Ember Elliot Elysian.

"Are you sure you do not want me to meet your parents yet?" I asked Erin, my palms sweaty, not because I was about to return to Elysia, but because Erin just declared that I could meet her parents later, after I was done with what I was dealing with right now.

She shook her head, and I let out a relieved breath.

"Nathan is mad enough," she took a look at her friend sitting at one of the furniture, scowling. "Convincing him took me the entire night and if we don't leave anytime soon, he'll try to stop us again. Involving my parents and brother will bring more inconvenience and time wastage."

"I JUST WANT YOU TO BE SAFE, ALRIGHT?" Nathan shouted from the living room, only getting ignored by Erin, as she stared at the busy roads ahead of the balcony. "ARE YOU IGNORING ME RIGHT–"

I left the balcony, approaching him. "I understand that it must be really hard for you to entrust your friend to a completely unknown place with people that you can not possibly trust," I said. "But I swear to you, I will make sure no harm falls upon her. I will put her life before mine, should any disdainful situation arise. Even the gods will not be able to lay a hand on her."

"That's cocky for someone who couldn't protect her right when she needed it the most–"

"Nathan!" Erin rushed into the room, glaring at her friend. "Take that–" I grabbed her arm, giving her a small smile as she looked at me with a frown.

"I am aware that because of me she ended up as an orphan and had to go through many hardships, and I regret it–" Erin freed herself from my hold, standing right in front of Nathan.

"Whatever happened to me has nothing to do with Ember. You blaming him like that is just unfair, when he didn't want any of the things that happened," Erin said, her words pressed, and angry. "I appreciate your concern for me and I get what you're going through. I would be doing the same if it were me in your shoes."

Nathan's eyes softened. "Then don't go. I'm scared something will happen. And what if you can't return this time–"

"You're not getting rid of me that quick," she grinned, all of her anger nonexistent now. "One week. I'll be back within one week."

Nathan sighed, and stood up. He gave me a look. "Seven days, Ember. Seven days and you're bringing her back," he told me, his usual amusing expressions gone and replaced with seriousness.

I nodded. "Thank you for trusting me," I said.

"I actually don't—"

I raised an eyebrow when Erin interrupted him. "Alright!" She clasped her hand. "I already talked with my parents. They were easy to fool. Told them I'll be busy with work for the next week and won't be available much. And as for Ray, you can handle him," she looked at Nathan.

Nathan groaned. "Your brother isn't that dumb. If he comes here, we are fucked,"

"He won't," Erin confirmed with a wide smile. "I'm giving you my phone, whenever he texts, just shoot him a message. He has his own life so it's not gonna be like he's gonna text me every second but whenever he wants to talk, say I'm busy with my new job or something,"

"I don't think it's gonna work, Ray is kinda doubting—"

"Then make him believe you," Erin smiled tightly, clearly infuriated. "I'm leaving that part with you."

"He's already suspicious of the photoshopped image of you, what the fuck do I come up with now?"

"Like I said," Erin was reaching the limit of her patience. "That's a you problem."

"But—" Nathan was cut off by Erin immediately embracing him, patting him on the back repeatedly.

"I'll see you in a week, Nathan," she broke out of the hug. "Email my boss that I have diarrhoea. or tuberculosis , or anything that'll last for days and won't be able to work."

She did not wait for Nathan to say anything else, before grabbing my wrist and hissing me to open the portal already. I looked back, giving her friend one last look of gratitude and left the room.

"Stay behind me," I told Erin after opening the portal, the blinding light pulling us towards it. "We might encounter Ira as the first person upon landing on the other side."

"And of course he also wants you dead," she sighed, stepping back just a step.

Nathan was standing parallel to us, inside Erin's chamber while we stayed on the balcony, the circle door still. He bore no expression, only a hint of worry evident in his brows, his arms crossed.

"He is quite worried about you," I said, chuckling, happy to see Erin having someone who worried about her well-being. It made me feel less guilty for being the reason for her demise since her childhood.

She shook her head. "Let's leave before he says he also wants to come along with us," with that being said, she waved at Nathan one last time, before intertwining her fingers with mine, giving me a sign to enter the portal.

I nodded at Nathan and then without any hesitation, I stepped in, Erin by my side as the light inside the portal consumed our entire beings.

