em sorry, no art this chapter (not new art anyway-)

but i had a silly lil goofy scene i wrote earlier that i wanted to share, sooooo, enjoy? :D

Third Person POV

"Whoa..." Aiden's eyes were wide as they walked into the new room. "This place is incredible...!"

It had been built inside a cave; the walls sculpted out of the bare stone, the pillars half buried into them. Carvings of symbols and people filled the areas in between, and ahead was a wide stone so smooth their reflections stared back at them as long as you didn't look at the writing.

"It sure is extravagant, I'll give it that," Iv added, closing the door behind them. Both had asked their partners to wait outside while they checked this out; anything with that cursed celestial star symbol couldn't be good for demons.

And it was right in front of them, staring in the same mocking way it always did.

Iv didn't like anything that came along with that symbol, they'd both had bad experiences with things related to it. It all started when Aiden was being tormented with nightmares of a prophecy, one that forced him to become some sort of god.

And her? Well, she wasn't supposed to exist, and the angels were determined to make sure they fixed that mistake.

Still, she tried to respect it. Aiden did have an attachment to that symbol, and to an extent, he admired it. At the very least, he valued his strength based on it.

Aiden had never considered himself strong. Not physically, even worse mentally. Emotionally, he was a disaster, it was hard to keep his tears from falling at the smallest inconvenience. But these new powers gave him the strength he needed; for once, he felt important.

The prophecy had been written out on the stone ahead, clear as day. He couldn't believe it, a sigh leaving his lips. "I've only seen this place in my nightmares..."

"Then let's hope we don't stay here long." Iv passed a hand over the stone. The prophecy itself took up the middle, but to each side was a series of words, adjetives, that they hadn't seen before.

To the right. Kind. Gentle. Careful.

The left. Brave. Determined. Strong.

Cautious.

Stubborn.

Masculine.

Feminine.

Moon.

Sun.

"It's like Yin and Yang," Iv quickly determined. "Opposites in everything, always in balance."

"Do you think..." Aiden turned to his sister. "Do you think this is about us?"

"What?"

"These adjectives, it's like they're describing us. A-and the symbol of Celestia... it can't be a coincidence."

"If that's the case, why am I described?" Iv crossed her arms. "The angels have made it perfectly clear I'm not supposed to be here."

"But you are. Maybe that was what was meant to happen all along!" He gripped his necklace, a habit for whenever he was anxious or excited. He stared in admiration. "We were destined for this...!"

"You've gotta be kidding."

When Aiden turned again, there was no sign of admiration. No respect or pride.

Just anger. "This is bullshit!"

"What? What is? Isn't this what you've always wanted?"

"A, I want to be worth of damn from my own actions," she answered, glaring at him. "Not because some asshole with too much time and power wants me to be!"

There she went again, always getting her pride involved. Part of Aiden resented her for that, always making things more difficult than they needed to be. "Iv, it's not like we're being controlled. This is a good thing, we'd being led to what we need to do."

"That might be good for you, but that's not how I do things! You always did need someone to tell you what to do, never deciding for yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh face it, A! You don't have the spine to make your life your own, you never have! You always wait for someone to tell you what to do and how to do it! If not me, it's Sage! If not Sage, it's Ryan! Even as a kid, it was always whatever Mom and Dad told you to do! You're like a puppet!"

"At least I always listen to people and am smart when taking action! What's better, rushing head first into every situation without thinking?! It's like you're asking to get yourself killed!"

"You're an idiot!"

"You're INSANE! What kind of person immediately throws their life away like that?! What would Mom and Dad do if you died?! What would Noah do?!"

"I may be insane in your eyes, but at least every decision I make is my OWN! It's MY life, and I get to do whatever the hell I want with it! Not Celestia, ME!"

As the argument escalated, neither twin noticed the colors emanating from the sculpted words, red and blue, but oddly shifting from side to side.

Still, the fight continued, Iv's glare so orange her eyes could burn through a wall. "I refuse to be some spineless coward like you!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Why, can't even face me for that?!"

"I'm warning you!"

"THEN READ MY LIPS!" She got in his face this time, pressing a finger to his chest to push him back, Aiden's eyes just as furious. "I will never, EVER, BE A COWARD LIKE YOU!"

A zap coursed through the cave, so powerful they both passed out cold in an instant. They were left unconscious for a moment, paralyzed as the wave slowly left, their faces buried under their hair.

