[ 4 hours later ]

  The security door separating the living room and the lobby room opened, revealing a long not seen but not forgotten family member.

  “Anybody home?” He knocked. He looked around for a moment to take in his old home. The last time he saw this home was when Fursan was leading... about 9 years ago.

  “Surprisingly exactly as I remember it.”

  He dropped the baggage that he brought onto the bigger sofa, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at every intricate detail on the walls, the vases, posters and portraits.

  Oh, how amazing it must feel to be back at your old home and to see your family.

  Surprisingly, he felt bitter about it.

  From the shadowed corner, two figures stepped into the lamplight. Sachiel stood tall and composed, leaning against a marble column with a serene smile, while Asheera

  “Altair! Oh how I’ve missed you!”

  “I’ve missed you too- AGG- Sis... you’re crushing me!” He panicked for a moment, although knew it meant well. Sometimes she gets a bit ahead of herself, forgetting how strong she is.

  The Pummeler she carries around in battle helped her gain a strong grip, stronger than some of those with fundamental power.

  “... Are you okay? No critical injuries? I was worried sick when I saw the news about your fight on Dankasho!”

  “Oh that...?” She scoffed. “Was a piece of cake.”

  Altair paused, the sentence forming in his head about to make way to his mouth, but was stopped to chuckle.

  “You always used to say that when *I* was worried about our tutoring.”

  Asheera stopped hugging him, looking back at Sachiel to expect him to hug Altair too, but he didn’t.

  He stood there, smiling.

  “Brother... I missed you.”

  “I know, you kept reiterating that on call... Glad to see your heart still beats for this place even after all these years of leading.” He walked over, hugging him.

  Sachiel chuckled, hugging him back.

  When he lets his walls down for the night and loses his self control, he shows how human he really is. He does hold emotions... strong, ever-growing ones, as intense as a storm.

  “So... is my room still vacant?” He asked, smirking.

  “Untouched, but kept spick and span.” Asheera smirked back. “I’ll get the baggage and tidy up your room again. Meanwhile, why don’t you go and say hello to Myrcella?”

  “That vicious beast is still around?”

  Asheera laughed, holding the baggage like it was foam palettes.

  He remembered that name, the name of the vicious beast, the most dangerous creature of Testharia. He was terrified of her, and the same goes for a lot of Mobilizers, but she is actually a sweetheart.

  At least, to Sachiel and Asheera.

  For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Altair Eria allowed himself to simply stand in the threshold of his childhood home and breathe.

  He let his eyes wander up and around, letting everything he thought he forgot linger in his mind.

  From sharp sounds of laughter from his and Asheera’s birthday parties to the echo of his own footsteps chasing after Asheera in marble-floored corridors.

  Home.

  Nine years of diplomatic tours, Soul-Research and maintenance of being a CEO of a new company called Evagne Pharmaceuticals alongside her girlfriend, Celeste Evagne. Fits well for his major in genetic biology.

  He was adopted alongside Asheera Eria after being saved from a fire that took Nymeria Town to the ground, by Azrael Eria. Despite his family claim, he goes by the surname of his girlfriend in public and tries to distance himself from the fame.

  The world changed so much outside, but inside this house was a passage to the past. And now he was back, even if it was only for a while.

  He didn’t pause long enough to risk sentimentality. Instead, he let his hand trail across the comms console near the foyer, idly flipping through security notifications. His own name appeared on the guest registry with a glowing green arrival time.

  The time seemed both arbitrary and final, as if his return was some cosmic event the old house had been waiting for.

  He heard the distant clatter of Asheera dragging his old baggage up the stairs, laughing at the sound resonating throughout this room. Every thud was confirmation of her excitement. Altair smiled and checked his own reflection in the polished marble floor.

  He looked older, but atleast the years didn’t change him all the further in a way he feared it would.

  He was probably more tired than before, taking a shallow breath. He suppressed a guffaw and sat down on the sofa. He squared his shoulders, and prepared himself for the reunion Myrcella has been waiting for so long.

  “Vicious beast… heh…”

  = = =

  [ 1 hour later / Tristate City Center Park ]

  A walk in the Tristate City Center Park would give anyone a sense of serenity. High rise trees much like the buildings towered over the puny people that walked around it, blocking most of the sunlight that comes from their star in their solar system.

  The only time they would get a bit of light through the park is when the artificial mega-OLED panels activated around it.

  It almost felt like a football stadium instead of a park.

