'Let's see if there are still any of the intruders on this island.' Serenity closed her eyes, and her body glowed in a soft morning light; the sweet blue gently formed a ring around her body, expanding her aura of light upon every corner of the island.
After everything was over, Serenity started to slowly glaciate while all of her powers and magic turned into ice flakes and flew directly into her body.
After all the magic disappeared Just right before she hit the ground, she chanted,
[del avri]
Her transformation disappeared as she landed gracefully with her black high heels on the still intact stone barrier right before Aries.
She leaned forward till her face almost bumped into his. "Why are you still here?!"
"Didn't make it out in time, that's all." He extended his hands forward. "Here, let me help you down…"
Serenity stared at his hand, then slowly placed her hands on his to support her weight, then jumped to the ground beside him.
-tuck-
She looked, let go of his hand, and started wiping dust from her clothes, while Aries stood in his place, crossing hands and staring at her.
Serenity felt his gaze on her back and got annoyed, giving him a side eye.
"What?!!"
Aries didn't answer immediately but did so only after he organized his thoughts.
"Father said you're moving out."
"So?!"
"Let me help you move your stuff...."
Serenity stood dumbfounded. "Why so generous all of a sudden?"
He explained "Since the teleported channels are broken, I will be staying here for the day...I might as well lend a hand while I'm at it."
"Suit yourself," she started climbing the stairs, ready to leave the stadium.
Astrum hurried behind her,
"Wait for me, sis."
Serenity kept going forward, not looking back even once.
"Then get on the move already...you'll be the one carrying the bags."
"Okay, okay, whatever you say goes."
Aries caught up with Serenity, and both of them walked together outside the stadium while those in the stadium were still suffering from the aftermath of the shock.
Fear stared at the gate where they left from.
"I knew someone would solve this crisis, but I never thought it would be one-sided to such an extent...something inside me wishes those bastards didn't leave."
Hearing the voice, Bella turned her head towards them.
"Tsk, so those two are still alive, huh..."
Fear heard her voice and answered to her in a free-spirited voice.
"Hate to disappoint you, but I am still alive. As it turns out, I am pretty hard to kill, right?"
Turning at an astrum, but instead of laughter, she was met with a cold face.
"What? What's wrong with you again?"
Astrum's face muscles twisted eyes full of rage ,"Serenity is an Alkana, and they are Avalor people ... we Avalors don't allow anyone to trifle with us even under the pretense of a joke,"
Fear was taken aback by his words.
"Why so serious...it's not like I was talking about your sister or something."
His cold, distant eyes glared at her soul,as his cold voice started slipping through her veins
"I already gave you a warning. If there is a next time, I won't be polite."
Putting her hands over her waist, she pouted, saying,
"Okay, okay, okay... we both take a step back. What do you think?"
"Hmph."
He didn't bother responding and turned around, walking out of there, leaving her confused.
"It was just a joke ...did he really have to be this guarded?"
'While it's true he's biased toward Avalor people, the problem here was not your words but the target of those words.' Bella helped Daniel up while thinking, 'You landed in a minefield without realizing...that was his sister, Missy.'
"I don't think I said anything wrong though!!!??" Fear scratched her cheek all confused, "For God's sake, that man gets angry faster than a teenage woman."
Daniel tried to use his phone to find if there was any connection but failed.
"Seems like we lost touch with the outside world."
Bella turned to fear, "Get me to the station; we might find something to help on this matter ."
Fear brushed her off, saying, "Nah, don't worry about it. Since tomorrow was supposed to be the finals ,a legation from the royal family in Regis was supposed to reach here by now...they should've noticed something was off long ago."
"Still, we can't sit still waiting for them while doing nothing; I insist on trying," Bella said.
Fear had a look of amusement on her face.
"Oh!...You actually know how to deal with electric stuff. I am genuinely shocked."
She instantly raised her right hand, answering with a firm face.
"No, I don't."
Stunned by the answer, she looked at her in confusion.
"So why do you want to go there?"
"Why else...Trying anything, at least it's better than doing nothing."
"Honestly, I don't know what to say...impressive." Fear was dumbfounded by her confidence. 'Just half her confidence and I will rule the universe.'
A girl's voice suddenly came from above.
"I can fix it."
All instantly looked at her; the girl wearing a uniform was bail. She started going down towards them.
