*Eika*

"Hey, guys," I said, entering my little brother's nursery room.

"Ei-ei!" my three-year-old brother said, waddling over to me. He raised a toy robot at me and beamed. "Emi and I made robo!"

"I helped too!" a black haired girl with indigo eyes said as she zoomed over to us.

"You were mostly doing your own thing, Lena," Emika said, chuckling.

Lena pouted. "Maybe, but I still helped."

"Wanna see what robo can do?" Eiya asked.

I patted my little brother's head and smiled slightly. "Maybe later. Mom returned. She wishes to see us."

"Mommy's back? Mommy!" My brother ran off, leaving behind a literal trail of dust.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Lena yelled, bolting after him.

"Is something the matter, sis?" Emika asked, tilting her head at me.

I lowered my head. "Can't say for sure, but I get the sense that there is. Mom, she was acting strange."

Emika took a deep breath and walked away. "Let's go."

I nodded and followed after her.

"What happened to him?" Eisuke could be heard from below.

"What's going on?" Emika said, speeding up.

We found Eiya and Lena crouching by the stairs, overhearing Mom and Eisuke's conversation.

"Tell me," Eisuke asked. He stepped closer to Mom.

She flinched and turned away. "I told you, once all of you are here."

I stepped down the stairs. "We're here. Unless you want me to go fetch Eita and Eiichi. Not that I know where they are."

"Mommy," Eiya said, escaping Lena's grasp. "Mommy! Where's Daddy?" 

Mom's lip quivered. She walked away. "H-he's not coming."

Eisuke gasped.

The pit in my stomach grew deeper than it already was.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked, hands trembling.

"It means Dad's dead," a voice called out. We all turned to see Eiichi emerge from a vortex with an expressionless look on his face. Eita and Bora followed behind him, their eyes were downcast. It was odd to see my cousin sad. He was usually happy or angry like an idiot.

Eita made the same pained look as Mom. "Eii, couldn't you have been more a little less blunt?"

Lena shook her head. "No. No! That can't be! You're lying, big brother!" She stepped back. "Stop lying! I know that you dislike Daddy, but this is going too far!"

Eiichi looked to the side. "I wish I were."

"He's telling the truth," Mom said.

I put a hand over my mouth. It had been as I feared.

Eiya glanced at Lena. "Dead? What does that mean?"

"I-It means he's gone. Forever," Lena mumbled as she curled into a ball on the ground.

To be honest, I felt like doing the same. But as the third oldest, I had to be strong, for the little ones. Yet, no words left my mouth as I simply watched my siblings' reactions.

Eiya's robot slipped from his hand. Its head came off and rolled over to me. "Daddy's never coming back?" he asked, eyes wide. "W-why?"

Lena curled her hands into fists. "I-I don't know how to explain it."

Of course she didn't. The girl was six after all.

My sister looked up at me. "B-but how could that be? There has to be some kind of misunderstanding, right?"

"Lena, I know it's hard, but I don't think that there's any lie or misunderstanding going on," Emiko said, placing a hand on her back.

I wished that I could've said those words. But I couldn't even move.

"How did he die?" Eisuke asked. His head was tilted down, causing his bangs to cover his blue eyes.

Mom held out her hand and summoned a sphere made up of melted gold. It looked reminiscent of Dad's armor.

Lena looked up and let out a scream.

"Dad," Emika said, walked toward it. She laid her hands on it. Tears streaked down her face.

Eiya whimpered. "Daddy's armor."

"Your dad was killed by a man calling himself Daisaru. He burned his body and made this form for his ashes."

"Who is this Daisaru?" Eisuke snapped, looking up. "Better yet, where is he?"

"What? Are you planning on fighting him? Do you think you can do a thing against him when your father couldn't?" a blue haired girl said, poking his chest with her index finger.

He slapped her hand away. "You stay out of this!"

"Eisuke, calm down," Eita said.

"How do you expect me to calm down when Dad's dead? How can Eiichi and you be so calm about this? Especially you?"

Eita smiled slightly. "I want to fight him too, but I would only get killed. I don't think Dad died for that. So don't go rushing into a battle you can't win."

Eiichi nodded. "Indeed. If any of us will get revenge for Dad, it's me. I'm the most capable of that. After all, Carlos was forged to kill that man and his kind."

"As is my brother's Donato," the girl from before said. She rubbed her shoulders. "But, I don't like the thought of him facing that guy again."

"Again?" I managed to get out.

"We fought him at Grand Crater," King Osamu said, turning around. "He wiped the floor with all of us. Your parents, your cousin, your brothers, Miyuki, me, and the other knights present."

Eisuke gulped. "What kind of monster is he?" he asked, stepping back.

"A scary one," Bora said, crossing his arms. "I don't think you stand a chance, even if you became Capitolinus's heir."

Right, with Dad gone, the kingdom had to look for a new wielder.

Eiichi chuckled dryly. "Still thinking of facing him, little bro?"

My brother gritted his teeth and ran up stairs.

The blue-haired girl ran after him. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Leave me alone!" he yelled, speeding up.

"Eisuke," Mom said, crossing her hands together.

King Osamu sighed as he glanced up at the fleeing Eisuke. "That could've gone better."

"Dad, he passed away days ago, didn't he?" Emika asked, turning to look at the adults. "Why tell us now?"

Could she tell that by simply touching the makeshift urn? Emi had something akin to a sixth-sense, so it was possible.

"Sis," Eita said.

"I-I took my time to gather my strength," Mom said, hands shaky.

I strode over to her and put my hands over them. Without words, I hugged her.

