✧ Chapter 44 ✧

Flight and Hisa woke up to the noise of gunshots and gigantic drones flying overhead. The air was filled with the polluted scent of smoke and burning oil. From the looks of where they were, it seemed to be some sort of abandoned dystopian machine factory.

Both of them immediately recognized this place.

“Machine Mechatopolis. The planet turned into an AI hive mind. Why would she send us here?” questioned Hisa.

In a sudden realization, Flight saw an opportunity considering the world they were in.

“Hisa, remember how we recently met my relatives in StarSpace?”

“I do... What’s your point?”

“I really want this whole story to be a misplaced theory but I can’t unsee it. I couldn’t find my parents there in Katar Village. Everyone else that I knew was there. I’m worried that what Creperus said was right. Fortunately, I got my father’s name from my Uncle Marek. Halbert Takeshi. Any chance you’ve heard of that name before in the archives?”

“Not that I can recall. That doesn’t mean it’s entirely out of the question though.”

“Hmm... So my parents have been up to something… I never figured they could be working for a secret agency. The question is how and why they would do that. Why would my father keep his name confidential from me but not everyone else? They just assumed that I knew my father’s name all that time. He must have lied to them so they wouldn’t ask any questions about why I never really talked to him that much. My mom was really close to him too. I have to find out why she didn’t say anything either.”

“When you put it that way, I still wonder how that exactly has to deal with where we are now?”

“Well that’s the thing. Uncle Marek was one of my last family members that died alongside me during The Great Invasion. We hid in those underground highway tunnels. He was also the first to tell me that my parents died in a car crash. I asked him just recently if he knew where they were now but he said he didn’t know.”

“That is weird.”

“I know. If they’re not dead, then it’s likely that they have a hideout in order to continue operating under some sort of personal agenda. Maybe it is in this world. I really don’t want to believe this. In a worst case scenario though, they may be partially responsible for The Great Invasion…”

A rush of sympathy struck through Hisa. If Flight’s parents did that to his other relatives, it would mean they also caused the death of her younger brother. Feeling upset, she put both of her hands on Flight’s shoulders while taking in his eyes to comfort the melancholy of their situations.

“I wish you could have lived with me. My family really liked you. I would have taken you in if you had travelled to my house. We had a safe room. I wanted to do so much with you.”

“Me too.”

The pair smiled with this air of love surrounding them. During the intimate time between one another, Styra, Eternika, and Compass were still watching their interactions from afar at Twilight Terrace.

“How are you able to track their location?” asked Styra.

“Simple. I can feel their presence because my power was reserved within both of their bodies. They are what I would call: ethereal hybrids. These are creatures who can wield an Eternal Light’s power by means that were not originally intended. Spessarion is at the center of these hybrids’ creation.”

“Is he behind what happened to me before the bright light?”

“Most likely. An incident occurred to my knowledge that no other guardian was supposed to be informed of beside my other skeptical concern.”

“Oh no… Is it Prism?”

“Correct. It wielded all ten of us while being the reason we were imprisoned to begin with. The Lucid Light is not any better. It allowed us to get captured which we did not consent to.”

“So what The Lucid Light did reflects off of why every creature that exists cannot decide how they are born without strings being attached to it,” mentioned Eternika.

Compass nodded in agreement while pointing at the diamond star on Styra’s chest.

“There were many legends stating that that symbol was used because UVOCA believed in the power of The Lucid Light. Much like Prism, they were hell-bent on using it to fulfill their mission.”

“Why would that happen if they knew that tampering with it would kill them?” she inquired.

“Much like Spessarion, they were willing to take that risk. Building something that no other organization was close to creating. Little did they know it would be out of their control regardless of how many resources were used in secrecy to obtain that authority. Even Spessarion was oblivious to what happened after the fact. Whatever occurred then changed The Omniverse into what it is now.”

Infatuated with the history of UVOCA’s demise, Styra began to question how they would stop whatever these people were building. Seeing Flight and Hisa far away in an entirely different world made her remember what Chelbie had said about sticking together earlier. With the way things were now, she really didn’t like the split-up either. What if she could change that? As long as they knew what to tell Creperus, it would be fine. This was a threat that had to be addressed by all means necessary after all.

At least, that is what Styra thought.

“Compass, can you send them here?”

The robot nodded its head in approval and teleported the two lovers to their current location with ease. Flight and Hisa, being caught in the moment, eventually found themselves surprised to see Styra, Eternika, and Compass staring at them. It was quite an awkward encounter.

“W-wait what? Styra? Eternika? First we get sent to Mechatopolis and now Animearth? Someone needs to explain what’s going on here,” said Flight.

“Mechatopolis? That’s weird… Also where’s Diamondion? Did she go to find Creperus and Sapphirion to alert them? Cause that would have helped,” remarked Styra.

Hisa immediately intervened to answer these questions, as there was a heavy feeling inside of her heart that she couldn’t shake.

