⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Pilot Special - Part I
The Shadow Prince's Awakening

****

Real Language Index
Baba- Dad {in Arabic}, Apá - Dad {in Spanish}
Mija - Daughter {in Spanish}, Mamá - Mom/Mother {in Spanish}, Tía - aunt {in Spanish}

Omi - Mom/Mother {in Arabic}

Ossis - Bone/Skeleton {in Latin}

Nieta - Granddaughter {in Japanese}

Fictional/Avalonian Language Index
Shiszi - traitor, Shon - son

****

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️
Includes, but is not limited to, the following: explicit display of murders {medium-to-high}, explicit display of gore/blood {medium-to-high}, explicit display of gory actions {medium-to-high}, explicit display of torture {medium-to-high}, explicit display of murder attempts {medium-to-high} and explicit display of excessive violence {high}

Quick Author's Note: These are all of the trigger warnings that I could think of based on all that occurs within the first part of the special, but if you see something that is potentially triggering, then please let me know and I'll be more than happy to include it here. Thanks!

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"After the imprisonment of the Lady Bone Enchantress, the death of Avalon's fearless hero and his monster occurred, our story picks up a thousand years later on the biggest night in Avalon's history..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Good evening, folks!"

As white-and-golden colored drones flew across the night skies, white lights began to shine across the center of a light grey, almost white-like stadium with banners of masked knights shown being hung throughout the exterior of the stadium. In the center of the stadium stood a single yet heroic statue of an Avalonian knight whose sword was raised high with the words In Magnus We Trust engraved on the grip of the sword.

"We are coming to you live from the Heartdome!"

There, in the center of the stadium, stood a single yet mighty statue of an Avalonian knight with his sword placed firmly on the ground. Near the general entrance of the stadium, another statue of the same Avalonian knight appeared as he confidently held his shield and raised his sword in a protective stance as if he was ready to take on anything... or anyone in the name of protecting his kingdom.

Across from the Heartdome, a white-and-golden colored drone panned its direction from the Avalonian statues to two reporters below as they were joined by civilians entering the stadium as spectators for this largely anticipated event.

Holding the microphone in their hand, the first reporter was a dark-skinned nonbinary with light lavender hair as their outfit consisted of a dark blue blazer, a white T-shirt, black slim pants and light beige boots.

"I'm Maeve Hayes!"

Beside them, a light-skinned male with brown, wavy hair as his outfit consisted of a light blue blazer over a white collared long-sleeved shirt with blue denim jeans and dark brown leather shoes.

"I'm Jace Holden and tonight's the night that out-knights all other nights! Ain't that right, Mae?"

As the excitement grew louder from the background, Maeve turned to face their co-host as they broke out into a grin.

"It sure is, Jace, but this is also the most controversial night in a thousand years!"

After Maeve was done speaking, Jace faced his co-host and agreeingly nods before he too breaks out into a grin; the excitement evident in his light hazel eyes as he began to speak.

"Yes, but you can't deny the energy and the tension that these Avalonians have tonight, especially since this is the first time in history that tradition will be getting cast aside!"

As if on cue, the exciting cheers grow louder as more spectators begin to flow into the stadium with young Avalonians eagerly dragging their guardians along in an effort to claim the best seat before the event commence. Jace and Maeve agreeably chuckle from the sight before they had proceeded to move forward with their latest report.

"Yep! Fairytopia will change forever because of one Avalonian and her name is—"

"Aliya."

Panning away from the two reporters, the panel shifts to some Avalonians groaning at the mirror screen in front of them while others began to look on as the large mirror screen began to display a video of a caramel-skinned girl with blackish-brown medium-length curly hair and light amber eyes as she leaped from a guard's sword stuck to the wall and performing a summersault over a few knights. As she landed on her legs, the few guards that were chasing her became caught in a slippery, almost tar-like substance as the group of men began slipping and sliding, which earned some laughter among the crowd before the video came to an end.

"The commoner who challenged the notion of doing the impossible when she managed to catch everyone's attention after she first competed in the Deheubarth Games once hosted by Queen Reese and King Trojan."

On the mirror screen, the video of Aliya and the few guards that previously played switched over to the commoner as she was seen working on her swordsmanship by dueling with Queen Reese and building on her agility by practicing quick cuts and side shuffles with King Trojan.

"Trained under the royals themselves, Aliya quickly emerged as the kingdom's reigning champion and became a favorite among the locals until certain circumstances led her to stop competing in the games. While she may no longer compete in the kingdom's games, she is still welcomed by the people of Deheubarth and the surviving grandson/heir to the late Queen Reese and King Trojan, Prince Rhys, who has been overseeing the kingdom in the aftermath of the tragic fire that claimed his grandparents' lives. The origins of the fire that engulfed the late royals is still unknown. Furthermore, no information regarding the deaths of the late Queen Reese and King Trojan has been discovered as the investigation has since stalled and is currently listed as a cold case."

On the mirror screen, the video of Aliya practicing with the late royals switches over to the fire that claimed Queen Reese and King Trojan's lives and showing the memorial dedicated to the late royals' memory.

"Yes. The investigation into the fire connected to the late Queen Reese and King Trojan was initially picked up by Aliya's presumably late mother, Amaranth Finkelstein, who had taken on the investigation. It is rumored that she was close to figuring out the culprit behind the fire when the death of her former lover-turned-traitor Corentine Leviton, commonly known as Stormy, in the surface world resulted in Miss Amara halting her investigation on the late royals. Like the late royals, the traitor's life was taken in a fire not related to the one taking Queen Reese and King Trojan's lives, though Miss Amara had speculated the two fires were connected to one another after she left Avalon to investigate the death of her former lover."

On the mirror screen, the video of the fire that claimed Queen Reese and King Trojan's lives and the memorial switches over to a older Avalonian caramel-skinned woman with blackish-brown medium-length curly hair and light amber eyes shown speaking to two reporters.

"However, before she could elaborate on her thoughts in a exclusive special that the Avalon Network had with her in the Surface Realm, a fire unexpectedly broke out in the midst of the segment. Miss Amara was last seen using her earth-wielding faerie magic to save two reporters before she became trapped. It has since been believed that she was engulfed by the flames, but interestingly enough, her body was never discovered at the scene, leading some to speculate the possibility of foul play was at hand."

The audio on the video is relatively indistinct until the sound of collapsing wood is picked up. As the wood continues to fall and the building begins to come undone, a very loud "LOOK OUT!" is heard from Amaranth as she uses her earth-wielding faerie magic to get the reporters safely out of the building before it is seen collapsing seconds later with the video abruptly cutting out and later turning black not long after. Seconds later, Maeve and Jace appeared on the mirror screen; their microphones in hand.

"Today, Prince Rhys continues to honor the memory of his grandparents by leading in the same way as the late royals did before him. However, Aliya chose to honor her mother's memory a bit differently when she became the first commoner to compete in the Trials of Avalon."

"A intense competition originally intended for elite descendants of the knights who fought in the First War that consisted of three impossible tasks meant to act as a test to locate the one who was the most capable of becoming a cadet in the famous Institute of Knights. The first task involves crossing a unfeasible pass, the second task requires potential candidates to survive a daunting attack and successfully take a blind leap of faith to complete the third task."

"So when Aliya became a competitor, no one thought she would win as she was up against nine promising elite descendants. However, against the odds, she won, becoming the first commoner and third-class citizen to win."

"Yes, but not everyone agreed with the results. Many felt she shouldn't have been invited due to her common-blood status and others felt strongly against her being a knight as she wasn't a descendant of the noble-blood elites who fought in the First War. This, combined with her lack of wings and magic, made many Avalonians believe that the King and Queen would turn her away."

"Something most Avalonians believed to be likely... until King James and Queen Morgana's decision shocked the entire kingdom."

The mirror screen replaced the two reporters and showed 118-year-old Aliya as she held onto a iridium sword that bared the marking of the royal family's seal, which showed the five elements in display: fire, water, air, earth and ice. While she looked down at the sword in her possession in awe, Aliya was surrounded by three other Avalonians, all of whom were facing the press in front of them [excluding Aliya, whose focus had continued to remain on the sword].

A older light-beige Avalonian male with blackish blue hair approached the press first as he worn a stylized white regal suit with golden brass swirls onto the suit itself. Behind him were a pair of wings that showcased a bright, shimmery display of light blue and transparent gold as he held a golden circular-designed staff.

"Now, she may not come from a noble bloodline like the other knights, but she won the tournament all the same." King James explained as his wife, Queen Morgana, nodded.

Approaching her husband, a older dark-skinned woman with jet-black hair stood beside King James as she worn a bright-green sleeveless silk-laced gown with a white-assorted roses placed on her head before the flower-crown quickly morphed into an actual crown with floral designs {specifically roses} etched into the golden crown itself. Unlike her husband though, she did not possess a staff of her own.

"Not only that, but from the actions she displayed in the Trials, she might just have the heart of a hero." Queen Morgana proudly finished off as she and her husband stared at Aliya, whose eyes were still centered on the sword when a dark-skinned male with jet-black hair had nudged her in an effort to get her attention. He worn a stylized white regal suit with golden designs etched into the suit; his pants and his high-top boots also matching the aesthetic of the suit and the general color scheme that he had going on. The male also did not have a staff of his own.

While the King and Queen patiently looked on, Aliya began awkwardly balancing the sword with their son, Prince Marcus, trying to get her to stop until the reporters jumped up with questions, which startled the girl as she jumped and hid behind Marcus. This earned some chuckles among the crowd before the past footage switches over to present time where Aliya is seen wearing her dark grey, almost black knight armor and showing off her impressive display of knightly skills as she is shown wielding her iridium sword.

The mirror screen focuses on present-time Aliya a bit longer before the footage switches back to Maeve, who proceeds to speak with Jace looking on.

"A heart of a hero? Well, we'll have to wait and see, but she does certainly seem to possess the drive of one as Aliya's graduating top of her class; a rather impressive feat given who's all is in her class." Maeve briefly continued as Jace excitedly nodded before he followed up on his co-host's words.

"A class that includes Jesse Äarons..."

The reporter is replaced by a image of a light skinned Avalonian male with piercing brown eyes and short, pink hair. Attached to the male's back is a pair of rose-gold colored and heart-shaped wings, which shined brightly against his white-and-gold armor. He poses in a heroic stance with his white-and-gold sword attached to his armor.

"Castor Mirage..."

The mirror screen switches over from Jesse to a pale-skinned Avalonian male with golden brown eyes and dark blonde hair as he posed in a heroic-like stance. Like Jesse, he worn his standard white-and-gold armor with his matching sword attached to his armor.

"Katsu Valian..."

The mirror screen switches over from Castor to a pale-skinned Avalonian male with dark green-eyes as a pair of auburn wings was seen attached to his back. Like the others, he had worn his standard white-and-gold armor and posed in a heroic stance as his white-and-gold sword was also attached to his armor.

"Aragon Armstrong..."

The mirror screen switches over from Katsu to a slightly darker [almost tan-like] olive-skinned Avalonian male with hazel eyes and somewhat aloof short black hair as a pair of light red wings was seen attached to his back. Like the others, he worn his standard white-and-gold armor and posed in a heroic stance as his white-and-gold sword was also attached to his armor.

"Slivanus Ridge..."

The mirror screen switches over from Aragon to a dark-skinned Avalonian male with his shallow ocean-blue eyes and medium-length light brunette hair as a pair of light green wings with floral designs was attached to his back. Like the rest of the cadets [excluding Aliya], the male worn his standard white-and-gold knight armor and posed in a heroic stance as his white-and-gold sword was also attached to his armor.

"Aeolus Gallan..."

The mirror screen switched over from Slivanus to a fair-skinned, blue-eyed Avalonian male as a pair of light blue wings with white swirl-like designs attached to his back as he worn his standard white-and-gold knight armor and posed in a heroic stance as his white-and-gold sword was also attached to his armor.

"Atlas Cadieux..."

The mirror screen switches over from Aelous to a dark-skinned Avalonian male with sliver eyes and dark brunette hair as he worn his standard white-and-gold knight armor and had posed in a heroic stance with his white-and-gold sword attached to his armor.

"Triton Marino..."

The mirror screen switches over from Atlas to a dark-skinned Avalonian male with stormy grey eyes and bluebell hair as a pair of aquamarine-colored wings were shown being attached to his back. Like the others, he worn his standard white-and-gold knight armor and posed in a heroic stance with his white-and-gold sword attached to his armor.

"Kai Flint..."

The mirror screen switches over from Triton to a pale-skinned Avalonian male with dark reddish-orange eyes and auburn hair as a pair of red-and-orange colored wings with flame designs were attached to his back. Like the others, he had worn his standard white-and-gold knight armor and posed in a heroic stance with his white-and-gold sword attached to his armor.

"And last but certainly not least, we have the one and only..."

"Marcellus Braveheart!"

Excitement seems to generate among the crowd as the image of Kai switched over to a olive-skinned Avalonian male with luscious dark jet-black hair and forest green eyes as he worn his white-and-golden armor with his sword matching his armor. Attached to his back was a pair of angelic, white-feathered wings with pure bronze gold glistening from the tips of his wings. The male flashed a heroic pose as he flashed a confident, easygoing smile.

"Not only is Marcellus the direct descendant of Magnus Braveheart himself, but he is also the most anticipated knight of this generation!"

"With his charm, I can see why." an Avalonian among the crowd muses as light chuckles begins to circulate within the group. "It must be the Magnus effect." another Avalonian lightly jokes as the lighthearted chuckles continue. "Obviously." a third Avalonian answers as another round of lighthearted chuckles ignited among them before they looked once more at the mirror screen where Maeve and Jace cleared their throats.

"But with Aliya now joining the ranks among the elites and first-class cadets, she changes everything because with her knight induction, she will open the door for lower-level class citizens to do what was once perceived to be impossible. She will show everyone that you do not need to be a descendant of an elite knight from the First War, a first-class Avalonian or even a man to wield the sword as she will become the first woman to be knighted with tonight's induction."

"Yes, but after tonight's induction, our safety will be put into the hands of a commoner and third-class citizen who was [or is, depending on who you ask] infamously known for being this kingdom's notorious thief and troublemaker."

"True, but with Aliya now joining the ranks, there's a chance she will ascend her reputation and even, dare I say, bring about a new era of heroes where an Avalonian's status and class don't play a factor into determining what makes a hero and defines one's self-worth in this kingdom."

"Maybe, but for now, we will have to just wait and see. In the mean time, let's hear what the people think of Aliya's knight induction."

The mirror screen then pans away from Maeve and Jace and over to a nearby Avalonian outside of the Heartdome. A fair-skinned Avalonian with light purple hair and a pair of matching wings crosses their arms as the Avalonian is seen wearing a I love Braveheart T-shirt, blue denim jeans and black low-top boots.

"Well, that's easy. I don't feel safe with her in the ranks. I mean, she's a commoner and a third-class citizen at that. Plus, given her reputation... I don't see how we can trust her when she has given us so much trouble in the past."

The mirror screen pans away from the first Avalonian and pans over to another Avalonian, who is seen standing outside of the Heartdome. The light-skinned Avalonian with golden locklets and light yellow wings is seen wearing a pastel blue sundress with matching flats as they shrug at the mirrorcam and cross their arms.

"It's not what Magnus and his son, Aureus, would have wanted. Plus, I doubt King Esteban and Queen Adelaide would have approved of this. To turn our back on tradition now is to turn our back on our past and if we do that.... well it can only lead to disaster and given the Fae-Maid's cursed luck, she'll most likely doom us all."

"I really hope the royals know what they're doing." an Avalonian in the crowd mumbled as they turn away from the crowd and begin to walk away from the mirror screen. The other Avalonians that chose to remain in the crowd all began to uneasily glance at each other as uncertainty and doubt started to surface among their faces.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"... Avalon's knight induction. The much-anticipated event had brought about a lot of excitement among Avalonians and as you all learned by now, the knight induction also brought out a lot of uncertainty in Fairytopia. But while many were skeptical, so too was the commoner as she had her own doubts about her induction."

"However, you won't find her here among the locals watching the mirror screen in the Central Fairytopian Market or near the Heartdome just yet. No, instead you will find her residing just outside of the kingdom and into the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest."

But away from the Heartdome and the Central Fairy Market where the residents of Fairytopia were watching the mirror screen lied a drastically less-populated area just residing outside of the outskirts of the kingdom.

There, in the outskirts of the kingdom and deep into the depths of the Enchanted Forest lied a wooden cottage that resided among the lavish trees and connected to a wooden bridge near a stream.

"There in the Enchanted Forest lied a wooden cottage and it was here where our commoner was watching the people's opinions on her own induction beside her father, who was rather hopeful that tonight would be the night his daughter would be accepted by their kingdom. But whether or not his wish would come true... well, that remained to be seen..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"So far, the people of Avalon are talking and it's not looking too optimistic for Aliya. Could it be that she might not be right for this kingdom?"

"I don't know Mae, but let's go talk to one more Avalonian and get their thoughts on where they stand on this historic night."

"Maybe, this is a sign that I should just skip the induction and stay home."

"Nonsense."

As Issac turned to face his daughter [who was merely seconds away from getting up and leaving the room], he observed her dejected face as she heavily sighed and leaned her back against the hazel-colored couch.

"Hey, tonight is going to be different, mija." he softly assured her as he saw her light amber eyes initially believe him, which had made him hopeful until he saw the doubt give way, resulting in his heart sinking at the sight.

"How can you be so certain of that when tonight just seems like it's going to be the same as any other night?" he heard her quietly ask as he glanced at her. "Because no one hates a hero of the realm," he softly began before he heard a disbelief chuckle escape his daughter's lips. "Hey, I'm serious, mija. They're going to love you." he insisted as he saw his daughter give a light chuckle before she playfully punch him in his left arm.

"Come on, baba. Let's be real here. I'm no hero now." she modestly stated as he gave a disbelief chuckle of his own, causing his daughter to roll her eyes at his reaction. "I'm serious, baba," she briefly began as she sighed. "I'm not a hero of the realm." she reiterated to him before glancing away from him as she stared at her hands.

"Well, I beg to differ, because after tonight, you are going to be a knight!" he excitedly told her, now catching his daughter off-guard as he lightly grabbed onto her shoulders. As he did, she began to look up, taking her focus off of her hands as he gave her a playful shake.

Issac could see his daughter trying to maintain her serious demeanor, but it wasn't long before a light chuckle escape her lips, breaking her facade as she lightly chuckled. "Okay, okay, okay. I get it." she lightly insisted, now taking him at his word as he ended his playful shake.

Removing his hands from her shoulders, he saw her briefly smile at him before her smile faded. In its place, skepticism lingered as she quietly sighed and glanced away from him, now making his smile fade as his heart sank once more from the sight. He glanced at the palms of his hands before he looked at his daughter once more.

"Hey, look at me."

He could see the hesitancy in her light amber eyes, but she eventually listened as her eyes were now focused on him.

"If there's anyone who deserves to be known as a hero of the realm tonight, it's you because you were better and you worked harder than anyone else whose in your class." he sincerely began as he gently held onto her face. "Okay?" he softly followed up, now releasing her face as he saw the doubt persisting in her eyes before he saw her nod.

"Okay." she answered, but whether or not she had actually believed him and his words was hard to determine as her face became tough to read. There was a moment of silence between the two until the mirror screen broke that silence.

"Even the great goddess Thena herself would disapprove of this!"

Glancing at the mirror screen, Issac and his daughter listened to the latest Avalonian speaking as she stood inches away from the Heartdome. The olive-skinned Avalonian woman with luscious jet-black hair, forest green eyes and a pair of white angelic wings stood tall as she proceeded to scoff.

"I mean, come on! By having the Fae-Maid join the ranks, we're just disturbing the peace and the harmony that my descendant and his son created with Thena, King Esteban and Queen Adelaide in the past! Her father and the royals should be ashamed for letting this laughable excuse of an Avalonian join the ranks. She's just a disgrace and that's all she'll ever be because—"

"Okay, that's enough for us." Issac promptly stated, shutting off the mirror screen as he glanced at his reflection staring back at him. As he did, he stared at his light honeysuckle eyes, his warm-beige skin and his jet-black hair as he worn a light grey sweatshirt and black casual pants. Then, he glance over at his daughter in the deactivated mirror screen, noticing her dejected demeanor as she began to heavily sigh.

"You should've just let Marcellus' mother finish what she was going to say about me," he heard her say as she dryly chuckled. "It seems as though she was onto something there with that last part." she finished as he quietly sighed.

"Belladonna's wrong about you, Aaliyah." he softly countered, turning to face her with a soft smile before he sighed and turned away from her. "Her along with this whole kingdom." he added, much more quietly now as he sighed and stared back at his reflection.

As soon as he did, Issac found his reflection changed to a black shadowy version of himself as his light honeysuckle eyes were no longer visible. Rather, in its place, a light-blue, almost teal-like color began to illuminate.

Panicked by the sight, he [unwittingly] screamed, because even in a place full of magic, having reflections that could mysteriously altered themselves was not considered normal — not even by Avalon's standards.

"Dad!"

He would've nearly tripped over himself in the process, if it wasn't for his daughter as she caught him from falling at the last second.

"Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, helping him stand up as she released her grip on him. "Y... Yeah, I'm fine," he shakily began before he sighed. "Sorry." he lamently added, now trying to assure her that he was fine amidst the panic he felt as he turned to look away from her, but Issac knew that his daughter's concern for him never left.

"Come on, baba, you're clearly shaken, so what happened?" he heard her ask as his eyes went back to the deactivated mirror screen, where he saw that the black shadowy version of himself with light-blue, almost teal-like illuminating eyes was gone. Rather, Issac was back to staring at his light honeysuckle eyes and his physical self.

Staring at the deactivated mirror screen in disbelief, Issac heavily sighed to himself and rubbed his eyes, believing that what he saw was simply in his head. At least, that's what he told himself as he glanced away from the mirror screen.

"It's nothing, Aaliyah." he told her at last, now turning to face his daughter, who deeply frowned at his answer, having seen right through his lie. "Really." he added, but even this had done little to faze her as she quietly sighed. "Baba, I can tell it's clearly something, so what's wrong?" she gently asked as he sighed.

"Aliya, I'm fine. Okay? Nothing's wrong." he firmly insisted to her before he began to walk away. "Apá, come on. You're obviously not fine, so why don't you just tell me what's going on, so I can help you?" she countered, now causing him to stop in his tracks as he sighed and made his way back to her.

"Mija, you can help me out by focusing on yourself. Okay? I'm fine. Really." he persisted as Issac gently placed his hands on her shoulders, to which he saw his daughter dejectedly sigh. "I wish you trusted me." she quietly mumbled as his eyes widened at her words.

"Aaliyah, I do trust you."

"Then, why are you always shutting me out these days?" she defensively asked, now glancing at him as he heavily sighed, taking his hands off of her shoulders. "Aliya, I..." he initially began, only to trail off as he sighed. "It's complicated." he answered for a lack of a better response as he tried to leave when he felt Aliya protectively hold onto his left arm.

"Look, baba, I get it. These past years haven't been... super favorable to you. You dealt with a lot and experienced things that most Avalonians here didn't have to endure, but you're not alone in this, dad! I'm here and I want to help you," she sincerely began as a small smile formed. "Okay? I just..." she added as she sighed. "I just need you to trust me and let me in, so I can help you." she softly continued before she sighed again. "Please." she added, grabbing onto his other hand in a protective grasp before allowing the silence to take ahold of her.

Engulfed in the silence, Issac began processing his daughter's words and tried to think of what exactly he could say to her because while he trusted her, there was just some things that had to remain concealed.

"Aliya, I trust you more than I trust myself. Okay?" he began as he sighed. "It's just..." he added, only to trail off as he struggled to find the right words. "I..." Issac initially began, now taking yet another attempt at expressing his thoughts to her when the whispers began.

"Free us... Free us... Free us..."

Not long after the whispers started, he noticed the black shadows surrounding him before he felt a firm pull, snapping him out of his state as he saw Aliya concernedly looking at him.

"Baba?"

"Free us... Free us... Free us..."

"You should get going. The knighting induction is going to start soon and you can't be late." Issac firmly told his daughter, now attempting to block out the whispers as he pulled his hands out of her protective grasp. As soon as he did, he immediately noticed the way Aliya's eyes shifted from a gleam of confusion to one of hurt as he quietly sighed at the sight.

"I'll see you tonight at the induction." he continued, keeping his voice firm as he turned his back to her, not wanting to see her reaction. As he looked away, Issac glanced down to see the black, shadowy flickers of magic surfacing on his palms as he frowned.

"Free us... Free us... Free us..."

"Dad—"

"Go," he sharply interrupted as he heavily sighed again. "Please, Aaliyah, just go... Please." Issac added, almost pleading with her now as he heard his daughter's dejected sigh. "Okay, fine. You win. I'll go." she answered as Issac heard the front door open from the creaking sound that was made.

"I'll see you at the induction then." he heard her say before she sighed and closed the door from behind her.

When Issac glanced over at the door and saw the door was locked, he glanced back at his hands where the black, shadowy flickers of magic still remained. Heavily sighing from the sight, Issac kept glancing at his hands while his daughter's words continued to play in the back of his mind.

"I get it. These past years haven't been... super favorable to you. You dealt with a lot and experienced things that most Avalonians here didn't have to endure, but you're not alone in this, dad! I'm here and I want to help you. I just... I just need you to trust me and let me in, so I can help you."

He had wanted to let her in, but as Issac thought back to the black, shadowy flicker of magic still appearing on the palms of his hands and his shadow reflection in the deactivated mirror screen, he knew he couldn't. Because letting Aliya in would mean letting them out and if they got out.... well, he didn't really want to linger on what would happen if they got out, so he chose to dismiss the thought altogether.

