Chapter 4| Through The Sea Of Stars

With Morris’ help, we moved tied up and moved the old man to the backseat with Mom. Then I took the driver’s spot and Morris moved to the front.

I drove back to my house, and put everything back in place, my motorbike and the piano while mentally mourning for the car we left before the fight. Then tucked Mom into bed.

With a gentle kiss on her forehead, I ripped my note from my sketchbook and used the sling bag as a paperweight. I could already imagine her anger once she woke up.

I grabbed a few snacks to be eaten on the way—wherever we were going and brought them to Morris.

“Why don’t you take a quick shower?” She asked with a small smile. “I mean, we might meet people immediately after getting to Luminozenko.”

“Oh, I’m glad you said that.” I sighed and led her out of the room. “There’s another bathroom downstairs, so clean yourself, too. I’ll use the one in my room.”

“Thank you.” She began climbing down the stairs as I rushed to my room and hopped in my bathroom.

Thankfully, somehow, the blood was a bit easier to remove from my wings. But I did my best scrubbing at the dirt, sweat, and blood off my body until my skin was almost turning red, and repeated the process. The same happened with my hair, washing it thoroughly with shampoo.

By the time I was done, I felt like my skin had been ripped off, but at least all the bad smell was gone. I pulled on a backless shirt, pants, and a pair of heeled boots.

I gave my room one last glance, inhaling the familiar scent of books and a bit of citrus and lavender. I hung my quiver on the hook on my wall and grabbed my bag. But I quickly halted in the doorway and turned back into my room.

"Yeah, no." I grabbed whatever books I could get. But not really. I just stared at my shelves, reaching my hand out, pulling it back, and reaching out again. Then, I groaned in frustration. "This is a nightmare. Which ones should I bring?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get the ones that can keep me sane. Sane. Not the emotionally damaging ones. Not the ones that ruined me. First of all, the series about Poseidon's son." I grabbed my entire collection of the series. "And the series which is the sequel to it." I hauled another bunch of books and all put them to the floor. "There's no way I'm leaving your books behind, Uncle Rick."

"Oh, God. This is a nightmare," I said and scanned my shelves again. "Let's not forget about the crows. Maybe some of the books I haven't read yet and my standalone. I'll also bring some spice."

I hit my forehead with a hardcover book I grabbed. "I'm going insane."

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I balanced the books in my arms and I climbed down the stairs as carefully as I could. The moment Morris noticed me while sitting in the living room, her mouth flew open and her eyes went wide. I gave her a small smile. "Uh, do you still have some space in your bracelet?"

"I seriously can't understand you bookworms," she sighed and shook her head. "But yeah, I have a ton of space." She got up from the couch and took some books off me, putting them in her bracelet.

"Great!" I cheered and handed her the ones in my grasp, quickly turning away. "I'll go get the rest." I rushed down the stairs before I could hear her complaint.

When I got back with my books, she could grimace and put them inside her bracelet.

"Okay, no more books?" She asked and finally put the very last one I picked from my collection.

I nodded and clutched my bag. “Yeah, ready to go."

“What do we do with the guy, though?” Morris asked as we walked out of the house.

I put on a black facemask, glasses I usually used for cycling, and a cap. “We’ll just quickly drop him off at the police station.”

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"So, any questions?" Morris asked as we picked up our altitude, once again hiding behind the clouds as we left the old man in front of the police station as well as the car he most likely stole.

"Those people we fought, I noticed some of them have tails and animal-like ears, and none of them have wings like ours," I said. "So, what are we? Weremen? Shifters?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? We do have men in Luminozenko, but we're both clearly women."

My hands almost flew to my forehead, but I managed to hold myself. Of course, she did not know about werewolves.

"Well, whatever you're talking about, we're not like that, especially not Shifters. Only our enemies have the capabilities to shapeshift." She gestured a hand at both of us. "We are called Feralis, descendants of the Gods: Faenice also known as the Phoenix—whom we descended from—Levio, Sierpenti, and Lupos."

I remained silent for a moment, letting my brain swallow the information. "Okay. You're saying we don't have the abilities to shapeshift, then how the hell did a phoenix have descendants like—" I motioned at our bodies.

She gasped and pointed at me like I was a criminal. "You did not just—okay, you weren't born in Luminozenko, so you don't know about this. It is an insult to call our Gods like Earth animals. In fact, we do not call magical creatures in our world animals but Magical Creatures. Hear me? Magical. Creatures. The word animal is for insults, okay?"

