"That was very risky." Someone said with a dramatic sigh.
Emrys could hear the faint whispers,his own heartbeat was too loud in his ears and somewhere away from him, he could hear the meowing, Betsy's meowing.
"You do know it's our duty to protect him right?" Another voice said, a small female voice.
"But this isn't right,didn't Aurelius say he was supposed to be the most powerful being in all of the universe?" A male voice asked.
"And he is,now shut up and help me find a way to wake him." Another female's voice answered.
"Bets–sy.." Emrys groaned,his eyelids lifting slowly.
Emrys blinked groggily as the world came into focus. The ceiling above him was cracked and gained with black,old symbols etched across the rotting beams. Faint candlelight flickered through the gloom and when his vision cleared,he nearly jumped.
Five faces hovered above him.
Four girls and one guy. All different…yet there was something…off about them. Like they didn't belong to this world.
"You're awake!" The smallest of the group chirped,her silver pigtails bouncing as she leaned close. "Finally! I thought
"You're awake!" the smallest of the group chirped, her silver pigtails bouncing as she leaned close. "Finally! I thought I'd have to slap you again. Thought I broke your spine dragging you through that gateway."
Emrys blinked at her. "Again..? Wait…who…where…what the hell…?"
"Language," the girl scolded, puffing her cheeks. "We just saved your life."
She stood back and gestured proudly to the group behind her. "I'm Calamine! But everyone calls me Happibits." She said the name like it was supposed to make sense. "This is Rias,Reign,Ivy and our favourite over-serious knight,Asiko Gremory."
The tall bay inclined his head slightly,his silver hair catching the dim light. His expression was regal,collected like he was too refined to breathe the same air as the rest of them.
"Where…am I?" Emrys rasped, sitting up slowly. His head throbbed. The place looked like an abandoned church…the altar was cracked,crosses broken,stained glass windows shattered. Betsy sat in the pulpit licking her paw like she owned the place.
"Technically?" Calamine grinned. You're in a Fallen Quarter. You almost got ripped apart by Eclipse Creatures before I pulled you through the gateway
"Gateway?"
Rias finally spoke,her voice calm and measured. "Dimensional transport. We had to use it before the Eclipse creatures devoured your soul. You should thank her."
"Yup," Calamine said proudly. "You owe me a lifetime of snacks."
Reign snorted…a sharp, confident laugh. She was the one with eyes like lighting,her hair was streaked with platinum,wearing a tattered cloak that still seemed to crackle faintly with energy. "He looks more confused than grateful."
Emrys frowned. "And you people are…?"
"The ones who've been looking for you," Asiko said, stepping forward. "We are bound to you,Emrys. By blood and soul."
That made Emrys freeze. "What did you just say?"
Rias met his gaze evenly. "We are Second-Ranking Omni-Borns. The last descendants of the ancient bloodlines that once served your father's kind. We were born for one purpose…"
Reign smirked, finishing her sentence. "...to fight,kill and die for you,Master."
Emrys stared at them. His mind tried to make sense of the words…failed and settled on disbelief. "You've got the wrong person. I'm not anyone's master. I don't even have powders."
"Not yet," ivy's voice was soft but clear. She stepped forward from the shadows…her dark cloak gliding around her like liquid smoke. But you will. Your father bound his final essence to your soul before he died. That bond will awaken soon."
Emrys stiffened. "My father…"
Calamine's smile faltered. "We know. We saw what happened. The Unknown Sect wanted you dead before your power could manifest."
There was a moment of silence with the rain pounding outside and a distant thunder rolling.
Rias folded her arms. "You're the Omni-Born heir,Emrys. The prophecy calls you the catalyst who will bring down the Thirteen Realms."
Emrys looked from one face to another. "The Thirteen Realms?"
Reign cracked her knuckles,her grin widening like thunder before a storm. "Thirteen worlds,Thirteen gods. Thirteen tyrants who think they can rewrite creation itself. You're supposed to burn them all down and rebuild what comes after."
Calamine leaned in,her voice light but her eyes sharp. "Big job,huh? Don't worry, we'll help. That's why we exist."
Emrys's brow furrowed. "You're saying all of you were created to serve me?"
"Bound," Rias corrected,her tone was calm and unyielding. "By lineage and will. We are not slaves but extensions of your soul's dominion. When you rise,we rise."
"That's insane."
"Maybe," Asiko said, folding his arms with aristocratic ease. "But destiny seldom cares for sanity."
Ivy stepped closer,her presence soft yet eerie. The flickering light,making her seem half-shadowed. "We felt your awakening,Emrys Midnight. The world did,across the realms too. You've already been marked."
Emrys swallowed hard,the weight of it pressing down on his chest. "Marked? By who?"
Before anyone could answer,the candles flickered violently. The floorboards trembled beneath them. Betsy hissed, her eyes flashing towards the broken stained glass.
Calamine's head snapped up. "Ah,crap."
Reign's expression sharpened. "They found us."
