The Revelation of Awakening

Part 13: The Revelation of Awakening

A dark-haired man entered a dimly-lit lab room, speaking into the mic of a phone. “The cold-blood-draws yielded more success than I realized. Not only is patient 009 gifted with a very special power, but she is also the key to something I never thought possible.”

The man swiftly walked over to a small side table and picked up a medical clipboard. He seemed overjoyed by the contents of whatever was pinned to it. After several moments of examination, he placed the clipboard back, exchanging it for a small Neriolite that pulsated an amber color—steady at first.

“By infusing patient 009’s cold blood into a Neriolite, the Neriolite becomes a direct gateway to these other worlds—entire other dimensions. However, if one is crushed and then consumed, an incredible power is gained—effects of which are unclear, but there is reason to believe patient 009 can be revived with this power.” A loud splash jarred the man from his recording as unsecured carts and trays began to slide around the room. “It looks like after two years we’re finally setting sail again.”

Lacia woke with a start, kicking blankets and bed sheets onto the floor. How long had she been asleep? Panicked, she made a move towards the door, but stopped short of trying the handle.

“Mana and Aria… The Hihouyo! Oh my god!” She scoured the room for a set of clothes, realizing the medical gown she had on wasn’t exactly appropriate public attire. “I’ve got to tell everyone I’m ok. I’m sure they’re worried about—”

Seagulls wailed as water sloshed outside a small port window. Loose objects pitched to one side as terror overwhelmed her mind in seconds, chills running up and down her spine. She could’ve sworn she’d disembarked the ship with Aria after the flash-freeze—she distinctly remembered the knife hidden in her sleeve, her broken foot, and Aria’s terrible sense of directions. How was it that, after everything they’d done, she was back at square one? She took a breath, trying to calm her nerves before examining the rest of the room.

The port window above her head offered the same limited view and the shades by the hall window were drawn for privacy. Multiple crimson stains dotted the mattress—likely her blood from the old arrow wound. It was like someone was expecting her eventual return; even the room retained the heavy stench of bleach and various other chemicals.

“No, no, no… This can’t be happening!” She ran to door but was sent flying into the back wall after attempting the handle. “Dammit,” she cursed, rubbing her back.

A plop from the front of the room caught her attention. She crawled over to investigate the source of the noise, discovering a fallen calendar that must’ve been knocked loose when she hit the wall. At first glance, it seemed only a couple of months had passed since the Hihouyo, but something still wasn’t adding up. If she and Aria had successfully eliminated Ahzef, she wouldn’t be back on that ship. If they had been unsuccessful, neither of them should even be alive.

“If the Hihouyo failed, but I’m still alive…” She paused, mulling everything over in her head. “Does that mean Ahzef was eliminated? But if that’s the case, then why am I here?” The air conditioning roared to life knocking a piece of paper to the floor at her feet. The scribbled black ink was barely legible:

“Note: After recapturing patient 009 after the Hihouyo, patient showed no vitals for approximately five minutes. Patient has responded well to multiple rounds of treatment from self-Neriolite-infusion. Full recovery expected soon.”

Lacia’s hands trembled—patient 009 was her moniker. “So, it’s true. I did die, but now I’m back on this ship again,” she whispered, “and something is keeping me from leaving. They’re serious this time.” Her whole body began to shake.

“You know, that first note was dated two years ago. There are more on the back if you’d like to be nosy,” a familiar voice spoke. “Surprised to see me again?”

Lacia spun around faster than a top. “Ahzef! How?”

“In the end, you and Aria were just a tad too late.”

“What do you mean ‘too late’?

“It’ll be easier to show you rather than trying to explain everything. Normally I’m not so apt to share such things, but it doesn’t matter since there’s nothing you can do,” the devil chuckled.

“Answer me one question first,” Lacia said, shaking. “Why did you revive me? You have what you need, do you not? What reason is there in bringing me back?”

Ahzef’s cold eyes burned holes into her soul, the expressionless look on his face equally as unnerving. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge; bed springs gave a light groan under the new weight. Tilting his head back as if he were contemplating the meaning of life, the devil sighed.

“You have a very special power and if you’re dead, that power is unobtainable. Judging by our previous encounters thus far, you still don’t have proper control over it.”

“Are you talking about Hika and the Aurei? What does she have to do with all of this?”

“Let me finish, Lacia. You see, the Aurei are indeed a part of the equation, but your friend Mana has also been blessed with incredible power thanks to a certain someone who I’m sure you’ve met by now.” He directed his gaze at Lacia. “By using the Aurei, I can form a new Halifer and by using you as bait, Aria and Mana will undoubtedly come to find you.”