"I have a better chance of guaranteeing her safety if I just keep her at an arm's length. If I do that, then everything will be okay." Issac told himself as his light honeysuckle eyes lingered again on the palms of his hands, where he noticed how the black, shadowy flicker of magic grew stronger as the shadow wisps began illuminating brighter on his palms.

"Yeah," he added, though this time as he spoke, he used an unconvincing tone, which did little to help the way he felt. "I can do it." he finished, trying to sound more upbeat and a bit more optimistic now, but to his dismay, the unconvincing tone in his voice still persisted... much like the magic that continued to illuminate brightly in the palms of his hands.

"Are you so sure about that, little prince?"

Instinctively, the black, shadowy flicker of magic that appeared in the palms of his hands began to vanish as quickly as it came. From there, his body began to tense from the nickname but Issac chose to ignore this as he cleared his throat.

"Sorry, but I believe you have the wrong..." Issac casually [or as casual as he could make himself sound] began before he turned around and trailed off at the sight of a older light-skinned male as he had solely white eyes [a sight Issac wasn't used to seeing] and worn a sliver and cyan-ish blue suit. "... guy." he later finished as he observed the male's smile ascend.

"Oh, I don't think so, little prince." the male casually countered back as his smile grew larger. "In fact, I believe I have the right guy." the male added as he chuckled. "After all, I could never forget the face of my lady's son, even as he wears this false form and masquerades as one of them." he heard the male continue as Issac's eyes darkened from the latter's comment.

"There is nothing false about my form and I believe you're trespassing, so respectfully get out of my cottage before—"

"Before you what? Use your fake magic on me?" the male viciously countered, interrupting Issac, who had a light golden glowing ball of magic in his palm as the male chuckled at the sight. "You might dress and act the part, little prince, but you'll never be one of them because not even the most powerful magic in the world can conceal who you really are." the male added as he gave a light chuckle. "At least, not when destiny calls." the male continued as Issac deactivated the light golden glowing ball of magic and crossed his arms, knowing he had no way out of his unwanted situation.

"What do you want, Phantom?" Issac sharply countered back as the latter chuckled. "So, you do remember me after all, little prince." Phantom noted as his smile grew. "This will make my job a lot easier then," he added as Issac blinked at the latter's response. "What job?" Issac then asked [in spite of himself] out of curiosity.

"The job where I get you to—"

"Forget it." Issac sharply interrupted, having now realized what the conversation was leading up to. "I'm not doing it." he added as Phantom's smile remained in tact, though it had looked to be a bit menacing as the latter slowly chuckled.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me and besides, she has more than enough lackeys to get her out. She does not need me to be the one to do it," Issac flatly countered back as Phantom slowly chuckled once more at his response. "Ah, well, you would be mistaken, little prince, because contrast to your belief, she specifically stated that you would be the one to free her." the latter casually countered in turn as Issac kept his arms crossed.

"Well, I guess she's just going to be out of luck then because I'm not doing it. Besides, I'm quite busy and I actually have somewhere to be in a few minutes, so—"

"No, I believe you'll want to change your mind, especially if something... unfortunate would to arise for Aaliyah." Phantom casually interrupted, now causing Issac to stop mid-sentence at the mention of his daughter. "That's her name, isn't it?" the latter casually followed up as he stared at him in disbelief.

"How did you—"

"Know about your kid?" Phantom casually finished as he lightly chuckled. "Simple. I know about your kid, little prince, because nothing gets past me," he answered as his grin grew larger. "Just like I know you haven't told her about who you really are or that she's not as completely magic-less as you made her out to be." the latter added as Issac stared at him in disbelief, clearly taken aback by just how much he knew.

"I'm willing to wager that she knows nothing about the prophecy either then or her role in it." he continued as Issac couldn't defend himself. Issac could only just mutely stare at him as Phantom only chuckled at his reaction, having used his silence to confirm what they both knew to be true. "Well, you can hide the truth from your daughter all you want, little prince, but destiny will come for her as it is already coming for you." he added as Issac glared at him.

"So if you want to ensure that nothing unfortunate arises for your daughter, then I recommend you answer destiny's call and do what you're told." Phantom further added as Issac reluctantly sighed, knowing he had no choice but to accept. "Fine. I'll get her out." Issac begrudgingly said as he gave another sigh. "Just leave my daughter out of this." he requested as Phantom simply chuckled.

"Oh, little prince, you know better than to say that." Phantom simply said as Issac raised his right eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Issac slowly asked as the latter's grin only grew brighter. "Well, I just simply meant your daughter has everything to do with us, especially given her role in your prophecy and the prophecies that will follow soon after." the latter answered as he sighed, now having regret asking his question in the first place.

"So, I can't say I'll leave your daughter out of this because we both know she holds more weight to all these prophecies than what you are willing to admit to yourself." he added as Issac sharply glared at him. "Hey, I'm just telling it like it is, little prince." Phantom defensively added as Issac forced himself to breathe.

"Just tell me what I need to do." Issac firmly stated as Phantom chuckled. "Is that a request or a order, little prince?" Phantom slyly countered as Issac glared at him. "Don't push it." Issac firmly countered in turn as the latter simply chuckled. "Or what? Afraid to give into your true powers and embrace what you really are? A monster?" Phantom casually taunted as Issac's eyes had darkened at his response.

"I'm not a monster." Issac defensively answered as Phantom dryly chuckled. "Sure," the latter simply stated as his laughter died down. "Anyways, here's what you need to do: locate the box where Aureus imprisoned your mother and use this key to free her." Phantom instructed as he snapped his fingers.

Issac blinked, but a few seconds after Phantom snapped his fingers, a white twisted-stylized key bearing the image of a white skeletal-like head appeared in the latter's hand as its eyes glowed a teal, light-blue color. "This key will allow you to open anything at your heart's desires and create portals at ease. All you have to do is point the keyhole straight and think of a location for a portal to form. Similarly, all you have to do is point the keyhole straight and allow the key to open what you want." he further instructed as Issac stared at the key in Phantom's possession.

"Okay... Well, how do I know where Aureus hid the box? According to what Avalonians perceive to be a myth, he hid it somewhere in the surface world and well, that box could be anywhere." Issac pointed out, but Phantom only gave a cryptic chuckle at his response. "Oh, trust me, little prince. You'll know when you get there." the latter cryptically answered, before tossing the key to him.

"Good luck, little prince."

As soon as Issac's right hand had made contact with the key, a light blue, almost teal-like glow covered him as the glow spread to his whole body. Not long after holding the key, Issac's light honeysuckle eyes began to briefly flicker before his eyes began to reflect the same color of the glow appearing on the key.

"Your mother will be expecting your presence and once she is freed from her prison at last, then the real fun can begin."

Not so long after Phantom spoke those words, a series of maniacal laughter could be heard from the latter before he vanished. Once he left, the glow on the key vanished, which then resulted in the light blue, almost teal-like sheen in Issac's eyes to disappear as his eyes had returned to their standard light honeysuckle eye color.

After releasing a slight groan, Issac held onto his head with his left hand. After a moment or two, he removed his left hand from his head and simply shook his head. From there, he stared at the key that was in his possession and upon looking up, he noticed Phantom was no longer inside of his cottage.

"Oh, good. He left." Issac mumbled as he sighed. "Now, I just have to hope he won't go talking to Aliya next after getting what he wanted out of me." he further continued as his eyes drifted back to the key in his possession. "Wish he could've said when I'm actually supposed to get started on this unwanted quest, so I can get this done and go about my life," he added as he sighed. "That would've been nice to know." he continued as he sighed again and shook his head from the lack of information.

"Free us... Free us... Free us..."

"I'm working on it." Issac mumbled as he glanced at the shadows surrounding his feet. "I just need to figure out how I'm supposed to find this box and when," he added before he sighed.

"But it's whatever. I'm sure I can—"

"The scroll holds the knowledge you seek to free us..."

"Scroll?" Issac puzzlingly asked as he annoyingly sighed and rubbed his head with his left hand. "What scroll are you all talking about?" he further asked as he lowered his left hand and stopped rubbing his head. "Because as far as I'm concerned, I don't see a..." he added, before trailing off as his light honeysuckle eyes landed on a singular white scroll, which was conveniently placed on the center of his kitchen countertop.

"... scroll," he finished as he dejectedly sighed. "Of course, there's a scroll for this because why not?" he further mumbled before approaching the center of his kitchen countertop. As he did, the scroll undid its black ribbon as the parchment came undone. Seeing this, he began to sigh.

All he wanted to do was keep the shadows, the darkness and his demons at bay to ensure that his daughter never knew the truth about him, but as Issac stared at the scroll in front of him, it seemed as though the universe had other plans for him. At least, this was the impression he got as he pocketed the key and made his way to the scroll.

Upon arriving, he then began to retrieve the scroll and as soon as his hands touched the scroll, a light blue, almost teal-like glowing bright light emerged as Issac quickly dropped the scroll and fell to the ground. Once the scroll fell onto the ground, the bright light only intensified before the light shot directly upward from the rooftop of his cottage and into the open Avalonian night sky, where a bright beacon was casted for all to see. The bright beacon lingered for a moment or two, before it vanished as quickly as it came.

From there, the light died down and as Issac retracted his light golden wings [which he had used to shield himself from the illuminating beacon], he then began to approach the scroll once more with caution. Upon reaching the scroll, he carefully retrieved the scroll from the ground and held the parchment in his hand, where he began to read the contents of the document. After reading, Issac gripped tightly onto the scroll as he began to frustratedly sigh.

"I really hate prophecies."

"Open up!"

As Issac heard a series of loud knocks from his front door, he glanced at his clothes and frowned as he wanted to change into something nicer, seeing how tonight was a special occassion for his daughter and the whole kingdom.

"Issac, let us in or we'll force ourselves in!"

But as the loud knocks on his front door persisted, he quickly got the sense that he had to leave, so he begrudgingly placed the scroll into his right pocket and flew through the back entrance of his cottage. As he landed on the other side of the cottage, he flew onto the rooftop of his cottage, where he turned himself invisible and noticed his cottage getting infiltrated by three white-and-golden armored Avalonian knights, all of whom were armed with white-and-golden swords and searching for someone... or something.

"Leave no wall unturned! Search every room and every inch of this cottage! We cannot let Issac leave with the scroll!" one of the armored knights firmly commanded as the others raised their swords into the air.

"Yes, Captain!"

As Issac observed the three Avalonian knights searching for him and the scroll from the rooftop of his cottage, he knew their efforts were futile as he believed none of them were truly capable of finding him or the scroll for that matter. His point was later proved when he saw the two knights report back to their Captain.

"Captain, he's nowhere in sight and neither is the scroll." one of the knights began as the others nodded. "He must've flee the moment he heard that we were here and took the scroll with him." the other knight told their Captain, who had scanned the area before locking eyes with Issac in his cloaked state.

"That's fine. We'll most likely find him at the Heartdome anyways, since his daughter is one of the cadets getting inducted tonight," the Captain simply said, now turning away from Issac as the two knights nodded.

"Nassian, go alert the Director and tell him to send out security during the ceremony in the event the Fae-Maid's father shows up," the Captain continued as Nassian nodded. "Yes, sir!" Nassian answered before he began activating his sky blue wings and took off in an circular-shaped air-powered scooter.

"What about me, sir?"

As Issac saw the Captain turn to Darian, he noticed the Captain turning to face him before he had turned his attention to his knight.

"Burn this place to the ground."

"But, sir—"

"Burn this place to the ground." the Captain firmly ordered, repeating the command again as Darian nodded. "Yes, sir." the latter reluctantly answered as Issac saw the Captain smirking. "If he wants to steal our scroll and run off into the night, then we'll simply leave him with a parting gift." the Captain continued as he slyly chuckled.

"Besides, that little thief had it coming and soon, his daughter will get what's coming to her." the Captain sharply added as Issac's eyes widened from what he was hearing. "Him along that freak daughter of his are both a menace to our kingdom and it's about time that this kingdom saw the two for who they really are, so burn this place down and leave nothing but ashes," the Captain continued as Issac saw him look at Darian.

"Got it?"

"Yes, sir..."

"Good," the Captain stated as Issac saw the knight locking eyes with him now. "Now, light it up!" the Captain added and as Issac saw the knight turning away from him, he sensed his invisibility reaching its limit, so he chose to fly towards the forest and into the cover of the trees. Once Issac hid in the covers of the trees, he saw the small cottage he had worked so hard to build ignite into flames as Darian and his unnamed Captain both flew out of the cottage unharmed and began to fly towards the Heartdome.

Anger surged through him then, but whether it was from being accused from stealing [which he hadn't done since his younger years], seeing his cottage on fire or the fact that his daughter was going to be affected next, he wasn't too sure. But what he did know was that he had to find Aliya before the ceremony took place.

So, that was exactly what he was going to do.

Retrieving the key from his right pocket, Issac recalled Phantom's instructions and as he pointed the key straight, a whooshing sound could be heard before a series of light blue, almost teal-like flames appeared out of the key and began to spin a circular, counterclockwise motion. Seconds later, a image of the Heartdome began to appear on the other side of the portal as Issac glanced back at his burning cottage and back at the stadium.

Then, he proceeded to take a deep breath and gripped tightly onto the key.

The last thing Issac wanted to do was bring his daughter into his world, but as he stepped through the portal, he knew keeping her out was beginning to get increasingly impossible because sooner or later, she would get roped into his mess and everything would change.

For better or... for worse.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Aliya, you can help me by focusing on yourself. Okay? I'm fine. Really."

Replaying her father's words in the back of her mind, the soon-to-be knight solemnly sighed to herself, knowing full well that her father wasn't fine but helpless in the sense that she couldn't do anything to help him.

She just wanted him to let her in, but she also knew that was hard, given the grief they endured so she didn't blame her father for shutting her out. She just wished he trusted her enough to let her help him though.

"So tonight! Only one question remains!"

Snapping out of her thoughts at the sound of Jace's voice, Aliya glanced up from the ground to see the Heartdome's Jumbotron hovering in the center of the arena. Upon looking up, she saw her face being displayed on the Jumbotron.

"Will Avalon come to accept this new knight or is this new knight simply not right for this kingdom?"

As Jace finished asking his question, the Heartdome's Jumbotron began to display the question Worthy Knight or Worthy Disaster? beneath her face with a black text-box as the letters appeared in bright, golden letters.

Even though the question in itself was rhetorical, someone felt passionately about said question because seconds later, there was a response.

"NO! She's not right for this kingdom!" she heard below the Heartdome's Jumbotron as the crowd clearly seemed livid... at least, Aliya presumed that much from the loud boos and the angry shouts following thereafter.

So as she found herself listening to more shouts and protests from the rafters of the Heartdome, she quietly observed the words on the Jumbotron fade from the screen as she sighed to herself.

Aliya knew she wasn't... well-liked among her home. She had known this fact for years and well, there were numerous reasons for this.

After all, Aliya was born magic-less and came to be known as Fairytopia's wingless faerie after a near-death incident left her losing the wings she was given. Being both magic-less and wingless didn't exactly inspire confidence in a kingdom where faeries and fairies dominated in a world of magic, so naturally, Avalonians believed she would never amount to anything.

So Avalonians called her a Fae-Maid, a term reserved for the lowest of the low among Avalonian faeries and fairies. The term is meant to signify the pure worthlessness that an Avalonian faerie and/or fairy has to their kingdom and the realm when it becomes clear they possessed nothing to determine their worth.

But that hadn't been enough.

No, on top of the degrading term, her kingdom told her that by being a commoner, a third-class citizen and a Fae-Maid, she could never aspire to be anything more because that was what her status dictated. So, she rebelled against their expectations of her by being a troublemaker and a thief, but that hadn't helped because while she was getting noticed, she was going down a path of self-destruction.

A path that she would've continued to go down on had she not been fortunate enough to meet and befriend the prince of Deheubarth as the prince and his parents had taken a chance on her when her kingdom didn't. So through their kingdom's games, Aliya became more and became popular among the Deheubarth locals.

Even though she no longer participates in the Deheubarth games these days, Aliya still credits the kingdom for giving her a chance as it was her experience in their games that contributed to her becoming a candidate in the Trials of Avalon, where people expected her to lose.

But Aliya had proved her kingdom wrong when she did the impossible and won, beating out the other eight descendants of elite knights along with her on-and-off childhood best friend, Jesse, who was also able to compete in the Trials of Avalon as he was the Director's son and his father is seen throughout the kingdom as a prominent and highly respected Avalonian.

As a result of her winning the Trials of Avalon, she earned her place to be a cadet in the famous Institute of Knights, where she trained alongside first-class Avalonians and descendants of the elite knights to be a hero of the realm, a title that could only be claimed once a cadet became knighted.

While Aliya could [personally] care less about the title, she thought if she could be a knight, then she could [maybe] inspire her kingdom to take charge of their lives and pave their own path in a world where status and class defined one's self worth.

But now, here she was, in the process of becoming a knight and well... that wasn't faring quite well for her either.

At least, not from the way things were looking.

"Nervous?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned her head to see a pale-skinned male flipping the latch over from the catwalk that attached to the rafters of the Heartdome as she blinked.

"Me?" she found herself asking as she feigned a laugh. "No way!" she answered, trying to sound confident and upbeat as she glanced at the male closing the latch and looking back at her with his golden brown eyes.

As he stared back at her, she noticed his eyes were a darker tint as his hair became longer and a darker shade of blonde from the last time she saw him. It was a bit of a surprise to her, granted, but Aliya thought his updated look was relatively nice. It suited him... sorta.

"Are you sure about that?"

Almost immediately, Aliya gave a slight huff. "No." she confessed as she turned away from him. "Not really," she added as she heard footsteps moving closer to her. Glancing up, she noticed the male sitting beside her as she blinked from their close proximity, realizing he hadn't physically been this close to her... since that night.

"But, that's besides the point." she dismissively added as she sighed. "What about you, though? How do you feel?" she followed up as she listened to his chuckle, which made her smile a bit as she couldn't recall the last time she heard him laugh.

"I'm feeling good about tonight, actually." he answered before he glanced at her once more and sighed. "Still, I can't wrap my head around you being a knight." he added, now lightly chuckling as Aliya's smile faltered at his words.

"What do you mean?" she asked, in spite of herself, as Aliya pretended not to know the reason of his response.

"I mean, come on. It's absurd, don't you think that the fate of our people's lives should be placed in your hands?" he followed up, still maintaining his light chuckle as he turned to face her now. "You? Of all people?" he added as she recalled the words the concerned citizens were saying on the news.

"Well, that's easy. I don't feel safe with her in the ranks. I mean, she's a commoner and a third-class citizen at that. Plus, given her reputation... I don't see how we can trust her when she has given us so much trouble in the past."

"It's not what Magnus and his son, Aureus, would have wanted. Plus, I doubt King Esteban and Queen Adelaide would have approved of this. To turn our back on tradition now is to turn our back on our past and if we do that.... well it can only lead to disaster and given the Fae-Maid's cursed luck, she'll most likely doom us all."

"Plus, everyone knows that knighthood is specifically reserved for those who possess the noble blood of the elite descendants and members of the first-class status, something that..." he then continued, only to trail off as he dryly chuckled at her.

".... Well, I don't have to say much now. I mean, the broken-down shack that you and your father call a home practically speaks for itself." he followed up, resulting in Aliya's hair glowing a bright rosy pink hue, having felt a wave of embarrassment after he said his response.

"It's a cottage and it's not that broken-down," she quietly mumbled before shaking her head as the bright glow in her hair died down. "Anyways, after tonight, my status won't matter because everyone will see me as a knight just like you and everyone else in our class." she countered as the latter chuckled at her response.

"Sure. You keep telling yourself that, Fae-Maid," he swiftly countered as he chuckled once more. "Anyways, even if you are right and your status didn't 'matter', everything else about you would." he added as they glanced over the Heartdome, where they caught a glimpse of Avalonians in the arena lining up to take their seats for the big event.

"I mean, when has anyone heard of a female becoming a knight? Or, a wingless faerie knight at that? Or, better yet, when has anyone ever heard of a magic-less knight?" he continued, bluntly laughing before he sighed and stopped laughing.

"Never. No one in Avalon has ever heard of those kind of knights before, which is to say that you becoming a knight can only spell disaster for the rest of us and that makes me nervous." he then added, answering his own question as she recalled the words that Marcellus' mother said on the news.

"Even the great goddess Thena herself would disapprove of this!"

"I mean, come on! By having the Fae-Maid join the ranks, we're just disturbing the peace and the harmony that my descendant and his son created with Thena, King Esteban and Queen Adelaide in the past! Her father and the royals should be ashamed for letting this laughable excuse of an Avalonian join the ranks. She's just a disgrace and that's all she'll ever be because...."

Shaking her head from recalling Belladonna's words, Aliya then turned to her classmate as she crossed her arms. "Wait! How do I make you nervous?" she found herself asking, having found her voice at last as she was admittedly stunned but mainly confused by his response.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" he bluntly countered before he chuckled at her silence and turned his attention back towards the Heartdome. "With that cursed luck of yours, I wouldn't be surprised if the ceremony somehow went terribly wrong because you always have a tendency of making a mess of things," he answered as she glanced at her hands and found herself wondering if he had a point.

"But then again, I suppose that trouble just happens to run in your family." he casually added as she sharply turned to face him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aliya defensively asked as the latter chuckled. "Oh, come on. Do I have to spell everything out to you now?" her classmate bluntly countered before he sighed and shook his head. "Your aunt died being known as a traitor to her people and your father has a knack for causing trouble wherever he goes and making a mess of things." he later added as she darkly stared at him.

"First of all, my aunt is not a traitor to her people. She left—"

"For a human, Aliya." her classmate swiftly interrupted as his eyes darkened. "A human." he repeated as he crossed his arms. "You know, our sworn enemy." he finished as she rolled her eyes. "Well for the record, my aunt chose to leave for love and the person she fell in love with just happened to be a human." she countered back as she stopped rolling her eyes.

"Anyways, I don't see why that act made her a traitor. She's allowed to fall in love with whoever she wants and if it's a human, then so what?" she casually deflected as she glanced over to see her classmate's eyes widened at her response. "Castor, don't look at me like that," she added as she sighed. "I just meant that humans aren't as horrible as this kingdom makes them out to be, so we shouldn't let some outdated grudge dictate how we perceive our 'supposed' enemy." she added as Castor bitterly scoffed at her response.

"You would say that, considering what you did two hundred years ago," Castor sharply stated as she sighed. "First of all, it wasn't a human that I saved, it was a mutant." she corrected as he just dryly laughed at her response. "Oh, like that's any better." he countered as she rolled her eyes at his response.

"I couldn't let her drown," she defensively protested before she turned away from the latter and sighed, now unclenching her fists as she stared straight ahead of the Heartdome and toward the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest. "Besides, mutants aren't our enemy." she followed up as she heard Castor scoffing at her response.

"Yes, they are! Why don't you think there aren't any of those freaks left in Fairytopia?" the latter countered as Aliya turned her direction towards the Heartdome again. "Maybe, it's because our so-called great goddess of peace decided that mutants couldn't fit in her perfect utopia, so she ordered the Senior Fae to create anti-mutant laws and made the whole kingdom search for any mutant who was seen being in Fairytopia." she bitterly answered before she scoffed at her own words.

"I swear for a place that calls itself the kingdom of peace, we are looking more and more like the last place where Avalonians can actually find it," she bitterly continued as Castor rolled his eyes. "If Fairytopia is the last place to find peace, then I'm pretty sure it's because we have people like you and your father who ruin the peace the great goddess Thena established with the first royals of our past and Magnus Braveheart." Castor countered back as Aliya simply rolled her eyes at his words.

"Look, if you want to bring me into this, then fine, but my baba? Come on, Castor. We both know my dad isn't the type to go and—"

"Yes, he is," Castor sharply interrupted as he sighed. "You can't really believe that your father is the typical healer he claims to be now." he added as Aliya frustratedly sighed. "Great, now you sound like Marcellus." she countered as Castor crossed his arms.

"Hey! I don't like Marcellus as much as you do, but he has a point when it comes to your father." Castor defensively countered as Aliya rolled her eyes. "Oh, great." she sarcastically countered as she crossed her arms. "Next, you're going to tell me you believe the 'shadow prince' myth is real and that my father is somehow at the center of said myth." she further continued in her sarcastic tone before glancing over to observe her classmate's hair gain a light pink hue as he awkwardly chuckled.

"Well... when you said it like that..."

"Castor!"

"What? You're the one that said it!"

Aliya shook her head as she sighed at his response. "It's just a myth. Okay? The self-proclaimed Shadow Prince that the Lady Bone Enchantress allured to Magnus' son doesn't exist." she added as Castor skeptically stared at her.

"Uh-huh," he said as he cleared his throat. "Well, if you are so certain that the myth doesn't exist, then what's with the bright beacon coming from your broken-down shack?" he followed up, his hair now losing the light pink hue as Aliya puzzlingly stared at him.

"Beacon? What—" she initially began, before she quickly cut herself off upon seeing the bright, light blue, almost teal-like light occurring from her father's cottage. The bright beacon that had now appeared in the Avalonian night sky lingered for a moment or two, before vanishing just as quickly as it came as the light died down.

"You know, those beacons only appear when a scroll containing a prophecy is discovered by the Avalonian who is meant to fulfill it and if it came from you and your father's broken-down shack, then I'm pretty sure it's a sign that the 'Shadow Prince' myth is real," Castor pointed out as Aliya glared at him.

"Hey, we don't know for certain that it's the Shadow Prince myth or if it's him. For all we know, he could have someone with him that activated the beacon or it could just be a different type of prophecy." she countered as the latter skeptically looked at her once more as he slowly nodded. "Uh-huh." he simply said before he glance back at where the beacon appeared and back at her. "Right." he later added as he stood up.

"Anyways, this looks like the night where your father's knack of trouble kicks in and I wouldn't even be surprised if he managed to make a mess of things like he always does." her classmate continued as she proceeded to stand up.