"My father taught me how to deal with such problems before, so I can lend some actual help."
Fear crossed her arms, asking,
"Why do you have such knowledge?"
"My father used to travel a lot, so he taught me a lot of things in case I needed them in the future," Baial said.
"Impressive...but I don't think we will need them, though..." Dan said, looking at the vast sky above their heads.
A huge flying warship was flying over the island and ended up stopping right over the stadium.
"I thought this shit was already over...why is there another attack?" Lana jolted from the ground, ready to fight.
Bella recognized it instantly and closed in on fear, whispering, "The matter about Serenity's powers—should we explain it or keep it hidden?" in her ears
Fear quickly said, "Even if we told, who would believe us?...We would be labeled insane."
Fear laughed that matter up because she knew the ninth circle is the limit of magic; a tenth one is way beyond impossible. "I will deliver all i witnessed truthfully ,at best it will be explained as a case of mind shock causing us to hallucinate."
"Reasonable"
People started going down from the ship one after another, making the people in the stadium hit by another wave of panic.
Fear used a wave of magic to transmit her thoughts through the island.
[vox tradenda]
With that a wave of comfort washed over the island as they finally get to breathe fresh air after the whole incident.
Luckily most of the damage was inside the inner city and the places surrounding the teleportation portals, so nobody truly got hurt, and the magicians repaired the damaged buildings almost instantly.
The ship had technicians who actively repaired the call channels, allowing them to contact the outside world.
But due to the psychological shock the students received, they received two days off from studying to sleep and recover.
On the siblings' end, the moment they entered the room, Serenity went to fetch the rose bouquet.
Aries popped from behind, "Are you going to throw them or keep them?"
"Keep"
Serenity held them tightly as she slept peacefully on the chair in her room, leaving all the packing to Aries.
After he finished, it was already night; he woke her, and both went to Astrum's villa for him to open the doors himself and receive them in a cooking apron.
After they went inside, Aries fell onto the ground, removing his mask, then burst out in laughter.
"Pfft, hahahahahahahahahahaha...wh...what the fuck are you wearing, man?"
Astrum looked at his apron with a sweet bear doll on it.
"What's wrong with this? I am cooking, not fighting."
Aries placed both hands over his brother's shoulders.
"Man, these clothes are perfect for you."
"Really?!"
"No, your entire prestige crumpled into the ground."
Astrum got pissed and slapped his hands away.
-slap-
But both of them went silent, seeing Serenity got inside and started going into the second floor.
Aries handed Astrum one of the two bags.
"Carry this one and follow me up."
Not waiting for anyone, he shoved the bag in his brother's hand and hurried behind Serenity.
"This kid never grows up." Astrum then carried the bag behind but saw Aries frozen on the door of a room.
He looked up at the room. 'Isn't this the one His Majesty stayed in?... Did she choose this one? But why?!'
Astrum went with the bag toward Aries; seeing the worried expression on his face, he got worried for him.
He placed his hand over Aries's shoulder. "Is something wrong with you?"
"Not me, but her…" pointing at Serenity, who was sleeping on the chair facing the glassy windows.
"She's sleeping?"
"No more than just sleeping," he started explaining. "Even when I went with her to her dorm, her body was drenched in sweat, frowning in her sleep for as long as we stayed in her room, not to mention that bouquet she's hugging in her sleep."
"Stop being annoying." Astrum had a look of concern drawn all over his face. But you got a point ....It's been four hours since then, yet she still wants to sleep more. It's definitely worrying considering the amount of magic she used today."
Astrum and Aries went inside and placed the bags beside her bed, then walked toward her without making any sound.
Aries carefully placed his hand over her shoulder. "Wake up, Sis...Sister Serenity."
'My head is killing me.' Serenity slowly opened her eyes, looking at nothing.
" noisy."
She rested her head on her chair. 'They are going to ask about the source next; just have it done and get out. I don't want to see anyone right now.'
Astrum knelt on the ground in front of her, examining her pulse. 'Apart from the weak heartbeat, nothing is unusual.'
He looked up at her face. "Are you okay, sis? Do you feel pain anywhere?"
Aries joined in asking, "Right...and don't use such powers again; your body seems so drained ever since you used it. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you after using that much?"
Astrum nodded. "For once we are on the same page; that power is indeed suspicious. If it hurts you, then don't hesitate to throw it away, got it?"
