Maenin City
Cetrulis Skyland
Central Space

"Gael, are you joining as for lunch?" Kreis spoke through his commu-crima. Alec walked along side him through the street, bustling with the festival's activities. Together with his Draelings, they feasted their eyes on the black and white decors hanging on ropes over the roads. Stalls lined each side, and mouthwatering scents of food drifted to Alec's nose. Animated chatters filled the air as people conversed with their friends, and bargained with the store owners.

With every minute passing, he saw more and more people dressed in pure white but ragged clothes, or with paint on their faces trying to mimic monsters with decaying flesh and sharp teeth. There were even people dressed as Eimions, with fake large horns and long metal claws. As usual, none had succeeded in trying to find a way to turn the white in their eyes black, and their irises violet.

His mind thought back to the time when Arktis hosted the Festival of the Dead. Being so young, he always held onto his brother's hand, afraid of getting lost and getting surprised by a stranger dressed in his own image of death and fear. There were lots of them trying to have fun by scaring kids until they wet in their little pants. He sighed.

A few moments later, they arrived at the north part of Maenin, where the main festivities were supposed to be held later that night. Kreis pointed him to sit on the edge of a large active fountain, with jets of water spiraling up the air every now and then. Even though annoyed at being told what to do, he obeyed. Once seated on the stone, his Draelings hopped off and stuck their tongues out to the crystal clear water, along with the few Draes present. Alec shifted his attention back to Kreis, who still had his commu-crima by the ear to block the noise.

"You can't be serious!" the man said. "Where did the old man send you in the first place? Last I recall he preferred to do things by himself."

After some moments, Kreis clamped up from whatever Gael told him through the magical device. The Head Ryder sighed before mumbling a yes.

"Alright, we'll wait for you at Dewmet's Bistro," he said. With another sigh, he swiped at the crima and blackness covered the yellow surface. Kreis fixed his brown eyes on Alec, who in return tilted his head to the right. A smile broke into the older man's face before he spoke.

"Alec, let's head first for a Simbhan," he said. "I'm sure you'd love to pray for your brother first."

At his words, Alec looked down at the cobblestone surrounding the round fountain. It had been a while since he prayed for Alen's soul and entered a Simbhan. Back in Gelun, he was always driven away by the townspeople during worship days. They had no right to do so, but not being able to stand their glares, he never stepped foot into the sacred ground ever again.

"Is that Simbhan for worship of the First God? Because if not, I won't go," he said.

"Whether you believe in Kosmos or the new gods, death is still death. You'll either end up in the pits of Blazen, or soar high above the heaven we call Paramount," Kreis said. "This festival came to for the purpose of opening all Simbhans to everyone, despite their religious beliefs." Kreis walked away and Alec stood to follow after him. The triplets settled for crawling next to his feet.

"If that's the case, then why do people dress as ghosts and monsters? Not to mention some have the drive to dress as Eimions," he said.

Kreis looked over to him, when they threaded through the streets side by side. The man smiled, before letting out a chuckle with a look in his eyes that told Alec he remembered something.

"A couple of years ago, some insane man decided to play a prank by dressing as something that would terrify everyone in the festival. His attempt failed the initial purpose, and ended up making a lot of people laugh till they ran out of breath." Kreis let out his own laugh before he continued. "From then, people just started 'dressing up.' Eventually, it became tradition, I suppose."

Alec nodded as they turned a corner. Looking ahead, he spotted a stone road leading out of town and up a hill. Dozens of people walked around them, heading for the same direction. Squinting under the late morning sun, he spotted the Simbhan. Later on, he heard the sound of metal clamoring against metal.

An enormous grey-stone building with a domed roof sat on top of the large grassy hill. Its large wooden doors were wide open for anyone to enter. Bells clanged in the four towers, which were of equal distance from each other, surrounded the circular building.

"I guess it's been a while since the last time I attended Worship with other people," he said under his breath.

―――

After tapping his forehead twice with his thumb, Alec stood from the small old cushion which made it hard to feel comfortable while he prayed. Even so, he finished his orison with no complaints leaving his mouth. For a moment, he ran his gaze over the plain dome ceiling, before his eyes fell on the only valuable object standing in the middle of the room.

Three Draes sculpted from solid gold surrounded a man molded from the same material. He sat tall and mighty on one Drae's back. The two other creatures stood with their fronts reared and wings spread behind them. His eyes drifted back to the people's image of Kosmos. None truly knew how he looked. But according to scriptures, his eye color would shift to bright blue, blood red, emerald green, or to a warm shade of mud brown if he so willed it.

Purring against his shins snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking down, he smiled at his Draelings before allowing them to climb on him. Midnight and Leyan settled for his shoulders, while Entiny went to her spot on top of his head. One side of Alec's face contorted from her weight, but soon ignored the fact that she was indeed getting bigger. He proceeded to weave his way around the sea of people in the room. A couple of eyes followed him and his Draelings, but he ignored their lingering looks. Once outside, he looked around to find Kreis, who finished his prayers earlier than him.