The sound came next…boots. Marching,controlled, surrounding them from outside.
Asiko drew his sword in one smooth motion, it's edge glowing with radiant white glyphs. "Enforcers," he said coldly. "From the First Academy."
Rias closed her eyes briefly,the air around her rippling as faint psychic waves pulses outward. "Dozens,maybe more. They've surrounded the church."
Emrys's pulse spiked. "The First Academy…how did they…"
Reign's grin turned feral. "Doesn't matter how…They're here. Finally, something fun."
Lightning snapped from her fingertips, crawling up her arms like living veins. The air thickened with energy, the cracked windows rattling in their frames.
"Reign," Rias warned, her voice low. "Do not go full storm mode inside this building."
"Relax," Reign said, rolling her shoulders. "I'll wait till they breach."
The old doors exploded before the words were finished.
A blast of blue light seared through the chapel, throwing splinters and dust across the altar. Dozens of armored figures poured through the entryway…each carrying Arcane riffles that hummed with contained power. The emblem if the First Academy glowed on their chestplates.
"Target confirmed!" a voice barked. "By order of the First Academy,stand down and surrender the boy!"
"Boy?" Reign barked a laugh. "Cute."
Before Emrys could even react,she flicked her wrist. The entire front line of soldiers was thrown back as a thunderclap erupted inside the church. Static danced across her hair as she smirked, "Next batch."
"Reign!" Rias shouted,her psychic field flaring. Several rifles turned midair…then fired backward at the wielders and screams filled the hall.
Asiko stepped forward like a knight out of myth,his luminous blade cutting through spellfire. He moved with precision…one step,one strike,bodies falling before they could blink.
Calamine darted past him,her tiny frame a blur. Her bare hand caught a soldier's arm mid-swing…then crushed the weapon like paper. "Oops," she chirped, tossing the man into another group hard enough to collapse a pew. "You people should really use better metal"
Ivy melted into shadows, reappearing behind enemies and striking silently,her dark tendrils snapping the necks of the soldiers even before they could turn.
Emrys could barely breathe in the midst of the chaos. The place was Chaotic…light,thunder,screams,power unlike anything he'd ever seen or imagined before. His skin tingled,every pulse of magic made something in his chest tighten and twist.
Rias turned toward him briefly,her eyes glowing faint silver. "Stay behind us,you're not ready yet."
"I didn't ask to be!" he shouted back, ducking as a wave of searing plasma tore through the wall behind him.
Then everything suddenly came to a standstill.
And a voice cut through the noise,calm,smooth and deadly.
"Enough."
The Enforcers froze instantly, parting like a tide. Boots clicked against the ruined floor. A woman stepped through the smoke…tall,with a dark coat brushing the ground,her expression unreadable
Emrys felt his stomach drop. That voice,he knew it. He remembered it echoing through the chaos of the police academy, ordering him to stand down,to surrender.
Her eyes found his instantly. "Emrys Midnight."
He took a step back almost stumbling. "You…"
She raised a hand, silencing him within a word. The air itself seemed to bend around her will.
"I warned you," she said evenly. "Running doesn't change what you are."
Calamine hissed, bracing herself. "That's her," she whispered. "Renata Hayes"
The name sent a chill through Emrys.
Reign's eyes lit up with sadistic delight. "Governor of the First huh?" Finally crawled out of your palace."
Renata didn't blink. "By order of the Council of the First,the Second-Rankers are to be detained for violating dimension laws. The boy comes with me."
"Over my dead body," Reign spat and then the church exploded into motion again.
Lightning speared toward Renata but she lifted a single finger and the bolt shattered midair, dissolving into harmless sparks.
Rias gritted her teeth. "Her barrier's reinforced by celestial code. We can't break it!"
Asikounged from the side,his sacred sword flaring gold..but Renata parried it with a gesture. The impact threw him back through a wall,the shockwave rattling the entire church.
Calamine roared and charged,her fists cracking the ground…but Renata's eyes flicked towards her and gravity itself seemed to flip. Calamine's body hit the ceiling with a brutal crash.
Emrys screamed, "Stop it!"
Renata's gaze softened for a fraction of a second…almost like pity,maybe pride. "You can't stop this, Emrys. Your powers are sealed. Until you awaken,you're a liability."
Then she extended her hand. Blue sigils blazed around her palm, wrapping through the air like chains. They mashed out…binding Emrys before he could move. His vision blurred,the air draining from his lungs.
"Let…go…of...me!" he choked, fighting against the pull.
Rias tried to intercept,psychic field surging…but the moment Emrys's body lifted from the floor,every one of the others dropped to their knees, gasping in pain.
"Our bonds," Ivy wheezed, clutching her chest. "We are linked to him…if he's restrained,so are we.."
Renata's expression remained calm. "Exactly as intended."
The last thing Emrys hears before everything went black was Betsy's distant meow…and the cold echo of Renata's voice.
"I'll take you home, Omni-Born."