"That's not true and you know it." Aliya defensively protested as Castor simply chuckled at her response. "Right, because you and him are definitely not the same." he countered, now staring at her as he chuckled again. "I mean, it's not exactly a coincidence that you and your father both have a tendency of making a mess of things and causing trouble wherever you go," he added as Aliya glared at him.

"That's not—"

"True?" he dryly finished as he laughed. "Then, tell me how he managed to lose all of the friends he had, his wives and his two kids in the span of four hundred years?" he added as she sighed at his question. "You know exactly how these things all occurred in the span of four hundred years, Castor, because you were there for most, if not, all of it," she answered as she sighed once more.

"Besides, you said it like he meant to lose everyone that he cared about in his life when we both know that isn't the case." she added as he sighed. "Okay, fine. That might not be the case for his wives or what happened to Lillian, but it's definitely the case for his friends and Jaxon." he said as she shook her head.

"No. What happened to his friends and Jaxon still fits because he hadn't meant to lose them just like he hadn't meant to lose my mother, my aunt and my sister." she countered back as he shook his head.

"His actions led to his friends leaving him and his lack of action in the case of what happened to Lillian led Jaxon to disown him as their father. Okay? I get that Issac isn't responsible for most of the losses he endure, but he's partially to blame when it comes to him losing his friends and his eldest kid," he countered in turn as he sighed once more.

"Just like you're responsible for what happened to Lillian, why Jaxon disowned you as their sister and why our relationship came to an end." he added as her face fell.

"Don't look at me like that, Aliya. You're the reason behind these things and more because you make a mess of whatever you touch. It's just what you do because you, like your father, live on causing chaos and causing destruction in your wake, but that's not surprising." he added as he sighed again.

"After all, that seems to be the only thing you and him are both good at doing these days." he further added as she observed his eyes glistening with anger, disgust and bitterness — a look she was still trying to get accustomed to...

"Look, I know I screwed up. Okay? I failed us... I failed you and I'm sorry," she solemnly told him as she sighed. "I know I can't fix what was done in the past, but I have this moment and I want to fix things between us," she continued as she sighed again. "We might not be lovers anymore, but you still mean so much to me and I don't want to lose our friendship so... Let's give this another try." she softly finished, now moving closer to him as she noticed a flicker of consideration in his eyes, but the look faded as quickly as it came.

"No. You did this, Aaliyah, and it's about time that you start realizing that the things you do have consequences. Okay? You don't get to apologize and act like it's going to fix the pain you caused because it won't." he sharply stated, now stepping back as he heavily sighed.

"Not this time."

So as he began walking away from her, she tried to reach out to him, believing she could fix their broken state, that they could be friends again.

"Cas, wait—" she started, barely touching him when the soon-to-be-knight sharply grabbed onto her wrist as she blinked at the sudden act of hostility.

"I know you believe we meant something once, but now, you mean nothing to me here nor will you ever mean anything to me again!" he angrily snapped as he began to grip tighter onto her wrist. "So remember your place, Fae-Maid, and don't touch me," he bitterly ordered, releasing his grip on her wrist as he angrily pushed her onto the ground.

As she fell, she felt a sharp sting, though she didn't know where it came from. But as she looked at him, Aliya still felt the need to try to salvage what was left of their fragmented state, because she truly did care for him and she didn't want to lose him.

"Cas—"

"I'll see you in the locker room," he briefly interrupted, now releasing his tight grip on her arm as he turned his back against her. "Or perhaps, you'll do us all a favor and come to your senses by remembering your place in this world and leave," he bitterly added, briefly turning to face her as she saw the evident disgust in his eyes; a look she found painfully hard to swallow.... even now.

"After all, how can you, of all people, possibly expect to ever be accepted by this kingdom when you're nothing like us?" Castor sharply concluded as he looked away from her and opened the latch of the catwalk. Once the latch of the catwalk had opened up, he climbed down and angrily slammed the latch from behind him, leaving Aliya alone on the rafters once more.

After he left, the loud slam startled Aliya and pierced through the silence of the rafters, almost as loudly as the excitement coming from the crowd inside the Heartdome, though their cheers rang hollow in her ears for she knew the crowd's cheers were meant for Marcellus, Castor and the rest of her classmates; not her.

She was just too different from her peers and well, she doubted she would actually be accepted by her home because of that. In fact, Aliya knew she would never be considered as one of them, no matter how much her father tried to tell her differently.

After all, the people and the kingdom made it explicitly clear to her: this knighting ceremony wouldn't change anything, because she would still be classified as a third-class, low-status commoner and no amount of armor could ever shield Aliya from the fact she was inevitably worthless.

She might've been born an Avalonian, but it was as Castor said: how could she possibly expect to ever be accepted by this kingdom when she was nothing like them?

Glancing at the night sky, Aliya stared at the endless array of stars hovering above their kingdom as she sighed. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this," she mumbled in disbelief as she shook her head in dismay. "But, I don't really have any more options and I really need tonight to go well, so here goes nothing..." she continued before she trailed off as Aliya took a deep breath and looked at the stars once more.

"I've never been one for wishing on stars, but I could use some guidance because I clearly have no idea what I'm doing," she began as she gave an awkward, almost forced chuckle. "I make a mess of things, I make more mistakes than I can count and no matter how much I try not to, I tend to hurt the ones closest to me," she continued, frowning as she recalled her conversation with her ex.

"I am, perhaps, the last person who should be reaching out for help and I get it. I do, but despite that, I am so much more than the things I've done. I am capable of doing so much more for this kingdom and for these people. I just..." she added before trailing off as she took a deep breath.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm in need of a miracle." she confessed as she sighed. "I just need something to help me prove to these people that I am not worthless. That I can be helpful and that maybe.... I can be what this kingdom needs." she further added, now rubbing the back of her neck as she sighed.

"I know everyone thinks I'm a waste of time and that I shouldn't be trying to step outside of my place by participating in this induction, but there are people who think I am worth something and I just..." Aliya briefly continued before she trailed off as she sighed. "I just don't want to let them down." she confessed before she sighed again. "Not anymore." she added as she glanced at the stars once more.

"So tonight, I make this wish with the hope I can finally prove myself to this kingdom and have this ceremony go right for me and my baba, because we've been through too much and I'm not sure if we can take another hit of cursed luck." she added before she sighed. "I've seen my baba suffer from all that we've lost over the years and so, I'm asking you to spare him from having to endure more heartache." she sincerely added before she stopped rubbing the back of her neck and blinked.

"Okay, so... maybe I'm asking for two wishes, instead of one, but before you judge, hear me out." she pleaded before she sighed. "Please." she further added as she took a deep breath. "My baba doesn't deserve to suffer so much, so please. Give him a break. Alright? He's just a man trying to do his best. He might not be perfect and maybe he's a bit too much like me in the sense that we tend to cause more trouble than what it's worth, but he tries to be a good person and in the end, that's what matters." she continued before she took another deep breath.

"So, please. Let tonight go well and let me be induced as a knight, so that my baba can have something to root for. He's been looking forward for this night and I... I don't want to let him down. So if anyone hears this and doesn't mind that I might've accidentally overstepped my boundaries in asking for two wishes, then please send me a sign, so I know that my wish has been heard." she concluded at last as she took a deep breath.

"Thanks." she added before she crossed her fingers and closed her eyes, hoping someone had heard her.

"Get ready to rumble Avalonians because in just a few moments, the knighting ceremony will commence!"

Opening her eyes, Aliya glanced away from the stars and towards the crowd in the Heartdome as she uncrossed her fingers and took another glance at the arena. "I guess that's my cue to go and start making my way to the locker room." she mumbled, now standing up as she turned to take another look.

"Here goes nothing." she added, before she turned away and began making her way toward the latch of the catwalk. Once she got there, she opened the latch and started climbing down before she closed the latch as she began leaving the rafters behind her...

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Inside the locker room, the soon-to-be knights were making final adjustments to their armor or engaging each other in [mostly] light conversation as the crowd's excitement made their way to the locker room.

While the crowd's excitement raged on and the cadets talked amongst themselves or worked on making final adjustments, a dark-skinned squire with light, golden freckles and forest green eyes stood in the middle of the room, wearing a light beige suit with the white-and-golden Avalonian white-and-golden royal crested symbol, which was placed on the upper-right corner of their suit for all to see.

The royal crested symbol shown on the squire's suit displayed the five elements, which were all depicted as a colored stone and shown being guarded by their respective elemental guardian as the respective elemental guardian was seen near the front of the stone:

🌊 Water [depicted as a bright blue colored stone with four wave-like drawn symbols] was seen being guarded by an aquatic horse.

🔥Fire [depicted as a bright orange colored stone with a flame-like drawn symbol] was seen being guarded by a reddish-orange scaly dragon with four golden-colored rings circling around them.

✨ Air [depicted as a gray colored stone with a wind-like symbol] was seen being guarded by a whimsical air spirit made entirely out of clouds.

🏞️ Earth [depicted as a light brown colored stone with a series of triangles meant to resemble mountains] was seen being guarded by two trolls made of rocks.

❄️ Ice [depicted as a white-colored stone with a light blue snowflake symbol] was seen being guarded by a light-blue dragon with white, icy scales.

These five elements made up the royal family's seal and weren't just shown on the squire's suit for inside the squire's white-and-golden colored cart, ten iridium swords bared the marking of the royal family's seal and showcased the elements. However, one sword had notably stood out from the rest and that made them nervous. But, seeing as they had a job to perform, the squire pushed on and began rolling their cart of swords as they began making their way to the cadets.

"... Did you see the bright beacon coming from the Fae-Maid's place?" the squire overheard as the squire briefly turned their head to see Atlas conversating with Triton. "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I did see the bright beacon on my way over here and I kept trying to figure out why when I heard some guards talking about a stolen prophecy." they heard Triton answer as they saw the cadet release a few water droplets from his hands and onto his hair.

As he did, the water droplets gain a brief bright blue glow before disappearing as his hair now suddenly appeared to be more luscious, making the squire jealous as they touched their hair and mumbled something along the lines of why they couldn't be blessed with water abilities.

"Do you think that the Fae-Maid's father is the one who stole the prophecy?" they heard Triton follow up as Atlas shrugged. "I mean, that's what the Director and his guards seem to think, so sure." Atlas simply answered as they observed the cadet cross his arms. "Besides, that beacon seemed to be a strong indictor and though the exact contents of the prophecy is unknown, I'm willing to bet it's about the Shadow Prince." they heard Atlas follow-up as Triton casually rolled his eyes.

"The Shadow Prince? Seriously, Atlas?" Triton lightly teased as he chuckled. "Come on now, Ats. That's just a myth." he continued as his chuckles died down. "Besides, if the myth is supposedly real, then why hasn't this so-called 'Shadow Prince' made his appearance already?" he followed up as Atlas rolled his eyes.

"He hasn't made his appearance yet because there hasn't been a great tragedy!" Atlas answered as Triton puzzlingly stared at him, causing the latter to huff. "According to the myth, the Shadow Prince will resurface when a great tragedy arises and his return will occur a thousand years after his mother's imprisonment," he further explained. "That's why we have yet to see him." he then added as Triton's eyes widened.

"Wait. Isn't tonight—" Triton initially began, but when the squire accidentally moved their cart, a loud, squeaky noise alerted the two cadets to them as the squire awkwardly began to clear their throat.

"Your swords, gentlemen." the squire simply said, taking out two swords and keeping a neutral tone to avoid arousing any sign of suspicion among the two cadets, who glanced at each other and back at them as the two seemed to relax.

"Well, it took you long enough." Atlas and Triton sharply said as they took their respective sword before their eyes gradually lingered back onto the squire. "Go on then, nymph. Some of us have more important matters at hand here." the two added as the squire meekly nodded and grabbed a hold of their cart before mumbling an apology as they scurried away from the cadets.

"Honestly. One would think the Director could afford a better squire with the amount of money he has." they heard Triton say as the cadet gave a light scoff. "I heard the nymph is just a place-holder until the Director can find a more suitable replacement." they heard Atlas whisper as the squire heard the two cadets chuckling among themselves.

As the squire overheard them, their hair began to gain a bright, rosy pink glow. Embarrassed, the squire held onto the cart and left the two cadets behind. Once they had left Atlas and Triton, the squire dejectedly sighed as they glanced at the nine remaining swords in their cart along with a hand trying to reach out towards the cart. Panicked, the squire immediately slapped the cadet's hand away from the cart, startling the cadet in the cart.

"Don't touch the cart!" the squire firmly ordered, though the panic was still somewhat evident in their tone as they looked to see Aeolus rolling their eyes. "Alright, fine." Aeolus dismissively said when they noticed the cadet subtly nodding. As the squire saw another hand attempting to grab a sword, they proceeded to slap the cadet's hand away from the cart, much to Aeolus' dismay as he sighed.

"Castor! I thought you said you could handle them!" Aeolus whined as Castor rolled his eyes at the cadet's response. "Was that before or after their panic set in?" Castor countered as he held onto his hand. "Ow." he added, earning a nod from Aeolus. "Right? I wasn't expecting that slap to affect me as badly as it does now," Aeolus chimed in as he held onto his hand, causing them to roll their eyes.

"What did I just say?"

"Don't touch the cart..." Aeolus and Castor lamented as the two cadets dramatically huffed. "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's just us getting our swords." the two casually pointed out as they shrugged. "Besides, they got to do it." the two followed up, before the cadets both gestured to Katsu, Aragon and Slivanus as the three cadets grabbed a hold of their swords and chuckled amongst themselves.

"Hey! Don't touch the cart!" the squire angrily yelled, briefly startling the three cadets before the three stared at them and laughed as they took off. "Ugh! Well, that wasn't supposed to happen, but I'm watching now and..." the squire continued, only to trail off when they had turned to see Aeolus and Castor with their respective sword.

"Hey!" the squire yelled, startling the two cadets before the two chuckled as Aeolus and Castor took off. "Get back here!" the squire followed up, chasing the two but quickly found themselves at a disadvantage when Aeolus sent a blast of air in their direction. As they fell, the squire could only watch in dismay as the two cadets escaped their grasp and endured some of the laughter from the other cadets looking on.

"Hey, everyone look!"

As the squire glanced at Aeolus directing the others to look, they could see a smug gleam in the cadet's eyes as he looked at them. "Our squire made a mess of themselves again and one can't help but wonder how they ended up with the job in the first place." he continued as some of the laughter among the cadets persisted.

"Honestly, I take pity on the Director and his son. I mean, it must be a shame having a nymph, of all things, for a squire," Atlas chimed in, earning a few laughs while the squire's embarrassment only grew as their hair gained a bright, rosy light pink hue. Upon seeing this, the other cadets in the room began to laugh as the squire could only helplessly watch as they lacked the courage to stand up for themselves.

But luckily for them, someone had saw their injustice and decided to step in.

"That's enough."

As the laughter dialed down, all eyes went on the dark grey, almost black armored cadet as she crossed her arms. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves for laughing at their expense," she added as Castor dryly chuckled. "Oh come on, Fae-Maid. We're just having a little fun before we become full-fledged knights," they heard the cadet casually start before the squire picked up on his dry chuckle once more.

"Wait. Don't tell me the nymph is your lover now too. I mean, if they were, it would make sense for the two rejects to get together. After all, who else can love a failure like you?" Castor further added as the squire caught a glimpse of Aliya's wounded gleam in her eyes amidst the laughter from the cadets.

She fell silence then as the squire felt the urge to come to her defense, but they [like the cadet] were helpless to stop the situation. So, all they could do was mutely watch as the cadets began laughing at her. That laughter, however, seem to spark something in her as the wounded gleam in her eyes disappeared and became replaced by a confident resolve.

"You say who else can love a failure like me, yet you dated me not so long ago. So, what does that say about you?"

Here, the laughter ceased as the squire saw Castor's eyes darken at the cadet's response.

"Dating you was the biggest mistake I could've ever made, but dating you, nonetheless, taught me not to settle. Especially for some low-level reject like you." they heard him counter back as the squire saw Aliya's confident resolve falter at his words.

"So, I imagine it says I learned from my mistake. But you wouldn't know anything about that, because if you had learned from yours, then you would have been smart and quit a long time ago." he continued as a smug chuckle cut through the tension in the locker room.

"Well, it's a good thing she didn't learn then, because she clearly knew that being here was not a mistake."

As all eyes turned to face the cadet that spoke, the squire saw Castor's brash demeanor falter at the sight, but the look only lasted a moment before the latter scoffed at the cadet as his resolve strengthened once more.

"Coming to the charity case's defense now, Kai?" Castor smugly asked, earning some laughter as Kai rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but much to everyone's surprise, the flame faerie was beaten by another.

"She's not a charity case, Castor. Aliya fought in the Trials of Avalon and won, just as you and the others did before her. So, stop undermining your ex and start recognizing her for the fighter that she is."

Now all eyes had turned from Kai to the Director's son as the squire saw Castor dryly scoffed at the cadet speaking. "Big talk from the guy who ended up as her runner-up." he bluntly stated as the latter rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I only went against her, because I failed to sign up in time to go against you." the Director's son sharply stated as Castor laughed.

"You go against me? Ha! Jesse, don't think for a second that you are capable of beating me when everyone in this locker room knows otherwise." Castor confidently stated as Jesse dryly chuckle at his response. "Oh, I don't think I'm capable of beating you," Jesse briefly began as he smugly smirked, catching everyone's attention. "I know I'm capable of beating you." he boldly finished as Castor unsheathed his sword and aimed at him.

"Is that a challenge?" Castor sharply asked as Jesse retrieved his sword from the cart and gave a smug smirk of his own. "You tell me." Jesse smugly responded, now placing himself toe-to-toe with the cadet when Aliya firmly placed herself in between the two, much to the dismay of all of the other cadets who had bemoaned her inference.

"Alright, enough!" she firmly exclaimed, rendering everyone in the locker room in silence as the cadet irritatedly sighed. "In just a few moments, you two are going to be knighted, so it's about time that both of you set aside your stupid rivalry and start acting like real knights." she added as Castor and Jesse begrudgingly glanced at each other and back at her.

"If we are to become this kingdom's latest addition of heroes, then it's time we started acting as such and stop undermining others. No one will ever take us seriously if we only pride ourselves on defending our own kind. As Fairytopia's future knights, we need to uplift everyone and start showing more compassion to all, not just the selective few." she added, separating herself from the two as the squire saw Kai make his way over to them.

"She's right. If we want to start making some real change around here, then we all need to start embodying the change we want to see and that begins right now." Kai followed up as he held his hand out to the squire, who accepted his help as they were lift up by the cadet not long after the gesture was made. "So, who's with us?" Kai and Aliya followed up as silence momentarily plague the locker room before Marcellus spoke up.

"Fairytopia doesn't need changing and the fact that you and Kai think so makes you both idiots." Marcellus simply stated as he grabbed his sword from the cart and stared back at the two. "But, hey. If any of you want to see what a real knight look like, then look no further than me." he had added as Kai rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right." Kai dryly retorted as Aliya crossed her arms once more. "You are the furthest thing from a real knight." Aliya bluntly chimed in as Marcellus laughed at her response. "Yet, I have the best credentials as the direct descendant of Magnus himself." he smugly countered as he stared at the wingless cadet.

"What about you, hm? What credentials do you have?" Marcellus followed up, looking up at the latter when he chuckled. "Oh, wait. You don't have any, because you're not a direct descendant of the elite knights nor do you possess noble blood. So, you are nothing more than a wannabe knight, a joke to this institute and the last person who should be talking, because as far as all of us are concerned, you are the furthest thing from a real knight." he continued, pointing directly at her chest as Kai and Jesse attempted to come to the latter's defense when Aliya motioned for the two to stop.

"As for you, squire, be quicker on handing everyone out their swords next time. You aren't paid to waste our time, so stop repeating your failure or next time, you might just find yourself out of a job." Marcellus firmly stated as the squire meekly and mutely nodded. "Good," he added as he took another glance at Aliya before walking off, paying no further attention to the squire, Kai or Jesse while the others went about doing their own thing as Castor left to rejoin Aeolus.

"What a jerk." the squire mumbled when they realized that Marcellus was out of their ear range. "You're telling us." Aliya, Kai and Jesse mumbled as the three sighed when their eyes all darted to the squire's cart.

"Your cart." Aliya noted as Kai and Jesse glanced at the cart and back at the squire. "Here, let me fix your cart." Kai and Jesse both told them when the two glared at each other. "No, I insist." the cadets said, before the two of them quickly took off, now competiting to see who could pick up the squire's cart first.

"Boys." they heard Aliya mumble, now earning a chuckle out of them as the squire saw a small, playful smile form at the tips of her lips before she lightly shook her head. "Come on. Let's go see who won." she added as the squire giggled. Not long after that, they began walking to their cart with the cadet trailing beside them.

Upon reaching their cart, the squire and the cadet saw Kai and Jesse bickering over who had been successful in lifting the cart, which now held one sword as they crossed their arms. "You both win. Now go," they ordered, placing an end to the constant bickering as the two cadets stared at the squire in disbelief.

"But—"

"Now."

Reluctantly, Kai and Jesse took off as the squire and Aliya kept their faces firm before chuckling among themselves once the two were out of their ear range. "Boys." they stated, now earning a chuckle out of the cadet as the squire smiled before their eyes darted on the lone sword in the cart.

"Oh! Your sword."

As the squire presented the iridium sword lacking the distinctive royal family's seal and the five elements to Aliya, they noticed her soft smile. "Thanks." she softly said, feeling the weight of her sword before a puzzled look surfaced on her face as she awkwardly stared at them. "Hey, um... I know I'm no sword-expert and all, but I think there might have been some mistake." she meekly said, gesturing to the sliver, green-eyed snake rising from the end of the tip, a distinctive feature that wasn't present for the rest of the iridum swords for a good reason.

"I don't think this is actually my sword." she awkwardly confessed as the squire glanced over at the other cadets [who were all doing their own thing] as they glanced at her and sighed. "I had a feeling you would say that." they began as the squire caught her puzzled look once more. "How so?" she followed up as they heavily sighed, wondering how to break the news. "Because—" the squire initially began, only to be interrupted by a loud slam.

"Cadets!"

As the squire and Aliya turned to see a light-skinned older man with piercing brown eyes enter the locker room, the two saw his white regal suit and his high-top boots with golden designer-like stitches of various swirls; his image seemed to embody respect as he slienced everyone in the area with just his mere presence.

It was a image the squire desperately wanted to reach, but as they stared at the Director, their only thought was to get away from their boss as fast as possible. So as they [and Aliya] saw the rest of the cadets beginning to line up in two rows, they saw this as their chance to leave as they knew the Director would dismiss them from being in the locker room anyways.

"I should get going." they quickly stated, now preparing to grab onto their cart when the latter had gently placed her hand on their right shoulder.

"Hey, Alexis. Are you—" she gently started when they interrupted her. "I'm fine. Just get to your position before he calls you out for not being in formation like the others." they firmly told her as she reluctantly released her grip on their right shoulder. "But you—" she initially began, only to get interrupted once more.

"All Cadets, Miss Finkelstein! You are not above the law, so join the others in formation now or so help me, you will not be knighted alongside your classmates."

As most of the cadets began to laugh at the Director calling her out, Alexis mutely shot Aliya a sympathetic look as she reluctantly sheathed the sword in her possession. "Yes, Director." the squire heard the cadet mumble as she sighed. "Well, thanks anyways." she softly told them as they gave her a hesitant smile.

"Yeah... and um, hey. Good luck. I know you'll make a great knight." Alexis softly told her as they saw the cadet puzzlingly blink before the realization of the compliment set in as a genuine, soft smile formed on her face. "Thanks. That um... That means a lot to me, so thank you." she softly said as their smile grew brighter.

"You're welcome. Now get going." the squire softly told her before they began wheeling their empty cart out of the locker room. Alexis was nearly out too when they made the unfortunate mistake of looking directly into the Director's eyes.

"You are dismissed, squire." the Director briefly stated, but for whatever reason, Alexis couldn't bring their legs to move and that had only drew more suspicion from their boss as he sharply stared at them.

"Squire, did you not hear me?" their boss followed up in a calm but threatening-like undertone that made their nervous state intensify. "I said you were dismissed." the Director added as they meekly squeaked.

"Y... Yes, D... Director. S... Sorry. I'm h... heading out n... now." they nervously responded, before Alexis quickly darted out of the locker room with their empty cart in tow. As they closed the door behind them, the squire gave a shaky sigh as they listened to their heart rapidly pound from the unwanted encounter. But at least, they were safe...

Alexis just wished they could say the same about their friend.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

After Alexis left, the Director continued to look at the closed door, as if he was trying to decipher his squire's peculiar behavior when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the cadet trying to be inconspicuous as she attempted to integrate herself between Kai and his son.

"Ah, Miss Finkelstein, so glad you could finally join us."

As the Director cast his eyes on the cadet, he overheard chuckles among the rest of her peers... well, most of her peers anyways as he noticed his son's reluctance to laugh. He paid no further attention to the chuckles then as he saw the cadet bashfully get into formation as she managed to integrate herself between Kai and his son at last.

At the sight of seeing the young woman beside his son, a flicker of annoyance crossed his face before he turned to face the rest of her classmates.

"Well, now that all of the cadets are accounted for—"

He deliberately paused midway through his statement to single out the cadet once more as he heard most of his students chuckling amongst themselves as his son refused to partake in the laughter. However, he noticed his son got Kai to refuse this time as the fairy was among those who were chuckling at her seconds ago.

His eyes then lingered on Aliya, who pretended to be unfazed by all that was going on, before he glanced at the sword in her possession. However when she glanced at him, he diverted his eyes away from the cadet's sword and looked toward the front as he cleared his throat.

"— We can finally proceed just as Magnus and Aureus intended." he concluded as the chuckles from his students ceased.