Lacia’s head swam. Of course he was going to use her as bait. All signs pointed in the direction opposite of her favor, but perhaps having Lucifero attack when he did was beneficial. If Ahzef had waited until now to enact the final phase of his plan, did that mean he’d never expected Aria to switch sides in the fight? The one person he put his trust in the most.

“I may be trapped on this ship for now, but that doesn't mean I’m out of options completely, yet.” Recalling the voice in her head from that day on the deck, she made a plea. “If you’re the voice I heard that day, I’m asking for a miracle now. If you’re the Omnis that Ahzef is talking about, then clearly, you’re far more capable than he is. Please.”

Ahzef continued to drone on as the steady rocking motion of the ship lulled Lacia into a trance. Her eyes grew heavy as she slumped against the wall. Colors melded together like molten glass, stripped into white. Ahzef’s voice was drowned out in the spiraling maze before her, like falling into a kaleidoscope but one devoid of all color as she continued to fall through empty space.

“Listen to me, Lacia. You must find a way into Chiipha where you must rendezvous with Lyra. She will lead you to Mana and Aria. Time is very limited and—”

“And the one chance you have to undo all of my hard work cannot be allowed to happen,” Ahzef’s voice boomed. A shadowy hand enveloped Lacia, yanking her departed consciousness back. “You’re my prize, girl, and your leaving in the middle of our conversation wasn’t very ladylike.”

“Don’t give me that crap,” she groaned. “Don’t ever whiplash my consciousness back like that again.” She felt like she was treading water before leaning into a nearby trashcan, violently ill. “Just kill me now, again,” she thought, too ill to do anything more than white-knuckle the poor bin.

Ahzef cleared his throat to speak. “You have no one to—”

“Say it. See if I don’t burn that tongue out of—” Her face grew whiter than the tile floor as she returned to her business with the trashcan. “Just kill me,” she moaned between gasps of air.

Ahzef walked over to Lacia, bent over the vomit-filled trashcan that now resembled anything but, and rubbed her back. “If you puke your guts out now, it will be a very messy body you return to because I won’t be cleaning you off before reviving you.” He continued to rub her back. The gentle motions helped to ease Lacia’s whiplash-induced nausea. “Better now?”

Weakly, she lifted her head, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Why didn’t you start with that?”

“Because you need to know your place. I could have just as easily pulled you back without the whiplash, but you seem to have a tough time when it comes to learning new tricks.”

“Learning new tricks? What am I? A dog?”

“Not yet, but if you’d like to be after—”

“Forget I asked.” She trudged past Ahzef and curled up onto the bed. “I hate playing games with you devils and I especially don’t like you. I’m going to sleep.”

“Oh, but we’re just getting to the good part, you see. Allow me to show you just how much I’ve been working on,” Ahzef sneered.

“Like I said,” she turned over, preparing to reiterate her previous statement, but she found herself alone in the center of an empty city. One moment she was ready for a coma-like nap, the next she was in a strange city with no explanation as to where she was or how she got there.

Grey clouds filtered overhead, heralded by a strong breeze—too strong. Traffic lights rocked back and forth, eventually breaking free from their perilous predicament. Entire city blocks began to buckle as the ground shook. A strong gravitational force eroded the city bit by bit to reveal a hellish sight hidden below: rivers of red and orange all flowing into the same singularity.

“Those are a sample of the leylines within the Earth. The richer the mana, the richer the color.”

“Hika?! Where have you been?” Lacia rebounded with joy as the Aurei took her human form.

“We can go over this later. Right now, I think you should look up.”

Lacia tilted her head back as cracks crawled across the sky like a shattered mirror, growing steadily larger. Holes formed in the center, blotting out the sun and plunging the sky into a canvas of stars. Infinitely more stars filled the inky canvas as the sky continued to shatter like glass; even the satellites above were clearly visible, some raining down in streaks of fiery torment and screeching metal as they barreled into the ground.

“Hika— What?”

“This is the world Ahzef has envisioned, and this is how it will begin: by destroying it first. We still have time, but not much. I’ve spent the last two years asleep, waiting for you to wake as well,” the Aurei explained. “Now look to the horizons.”

To Lacia’s right, the moon had grown to fill the eastern sky. Chunks of lunar debris rotated around a still-intact larger body as the dust in the atmosphere created an ominous yellow-white haze. An occasional lunar chunk would strike a radio tower or skyscraper, leaving only a charred pit where the offending structure had been.

