Velzari's heart pounded as he stood on the ground that felt both real and unreal at the same time. The world around him seemed to mirror that of Draconis Prime, the same mountains, the same colossal trees… yet, everything was drained of color. Overhead, the sky seemed like a black void, only lit up by the distant stars in the sky and the three moons.
"Wher–Where am I!?" He thought to himself.
His breath becoming slightly erratic as he slowly scanned the eerie landscape, then… he spotted her.
Kaeline.
She stood about ten meters ahead of him, as if she'd been patiently waiting for him. He didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and fired off a bright-yellow blast straight at her chest.
But… the blast phased right through her like she was a ghost, destroying a giant tree behind her.
"What—" His eyes widened and he staggered a half-step back.
"What is this?! When do these damn tricks ever end with you?!" He exclaimed, spinning around to see if more clones lurked around.
But there wasn't anymore… only her.
Kaeline didn't bat an eye. She just…looked at him.
"Where are we?!" Velzari screamed out, his hand raised aimed towards her, essence forming around his palm again.
"Talk witch! I'm sick of these games!"
The orb of yellow essence grew much larger than before, crackling with pent-up fury. The glow lit up their immediate space, revealing that Kaeline's expression still hadn't changed.
Finally, she spoke, her voice calm as it could ever be.
"This is the shadow universe. Or, you could say it's the inverted reflection of Draconis Prime. A place only a few members of my clan can access. A parallel universe born from the creation of our own universe by Lyra herself."
Velzari's breath caught in his throat.
"L-Lyra!? You know of the goddess Lyra…? How?! No one but the—Who… Who are you, really? Where'd you learn that name? Answer me witch!" He demanded.
"Who I am doesn't matter. But who you and your allies are…that matters greatly. Tell me about this Grand Order. Who are they? How do they know about nature energy? What do they want?"
A sour chuckle slipped from Velzari's mouth. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to comply… still, he lifted his chin defiantly.
"The Grand Order are the five chosen ones led by him, destined to bring down the Accord, gather all of the codex fragments, and claim the cosmic heart so that he may make everyone's dreams come true. A universe where there's no wars, no violence, no death…. Just utter perfection…. It's his birthright to become the real god of this universe. Lyra was a joke of a deity, and you can see that from the chaos we call reality. This universe is full of filth… and he'll wipe it clean, rebuild it the proper way. He will do what Lyra failed to do, bring true peace to the cosmos."
His tone and expression shifted in a much darker direction.
"And once we find her… He'll be the new god."
Kaeline's eyes narrowed.
"Who is him? And where is he?"
Velzari snorted slightly, hearing that.
"Hahahah. Do you really think I would tell you even if I knew? Not a chance you vile witch."
His face hardened again.
"Now, it's your turn. Where are we exactly and how do you know about Lyra? Are you another deluded worshipper who thinks that a worthless deity is coming to save us all?"
Kaeline didn't answer right away. Instead, her head dropped down, her white hair covering her face. Her breathing slowed a bit, as if she was concentrating on something.
Then, she spoke.
"You're here because I had questions that needed answers…and because I can't allow herto see what's about to happen."
"What? Who's her?" Velzari demanded, raising his other arm with a second orb of yellow essence.
"Stop dancing around the topic damn it! I'm sick of—"
But his words lodged in his throat as his CPI scanner began blinking in his eye. The numbers shot up so fast he could hardly process them.
Kaeline: 8,800,000… 22,000,000 … 44,000,000 CPI
"Wh–what? This can't be right, she—"
But once his attention shifted back to Kaeline… what he saw made the essence in his hand flicker and die away.
A thick black aura surrounded her, denser than any shadow could ever be.
She lifted her hand into a single handsign before uttering the word that confirmed the end of his life.
"Resonance…"
Kaito's eyes began to flutter open as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked groggily, gathering himself, but a sudden instinct shot through his body and he bolted upright.
"Where… is she? Where's Aqua!?" He asked, whipping his head around.