Serenity's eyes widened hearing their concerns. 'Instead of asking about the source of the power, all they're concerned about is my safety, unlike those ingrates...' her eyes softenrd ,'I guess that's the difference between those who have blood ties and those who don't.'
Serenity flicked Astrum's forehead gently. "My skin is cold by nature, and my heartbeats have always been weak ever since I was born. Don't stress yourselves over nothing; I just feel a little weak after exhausting my magic, that's all."
Seeing how unconvinced they looked, she assured them, "Don't worry~ I will be okay after a good night's sleep."
Aries attentively asked, "Do you need anything from us?"
"Now that you asked...I am actually a bit hungry," she said.
Aries and Astrum looked at each other, then back at her with bright smiles as they rolled up their sleeves.
"What do you want to eat?" Aries asked
Serenity gave him a questioning look.
"Do you even know how to cook?"
Seeing even Astrum having a questioning expression on his face, he looked him up and down. "What does that look even mean?"
He raised his head high in the sky full of pride.
"A meal, no, but sweet treats I am perfectly good with."
"I should've known from the beginning." Astrum shoved him aside, saying, "Don't worry about him. Tell me what you need to eat, and I will cook it for you."
Both in one voice screamed at him.
"Big brother, you can cook?"
"I am not Aries, so why the distrust?" he said.
Both of them apologized for their rudeness.
"Sorry, big brother."
Aries asked, "Where did you learn to cook?...I don't think it's part of your training."
"I am used to cooking for his majesty from time to time," he said, but his eyes sparked a hint of sadness behind those words. 'I originally learned it for Serenity, but who would've known she would turn human and end up completely different, adding to that; I was too busy to even visit.'
"Who told us siblings to meet only by chance? It's quite rare," he said.
The three of them had a moment of dead silence till Serenity broke that silence.
"Fate's arrangements tend to be cruel; given enough time, you'll get used to it eventually."
Aries wanted to change the suffocating mood they fell in, saying, 'This is definitely a shitty topic.'
He thought about what happened that same morning and reminded Astrum.
"Right!...Serenity has many restrictions with food even i don't know; just today her allergy broke out on a mango candy. I don't really dare cook for her; I simply lack the confidence."
Astrum nodded and said with a tone reeking of confidence, "I know; coincidentally, her diet and His Majesty's are quite similar, so I can make a dish or two that suits her taste."
"Will she even agree to eat it?" Aries said, turning his head at Serenity.
"Why not?...Right now I am really hungry; worst case, I eat, then take my medicine and go back to sleep," she said.
Aries looked at her in confusion, "I don't know if your actions can be described as bravery or a suicidal attempt..."
"Stop worrying over nothing," she said and got up from her chair and placed the bouquet carefully on it. "I will take a shower until you prepare the food, okay?"
"Got it."
"As for me, I will put your things in the closet."
"Thank you then."
"Oh! Wait a second…" Aries hurried to open the bag and got her a white loose sleeping gown, "Since you will sleep after the meal, then wear this after you finish bathing."
"Okay."
Serenity took the gown and went into the bathroom and threw her clothes on the ground while the bathtub was still filling, then she slowly entered the water.
Leaning on the bathtub, her eyes closed as a memory from the past started playing in her head.
A woman with long silver hair dripping on her right shoulder, wearing a white veil on a white backless mermaid gown , is sitting gracefully in a rose garden reading a book.
From behind her, a man wearing black dragon armor and long white hair was leaning on a thick trunk of a big willow tree; his voice was so deep and mysterious, drawing people unconsciously.
"You dismissed all the servants again?"
She closed her book and turned her gaze at the royal black, splattered silver sky, with a calm, composed, and detached indifference.
"I couldn't care less."
"Yo~your opinion on this world is a little dark, my lady." He moved forward, squatting beside her, smiling like a fox as he played with her silver hair. "What do you think...if all of them were to be executed next time you dismiss them, will my lady start to care then?"
A dead silence suddenly covered the atmosphere in the huge garden; only the wind dared to make a sound.
She firmly said, "No, not a chance."
The man leaned closer to her complaining,
"Really don't care?…not even in the slightest?"
She turned around, but seeing his face so close to hers like that made her somewhat flustered; she slammed the book in his face, saying casually, "You as their king don't care about your own people, so why should I?"