In the western sky, the sun began to retreat from the Earth. The fading fringes of warm sunlight grazed Lacia’s arm before slipping off like butter, failing to find the one thing it could latch onto. She watched as the star that had graced the Earth with its beauty and warmth began to pulsate, like it was being squeezed. The sun seemed to sigh before erupting into a brilliant supernova, throwing the Earth into ever-increasing darkness and permanent cold.

Lacia fell to her knees in utter shock and disbelief. Could such chaos really be her fault? Was she just that weak? Even if that were the case, she steeled her nerves—the fight wasn’t over yet.

“The residual heat from the sun won’t last much longer. I can open the gate to Chiipha, but I will require that lingering solar radiation. However, I believe you need to address that first.” Hika pointed Lacia in the direction of the exposed leylines.

A small pedestal rose from the center of the leyline convergence. It towered into the sky, scraping the inky canvas before disappearing into the lunar haze above. Lacia blinked spots from her eyes; she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The pedestal continued its climb into the heavens—an unstoppable force that rivaled even humanity’s greatest architectural achievements.

She peered into Hika’s eyes. Nodding, they started towards the pedestal-turned-tower. From a distance, it seemed like nothing special, but as they approached the base, Lacia realized how wrong she was. Sand poured from the top down, drenching Lacia in a grainy shower of fine particulates. She shielded her eyes with her hand as she took in the immense size of the structure before her, surprisingly solid despite its frail appearance in the dim light.

The fleeting rays of sunlight cast a minimal glow on the tower, transforming it into a shimmering red spire. What looked like a large tower of stone in the dim twilight was instead a dizzying tower of sand that wound into the atmosphere. Like a sandcastle, she felt the entire thing could come crumbling down with one wrong move—an unnerving thought even as she firmly punched the exterior.

“Ow! Yeah, I’d say that’s pretty solid,” Lacia whined, nursing her hand.

“So, you punched it?”

“And what would you have done. Hm?”

Hika tried to keep from laughing. “Lacia. Please tell me you’re a little smarter than that,” she exclaimed, in stitches.

“Whatever,” Lacia pouted. “How do we get… in?”

The bracelet on her wrist began to glow. Up until now, she’d forgotten about it entirely—a shameful admittance, but it was the truth. Life had been a whirlwind and this technical second one was no different. Her head hurt just thinking about it all, but the bracelet on her wrist was the small reminder she needed; she was in command, and this was her war to fight.

For the first time, she thoroughly examined the red stones that encircled the band of the bracelet. Beyond curing her headaches during her time with Lucifero, it hadn’t offered much in the way of anything, yet it now glowed so bright the sky turned a deep shade of vermillion. Lacia found herself transfixed by the beauty.

Hika whistled in amazement. “Now that’s an outfit, Lacia.”

“Huh? Hey,” she narrowed her eyes, “Why did you whistle at me like some creepy guy, first of all, and second,” she stared at Hika in clear confusion, “What?”

“Look down if you don’t believe me.”

Pointed tails of gold and turquoise formed a silken skirt, resting at the back of the knee. Opaque white stockings caressed her legs, held up by metallic-gold garters, hidden by the skirt tails themselves.

“I knew light did a lot of things, but I didn’t know it made clothes,” Hika teased.

“It would be easier if I at least had a reflection, because if I’m not wrong…” Lacia lightly tapped a gold ring around her middle finger, white light manifesting up her arm, brimming past the elbow. A set of white gloves appeared, riddled with ornate patterns and weaves that crisscrossed each other like contrails from a jet plane.

“Lacia— Did you know this entire time?” Hika scrambled to decipher the markings along Lacia’s arms. “These are markings from a very influential family, but they vanished without a trace thousands of years ago.” Hika held up a piece of broken glass so Lacia could see her reflection.

A band wrapped around her midsection, forming a large white bow in the back. Her sleeves hung down in sheets of white and turquoise as she twirled around. “This kind of reminds me of those formal dresses from— Oh my god. Everything makes sense now.” She held a hand to her chest; a turquoise flower blossomed just above her breasts. A series of thin straps crisscrossed her neck in a dizzying spiral

“Your last name isn’t actually Amana, is it?” Hika watched as an embroidered emerald necklace draped itself across Lacia’s chest. On the side, etched in small script, was a single word. Hika smiled. “Well now, Miss Iliern— I mean, milady.” She smiled. “This changes things.”

“Yeah… This changes everything. Ahzef’s plan just backfired big time.” She brushed a hand through her hair, stripping it of its platinum hues, replaced by a sun-kissed blonde. “He wanted to show me something, but I don’t think he meant to show me this.”