"Cadets, as you all know, there is no greater feeling in this world than having the prestige honor of protecting your homeland from the evil forces that lurk in and out of the shadows, especially now more than ever before as a scroll containing the Shadow Prince prophecy was stolen from the palace's Vault of Scrolls earlier tonight." he began as gasps began to emerge from the group of cadets.

"Yes, the legend and the folklore that you all and many others have long believed to be a mere myth was actually a hidden prophecy in disguise, but while the myth concealed many things about the Shadow Prince, the prophecy does not." he briefly followed up, taking a brief pause before he continued.

"Furthermore, we have reason to believe that Issac Finklestein is our culprit behind the theft of the Shadow Prince scroll since a bright, light blue and almost teal-like beacon was seen being cast over his house near the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest. That bright beacon is a tell-tale sign he is meant to fulfill the contents of the prophecy. A prophecy that holds a dangerous and disastrous fate for all of us, should he complete it." he continued, taking a brief pause again as he resumed speaking onwards.

"Plus, given his past as a skilled thief, him being our culprit made the most logical sense. So, I sent a few royal guards to apprehend him at his house, but my men had informed me that he escaped, presumably having flee from the scene when he was aware of their presence. So in a response to him still going uncaptured, I have taken the liberty of stationing guards all across the Heartdome as it is widely believed that he will make his way here for one reason and one reason alone."

As he spoke, he saw the cadets' eyes gradual drift toward the lone female cadet, who pretended to be unaware of their stares as she raised her hand.

"Director, if I may—"

"You may not." he interjected, sharply interrupting her as he knew what she was going to say, but to his dismay, the girl ignored his response and persisted onwards.

"Director, I am aware you have reason to suspect my father as the culprit behind the stolen scroll of the Shadow Prince prophecy, but is it also possible that someone might have—"

"Moving on—" he sharply continued, interrupting her once more when she interrupted him once again.

"With all due respect, Director, I believe you should reconsider analyzing all the facts before you and your men pin the blame onto my father. I mean, you said so yourself, you believe it's him as he was a thief in his past, but he gave up that profession when he realized he wanted to make a difference and help people, not steal from them. That's why he dedicated his life toward being a healer as he knew he could make a difference if he could help save one life at a time because that's the kind of person my apá is. I mean, you of all people should that better than anyone else, seeing how you were his—"

"Miss Finklestein, please refrain from finishing your statement and from speaking out of turn or I will bar you from being knighted." he strictly interrupted with a calm but almost threatening-like undertone as his eyes remain fixated on her. "Am I understood?" he further added as Aliya gave a reluctant but compliant nod.

"Yes, Director."

"Good."

Regaining his usual demeanor now as the cadet fell silent, he took a deep breath before turning to address the entire group at large.

"Now while my men plan on doing everything in their power to apprehend him, in the event that they cannot, it will then be up to each of you to capture Issac as the healer is not our ally. Rather, he is a dangerous individual who is destined to bring about the downfall of our people and if we do not act swiftly to prevent him from completing the Shadow Prince prophecy, then hope as we all know it will be lost." he further added, briefly pausing before he continued.

"Have no fear though. All of you have prepared for this moment, so as each of you walk out of this locker room tonight and take up the mantle of becoming this generation's newest line of defenders, remember these words as you all embark on your journey to your knighthood." he briefly added, taking a slight pause before he continued.

"Never let your guard down, never falter, always strive to be the will of Magnus and remember that there is no greater calling than protecting this kingdom from evil." he further added as he faced the eleven cadets in front of him. "The knights of the past knew this and now, it is time for all of you to carry out the will of all who came before by answering their call to uphold tradition, preserve our way of life and honor their legacy." he concluded as he observed the excited faces of the soon-to-be knights.

"Yes, Director!"

From there, he began walking down the pathway as he observed each of his students bow down to him as an sign of politeness and respect toward him serving as their instructor. He, however, simply kept walking past them as he gave no acknowledgement to the thanks that followed... At least, not until he reached the last of the row where Kai, his son and Aliya stood.

Going in order, he turned to Kai, who responded by bowing in his presence. "Director." Kai said as he walked past the cadet and made his way towards his son, who also responded by bowing in his presence.

"Father." his son greeted as he momentarily stared at the fairy before walking past the cadet as he made his way towards the last cadet.

However upon making his way to her, he took a different approach as he stopped in front of her, now catching his son and the rest of his students off-guard as he hadn't done the same to them.

Much like the rest of her peers, he noticed the cadet's confusion, but she nonetheless bowed to him as she was now in his presence. "Director." she recited in the same manner as those before her, but unlike the ten cadets he passed earlier, he did something that none of his students saw coming: he acknowledged her.

"Miss Finkelstein."

Upon acknowledging the cadet in front of him, he listened to the previous cadets he had passed as he heard their cries of shock and disbelief. He knew they were wondering among themselves what exactly had made her worthy of having his acknowledgement when they were all clearly so much more deserving.

"Director?"

From the surprise in her tone, he presumed that she was [no doubt] wondering why he chose to stop in front of her when they both knew that there were others much more deserving of being acknowledged by him. He, however, pushed this thought out of his mind as he began to address her.

"Aaliyah, I am aware that you and your father both endured many hardships, but tonight as the people of Fairytopia, Oceanian, Deheubarth and the Light Kingdom look on to you, Avalon will see you and your father for who you two truly are." he had told the cadet before he gave her a warm smile; a gesture that he deliberately reserved for her.

"Thank you, Director." she said as he listened to the bemoans and complaints of the other cadets who were unfairly overlooked in favor of Aliya.

He knew that, to each one of his students, his interaction with Aliya looked like a clear display of favorism. After all, he was giving her special treatment that he purposely deprived the rest of his students from having, but they hadn't known was that it was nothing more than a mere strategic move in the greater scheme of things.

Things he knew none of them could possibly comprehend, but they would see. Oh, they would all see...

Soon enough.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

After his father addressed Aliya, Jesse found himself torn as he observed his father walk off and leave the locker room.

Alone with the other cadets, he overheard their mumbles of discontent towards the lone female cadet. It was a topic Jesse would have rather avoided, but when he heard Kai clear his throat, he knew ignoring the topic would no longer be an option.

"So, Aliya is your father's teacher pet, hm? I wouldn't have ever guessed it, especially given his history with her."

"It doesn't mean anything, Kai."

"I don't know, Jesse. I mean, I just find it interesting how your childhood friend—"

"Childhood best friend." Jesse promptly corrected, now turning to face Kai, who rolled his eyes. "Is there really a—" the latter began when he interrupted him. "Yes, there is a difference." he had firmly answered, earning another eye roll from the latter, who shook his head promptly after he made his statement.

"Whatever." he had heard Kai mumble as he stopped shaking his head. "Anyways, I just find it interesting how your childhood best friend got his attention when you've spent years trying to achieve what she managed to do without having to exert any effort." he heard Kai continue as the fire faerie gave a chuckle. "It makes you wonder if your father ever wished you were more like her. Hm?" Kai further added as Jesse mutely shot him a cold look.

"Hey, I'm just saying what's on my mind. That's all." Kai defensively countered, holding up his hands up in defense as he gave a light chuckle. "Anyways, I'm going to go chat with the others before the induction begins." Kai further added as he lowered his hands and dropped his light chuckle.

"Good luck chatting with your girlfriend though." Kai offered, lightly saluting him with his right hand as Jesse's hair gained a bright, rosy pink hue as a result of the cadet's comment.

"Kai!" Jesse bashfully exclaimed, his voice low and meek as the latter chuckled at him. "She's not my..." he further added, trying to protest when he noticed the cadet was gone, resulting in him trailing off as he quietly huffed to himself.

"Jess!"

As the sound of his nickname, he quickly turned his head and found the initial feeling of jealousy subside at the sight of the young woman in front of him.

"A... Ali!" Jesse bashfully stammered as the bright, rosy pink hue in his hair glowed significantly brighter as a result of his childhood best friend being in his presence. "H... Hey!" he added as he attempted to save himself from stammering further in front of the woman when he unwittingly tripped over himself and fell onto the ground with his sword beside him.

"Still a klutz?"

"Still a klutz..." he dejectedly mumbled as he lightly huffed. "Sadly." he added, earning a chuckle from the woman. "Some things never change." she lightly mused as she shook her head. "Well, here. Let me help you up." she offered as he promptly shook his head. "Ali, I'm fine. It was just a fall and besides, I can help myself." he said as he was trying to decline her offer but if there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she was persistent.

"Come on, Jess. I insist." she stated as she held out her right hand to him with a earnest smile. As he stared at her earnest smile and her gentle light amber eyes, he relented as he gave a light sigh of compliance. "Okay." he told her, now surrendering his left hand to her as she pulled him up off the ground. Once he was standing up again, he mentally scolded himself for falling in front of her before he glanced at the cadet and smiled.

"Thanks." he softly told her as her earnest smile turned into a delighted grin. "You're welcome." she brightly told him before her eyes lingered on their hands as they had interlocked with each other. "Oh. Sorry about that." she apologetically added, now releasing his hand as he casually brushed off her apology.

"Hey, don't worry about it." he dismissively told her, now flashing her a light smile as she quietly sighed in relief. "Thanks." she told him as he nodded. "Yeah, no problem." he casually told Aliya but as he briefly turned away from her, his smile fell and a frown formed in its place. He thought it would go unnoticed, but never matter how much he tried to keep his frown hidden from Aliya, she saw through him all the same.

"Jess? Are you alright?"

As he heard her concern, he turned to face her as he nodded at her question. "Yeah, I'm fine." he answered, but she only frowned at his response. "Come on, Jesse. You can talk to me." she said as her eyes softened. "What's wrong?" she further added as he quietly sighed.

"Hey, if this is about what happened with—"

"It's not about that." he quickly but firmly interrupted as the night hadn't even occurred to him, but when he looked at her back where a set of sparkling, transparent faerie wings should be, he felt a surge of guilt and wish she hadn't allured to that night.

"Okay..." she said, looking rather taken back by how quickly he answered, but the look faded as she crossed her arms. "Then, what's on your mind?" she gently acquired as he quietly looked at her and recalled how he liked their hands interlocking when he noticed a red string tied around their pinky fingers.

"I just..."

He thought about telling the young woman about how he felt towards her. He had even thought to tell her about the string and how it intertwined with each other, but as his eyes drifted toward her wingless back, he felt another surge of guilt as he promptly dismissed the thought, knowing he was unworthy of having her heart when he had caused her so much heartache in their shared past.

So, he chose to keep his feelings towards her hidden and decided to address the other matter at hand: his father acknowledging her.

"... I just thought about how my father acknowledged you and the way he looked at you with so much admiration that I guess I got upset because I've spent years trying to get him to look at me that way when it only took you a matter of seconds." he confessed as he sighed. "But, I shouldn't be that way. You deserve to be acknowledged by him and I'm just being selfish." he added as he sighed again.

"Jess—"

"I'm sorry."

"Jess, you—"

"I can see why you're my father's teacher pet now." he teasingly said, now interrupting her when he noticed a shift in her demeanor. She had initially looked at him with a sense of concern, but after he mentioned her being his father's teacher pet, she blinked at him in disbelief before she began to laugh.

"Jess, come on now. You, of all people, can't believe that." she said in between her laughs, which caught him off-guard as he hadn't expected her to react the way that she did.

"But he—"

"Just because your father talked to me and flashed me a smile does not mean I am his favorite." she interjected, now interrupting him as her laughter died down just in time for him to respond. "What he did to you was clearly an obvious display of favorism." he bluntly countered as he saw Aliya rolling her eyes at his response.

"I'm serious!"

"Jess, come on. Do you really think your father would see me as his favorite?" she countered as he prepared to open his mouth to respond, only to stop himself as he processed her words and listened to her speak.

"I mean, think about it, Jess. Shiron hadn't liked me ever since the gift ceremony we partook in as little changelings took place because the Oracle announced I was magic-less. Ever since she said that, he has only seen me as being inferior to you, him and your family and it's all because of my lack of magic and my low status." he heard her continue as she sighed. "That much hasn't changed." he heard her conclude as he observed the latter turning away from her as he saw her face fall.

He frowned at the sight of her and thought to comfort her, so he moved closer. "Hey. Maybe, my father has changed the way he viewed you." he softly offered as he placed a gentle touch on her left shoulder. "I mean, tonight proved that much, right?" he then asked as he saw her scoffing at his proposed question.

"Somehow, I doubt it." she said as she sighed. "I mean, he could've only did that to get me to be more willing towards the idea of capturing my apá all because everyone seems to think he's the Shadow Prince." she further added as he shrugged. "I mean, there was the—" he began to point out when she interrupted him.

"Jess, I'm aware of the beacon because I saw it too, but even then, if everyone is right, that still doesn't make him dangerous." she insisted as he sighed at her response.

"Aliya—"

"And so what if he does end up being the Shadow Prince? At the end of the day, he's still him and some namesake prophecy shouldn't change the way we all perceive him." she insistedly added, interrupting him again as he sighed at her response again.

"Aliya—"

"Also, for all we know, it could have been someone else who stole the Shadow Prince scroll and conveniently position the prophecy there, so everyone would believe it was him once the bright beacon became activated by his touch." she then continued, interrupting him once more as she sighed.

"Look. I get that your dad and everyone else has a reason to suspect him, but I'm just saying we shouldn't be so quick to assume that he's the one who stole it when—" she attempted to add on when the love fairy sighed and promptly cut her off.

"Aliya, I get what you're trying to say." he gently began as he sighed. "I really do, but that kind of thinking is what got your mother killed." he further added as she sharply glared at him, making him frown as he hated the way she was looking at him.

"Come on. Don't look at me like that. She tried to make something out of nothing when she had began investigating the fire that resulted in the death of Prince Rhys' grandparents and that had only continued when she started to look into the fire that resulted in your aunt's death." he said as she simply continued to glare at him.

"Look. All I'm saying is their deaths was pretty straight-forward and she couldn't accept that, so she wanted to turn two closed cases into something more." he defensively stated as he held his hands up in the air. "Only Amaranth ventured too far and died for nothing." he added as he saw Aliya shaking her head.

"That's not true. My mamá didn't die for nothing." he heard her protest as she crossed her arms. "She always speculated that the deaths of Rhys' grandparents and my aunt Stormy were always connected and she must've been close to figuring out who because someone wanted to silence her that night. I mean, why else would a fire set off right as she was about to give her thoughts?" he heard her continue as his look of neutrality threatened to slip and reveal how he truly felt on the matter.

"Aaliyah, I know you miss your mother, but please don't start following in her footsteps. Alright? What happened that night was nothing more than an accident. The building collapsed because it was old and destined to fall. She chose to save those reporters' lives and died with the flames engulfing her. That's all." he insisted, trying to keep his tone neutral, but some irritation slipped in his tone in the end. Luckily for him though, his little slip-up went unnoticed by Aliya, who was more focused on what he said to notice his growing irritation on the matter.

"I know, but—"

"I mean it. Don't go making something out of nothing."

"I know and I totally get what you're saying, but—"

"Aaliyah, her death was an accident and nothing more. Okay? If you keep on speculating about her fate, you're going to end up drowning in your grief again, which is why you have to stop now before that grief ends up plaguing you in the same way that it plagued your father. I mean, okay, it didn't help that he lost Stormy before losing her, but still. He hasn't recovered from losing his soulmates and with each loss he took on, that grief has only gone untreated and that amount of untreated grief... well, it can make just about anyone do dangerous things... even in the ones we love and care about the most."

After he spoke, he saw the girl profoundly shake her head at his response as he heavily sighed at her reaction.

"Aaliyah, I know you deeply care for him as his daughter, but you have to see why he would have a motive for taking the Shadow Prince prophecy from the Vault of Scrolls. It's likely he wants to go and—"

"No! Come on, Jess. You can't seriously think that way about him. I get that his grief is untreated and he could stand to get help and I'm trying to get him that help. Okay? Really I am, but in spite of his grief being untreated, my apá isn't like that." she firmly protested, interrupting him as she sighed.

"Aliya, I know you love him, but he's not the man you think he is. Okay? He's not your hero, he's dangerous and you have to look past your personal connection to him to see the kind of person that he is or you're going to get hurt." he countered before he heavily sighed. "I know you don't want to really think about it, but you're going to have to choose between the duty you have to this kingdom as a soon-to-be knight/future hero of the realm and the genuine love you harbor for him." he continued as he saw her eyes and her whole demeanor altogether deflecting at his words.

"Jess—"

"Aliya, I know you want the best of both worlds, but as much as I hate to say it, that's just not the luxury you have." he stated, now interrupting her as he flashed her a sympathetic smile. "Hey, I know it'll be hard to choose between the two, but I know you'll make the right choice." he softly concluded, warmly smiling at her right as the two listened to the sound of erupting roars in the nearby distance, generating much excitement from their classmates as the moment of the hour had finally arrived.

"Guys, it's time!" Kai excitedly exclaimed, startling him as he hadn't expected the fire fairy to be back so soon. "We might have been the laughingstocks of our class, but tonight, all of our hard work is going to pay off because in just a few moments, the three of us are going to be knights!" the fire fairy excitedly added as he pulled Jesse and Aliya into a tight-knit hug.

"Woo!"

"Yeah! Tonight, this night is going to be ours!" he heard Aliya say as he noticed the young woman glance at him. "Isn't that right, Jess?" she softly asked and as he noticed her eyes lighting up, he smiled at the sight of her as he was glad to see his childhood best friend acting as her typical self again.

The sight of seeing her happy delighted him so much that it even changed the way he perceived Kai's tight-knit hug as he was initially annoyed about the fire fairy hugging him. But now, Jesse couldn't help but feel energetic as he began to share the same energy as the two cadets beside him.

"Yeah, this night is going to be ours because nothing is going to ruin it." Jesse brightly answered and was quickly met with enthusiastic cheers from the two cadets beside him as the two began to gleefully grin at his words.

"Yeah!"

As the three continued to hug and grin, Jesse thought the night was perfect and he hoped that the night would continue to stay perfect. Unfortunately as he would come to find out, the night would be far from perfect because in just a few moments...

Tragedy would strike.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"And now, for the moment you've all been waiting here folks: let's meet our newest heroes of the realm!"

After the announcer spoke, the lights shined on the eleven cadets emerging from the end of the tunnel connected to their locker room as the large mirror-screens picked up on all of their faces.

Upon seeing the group, the crowd in the stands began to produce enthusiastic fanfare that just seemed to have no end, especially when they spotted the kingdom's favorite golden boy among the cadets.

"Braveheart! Braveheart! Braveheart! Braveheart!"

As the crowd chanted Marcellus' name, a dark-skinned woman was seen rolling her eyes as she had ebony black hair with dark orange highlights and worn a scarlet red-colored dress beneath her black leggings along with a pair of black flats. Attached to her back was a set of dark orange, black tinted wings with flame-like tips.

"I swear if it wasn't for him being a descendant of Magnus himself, no one would care about the guy." she stated as she crossed her arms. "I mean, honestly how is he, of all people, becoming a knight anyhow?" she asked as she heard a few light chuckles amidst the generated excitement geared towards Marcellus.

"Ember, you know how he's becoming a knight."

As she turned to see a fair-skinned woman with long ebony hair and dark purple eyes standing beside her as the woman worn a satin red gown and black high heels, she spotted the woman's shimmering multicolored wings that seemed to resemble the way the waves looked during the day.

"I know how he's becoming a knight, Iris. I just don't understand why he gets to be when he's the last person who should be getting knighted!" she countered, earning a few more chuckles from the latter.

"To be fair, most of them should not be getting knighted."

As Ember and Iris glanced over their shoulders, the two saw another woman chime into their conversation as they saw her light green wings that seemed to embody nature.

"True, but that's what happens when you let tradition lead a kingdom." another woman chimed in as the three women turned to see her glistening light yellow wings that seemed to embody the brightness of the sun.

"Anyways, am I late?" the woman with glistening light yellow wings asked as she sighed. "I tried to get here earlier, but—" she continued when Ember saw Iris interrupt her. "Nancy, relax. You're not late." Iris told her as Ember saw Nancy relax. "Good." she heard Nancy say in a relieved tone as the woman with the light green wings chuckled.

"I get it though. I was trying to be on time too, but I forgot about all the wing traffic and I thought about traveling on foot since most Avalonians don't use the ground anyways but—"

"You only travel on foot when Aliya's with you because you like her company, even though you hate traveling on foot." Ember casually finished as she noticed the woman's hair gain a bright, rosy pink hue.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with wanting to spend some time with your best friend." the latter defensively said as the fire faerie smugly glanced at Iris and Nancy, who both glanced at her and back at the woman with light green wings before the two glanced at each other as they quietly giggled among themselves.

"Chepi, no disrespect to you and your denial, but I'm pretty sure you see Aliya as more than your best friend." she pointed out, to which the latter's hair began to glow brighter. "It's not like that." the nature faerie defensively mumbled, but as she, Iris and Nancy looked at her, Ember saw the latter crave in.

"Fine! Maybe, it is like that but it doesn't matter because she doesn't want me." she [along with Iris and Nancy] all heard Chepi confess as the three listen to her sigh. "That's not true. She does want you." she gently offered as Iris and Nancy nodded.

"No... She doesn't want me." Chepi said again as the three saw the nature faerie glance at the Jumbotron. "Not like I want her." the three heard the nature faerie confess as the three looked up to see their friend's face briefly appear on the Heartdome's Jumbotron.

"But like I said, it doesn't matter." she, Iris and Nancy all heard the nature faerie dismissively said as they looked away from the Jumbotron to look at the nature faerie once more. "Chepi—" she, Iris and Nancy tried to start, but they were promptly interrupted. "Being her best friend is good enough." the three heard the nature faerie say as they saw her forced smile.

"Chepi—"

"Let's just change the topic."

As the fire faerie stared at the nature faerie and back at her friends, she [along with Iris and Nancy] reluctantly sighed as the three decided to comply with their friend's wishes.

"Okay." the three said before Iris began looking around. "Hey, has anyone seen Rhys yet?" she heard Iris ask as she, Nancy and Chepi shook their heads when it dawned on her that someone else was missing too. "Or, Crystallia for that matter?" she asked as Iris, Nancy and Chepi shook their heads.

"Huh. That's odd." Iris noted as Ember nodded. "Yeah, I thought those two were supposed to be back by—" she began when she was promptly interrupted.

"Aw, miss me already, Emmy?"

As Ember glanced over her left and saw Rhys cheekily appear beside her, she rolled her eyes as she scoffed at her friend's question. "Ew! No way!" she lightly answered as she playfully shoved the prince, who simply chuckled at her reaction.

"If anyone here missed you, it's your girlfriend." she added, now gesturing to Iris, whose hair began to gain a bright, rosy pink hue. "I'm not his girlfriend!" Iris bashfully exclaimed as she, Nancy and Chepi began to giggle at their friend's reaction.

"Not yet anyways. I need to take her on a proper date, but I can't do that until I get Jesse off my back since the stupid love fairy ruined the last three dates I had planned for her." Rhys casually said with some level of annoyance towards the end of his statement that occurred as a result of him mentioning Jesse's name.

"That's so stupid." Ember and Chepi stated as Rhys and Iris nodded. "You're telling me!" Rhys and Iris exclaimed as Nancy crossed her arms.

"Stupid, yes, but it doesn't make any sense." she, Chepi, Rhys and Iris heard Nancy chime in as the four turned to face her. "I mean, he's not dating her and she has made it clear to him in the past that she didn't want him, so why is Jesse still interfering with you and Iris' love life?" they heard Nancy follow up as Rhys, Iris and Chepi scoffed.

"Because he's pity by nature." Chepi began as Rhys nodded. "That and he can't handle getting rejection to save his life." Rhys added as Iris nodded. "Yes! Honestly, I'm so glad I ditched him when I did." Iris chimed in as she [along with Chepi, Rhys and Nancy] listened to her annoyed sigh. "Gods, what did I even see in him?" Iris followed up when the group heard a chuckle not long after she asked her question.

"You saw his elevated status and wanted to cash in on his newfound fame while it was still fresh. That's why you dated him."

As she, Nancy, Chepi, Rhys and Iris glanced up to see a dark-skinned woman with bright sky blue hair and dazzling ocean-blue eyes, Ember saw she worn a sparkling blue dress and blue heels as a set of shimmering blue wings that seemed to resemble the glistening waves of the sea as they matched the aesthetic of her outfit.

"That and your father thought dating Jesse would be a good way to further elevate your status."

"Oh, right." Iris stated as the group saw her lightly huff. "Thanks for reminding me." Iris added as they saw the water fairy nod. "No problem. That's what best friends are for anyways." the water fairy said as Iris playfully giggled.

"Anyways, I heard someone here acquired about me and my whereabouts." the water fairy now followed up as Iris chuckled. "That would be her." Iris casually said, gesturing to the fire faerie as the water fairy looked at her and giggled.

"Aw! I didn't know you missed me, Em." the water fairy cheekily said as Ember saw Rhys move to Iris in time for the water fairy to appear beside her. "Ha! In your dreams, Lia!" Ember playfully countered as she lightly shoved the water fairy, who giggled at her response.

"Say what you want, Em, but you missed me." Crystallia cheekily said as the fire faerie scoffed, but her hair gained a slight, bright rosy pink hue that betrayed her spoken stance on the young woman's response.

"I knew it." Crystallia cheekily followed up as the rosy pink hue in the fire faerie's hair started to glow brighter. "Shut up." she bashfully said [for a lack of a better response] as she punched the water fairy's left shoulder and looked away until the fire faerie felt Crystallia lift a strand of her hair, causing her to look at her once more.

"You are cute, Em. You know that?" she heard Crystallia begin as she saw the water fairy grin at her.

Although Ember could hear their friends chuckling among themselves in the background, her eyes had only seemed to focus on the water fairy in front of her as she felt her heart skipping a beat.