He grabbed her book with both hands. "But aren't you one of mine?"
"It's not the same thing."
"It's the same for me," he crashed flat on the green grass, looking at the book in his hand. "You're mine ...same for this world; I don't give a damn who lives or dies as long as the world itself is still there."
"This will make you a tyrant."
"It's not like I am killing without a reason."
She grabbed her book from his hand.
"Using me as an excuse to kill all those who defy you and you call it reasoning?"
He suddenly jumped on his knees. "Pretty convincing, right?"
"Whether it's actually a good move or not will be clear as time goes on, but be careful overconfident people always end up badly hurt," she said.
He took a strand of her silver hair in his beg hand and kissed it saying,
"It's fine; as long as one person likes it, then that's all I need."
Seeing his eyes fixed at her she fell into deep silence,
"Idiot"
The smile on his face suddenly vanished along with his tone that turned serious all of a sudden.
"Maybe I am or maybe I am not, my lady; let me tell you something."
She noticed the change and turned to him calmly.
"Hmm?!"
He stood on his feet and stared at the willow tree behind them.
"It's not exactly a secret, but in this world where we cannot choose where to be born, we cannot exactly judge how or why we turned out to be this or that... one is a hero praised by all, while the other is a villain, scorned by all."
"What are you on about? Speak your mind clearly."
He walked towards the willow tree, steadily speaking his heart out with sincerity.
"It's really nothing important, but... sometimes I truly wonder, if all the wounds people suffered from in their past didn't actually heal over time but trapped them in an invisible cage, will they end up missing what truly matters?"
"Are these words for you or him?"
He patted the tree's trunk, saying softly, "Not exactly for a certain someone, they are for whoever finds a meaning in them."
-knock , knock.-
Serenity snapped awake and opened her eyes to the voice of Aries on the door.
"Sister, I finished unpacking the bags and left the hair dryer on the bed. I will be helping big brother downstairs."
"Fine."
"If you need anything, just call, okay..."
"Okay."
After she heard his footsteps getting further and further, she soaked her entire body under water.
-splash-
She stayed for a while under but suddenly opened her eyes and jolted out of the water.
"Haaaa...huff, huff, huff...."
She brushed her hair back, feeling utterly humiliated. "Tsk...can't believe I actually compared my family to those bastards.....there is a hell of a difference between the two"
'Maybe Austin was right after all...i thought i had forgot but the shadow of those people still hunts me even after all this time has passed.'
She got out of the bathtub and wore her nightgown without properly drying herself and went out, going straight for the bouquet.
She hugged it tightly in her arms and squatted on the chair, dripping water from both her hair and clothes,
With her head facing down the artificial eyes fell onto the ground like glowing tears that wrapped in ice the moment it touched the ground.
ice folks suddenly formed onto her face and hands spreading all over her body even formed into the air while only two words repeated themselves on her tongue,
"Wake up...wake up...wake up-"
downstairs Astrum and Aries were preparing the table, the doorbell rang.
-Ding dong-
"Are you waiting for someone?" Aries asked
"No, but let me see who it is. Who could it be at this hour?" Astrum removed his apron and went to open the door for the visitors.
-click-
"Belladonna...what are you doing here? And why did you bring someone with you?"
"Get away first." She shoved him and went inside, and the other two followed behind.
"We're in."
"Sorry to interrupt."
They entered the house with winter clothes fully soaked with water. Bella removed hers and went inside casually as if she owned the place.
Astrum stood behind them, eyes full of rage, clearly displeased by the chaos they created the moment they entered.
"What?"
"Explain why you are all together here, or else don't blame me for what happens next."
The anger in his eyes was so clear she couldn't help but shiver. 'Shit, last time I talked with him he was so gentle that I actually forgot he is the real demon.'
Bella quickly pulled the hoodie off one of them. "This is Dan, my boyfriend."
"I will leave you for your talk and go get my sister to eat." Aries said and went upstairs, 'That woman is courting death, talking to big brother in such a tone.'
Astrum didn't even flinch but kept his anger on top.
"I know who he is. I am asking why you brought along this curse into my house."
With his gaze turned at the other one that came with them, she felt his hostility and removed her hoodie herself.
"I mean no harm; we were forced to come here; otherwise I wouldn't be bothering you in your home."
"She's telling the truth. We were walking outside when the weather suddenly worsened; we really had no choice," Bella said.