"Ei-ei." Mom patted my back. She glanced at my little brother. "Come here, Eiya."

My toddler brother picked up his broken robot and walked over to Mom. She picked him up and wiped away his tears.

Lena jumped up and ran over to hug Mom and me. My youngest sister pressed her head against her armor. "I miss Daddy!" she cried out.

Mom patted her head. "I do too."

"We all do," Eita said as he knelt down and patted Lena's head.

Lady Miyuki and His Majesty looked at each other with sad eyes. Could they have been thinking of their own children? Both Rosa and Kohri were toddlers like Eiya when the Peña siblings died. While their older kids were around Lena's age.

Emika brought over Dad's ashes and got between us.

Eiichi ruffled Emi's hair. Tears stained my usually cocky big brother's face. So, he did care for Dad.

I knelt down next to Eita and put a hand on the urn. The dam that held back my tears finally shattered, letting them pour uncontrollably.

*Eisuke*

"Woah, did I die and go to heaven?" Amun asked as she glanced around.

I sat up from my seat. "So, you follow me here."

She crossed her arms. "What makes you think that? I love books, so a place like this doesn't need you."

I turned away. "Harsh..."

She sighed. "I didn't mean it that way. That said, I was surprised to see you ran into a library. You don't strike me as the type who reads."

I leered at her. "You sure are casual with the insults, huh? Not that you're wrong. I only ran here to avoid you and the others as it's the biggest room around here. I'm surprised that a self-proclaimed book lover didn't get distracted."

Amun clenched the book in her arms and blushed. "Well, I might've for a bit."

I smiled slightly. "Still better than what I expected. Anyway, you don't have to feel the need to cheer me up. Our engagement will be broken soon, maybe."

She scoffed. "That's not why I followed you."

I blinked. "It's not?"

"It's just not good to be alone at a time like this." She hugged the book in her hands. "Trust me, I know."

I stared at her eyes. They were sad. "D-did you lose someone too?"

She chuckled weakly. "You're an observant guy. Almost thought you would be like your meathead cousin."

I shook my head. "There you go again. Not that I can deny that Bora isn't the brightest bulb in the box."

My face warmed up as she giggled.

"What?"

"Just thinking how you brothers are no better than me in terms of bluntness."

I scoffed. "I think you're worse than Eita and me by a long shot. Unsure about Eiichi."

She sighed. "He and I messed up by not allowing your mom and the king to tell you like they had planned."

I looked down at my hands. "It's alright. Mom was beating around the bush. In a way, you made things easier for her."

If anyone was making things harder, it was me...

I jumped out of my seat.

"Where are you going now?"

"Back to where the others are. I don't want to give my mom another issue to deal with," I said, striding away from her.

Amun chuckled. "You're a lot more mature than I thought."

I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "Say, who's the source of your sadness?"

Maybe I should've have mentioned it as it caused her smile to be replaced with a melancholic frown.

"My older brother, Dante. He died at the hands of one of those creatures, the abysmals."

I clenched my hands. If only I were older and stronger, I might've been of some help against them. Sadly, Borasco and her were right. Even if I had Capitolinus, I wouldn't stand a chance.

"So this is where you ran off to," a voice called out.

I gasped as Borasco stood at a distance with Dad's gold and blue necklace in his hands.

"Capitolinus," I mumbled.

"Eii would prefer you not be the next knight, but it's best to try all our options. Not that I disagree with him," Bora said. "Catch!"

I reached my hands into the air and caught it.

"Capitolinus, awaken!" I yelled, holding it. Nothing happened.

Borasco sighed. "Seems that it's being picky. Guess that leaves Eika."

I lowered it. "She's probably a better choice than me to begin with anyway."

Amun took it from me. "It's similar as what happened with my cousin, Tetsuya. Maybe if you work hard, it'll recognize you."

I smiled. "Why don't you try it?"

She shrugged. "I doubt it would transform for me. Capitolinus and Viminal only pick members of the Raiyama and Kuroichi families. I have a better shot with Caelio."

"Well, Caelio was traditionally held by your house."

"It was?" Borasco asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. You would know that if you read a history book for once."

My cousin looked at the bookshelves to his left and right. He waved his hand. "Nah. Books and I are like oil and water, we don't mix. That's especially true for textbooks."

"Not all history books are textbooks. You should try reading some. If not history, maybe some action books," Amun said as she handed Capitolinus back to him.

Bora smiled. "Action? I like the sound of that!"

Amun beamed. "I'll write you up a list of suggestions later."

She sure was lively when talking about them. Something told me that if we did marry, I would always be second in her heart to books.

My face heated up.

"Hey, you okay, Cuz?" Bora asked.

I ran past him. "I'm going to go see Mom and the others."

"Hey! You didn't answer my question!"

"I did, but you just didn't notice, you meathead!"

"Who are you calling a meathead?" Borasco rushed over to me. I jumped out of the way of his fist.

He smirked. "Nice dodge, Cuz."

Suddenly, vines flew over to us, locking us in place. "What do you two you're doing? Fighting in a sacred place like this?" Amun asked, inching closer.

I gulped. "I wasn't fighting."

Borasco chuckled nervously. "She's like four-eyes."

Before we knew it, the two of us were pushed through the opened library door several meters away from we had stood.

"That girls stronger than she looks," Borasco said.

I dusted myself up and stood up. "What do you mean? She doesn't look weak at all."

"True." Bora jumped up. "Well, let's go and have Ei-ei test this out." He lifted up my father's angel tool.

"Alright." A lonely feeling waft over me. Even though I knew I wouldn't make a good knight given my age, I still wished it would've activated for me.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Predictions?**