“Even more reason to regroup now, but this tower…”

“This tower is just a replica of an ancient temple used to worship a certain goddess, but it’s here now which means, with the proper offering, we can borrow her power and—”

“Get to Chiipha that way.” Hika finished Lacia’s sentence. “What do you want to do, then? There’s no guarantee any of this will work.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this, Hika. I need you to be in top shape for whatever lies ahead of us, but we do need to get to Chiipha as soon as possible.” The edges of the city were beginning to crumble away like they were being eroded by some greedy malevolence, hellbent on devouring anything in its path. The temple, unwarded, would fall quickly.

She raised her bracelet to the sand, opening a path into the main entryway. Inside, a set of stairs hugged the edges of the walls as they wound their way to the top. Despite their sandy composition and appearance, the steps were solid; they would offer a speedy climb to the pinnacle.

Lacia took a step inside, ready to begin the multiple-story-climb to the top floor. Her feet sank into the sand like waves washing away the shoreline. There was no time to stop and think, but she needed an offering still—something of worth, but what? Maybe the goddess wouldn’t be too sour considering no one had made an offering in the last few-thousand years, though she doubted the formal attire and a pretty face would be considered fair payment.

“Hey, Hika? What do you think about—” She stopped mid-sentence, acutely aware of a growing ache in her chest.

“What’s wrong?”

“My side… It’s like I can’t breathe.” Lacia dropped to one knee, clutching her side with one hand. “No— Now now!”

“Just a little insurance policy. You didn’t actually think that, in the event I accidentally lost you, I didn’t have a backup plan, now did you?”

“Ahzef you bastard,” Hika shouted, “I’ll finish what we started a long time ago.” A golden halo encompassed Hika now bathed in illustrious light.

Ahzef remained unphased, perhaps more unimpressed than anything. “Yeah?”

“God, you irritate the hell out of me.” She grabbed Ahzef by the neck as they soared into into the sky, flashes of dark and light as they continued their crazed clash.

She unleashed a searing blade of light that tore through dimensions as she dropped the saber on Ahzef followed by a volley of blazing arrows. The ensuing fight was dogged by enormous surges of rich magical energy; Hika’s prominence struggling against Ahzef’s sickening cascade of sin. She steamrolled into Ahzef, yet her movements were full of grace and splendor.

“Hika,” Lacia gasped, “stop! You’ll incinerate the oxygen in the air!”

Her words fell on deaf ears. Hika boiled with rage as she launched a Hihouyo so condensed with energy the ensuing blast knocked Lacia to her feet.

“She’s going to kill me if she’s not careful,” she thought. “Lucky me she didn’t unleash that right next to me.” A white-hot pain seared across her chest as she stumbled to her feet, watching Hika volley attack after attack against Ahzef. “And I say I’m hurting. I can’t imagine what Ahzef is feeling right now.” A faint rumble bore through the tower as small handholds appeared in the wall next to her. Was the tower telling her to keep moving?

The roar of Hika’s raging pursuit plagued her ears, but it was the motivation she needed. “No time for gazing at my feet—not while Hika is up there risking her life. She grasped the first handhold with an iron grip as she climbed the sandy steps to the top—one after the other.

“But of course he had a damn ‘insurance policy’, though. I don’t know what I was expecting,” Lacia grumbled as she continued her climb. Any moment now, Ahzef could sweep her off her feet and lock her away in that tiny room, free to enact his grand plan without the hassle of her hindrance. Just the thought alone terrified her, but she wasn’t about to become the princess locked away forever. This wasn’t her fairytale to live, nor would she let it become one.

There were still several stairs between her and the altar but she­ still had nothing to offer. Something in the back of her mind told her she wouldn’t need one, though. “Please tell me your name,” she pleaded. “Surely you can do that much for me. I want to do this the right way, but I can’t do this if I don’t know who I’m to worship.”

A disembodied voice resounded through the temple as Lacia collapsed on the top stair. Roiling in waves of pain, blood poured from her lip as she bit down, hoping to counter one type of pain with another. Through gritted teeth she pulled herself up. It was all or nothing and she wasn’t leaving without something. If she gave up now, the world she knew would be turned to ash before her eyes—a reality she refused to accept, no matter how fervent her pursuits to stop Ahzef. A large explosion rocked the temple from the outside as the sounds of fighting abruptly ceased which meant one of two things and she wasn’t willing to find out which.

Bright flashes left spots in her eyes leaving her momentarily frazzled. There, against the back wall, was an altar. Water flowed from a stone fountain into a pool at the base overshadowed by a modestly sized pillar draped in various hues of green and blue moss. She blinked again, the spots in her eyes having cleared. The same markings that patterned her arms slowly etched themselves into the pillar in front of her—a fierce orange burning itself into the white stone, line after line.