However, his Draelings sprang off from their places on his body. With wide eyes, he watched as they ran through the gaps between people's legs. He launched after them, brushing past angered citizens, and muttering apologies in the process. He burst through the crowd of worshippers and his eyes darted around in search of his Draelings. Not a few moments later, he found them flying down the hill toward the woodland surrounding the sacred grounds.

"Entiny, Leyan, Midnight!" he called. He ran down the hill, following after them. Running across the space, he hopped over rocks and mossy puddles of water. Not once did he take his eyes off his Draelings―that was until they disappeared among the trees.

"Entiny!" he yelled. He entered the forest, and was surprised by the lack of sunlight filtering through the thick green canopies. "Midnight! Leyan!"

A heavy feeling settled on his stomach, causing him to slow his pace until he settled for walking. Looking around the trees, he tried to spot any signs of his triplets. However, he leaned against the nearest three when the heavy feeling intensified, and crawled up his chest. His breathing turned ragged, as he clutched the trees for support.

Not a moment later, he fell on his knees with a suppressed scream.

Tears pricked at his eyes, as he tried to reach for his back. He could feel his scars throbbing as intense heat crawled over his skin. The familiar pain in his dreams came and he fell on the dirt on his side. Searing pain coursed through his back as if a metal blade was ever so slowly peeling and cutting at his flesh. The heat seemed to increase in intensity. The feeling of a non-existent blade severing the muscles on his backside grew agonizingly slower than before. He did something he had never done before. He screamed. He screamed so loud, that even through the pain, he could see flocks of birds taking to the sky from his bloodcurdling disturbance. The birds' cries mingled with his own until the pain vanished. The sensation was so abrupt that Alec forgot to breath for a minute before he burst into pants and coughs on the ground. His vision cleared and blurred, causing him to close his eyes.

After what felt like hours, his ears caught a set of footsteps headed for him. Opening his eyes half-way, he saw a pair of black boots parting through the split of long cloak sagging to the ground. He craned his and looked up. Judging by the stature, it was a male.

The hairs on his nape and arms rose as fear coursed through his body. He stiffened. Black had eaten away the white in the being's eyes. With his violet-colored irises, he looked at him with nothing but pure coldness. Small black horns protruded from either side of his head.

"You've grown," he said. The sound was a smooth baritone and was rather comforting. But Alec's body shook as goose pimples appeared on his body. Pain prickled at the areas on his back where his scars were. Against his own will, he found his body inching away from the Eimion.

An Eimion, an Eimion, an Eimion, his mind chanted. The man bent down and reached out with a clawed hand. The sharp and pointed tips caressed one side of his face. With new found strength, he jerked away and propped himself on his feet. His back hit a tree when his legs gave out from the exhaustion the ordeal he went through brought.

His body refused to stop shaking, and he hugged his arms. One part of his mind refused to give in to terror, and attempted to stop his shaking by biting hard on his hand. He drew blood and the sweat, along with the dirt brought a sting to the wound. Even so, his body stopped rattling like the leaves in the wind. He took deep breaths to at least gain back the composure he always had.

Ha, composure, his inner mind said, like that would stop a spawn of evil.

"You've grown but still somewhat the same," the Eimion said. "You were always the last one to hold up against my presence and my touch. Now it would seem you can endure it even more than when you were a mere infant."

"Who are you?"

The spawn of evil fell silent as he kept watching him. Alec stopped himself from squirming and met his gaze head on.

"You can talk now as well. How...lovely," he said. "And apparently, you've grown into quite a bold young man."

"I'm asking you a question."

"And I'm not answering it."

More silence followed before the horned man approached. He dropped on one knee. Alec's head hit the tree hard until a pressure pinned it in place. He looked up, and found the Eimion's palm pressed against his forehead.

"It's too soon for you to know. Why do you think your brother hid you?" he said. Alec's eyes grew big, and tried to push him away. His body didn't move to his commands, and was rendered helpless again in his hands.

"I'll leave you alone for now, but you must forget me," he said. A dark mist floated out of his hunched form and engulfed them both.

"Ellimina Memoria."

The mist swirled like a violent tornado, spinning up toward the sky before forming into a ball. Strands of it broke free from the sphere and drifted to his open mouth. A strange, yet evil power hit him full force. Even with his dimming vision, he made out the smirk which formed on his pale purple lips.

Alec fell forward on the ground. Before he could succumb to darkness, he felt relief course through him at the sight of his Draelings running to him.

They're safe and sound, he thought.

"I'll see you soon, little Cenred." A wind blew by, and as if carried by it, the Eimion vanished.

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