  And that is exactly why Sachiel didn't come to the Center Park often. It was too loud for his tastes, but a nice place to get lost in if he needs time to think. He walked in the night often to not attract too many citizens his way.

  He is the Great Kamisword after all.

  Any sighting of him would mean attention for the good and assassination attempts for the bad.

  No, this time it was Asheera walking in the Center Park, alongisde her butler, Nythel Denuro.

  She has been working as the Royal Family butler for a while now, occasionally taking breaks in-between to take care of her sick grandpa in her own home in Kaloksya, a town 20 miles from Tristate City.

  Her grandpa was diagnosed with vascular dementia, and is currently in a state of a coma, hooked onto an EEG machine to help maintain his brain activity.

  Testharia is ahead of it's time with medical technology, but even that can't reverse the damage dementia creates over time. In fact, it's the 4th most common cause of death in old people.

  Why are Testharians so susceptible to this disease? Nobody knows.

  Asheera walked slowly, breathing in the soothing smell of the freshly mown grass and the refreshing, almost sugary smell of flowers blooming. She took in the night sky, something she oftentimes couldn't do due to her work as a Viceroy and the Second-Leader, even when she delegated her work to the council.

  She coughed, stopping and looking at Nythel.

  “Is there something bothering you, Asheera?” Nythel was close enough to Asheera to drop the honorifics. It's a honour, really.

  Asheera was lost in her thoughts. She wasn't in a good state of mind lately. Her constant bickering with Sachiel over the increasing unrest and silence to his people, all exacerbated by this newcomer foreigner Jumkou Katatoria and the 'wonder boy' Flynnigan Shotaro, left a significant sour taste in her mouth.

  Why is Sachiel so fixated on helping this foreigner, almost to the point that he starts neglecting his own people? No new legislative was passed that was proven beneficial to the people in a long time.

  He has held almost no beneficial intragovernmental meetings, letting her take over.

  He occasionally does fly to Snowfall Heights and continue on his rescue missions but that is all he does.

  “Nythel... don't you think that Sachiel is acting... weird lately?”

  Nythel looked up, pondering. She was a rather small lady, about 6'1 foot (185 cm) and had a very slender figure, much like all Testharians around here. But what she lacked in height and physique, she made up in intellect and charm.

  She is the smartest butler around. She had white hair as pale as snow and white eyes that was blinding. That was due to a birth defect.

  She is blind, but does her work efficiently.

  “It's almost like--He is putting more love and care into a foreigner much like Father Azrael did...”

  Nythel fell silent, then smiled.

  Asheera looked at her, puzzled. She was used to Nythel being a bit more talkative than this. They've known each other for a long time now, and there isn't much they don't know about each other.

  Nythel looked at the sky. “The stars are pretty tonight. What do you think, Asheera?”

  “I suppose...”

  The silence grew and grew until Asheera asked a question.

  “What is it that you think I should do, Nythel?”

  “Well, you are a great leader. You lead with great charisma and grace.” Nythel said, chuckling.

  “... Is this your way of saying I'm a boring leader?”

  “Hardly. What Sachiel cannot do, you can do just fine. You've been taking his workload ever since the terrorist attack, why not just continue what you were doing? I am sure that Sachiel is giving you a break.”

  “A break?”

  Asheera fell silent.

  “... I guess you are right.”

  Nythel smiled.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “...Though, I want to know why he is so invested in this Flynnigan Shotaro. There must be a reason...” She clenched her fists, thinking.

  “It's unlike him to be fond of foreigners... not to mention *too* fond...”

  Asheera stared into the night sky, wondering where Sachiel was after Altair settled in his old room again. He left in a hurry, with no explanation.

  All he said was, 'I will be back.'

  That left Asheera in a state of uncertainty.

  “Nythel, it's getting late... You should return to your grandpa. It's been a while since you've last taken care of him, am I right?”

  “... Yes. That is true. But are you sure you will be alright by yourself? There is a lot of clean-up to do and whatnot... I don't want to burden you with more work.”

  Asheera chuckled.

  She was more than capable of doing these things on her own.

  She was the Viceroy of Testharia, after all.

  “I'll be fine, Nythel... Your grandpa needs to be taken care of.”

  Nythel bowed before turning around and walking away from the Center Park as Asheera stood there. She looked at the sky.

  The sky looked like the ocean in the day time, with no stars visible at all.

  The lights in the park made it hard to see them, but Asheera was sure that there were a lot of stars tonight. She smiled, remembering her olden days when she went to the Assitrea Outpost in Snowfall Heights with Sachiel and spent her days stargazing through the telescope.

