THE news about the deaths of the Knight of Soul Wind Ailene Ricca and Knight of Lightning Tiger Levi Lewelyn spread throughout the Kingdom of Demetrius. The Knight of Red Flames Eric was severely injured but he was recovering, thanks to the efforts of the Healing Krysts.
The whole Kingdom mourned for the two fallen Knights, all Demetri were wearing black. After the tribute for the soldiers and Krystalline Academy female students, some went to give tribute and salute to the grave of Ailene and Levi at a private monument dedicated only to the Knights of Blood Star Shaula. The sky seemed to mourn with them as it started to rain hard.
At Helengrein, Faline Liu knelt on the ground behind their house with her fist on her chest, crying her heart out. Iwaoka had tears falling from his eyes as he stood beside his wife.
Ailene was her sworn sister who trusted and always believed in her. The first to be happy when she decided to marry Iwaoka and leave Vestia for a peaceful
THE queen narrowed her eyes. Her hand was shaking and she had to grip on the armrest so no one can see it. "What are you doing here?"Master Hunn stopped beside Chloe and winked at her before he turned his eyes back to Queen Elisa. "We heard that you are going to kill the Blood Star and the Saranian so we came to visit you."Kill us?! Chloe looked at the queen in disbelief. Even some of the soldiers present gasped."How dare you address me with your blunt words?" the queen seethed. "You have no authority to come inside my palace and accuse me of such crime."Master Hunn smiled. He didn't respond to her statement and instead went back to his agenda. "Hwā, two of the Knights died to protect Demetrius from another Illinora. A Saranian who was chasing the Illinora managed to save us from another chaos. How many Blood Stars did you kill for 50 years?"Ciaran dropped his jaw as he listened to Master Hunn revealing his mother's hideous plan. Even he, the
PRINCESS ZILLAH liked flowers and trees that bear fruits. But she particularly loved butterflies. Her headdresses are all made by living butterflies. She is known as the Butterfly Princess as she can control these insects perfectly.Ciaran saw a woman spreading her arms in a beautiful dress, surrounded by beautiful butterflies. Some of them even perched at her head, hair, and arms."Butterflies are beautiful and sweet," a sweet voice stated. "They looked harmless and friendly." It was just behind them. Ciaran and Zephrain turned to Zillah who was now standing beside Zephrain with her hands at her back. "But behind these sweet façade... is deadly."Ciaran's eyes widened in realization. He stalked the standing woman. He nearly vomitted when he saw the woman's face, all covered with butterflies. Some are even inside her eye sockets."Zillah!"Their sister laughed sweetly. "Don't panic, brother. That woman is a seductress. Zephrain brought her to me. She killed hundreds of men to feed on t
THE MEMORYTHE sun was blinding him. No, was it really the sun?He blinked his eyes open, but he had to close it once again. He tried to move his head to the side to evade the blinding light and he winced when he felt a sharp pain from doing so. He was lying on the ground, he knew it. His back was lying on the soft grass and when he opened his eyes again, he came face to face with a large cricket with huge eyes. It was so clear. It’s as if he was looking directly through the mirror and saw himself.But then, instead of his face, all he could see was a patch of grass in his place. Does that mean he can’t be seen?Wait… he CAN see?He slowly sat up and took everything in. Everything before him was like a sharp picture of saturation and contrast. The sky seemed very near to him, threatening to kiss the ground.It was as if he was placed under an illusion or better yet, in a vivid memory of someone else.H
ZEPHRAIN often stayed at Zillah's garden every end of the week. Ciaran would catch up with him for a few hours before either of the two bid goodbyes. Zephrain was just simply catching up with his younger siblings. He kept avoiding the topic of their mother and the Blood Star.Zillah became the referee between the two princes' childish banters – all with Zephrain's witty remarks and Ciaran's realistic comments. Most of their topics varied from how the Kingdom should prosper and how they should apprehend Elantro’s high-profiled criminals.Elantro is their world, after all. Not just the Kingdom of Demetrius. The balance of power in the world of Elantro is still strong but they knew that time will come, sooner or later, someone will try to destroy it."What do you think of the Saranian?" Ciaran finally asked after a long silence. They had just finished another round of verbal war with his older brother.Zephrain rolled his eyes at the second princ
A FEW DAYS LATER, the students went back to the academy. At that time, rumors had already spread that Chloe Liu and Jucel Greyn were the ones who defeated the Illinora, and that Chloe Liu is a Blood Star while Jucel Greyn is a Saranian. The once unnoticed brunette became the specimen of the whole academy, including the teachers.At first, she was looked down because she was a Deirdre peasant. Now, she was stared at with envy and curiosity. Chloe was jealous of her best friend, Jucel, who decided not to attend the academy anymore and focus on helping the group from behind.I am not an official student of Krystalline Academy in the first place so why would I still attend? Jucel reasoned out.Zabdiel and Jared accompanied Chloe as they entered together which added to the ladies' envy on Chloe. Zabdiel and Jared, along with Lucian, Clive and Kieran were all considered charming men of Krystalline Academy as many fell for their individual charms, particularly Lucian L
CHLOE and Jared appeared inside the Rubi Tower. Chloe was still holding Jared's hand, her head was spinning, her eyes saw doubles.The poor young woman ripped her hand away from Jared's hold and went to the corner of the hallway and there she vomited. Jared went to her side and rubbed her back, cursing to himself."Are you okay?" he asked worriedly."Go away," Chloe groaned. "I might slap you hard for not warning me."Jared couldn't help laughing softly. Chloe stopped and turned her head to him. The young man tried to keep his straight face but he couldn't handle it anymore. Chloe just shook her head and laughed along with him.After a few moments, they went silent and were walking down the hallway towards their first class with Master Hunn."Why did you leave?" Jared asked.Chloe hummed and observed the intricate design of every part of the hallway. Her sight was very different from before. She knew because she once had a normal eyes
JARED and Chloe reappeared outside Krystalline Academy. Chloe had to keep herself balanced as the world before her began to spin. She shook her head to keep the dizziness away."Lliōdè!" Chloe groaned as she took her hand away from Jared and went to the side to vomit again. "I can't get used to this art of yours, Jared," Chloe whined.Jared didn't answer. She wiped her mouth with a cloth and finally looked around. She gasped audibly as she took in the view.They were on top of a cliff just outside Graire Province. The Krystalline Academy was right in front of them, just a few miles. A fog covered the woods below the cliff and Chloe was not sure if falling into it can still give you a 30% survival rate.The sun was still high and Chloe's eyes squinted against the light so she could see the whole place. The wind howled and she had to keep her weight down on the ground to prevent from getting blown.Chloe turned to find Jared and she saw him lo
PING! PING! PING!Several clanks of metal against metal could be heard everywhere in the second mainland, Markus. There were also shouts from several men, some were calling out for their companions.The North of Markus City, the capital city of its namesake, was filled with busy blacksmiths coming to and from their houses. Each house was surrounded by torches, fire licking against the warm air.The largest tribe of the North Markus was the Travis Tribe. Its residence stretched from the back of the Nishihara Fortress to the boundary of Vestia and Markus.At the center of the residence lies the main branch's house, the family of the Tribe Leader. A young man walked along the hallway of the house. He was wearing a casual black pants and white plain shirt. His lean build was not intimidating but he was considered a handsome man with sex appeal. Every woman he came across in the hallway bowed to him.He only stopped walking when he came face-to-face with a l