I just nodded and let her continue her sermon. "And we call our Gods the Greater Arkamis. Yes, Faenice have wings, Levio and Lupos have ears and tails, and Sierpenti have a tail, fins, and gills—"

"Hold on, fins and gills?!" I exclaimed. "Isn't he a Dragon? Isn't he supposed to have wings as well? Like, like the Manticore! The leathery wings! " Morris attempted to throw a crumpled cupcake paper cup from the ones we ate earlier, but it only got blown by the wind.

"Another insult!" She yelled. "Sierpenti lives in the ocean. Like I said, he has a tail, fins, and gills that make him move faster than any other being in the water. Well, after all, he is a God."

"So . . . He's a mermaid?"

"What on Luminozenko is a mermaid?"

We stared at one another for a good couple of minutes until she tried to throw another paper cupcake at me. Poor cupcake paper.

"You know, people who live underwater have fish-like tails, gills, fins—as you said—and have beautiful voices that lure land dwellers to their death, and they have sharp teeth or something,” I elaborated with my best.

"Ooh, what you speak of are Sirens." She clapped her hands once in realization. "Those are Magical Creatures. They indeed live underwater. They are Sierpenti's creations, but they're kind of a failure, you know. They have his beautiful voice but they're really nasty." She made a pause. "Anyways, as you can see, we descendants of Gods aren't the only ones living in Luminozenko. We have other races as well. You'll see when we get there."

"Alright. No saying anything insulting to the Gods. Will I get killed or something because of it?"

"You're not better than our enemies if you insult the Gods."

"Oh, and who exactly are our enemies?"

I watched her roll her eyes, a grumble escaping her throat, which I could barely even hear. "They are called the Demons' Vessels. I told you that if there is one of them, there will be a double. A Feralis forms a contract with a demon and they will become their vessel, and gain abilities other than wielding elements."

"What are those abilities?" I asked, a bit more curious as I replied what the woman I . . . dealt with before her last breath. What wasn't working on me?

"The abilities to bend darkness and shadows, control bodies and minds," Morris explained, gesturing her hands in the air like she was controlling a puppet by strings. "Some of them have poisonous bodies and skins literally like invincible armors. Some can even control dead people."

"I see." I looked down at the expanse of the sea and waited for her to continue telling me the information I needed. Then, I grimaced at the thought of me in the hands of those bastards if Morris hadn't come in time or if I hadn't listened to her.

"Then, Gods' children who received much greater control over their powers were considered tyrants, abusive of their stronger magic, and tended to discriminate against the weak and other races. Until those people had enough and rebelled.

"Bloodshed here and there. Millions of Feralis died. There were some of the lower classes sided with the nobles, but they were still outnumbered, five to three. In the end, those who were blessed still won and remained ruling right now. However, the Great War only stopped after Master's ancestor killed the Leader of the rebellion but also killed himself after that. No one knew what was the reason why he killed himself and that still remained unanswered up to this age."

"I'm sorry, but does that mean your Master came from a bloodline of tyrants and racists?" I blurted out with a deep frown. And my father was his best friend.

She scoffed loudly and crossed her arms. "That was what they said. Some of the stories were a bit biased. The Royalty of Luminozenko isn't tyrants or racists, not at all. His Majesty is one of the greatest people I know. The Kingdom is prestigious, he raised us alongside his amazing son—"

"Woah, Woah, Woah! His Majesty? Kingdom? Royalty?" I fired at her, blinking rapidly at the sudden drop of info. "My father's best friend and the one you're serving is a King?!"

"Yup!" She responded and grinned proudly. "He is the King of Phoenixes, Ruler of Winacellu, the continent where most of us Phoenixes live."

I pointed at her. "Does that mean you grew up with Aristocrats?"

"Yes, most of my friends are nobles."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Are you a noble, too?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "A mere commoner." I continued to eye her in suspicion, but she ignored me. "Resuming, There are Four Royal Families, direct descendants of the Greater Gods—ah, but they're not the only Gods in Luminozenko—"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Just, please continue the current topic."

"Alright, then. Each of those Royal Families rules entire continents and Kingdoms. Unsurprisingly, what made them Royalty are their undeniably powerful magic and their ever-glowing eyes, unless, of course, when they die." She began to drop altitude and so I followed her down. She hovered just a meter above the surface of the sea, watching our smudgy reflections on the water.

"You mean those who you said control the goddamn weather?" Never knew a day would come I would get to fly with someone like this. But here we were.

"Yup. Anyways, I said we can try practicing moving molded land earlier, didn't I?"

My brows arched. "Oh, we can try now?"

Her apple-green eyes shimmered and she raised her glowing hands before her. Morris mumbled in a language that twisted even my brain, trying to comprehend what she had just said, but I soon gave up. On her palms, a bird made out of earth formed. This time, however, it was a bigger and more detailed sculpture than before. It opened its eyes and I frowned when I only found dull brown orbs.