  She had a lot of fun going there. Now... she had no time for herself.

  Asheera sighed, looking at her communicator. It's been a few hours since Sachiel left. She decided to call him while sitting down on a bench.

  1 ring... 2 rings...

  No answer. Asheera raised an eyebrow. That was... unusual for him. He always answers his calls. He would be so preoccupied with the call that he would forget everything around him and trip on his own feet.

  It's happened before.

  Where could he be?

  A few minutes later, she rose from the bench and started to make her way back to the Eria Tower. Either he was busy in Snowfall Heights again or busy handling paperworks handed by intragovernmental organizations.

  She sighed, realizing just how deep in a crisis Testharia is in right now. Ever since she opened her arms to the outside world and to Dark Intrinium as a matter of fact has always left a knot in her stomach.

  There is no way they can break free from Dark Intrinium peacefully, diplomatically.

  The only way they could is to win a war against them. Sachiel reiterated how Lord Veyron was planning to invade Testharia at one point since he established an alliance between Soul-Core and Testharia.

  He said it was a matter of time that Dark Intrinium would take Testharia for himself.

  She sighed again, the snow hitting her cheek, reddening it. Her face was beetroot red too. It was a really cold day today. She sighed once again, hastening her pace to the Eria Tower.

  It started getting cold, really really cold.

  Where was this coldness coming from?

  Where?

  From where?

  Where!?

  Tell me, goddamnit!?

  Then, she stopped in her tracks completely. There were footsteps behind her. Footsteps she didn't recognize. Those footsteps felt hostile as well. How could she know they were hostile from just hearing footsteps?

  It wasn't just any non-ordinary intuition. Sometimes people have primal instincts to run away or freeze in the eye of danger. This is one of those times where her primal instinct told to run.

  Run, run and never look back.

  Her Soul was telling it too, forcing her to move those legs and run.

  But before she could even make her way out of here, she was grabbed from behind and put in a headlock. She tried her best to break free from their grip, but to no avail. They were strong, incredibly brute-force strong.

  Their grip felt like a pair of chains wrapped around her neck.

  She struggled and struggled but nothing happened. She fell silent, the coldness increasing by the second. It was unbearable, like a thousand needles piercing her skin and flesh, digging deeper into her bones.

  ...

  No, no that isn't cold.

  It was fire.

  Blazing hot fire.

  It felt cold at first, but the coldness that comes before the fire is an illusion everyone falls victim to.

  She wriggled around, writhing around in the stranger's grasp, but nothing happened. Nothing.

  “In the name of the Second Leader, I order... you to unhand me-“

  The stranger started to choke her from behind, lifting her up to make her lose connection with the ground. Whatever she could do, there would be nothing to equate to the strength that this stranger possessed.

  “U...GK... Un...hand me...”

  Asheera was forced higher and higher off the ground, the gravity, albeit lower than on Earth, still put pressure on her throat and neck against the stranger's grip. They were suffocating her.

  It seemed to be like an ordinary person too, with no perceivable Soul-Residue nor Soul-Energy. Was this Soul-Wielder of extreme power going to die against a lackey?

  They could be anything. They could be a terrorist seeking the fall of the royal Eria regime, or a drunk person waiting to take advantage of a girl.

  She felt her pupils touching the ceiling of her eye socket, slowly losing vision. Her eyes were bloodshot, almost threatening to pop out from the insane pressure against their grip and her chin.

  “KG- GGGGHK-“

  Panicking like crazy, Asheera's legs started to wriggle around like she was riding a bike.

  “L-Let go of me... You... I'll kill you... If you don't let go... You're dead-“

  Her attempt at being aggressive was interrupted by an intense punch in the stomach, following with another punch in the same area. She started to spit out blood, struggling to breathe.

  “. . .”

  The punches kept coming. They were as strong as Sachiel's punches. That means that the person holding her must be a Soul-Wielder at the very least of extreme power, or a martial artist as good as Sachiel.

  But martial artists don't use this kind of brutality to attack.

  So how could she determine that they were a Soul-Wielder if this Soul-Wielder has no perceivable Soul-Residue nor Soul-Energy? This was too crazy.

  Everything she thought about made no sense.

  She wanted to call out for Sachiel to come help her, but what good is the second strongest of Testharia if all she's going to do is scream for help in the face of death?

  Feeling anger build up inside her, she had enough being choked. It was a miracle she was still conscious at the moment. She fired an incomplete Soul-Blast to the ground, forcing the stranger to 'unhand' her.