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t read any of that,” she said, glumly.

“Did you forget?” Hika’s voice echoed. “You are of the Iliern bloodline.”

“Hika!” Lacia shouted. “What happened? Where’s Ahzef?”

“Hika does not have the time to explain. Ahzef is coming and you must read pillar.”

Lacia turned back to the pillar where several new lines of script had been etched into the stone. It looked almost hand-written.

“Try again.”

Lacia turned to face the pillar once more, surprised she could read the engraving. She read aloud:

“Homage to the great. Homage to the mighty. Beneath the starry sky above, we worship the protector. Bathed in the pool of time, we submerge ourselves in the water of life and death where we are renewed by the grace and eminence of our creator.”

“Oh Laciaaa,” Ahzef’s voice boomed through the temple. “Where are youuu? We have much to go over still.”

“Keep reading,” Hika chided. “Hurry.”

Unease burrowed its way under Lacia’s skin as she continued:

“By the grace of our goddess, we grow and walk the path of life unafraid. Hand in hand with you, we banish the evil before us.” A new line etched itself into the stone beneath what she’d already recited… And it seemed to address her directly:

“You must follow the tide and find me in the depths of despair for I am not what you think.”

The rustle of bare feet on sand caressed Lacia’s ears as she turned towards the sound, fully expecting to find Ahzef peering over her shoulder. Her eyes rested upon a figure as dark as night, black goop oozed from its twig-like ribs as it stumbled towards her. If this were a nightmare, she was living it and it scared the hell out of her. A boney hand shot towards her neck at lightning speed, but it was deflected by an unseen force.

“What is that thing, Hika?”

“That is Ahzef. Hika did her best, but Hika could not finish Ahzef.”

Lacia swore under her breath. “Looks like it’s me and you then, Ahzef. You look a little worse for wear. You sure you’re up for this?” she said smugly.

“I’m tired of these stupid games, girl.” Ahzef closed his bony fist and squeezed.

Each finger seemed to fold into its bony palm at an agonizingly slow rate. Lacia’s chest tightened as the first finger completed its sickening, inward curl like some kind of twisted game—Ahzef’s insurance policy.

“You’ll like this one,” the devil teased, curling its second finger inward.

“Not so fast.” Lacia raised her hand to the open sky revealing dozens of glimmering lances. “I have an insurance policy of my own.” She performed a chopping motion with her hand unleashing a volley of lances into Ahzef’s bony shadow-form. The devil crumpled into a heap of bones and black mist as the light ripped into its body, banishing whatever dared to approach.

“You are my princess. I will not allow such evil to defile my altar nor my holy grounds. Do not fear what is to come, Lacia.”

A paralyzing chuckle dispersed from the pile of bones, rattling. Lacia froze in fear, unable to speak. Her lips refused to form the words she needed, and her feet remained planted, despite the sandy floor underfoot. The lances were her last resort having consumed the last of the mana she could spare. Ahzef’s pile of bones reformed as they clinked together like a toy skeleton, shadows filling the empty crevices and holes.

“That wasn’t half bad, but now it’s my turn.” A bony hand shot forward again, ramming against the same unseen magic barrier, but Ahzef’s last attack had done its job. The devil’s bony fingers were the first to breach as they tore the remaining barrier away like paper.

With, the last of her energy, Hika sprang into her human form, catching Ahzef’s hand with her own two. She was aware she could only buy a miniscule amount of time but allowing Lacia to fall to Ahzef would mean the end of everything.

“Dying here will be a small price to pay to protect Lacia. I will not let you through!”

“Fool! I have more than just my hands to use against you two,” Ahzef declared. “You will die for nothing, Hika!”

Lacia fell to her knees. What could she do? She was spent: no mana, no tricks up her sleeve—nothing. This was it. The proverbial precipice of defeat. She closed her eyes as she clasped her hands in prayer. Turning back to face the altar, she quickly found herself tangled up in the heavy fabric and droopy sleeves of her dress. There was nothing to break her fall as she splashed into the pool behind her, turquoise weaves tumbling over the side.

“Good girl,” Hika chided. “You’re not the brightest, but that’s definitely one way to figure out what you were supposed to do.” She relaxed her hold on Ahzef’s hand as the devil’s bony fingers pierced her abdomen like knives—straight through to other side. “Now that she’s gone,” Hika grabbed Ahzef’s hand with an iron grip, “I can complete my role. Good riddance, you rotting piece of sh—”

Her voice was drowned out by an exponential eruption of heat and light, rivaling that of supernovae, leveling everything in sight and as far as the eye could see. The ensuing shockwave cleared the lunar dust from the atmosphere, returning the hazy yellow skies to a mixture of blue and black, dotted by distant stars.