"Don't change." she heard Crystallia softly say as she saw the water fairy tucking the strand of hair behind her ear. "Okay?" she heard Crystallia follow up as the fire faerie mutely nodded at the young woman's words. "Good." she heard Crystallia finish as she felt her heart continue to skip a few more beats in the water fairy's presence.

"And now, my fellow Avalonians, it is a honor and a pleasure to introduce the one who helped make our kingdom possible! Without a further ado, please give your devoted attention and a round of applause to none other than The Senior Fae!"

"Oh! It's him!" she heard Crystallia excitedly whisper as she saw the water fairy turn away from her to focus on the older pale-skinned, dark purple eyed male taking center stage as he worn a prestigious white suit with flickers of pure gold displayed on the cuffs of his suit.

As she and everyone else looked on, she noticed his suit had a golden shield displaying the five elements as she made note of a golden chain placed over the right side of the Senior Fae's left leg. From there, she saw his dark golden high-top boots and his white cape that revealed a dark orange-like sheen from inside the cape itself.

Once the Senior Fae arrived on the stage, the crowd began to erupt in a seamless string of cheers that even outweighed the cheers given to Marcellus. It was a feat only the Senior Fae himself was could achieve as no one else in Fairytopia was more popular [or even well-liked] than him.

As Ember listened to the crowd applauding for their founder, she glanced over to Crystallia and their friends. She thought to stay near the water fairy, but when she saw her excitement toward their founder, she decided against it as she moved closer to Nancy and Chepi.

"How is it that whenever Iris' father isn't meant to be the center of attention, he still finds a way to get the spotlight to himself?" she quietly but irritatedly whispered before she huffed. "I mean, I didn't hear anything about the Senior Fae making an appearance or even being a guest speaker for that matter." she added as she turned to face them. "Did you?" she asked as Nancy and Chepi shook their heads.

"No, but I have no doubt that he got someone to include him." Chepi whispered as Nancy gave a slight nod. "I mean, the Senior Fae is known for forcing his way into things." Nancy added as the fire faerie nodded.

"Or perhaps, seeing as my dad is the founder of Fairytopia, maybe he was simply invited to be a guest speaker and just told the royals to keep it a secret to surprise the four kingdoms of Avalon when the big night came."

As the three women heard Iris chime into their conversation, the trio awkwardly glanced at each other as they knew how loyal their friend was to her father as she wasn't fond of Avalonians who talked about him in a less-than-positive manner.

"Right. We're sure that's it." Ember awkwardly said as she nudged Chepi and Nancy to follow as the two reluctantly nodded. "Mhm." Chepi and Nancy said, though it was obvious that the two hadn't believed their response as their tones weren't convincing enough to fool her, much less Iris.

But none of that mattered because once the Senior Fae ushered the crowd to settle down, they saw the crowd quiet down as Ember and her friends looked on.

"Thank you, Fairytopia and thank you, Avalon! You are all far too kind!" the Senior Fae began as he dramatically swished his cape. As he did, a series of multicolored fireworks exploded behind him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Iris began as she proudly grinned. "Yeah, that's my dad for you. He's great." she proudly continued as Ember caught Nancy and Chepi flashing her a skeptical look, but as Iris glanced at their direction, the two quickly adjusted their looks as they promptly nodded.

"Yep!"

"The Senior Fae is so great..."

"Isn't he, Ember?"

As Nancy and Chepi quickly looked at her to answer [and more so, take the focus away from them], Ember listened to the crowd as she heard the audience ooh and ahh at the display of theatrics that were conjured up by Iris' father. She wasn't sure what to say, but luckily for her, she was saved from having to talk as The Senior Fae spoke.

"It is both a honor and a pleasure to stand among all of you tonight as we commerate these ten devoted individuals as they all follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and take up the mantle of being this generation's newest heroes of the realms."

As the crowd cheered at his words, Ember couldn't help but feel confused about the Senior Fae's response. She thought to ask Iris, but before she could, someone else spoke.

"Yes. While that is true, Ambrose, we must also remember that tonight is more than following a destined path." the Queen began as her husband nodded. "Because tonight will mark the end of a old era as we part ways with our traditional views and usher in a new era." the King continued as the two royals were joined by their son, who nodded. "A era that will be jumpstarted by none other than my closest friend." the Prince added as Ember glanced at her friends as they were all no doubt excited by who the royals' son was alluding to.

"So without a further of ado, let's all give a round of applause for our three royals: Her Majesty, Queen Morgana, His Majesty, King James and their son, Prince Marcus!"

As the crowd began to clap and seemingly ignore the way the Senior Fae became cast aside for the three royals, the claps began to die down as the announcer cleared their throat. "Now, let's get this knighting induction started!" the announcer excitedly added, earning energetic fanfare as Ember and her friends cheered alongside the rest of the crowd.

"Yes! It's about time we got this induction started! Oh, I can't wait to see the look of Issac's face when he sees Aliya..." the fire faerie excitedly began before she trailed off as she looked around and realized that her friend's father still hadn't turned up.

She was almost certain he would've turned up by now, so the fact that he hadn't baffled her as he had been more excited about tonight than any of them or even Aliya for that matter and her friend was the one getting knighted!

"Hey um, where is Issac anyways?" Crystallia followed up, taking the words out of her mouth as Chepi shrugged.

"I don't know, but I did see a bright beacon casted from his house, so maybe that has something to do with why we don't see him." Chepi answered as Ember saw the way Nancy's eyes widened at her response.

"Wait. Did you say beacon?" Nancy promptly asked as Chepi casually nodded. "Yeah." the nature faerie casually said as Nancy continued to stare at her. "What color was the beacon glowing in?" the light faerie followed up as Chepi shrugged. "The beacon was glowing in a light blue, almost teal-like color." the nature faerie casually answered before she blinked. "Why?" she followed up as Ember saw Nancy's demeanor change.

"Nance, what's going on? Why is the color of the beacon so important?" Ember, Chepi, Crystallia and Iris asked as they were confused by the shift in their friend, but she refused to answer them as she remained silence on the matter.

But while they failed to get their friend to talk, Rhys prevailed... mainly because he could do one thing that none of them couldn't: he could read minds.

"The color of the beacon Chepi saw is important, because depending on the rarity of the color, it can determine the level of importance that a particular scroll has." Rhys had answered, his eyes now gaining a white sheen as he stared at Nancy.

"The color she saw indicates that the scroll, what it entails, is highly important and dangerous." he continued as Ember, Chepi, Crystallia and Iris all stared at him and Nancy, who looked more or less annoyed at her mind being read.

"Dangerous, how?" Ember, Chepi, Crystallia and Iris asked as Nancy glared at Rhys and sighed as the white sheen in his eyes faded. Almost immediately, Rhys staggered but Iris caught him as she placed his arm over her shoulder to help steady him.

"It's dangerous because something that we had all perceived to be a mere folk lore is no longer the case here." Nancy said at last as Ember and the others blinked at her answer, initially lost at her words until the fire faerie got an idea of what she was referring to.

"Wait. Are you talking about the legend of the Shadow Prince?" she followed up as she saw her friend mutely nodding. "But Nance, that's just a myth." the others all countered, but only Rhys shook his head.

"No, she knows otherwise." Rhys countered as Nancy shot him a stern look before Ember saw their friend's focus return to them. "He's right." Ember said at last as she sighed. "The myth is real." Nancy admitted as Ember's eyes widened at her words.

"Wait, are you saying that... The Shadow Prince is real?" Ember and the others [excluding Rhys] quietly inquired as Nancy reluctantly nodded.

"Yes."

"Wait. So, if the Shadow Prince is real, then that means the legend we've all heard isn't a myth at all, but rather a... prophecy." Iris slowly finished as her eyes widened. "Wait, but if Chepi saw the bright beacon appearing at his house, then that's—" the girl continued when Nancy interrupted her. "A tell-tale sign that he's meant to fulfill the prophecy." the demigoddess princess followed up, finishing her friend's response before they saw her sighing.

"A prophecy that is meant to be fulfilled..." their friend continued before she briefly trailed off as Ember and her friends saw their friend momentarily pause before she proceeded to finish what she initially said.

"... Tonight."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"What!"

As Nancy listened to her friends' reaction to her response, she shot the five a look as she glanced over to the nearby guards, who thankfully hadn't noticed their loud reaction. 

"What do you mean the prophecy is meant to be fulfilled tonight?" Ember, Crystallia, Chepi, Iris and Rhys asked, lowering their voices as Nancy found herself baffled by their reaction.

"Look, I'm aware that the myth intentionally concealed a lot of things about the Shadow Prince prophecy, but come on. Why do you guys so surprised by this when it was one of the few things explicitly stated in the myth?" she casually countered as they gave her a puzzled look before their eyes widen.

"Tonight would mark the one-thousandth year since the First War took place, so it only make sense if the Shadow Prince returned tonight, but even if Issac is the one meant to fulfill the prophecy, that doesn't mean—" her friends insisted when she interrupted them.

"It does and that's why there's guards stationed across the Heartdome." she promptly stated as she saw her friends glancing at the guards before looking back at her. "So, the reason as to why none of us has seen Issac is because... He's the Shadow Prince?" they slowly followed up as she nodded once more.

"But if he's really the Shadow Prince, then—"

"He's the one meant to free her." she promptly interrupted as their eyes widened. "You don't mean—" they began once more when she interrupted them once more. "I do." she counter as their eyes only widen more at her confirming their thoughts.

"But according to the myth — sorry, prophecy, Aureus hid her somewhere in the Surface Realm, so even if that's true, he still wouldn't be able to find her, especially not before the night ends." her friends insisted as she simply nodded. "True." she said, mostly because she lacked a better response.

"Yeah and even then, he would need someone to guide him to her prison and the only one who is capable of doing that kind of thing is the Seeker himself, which isn't going to happen as he wouldn't help him." her friends followed up before they chuckled. "Then again, it's not like the Seeker would be capable of finding her anyways." they added as they chuckled once more with Nancy chuckling as well.

"True. I mean, his powers aren't exactly the greatest when you compare him to his ancestors and all those who were named the seeker before him." she chimed in as they nodded; their chuckles dialing down now. "Okay, but really though, how is Marcellus our seeker again?" Rhys and Chepi followed up as she, Ember, Iris and Crystallia chuckled at their question.

"You mean, besides the fact that he was literally born into the bloodline of seekers?" she along with Ember, Iris and Crystallia all lightly counter as her friends huffed. "Or, is it the fact he's the third seeker, outside of Magnus and Aureus themselves, to be blessed by Thena to serve as our kingdom's chosen one?" they followed up as Rhys and Chepi rolled their eyes.

"Oh come on. Don't even get us started on that chosen one stuff. I mean, it's already bad enough that he's the seeker and we have to endure seeing him get knighted, but for him to also be the one whose meant to slay the Great Beast upon its return and save Avalon from getting destroyed is annoying enough as it is." Rhys and Chepi irritatedly followed up, huffing now as she, Ember, Iris and Crystallia nodded.

"Oh and before he can slay the Great Beast and save Avalon, he has to go find the reincarnated members of the five fallen heroes and vaniqush two demonic entities who are also meant to go destroy everything that we know." Iris, Ember and Crystallia added on, now interjecting in their conversation as Rhys and Chepi huffed at their response.

"As if dealing with the fact the seeker was blessed by Thena herself to be the chosen one wasn't enough, why would she decide it's a good idea to entrust him with defeating Unagami, Iblis and the Great Beast?" Rhys and Chepi asked as Iris, Ember and Crystallia shrugged at their question, to which Nancy decided to answer.

"To be fair, I don't know, but if I had to guess, it's mostly because they're all meant to be seen as monsters and his ancestors were known for doing whatever it took to keep the monsters out of the four kingdoms. So, I imagine Thena thinks that Marcellus will be able to do the same, but as long as the great tragedy doesn't happen, then we won't have to worry about that, because we'll be fine."

As soon as she finished answering, she saw her friends hesistantly glanced at one another and back at her before it was the fire faerie who ultimately spoke up. "And if the great tragedy does happen?" Ember had inquired as the young princess took a deep breath.

"Then, there's no going back because once the prophecy begins, the prophecy has to finish..." she began, only to trail off as she sighed. "No matter what the consequences for the prophecy entails and once it's done, it'll only be a matter of time before Marcellus ends up fulfilling his own destiny as the chosen one." she concluded, right as she and her friends heard the crowd excitedly roaring from all sides of the Heartdome.

Glancing at each other, Nancy and her friends were confused by the crowd's excitement when they all got the idea to look up at the mirror screen to see what exactly was causing the people to react the way that they were.

As it turned out, the source of the people's excitement was none other than Marcellus, who was throwing his hands in the air as he flew over the stage. "Wooo!" he exclaimed, causing the crowd to roar louder as Nancy and her friends quietly scoffed as none of them were fond of him.

From there, he lowered his wings and landed back onto the ground, where he began walking the steps that would lead him to Queen Morgana, who would be responsible for knighting all eleven cadets.

Once he reached the stage, everyone saw Marcellus kneel in front of the King and Queen. Once he kneeled, the crowd saw the cadet withdrawing his sword hilt-first as he handed his sword to King James, who then hands the sword to his wife. From there, everyone witnesses the Queen using his sword as she lightly taps the seeker on each shoulder.

"From this night forward, I hereby pronounce you Sir Marcellus Braveheart, Hero of the Realm." she begins as she turns to her husband, who steps forward. "Now rise, Sir Knight!" he chimes in and as Marcellus stands up, the crowd begins to cheer for him. As the crowd continues to cheer, the Queen hands the newly made knight back his sword, which everyone sees him accept as he stepped aside to allow the next cadet in line to be knighted.

A process that quickly picked up with the cadet's tight-knit friends [Katsu, Aragon and Slivanus] and continued with Aeolus, Atlas, Triton and Kai as the seven newly established knights joined Marcellus, who was standing near the royals and the Director.

With Kai's knighting done, Nancy and her friends all saw the Director's son step forward as they groaned at the sight of the love fairy.

"You've got to be kidding me." Nancy and her friends mumbled as they observed Jesse kneeling in front of the King and Queen. Once he kneeled, they [along with everyone else in attendance] saw the cadet withdrawing his sword hilt-first as he handed his sword to King James, who then hands the sword to his wife. From there, everyone witnesses the Queen using his sword as she lightly taps the love fairy on each shoulder.

"From this night forward, I hereby pronounce you Sir Jesse Äarons, Hero of the Realm." she then begins as she turns to her husband, who steps forward. "Now rise, Sir Knight!" he chimes in and as Jesse stands, the crowd begins to cheer for him, though the fanfare wasn't as loud as it was for Marcellus.

As the crowd continues to cheer, the Queen hands the newly made knight back his sword, which everyone sees Jesse accept as he stepped aside to allow the next cadet in line to be knighted by the royals.

While Nancy and her friends were all on the same page when it came to Jesse and the previous established knights, the group were split when it came to Castor as the latest cadet to undergo his knighting.

"At last! Someone good actually gets knighted! It took nearly the entire night, but we got here!" Rhys and Iris excitedly announced as the two were fully engrossed in his knighting while Chepi was fully against his knighting as she scoffed.

"You two can't be serious. Castor isn't even that good. Come on now." Chepi grumbled as Rhys and Iris lightly nudged her. "Chepi, you got to come around to him eventually." the two softly said as the nature faerie scoffed.

"No way! He broke Aliya's heart, which gives me more than enough reason to loathe him just as I've done with Jesse, who mind you, I am still loathing to this day." Chepi defensively countered as Rhys and Iris only sighed.

While Chepi, Rhys and Iris knew their stance with Castor and how they felt about his knighting, Nancy aligned herself with Ember and Crystallia as they all felt more neutral about him... mainly since the three of them weren't close to him in the sense that Chepi, Rhys and Iris were [or was, given the case with the nature faerie].

So as they saw Castor step forward, Chepi was quick to scoff at the cadet, who began making his way to the stage. "I seriously can't believe he's going to be a knight. Castor doesn't even deserve to be one!" Chepi grumbled as Iris and Rhys rolled their eyes at their friend's reaction. "Chepi, be nice." the two said as the nature faerie rolled her eyes and said nothing more on the matter.

Once they saw Castor arrive at the stage, Nancy and her friends saw the cadet kneeling in front of the King and Queen.

As Castor kneeled, they [along with everyone else in attendance] saw the cadet withdrawing his sword hilt-first as he handed his sword to King James, who handed the sword to his wife. From there, everyone witnesses the Queen using his sword as she lightly taps the illusionst mage on each shoulder.

"From this night forward, I hereby pronounce you Sir Castor Mirage, Hero of the Realm." she says as she turns to her husband, who steps forward. "Now rise, Sir Knight!" he chimes in and as the crowd saw Castor stand up, everyone began to cheer for him, though the fanfare wasn't as loud as it was for Marcellus.

As the crowd continues to cheer, the Queen hands the newly made knight back his sword, which everyone saw Castor accept as he stepped aside to join Marcellus and the rest of his classmates as their knighting induction were already done.

Having watched the last ten knights go through the process now, Nancy and her friends thought it would be no different for their friend [or best friend in Chepi's case] as she was the last one to become knighted. After all, she just needed to follow the same process as the others and when it was done, Aliya would be a knight!

But as Nancy and her friends watched Aliya as she began climbing the stairs to stand before the royals, the young princess felt a sudden but invisible shift occur within her. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but all she knew was that fate held a different plan for their friend at that moment as it seemed to be set in stone.

Although the young princess still envisioned her friend's induction ending with applause, she held her breath as all she could do at this point was wait to see what fate had in store for Aliya and hope for the best.

But if the plan just had to change, then Nancy hoped the worst thing to come out of her friend's induction was that Aliya didn't get accepted by the kingdom. At least then, her friend would still be a knight and see her hard work pay off.

Unfortunately for her, things would not go the way Nancy had hoped because while she wanted Aliya not getting accepted by the kingdom to be the worst thing to come to her, she would learn that a lack of applause was the least of her friend's problems.

At least, not when the outcome of her friend's knighting induction would end up being worse than anything she could have ever imagined...

So much worse.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Knighting inductions were not his thing.

The young prince always hated the way the inductions seemed to drag and most of the time, the cadets getting knighted weren't even cute, so it was even worse because then, he didn't have a way to distract himself. But sometimes, the universe would be nice and present him with a way to distract himself when he found the cadet who caught his eye because then, he would have a reason to appreciate that year's knighting induction.

But, that's usually all he could do because by the time he found a cadet cute, he usually lack the courage to approach him. However, when he felt brave and possessed the courage to approach him after the induction, he would quickly find himself repulsed by the newly established knight as his boastful, snobby personality undid the attraction he would have for him. So, in those few instances, he found himself pretty unlucky.

This year, however, was one of those years where he found no one attractive as he thought all of the male cadets were okay-looking at best. Usually having a induction like this bothered him as he had to drag himself to be motivated for the next heroes of the realm, but he was actually fine with having a year like this because unlike years prior, he had a reason to be here.

In past years, he gave little thought to how his kingdom functioned, but after he ventured out of the safety net of his palace to explore Fairytopia for himself, he started thinking more about his kingdom. Along the way, he started pondering ways on how he could help his parents improve their kingdom to benefit the next generation that came along.

His parents were proud as they thought he was finally growing comfortable with the idea of ruling Fairytopia as their heir, but in reality, he was acting this way because he finally found something he was passionate in as he wanted to make a difference.

But as far as ruling after his parents and being crowned King went, Marcus felt comfortable not doing that as the young prince was content with helping out from the sidelines. He didn't want to rule nor did he want to lead a bunch of people, but he didn't know how to break the news to his parents, so he reluctantly went along with it as he didn't want to disappoint them if he said otherwise.

If anything, he wanted to travel and see the world outside of Avalon but with the portals to the surface world dismantled and/or destroyed, his chances of going out of Avalon was uh well... it was pretty much nonexistence. But that didn't stop him from imagining what life out of Avalon was like.

He just wished he could experience it for real and not just in the depths of his dreams and what his imagination conjured up.

Either way, he supposed life as a prince wasn't horrible. He had a relatively comfortable life with everything at the tip of his fingers. But as great as that was, he felt suffociated by what this kind of life demanded of him. He was expected to follow so many rules and project himself a certain way, but all Marcus wanted was to just be free from his glided cage... no matter how nice it was.

But since he knew he couldn't leave his glided cage, he figured he might as well try to make his parents proud and lean more into his princely status. Maybe, if he got involved long enough and confidently faked his interest, then he would actually buy into the fact that he liked it and see it for more than what he perceived ruling to be.

Until then, he figured the knighting induction would be a good start for him since tonight was meant to be a night of change... Change that he constantly yearned for, but one he never quite got. Still, he hoped tonight would be a little bit different in the sense that this change would be more impactful towards his people and benefiting them; not him.

So when he spotted the last cadet making her way toward his parents, he began making his way to them as he took their side. Once his parents noticed his presence, he quickly saw their initial puzzled looks as he hadn't bothered to join them when it came to knighting the others, so what made the last one worth his attention?

But when they saw the last cadet getting closer to reaching the stage, the two seemed to now understand why he wanted to get involved with her knighting induction right as she appeared before them.

"We've been looking forward to this moment since the day you first arrived," his parents softly said as he nodded. "Now that the moment is finally here, all of us couldn't be more prouder of you." he softly but earnestly added as he and his parents smiled warmly at the cadet in front of them.

"Thank you." she softly but graciously said before she kneels in front of his mother, who shifts her focus to the crowd and begins to address them.

"My people. As we are all joined here tonight by the members of the Deheubarth kingdom, the Oceanian kingdom and the Light Kingdom, we began the night by commemorating these ten hard-working individuals, who now stand before all of you as our kingdom's newest heroes of the realm." his mother proudly said as the crowd began to cheer for the ten newly established knights.

"But now as our knighting induction event begins to come to a close, we finish out the night not with another traditional ending as you all have come to expect, but rather we finish out the night on a different note as tonight marks a new chapter in Fairytopia's history." his mother continued as she briefly paused before resuming her speech.

"As you all know, the honor of holding and wielding a sword was reserved for the elite members of the first class and descendants of the knights who fought in the First War. It was a honor that was first implemented by King Esteban and Queen Adelaide after the death of the Fallen Heroes and it is a rule that has stood the test of time as it has been carried out by their predecessors for a thousand years now." his mother further added as she took a deep breath.

"But this rule will no longer be implemented as we have chosen to put the rule to rest." she said as she continued to face the crowd. "As a result of us laying the rule to rest, the honor of holding and wielding a sword will no longer be reserved for the elite members of the first class nor shall it be reserved for descendants of the knights who fought in the First War. Instead, we've chosen to extend this honor to all of you." she added on and as soon as she said that, her words began to generate commotion among the crowd.

"Yes! As my beautiful wife said, starting tonight, you will all have the right to wield a sword and have a chance to become our kingdom's newest hero of the realm." his father proudly began as he saw his father step in for his mother. "But it's only possible if you want and if you earn it just as this young woman has done here tonight and I couldn't be happier to call her my friend." he promptly chimed in, now stepping in for his father as he faced the crowd and noticed how their commotion now descended into silence.

Whether or not, the crowd's silence was good though, that it remained to be seen...

"Your sword."

As he glanced at his mother perform the same process she had done for the previous ten cadets who were now known as the kingdom's heroes of the realm, he saw Aliya begin her induction as she pulled her sword out of its scabbard.

As she did, he glanced at her sword just as he had done when it came to the others. Her sword looked the same as the others as her iridium sword bared the marking of his royal family's seal and displayed the five elements.

From there, the young prince observed as his friend handed her sword to his father hilt-first and watched as his father bestowed the sword to his mother. Once his mother saw his friend's sword, she retrieved the sword from his father as he witnessed his mother using the sword to lightly tap the young woman on each shoulder.

"From this night forward, I hereby pronounce you Sir Aaliyah Finkelstein, Hero of the Realm." he heard his mother say [just as she had said to the others] but there was more emotion in her tone and as he looked on, he saw a proud gleam in her eyes that hadn't appeared for the others... not that his mother wasn't proud of them because she was.

But their knighting was just something that was expected of them in the way that had not been applied to the last cadet, who many thought wouldn't even make it here as many believed she was overstepping her boundaries as a third-class commoner and thus shouldn't be up there on the stage alongside the ten who got knighted.

Plus unlike the others who he saw get knighted, his mother had formed a special bond with his friend just as he had done when he first met her. So when he saw his father step forward with a proud gleam in his eyes, it came as no surprise as his father also formed a special bond with her just as he and his mother did.

"Now rise, Sir Knight!" his father added and as he saw his friend stand up before the crowd, he [along with his parents] were dismayed by the silence that plagued the Heartdome as he knew the people were capable of applauding as he had been listening to their cheers when it pertain to the others who came before her.

He knew the people were inspecting her as they analyzed the young woman to determine if she was worth their praises since she was different and Fairytopia wasn't really well-versed when it came to dealing with those who were different from them as he thought about the anti-mutant laws that passed.

But in spite of the perception his people had of others who weren't like them, Fairytopia was still known [and often referred to] as the kingdom of peace; a title that has remained in tact since the goddess of peace and harmony first blessed the kingdom with such a title, a thousand years ago as a gift.

Since then, the concept of peace [and the word itself] has become synchronous with Fairytopia and closely associated with Avalon, though in truth, he didn't know how they managed to hold onto the title for as long as they had when he thought his home was the last place to find it. Still, he was hopeful that with the girl in the ranks now, the two of them could work together to make their home a real kingdom of peace and make real changes to better improve their kingdom like fixing their hierarchial system and dismantling the wall that stood as a barrier in the Enchanted Forest.

However, they both knew none of those things were going to happen until they got the people used to seeing small changes such as the one implemented tonight with Aliya's induction. But even that had made him nervous as Marcus wasn't sure how the people were going to react to the girl and their silence wasn't exactly helping.

