurora’s flame to do… what exactly? I’m a hundred times weaker than I used to be and I wasn’t a very strong person to begin with.”

He paused briefly and then hammered the point home, breaking Aurora’s pride in the process. “We were meant to attain divinity, Shem – not some fancy looking flames.”

“My husband made the Path of Gold with the help of the four Seraphim – it is logical to think that taking their power would be a shortcut to it… wouldn’t it?” This time, Shemyaza sounded a little unsure, the question betraying her ignorance.

Aurora had trouble focusing, a part of her mind mulling over his statements.

“Shem… I deeply regret that I spent a decade working for you,” Arakiel voice dejectedly, lightly shaking his head. In fact, it seemed as though he hadn’t yet fully processed what had happened. “My mother was right… I am a fool.”

He turned towards Aurora, shoulders slumped and suddenly, he looked very tired, suggesting. “Come, let’s go home…”

When she didn’t move right away, his gaze hardened and he spoke harsher. “That’s an order. Come now!”

“Oi, you’re just gonna leave?” Ezekiel asked surprised, but Aurora kind of forgot about him.

Instead, she slowly approached her master… her champion. She felt a little silly, too – but even more, she felt hurt.

Arakiel had called her flame weak, pathetic even. Said that he regretted it.

She half expected him to thoroughly alter his behavior towards her, but he gently took hold of her hand and then lightly, tenderly pulled her along while he chuckled bitterly beneath his breath. “I wasted enough time on fairy tales – guess I gotta become a proper planeswalker after all.”

“Oi, Arakiel!” Ezekiel yelled all of a sudden. “You gotta help me escape from Kalanaar! I can’t blink anymore… how will I…?”

Arakiel ignored him and just walked past them, after which Ezekiel called him names before turning towards Shemyaza, whom he asked a similar thing.

If the woman responded, Aurora wasn’t there to hear it any longer as she followed after him, lost in thoughts for but a while.

She still felt weak and her wings were growing tired from needing to constantly shield her nude body and at some point, when they had crossed a high number of different rooms, most of which had been more or less empty, she stopped in what might have once been a small street-side shop. It had a relatively high, wooden counter behind which lots of more or less empty rows of shelves lay. Now and then, a lone, cracked ceramic vessel remained. Lots of abandoned and half-covered tables and chairs stood opposite of it and most of the room had been covered in a low layer of dust.

Heavy curtains held out most of the outside light, with only a very few golden-reddish rays entering. It had to be close to dusk by now.

Arakiel also paused when she stopped and turned around, his gaze downtrodden and not even her sight could lighten it.

“Arakiel…” Aurora began, needing to clarify a few things that’d drive her insane if not. She had to know.

“Yes?” He returned as he straightened his back a little, trying to overplay his deeply distressed state of mind.

“Do you hate me? I am an immortal… am I not?” Aurora queried in a low, careful voice. She felt terrible for asking the question in the first place and even more so now… but she had to know.

“Do we need to talk about it here… in unfriendly territory?” He evaded the question while holding her gaze.

“Yes, we need to.” She affirmed.

He let out a sigh, making it rather obvious he didn’t wish to.

“You owe me an explanation.”

For a brief moment, anger flashed across his face. “I owe you n…!” He stopped himself from saying it, but it was easy to imagine what he wanted to say. Instead, he took a deep breath and then answered in full. “A part of me hates that you are an immortal, Aurora… but I cannot bring myself to truly hate you. I just can’t. I desire you and I… I like it when you are happy and I can see that you are not… it’s just…”

He paused again, sighing yet again. Then, he dejectedly shook his head while he rung for composure. “It just kind of fell apart – all… and I ask myself. Would Mari be still alive if I had acted differently… and the answer is yes no matter how I look it at.”

His hands formed to fists and he ground his teeth, saying from behind tightened lips. “Sorry… I’m a bit beside myself right now… but I don’t want to…”

“I understand,” Aurora returned, feeling terrible for putting him through this. “We’ll talk later… then.”

“That would be best.”

And that was it. Nothing else could be said now.

Both quietly moved over towards the abandoned shop’s curtains that were blocking the view from outside. They peeked out from behind and became aware of a fundamental problem.

He looked like the lowest commoner imaginable while she was unmistakably an aurea. She was naked, he was dressed like a common worker, perhaps even a slave.

They’d be called out first, hunted second and even if the misunderstanding eventually cleared up, the damage to Arakiel’s reputation would be irreparable. He’d be the laughing stock of all of Kalanaar and beyond, his House and name forever tarnished.

“It’s funny,” he chuckled, sounding close to resigning. “A little portal would just take care of this problem… it’d be so easy. Locate the beacon, tear open the rift, walk through. And all of this would be over.”

“Instead, you are stuck with a pathetic, fancy flame… my flame.” Aurora found herself whispering while briefly pressing her fists against her chest, right where a small part of her flame waited for Arakiel to return the rest.