"She's gone Kaito dear. With Nara right on her heels. They're heading toward Talon and the others."
Kaito turned to see Elysia walking over then kneeling next to him. Relief washed over his eyes, followed by concern not long after.
"Elysia—are you okay? Did you… heal me again? But how—didn't you say you'd used up most of your essence? And…" He paused, scanning the surrounding area
"How'd you break out of Aqua's ice?"
A subtle smile crept across Elysia's face.
"I'm fine, Kaito dear. I'm not someone who goes down pretty easily you know. My essence is still pretty drained, but Enaros used his fire abilities to melt the ice I was trapped in. As for healing you…" She leaned to the side, looking behind him.
"That'd be thanks to Nix."
He turned around to see Nix fiddling anxiously with his scaled fingers.
"You healed me? Again? Jeez man… you're the real MVP here, huh? Guess I owe you one… again. Honestly, I think all of us owe you big time."
Nix blushed and looked down at his feet.
"N-No, not really. It's… actually the other way around. By the way… what's an MVP?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
Enaros stepped forward, gently clearing his throat. He was still battered, his body visibly not fully healed from his battle with Nara.
"Nix is right Kaito. Without you and your crew, this entire village, maybe even all of Draconis Prime, would've been lost. You had every right to abandon us after I nearly handed you over to the starborne troupe… but you stuck around. My anger, my fear… it blinded me."
He exhaled, a mix of shame and gratitude filling his eyes. Then, unexpectedly, he dropped down to one knee, bowing his head.
"Please accept my apology… and my thanks. I can't change what happened, but I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. You have my word. I and all draconians of my world owe you greatly."
Kaito blinked, momentarily taken aback. Then, he stood up, turning to face him.
"I'll accept your apology on one condition." He said calmly.
Enaros lifted his head, locking eyes with him.
"Name it."
Kaito took a deep breath.
"My dream is to one day become the King of the Stars. I want to reshape space so that no one has to live in fear, no one has to be singled out because of what or who they are, where everyone has a chance to follow and achieve their dreams. That's the type of place I want it to be. Once I become a captain of my own crew, I want you and the people of Draconis Prime to be part of that future… to join me."
Enaros stared up at him, a look of surprise plastered across his face.
"You… want us to come visit other worlds, to live among other races? Travel the universe? I… never would've imagined such a thing…" He whispered.
"Well, it's definitely possible if you trust me. We'll keep your star system hidden from most folks so the wrong people don't sniff it out. I guess we'll figure out the details once we get the starborne troupe off your back." Kaito said, a subtle playfulness in his tone.
Enaros thought back to a time he and Nara stared at the stars one clear night as he told her the stories of Zephyros, watching her eyes light up with curiosity and amazement. He began to ponder on that before a small smile crept on his face.
"Heh… if that's your only request, then so be."
He stood up, standing right in front of Kaito.
"On behalf of my people… I accept."
Kaito's smile grew. Without a second thought, he held out his fist.
"Nice! We're in this together."
After only a moment's hesitation, Enaros smirked and lifted his own scaled fist and bumped it against his.
Elysia watched on from the side.
"So this is how it all begins. Hehehehe." She thought to herself, eyes locking on to Kaito.
"You're going to bring great change to the universe Kaito dear… for us, miss Kaeline… and Lyra."
Suddenly, a voice cut through the heartfelt moment.
"I hate to ruin the moment." Tyrek coughed as he limped toward them, his body riddled with bruises.
"But I don't think this battle is over just yet."
Nix's eyes widened as he immediately ran to his side, his hands glowing faintly with what gold essence he had left.
"Hold still, I can heal you—"
Tyrek caught his wrist mid-air, shaking his head with a tired grin.
"You've done more than enough, kid. You'll kill yourself if you push any further. Save your energy. You've already proven yourself a true draconic warrior… just like your father and elder sister."
Nix's mouth opened slightly, caught off guard by the praise, but he only nodded, his hands lowering reluctantly as the glow of essence dwindled down to nothing.