Did they accept her as being right for this kingdom? Did they renounce her as not being right for this kingdom? He wouldn't know until the people made their voices heard, but until then, all he could do was hope for the best and wait it out.

Please let these people accept her. Please let these people accept her. Please—

"GO ALIYA! WOO! THAT'S OUR GIRL!"

Recognizing the source of the cheers as their friends, he glanced at the crowd, where he spotted Rhys, Nancy, Iris, Chepi, Crystallia and Ember cheering Aliya on as he smiled at the sight until he noticed Issac wasn't with them, making him rather puzzled as he expected the girl's father to be with them and cheering his daughter on.

After all, he had heard [and seen] Issac numerous times as he expressed his excitement towards his daughter's knighting induction, so he figured the girl's father would be in the stands with his daughter's friends as he was close to them. Plus, he knew Issac genuinely cared about Aliya and he didn't need to be a emotion reader to know that as he saw the girl's father made his affection to his daughter known.

Whether it was through the townsfolk gossiping about how devoted Issac was to his daughter or how fondly he heard Issac speak of her whenever they talked, he knew the love was genuine and the same could be said for Aliya in terms of how much she loved her father.

So needless to say, Issac's absence threw him in for a loop but when he saw the guards stationed throughout the entire Heartdome for the first time [despite the guards being positioned there all night], the young prince felt more confused since he hadn't recalled his parents ever authorizing the use of guards.

In fact, now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't recalled his parents authorizing the use of any guard as his parents insisted that this year's knighting induction would go smoothly just as it had been for prior years.

With his curiosity piqued, he quietly set off to approach the Director and upon finding him, the young prince politely cleared his throat and began to address him. "Um, Shiron, what's with the added security?" he quietly asked as he gestured to the guards in the background.

"Oh, that." Shiron began before he cleared his throat. "Ah, well your parents gave me permission to add some guards in the arena since we had a thief break into the Vault of Scrolls and steal the Shadow Prince prophecy, so these guards are acting as lookout in the event our thief decides to show his face here." Shiron added as Marcus raised his eyebrow.

"Somehow, I doubt my parents gave you permission, but what makes you think he'll show his face here?"

"Easy. His daughter is getting knighted, so he has no choice but to show his face here and when he does, we'll be ready to capture him."

Issac? Seriously? Ugh, this guy just loves pinning the blame on the girl's father whenever he sees a opportunity to do it. It makes me wonder why my parents ever settled on him when there were better options.

"Shiron, while I understand why you think Issac stole the Shadow Prince prophecy as he was a thief in the past, he put that life behind him and quite frankly, he doesn't possess that kind of power to break into the Vault of Scrolls because well, he's just your atypical healer." he said as he saw Shiron scoff.

"That's what he wants you to think, Marcus, but in reality, he's not." Shiron answered as he saw him begin scanning the crowd. "In fact, he's the furthest thing from being your atypical healer." he heard Shiron add on as he blinked at his words.

He was about to ask Shiron what he had meant, but before he could, he was caught off-guard by a few Avalonians as they began to clap. However not long after that, a couple more Avalonians began to join in as they too began to clap. As such, he went to look to see for himself, but right as he did, he saw the whole arena burst out into applause as the whole Heartdome started to cheer for Aliya.

"Aww, she's getting more fanfare than Marcellus and the Senior Fae combined! If this keeps up, she'll outshine both of them. Don't you think so, Shir..." Marcus excitedly started, but when he turned to face Shiron, he trailed off as he saw the Senior Fae standing in Shiron's place.

"You are not Shiron..." Marcellus meekly mumbled as he awkwardly but tensely chuckled at the mistake he made. "But about what I had um said, I... I didn't really mean it." he meekly added as he cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not like she would ever be able to outshine you anyways..." he further added, mostly in an effort to save himself from his mistake as he felt his palms sweating while he awaited the Senior Fae's response.

He thought the Senior Fae would feel insulted, but to his surprise [and relief], this had not been the case as the Senior Fae simply broke out in a light, brisk laugh. "Relax, kid. You don't have to apologize for what you said." the Senior Fae assuringly told him, flashing him a easygoing smile as Marcus quietly sighed.

"Besides, the people's praises towards her won't last." the Senior Fae casually added, catching his attention as the young prince glanced at him. "I mean, sure. The induction is about to come to an end, but even then, the people will still—" Marcus casually chimed in, thinking he had an idea of what the Senior Fae had meant by his response when his next response caught him off-guard.

"Hate her," the Senior Fae swiftly interjected, interrupting him as Marcus blinked. "This knighting induction won't change anything for her. She might be a knight, but that's not going to last long either. The people are going to see that your parents made a mistake in knighting her and when they do, they'll all come to see that our traditions need to stay enforced for not only their safety, but ours as well." the Senior Fae continued as the young prince blinked in confusion.

"You say that like Aliya is dangerous."

"It's because she is dangerous and you should be worried, considering that she's directly in your parents' path." the Senior Fae advised him as the young prince felt his anger rising when it came to the way he was talking about his friend, but then he reminded himself that he needed to hold his temper, so he did.

"I have nothing to worry about because she's not dangerous. Besides, I trust her. The induction is almost done and even then, she wouldn't do anything to my parents. Not after all my parents have done for her." he continued as the Senior Fae skeptically raised his eyebrow.

"You think so?"

"Oh, I don't think so. I know so."

"Then you don't know her at all." the Senior Fae continued as Marcus scoffed at his words. "Oh, please. Of course, I know her. She's my friend." the young prince confidently countered, but the Senior Fae simply looked at him with pity as he sighed.

"You'll come to see that she's anything but your friend." the Senior Fae solemnly continued as the young prince stubbornly clung onto his belief that he and Aliya were friends.

"That's not true. She's the first person outside of Rhys and Nancy to befriend me because she saw me for who I am and that hasn't changed." Marcus pointed out as the Senior Fae simply sighed once more.

"True, but that was back then, kid and you two were both younger too. Still even then, Aliya isn't exactly someone you should place your trust in." the Senior Fae advised him once more as the young prince initially stared at him in disbelief until he heard a voice tell him to reconsider the way he perceived his friend.

"How so?" Marcus slowly asked as doubt began to creep in the back of his mind. "She has quite a habit at keeping people at arms length, just like that father of hers." the Senior Fae answered as he turned to face him. "So take it from me, kid. You're better off without her. If you keep her around, she's only going to hurt you in the end just as she has done to so many others." he had heard the Senior Fae continue as Marcus felt his heart sink at his words.

"Aliya wouldn't hurt me." Marcus stubbornly reiterated, but hesitation lingered in his tone and as he spoke, he started doubting what he said. "Are you certain of that, kid?" the Senior Fae slowly asked as Marcus glanced at him once more. As he did, his head began to ache, but he dismissed the sudden pain he felt as he didn't think nothing of it.

"I... I..."

"Congratulations, Sir Finkelstein."

At the sound of his mother's voice, Marcus turned his focus away from the Senior Fae and as he did, the initial ache he felt faded away as though nothing had happened in the first place. It was admittedly a bit strange how quickly his headache went away, but he simply dismissed it as his focus went back to his mother, who addressed Aliya with a warm, earnest smile.

"Let a new era of heroes begin with you."

As his mother handed Aliya back her sword, he saw the girl start to retrieve her sword just as he had seen the others do. But when she touched the sword, a light whitish-grey thinly layered veil appeared as it began to cover her sword. The veil appeared for a moment or two before the veil turned into a light mist and disappeared within seconds.

As soon as the mist was gone, everyone [including him] gasped as her sword took on a different form.

Rather than seeing the same iridium sword he had saw earlier with his family's seal and the five elements, he saw her sword's new form lacked these distinctive things. Perhaps even more eerie though was the fact he saw a sliver, green-eyed snake rising from the end of the tip, a distinctive feature that wasn't present on the rest of the iridum swords for a good reason.

It quickly dawned on him that the sword he saw earlier was an illusion and the sword he was seeing now was its true form, but none of it had made sense to him as he knew she wasn't an illusionist because she lacked magic. Yet if this was truly the case, then how was she able to conceal the sword's true form for as long as she did?

"You think so?"

"Oh, I don't think so. I know so."

"Then you don't know her at all."

"Oh, please. Of course, I know her. She's my friend."

As his conversation with the Senior Fae echoed in the back of his mind, Marcus couldn't help but think if he was right in the sense that maybe... he hadn't known her after all and that made him nervous because for the first time, he wasn't sure if he trusted her.

So when he saw her sword's hilt unexpectedly open and reveal a dark lime-green thunderous energy bolt, his initial feelings of distrust only heightened as his parents stared at Aliya with a look he couldn't quite decipher.

Either way as he saw his parents stand beside each other and look at Aliya, his heart began to pound rapidly in his chest as his palms began to sweat once more. He didn't know why he was feeling this way now until he saw the thunderous energy bolt smash into his parents' chest. As soon as that happened, it seemed like time had slowed as some inaudible scream came out of him.

Almost immediately, he pushed past the Senior Fae and rushed to his parents, but he was held back by Shiron and as he looked on, he saw his parents immediately knocked off their feet and crashing onto the ground within seconds of the bolt hitting them.

"NO!"

Once he saw his parents fall, Marcus desperately tried to fight off Shiron's restraining grasp as he wanted to see if there was a chance he could save them, but when he saw their crowns clanging on the ground and briefly spinning around in a constant motion, he wasn't sure what to think of that until he saw the crowns falling onto the ground with a soft thud.

In spite of that, the young prince had still clung onto hope of his parents being alive, but when he saw his father's right hand weakly release his staff and watched as his father's staff landed on the ground with a soft thud [just as he saw his parents' crowns done], his heart officially sunk as he felt Shiron release his grasp on him.

Almost immediately upon Shiron releasing him, the young prince mutely fell to his knees and angrily clenched his fists as silent tears began to flow from his face amidst the muffled cries of the people.

Marcus desperately tried to convince himself that this was just a horrible nightmare he would wake up from, but as he stared at his parents' bodies, the devastating truth set in and he knew he had no choice but to come to terms with what happened.

Aliya killed my parents.

As the realization set in and the thought became hauntingly clear, a surge of anger had claimed a hold of him as he mutely stood up and stared at his parents' killer, who immediately dropped her sword the moment her eyes met with his.

"Marcus, I know what you saw because we all saw the same thing, but please. You have to—" she slowly but calmly began when she was cut off by the crowd, whose voices he could hear again as his mind was no longer clouded.

"She's a monster!"

"She's a murderer!"

"She's a traitor!"

"She's a villain!"

As the crowd's voices rang in his head, Marcus found his eyes drifting towards Shiron's sword as he menacingly looked back at the murderer in front of him with a crazed but heartbroken sort of gleam in his eyes.

"You killed my parents." he slowly but calmly began as he drew out each word to make it clear to her that his parents were dead because of her.

He knew he should have the knights arrest her then, but after he spoke those words, he couldn't help but lean into his desire to get revenge as he couldn't stand to see the sight of her. Not when everyone saw what she did.

"So, it only seems fitting then that I kill you in return." he coldly finished as he heard the crowd's cheers in the background approving of his decision while he saw the latter's mind racing as she raced to delay the inevitable.

But his mind was set and as he seized Shiron's sword, he began charging towards her with two main objectives: one, he needed to disarm the weapon and two, he needed to eliminate her for good because she was obviously too dangerous to be kept alive.

But right as he began to charge at her, the latter dodged his attack and swiftly moved out of the way as Shiron's blade clashed with the ground. "Marcus, I don't want to fight you!" she insisted, but he couldn't help himself from laughing at her words.

"If you didn't want to fight me, then you shouldn't have killed my parents!" he angrily countered as he ceased his laughs and began charging at her once more. But this time as he went to strike, she blocked his attack as her sword clashed with Shiron's. "I didn't kill your parents!" she yelled as his eyes darkened at her words.

"LIAR!"

In that moment, something snapped in Marcus as his amulet began to switch from its default blue state to a light shade of grey. As it did, the glow from his amulet began to show in his eyes, which started to reflect the new change in his amulet as his eyes changed from its natural eye color to a stormy shade of grey.

With his amulet glowing, he felt his strength become enhanced and thought this power enhancer was just what he needed to have a edge over Aliya as his strikes became more aggressive and swift.

Aliya, to her defense, tried to keep up as she attempted to match his enhanced strength, but her lack of magic truly put her at a disadvantage as he began to become quicker with every strike he attempted to land on her. Despite the obvious advantage he now had, she still kept fighting him, but it was apparent that her efforts were becoming futile as his powers — and his strength — had only grew from there.

So as his amulet glowed and Shiron's sword touched Aliya's blade, the sword began to shatter at impact as she was only left with the hilt. As she stared at the shattered fragments of her sword in addition to all that had remain of her sword, Marcus saw his opportunity to strike while she was still distracted.

So as he charged at the young woman once more, he saw her snap out of her distracted state as she attempted to block his attack once more, but her reaction time was late as he struck Aliya on the right side of her face. From there, Marcus proceeded to land a successful strike against her as he landed a blow against her left ribcage, causing her to fall not too long after he struck her once more.

As Marcus saw Aliya promptly fall onto the ground, a slash from when he struck her with Shiron's sword began to form on the right side of her face. As he stared at her newly made slash, he saw it started to slightly bleed as the slash revealed a few droplets of her metallic golden blood. Seeing her bleed would've made him smile, but the sight of her still being alive only dampen what little excitement he had gotten from the sight.

Plus, while he might have disarmed the weapon and completed his first objective, but he knew the job wasn't truly done until he completed his second and last objective: eliminate the threat, who was just a few moments away from dying at his hand now.

"Marcus—" he had heard her weakly begin, but when he held Shiron's sword in front of her and directed the blade at her chest, he saw her eyes widened as she promptly cut herself off, having now seen that her words would have no effect on him.

"You lied to me about everything. You lied to these people and you betrayed the trust of not only your people, but that of your kingdom as well and me." he sharply began as he stared at her with anger and disgust. "When you were first brought into the Institute as a cadet, you swore an oath to always stand by your kingdom and protect the lives of not only the people, but of the royals as well. But tonight you broke that oath when you engaged in regicide and murdered my parents in front of each of the four kingdoms here in Avalon." he further continued as he stared at the oath-breaker in front of him.

"So tonight, I charge you with treason against the throne and two counts of first-degree murder as I find you guilty for the deaths of Queen Morgana and King James of Fairytopia, an act that is punishable by death and seeing as you also engaged in regicide, it's only fitting that you are to be executed on-site for everyone here to see. That way, should anyone decide to follow in your footsteps, they will know what the consequences are."

"Marcus—"

"Oh and seeing how you betrayed the trust of my parents, my people, my kingdom and me when you committed regicide, it's only fitting that you should also be given the shiszi's mark just as it was given to your aunt and the Fallen Heroes when they betrayed this kingdom."

He knew their friends were most likely disapproving his decision and thought she was innocent [or at the very least deserve to have a chance to prove her innocence], but they hadn't lost their parents at her hand, so he tried not to give too much thought as he did his best to ignore Rhys, Nancy, Iris, Chepi, Crystallia and Ember's protests just as he had been doing since the moment he first heard their protests when he said Aliya killed his parents.

So as he took a deep breath, his eyes stopped glowing a stormy shade of grey [along with his amulet] as his eyes returned to their natural coffee-brown color. However, the eye color didn't last long as Marcus began to touch his amulet. As he did, he began to become in sync with his amulet as his eyes began to change to a light yellowish hue and glow on-site.

When his [now] yellowish eyes began to brightly glow, he held out his right hand in front of Aliya as a small light yellowish mythical rune with ancient Avalonian symbols began to form from his right hand. Once he made the rune, he swiftly cast the rune to Aliya, who didn't have any time to react as the rune transparently smashed into her body.

As soon as the rune transparently smashed into her body, her eyes became enhanced as a light yellowish glow appeared in her eyes and formed over her as she was briefly lifted up into the air and stripped of her armor as she was now left in the clothes she had worn prior to the induction taking place, which had consisted of a light-grey short-sleeve sweatshirt, black casual pants and black short-heeled boots.

From there, the light yellowish glow stopped forming over her body but it didn't stay like that for long as her right arm began to glow. Once her right arm started to glow, he knew she had begun to feel a excruciating amount of pain as she began to scream while a light yellowish outline of a snake wrapping around a sword started to appear in the center of her right arm's wrist for all to see.

Once that was done, his eyes and his amulet began to switch over to their default form while Aliya promptly fell back on the ground as she was no longer lifted into the air.

"The shiszi's mark is done." he announced as he saw Aliya glaring at him in annoyance, though her look did little to faze him as he knew the pain caused from the shiszi's mark should be the least of her worries, especially as she had a execution hanging over her head.

"Geez, thanks. I always wanted to know what having my own shiszi's mark would feel like." she bitterly but quite sarcastically said before she winced from the mark as it was still burning into her skin.

"Now, you're just like that treacherous aunt of yours." the Senior Fae said as Marcus glanced over to see the Senior Fae standing beside him. In that moment, the young prince saw Aliya's eyes darkened as she stood up and began to charge at the Senior Fae. When he saw Aliya, he quickly raised his right hand and as he did, she promptly froze in place as her mark began to glow, creating another burning sensation for her as she screamed from the pain before Aliya glared at him in annoyance.

"Don't look at me like that, alright? You brought this upon yourself, Fae-Maid, and now it is time for you to face the consequences of your actions." Marcus coldly told her as he felt no sympathy towards the traitor in front of him.

So as he saw Aliya trying in vain to overpower the shiszi mark and unfreeze herself, he knew her efforts were furtile as she possessed no powers of her own and even if she did have powers, the traitor's mark he had just casted on her would've simply stripped her of her powers, leaving her powerless no matter what she did to fight against the mark.

All the while, he heard the crowd start to cheer as they sensed what would come next for Aliya.

"Down with the traitor!"

"Make the monster pay for her crimes!"

Somewhere during all of this, he noticed the realization of her impending fate must have dawn on the traitor as she panickingly attempted to fight back against the mark, but he knew she was only making things worse for herself as each attempt only left her with a burning sensation that she would be forced to endure.

"Ugh! I hate this stupid mark!" he heard her frustratingly complain as the shiszi's mark began to glow, creating another burning sensation for the shiszi as he saw the latter trying not to scream again, as if she thought that seeing her scream brought him satisfaction.

"Then perhaps you should just admit what you did and I'll only execute you without the shiszi's mark being embodied on your wrist." he mused as she rolled her eyes. "What's the point in that when you already found me guilty?" she countered as he scoffed. "I simply want you to say the words and confess what we all saw you do." he answered as she sighed.

"I already told you, Marcus. I didn't kill your parents." she tiredly insisted, but her persistence in maintaining her innocence only angered him more as the shiszi's mark responded to his anger by glowing once more, causing yet another burning sensation as she struggled not to scream at the amount of excruciating pain she felt again.

He knew he should have had the knights arrest her and prepare her execution now, but when he heard her response, he couldn't help but lean into his desire to get revenge again as he couldn't stand to hear her lies any longer. Not when everyone knew what she did.

"Fine. If you will not confess, shiszi, then I'll make you wish you had." Marcus firmly said as his coffee-brown eyes began to switch to a stormy shade of grey, which was also reflected in the young prince's amulet.

Once his eyes and his amulet began to glow, he began drawing air out from her lungs as the air started to swirl around her. From there, he transformed the swirling air into an air bubble that began to encase her face, causing the latter to silently gasp as he unfroze her and continued to intensify the pressure of the air bubble.

So as Aliya fell on her knees, he smirked as he observed the shiszi weakly maintain her hold on her throat as her silent gasps and screams persisted amidst her suffocation. Suffocation might not have been how he initially envisioned executing the traitor, but it seemed to be working, so Marcus was content with the results he was seeing so far.

"Your time is up, shiszi, and I'm going to make certain it stays that way... for good." the young prince insisted, but before he could continue to make good on his word and avenge his parents, a sudden gust of wind brushed past him.

"Your Highness! Look out!"

Not long after that, he was suddenly pushed out of the way by Marcellus, who took the prince's place as he suddenly plummeted onto the ground by someone's powerful punch as it created a massive crack on the ground and sent him tumbling {somewhat} midway into the air.

"Marcellus!"

After the mysterious figure ensured Marcellus had no chance of coming back up, he slowly but gradually made eye contact with him as the young prince noticed a pair of dark lime-green eyes looking back at his {now} coffee-brown eyes, sending shivers down his spine as he felt a wave of fear wash over him.

"Hey, freak! Over here!"

As Marcus saw the remaining nine knights attempt to tackle the mysterious figure and stop him from causing further harm, the young prince saw the mysterious figure take his focus away from him to focus on the knights instead.

"Yeah! That's right! Focus on us instead, freak!" the knights yelled, providing the young prince with a distraction as he started to activate his wings. As he did, he slowly brought himself back onto the ground.

Once Marcus landed safely on the ground, he heard the shiszi start to violently cough as the air he initially extracted from her lungs became restored from the moment his hold over Aliya was interrupted... much to his annoyance as he had nearly succeeded in executing her.

But she became the least of his worries when he heard a series of screams, causing him to turn around as he witnessed the newly established knights become overpowered by the mysterious figure, who had sent all of them [plus the Senior Fae, who got caught up in the mess of things] crashing against the walls of the Heartdome and toward the direction of the Jumbotron. There, he saw the nine knights and the Senior Fae as they fell onto the ground.

At the sight of the ten knights [as Marcellus had also been overpowered by the mysterious, if not, strange figure] and the Senior Fae being out of commission, the young prince felt a sense of fear and panic... especially when the mysterious figure started to zoom past his victims and make his way to him.

As the mysterious figure grew closer, he noticed a black, almost shadowy glow start to appear around the figure. Then looking closer, he saw that their skin was a grey, metallic color as the young prince saw the stranger's dark lime-green eyes held a distinctive gleam of anger. From there, he saw the figure wearing a dark grey crown decorated with bones as they worn a black and blue tunic with a light blue {almost teal like} cloak-like robe and a teal-colored belt that he noticed was... also decorated with bones. Notably though, the figure possessed no wings of his own.

Man, this person is really obsessed with bones. I wonder what's the... Wait. Wasn't... the Lady Bone Enchantress... a... also obsessed with bones? 

So once the mysterious figure had gotten face-to-face with him and began to lunge at him, he braced himself for the hit. But when he only felt a gust of wind blowing past him, he looked up and saw the shiszi standing in front of him as his eyes widened.

"Aliya! What are you doing! Get back here! You're going to get yourself hurt or worse, killed!" he quietly cried out, now genuinely concerned for her as she simply chuckled. "No, I'm not." Aliya confidently answered as his eyes grew wider at her response.

"How can you possibly be so sure of that?!"

"Because he won't hurt me." she calmly and swiftly answered as Marcus blinked, stunned by her response. "And besides, I trust him." she added as he blinked once more. So when the figure had begun lunging at her, he saw Aliya standing completely still as his jaw dropped.

She's crazy. She is actually crazy.

He thought to push Aliya out of the way to make up for her selfless act, but when the lunge got near to her, Marcus saw the figure tense up in the midst of his lunge before he lowered his arm and looked at her.

Wait, he stopped! That's great... but why did he stop upon seeing her?

"Avalonians, as you all know, tonight marks the one-thousandth year of the First War that led to the defeat of the Lady Bone Enchantress and her monster, the Great Beast at the expense of our first seeker who tragically lost his life to the vile beast. But in his place, his son prevailed and he was able to finish what his father started by imprisoning the wicked shadow demon occulust in her enchanted box-and-chest-like cryptic tomb."

Recognizing the voice, Marcus [along with the shiszi and the figure] looked over to see Shiron as the Director stood near the Jumbotron.

"However before Magnus Braveheart lost his life at the hands of the Great Beast, he succeeded in eliminating the Celestials by slaughtering the Lady Bone Enchantress' people to ensure none of them could continue what she started." Shiron further added before he sighed.

"But even in the seeker's own grand scheme of things, the wicked shadow demon occulust still had one more trick up her sleeve when she proclaimed her shon would return to Fairytopia in a thousand years." Shiron briefly continued, momentarily pausing before he began to speak once more.

"Her shon is none other than Brisha Hakimi, the infamous Shadow Prince of whom you were all led to believe was nothing more than a mere myth. A legend of old times. A simple folk lore that was meant to inspire fear of such monsters coming out of the shadows and install hope that our heroes of the realm would always be there to protect us. But tonight, the Shadow Prince is not a myth nor legend nor folk lore because he is real and he stands before all of us here tonight near His Royal Highness and the shiszi."

As the crowd began to gasp and Marcus' eyes widen at the fact that the Shadow Prince had just nearly ended his life, he found himself suddenly grateful that the Shadow Prince stopped when he recognized the shiszi. Though why the Shadow Prince stopped when it came to her and why the shiszi seemed to have so much faith in him [despite neither one knowing the other] left him rather baffled...

"True to her word, her shon returned a thousand years later, but in truth he has always been among us because he's been masquerading as one of us."

As the prince's eyes widened, the crowd in attendance broke out in hushed whispers again as they tried to figure out what the Director was talking about when Shiron continued to address everyone once more.

"Yes. I know it's shocking for all of you to hear, but the reason why none of us were able to catch onto him sooner was because our prince chose the most least-noticeable Avalonian form any of us would ever expect to be the Shadow Prince in disguise... a healing faerie." Shiron continued, now earning more gasps as he and the shiszi listened to panicked shocks and cries of the crowd.

"Yes and in addition to masquerading as one of us, he also changed his name to further conceal his true identity. But, it is a name you all know well because his daughter is the one responsible for the great tragedy that led to the Shadow Prince's awakening." Shiron further added as the gasps persisted once more while Marcus' eyes drifted to the shiszi.

"For you see, the false Avalonian who has managed to cleverly deceive us is none other than the shiszi's very own father..." Shiron promptly began to conclude before trailing off as shadows had poofed around the figure and when the shadows vanished, they found the figure's form gone as he stood before everyone with warm-beige skin, jet-black hair and light honeysuckle eyes as he worn his light grey sweatshirt, black casual pants, plain black shoes and possessed light yellow wings.