But then she realized that she had said it out loud and although she immediately covered her mouth, the statement had been made. No, it hadn’t been a statement, it had been an accusation.

He turned around and smiled a pained smile and his voice tried to sound apologetic, but it wasn’t. “I don’t know what to say… it’s just the truth.”

“So I’m pathetic?”

“From the view of someone powerful… yes.” He said cruelly, cutting her even deeper.

“You’re hurting me,” Aurora felt the need to say.

“And I’m hurt because I wasted more than ten years to end up at the literal bottom.” He returned venomously, his eyes gaining a glint of anger.

He held out his hands, looking them over with disgust. “Look at me… I might be able to wrestle a classless commoner, but even my little sister at the age of fourteen could beat me now… and her physical statline is a disaster!”

“And that’s my fault!?” Aurora accused, having raised her voice. “Did I disturb this stupid ritual of yours!? No, I did not! So why are you hurting me!?”

“I’m stating the truth!” He countered, but she wouldn’t have it.

“Then say it is weak or something, but not pathetic! That is my flame, Arakiel – the flame with which I healed you when you were about to die… don’t call it pathetic…!”

Tears had formed at the end and she began to cry, feeling mistreated.

“Hey, hey…! Don’t cry!” Arakiel said and was immediately at her side and when she initially wanted to push him away, he took even more of her flame and had her fall into his arms since her strength left her from one moment to another.

“Is this what you’ll do from now on? A ‘Mute Aurora Button’ when I’m not to your liking?” She asked weakly, feeling even more betrayed.

“What?”

“When I annoy you… will you just shut me up now? Like a doll?” She queried further.

“Huh?”

It is my flame… mine! Don’t take it away like that!” Aurora demanded.

“I’m borrowing it.” Arakiel answered, twisting the meaning.

“You called it pathetic. It doesn’t want to be with you.” She lied.

“What kind of nonsense is this? An immortal’s soul doesn’t have its own mind.” He went on to deny.

“Do you even realize?” She asked, changing the topic once more.

When no answer returned right away, she spelled it out.

“The power you have over me now… you can do whatever you want with me if you take my flame.”

His countenance didn’t change one bit. “I had complete control over you since the day I took you in, Aurora. I own you.” He pointed out calmly as if he didn’t understand the problem.

“You own my life… but not my very soul!” She objected and as she spoke, she realized just how all-encompassing this statement rang.

If he took all of her soul… she’d die – without being able to do anything against it.

“I’m a doll… you’ve turned me into a doll.” She accused him, tears streaming down her face in free fall.

“I did not.”

“You did, you can just take all my strength and do whatever you want with me – it’s like I’m on strings!”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“You just did!” Aurora yelled and felt incredibly hurt in saying it. “You liar!”

She tried to recall her soul and when she suddenly felt a trace of fire entering her body through a part where their skin met, he began to pull it back into him while saying. “Don’t do it, Aurora.”

She called upon her flame even harder and challenged him directly, crying out in anger. “Don’t do what!?”

A tug around the stream of golden fire began, with both sides beginning to vie for dominance.

Aurora didn’t even know why she was suddenly so agitated. Maybe it was her flame that roused her to such antics? Or maybe many little reasons all mixed into one.

Either way, she felt particularly rebellious right now and kept pulling her flame.

“Stop that, Aurora. I will forgive you anything but that.” He stated, warned… threatened.

“That I take control of what you think is pathetic!? That I reclaim what is mine!?” She shot back, pulling even harder and when she noticed that she was winning the battle, she hesitated whether she should go through with it.

But, in her mind, she had already made up her decision. It was her flame and he had no right to take it. Something told her it wasn’t that simple, but it made sense to her right now and so she retook what was hers and then shoved him away.

Aurora saw Arakiel wither away in real time, his skin growing deathly pale, tearing open as it became covered in cracks. He collapsed on the spot like a doll, strength having left all his limbs while his dark hair turned white and ghastly.

She cried out and took several steps back, nearly tripping in the process while her heart gave out for a short moment. She stumbled but the flame inside her body rushed out in order to stabilize her all by its own. Through it, she avoided falling over, but Aurora barely took note of it.

Instead, she repeatedly called out Arakiel’s name, yet no answer returned.

In fact, he was unmoving… just like a doll.

“Serves you right!” She exclaimed, overplaying her fear with anger that immediately vanished the moment she saw what had happened to him.

Her mind caught up right afterwards.

Aurora became very worried and afraid, but when she tried to hurry over to him, the door to the outside was suddenly opened and a tall man in refined clothing entered, immediately closing the door behind him.

Her heart skipped a beat while her entire body warned of danger, after which it began to race with increasing frequency. The tall, foreign man looked around and although it had darkened a little, he spotted her right away.

