It was impossible. It was almost as if they had detached themselves from the sphere.
Have you ever wished for anything in your life?
The poor wished for clothes. The rich wished for more. The scholars wished for knowledge. The chef wished for skill. The teacher wished for a promotion.
What is your wish?
Whatever it is, everyone has their deepest desires—their lust for change, their need for fulfilment.
High above the clouds of Zion, the Winter Paradise, the castle of the royal family buzzed with wishes. For at dawn, the Second Prince had vanished without a trace. No movements were detected in the halls. No intruder was found. Only the residue of a powerful grace lingered.
The Second Prince of Zion had been kidnapped.
"Take the chariots!!!" the queen mother screamed, her beauty consumed by dread. "Please find my child."That was her wish: a desperate prayer clinging to hope and rejecting reality.
The palace knights—Winter Angels—stormed through Zion's frosted streets, searching every shadow for the missing prince. That was their wish: strength, resolve, and the hope of returning the boy safely home.
But as one prince was lost… another was overlooked.
Chalybe Arthur Winter V, the Fourth Prince of Zion, hid in the corner of his chamber. The young prince wished for many things: for the stomping to stop, for his mother's cries to cease, for the crushing pressure in his head to vanish.
He grabbed his skull, trembling.
The noise was unbearable. The pressure was overwhelming. So he wished for the only thing his broken mind could form:
Let time stop.
"P-P-Please, stop," Chalybe whimpered, tears spilling down his face. "T-The noise, the pain, the pressure—stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP—"
The noise prevailed.
The pain surged.
And his wish… was granted.
As Chalybe slowly opened his eyes, time seemed to freeze.
. . .
"Open wide," the nurse said as he inspected Chalybe's mouth with a flashlight. The prince sat on the infirmary bed in casual wear, trying his best not to bite down.
In the next room, a female nurse wrapped thick bandages around Zeus' forearms. A long needle pumped a purple liquid into his pathway. He winced when she tightened the wrap, earning a giggle from her.
Further down, Fenrir was lifting a ten-ton dumbbell with his tail. Sweat matted his fur.
"Can I stop now?" he asked.
"No," the nurse replied instantly.
In another room, Izobel laughed with her nurse while a golden, viscous drug flowed into her pathway.
Meanwhile, Jacques was hiding behind a chair the moment he saw the size of the needle meant for him.
"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!!!"
His stutter vanished from sheer terror.
And in the final room, Caesar lay half-naked and bandaged on a hospital bed. A nurse hovered her glowing pink hands over his chest.
"Well, darling, you're healing faster than a squirrel in summertime out west," she said.
Caesar smiled. "What's the diagnosis?"
"Splendid," she answered warmly. "Your hearts are recovering quickly, your pathways are fine, and your soul is warm as Gerard soup. No injections today."
Caesar silently cheered.
"Uhmm, miss…"
"Please, no, no, no," she cut him off. "You'll be out there protecting the kingdom, so don't call me 'miss.' Call me Violante—the proud baby of Ebony."
"Violante," Caesar began, "have you ever seen a ghoul in Zion?"
She thought deeply, tapping her horn."Oh my… I haven't, dear."
"Do you think it's because of Melios?"
"Melios the Forbidden?" She nodded. "That ghoul scarred Zion too deeply. He had a future, and he chose war. He and his bastardly party."
Caesar blinked. "Party?"
Violante perked up. "Oh, darling, yes. According to 'stories,' Melios wasn't alone. He led a group so powerful they could destroy a continent in a week."
Caesar's eyes widened. "That's... fascinating."
"Fascinating, it is," Violante smirked. "And their names echoed throughout the realms. They named themselves...
"The Crusaders?" Zeus tilted his head.
"Yes, yes." The nurse said. "My mother said that they were powerful enough to take down an entire continent in a week with no army."
The nurse smiled. "I remembered when my daddy said that our first king, THE very first king of Zion, was among the group."
"No way." Chalybe stared at his nurse, shocked.
"Indeed," The nurse dropped his flashlight. "But not just the king, your great, great, great, great, great - whatever was among. They had some massive names, like Prometheus the Giant and the world shaker, not Titan, even Jormungandr, the first Iron king."
Chalybe unexpectedly grinned. "So I am indirectly a part of Melios' group, then?"
A chuckle escaped the nurse's mouth. "Even though there were some names that Zion refused to show, there was one that stood out the most. She was rumoured to be the very first samurai..."
"IZOBEL?!" Izobel said.