Wait, isn't that—

"... Issac Finkelstein himself." Shiron finished before he sighed. "Now because of the shiszi's own actions, we have a monster in our kingdom and that monster is none other the so-called healer who managed to deceive us into believing that he was truly one of us when he's nothing more than a false Avalonian who never had a real place here in the first place." Shiron further added and as soon as he had finished, the people began to gasp once more.

Initially, Marcus found it hard to believe that Issac was truly their monster because when he had thought of the shiszi's father, the young prince has always seen him as caring and always willing to help whenever he could as that was just the kind of person he was... But when he recalled the way Issac attacked the knights and the Senior Fae, his perception of Issac changed.

Because as soon as he recalled the moment, he quickly remembered how there was no remorse in his eyes. Issac simply struck them down as if they all meant nothing. Marcus was very certain the same thing would have likely happened to him had the shiszi not intervened in time and got her father to stop.

Once the thought came to mind, he didn't find it hard to take Shiron at his word because as he looked at the shiszi's father, he knew the false healer truly was their monster and apparently, so too did everyone in the stands [well, minus Rhys, Chepi, Nancy, Ember, Crystallia and Iris] as he heard the people make their opinions of the false healer known.

"He's vile!"

"He's dangerous!"

"He's a villain!"

"He's a monster!"

As he heard the crowd's voices ringing in his ears, Marcus silently looked at the shiszi and knew as it was her fault that the Shadow Prince was here. After all, the shiszi's decision to kill his own parents was the great tragedy the prince needed to return.

But then again, as much as Marcus wanted to keep pinning the blame on the girl, he knew he was also to blame as it was his decision that led to her being able to execute the great tragedy and bring about her father's return.

I should've never convinced my parents to let Aliya hold the sword, because now, my parents are dead and there's a monster in our kingdom. A monster who needs to be contained before he can do any more harm.

So as the crowd's voices continued to ring in his ears and the realization set in, Marcus knew he had to do what needed to be done before more people got hurt, which was exactly what he had intended to do as he spoke his next words.

"Seize him."

As soon as he gave the order, he saw the nearby guards that were stationed in the stadium rush in to capture the Shadow Prince, who was willing to comply as Issac didn't put up a fight to stop them. It seemed as though Marcus was going to have the monster apprehended and stopped for good, but right as the guards were about to grab Issac, the shiszi intervened by jumping in front of her father. Her action forced the others to fall back since he hadn't actually authorized any of the guards to seize her... Yet.

"Wait!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Don't touch him!"

When Issac saw his daughter jump in front of him, his eyes widened as he mutely stared at Aliya in awe before the feeling shift toward confusion and disbelief before realization had finally hit as it dawned on him what she was doing.

She's protecting me.

"Miss Finklestein, I know you believe you have a obligation to him as his daughter to stand by his side, but I urge you to reconsider because your father is not the man you think he is. He's a liar, a fraud, a trickster and a deceiver."

Glancing over his daughter's shoulder, he and Aliya saw the Senior Fae emerging with Marcus by his side as Shiron mutely stood beside him with the ten knights standing behind them as they all stared at him with disgusted, annoyed looks. Reluctantly, he turned his focus back to Aliya, who still stood in front of him as the Senior Fae ushered Marcus and Shiron to stand back.

When the prince and the Director moved back, Issac saw the Senior Fae move closer to Aliya as he crossed his arms and stared at his daughter once again. As such, the two now stood in front of the other as the Senior Fae continued to address her once more.

"Your father has a way of getting what he wants out of people and discards them when their use is no longer needed. He does this by manipulating others to his cause, just as he is manipulating you right now." the Senior Fae calmly continued as Issac's eyes darkened at the accusation. "You feel the need to defend him, but in actuality, he's controlling you to do so and I wouldn't even be a bit surprised if he manipulated you into killing the young prince's parents." the Senior Fae said as Issac felt his anger heightened at the founder's words.

"The only manipulating I see is from you! You are the deceiver here, not me!" Issac angrily cried, on the verge of charging towards the Senior Fae when Aliya firmly placed her arm down, forcing him to stay near her as he huffed, knowing she wouldn't let him go.

"I've always been honest with the people, Issac. Or is it Brisha? It's hard to tell which name you go by these days. I mean between the healer act and the Shadow Prince legacy you have going on, I just find it rather strange how you call me the deceiver when you lied to not just everyone here, but to your daughter as well." the Senior Fae began as Issac heard him chuckle before the Senior Fae turned to face his daughter once more.

"I suspect you won't comply if I were to give you a direct order, so I've decided to offer you this proposition instead: hand your father over and I'll personally pardon you from the murders of Queen Morgana and King James." the Senior Fae began as everyone gasped at his response as he and Aliya blinked.

"In pardoning you, I'll ensure that your knighthood is restored once more, get your shiszi's mark removed and I'll even elevate your status by making you a first-class Avalonian. You'll become a hero and you'll finally get the acceptance you deserve." the Senior Fae further added as he saw the founder smile.

He would really do all of that in exchange for her handing me over?

"And should I refuse to hand him over, what will happen to me then?" she curiously asked as he saw the Senior Fae's smile fall.

"Ah, I had a feeling you would ask, so aside from being stuck with the shiszi mark and being seen as a traitor to your people, you will also be viewed as a murderer, a villain and a monster just like him." the Senior Fae briefly began, now gesturing to him before he cleared his throat and looked at Aliya.

"Furthermore, given what happened here tonight, you will be perceived as being too dangerous to be kept alive, so should you manage to escape here, you will have everyone searching for you because you will have a bounty hanging on your head and be wanted dead, given the nature of your crimes." the Senior Fae added as Issac's eyes widened at how casual and calm the founder spoke when regarding his daughter's fate.

"But should you manage to somehow live and avoid everyone trying to collect your bounty, the Crownsguard will search for you and once the heroes of the realm have found you, you will be brought back here before all of us in chains and be executed in front of all of Avalon, given the severity of the crimes you committed." the Senior Fae finished as Issac blinked while the crowd began to mumble among themselves as Aliya crossed her arms.

"You couldn't have offered me this proposition from the goodness of your heart, so what's your reason for offering it?" she swiftly followed up as the Senior Fae chuckled.

"You're right. I offered you this proposition as a gauge to determine where your loyalties lie." the Senior Fae answered as he saw his daughter scoffing at the founder's response.

"My loyalties?"

"This might seem strange to you, considering how dedicated you were during your time in the Institute, but after what happened tonight, I needed to test your loyalty to see if you were still devoted to the kingdom and faithful to the oath you swore when you became a cadet." he had heard the Senior Fae answered as he saw Aliya briefly stared at the founder and at him before looking back at the founder. When she did, he heard her scoff in disbelief once the realization dawned on her.

"You can't be serious."

"Miss Finklestein, I am aware that you are close to him as his daughter, but your genuine love for him has blinded you from seeing your father as the demise of our people and the downfall of our home. Furthermore, he's destructive and dangerous, but just because he chose to stray from the light and pursue the path of darkness, you don't have to feel pressured to follow in his footsteps and walk the path that he is on." the Senior Fae calmly countered as Issac's eyes darken from his words while Aliya looked at the founder in disbelief.

"After what happened here tonight and various things you've done in the past, some will claim that you have his destructive and dangerous nature and say you're heading down his path. Yet when I look at you, I don't see that. No, when I look at you, Aliya, I see your mother and I know Amaranth would've wanted you to honor her memory by delivering justice to our kingdom just as she had done time and time again." the Senior Fae added as Issac growled from the founder using Aliya's mother as emotional leverage.

And he says I'm manipulative. Ha!

"So, although the decision is yours, I'm hoping that you end up doing the right thing and deliver justice for these people just as your mother had done. Be the hero that this kingdom needs and don't let all that you've worked for go to waste for a father who is just going to put you through more heartache, more pain and neglect your loyalty to him; loyalty that you and I know he is not worthy of having." the Senior Fae continued as Issac angrily clench his fist, hating how [despite most of what he said being lies] the founder being right about him.

He was a liar, a fraud and a trickster and he hated that, for the life of him, he just couldn't stop himself from using people nor could he stop himself from bringing about so much trouble and despair to the people he had loved as he always ended up hurting those who got too close to him.

It always happened, so why would his daughter be any different when he knew he was going to hurt her... just like everyone else.

He knew he couldn't be trusted to be around people yet his daughter stuck around and Issac couldn't [for the life of him] figure out why she did when he knew he wasn't worthy of having her loyalty, especially since all he seemed to do nowadays was keep making things worse for them.

But he was tired of having his cursed luck touch everyone around him and if he could break his streak with his daughter, that's what he was going to do as Issac knew he had a chance to help Aliya reclaim everything she lost... If he could convince her to turn him in.

"I've told you all that you needed to know and I've done the best I can to guide you, but now, the time has come for you to make a decision that will forever define you." he heard the Senior Fae state as Issac snapped out of his thoughts and mutely looked on.

"So, now I must ask: where do your loyalties lie, Miss Finklestein? Will you choose to stand with your home and honor your oath by handing him over? Or, will you risk losing the proposition I so graciously made you and turn your back on your home by refusing to hand him over, siding with the enemy in doing so?" the Senior Fae followed up as he realized everyone was waiting on his daughter's response.

As Issac saw their eyes staring at his daughter, it was then that he chose to pull her to the side and as she turned to face him, he gently grabbed onto her shoulders as she puzzledly looked.

"Baba, what are you—"

"Hey, I know that this is a big moment for you, but I don't want you to think about me or anyone else when making your decision. Okay? I want you to choose based on what you feel is best and no matter what you decide, I want you to know that I am always going to love you." he sincerely told her as he saw her eyes softening at his words.

"Baba..."

"So, if you decide that accepting Ambrose's proposition is what you want to do and you feel it is the best course of action, then I'll—"

"Ahem."

As the Senior Fae cleared his throat, Issac didn't bother to hide his annoyed sigh as he and Aliya turned to face him.

"Yes?" Issac asked, making his disgust and annoyance known as the Senior Fae quietly scoffed at him. "As cute as your last-ditch effort to save yourself was—" the Senior Fae promptly started, to which he decided to interrupt him as a means to correct him.

"For your information, Ambrose, it wasn't a last-ditch effort to save myself. I was trying to help you—" Issac firmly snapped when his daughter's chuckle caught him off-guard as he abruptly cut himself off and stared at her.

"Oh, that won't be necessary because I'm not handing you over to him." his daughter promptly stated as his eyes widen from her response while the Senior Fae crossed his arms and stared at her, having heard what she said.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me."

When she turned to face the founder, he saw the Senior Fae's eyes darken for a sliver of a second before the look faded as he cleared his throat.

"You're treading a dangerous line, Miss Finkelstein, but seeing as you are friends with my daughter and given the fact I was close to your mother, I am willing to let you have a chance to reconsider your decision and—"

"Clearly, my words are lost on you, so I'll say it again: I am never handing my father over to you, so feel free to keep calling me a traitor because my loyalty is and will always be to him." she had firmly stated before she gestured to him as he stared at his daughter in shock and disbelief once she made her decision known again, realizing that she was going to give up everything she had ever worked on... for him.

He knew he wasn't worth the trouble, so the fact that she had made her decision fiercely known to Ambrose [and to the extent, everyone else] twice and sided with him without any hesitation whatsoever only continued to confuse him more as he simply couldn't wrap his head around his daughter's stance.

After all, he was a threat that she needed to protect their kingdom from, so the fact that she was willing to go against her oath to side with him had only made him more confused. So, in a effort to get some clarity and understand why she did what she did, he attempted to ask her why she would do such a thing when he knew she could've clearly benefited more by simply listening to Ambrose and handing him over.

"Aliya, w... why..." he found himself asking, but he was stammering over his words as he trailed off and took a deep breath before he forced himself to begin again. "Why would you—" he had began, attempting to get his question out when his daughter spoke once more, causing him to cut himself off.

"Oh and Ambrose, while you are at it, go ahead and keep your false offers because I don't want them." Aliya firmly finished as he saw the Senior Fae momentarily blink at her response before the founder began to chuckle.

"I thought you might've said something above those lines, which is a shame because you would have made a brilliant knight. But alas, you are not quite like your mother like I thought you were and it saddens me to say that you've even disappointed her by betraying your people and siding with the monster here tonight. You've let down not only your mother, but your friends and all of Avalon with your decision here, Miss Finkelstein." the Senior Fae briefly countered as he blinked at the founder's words and silently growled from what he heard.

"I had hoped my words would've inspired you to do the right thing, but I see now you are still as stubborn as your treacherous aunt and hardheaded like your father. You were meant to fight for justice like Amara, but I see I was wrong when I made the comparison between you and her as I now know you're nothing more than a disgrace to your mother's memory." the Senior Fae added as Issac went to lunge at the founder right then and there, but much to his annoyance, Aliya held him back as the Senior Fae looked on and chuckled.

"Ah. I see I struck a nerve, so clearly you must know she's never ever going to amount to your wife's memory just as you know she's never going to amount to being a hero because Aliya is nothing more than a villain and that is all she is ever going to be."

Although he knew that Ambrose was simply getting in his head to get him to snap and felt Aliya holding him back to prevent him from doing anything stupid, his anger had reached its limit as he could no longer contain himself. So, naturally, he broke free of his daughter's grasp and had began to lunge at the founder who had the audacity to talk about his daughter the way that he did.

"Dad—"

"My daughter is not the villain here, you are!" Issac sharply snapped as he heard the people gasp at his response as calling Ambrose the villain was rarely ever heard of. The last one to even refer to him as such a thing was Stormy when she was getting her shiszi mark for leaving for a human but his soulmate was long gone now...

"You and—" he attempted to continue, but when Marcus stepped forward in Ambrose's place, his eyes widened as he abruptly froze just in time for the prince to sharply look at him with his coffee-brown eyes staring back at him.

"I believe you have said quite enough!"

With his lunge awkwardly mid-air and on the verge of striking the prince, he felt Aliya intervene as she quickly pulled him back in time to prevent him from hitting the prince. Though he felt a bit annoyed at the young prince stepping in for Ambrose, he was grateful that his daughter had stop him as the prince wasn't his intended target... at least, not this time.

"When I convinced my parents to let your daughter hold the sword, I didn't realize that in doing so, I was unintentionally creating a crack in our kingdom's foundation. But, that crack has only grown because now, we have a monster in our kingdom and she's to blame for your return." he heard the prince sharply continue as he forced himself to hold his tongue, not wanting to make things worse.

"So, it's time that you and your daughter's wicked reign came to an end before you two end up inflicting more harm onto our kingdom and decide to extent your violence to all of Avalon itself to bring about the downfall of our home." the prince further added as he saw Marcus glaring at him before the prince looked at his daughter with anger and disgust; a far cry from the concern he showed to her moments ago.

"That is why I am going to make up for the mistake I made by having your daughter pay for the crimes she committed against this kingdom with her life while you get to watch her die before we decide your fate." the prince sharply followed up as his eyes widened at the prince's words.

"Marcus—"

"It's Your Highness to you, monster." the prince promptly snapped as Issac quickly held onto his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything stupid that would make the situation worse for them.

"Your Highness, we can talk about this."

"The time for talking has passed."

"Your Highness—"

"These people need justice and I'm going to make sure these people get it by ensuring them that you and her can never hurt anyone again."

"Your Highness—"

"This way, I can honor my parents by carrying on their legacy through ensuring your capture and avenge my parents by having your daughter be executed before all of Avalon to prevent her from bringing about more harm and prevent her from hurting people the way she hurt me." he heard the prince sharply continue as Issac took a deep breath, reminding himself that the boy had just lost his parents before all of Avalon, so his anger was justified.

"Your Highness—" he began, attempting to try to get through to the prince, but as he looked at the prince, he saw his eyes darken and it became clear that the boy's mind was made up. Issac knew that much, at least, when he heard what the prince said next.

"Knights! Arrest them!"

As soon as Marcus gave the command, Issac didn't bother reaching out to the prince then as he knew it would be pointless when his mind was already made. So, instead, he turned his focus to the knights as he saw Marcellus smirking at the prince's command.

"Well, you heard him, men." Marcellus began as the seeker-knight raised his sword in the air with a proud smirk. "Arrest them!" Marcellus promptly finished, directing his sword towards them as the rest of the knights began to follow suit. "Let's get them!" the knights yelled out as he and his daughter saw Marcus, Shiron and the Senior Fae crossing their arms, which Issac believed came about as a result of the three thinking the knights would have a easy win as he and his daughter were outnumbered... a fact that became strikingly harder to ignore.

But while he and his daughter were aware of the odds being against them, he noticed that his daughter held a confident aura to her now as she released him and scoffed.

"If you think you're going to arrest us that easily, then you're wrong." she insisted, earning scoffs from Marcellus and the rest of the knights. "Please. We have you and your monster surrounded! Neither of you have nowhere to go, so just face it: you've both lost." Marcellus valiantly boasted, to which Issac simply scoffed at the seeker's response before he noticed his daughter's smugly smirk at the seeker and the rest of the knights.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so certain of that now." she slyly said and as he looked at her, he saw her start revealing the hilt from the remains of her sword that Marcus had shattered some time ago as he saw the panic in the young prince's eyes.

"Stop her!" Marcus exclaimed as Marcellus swung his sword toward her. However as Aliya timed his swung, the seeker's blade clash into the hilt, which led to the hilt opening up as another bolt of dark lime-green thunderous energy emerged from the hilt.

From there, everyone saw the bolt of dark lime-green thunderous energy become released from the strike as everyone watched the bolt smashing directly into the Jumbotron, where a horrible creaking sound could then be heard from above the Heartdome.

"NO!" he and Aliya heard Marcus, Shiron, the Senior Fae, Marcellus and the rest of the knights all yell, but the damage was done because after the horrible creaking sound was heard, everyone in the kingdom saw the Jumbotron become unmoored.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Marcellus sharply snapped, quickly turning his head to Aliya, who only shrugged and tossed the hilt in the air before she made eye contact with Marcus, who had stared at her with anger, disgust and shock. It was then that her confident aura falter as Aliya let the hilt fall onto the ground and stared at him, as if they knew their friendship would never be the same after this night.

Not long after, a loud "BOOM!" was heard, causing the two to break off their intense stare-off as the Jumbotron fell and smashed directly into the middle of the Heartdome, crushing the hilt as they saw a few mirror screens being taken down with the Jumbotron as shattered glass fell onto the ground.

With the Jumbotron's crash, they became quickly separated from Marcus, Shiron, Ambrose and the knights with the fall of the Jumbotron as the two became thrust toward the other end of the Heartdome with a massive dust storm covering them. As the dust blew them back, he held onto his daughter right as the Heartdome became in disarray from the chaos that ensured, which he knew almost immediately from the crowd beginning to scream.

When the dust seemed to remain and the damage passed, he released his daughter right as she held onto his arm.

"Come on."

With a slight tug from his daughter, Issac mutely followed her as she led him through the dust. "I know I saw that crater somewhere..." he heard her mumble before he saw her eyes widen as she grinned. "There!" she quietly but excitedly announced as his eyes landed toward the crater near the end of the stadium.

So using the dust as their cover, he saw Aliya proceeding to lead him to the newly made crater as she released his hand and turned to look at him.

"Alright. I figured you would just use your wings to fly down while I went ahead and jump down, then we could see what's below the crater." she explained as he shook his head. "I'm not letting you get hurt, so you're flying down with me." he insisted and right as she was about to protest, the two saw the dust beginning to clear up as she huffed, having realized that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Fine." she mumbled and as she held her hand out to him, he proceeded to pull her towards him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Okay, I'm secured." she told him as he nodded right as he saw the dust gradually settling. "Alright, here goes nothing!" he exclaimed as he began to jump down as he heard Aliya give a quick squeak before she started holding onto him tighter in time for him to activate his wings.

After a few, brief moments of flying mid-air, he proceeded to land on the ground gracefully as he quietly sighed in relief at the landing being a success.

"Are you alright?" he concernedly asked, now glancing down as he saw Aliya removing her arms and pull away from him before she nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks." she promptly answered as he sighed in relief again, clearly relieved by her response. "No problem." he softly said as she looked at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, matching the same concerned tone he used when he had asked her a few seconds ago. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit shaken from the jump." he casually answered as she began to chuckle a bit. "It's been a while since you had to do one of those, huh?" she lightly asked as he chuckled in turn. "Yeah, you could say that." he lightly answered and as they stared at each other, a small, serene smile formed on their faces.

For a moment, the two seemed to have achieved some degree of peace, but when they began to hear commotion from above the crater, the two were promptly reminded of their situation as he felt Aliya grab onto his arm and pull him toward the tunnel walls. As she did, the two were out of the knights' view of range in time for the dust to finish settling as they heard a series of loud and abrupt gasps at the sight of their disappearance.

"The shiszi and her monster are gone?!" the two had heard the crowd exclaimed before a series of frightened and panicked screams occurring from the relevation and from the aftermath of the destruction inflicted onto the Heartdome. While the people continue to panic and scream out in fear, they could see Jesse, Kai and Castor hovering near the edge of the crater and looking down as the screams persisted.

"They might be escaped, but they couldn't have gone far and with the Shadow Prince's identity being known, Brisha's not far from completing his namesake prophecy, which makes arresting them more dire than ever." the two heard Shiron and Ambrose state before the prince chimed into the conversation.

"As such, here's your first order as members of the Crownsguard: find them and arrest them on sight as the Shadow Prince and his traitorous daughter cannot leave this kingdom or this realm under any circumstances!" they heard Prince Marcus' firm and direct tone order as the two had observe Jesse, Kai and Castor all leaving the edge of the crater and rejoining the others, having been unable to find them.

Not too long after, the two began to hear the minted knights cheer on and presumably raise their swords high from the sound they heard.

"Yeah! Let's get them!"

So once the knights had said that, the screams gradually began to settle and the two heard their footsteps descend further from them, he saw Aliya glance over to see the tunnel continue as she lightly tugged on his arm.

"Come on." she urgently told him before she released his arm as she began to walk toward the depths of the tunnel as he quickly proceeded to follow her. As he did, he walked beside her as she continued to lead them. As she walked and he followed along, neither of them spoke until he cleared his throat, shattering the silence that lingered among them.

"You didn't have to choose me, you know." he briefly said as he sighed. "You could've chosen to accept his offer and hand me over to him. I mean, I would've complied." he added, following up on his previous response as he heard her huff.

"I'm aware, but handing you over wouldn't have sit right with me." she countered as he crossed his arms. "Why?" he followed up as she scoffed. "Because you're my baba. Simple as that." she promptly answered, now turning to face him as he frowned. "That shouldn't have mattered." he firmly stated as he abruptly stopped walking, causing Aliya to do the same as she continued to look at him.

"You're a knight—"

"— Was a knight."

"Whatever. You still had a duty to uphold to these people when you took a oath to protect this kingdom from evil and you sided with their enemy, of all people. I mean, how could you turn your back on them when you sworn to do right by them?" he firmly snapped and saw as her puzzled look turned to one of annoyance.

"You cannot be serious." she sharply countered as she glared at him. "Are you actually lecturing me right now?" she followed up, to which he mutely stared at her. Even though he hadn't said anything, he knew he didn't need to physically answer her because his silence spoke for him as she knew his response right then and there. So, it wasn't long then when he saw his daughter's anger surface in her light amber eyes.

"Why are you lecturing me when I just saved you?!"

"Because you shouldn't have saved me!" he answered and as soon as he said that, he saw his daughter's brief anger shift toward a look of concern. "Baba—" she tried to begin when Issac interrupted her and turned away from her as his back was facing her now.

"Okay? You shouldn't have saved me because I'm evil and dangerous and destructive and all I do is—"

"Baba, stop it. Okay? You're none of those things." she softly told him, but as she spoke, he felt a surge of anger then as he angrily clenched his fist and sharply turned to face his daughter once more.

"How do you know I'm not any of those things when you don't even know who I am?!" he angrily snapped as Issac sharply stared at his daughter. "Okay, I lied to keep you from learning the truth of all that I am because I didn't want you to know that I was nothing more than a instrument of destruction! A weapon! A monster!" he sharply continued before he solemnly sighed and began to unclench his fist as he briefly casted his eyes to the ground.

"Apá, come on. You're only saying these things because that's just how they all perceive you, but you shouldn't let their words get to you. Okay? At the end of the day, none of them get to dictate who you are because that decision falls on you and you alone." she softly insisted, but he heavily sighed as he looked at her.

"Nice speech, mija, but it isn't going to—" he attempted to tell her when she frustratedly growled at him and interrupted him as she spoke.

"Stop!" Aliya sharply exclaimed as she angrily extended her arms outward and promptly stood in front of him, causing his eyes to widened as he abruptly silenced himself, choosing not to finish the rest of his statement as she took over.

"Ever since Shiron announced that you were the Shadow Prince and everyone said those things about you, you've been trying to convince me to see you as this monster by projecting yourself like you're some bad guy!" she briefly exclaimed as he scoffed, deciding to break his silence to her then as he crossed his arms at his daughter. "Because I am." he insisted as Aliya rolled her eyes at his response.

"You can say it all you want, but I know deep down, you're not that guy because I know you're not what they all perceive you to be. So, quit trying to get me to see you the way everyone else does, because it's not going to work!" she firmly snapped, causing Issac to uncross his arms as she pointed at his chest. As soon as she did, his eyes widen for a bit as he stared at her in shock before the look faded as his eyes shifted down to the ground.

It was then that he heard his daughter sigh and felt her remove her finger from his chest as she stopped pointing at him.

"Look, I get why you're being like this, apá. I do, but they're wrong and one of these days, we're going to remain everyone of who you really are. Then once they become reminded of the kind of person you are, they'll have to come to their senses again." she added, her tone much softer now as he sighed at her response.