Only when they mentioned it did Astrum take a look outside; the sky turned pitch black, forming a huge hole of lightning over the island, thundering and raining like crazy outside.
"It was just fine when we came here. How did it suddenly turn like this?"
Bella started shivering from the cold and the memories on their way.
"Tell me about it. We were in the inner city, but I lost count of how many times I almost got struck by lightning till we found ourselves here. I almost wet myself out there."
"This doesn't make sense...something bad is about to happen. " Astrum said, staring at the gloomy sight outside.
Not a full moment passed, and Aries's panicked voice came from the second floor.
"Astrum...Astrum...come up here immediately; something terrible happened."
"Wasn't he calling Serenity...oh boy." Astrum didn't hesitate and ran with all his might till he reached the second floor and saw Aries's hand glued to the door with a thick layer of ice.
Aries was trying to pull his hand away but all in vain; he turned to his brother with a helpless expression.
"You finally came."
"How did you end up like this?"
"I would appreciate it if you helped me instead of laughing at me."
"Let me see first." Astrum tried to touch the ice, but Aries quickly caught his hand with a serious voice.
"You better not touch it, or you will join me in this."
"Why didn't you use your magic?" Bella asked.
Aries started rubbing his eyes. "It's not like I don't want to, but I can't. Ever since I got caught in this ice, I haven't been able to feel any trace of my magic."
Daniel raised his hand for permission. "Let me try it."
"Right! Fire is the opposite of ice. Let's give it a shot." Astrum stepped aside for Daniel.
Daniel asked a question before casting any spell on the ice: "The one behind that door, is it Serenity?"
Aries looked at Astrum before saying anything, and only after he nodded did he dare to reply.
"It's indeed my sister, but why are you asking?"
"Just to know what to use,sylvia told me about what happend this morning serenity's ice magic is different from others, using outer force will cause our death" he said.
Daniel directed the mana straight into his palm, and as it started glowing in a purple color, he placed it on the ice.
-fwishhhhhh-
"I can actually feel the heat?"
Daniel was so focused on his job that he was sweating all over but he still explained what he was doing,
"Using a gentle fire on my own skin will produce a heat strong enought to melt it while avoiding a fight back from her magic"
Not long after Daniel taught Aries's hand to melt all the ice around them and the door handle, finally opening the lock of Serenity's room,
-click-
He covered his body with a faint barrier of mana before pushing the door open. "I will open it; get ready."
Aries went behind him and chanted a vox spell.
[OBICE]
Once the door was opened, a wave of cold energy struck their bodies as if transporting them into the ice ages, but what was most surprising was the room from inside.
The walls turned into ice, and the ceiling was dangling ice crystals. Serenity squatting on her chair covered with a thin layer of ice.
Sylvia shouted, "What happened again?"
"Again?!" Astrum turned at her with raging eyes, but before he said anything, the entire villa was hit by a bolt of lightning, shattering the glass windows of the entire villa.
-rumble-
-bang-
-Crack, Shatter-
The aftereffect resulted in a thick wave of energy that pushed them away; luckily, Aries noticed in time and pulled Daniel into his barrier.
"What the fuck was that?"
While they were still stunned, Serenity's icy shell cracked as she started moving on the broken glass standing at the edges of the window; she fell down, scattering roses into the air.
being in the air after all the ice separated, her body started glowing with a blinding light that rushed straight into the sky.
At the same time, in a dark abandoned castle in one of the forbidden areas in PROTEGO, a coffin door was pushed from under the ground, causing a huge explosion that blew it up in an instant.
From the coffin a skeleton crawled outside till it stood on its feet, spreading the smell of death with every step it took. Its skull turned up at the faint glow in the sky, and its eyes quickly lit with life.
"Haaah, haaah, this familiar breath…haaah...i can feel it...."
The skeleton suddenly caught fire but still moved ahead as its bones started cracking with blood swallowing all of it. Next veins appeared, then muscles, and finally a fair white skin and long silky black hair. He opened his golden eyes as he went outside; he chanted,
[ FLAGRO ]
The entire forbidden area caught on fire, and he stood there admiring the sight in front of him.
" the witch's destiny is moving again, and iam here to get it."
This point marked the awakening of the dark entity that hunted the past, without anyone realizing the wheel of fate started running again with the return of the "WITCH"