Her nurse counted her fingers, then looked back at her patient." Believe-it-or-not. Izobel-was-her-name. According-to-'stories'..."
The nurse counted her fingers again, her deep eye bags scanning her cold palm. "After-Melios-was-defeated-she-escaped-to-the-10th-new-world-and-became-the-first-ninja."
"That's so cool," Fenrir said.
"It was believed that some of the Crusaders tried to stop Melios' march while others joined him," the nurse spoke swiftly and elegantly. "But our first king, Arthur Winter, actively antagonised him and managed to secure the win from his former leader."
"But wait, wait, wait." Jacques struggled under the weight of his nurse as she tried to administer the drug to Jacques. "B-but Ms F-Fiah said that Z-Zion had always e-existed. S-so w-who was ruling Z-zion."
Jacques escaped from under the nurse, but she delivered a devastating kick to the shin, causing the young lad to drop to his knees. As the nurse advanced to him, Jacques suddenly held a short sword to deflect her strike.
"Honestly," the nurse groaned. "Nobody actually knows the history before the first king, and I can't really be fucking bothered."
Jacques smiled as he parried the nurse's next hit. She was obviously a Neptunian: blue skin, fish-like features, and needle-like claws.
"M-my b-brother C-Caesar w-wont like you."
The two attacked each other, parrying each other's strikes. As Jacques ran to the door, the nurse grabbed him by the foot, pulled him to her and stabbed her claw into his back.
Jacques screamed, the pain unbearable and stinging.
"See," the nurse whispered into his ear. "Not that fucking bad, right?"
"Oh, I almost forgot." Violante handed Caesar a letter. An invitation to... the Black Meadows Council.
Caesar was shocked and ecstatic.
"They expect to see you and your companions shortly, so you'd better giddy up and not keep those guys waiting." Violante nodded.
Caesar carefully wore his clothes, preventing his bandages from tearing. He reached the door and looked back at Violante.
"Do you think Zion is hiding something?"
Violante touched her small horn. "Hmmmm, maybe. After all, this world is just filled to the brim with mysteries."
Caesar smiled, but the paranormal occurred.
He was back at the Synagogue.
He didn't particularly hate the synagogue, but he didn't fancy the idea that it would pull him into the domain at random times.
Caesar inspected himself, as he still wore the large white gown with the gloydon armour. The only thing different was the crown on his head, black cloths with slaver frames.
He still saw the dimension stretch to infinity, the rows of chairs endless and alluring to sit on.
"Melios?"
Caesar carefully turned around to see one of his most favourite beings - Pandorica.
Her presence was still overwhelming to Ceaser, her existence powerful, but somehow gentle.
"Hey, Pandorica," Caesar said. "You look... beautiful today."
Pandorica remained a straight face, her lips slightly ajar. Her large cross behind her was fluctuating, and her white veil was changing to light blue with purple and indigo symbols.
Caesar noticed that the glass panels had changed again the last time he was in the expanse. One depicted a large tree with bold branches with a gloydon fruit at each end, A gargantuan city upside down with flames scalding the street, and a man with multiple cables emerging from his body, his skin metal and his soul, non-existent.
Pandorica made a broken sigh. "I...remember...yesterday...Melios."
Caesar's eyes widened. He was happy that Pandorica was able to use her words better, but the name of Melios was the kicker.
"Yes, good job," Caesar said. "You are doing a very good job."
Pandorica looked at Caesar in silence, her lips twisted in annoyance.
"Sorry," Caesar rubbed his knuckles together.
Pandorica struggled to speak again. "Yes...Melios...Bell...Traitor...3rd...Treasure man...Gurzil."
"Whoa, there, your omnipotent highness." Caesar tried to sound polite. The dimension shook violently, as Pandorica looked like she was in pain.
"Was it me?" Caesar asked.
"Throne...Engine...demigods...Gears...Big Mother...Paradox...Zolomon...Endymion."
Caesar rushed to Pandorica, dodging floating rubble and chair pieces. He wasn't sure what to do, but he felt like he did. An instinct that transcended everything he had felt before.
"Izobel...Jormungandr... the 5th heavens...Genesis...Elijah...Astrea." Pandorica fell to her knees.
The roof was torn apart as Caesar could see countless stars and celestial bodies colliding into one another.
"Courage, Honour, Loyalty, Justice," Caesar whispered.
He stepped on the ground and dashed forward at Pandorica, even though space seemed to stretch. He ran and ran, and Pandorica looked up at Caesar as he could almost see her eyes.