  Asheera then super jumped back, almost failing with an elegant landing.

  "You... sicko..." She said, dropping to one knee and letting air breathe into her and out.

  The stranger wasn't fazed by her blast at all. In fact, the stranger didn't move from their position. It was almost like they let Asheera go.

  “... Who... Who are you!?” Asheera said, breathing heavily. The early onset of panic from the chokehold faded, but now a second panic set in.

  The panic of not being able to sense them.

  They were as good as perceived a ghost, that merely came to haunt her late at night.

  The stranger then spoke:

  “It's great to see you again, Asheera...”

  “How do you know my name!?”

  “I know everything about you.”

  “. . .”

  Asheera fell silent. She was coughing blood out, her right hand rubbing the now violated neck and her left hand free to manifest Pummeler right now. Asheera's Soul-Aura was released, creating a small crater beneath her feet.

  A 2-meter-long Scythe-Hammer formed with a handle as big as an average human arm. Controlling it, balancing it against its weight proved to be no issue. Asheera's grip is stronger than some people of fundamental power.

  Which made this stranger all the scarier...

  “I will hereby... arrest you for attempted murder on a royal member and the Second Leader of Testharia... As per Article 6, Chapter 12 and Section 4 of the Testharian Constitution, you are to be executed on the spot... Any form of resistance is prohibited and will result in stronger force exercised on you. Surrender now!”

  So much for a professional outlook just to die, thought the stranger.

  “I forgot that you aren’t the easy-going type, heh...” The stranger casually said. “Why that sulky expression? It's been a long time since I have seen you... not a fan of warm reunions?”

  “Nothing you say will flatter me nor coerce me!”

  “Right... you never listened to what I said anyways... did you, Ashe?”

  . . .

  . . .

  ...

  ...

  ...

  The stranger pulled the hood back and took their blindfold off, revealing long, silky blonde hair and blue eyes.

  “...”

  It's her, alright.

  “... It's... It's you...”

  “In the flesh...” She smiled, a genuine smile. “Oh, how I would've loved for you to have carved your own path and be free. Though it is different to be truly born free.”

  Asheera was shocked deep to the core. So shocked in fact that her Pummeler that she attempted to manifest was incomplete. The scythe side did not manifest and her hammer side was only 75% complete.

  “You... Why... Why the fuck did you come back!?”

  The stranger bowed. “I wanted to see how my best friend was doing. It's been exactly 7 years since we last met. I haven't been here to see you grow up to become the second most well-known of us all. Second Leader of Testharia, hm? Such a grand title. You definitely grew up and in a way I would never expect. Still seem a bit 'all bark no bite' to me, though.”

  “... You... left me to die! You beat me up and left me to die in the fucking fire! You were out to kill me! You burned my town to the ground to KILL ME!” Asheera yelled so much that all the excess blood in her mouth shot out, splattering onto the ground.

  The stranger walked around, their feminine voice yet low enough to mistake it for a masculine one. Their hands were in the pockets of their robe. Laughing, they looked at the direction Asheera was.

  “Never one for sentiment, were you?” The stranger chuckled again.

  “Just tell me what you are really here for, you vile, sickening monster!” Asheera yelled again.

  The stranger stopped drawing circles on the gravel with a stick, throwing it in the water pond. The stranger, confirmed a female now, fixed her silky blonde hair and blue eyes. With a single blink, she looked back at Asheera and smirked.

  “To save you. From them.” The stranger then laughed again. “That is my reason, mostly... but you know, I have another matter I'm here for. I'm here, for someone... and it's definitely not you.”

  “What was that attempted murder on me just then about!?”

  “Darlin’, that was just a hug… Or have you grown weak over the years?”

  Rage built up inside Asheera, like a super volcano ready to erupt. She wanted to smash her face in like she did hers, burn everything she held dear like she did to her and throw her into the bottomless pits of Snowfall Heights, an original intent.

  But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not because she lacked the power to do so, but because something else was holding her back. Asheera isn't evil by any means...

  Killing her meant losing a best friend.

  But the term lost meaning a long time ago.

  “... Sachiel would never let your dreams come true!”

  “Always depending on that emotionless brute, huh?”

  “He is not emotionless!”

  “He is a brute, whether you like it or not.”

  “Do you just refer to us as brutes in general? What do you know about us!?”

  “I know everything about all of you that you don't.”

  “Yeah, goddamn you don't! You're a fucking killer AND A LIAR!!”

  The stranger then threw a small dagger toward Asheera. The only means of retaliation for Asheera was to blast it away, and so she did. The dagger then flew towards a tree , impaling another life instead.