Kaito finally spoke up as questions ran through his head.
"Can someone explain what in the stars happened while I was out? Where did Aqua go? Why is Nara suddenly on our side?"
Enaros and Nix glanced at each other sharing a similar look being unsure before Enaros spoke up.
"We're not sure… She was fighting me until Nix came over and tried to protect me. For some reason, his words reached her in a way that brought her back to us."
Elysia spoke up from beside him.
"Actually… Right before Nara snapped out of it, I heard something strange. It was like a string being pulled to its max tension… and then snapping. After that, she began to fight Aqua."
Everyone turned to her.
"A string… snapping?" Kaito repeated slowly before his mind started racing.
He turned toward Enaros.
"You said you've got intel that Sera has the ability to control people, right?"
Enaros nodded.
"That's what we've gathered. But I've never seen it firsthand… Until now I believe."
Kaito's eyes shifted over.
"Tyrek?"
"Only rumors. I've never seen it myself either." Tyrek responded.
Kaito rubbed his chin as his eye dropped to the ground below.
"Controlling people… Could that mean…?"
Before he could finish his thought, a pink hand crossed his vision and pressed against his chest. His body stiffened up by the sudden sensation. He looked up to see Elysia.
"Elysia—what are you—"
"Wait." She whispered, her eyes calmly shut.
Kaito felt heat rise in his body as her fingers brushed against him. Behind him, Enaros cleared his throat, his face noticeably red as he turned to look away quickly.
Nix tilted his head in confusion.
"Uh… what's going on–" He began to ask before Tyrek covered his eyes.
"Don't worry about it kid. You'll understand when you're older."
A soft golden glow flickered around Elysia's palm. She sat there for a few seconds, seemingly deep in thought.
"There's no doubt about it… this world possesses nature energy. I can feel it flowing through everything around us, the ground, the trees, yet… It feels weak. No, not weak, instead it's slowly losing essence gradually, like it's being syphoned off one drop at a time. Does this have anything to do with the star being ejected from a cluster? What cluster is it from? I've never seen a case this extreme before… Miss Kaeline was right, it's getting worse. We must hurry and find the Cosmic Heart before it's too late."
Her essence sputtered out as her hand dropped to her side.
"Just as I thought."
"What is it?" Kaito asked.
"My essence… it won't recover in time. I won't be able to heal you anymore until it recovers, so don't go taking any fatal hits. You're out of 'get-out-of-jail-free' cards. You've still got some essence left, but not much. Not enough to last long in another fight."
Kaito blinked, caught off guard a little.
"Why–Why are you telling me all of this?"
Elysia smirked slightly.
"Because you're going after Aqua, aren't you?"
His eyes widened.
"How did you—?"
"Hehehe. Because that's who you are, Kaito dear. You'd risk everything to help someone in trouble, even if it was your worst enemy."
Kaito began to blush slightly before feeling a firm shove against his chest.
"Hurry and go." Elysia said.
"You don't have much time. The others probably need your help anyways… Oh but don't help Talon."
"Wh–What about you guys?" He asked.
"I'll handle things here." Nix's small voice spoke up firmly.
Everyone, caught off guard, turned toward him.
"You've taught me a lot, Kaito. And you've done more than enough. Now it's time for me to do my part. I'll make sure everyone else is safe."
Everyone was stunned silent by the sudden confidence being emitted by him. Even Enaros was taken aback by the newfound confidence in his son's voice. A proud smirk crawled up his face as he subtly turned away to hide it.
Kaito exhaled through his nose before grinning.
"Alright, alright—I hear you loud and clear." He cracked his knuckles before stretching out his arms.
"Guess it's my turn to step up again. Let's finish this once and for all so that Finn and I can get our star traveler licenses."
Elysia sighed.
"Just try not to do anything too reckless. Okay Kaito dear?"
Kaito flashed her a grin as lightning began to crackle around his body slightly.
"No promises."
He flash-stepped away, leaving small arcs of lightning where he stood.