Cold, but refreshing, yet deadly. The current pulled Lacia deep into a series of underwater caverns, lined with gold and emerald. Still, she wasn’t a fish and she’d been under nearly a minute, caught in the watery clutches of something she feared would drown her instead of saving her. Drowning wouldn’t be a pleasant way to go out, but how could she keep the thought from her mind when her lungs were screaming for air?

She was ejected into an expansive chamber as the current finally released its hold. Regardless, time was still ticking, and she needed air. Swallowing the last tiny pocket she’d contained within her cheeks, Lacia turned around—frantically searching for a way out of the watery maze.

A faint glimmer of light broke the water’s surface well above her as she forced every last molecule of oxygen into her lungs. Her muscles ached with each stroke, and she was beginning to sink faster than she could surface. She could lose the dress, but that would take too long, even if it was weighing her down. Time was not on her side.

“But when is it ever?” she thought. “All that, just to drown in some foreign underwater cavern.” She struggled with one final stroke, but the cold water had sapped her strength and oxygen remained out of reach. “A watery grave is better than no grave at all I guess.”

She closed her eyes and allowed her hand to float ahead of her, hoping by the grace of some God she would be saved. Her back hit the chamber floor, expelling the last oxygen her lungs could cling to. As the bubbles rose towards the surface, she couldn’t help but smile. No one ever said fate was fair, but it didn’t seem right everything had fallen on her shoulders: the pains and bleeding, the abduction, Lucifero… the list went on. Now, here she was, laying against the floor of an underwater chamber as she watched the final seconds of her life tick away.

As her arms finally came to rest at her sides, they hit something… unnatural. Her eyes shot open as she turned herself around to face what she’d felt. Maybe an underwater door? At this point, she’d take just about anything.

She didn’t need a watch to know she had been submerged for over two minutes. At best, she had thirty seconds. However, she knew she could black out at any moment.

Faint light flickered from the surface, illuminating a golden chain and what looked to be the plug to a bathtub drain. As she anchored herself above it, adrenaline pumped through her veins, lending her the strength needed to break through the fatigue and cold.

With a muffled pop the plug came free, followed by a chorus of clicking and whirring. Before she knew it, she was being sucked down alongside the water again. The water rushed into an opening just wide enough to fit through, rushing into the small space as it began to close, but the new, smaller, chamber was already filled with water.

Without warning, bright orange lights illuminated the cramped space—no bigger than the interior of a small sedan. She hit her head against a side wall, drawing blood, but there in front of her was a large button that read WATER EXPULSION. Vague, but it would have to do, considering her lungs felt as if they were about to burst.

With haste, she pushed the button, a fresh influx of oxygen forcing the water from the cramped space, but this presented a new problem—she was no longer weightless in water. She plummeted several feet unable to break her fall as she landed on her hip. A painful crunch ensued. Her body felt numb from the shock as she sat there, dazed and immobile.

Now that the water was gone, she was able to thoroughly examine the interior of the small chamber.

“I wouldn’t try to move if I were you, princess. You were supposed to use the rungs before expelling the water,” a male voice came.

Breathing heavily, “If I hadn’t almost drowned after falling into the main pool,” she stopped to catch her breath, “I wouldn’t have been so apt to push a button that expelled all of the water.” She looked around for the source of the voice, catching the emerald-green eyes of a young boy who was hanging out of a door just above her head. “And… Princess?”

“Stay there. We’ll come get you. Just don’t move or you could hurt yourself more.”

“What do you take me for? Some kind of sadist?”

Lacia was escorted down an expansive hall lined with the same engravings that lined the sleeves of her dress, now in a sopping wet heap in a bag on her lap. The same jewel-laden ornamentation she saw in the water was engraved in the walls and floor; white marble reflected the green and gold onto the ceiling.

“I appreciate the sentiment, really, but you didn’t have to strap me to this wheelchair. I’m not going to fall out. I’m not that clumsy…”

“We are here to ensure that you come to no further harm, princess. Please excuse any unorthodox measures.”

Lacia frowned. “Yeah? What are you going to do next? Wrap me in bubble wrap?”

Several looks of confusion crossed the various faces that had emerged from their rooms to witness the commotion.

“If anyone should be confused here, it’s me. First of all, you keep calling me ‘princess’. Second of all, I almost drowned and I still don’t know where I am. Third, I’ve never seen people with such… interestingly shaped ears, and what are those markings on your faces?”