"Try to make this one fly," she demanded.

"What?" I chirped. "No. How can I when you haven't told me a spell yet?"

"There's no need for a spell unless I'm the one controlling it." She grabbed it and put it on her arm. "See the eyes?" She poked its eyeball. "No life in them, right? Technically, I only made a doll, and you'll be the one breathing life into it."

I stared at her in reluctance.

"Powerful magic comes with a strong concentration and mind." She tapped her head. "Think really hard about what you want to do. Build it in your mind and bend it at your will." Then, she grinned, her eyes twinkling, and waved her hand in encouragement. "You can do it, Cyan."

I answered her with a simple nod and glared at the bird sculpture, before closing my eyes. In the darkness, I painted the bird, its wings opening up slowly and carefully, its beak parting and head-turning like it was truly alive. Then . . . ah, it really looked plain, though. The eyes and the color were dull. It would be better if its feathers had the shades of bright flowers and its eyes as though they were chipped from the stars—

"What are you thinking, Cyan?"

I abruptly opened my eyes upon the call and almost forgot how to flap my wings when I found the bird covered in a variety of colorful flower petals, sticking out and angling in certain directions like they were its feathers, its wings and mouth opened wide, and its eyes the same as mine.

"Uh—Uhm, I can explain—"

"No!" She exclaimed and realized that she had raised her voice against me, clearing her throat. "I mean, there's no need to explain. You made me see more than enough."

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You have the ability to control plants, like your father and His Majesty and the Royal Family. It won't be a surprise if you can control air as well because only dual wielders can receive such blessings from the Gods." She smirked and crossed her arms. "Well then, make it fly since it's initially what I said."

"Okay, okay." I calmed myself down and focused on the bird. In a few seconds of manifesting, I managed to get it to flap its wings. It took a leap and ascended into the sky. "Yes!" I pumped my fist up in the air, grinning, which quickly faltered when I saw the bird freeze and flop down the sea. "No!"

A beautiful piece of art got destroyed as quickly as it got built. It felt as though my soul had left me upon seeing it sink to the bottom of the sea.

A snort rushed past Morris's nose and she turned her face away when I glared at her. "So—sorry, it's just . . ." She clamped her hand around her mouth and flew away, cackling.

"You diabolical—" I screamed and chased after her. "How could you laugh when such a gorgeous thing broke?"

"Not my fault," she shouted back. "That's what happens when you lose concentration or you let your mind get clouded. But it can't be helped since you aren't used to it. Once we get to Luminozenko, I'll teach you more."

"Speaking of Luminozenko, how do we get there?" I glanced around to see if there was a portal or a magical gate floating in the sky only visible to us. "We're in the middle of the sea."

She shot me a wink. "You'll know soon."

"How soon is that?"

"In a few hours."

"How is that soon?"

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Indeed, we flew for a few hours more, not slowing our pace down. Probably, it was almost daybreak by now. Through that, Morris told me more things about Luminozenko: what should I do and not do and about the school training them to be knights, respectively called Kozen Akademis. I didn't bother asking what the hell that meant.

Kozen Akademis trains people starting from the age of seventeen or eighteen and graduating at twenty-one. Four years, like some college courses on Earth (Morris told me she was in her fourth). Then, another year of training under which army you want to join.

However, it wasn't so easy to get in. People were to fight in the Entrance Exam to show their capabilities and at least get a passing score. If not, you could take the exam next year again, that was why there were some students late to enter and graduate.

There were some special cases, such as the so-called Recommendation which only worked for royalty and high-ranking nobles. Those rich kids would still take the Exam, however not in public, and could still be rejected if they didn't reach the passing score.

After the Exam, you would have to pick a dorm you want or a Commander would pick you instead. If you weren't given the chance to pick or no Commander wanted you, although, it only meant that you didn't meet their standards and the score.

Then, they were this group of elite students respectively called The Pillars. They were the ones with the highest grades, combat prowess, and skills in the academy. Unsurprisingly, some of the members of The Pillars were the Commanders, Vice Commanders, and other talented students. Morris was one of them and a Vice Commander.

There were a couple of ways to be one of them: Rank high in the Entrance Exam or if you couldn't be one of them by your Exam score, challenge and defeat a member from the same year.

If I intend to find my father faster, I must become one of them. Working with nobles and royalty could help me pull more strings.

But, here was the worst catch: Three of the Dorm Commanders were Princes—whose parents were all my father's very, very close friends—and the other was a son of a Duke, also a very close friend of Dad's . . . Apparently.

How the hell did he get to Earth, fall in love with Mom, marry her, and have me?! Nah, I didn't really want to hear how they even ended up liking one another.