Seconds later, the others came rushing in. They had heard the explosion from within and imagined the worst. Ryan stayed by the entrance, struggling to cover it with the boulders nearby to make sure they weren't follows, but the Cipher twins both ran to their partners, fear consuming their faces at the sight of them on the floor.

Sage got to Aiden first; she was always the faster of the two. She cupped his face in between her hands, calling his name over and over.

Noah got to Iv just a second later. She weighed less than Aiden, though it wasn't by much, but enough for Noah to pick her in his arms with one swift motion.

She woke up first, a groan leaving her lips as she leaned against his shoulder. "What..."

"What happened...?" Aiden asked after, Sage helping him sit up with a hand to his back.

"We heard an explosion from inside," Sage answered. "Did something happen? Were you attacked?!"

Among the many physical features the Anderson twins shared was their long bangs, black as the deepest night, which kept falling over their faces. Neither bothered to fix it yet, they simply made sure their hearts were still beating.

"No," Aiden answered. "I don't think we were attacked. I don't think there were any monsters."

"Just goes to show not to get distracted," Iv added. Aiden could tell she was still angry. He was, too, he couldn't lie to himself about that. A coward? Him?!

Insane; Iv thought of the word. How can wanting to protect people be insane?!

She stood up on her own, stumbling back. Noah quickly did the same, holding her shoulders to keep her balance. "Whoa, hey... take it easy."

"I'm fine, Noah," she said as she placed a hand over theirs, though she wasn't entirely sure about it. Something felt... off.

Sage helped Aiden up, who stood up much slower and took a deep breath. "I think we might've messed with something on accident. But we're not hurt, I don't think."

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that..." Ryan had joined the group now, but the closer he got to them, the slower his pace got. His green eyes were wide, as if one of them grew an extra head.

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked, gripping his necklace with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Your... your eyes!"

"What? What's wrong with our-?" As both twins turned to each other, hair finally out of their faces, their eyes widened.

They both shared two colors. Aiden's right eye had turned a deep brown, like a freshly unwrapped chocolate. Iv's left was blue, a periwinkle shade stood out against her dark skin.

Sage's tail slipped under her legs, eyes wide. "What the... h-how-?"

"This..." Aiden stared at his hands for a while. He wasn't sure why, but his previous anger wouldn't go away. No, it kept growing, bubbling as he glared at his sister. "This has to be your fault."

Iv immediately glared over. "My fault?! How is this my fault?!"

"You made things more difficult than their supposed to be! AGAIN! We were supposed to find what we needed and leave, but of course you had to go and get all mad for no reason!"

"Guys-" Noah tried to intervene, but to no avail.

Iv was ready for another fight. "NO REASON?! I'm sorry I don't like to be a puppet on a string like you!"

"AGAIN WITH THE ACCUSATIONS! I'm getting REALLY tired of you calling me things I'm NOT!"

The last word reverberated against the cave walls, so loud Sage had to cover her ears. But what shocked everyone was how Aiden bursted into a wave of flames, covering his entire body.

Everyone stared in disbelief, unsure of how to act. Ryan's first thought was that this was a punishment for messing with whatever was in here, that Aiden was dying.

But Aiden was burning. His skin was fine, his clothes were fine, his hair became one with the flames.

Still, he was petrified, staring at his hands as his breathing grew heavy. "What's happening?! Why am I-?!"

"O-okay, don't panic! I can remove it, you just need to-!"

He screamed as a shot of fire flew out of his hands, right at Iv's face. Out of instinct, she covered her face with her hands, but there was no sudden raise in her power, nor any heat.

Instead, a wall of ice had raised itself in front of her, blocking the fire, and her hair had turned as white as the freshest snow.

Both twins stared at each other in horror, and the other three were beginning to panic. What was happening? How could they fix it?

But one thing was for sure as they stared at each other's new mix matched eyes, at Aiden's hair dancing with the flames and Iv's shining a bright white, both muttering in synch.

"We've switched powers...!"

so um
yeh ✨

This isn't canon btw, just an idea I wanted to explore, but the cave is real
Same for Aiden being prophesied to be something like a good and Iv not being meant to exist

And the Star/Symbol of Celestia ✨

This is that symbol btw, the symbol of the angels, specifically

Those who have it in gold on their skin means they have celestial/holy magic, those with a scar of it have been healed by a celestial being (Hera wears hers as a token since she's a young goddess from Celestia, but not as powerful as the angels)

yes ive been sprinkling in hidden lore for you guys 👀👀

but yeah, if you took the time to read this, um
thank you :D

❤️❤️❤️