“Full of questions I see. All those years away and you’re as annoying as ever,” a deeper male voice chuckled. “I can’t blame you for forgetting, what with that memory block and all, but it seems it’s beginning to come undone. So, allow me to refresh you.”

“This just gets crazier by the day, I swear,” she mumbled, avoiding the gaze of the new figure before her. “Wait,” she turned her head in revelation, “is that you, Kilhan?”

“See? You’re beginning to remember. Now, let me jog that memory a little more. Lacia, you are part of a race of humans thought to be long-extinct—the Iliern. Our longer ears are proof of that. The markings you asked about are granted to those who have obtained seniority status.”

“Hika mentioned that I was part of the Iliern bloodline before I fell into the pool at the temple, but I didn’t know what she was talking about…” Lacia paused for a moment to think. “So why don’t I have those same ears and what is deemed ‘seniority status’”?

Kilhan took over the reins of Lacia’s wheelchair. “Everyone else can go about their business as usual. I will tend to Lacia, er-hem, the princess from here. We will celebrate her return later.”

Several Iliern shuffled about, struggling to get a better view of Lacia before returning to their duties as normal, grumbling as some disappeared behind closed doors. Kilhan wheeled Lacia into a room of her own, softly closing the door behind them.

The room itself was enormous—certainly fit for a princess. A silk shawl encircled a large bed in the center of the room, lined with red and white throw pillows and a gorgeous red comforter. Next to the bed was a bookshelf full of fairytales, young adult novels, and various other works regarding the history of the Iliern. In the corner opposite the bed stood a small desk and chair. White papers were neatly stacked atop the surface of a type of wood she’d never seen before.

Elsewhere, piles of plushies filled various shelves and cushions, forming makeshift walls of soft, colorful creatures, however, the room remained windowless—to be expected of an underwater labyrinth.

Against the back wall was another door, partially cracked open to reveal an expansive private bathroom ordained with multi-colored towels, a large mirror, and plenty of makeup to that of which she questioned what girl ever needed so much.

“We’ve updated your room through the years, hopefully to your liking. We don’t engage in much contact with the surface… for reasons.”

Lacia wheeled her chair over to the bookshelf, pulling a graphic novel off. “You guys really think I’m into this kind of thing?”

She read the title off: ‘Lukos and Tobern: Forbidden Love.’

“I really do appreciate all of this, but I really don’t have an interest in boy’s love romance novels. I don’t think I’ve ever really enjoyed these,” she said, face flushed as she quickly replaced the book on the shelf.

“My apologies. I can have those removed if you’d like.”

“No, no! That’s okay! They… can stay.” Lacia turned her chair around so Kilhan couldn’t see her embarrassment.

Kilhan pulled the chair from the desk and placed it near the bed. “Alright. Let me give you a little history lesson, Lacia. It may not jog your memory completely, but there will be some new information I think you’ll find useful.”

Lacia turned the wheelchair around and placed her hands in her lap. She wasn’t big on history in school, but a lot had changed in the last two years. “Those who choose to ignore the past will only be forced to repeat it in the future.”

“Indeed. Now, listen carefully. You’ve been called ‘princess’ several times by now and I can tell you’re noticeably confused so let’s start there.” Kilhan procured a book that seemed to appear like magic. He turned the pages in a flurry of ink and images before finally coming to one in particular. “Look familiar to you?”

A beautiful young woman, about Lacia’s age, struck a passionate pose wearing the same dress Lacia had been wearing at the temple with Hika—turquoise greens and shimmering whites. In her hand was a golden lance of light, but it was significantly more imagistic than any of the lances Lacia had been able to summon, though this was a watercolor painting after all.

“Am I supposed to know who this is?”

“I didn’t expect you to know, but I thought I would try anyway.” Kilhan closed the book in his hand. “That woman… was your mother.”

Lacia sat as still as a mouse. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together: the dress, the Iliern, and her mother. “She looked like she was my age in this picture,” she said, thumbing back through the book as Kilhan placed it on her lap. “Eaukea Iliern… Wait— What about my—”

“Father?”

Lacia nodded.

Kilhan returned to his chair, placing a pillow in the seat for a more comfortable experience. “Your father was a kind man— I’d met him several times. When Eaukea crossed paths with him, she just couldn’t let him go.” He chuckled. “Your father, Liukaus, was a mortal man, but Eaukea just couldn’t resist. She told him everything and that eventually led to your birth several years later.”

Lacia was laser focused. This was the first she was getting to hear about her actual parents and wasn’t having to live with a false impression of someone she thought she knew. Upon the realization that most of her life had been a complete lie, she couldn’t help but wonder about Mana and everyone else—Aria especially.