She stretched forth her hands, and Caesar did the same. A large star was coming into impact with Caesar, and he could feel the heat. He tried to move it with his divinity, but stars are very heavy.
Caesar ran and ran, and the star came closer and closer. Pandorica's hands were near.
"My...Knight...Harbinger...Caesar."
Caesar grabbed the goddedd hands as the sun landed on him
. . .
"Crusaders, our journey has just begun."
Caesar slowly opened his eyes, the bright light of the sun making him wince. He felt the softest patch of grass ever and the calmest movement of breeze. He felt like he was in paradise.
He leaned forward and saw... Melios?
In front of him was a very handsome man. He had 4 large, pitch black wings, with 2 massive dark horns coming from his head. He was clad in obsidian armour, and he leaned onto a large bell, twice the size of Melios, made of pure gloydon and inscribed with dazzling symbols.
Caesar's heart almost gave out when he looked up. He saw Prometheus the Giant.
He was towering, larger than Black Meadows, with 6 powerful limbs, thick spikes emerging from his back, beautiful red and indigo scales with 3 halos over his head.
"YOU OKAY?!" Prometheus's voice bellowed, the ground itself shaking.
"Oh, Prometheus," A female voice said. "Do you want to scare Melios' new apprentice?"
The woman was nothing short but extraordinarily gorgeous. She was suited in a beautiful purple samurai armour as she wielded 5 swords, each exuding an apocalyptic aura, on her waist, with a large fairy wings sprouting from her back.
"Melios, your apprentice, has been staring for a while now." A voice joked.
Caesar struggled to stand up, his body feeling light and fragile. The female samurai grabbed Caesar gently, her hands soft but very, very powerful.
"Don't push yourself too hard," She said. "Melios, I think she took a bad hit from the bandits."
She?
Caesar looked at himself and... he was a girl.
He stared at the female samurai's gleaming armour to see his reflection: Deep green serpentine eyes, specks of white scales on her cheeks, long, silky white hair with black strands braided beautifully, and a long, slaver horn emerging from her forehead.
"Thanks," Caesar said, his voice coming out feminine and graceful. "Can you tell me your name again?"
The female warrior looked at Melios, who awkwardly turned away.
"My name is Izobel," The woman said. "Izobel Catherine Abyss-Roseline."
Caesar's heart, or now heart, skipped several beats.
He was right, these were the crusaders. He looked back to see 7 more silhouettes, as if the memories were incomplete. He knew one of them was Arthur Winter I and another called Jormungandr, but the rest of the 5 looked very impressive and powerful.
Melios walked over to Caesar, his presence warm and reassuring. He suddenly bowed to his apprentice.
"My apologies, Lucian." Melios pleaded. "I was careless and too weak to save you from the strike. I promise I am not a bad teacher. Please don't leave me and return to the Dragon race."
Caesar was over cloud 12.
He, or she, was a dragon and was an apprentice to Melios, the ghoul history painted as a villain.
Deep down, Caesar wished he could stay here forever. Even if Ms Fiah's story was true, he wanted to change the story.
"Damn," One of the silhouettes said. "You will literally have all the power of the world and still call yourself weak."
"I thought he was always weak." Izobel joked.
The group burst out laughing, and even Melios chuckled. But when Prometheus was about the laugh, the group scampered to calm him down, before he caused another earthquake.
"Crusaders!!" Melios shouted, and his comrades stood at attention. "Next stop, we go back to the 7th world. We go to Ebony."
The group cheered, and Caesar smiled. Lucian had the greatest party in the world, he thought.
"Caesar?" Pandorica called, and Caesar was suddenly back at the Synagogue, completely fine, as if nothing had happened.
Pandorica smiled and nodded. "Ebony...Ebony!!"
Pandorica laughed, and Caesar almost stopped her because he thought she would cause an earthquake.
"You want me to go to Ebony?" Caesar said. "Guess I need to pack my bags."
Pandorica nodded. "Love...Abyss clan...Giants...Dreamless...Ebony
. . .
"Oh, and Caesar dear," Violante called out. "They also said you should attend the gathering with your uniform, as those Council folks really fuss about upholding formality."
Caesar was back at the nurse's room, still standing and looking at Violante.
"Y-yeah," Caesar grinned. "Why not?"
He got suited with the help of the nurse, as the pain of the battle of Black Meadows still took a toll on his body. A very severe toll.