He was plain-looking, with short dark hair and a relatively burly frame that was concealed by a green buttoned vest over a white shirt which was partially drenched, the heat outside having taken its toll.

At first, the stranger’s eyes widened in surprise, but then his lips formed to a wicked smile and a low chuckle resounded.

“Stay away!” Aurora warned him as her flame began to rush out, engulfing her into a golden aura whose edges flickered like a flame. She didn’t recall doing so, but she was glad that it did.

“I thought I heard a cry,” the man noted with feigned worry as he began to loosen his belt. His voice then turned amused in a way that made a shiver run down her spine. “But I don’t think you need help. I, on the other hand…”

His gaze fell onto her neck and he halted momentarily. “An aurea?” The man asked as he slowly walked towards her, showing absolutely no heed to her warning.

“I’m warning you – don’t come any closer!” Aurora yelled, her heart having gone beyond just racing. It was attempting to fly.

“Or what… are you gonna hurl some pretty lights at me?” The stranger asked, mocked. His disgusting, sweaty lips formed to a scary scowl. “Or are you gonna use those little fingers to claw into me?”

Then, he burst into laughter. “I wouldn’t mind that at all, sweetie! I like ‘em lively!”

He didn’t take her serious at all, not even her fire intimidated him!

What… was he?

Her eyes briefly fell onto Arakiel, who remained unmoving. Shadows shrouded most of him and she wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing… so she had to do it by herself – and she could do it! She had read about frail girls becoming immortal conquerors, dozens of consorts at their side, each loving her more than the last. They had always needed to pass some sort of trial…

She looked him over as she tried to take heart, which worked a little at least. He might be burly and he might have a sword at his belt… but Shemyaza had also overcome the man that had overpowered her earlier.

She just had to wait for the right moment and then strike him.

The man’s eyes lit up ever more the closer he came and he began to lick his lips. “Mhm, such a rare treat you are. You must be a Caeleate, eh? I heard they’re pretty sought after… no wonder.”

He cleared his throat and began to display his admittedly scary physique, saying further. “A winged, naked aurea with such exotic hair and eyes… I’ll make sure to take you tenderly… showing you all the love that you must’ve missed by your owner.”

“Don’t you dare badmouth him!” She cried out.

The closer the man came, the more afraid she became while her eyes unwillingly looked over towards Arakiel again. Still, he did not move.

She couldn’t have killed him, could she?

No, that was...

“Or what? Will he come?” The man challenged and chuckled before his voice turned dark. “The fact that he hasn’t collected you yet suggests that he’s grown bored of you… lucky me!”

He wasn’t intimidated at all – and he looked very competent and assured. Surely he must…

Licking over his lips, the scary-looking man began to suddenly raise his voice, threatening. “Unless you want me to hurt you a little, you better bend over that piece of furniture there! Whores like you always need to be put in place first!”

Aurora trailed off and when Arakiel still didn’t move, she panicked and cried out. “STAY AWAY!”

She could only hope that Ezekiel or maybe Shemyaza heard her, but when the stranger suddenly blinked in front of her, she lost any and all hope.

The man raised his hand to strike her, and Aurora winced, covered her head cried out before breaking into a whimper. “S-stop! S-stay away!”

It all came crashing back – the confinement chamber, the screams of her fellow maidens-in-waiting, the abbess’s indifferent, cruel words, the handmaidens’ giggles.

And then, on top of it, even more oppressive thoughts became unearthed, things she should’ve forgotten long ago.

Marianka’s warnings flooded back into her mind and Aurora recalled… recalled what would happen now. It happened all the time, especially to runaways like her.

No, she didn’t want that!

“All bark and no bite, huh?” The man noted as though he had expected it. He didn’t even deem her worthy of a taunt anymore. “Fine, I’ll spare you some pain… if you obey me.”

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably and her mind threatened to shut down to somehow survive the upcoming humiliation.

Meanwhile, her flame retreated back into chest, for it had realized that her fighting spirit had been nothing but bravado.

She dared not look up, but when she heard his girdle’s metal fall onto the floor, she began to curl up even more, using her wings to try shield her from his sight.

“Aww, looks like you’re one of those sheltered types. A shame, you always piss yourself and that’s not really my kink.” The man went on casually, thoroughly disregarding her.

She didn’t even have it in her to speak anymore, terror having fully gripped her.

Aurora hadn't wanted to… didn’t want to…

Where was Arakiel?!

If she hadn’t…

Why had she been so stupid!?

“So here’s how this goes, little stray aurea. Either you bend over and let me ride you for a round or two, or I’ll beat you until you’ve become compliant and then I’ll have a few rounds on either side… so what’ll it be?”

This couldn’t be happening.

Too much, it was too much – why had she…

Her mind went in circles, thoroughly paralyzing her.

Why had she…

She began to weep.

* * *