“Unfortunately,” Kilhan continued, “after she gave birth to you, your mother fell incredibly ill and was forced to transfer her royal title onto you, her daughter. There were many risks associated with this, however, because you’re only half-blooded.”

“So, she was the princess at the time, but because she was so sick, she had to transfer the title on to me? What about me being half Iliern made it so risky?”

“In order for you to gain awareness of the unseen world around you and increase your magical affinity, your mother had to give you her blood—enough of it to replace the half-blood of your father. You were a newborn and Eaukea was horribly ill. To make matters worse, we had never performed an Iliern blood transfer.”

“What happened to my mother after that? And what about my father?”

“We’ll come back to that later. Right now, you need to understand the duty of the title you hold, Lacia. This isn’t like the princesses in the stories you were told as a child.”

Lacia’s face remained unchanged. She’d certainly had her lack-of-thought moments, but from what Kilhan had told her, she’d already assumed that being ‘princess’ didn’t mean fancy dresses, luxury lifestyles, and pampering. However, she didn’t exactly think it meant being attacked by devils, either, but this was her trump card after all. The devils didn’t know who she was, really.

Kilhan cleared his throat. “Your mother was known as the ‘Maiden of Stars’. She loved to swim up to the surface to lay under the stars at night. Her magic was the primary reason for the name, though.” He pointed to the photo in the book. “You see, she was gifted with a very special type of magic called “Hokoyoun.”

“That sounds eerily similar to my own Hihouyo, but I guess that’s to be expected.” She laughed. “After all, I wouldn’t have been able to use it without help from my mother, in a way.”

“Correct. Unfortunately, this next part you may not like, but I ask you take it all in with an open mind.”

“I didn’t like being attacked by devils and having to uproot my entire life, but here I am. I’m not afraid of what you have to tell me.”

Kilhan sighed. “Yep. Your mother was just as stubborn as you are. Fine.” He sat up in his chair, catching Lacia amid her imagination. “As princess of Iliern, you are the one who is tasked with securing the borders between the Reverse World, Earth, and Chiipha. Earth and Chiipha are magically-rich because of something called a Yewn, a metaphorical key that allows the wielder access to unrestrained power.”

“And you think this is what the devils are after?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. While the Yewn is certainly attractive, it is impossible to obtain. That is, or it was. Your primary duty is to guard Earth, but the princess of Iliern is supposed to work in tandem with a similar princess from Chiipha.”

“And what happened to her?”

Kilhan’s face drained of color. “She was consumed by the same devils you now flee from, and no ceremony was ever held to officially replace her. Your mother found herself locked in that same frightening battle, but this was a time when the devils were much, much more powerful. You’ve been lucky to escape up until now, but—”

Lacia cut the restraints on her wheelchair, freeing her legs and upper body as she fell onto the bed. Sliding across the silky surface, she flung herself off the bed and wrapped her arms around Kilhan in a large bear hug.

“Before you scold me, I want to say thank you for this. I’ve lived my entire life as a lie for the last twenty plus years. Hearing you tell me about my mother and father has eased my mind a little bit, but what will happen to Chiipha if there’s no new princess like me to guard the border between it and the Reverse World? I’m not strong enough to protect even my home right now.”

Lacia released Kilhan from her surprise bear hug as she fell back onto the bed. She thought she had a lot to think about then. Considering everything she’d just been told, she almost wished she hadn’t been. The responsibility to protect her world from the devils was a mighty task in of itself. Without an assist from Chiipha, it would be impossible to protect one without sacrificing the other first.

“How many people died when the princess was, uhh, you know… And how long ago did that happen?”

Kilhan shook his head, refusing to provide any further elaboration on the grisly details. “Do you understand how dangerous this role is you must command? If the devils are able to steal your own magic, your gift, they will be able to form the Yewn. If that happens, there will be no way to stop them.”

“I understand that,” Lacia said exasperated, “but how do I learn to maximize the power I have? What if it’s not enough?” She attempted to follow Kilhan before he left, but a growing ache told her she was better off staying where she was. “Kilhan,” she demanded, “When you come back, I want to hear more about my mother and father, ok?”

Kilhan stopped in the doorway as he turned to give Lacia a small smile. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but for now, you need to let your body rest. You will meet the same fate the princess of Chiipha did if you push yourself.” He snapped his fingers, extinguishing the lights in the room. “Goodnight, princess.”

“Goodnight, and thank you again, Kilhan.” The room door closed with a swoosh of air, leaving Lacia to ponder her thoughts until sleep came. “I’m not some fragile flower…”