Caesar walked out of the medical building and ventured towards the Council section. The Council building shared Black Meadows' unique gothic style, but its darker tones and plated gloydon made it feel like a war fortress rather than a school.
It was quite a long walk that Caesar didn't enjoy.
He could feel the sorrowful and drained mood of the entire school. It was more traumatic than the last incident that scarred the king himself.
The fall of Chester Mine.
Caesar forced himself to patiently stroll towards the building, as trying to go full speed would certainly snap a rib or two. As he reached the sector, he was pleased to see his companions.
"Caesar!" Izobel ran toward him, stopping just short. "Why do you look better than the rest of us?"
Caesar smiled. "Why, thank you, fair lady, Izobel. My nurse just told me the craziest story about..."
"Melios and his band of Crusaders," Izobel folded her arms. "Yeah, I-was-also-hearing-the-same-tale."
Caesar tilted his head.
"It's an inside joke." Izobel turned away, but Caesar placed his hands on Izobel's shoulder.
"What?" She asked. She reminded Caesar about Izobel in the Crusaders: Powerful, determined, kind, and ...
"You are very beautiful, Izobel." The words left Caesar's mouth slowly. "I would like us to go out this weekend, if you are interested and if the academy permits."
Izobel stared, dumbfounded and confused, as her cheeks started to go red. With her Scratch beetle avatar, she stung herself and nullified her emotions, preventing her from blushing.
"Thank you, Caesar." Izobel took a very, very deep breath. "If I can adjust my schedule, I can surely make time. But, can I pick the restaurant?"
"Sure, why not?" Caesar said. "But anywhere except Faraday's buffet."
"And the Grand Meat house?" Izobel giggled. "Sure, I will see what I can do."
"That was fast." Caesar smiled.
"What did you expect me to say?" Izobel pouted. "Should I have gone 'F-fine I-I-I will go with you, b-but it's not because I love you or anything, you idiot.' That is so lame."
Izobel sighed. "But, thank you. I wished for something to clear my head ever since..."
"Leo disappeared?" Caesar said. "I will make your wish come true."
Izobel sobbed. "Caesar, what a man you are."
Chalybe walked over to Caesar, and they both did their secret greeting: a series of intricate hand symbols and patterns, a sacred ritual of loyalty.
The two closest companions were thankful, as they both saw each other on the brink of death.
"Well, I guess we both survived the trip to the nurses' chamber." Caesar joked.
"Shut up, Nova." Chalybe retaliated.
Caesar gasped. "How dare you say my middle name, Iron?"
Chalybe sighed. "I still have no idea why my uncle named me that."
Zeus's braided hair was carefully tightened and skillfully oiled. His red eyes were dark and heavy, but he still exchanged a handshake with Caesar.
Zeus said. "Good to see you well."
Caesar smiled. "Same."
"Caesa!!!" Fenrir ran amazingly quickly towards his confidant
"How are you that fast?" Zeus asked. "Doesn't it hurt?"
"Uh, demiwolf genes." Fenrir pointed at himself. "We heal fast, and we are fast."
Fenrir brought his fist to Caesar. "If we see that bastard again, we ain't gonna lose, I promise."
"Language!" Izobel warned, and the whole group laughed.
Jacques, stoic and quiet as always, didn't bother exchanging greetings with Caesar. The wounds of the battle must have been too deep.
"Guys, why aren't we talking about the main event?" Izobel leapt excitedly. "We are going to meet the real-life Council. Like, AM I FUCKING DREAMING?"
"Language!" Fenrir barked.
"Ugh, sorry," Izobel smiled. "And what are the chances that we meet the most powerful knight in all of Zion?"
Caesar's heart raced, his adrenaline pumped up to the max. "Yeah, I'm really excited now."
Caesar was about to meet the Headmaster and his cohorts. The leader of the best Battle academy in the entire Zion kingdom for the past 60 years.
He was excited, worried, and determined.
Caesar's goal was to be strong, a vague goal in the words of his father. But his goal evolved.
He will fight to protect, to defend, and to uphold.
And of course, to uncover.
Being a warrior isn't about the most kills, but the most saved. He swore to be the greatest Zion has and would ever see.
When he sees the Unkindness, the barrier wouldn't be the only thing that would wither.
The large metal door opened widely, and a cool breeze escaped.
Caesar could already feel the apocalyptic powers the Council exudes, but that made him more excited. He wanted to see how powerful he had to become. Izobel stood beside him, with others preparing to enter the Meeting. As they all stepped inside, Caesar's eye shone crimson.