“The truth is… We came into contact with the anomaly. All that I can remember is that she sent us to Mechatopolis without any warning. She probably didn’t trust us being there.”

The moment Hisa revealed these details, Chelbie woke up with a quick reaction of bewilderment from behind them.

“Oh come on! She should know that you guys are like the best fighters ever!” she exclaimed.

Styra couldn’t disagree there. Unfortunately, she also couldn’t help feeling worried that Diamondion did not survive against Voltaze. If this was true, who knew how far he was travelling now just to get all the way to Animearth. To her knowledge, the puzzle pieces to his motives were still a far cry from being solved. Tomorrow was going to be the only way to figure out what happened.

“From this point forward, we fight this battle as one. Does anyone have an idea as to what our next step is? Because I would love to know,” said Flight.

“There are a few important things we could use your help with. You and Hisa should keep a lookout across Animearth to make sure nothing suspicious enters the atmosphere. In the meantime, Eternika and I were planning on going into Dream Academy High to find two girls that can help us figure out where this Voltaze guy came from. Chelbie, you can come too if you want,” suggested Styra.

“Can’t say no to something like that!” Chelbie replied gleefully.

Flight smiled with approval of the new plan and was becoming more impressed with how Styra was focused on achieving a strategic approach. However, this did beg one question in particular that he needed to know.

“Hey Eternika, since Hisa and I are going to be using our new powers to stop Voltaze as Styra mentioned, how exactly do we use our new powers the right way? We got the hang of a few things such as flying and creating objects out of thin air. I’m not sure if that is all we can do though.”

Eternika faced Compass who surprised both Flight and Hisa as the machine began to speak.

“If you wish to know what’s possible, your deepest attributes reflect those capabilities you seek. My power grants users the ability to manifest their greatest strengths into reality. With what Voltaze has recently done, my oversight can affect how you wish to use it. Before this, Prism had complete oversight and I had none.”

Flight and Hisa (who still deeply felt speechless and confused at the same time) began looking over at Styra for answers. After all, this robot that they already had severe trust issues with suddenly was acting as if it knew more than it let on.

“Styra, mind telling us why Compass is talking like this?” whispered Flight.

“It has reserved power from the Surreality Shard,” she whispered back while winking her eye at him with reassurance.

“Huh. Alright. Compass, what special abilities are we able to use?” he inquired.

The moment Flight asked about this, the super-intelligent robot unveiled a dark secret it had been holding in.

“So long as it is of no misguided intent or evil purposes, I will strictly consider what I deem acceptable. The only reason I do this is because of a being that had violated these established rules.”

“Uhh… Who exactly?” interjected Chelbie.

Within Compass, what the Eternal Light Of Surreality feared was its own twisted transformation after encountering this mysterious monster. The intensity of its anger grew against such an insinuating threat.

This thing alone was capable of such evil and was the one responsible for the suffering that existed in every reality. Worst of all, its kill spree amassed over absolute infinity.

The Eternal Light Of Surreality knew that somewhere out there, that murderer was ready to add more names to its list.

∗ ∗ ∗

The kingdom of Fidaliath was drenched in chaos unlike any other since the new visitors disappeared. Bounty flyers with rewards attached also featured terrible drawings that mocked how they looked. Of the ones that were hated the most, Styra had hit the highest votes. Madara in its entirety was obsessed with her death to the point of riots and protests.

This worldwide movement began to intrigue a specific stranger who found interest in their brewing hate.

A cloaked figure dressed in dark blue appeared out of nowhere amidst the empty villages. It surveyed the surrounding countryside as every villager was gathered at Princess Fidaliath’s castle for an emergency announcement since this was set to be the largest of its kind.

Walking past the guardsmen unnoticed, the mysterious intruder strolled menacingly towards the occasion with an unmatched anticipation of what it was about to do. By the time it came from behind the giant swarms of people encircling the gargantuan stage, this smiling fiend caught sight of the princess herself who was delivering her speech on the pedestal above.

Seconds into attending this monumental occasion, the monster used the power within its hand to burn through a random villager’s heart. As it squeezed every ounce of life out of that person, they began to make them scream in agony as their entire body was painfully gushing blood.

Everyone that was near what had happened backed away as quickly as they possibly could. Kamitase, who was up in the front, took notice of these events and alerted Princess Fidaliath in the middle of her words.

“Sorry to inform you, your Highness, but another new visitor has appeared amongst the crowd. They have assassinated one of the villagers.”

Confusion settled on Princess Fidaliath’s face as she stared with impatience at the murderer who was dragging the dead corpse past her people. Even they were backing away even farther to save themselves from experiencing such an abhorrent fate.

“Want to state your name before we proceed with your execution?” she asked with a loud domineering attitude.

The hood which originally covered its face was pulled up slightly only to reveal something odd. A white mask with two red chevrons symbols were symmetrically mirroring one another in a horizontal fashion. Its puppet-like eyes and mischievous smile created unease for Fidaliath’s audience.

Not a single warning could prevent the magnitude of devastation that the world of Madara was going to face that day.