  “You are the only person who knows about me, Ashe. You took my place in the royal family. Azrael was a brute, which birthed another brute. Then you came ‘nto their family and turned into another vicious monster in their image. All you were made for was fightin' when you should've came with me and lived free… We could’ve lived free, free from everything.”

  The stranger’s voice started to break. It was clear to see that this fa?ade that she was trying to front wasn’t going to last long.

  Some friend she was. She was feeling guilty of everything she did and now she was facing that guilt face to face.

  Of course that poker face wouldn’t last for even a minute.

  “You burned my village down!”

  “That… I did…”

  “Why did you do that!?”

  “… I did what I had to do to save you…”

  “You saved nothing! You doomed us all!”

  “I doomed you?”

  “YES!”

  “You don’t get it…”

  “What!? I don’t get you attempting to kill everyone-“

  “Do you not get it, you stupid fucking dog!? They were coming for you and I knew it! And because you didn’t wanna come with me, I had to burn the place down to save your sorry ass! All because I felt sorry for you, for being a Soul-Wielder!”

  From the way the stranger said it with her chest puffed out, it sounded genuine. Her voice was breaking as she said it. Asheera couldn't fathom if it was a lie, that her voice was laced with deceptive vibrations.

  “No… It’s not just you. The royal government you so love fighting for were going to savagely execute everyone for harbouring a Soul-Wielder with insane potential. They were going to kill everyone because you existed! Yet I felt sorry for you… I shouldn’t’ve.”

  All that Asheera remembered was her face, blocking the night sky, all in red hue.

  “Then Azrael took you in and let the beast inside you lock you up inside a cage and turn you into a killing machine. All behind that good-for-nothing image you call royalty and loyalty.”

  “...”

  Asheera lowered her arms.

  “...Heh.”

  The stranger chuckled.

  “It’s not really anyone’s fault, is it?! The government hated anyone who hid Soul-Wielders. They needed Soul-Wielders to push their reputation. All the royal government cares about are people to use as tools to boost their military, their only propaganda. Because my town decided to protect you, all they got for them was horror and death. That’s right… I still don’t know what happened to the only people whom I could’ve called my only true family. No… I had to doom my family… burn my hometown to protect you… To protect you from that piece of shit Azrael… But you… You were the one who betrayed me! I tried to save you! I tried to save the only person who I called my friend! You! I called you my only friend! Why did you have to go and turn against me? Why did you have to go and punt me to the ground with your silly Soul-Wielder powers? Azrael… Sachiel… they all turned you into this murderous, monstrous, vile killing machine! You think this is heaven!? Janninegan!? You think whatever you are doing with your royal family saves people!? You think playing God with your mighty fucking Souls, use it like slaves will save ANYTHING!? No! Everything that’s coming for you is Hell! Absolute Entropy! I fucking hate you. I hate you so fucking much… Hate, hate hate HATE HATE! HATE! You are pathetic… SO pathetic! You doomed me and my entire town to their deaths! You took everything from me, because you were a worthless Soul-Wielder. You were the only one who treated me like I was normal… but everyone betrayed me in some way or another. Who did you fight for back then, huh!? Did you know they were coming for you, so you gave up your life for them to try and contain ME!? You were so gentle that you couldn’t even hurt a fly, you couldn’t ever! You wouldn’t but you did! Why did you!? WHY!?”

  The stranger then stopped, staring at the ground. What followed after was a deep shivering breath.

  “…………….. That’s when I realized that Soul-Wielders have no will. All of you are pawns to Him, one way or another. You are pawns to your own curses. And those curses will slave away to turn you into its slave. You don’t know how it feels like to be free… But He… He will set you free, sooner or later.”

  The stranger started walking away.

  “Do it, Ren.”

  “... Wha-“

  Asheera's body went limp.

  What?

  What the hell happened to me?

  I can’t breathe…

  The person behind me… what did he do to me?

  Whatever he did was lethal enough to drop me to the ground…

  Shit, I really can’t breathe… did he crush my windpipe?

  No… it feels more like he broke my spine…

  God, I feel nauseous.

  I feel like I’m falling apart.

  In pieces.

  Agh, it hurts so much.

  There’s blood, everywhere…

  … Am I really going to die here, to them?

  To her? Out of everyone?

  Who is that person with blue fire spewing out of his hands?

  And why is he looking at me like t-

  After this chapter and the interludes. Arc of the Souls chapters will release in every other day due to participating in the new Writathon!