Opening my eyes, I was not disappointed to see my curse of a brother, staring deep within my soul, as if carrying death inside those hollow eyes. He was surprised, unlike me, but didn't show it before gripping the hilt of his sword firmly, spreading one of his legs against the soil, as always, and adjusted his posture.

"Ira is so ready to slice you, Ember," Erin mumbled behind me. "Will we survive this?"

I hated it to admit it, but Ira did look a little terrifying right now, his eyes darker than father's, not blinking for once, his demeanour radiating ominosity, He hadn't even done anything yet, but I could already feel his wrath, even though I still hadn't stepped out of the portal yet.

I was never scared of Ira, but seeing him like that, as still as an ocean, his gaze unmoving, his expression unreadable, my heart shook. That was the face of someone who knew he would succeed. He was wearing the same expression as he did whenever he sword battled at the trials with his opponents – one where he knew he was winning.

Ira knew what he was doing.

He knew he was going to win this.

And I was suddenly scared of that.

And more than that, I was scared because Erin was also with me, It was evident by now that Ira and my deals were complete different cases now, he did not give two fucks about those – and he may as well reveal Erin's identity to father if he wanted. 

I tried to not show the fear inside my voice. "We will. I have my Protection Spell with me."

That was the stupidest thing I could've said at the moment, and even Erin knew how vulnerable my Protection Spell was right now, but there was nothing else to say. The smart thing to do right now would be to head back when my portal was still opened. I could simply turn my feet and walk back to the other side, but then again, would it really do anything at all?

It would save me momentarily, yes, but I would have to come back here again, face my brother because I knew very well he wouldn't leave this place until he had me within his grasp.

I had expected him, yes, but I also expected that I could handle him, but this, this was not Ira that I was facing. That was a whole different person who only had one goal: erase my existence. And by the looks of it, he might as well succeed.

Should I try to talk to him? Blackmail him or something?

"Ir—" before I could even produce the entire syllable of his name, he had sprinted towards me, his sword high in the air, not caring about how he was also coming inside the portal.

My first instinct was to grab Erin's hand and turn back, since we still had the chance, but I knew well that Ira might follow us even there since he was so close to the portal.

The Protection Spell and the termination of my portal happened almost in the same second – the force shield growing quick – meaning my opponent was strong, and my portal vanishing in the air, leaving the red specks to collide with the golden specks of the Protection Spell. I would have appreciated the beautiful combination if it wasn't for Ira striking the force shield once more, this time with more force.

The first force shield wasn't even fully formed before the second one hoisted itself -- another sign of my attacker being strong -- growing on top of the first force shield, consuming the space of the meadow. Countless golden particles swirled among themselves rapidly while creating the second force shield, the brightness of it causing Ira to back away for once, and making me shield my own eyes from the blinding light. The miscellany of specks only continued circling, spreading around the force shield, adding more sustainability and strength, but everyone present knew better than anyone that Ira's sword was sharper than that.

Ira released his renèi Possession, his wings larger than I remembered, the feathers looking as ethereal and graceful as ever, meaning Ilayna's healing had worked perfectly. I almost forgot about my surroundings, seeing the wings – as white as the stars, flapping against the air as if they owned it, each of his feathers twice larger than before, and the worst part was how well the wings suited him, as if he was born to carry them, as if he was the true owner of it, as if he wasn't a born-Naught.

How did he do it so well? How did he fool me my entire life, making me believe he was renei Possessor? how did he use his wings like that, with no difficulty at all, as if the gods had made those wings specifically for him? And when did he do it? When did father alter our memories into making us believe he was a born-renèi Possessor? Did mother know what he had become? Who was it that shared the rarest wing possession to a Naught like him?

"His wings . . ." Erin mumbled, her shock evident in her voice. "It's different. And I don't have a good feeling about this. He looks more scary now."

"The Protection Spell is not so easy to break. I would have been dead if that was the case-"

Ira's wings were quick and harsh, as he levitated himself in the air, his sword firm against his hold, as he watched me, standing in the air, wings helping him stay afloat. A few feathers fell from their place, slowly landing on top of the force shields, before gliding down the transparent shields.

I watched those feathers, their tips bloody, and before I could even come up with an explanation for that, Ira had launched himself at us, while flying, with his sword directed at the force shield.

"Is he gonna attack us FLYING?" Erin almost shouted and I watched as Ira finally landed his sword at the force shield, his wings flapping even more harshly after the impact of his sword made in the force shields. The shields shook against the earth repetitively, even more than they did at the day of my amalgamation. They trembled dangerously, the transparency of the barrier cracking at the top, following the bottom as well.