Moreover, how do I speak with aristocrats? This was totally going to be a disaster. No, no, no. If I act right, there would be no trouble. As long as they treat me right too, of course.

"We're nearing the border," Morris announced ahead.

"Oh, thank God," I grumbled. "My body is beginning to sore."

She laughed. "Can't blame you, but you need to get used to it. The academy's training system is a bit brutal," she cautioned, which made me grimace.

"Elaborate 'brutal'."

"Let's just say you'd see blood, people fainting and getting injured almost every single day."

My mouth gaped. "Seriously?"

"Dead serious." She glanced over her shoulder and wing. "Anyways, are you sure you want to join Kozen Akademis this year? I mean, I'm really glad you do, but the Exam is only ten days away. You can train more and enter next year instead."

I frowned. "Now that you've mentioned it, why only get me now? Why not when I was younger or at least a couple of months ago?"

Morris heaved out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "The initial plan was to get you on the first day or week of Summer this year. But some things happened that hindered our plans. Gladly, we dealt with the matters before the start of the school year."

"I see." I nodded, albeit knowing she couldn't see me doing it, and remained silent for a couple of minutes until she spoke.

"Look ahead, Cyan," she instructed. "We're at the border."

I shifted my eyes upfront and couldn't help but widen them at the sight of the ocean's surface so calm and clear.

It perfectly reflected the stars in the sky, making it seem I was swimming with them in an endless space. No up and down, nowhere to go. And no matter where I looked, the moon was gone, left back on Earth. It was just me and the stars—well, and Morris. 

Then, the stars were falling, their tails drawing trails on the veil of night. They dove into the water, continuing to glow under, and creating tiny waves upon their wakes.

Only then I realized that I wasn't flying anymore. I stood at the surface of the sea, clothed in a black robe.

It was so long that it dragged on the water, the hem cut like peacock feathers with a gradient of black-to-purple-to-green, and had a slit on the right side. The collar was off my shoulders, exposing my neck and a bit of my chest. The fabric glittered as though it was dusted with starlight.

But I didn't get the chance to gawk and detail out my outfit as Morris called.

"Enough sightseeing?" She asked, a grin playing on her lips. She had a robe on too. However, it wasn't as long as mine, not off-shoulder, and the fabric was in a deep shade of green with streaks of lavender. "It's forbidden to stay here for long and time flows differently here."

"Wait, how did we get in these clothes first? When did we land? How—" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me towards a black fog with tiny shimmering lights, kind of like the fabric of my dress.

"These clothes are gifts from the Arkamis, that only we can see here. We were immediately pulled to the water once we entered the border." We halted before the well of darkness and stared down at it. "We can't stay here for too long because our souls will leave our bodies and these shells will die. And those stars?" She nodded behind us. "They aren't really stars, but souls. They are ones yet to be guided and reincarnated.”

"Holy shit." I cringed and turned my focus on the fog. "And this one leads to Luminozenko?"

"Ready?" She asked. "We'll jump in and go back to flying in the sea." My shoulders and wings drooped, but before I could state a remark, she said, "Only for a couple of minutes more, since the Harbor City of Lementa is near."

I shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say."

With that, we threw ourselves into the darkness and for a moment, it was all that. Then, there was the gentle light of the sun, the dawn had cracked through the night.

Ahead, I caught sight of people already starting their day, making the harbor warm with morning buzz, and the salty scent of the sea slipped into my nose.

We were airborne again, back to our clothes. I flapped my wings to stay in balance, catching up to Morris. She had slowed down and let me fly side by side with her.

She grinned and gestured at the gorgeous scenery before us. "Welcome home, Cyan. Welcome to Luminozenko."

I mirrored her grin, not knowing what to answer to that, too taken by the whole new world. Yet at the same time, the air felt familiar, as if I had glided across this very same sky before.

And it felt just right.

It did not take too long for us to land at the port. Some people noticed us, or Morris, rather, and greeted her, even giving her some fruits and bread. She seemed well-known around.

While looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, I noticed that we were only some Feralis who had black wings and hair, and green eyes like us. Most of their wings' colors were, well, anything except black. I even saw a woman with wings the color of a rainbow and gawked at them out of envy.

Then, there were people who had tails and ears you'd only see on big, wild cats, wolves, foxes—you name it. But there were some Feralis who looked normal the most. They had no weird ears or tails or wings, they seemed almost like humans.

"Morris," I called and tugged on her sleeve. "Whose descendants are they?" I sneakily gestured at a group of those people.

"Oh, they're Sierpenti's. They're wearing accessories to change their forms and go to the land," she responded. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked, my eyes curiously darting around.

"To the house we'll be staying in."