It was like a murmur. There were people who would believe that a great event would begin with an explosion, and, certainly, in some cases it did. But what the civilians of the frozen continent experienced was different, more tranquil. Like an open secret that gradually took shape until it became reality.

  Morgan, the Princess of Valor, watched with dull eyes as her father fought directly against a great Titan as they evacuated to the dream world. The being, made of tentacles, devastated the terrain as only a force of nature could, but against Anvil, that power was nothing. With a rain of steel, the flesh and blood of her enemy was stripped from the creature's body.

  She let out a tired sigh.

  Looking around and seeing those sheep staring with fascination and fear at the power of a sovereign, she couldn't help but feel sick, but why?

  She should have been filled with joy, hope, or simply iron determination to bring her father's dominion to complete conquest over Song. Instead, she stood staring into the distance, feeling emptier than ever.

  All that truly mattered to her now was that battle, how she had lost to the thing that called itself her older brother.

  Was it so pointless? Why couldn't she stop thinking about it? It was all that blind girl's fault! Putting doubts in her head... What... What was she talking about?

  As her mind wandered, something changed. It wasn't heavy, it wasn't violent, it was more like a whisper. A small shift in the air, a feeling that resonated in her soul, a movement that made the sun's rays brighter.

  Then she saw it.

  From the rubble of walls and buildings, a fiery bird, pure white, rose into the sky. Its light shone with such intensity that it blotted out the sun and drove back the shadows. For a second, suspended high in the sky, Morgan felt a pang of longing for that light.

  Around her, the voices of both Awakened and civilians rose in an almost maniacal cacophony.

  “It’s Changing Star! Our heroine has returned!”

  “We are saved! We are saved!”

  “As long as her fire burns bright, humanity must continue!”

  “Long live the immortal fme!”

  At that, Morgan’s frown deepened, because she, it seemed, was the only one who could feel it. Beyond the heat, beyond the light, she could feel the fiery destruction of that star in the sky. The star of a change.

  …

  A rge building rose as if a gigantic monster had risen from the earth. Creaking sounds echoed like the roar of beasts as the nightmarish creatures retreated in fear and reverence.

  It was then that a tall, graceful figure emerged from the rubble, wearing shiny metal armor that clung perfectly to its skin and carrying a spear that, to be honest, looked more like a walking stick at that moment.

  “Holy shit!” She coughed nonstop, spitting to the side before gring at the rubble. “First I almost choked on dirt, and now my room, filled with candy, is now crushed under tons of rock!”

  It was at that moment that a creature, an ascended demon, lunged at her, seeking to bite off one of her arms.

  “Get out of the way! I don't have time to py with you.”

  With a single swipe, the creature burst into a spray of blood. The other creatures, who had approached cautiously, quickly retreated, shocked by the ease of death.

  Effie, staring at her blood-stained hand, could only express defeat. “And now I’m covered in mud and blood. This only gets better.”

  “Effiiiiiiieee!!!”

  A scream in the distance startled her, and she looked up to notice a dot in the sky that only grew rger by the second.

  “Oh! Kai, I’m gd you’re catching up… What the fuck?!”

  Instead of the figure of her friend, what she found was a shining dragon with bluish-white scales. Its figure was beautiful, as if carved from a fairy tale, and the world itself seemed to be paying attention to it.

  “Effie, I’m so gd to see you’re okay.” The dragon nded, making the earth tremble. With a burst of light, the rge figure shrank, revealing the figure of an abnormally handsome man. “I’ve been worried about you…”

  He broke off when he noticed the nightmare creatures surrounding them. With a snort, he pointed at them and spoke in a loud, commanding voice. “All of you, get out of here. I don’t have time for you.”

  Without even hesitating, the nightmare creatures turned around, stalking away at a leisurely pace. Smiling to himself, Kai turned back only to notice Effie walking away.

  “Huh? What?” Kai’s eyes widened. “No, wait, where are you going?”

  “I’m walking away,” he spoke in a monotone.

  “What? NO, wait. Go back, we still have to find Jet.”

  And as if following a script, both Effie and the nightmare creatures turned and walked back toward him. Only, unlike the mindless creatures, Effie was gring at him like an angry bull.

  Kai panicked. “No, you guys, no. Go ahead.”

  Again, everyone, including Effie, turned and walked away.

  Finally understanding what was happening, Kai calmed down, focusing the ability he had accidentally attached to his friend. A second ter, Kai was spinning in pce with a sp to the cheek.

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Effie kicked him a few times in the butt. Not hard enough to hurt him, but if one of those kicks hit a tank, it would dent.

  “Ouch, ouch, stop, stop.” Instantly, he stopped, but not by choice.

  They stared at each other for a second, now sharing a more somber expression. Again, Kai withdrew his power, but this time he remained silent.

  Effie sighed in exasperation. “Bravo, excellent start for the pair of rookie saints.” She looked around. “Now, where’s Jet?”

  Kai started to open his mouth, but after an annoyed look from Effie, he silenced him and simply pointed behind him.

  “Boo!” Jet leaped in front of her, materializing from the mist. Unfortunately, his joke didn’t seem to have any effect on Effie, who just crossed her arms.

  “Seriously, I’ve faced the undead, otherworldly monsters, human deformities, and even your corrupted version, and you think you’re going to scare me with that?”

  “I thought you were the funny one.” Jet looked away.

  “I am!”

  “Well, well, how about we leave this for ter.” "She looked around ruefully. "We don't know how long we were gone, and the st thing we knew, everything had gone down the drain."

  "You're right, we'd better find our princess soon and catch up."

  "Aren't we going for our fifth member?" Jet asked with a crooked smile.

  "There's no way we're going near that creepy guy. Now let's go, I'm starting to get hungry."

  "You're always hungry," Kai wanted to say, but kept it to himself as he covered his cheek. It was then that he stopped, sensing a gaze in the distance. His eyes, far more capable than any mortal's, looked in the direction beyond where Valor was fighting the great titan.

  There he glimpsed a bright star descending from the sky. But as beautiful as the dispy was, he searched for something else, a sensation, a feeling of something looking deeper into them than he could, but as soon as he began to search, this sensation disappeared.

  He stood for a moment stunned, trying to remember something that slipped through his fingers. In the end, he could only stand with a bitter taste in his mouth.

  He would find out.

  …

  The sky lit up under its light with hope. The fire warmed and incinerated his own flesh. Still, no sensation seemed relevant. Trapped in indifference, she kept burning, watching. There was Anvil, the one who killed her father and tore her family apart.

  Ahead were the people she was meant to protect. Across the nd were her companions who followed her on her crusade. Everything that was important to her seemed within reach of her eyes, and yet, she felt so empty.

  Why? she wondered. Why did she feel this way? Why did she care now?

  She had already felt this sensation. It was the same one she had grown up with for years and had grown accustomed to, but despite knowing it, it still bothered her.

  It was as if from the moment she became Awakened, that feeling had disappeared, only to return with a strong sense of loss. She hated it, hated remembering moments where she felt comfortable, even happy, but now she only feels an emptiness she doesn't understand.

  Oh, Sunny... I wish you had been a better liar.

  I wish you hadn't taken up a pce in her heart.

  Closing her eyes, even though it was useless, she immersed herself fully in its fmes, in its light, allowing the fire to burn away her doubts, her worries, her fears, her loneliness... leaving only her goal.

  She fell like a shooting star, straight into the horde of nightmare creatures. Then, everything burned.

  [You have unlocked the second step of your aspect legacy]

  End of Volume Three: Forgotten Demons