The first force that had me and Erin consumed shuddered in the worst way possible, the cracks of it now slowly opening, as if a glass was breaking slowly and between all that destruction, I saw Ira, smiling down at me.

I found it sickening how awfully similar to father he was looking right then, as if this was father's way of finishing the job that he couldn't that day, as if he was calling me weak in a language that needed no utterance, as if he was showing his dominance that was present even if he was absent himself.

The first force shield broke as quick as it had appeared.

Erin and I immediately crouched down, and my hand instinctively wrapped themselves around Erin's body, one of my hand protecting her head from the pieces of force shield falling down like arrows.

"Stay still, and close to me. They are sharp enough to cut you," I told Erin, feeling the pieces fall on my body, scraping my skin.

"It's cutting you as well. I can't just stay still and watch your hand get cut because of me," she said, her voice on edge, her eyes rolled up, watching the edges of the pieces grazing the back of my palm which protected her head.

"I am alright–" I winced, as I felt the edge of a big piece landing on my shoulders, gliding down my body afterwards.

"Ember," Erin looked at me now, her eyes stern. "Tell Ira that you give up, and to stop this–"

"I am not doing that," I pulled her close to me when I saw a piece as big as a fist about to hit her body, our eyes having only inches of distance, and suddenly, I felt my heart beating quicker than usual, not because of Ira being very close to kill me, but because of the closeness between Erin and me. "I am not doing that, Erin. I would rather cut my own throat right now with these very pieces than surrender to Ira."

She did not look convinced, and the closeness between our faces also didn't seem to have affected her at all. "Then protect yourself, not me–"

"I am afraid I can not do that as well," I finalised, watching her gaze softening.

"You're hopeless," she said, and despite the demolition happening around us, despite my only way to live was getting torn apart in front of my own eyes, despite death being so close to me, I laughed – because Erin was with me.

I had no chance against Ira and his sword, and I also knew I wouldn't last even a minute with him, but I knew I would try, and figure out a way, because that was all I had been doing my entire life. Erin was with me, by my side, and she wasn't leaving any time soon, and for now, that was enough for me to fight back.

I realised the first force shield had been completely destroyed, no trace of its existence evident, unless you looked at the ground and saw all the pieces of it scattered in the grass.

"Will he break the second one as well? Erin asked, now standing slowly, as I did the same.

"Most likely," I said, watching Ira literally smashing his sword in the second force shield. "There will be a triple force shield before that, though."

"Can it make more than three?" she asked, watching in horror.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "Nobody has gotten that far."

The force shield shook a little at first, but then he striked again, and I watched how it had taken his entire strength for this strike, how he had gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white because of his grip on the sword. I felt the earth beneath me tremble, as it would tear itself apart because of the weight of the force shield dancing upon it, making me hold Erin's hand and steadying her along with me. 

"Whoa," she gasped, using another hand to grab my arm, watching another force shield appear quickly, golden specks surrounding each other, growing in numbers in a speed so rapid, my breath shook realising Ira's strength.

He was always capable of breaking it, he just believed it was unbreakable.

My Protection Spell would break, by the hands of a Naught, and even the gods would not be able to stop that even if they tried.

The flap of his wings hindered the growth of the golden specks needed to form the third force shield. The quick air produced by his wings caused the specks to scatter around, losing their bonds, and restarting it again and again. The scattered specks surrounded his wings, mixing with his feathers and then slowly flowing away with the wind upon realising they had lost their bonding ability.

The new-formed specks came together, swirling around each other, bonding, and finally creating the triple force shield. It was as big as it had been that day, consuming the entirety of the meadow, making Ira back away with his wings. Ira wasted no time before rushing towards the force shield and striking it, causing the wobbling-second force shield to finally break apart.

The second force shield rained upon us, the cracks exploding and falling rapidly. Erin and I returned to our previous position, me holding her as safely as I could, all while trying to dodge the pieces of the force shield, which were twice bigger than the first force shield.

Ira came down, his wings still secured in his back, meaning he would be back in the air again. He came forward, now staring at me, and raised his sword, pointing it towards me.

"Say goodbye to mother's protection, Elliot," he spoke for the first time. "Even the gods can't help you now."

This is it.

Ira had done it.

He had broken two of the force shields perfectly, completely erasing their existence.

And he looked damn ready to break the last one.