"Mija, I appreciate your efforts, but it's not going to work because once they see you as a villain, that's all you ever are to them." he solemnly countered, sighing again as he kept his eyes on the ground. "Well then, we'll just have to change that, huh?" she perkily asked and as he glanced at her, he noticed her bright, optimistic smile as he sighed.

"Mija, you can try to change their minds all you want, but it won't matter because once they see you as one way, that's what you are, no matter how hard you try to show them otherwise." Issac countered before he sighed again. "Besides, you should know that better than anyone else." he added, observing as her smile briefly falter before her optimistic smile resurfaced again.

"Yes, but I'm not giving up and neither should you, because I'm going to help you get everyone to change their minds about you and see you as more than their monster and their villain." she determinedly and optimistically told him as he saw her upbeat smile growing brighter. "Watch! When all of this is said and done, they'll see you as a hero." she confidently proclaimed as she continued to grin at him, to which he couldn't help but stare at her and blink.

"Mija, I appreciate what you're doing, but... why are you helping me?" he slowly asked her as he saw her scoff at his question. "Can't I help you just because I feel like it?" she promptly counter as he raised an eyebrow, to which she promptly huffed.

"Fine. I'm helping you because I'm bored and I'm in need of something to do, seeing how I'm out of a job." she answered, now adapting a carefree tone as she crossed her arms. "There. Does that answer your question?" she asked, but as he looked at her, he got the sense her answer was just a cover-up to hide the real reason she was trying to help him, so he crossed his arms and shook his head.

"No."

"What do you mean no? I just answered your question!" she protested as she gestured to herself before lowering her arm. "I'm aware of that, but you weren't being honest, so I'll ask again: why are you really helping me?" he promptly countered as she scoffed again.

"Because you're my father and this is a family matter." she answered, but Issac only huffed as he stared at her. "Mija." he simply said, speaking in a slightly stern tone as she huffed.

"Okay, okay. I'm helping you because you're not the only one that's wanted?" she followed up, but when he heard her answer come out as a question, he raised his eyebrow at her and began intensively staring at his daughter, because while her answers were all technically true, he still got the sense she was hiding her real reason for wanting to help him, so he persisted and tried again.

"Mija." he repeated, still retaining his [slightly] stern tone and as soon as he spoke, he knew he was right when he saw her sighing. Not long after she sighed, he saw his daughter dropping her facade and look at him once more as she spoke.

"Alright, fine. You really want to know? I'm helping you because everyone hates you too." she confessed, her voice low as she spoke in a bruised, almost wounded tone before she quietly sighed and looked away from him, falling silent afterwards.

As he took her answer in, he realized that despite their situation being drastically different [she was wanted for murder and he was wanted for being the Shadow Prince], they were in a similar position as like him, she was trying to conceal a great wound — a wound that was much like his own.

So having realized that he messed up with the way he handled the situation, he quietly sigh to himself and as he began to approach his daughter, he noticed her face was turned from him as he saw her back facing him. From there, he saw her mutely grip onto her arms, hugging herself as he heartbrokenly frowned at the sight.

"Mija—"

"We should get a move on and find the end of this tunnel, so we can try to continue maintaining our lead before we're spotted." she firmly interrupted in a cold and emotionless tone, observing the way she stopped hugging herself, but still continued to look away from him.

"Mija—" he attempted to say in an effort to reach out to her again, but when he saw her start to walk off, he quietly sighed and frowned to himself as he cut himself off. So, deciding to give her space, Issac mutely trailed off behind her as the two proceeded to resume their walk in silence again.

This time, the silence remained for the entirety of the walk until they spotted a ladder at the end of the tunnel that led to a latch above the tunnel's ceiling. As such, the two looked at the ladder and back at each other as they spoke, ending their prolonged silence.

"I climb." the two quickly began in sync as Issac and Aliya crossed their arms. "No, I'll do it." they quickly said in sync again as he sighed. "Mija, I know you mean well, but it can't be you because you'll only end up drawing more attention to yourself with your shiszi's mark." he insisted, now breaking their in-sync moment as she snorted at his response.

"Oh, please. I might be marked, but the moment everyone sees the Shadow Prince, they'll all go straight to you and overlook me because in their eyes, you're a much bigger threat to them than I am, so I'm still the better option." she swiftly counter as she crossed her arms and lean against the wall.

"I beg to differ, seeing how you just destroyed parts of the Heartdome." he promptly pointed out as she initially opened her mouth to protest, but when she looked at him again, she stopped as she crossed her arms and scoffed.

"You know, I could go back and forth with you on this, but we would be stuck here for hours and seeing how we need to get out, I'm just going to let you climb the ladder because I don't want to be here for when the Crownsguard finds us." she insisted as he started to chuckle, but when she shot him a look, he quickly stopped laughing and silently began climbing the ladder while Aliya looked on.

After some moments of climbing, Issac reached the top of the ladder, where he spotted a latch attached to the ground. When he got the latch lifted, he climbed the last steps of the ladder to find himself directly in the center of one of the palace's halls.

As he looked around, he immediately picked up on the eerie sense of the silence that seemed to surround the palace as he blinked. "What do you see?" he heard as he continued to check to see if maybe he might've missed something, but no matter which way he had looked, the end result was always the same.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean, it's empty. There's no knights or guards on-site." he explained as he shrugged. "But, I mean you can climb up and..." he casually added, only to trail off when he glanced back to see his daughter standing beside him as she closed the latch. "... see for yourself." he then finished awkwardly as he mumbled the last words more so to himself as he and Aliya began to venture through the halls of the palace together.

As they did, he noticed Aliya was coming to the same conclusion he briefly reached as they went through each of the rooms and scurried through each hall, but found the end result to ultimately be the same.

"Okay, this shouldn't be possible! A royal palace with a built-in Institute shouldn't be this empty! Alright? This place should be swarming with..." he heard Aliya began before she trailed off as her eyes darted towards a nearby break room. As she went toward the break room, he followed and upon arriving, they were both met with a haunting, almost magnetic pull they only knew as the Death Serenade, because when his daughter turned on the lights, death had greeted them in the form of a dozen royal guards.

"... guards." he heard her weakly finished as they took in the sights of the badly disfigured bodies of the dozen royal guards, whose bodies were all badly disfigurated as their necks and their legs were twisted in inhumane positions while their eyes were completely gouged out as their wings flickered with some kind of glow before dimming altogether; a sign that they were now lost and claimed by Death.

It didn't take him being a healer to know that much and it certainly take his daughter being near him/aware of his work to know that much. After all, they had both been exposed to Death, but it was nothing like... this.

"They were like this when I found them, Your Highness."

Jumping from the sudden voice, he and Aliya quickly turned their attention from the deceased bodies to see Phantom, who maliciously smiled as his purely white-silt eyes stared back at the two.

"Oh, and this must be your daughter, Aaliyah." Phantom casually added as his malicious smile lessened upon seeing his daughter, but Issac protectively pulled her to his side as he glared at his mother's right-hand, having not trusted him.

"Don't even think about getting near her. Your focus is on me and only me." he sharply but firmly stated as Phantom chuckled, his smile still eeriely in tact as he spoke.

"Oh, little prince, my focus is on you, but my focus is also on her as destiny has intertwined your fates together." Phantom lightly mused as Issac caught his daughter's ever-growing confusion to his encounter with his mother's right-hand, but Aliya [thankfully for him at least] kept her mouth shut as she refrained from interjecting herself into the conversation.

"Even now as we speak, little prince, destiny has begun intertwining you and her with you two completing the first half of your name-sake prophecy." Phantom further added, snapping his fingers as the scroll he kept guarded in his grasp just appeared in the right-hand's possession with sickening ease.

"A prophecy I imagine you never told her, hm? How all of this was meant to happen as tonight was crafted by fate's design?" Phantom mockingly added as Issac saw his mother's right-hand turn to face his daughter, who {perhaps for his sake} continued to refrain herself from chiming into the conversation between him and Phantom.

"That's enough, Phantom. As your prince, I order you to stop." Issac firmly and quite sternly cut in, now interrupting the latter, who obeyed his command as he caught Phantom's smug gleam in those white-slit eyes of his.

"Of course, Your Highness." Phantom gleefully but smugly stated as he deeply frowned at the latter's response, having realized what taking up his mantle entailed for him... and what that would mean for his daughter.

"Oh and I'm sure she'll make just as much of an impact on your namesake prophecy as you two have as it's bound to happen." Phantom cryptically followed up before his grin grew brighter as he faced them.

"She?" he and his daughter asked, finally breaking her silence as they looked at him. "Why, your third party, of course." Phantom casually answered, his grin eeriely in tact before he chuckled at their confusion. When his mother's right-hand was done chuckling at them, he then placed all of his attention onto him.

"Well, I trust that we will meet again, little prince." Phantom said as he turned from him to face her as she mutely stared at the latter. "As I trust will happen with you, little duchess." Phantom added as he chuckled while his smile, without fail, remained creepily in tact as he continued to face his daughter.

"After all, it won't be long now before destiny reunites the three of us as your father will need help seeking out what's been long lost and I trust you'll be the one to guide him there, little shadow."

Even though Phantom had addressed his daughter in a cryptic manner, his mother's right hand [for some reason] made his words loud enough for him to hear as well before he found Phantom no longer focusing on her as he looked at him again.

"What did you mean by that?" he had asked, referring to what his mother's right hand told Aliya when Phantom cryptically chuckled.

"Oh. Trust me, little prince. You'll find out what I meant soon enough as it's only a matter of time before the second half of the prophecy comes into effect and you'll be forced to face the start of your destiny head-on, just as the fates foretold." Phantom cryptically answered as Issac saw his grin eeriely stretch.

"So till then, run along little prince, because destiny will find you soon enough." Phantom had menacingly concluded as his white-slit eyes began to turn to a light blue, almost teal-like color. As soon as that happened, a portal of light blue flames appeared behind him and right as they saw him step into the portal, he turned and tossed the prophecy back in their direction before he stepped inside the portal and vanished.

Issac attempted to catch his name-sake prophecy, but [and he suspected Phantom did this to further spite him] Aliya caught the prophecy as the scroll touched her hand. Reluctantly, Issac could only watch as the scroll began to unfold and release a bright light blue, almost teal-like beacon that started to cast over the kingdom for a few, brief moments before the beacon stop glowing and vanished.

When the beacon vanished, he saw Aliya left with the opened scroll, which she briefly glanced at before she slowly but gradually turned to face him; the realization dawning on her now as Issac gave a solemn frown, not wanting her to find out like this. But before he could say anything, the two began to hear a loud alarm buzzing above them as the alarm started to flash a series of red, flashing lights above the ceiling.

As soon as they heard the alert, their eyes darted toward the royal guards as he realized what his mother's right-hand absence would entail for his daughter, who he saw staring at their bodies and gripping onto the scroll; her back turned to him as he solemnly sighed and began to make his way to her. When he did, he took a deep breath and moved closer in an attempt to comfort her.

"Aliya—"

"Castor was right about me." he heard her begin as he heard her voice crack. "No matter what I touch, I'm always making a mess of things because I live on causing chaos and destruction. He knew the ceremony would somehow end up going terribly wrong because he knew my cursed luck would kick in and what do you know? I just had to go and make a mess of things here too, just like I do with everything else, because why not?" he heard her bitterly continue, scoffing now as her voice cracked more, to which his face fell at her words.

"Aliya—"

"Regardless though, I don't blame you for not wanting to tell me. Besides, I guess it's not really a surprise I ended up playing a role in your prophecy. I mean, it would only make perfect sense for me to get linked to the great tragedy with all the things I've done." she followed up, interrupting him once more as she sighed.

"Aliya, you didn't—"

"It doesn't matter, baba. The sword was in my hand when they died and everyone saw me kill the royals, so that's more than enough proof for the blame on me to be justified, regardless of the fact that I didn't actually commit the murders. So, whether I like it or not, the great tragedy will always be linked to me and there's nothing I can do about it." she interrupted as she spoke in a solemn, heartbreaking tone, which only made his heart ache for her as he listened to Aliya heavily sigh.

"Just like I didn't commit their murders, but I'll be held responsible for the deaths of these royal guards all the same." she added, speaking in a tired and drained tone now before she fell silent as she looked at him with hollow, sunken eyes and mutely gestured to the dozen bodies of the fallen royal guards. After she gestured to the royal guards, she stored the prophecy away in her pocket and quietly sighed as she turned away from him and the bodies, choosing to now focus on her shiszi mark while the alarm continued to buzz on.

"Mija."

As she turned and mutely glanced up from her shiszi mark, he gently held onto her shoulders as she began to look at him.

"I know your situation doesn't look great, but I swear I'm going to do everything in my power to help you find the culprit responsible for the royals' murders and help you clear your name." he firmly assured her as she flashed a small but gracious smile at him, before her smile fell as she began to sigh.

"Baba—"

"As for what happened to the guards, I'm going to get Phantom to confess and—" he added, but found himself cut off as his daughter began to chuckle.

"Apá, that's sweet, but I honestly doubt he'll confess with the way he took off just now. Plus, he's still going to be obsessed with your namesake prophecy to care about what he did." she counter, interrupting him again as she sighed. "Besides, what difference would it make when everyone in Avalon sees me as a murderer?" she followed up as he solemnly frowned at her question and the way she referred to herself as a murderer.

"Mija, you're not—" he softly began, but before he could continue, he abruptly cut himself off when he and his daughter saw her shiszi mark start to dimly glow right as they began to hear footsteps.

"I found the murderer and her monster!" a knight proudly announced, the alarm still buzzing as he glanced back to his daughter, who shot him a deadpan look. "You were saying?" she bluntly followed up right as her shiszi mark started to glow slightly brighter, causing them to glance up to see the knights charging toward their direction.

"Grab them!"

"Stop them!"

"Over here!"

"Charge!"

"So, that's our cue to go, right?" he slowly asked, to which, he saw her nodding. "Definitely." she answered, now running off as he followed behind her with the word "Murderer!" trailing behind them as he scoffed. "She's not a murderer!" he fiercely countered before he continued to follow his daughter as they began dodging laser blasts from the knights' swords.

"So, do you have a plan?" she asked, dodging another laser blast and maintaining her speed as he proceeded to do the same. "This is the plan!" he answered as her eyes widen. "What?!" she exclaimed as he lightly rolled his eyes, not seeing why she was so panicked.

"Yeah! I mean the plan was that I rescue you, which would be followed by chaos, destruction, a few other things and boom! We escape and we win!" he excitedly added as he saw his daughter staring at him in disbelief.

"That's your plan?"

"Obviously!"

"Oh my gods, what's next? Are you going to say you made this whole plan up as you went along too?" she sarcastically followed up as he meekly chuckled. "Well, when you say it like that..." he awkwardly began before sheepishly trailing off as he saw his daughter's eyes widened from the fact she was actually right.

"Baba!"

"What? It's a great plan!"

"That's not a plan! That's just you literally making things up as you go along!"

"Even so, it still works!" he protested as he stopped running and crossed his arms. "It worked for me then and it will work for me now!" he stubbornly insisted as his daughter proceeded to stop running as well. As she did, he saw her looking at him with troubled eyes and sensed she wanted to say something, but before she could, her shiszi mark started glowing again, which they knew meant the knights weren't too far behind them.

"Whatever. We can continue this conversation once we are out of the knights' range." she quickly stated as she grabbed onto his arm, which led to him uncrossing his arms. "Now come on!" she firmly added, tugging at his arm and pulling him right as the knights began to turn at the corner and charge in their direction. From there, he and his daughter continued to run until she pulled him into a dark alcove.

Once she had pulled him into the dark alcove, she followed in after him and once she was hiding behind the dark alcove with him, the two became still as they quietly listened to the footsteps of the knights as they came near their hiding spot. While his daughter intensively kept her focus on looking outside of the dark alcove, he noticed the way she protectively positioned her right arm over him as he quietly smiled at the sight.

However not long after he smiled, he saw her shiszi mark glow but as soon as her mark glowed, a few flickers of black, shadowy wisps emerged from his palms. As soon as he saw the shadowy wisps, he moved his right hand and directed the shadows to Aliya's right wrist. As the shadows began to cover her right wrist [and to an extent] her right arm, he saw the mark's glow flickering in and out before its glow suddenly ceased right as the knights reached their hiding spot.

"Royal killer!"

After the knights had yelled out and continued their search, Issac quietly sighed in relief at the fact he found a way to counteract the shiszi mark when he saw his daughter's confusion at the knights running and/or flying past them as some of the knights chasing them had wings attach to their backs.

"Huh. I thought for sure that my shiszi mark would have given us away, but it didn't. If anything, the knights just ran right past us, as if they hadn't been able to sense..." she began before trailing off as he saw her turn to see the shadows around her right arm. When he saw her looking on, he retracted the shadows from her arm as she blinked. "... my mark at all." she slowly finished as he revealed her shiszi mark, which still retained its non-glowing state.

When she fell silent and kept her eyes focused on her arm {presumably processing what he had just did}, his smile faded as he expected her to look panicked or frighten by his actions. Instead, she only mumbled a quiet "huh" before she looked at him. When he met her eye, he tried to find traces of fear, but to his surprise, he found none in her. Rather, she only looked grateful for what he did as she warmly smiled at him.

"Thanks." she softly and quite earnestly told him as he smiled. "You're welcome." he softly told her and as they fell silent, he saw her turn away from him as she began cautiously peeking her head out of the dark alcove to see if it was safe for them to leave their hiding spot. While Aliya did that, he found himself processing her reaction and her response and as he did, his simple smile began to turn into a hopeful grin.

Huh. Maybe, she will accept me after all.

Although Issac knew there was a chance his daughter had already accepted him from the way she chose to side with him in the aftermath of the Shadow Prince reveal to all of the things she had done since helping him avoid getting captured, he still knew there was a chance she could reject him too.

So, he was hesitant about getting his hopes up, especially since he knew she could still change her mind on how she perceived him and decide to see him in the same way that everyone else did...

"You can say it all you want, but I know deep down, you're not that guy because I know you're not what they all perceive you to be. So, quit trying to get me to see you the way everyone else does, because it's not going to work!"

When he recalled her words, he found himself thinking about the moment Shiron exposed him as the Shadow Prince in front of everyone, but all he had thought about was how his daughter was going to react to the reveal when it became clear everyone else hated him.

So, when he looked at her in the aftermath of the reveal, he desperately hoped she would look past the Shadow Prince's reveal and the things associated with his mantle [i.e.: his namesake prophecy and his connection to the Lady Bone Enchantress] and accept him all the same as he only wanted her to see him the same way as she had done prior to the Shadow Prince's reveal occurring.

Yet, when Shiron had called him a monster and everyone else began to echo the sentiments and refer to him as the same thing [in addition to being a villain as well as being vile and dangerous], he was certain that she would've been believed them. So, he had given up hope of her accepting him and simply planned on letting himself get captured by the royals guards when he heard the prince give the order.

But, when his daughter had jumped in front of him amidst the guards trying to fulfill the prince's order, he was still hesitant to think she would actually accept him. So when Ambrose offered his proposition to her in exchange for her simply turning him in, he tried to coax her into taking the Senior Fae's offer as Issac believed the founder's offer would have further cemented in her mind that he was all the things they said he was.

However, when she refused to take Ambrose's proposition and proceeded to help him evade an arrest from the knights shortly thereafter, he hadn't actually believed there was any hope of her truly seeing him the same way she had seen him prior to the Shadow Prince until she called him out on trying to get her to see him in the same light as everyone else.

That was when he felt the hope of her accepting him and seeing him the same way she had seen him momentarily resurface before his doubts settled in and dampen the hope he initially felt be rekindled. Since then, his hopes and doubts on whether or not she would accept him had been a on-and-off thing.

Still as he thought back to those words she told him, he found himself wanting to lean more into his hope, but that hope he felt quickly became tested when thoughts of her rejecting him started to make themselves known.

She will never accept you, you know. After all, why would she when you're nothing more than a monster like everyone says you are? She might be sticking around you now, but if anything, the girl is just biding her time with you until she finds the right moment to reject you. That's all this really is, so come on. Just own up to the fact that she doesn't care for you the same way she did before and accept the fact that no one can ever truly love a monster like you. Not even your own daughter.

As the thoughts echoed in the back of his mind, he felt his initial desire to lean into his hope start to crumble, having believed the thoughts were right. After all, why would Aliya waste his time on him when he knew his daughter was better off without him? Especially when all he did was hold her back and make—

"Baba?"

When he heard his daughter's voice, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her as he saw she was concernedly looking at him.

"Are you alright?" she softly followed up as Issac nodded. "I'm alright." he answered, but when he saw her frown, he knew she saw through his lie but he pretended not to be aware of the fact she saw through him. So, when she quietly sighed and dropped her frown as she looked at him once more, he simply looked at her and listened to what she had to say.

"Okay, but if something is on your mind and you want someone to listen, I'm here if you want to talk it out." she softly assured him, warmly smiling at him now as he mutely nodded, intending to look away from his daughter right then and there when he caught a glimpse of her right arm still protectively positioned over him as he blinked at the sight.

"You still have your arm over me?" he found himself asking as he looked back at his daughter as she sheepishly nodded at his question. "Yeah. I know it's silly for me to be doing this, especially given how you are more than capable of defending yourself, but I guess you could say I still feel protective of you." she quietly confessed before she blinked.

"I mean, I've always been protective of you before and yeah, maybe I've been protective of you too much with the things we faced in the aftermath of us losing everyone, but after I witnessed the things you endured tonight, I just wanted you to feel less alone." she further added as she scratched the back of her neck.

"So, I thought if you saw my arm there, then maybe you would come to see it as a reminder that you have someone looking out for you and fighting on your side, even as it seems like everyone else is against you." she softly finished before she stopped scratching the back of her neck and looked at him once more.

"But, it's a silly concept and honestly, it's kinda pointless, so I'll just—" she quickly said {perhaps in an effort to save herself from the further embarrassment she felt} as she began retracting her arm from being positioned over him when he grabbed onto her arm.

"Hey, it's not a silly concept and it's not pointless." he assured her, having found comfort in the small gesture as he continued to look at her. "Okay?" he softly added as she blinked before she slowly nodded. "Okay." she softly answered and so, as he released his daughter's right arm and she went back to looking, he glanced at her arm again and saw she had still left her arm in the same protective position over him.

When he saw her arm and thought back to what she said, a hopeful smile formed on his face and it was then that he decided to place his hope in the fact that she would accept him, pushing back the ever-growing fear he felt at the thought of her rejecting him.

Even though she has every reason to perceive me the same way as everyone else and reject me all the same, I have to believe she won't. Just like I have to believe that she will see me the same way she saw me prior to the whole Shadow Prince reveal and hope she'll accept me...

"Okay. I don't see any more knights in sight and I don't hear footsteps, so it's safe to come out."

As he snapped out of his thoughts again, he saw his daughter facing him now as she gently held onto his arm and lightly tugged him out of their hiding spot. Now out of the dark alcove, he and his daughter found themselves in the middle of another hall within the palace with the built-in Institute with no knights and guards in sight. It was then that she released his arm as she lightly stared at him.

"So about that so-called 'plan' of yours—"

"It's a great plan and I will continue to defend it as such." Issac protested, interrupting her as he stubbornly crossed his arms, to which he uncrossed his arms when he looked at her and saw his daughter huffing at his response. "Mija, are you really that upset by my plan?" he slowly asked, to which she sighed.

"I'm not upset at it, baba." she confessed as she sighed again. "I just... I'm just worry that if you keep going into these situations without a plan and continue making things up as you go along like now, then it's going to have drastic consequences for you, me and anyone else who might end up getting involved." she softly cautioned him before she sighed again.

"Mija, I get your concern, but those drastic consequences you speak of would never happen to you, me or anyone else who might end up getting involved because—"

"—Not having a plan worked out for you then and you believe not having a plan is going to work out for you now." she interrupted, finishing his response and taking the words out of his mouth as he mutely looked at her.

"I'm aware of your unwavering faith in your process serving as the reason why you don't see any drastic consequences arising from this." she further added, acknowledging his reason before she proceeded to continue. "But sooner or later, baba, that streak of yours is going to end and when it does, you're going to see why having a plan — a real plan — is important." she further added, proceeding to caution him again as he sighed at her response.

"Mija—"

"I know I can't talk out of not going through with this 'plan' of yours because you're stubborn like Aunt Stormy and you already committed to it, so I'm not going to ask you to change your plan." she calmly added, interrupting him once more as she sighed again. "Not when we are already in the midst of completing it anyways." she followed up before her eyes drifted back towards him.

"So, rather than do that, I'm going to ask something of you and I need you to be honest with me and answer truthfully." she further added as he nodded at her words.

"Of course. Just tell me what it is and I'll do it." he assured her as she skeptically stared at him, as if she was trying to debate if he was being truthful with her or not. "Are you sure? Because, I really don't need—" she slowly began when he promptly interrupted her.

"Aliya, come on. You can trust me. Okay? Whatever you ask of me, I'll follow through on it." Issac assured her and not long he said those words, he saw her intensively stare at him, debating if he was being truthful with her before she had sighed and nodded, now seemingly taking him at his word. "Okay." she promptly said before she looked at him once more as she took a deep breath and began to address him.

"In that case, I need you to promise me that the next time you decide to make a plan, you won't just make it up as you go along." she requested as she took another deep breath and looked at him. "Please." she followed up and as he looked at her light amber eyes, he reluctantly huffed, but nodded as he looked at her once more.

"Okay, mija. I promise that the next time I decide to make a plan, I won't just make it up as I go along. You have my word." he told her as she sighed in relief. "Thank you." she softly told him, smiling brightly at his response as he softly chuckled. "You're welcome, mija." he softly stated, returning the smile before he cleared his throat.

"Though, I would just like to point out that I didn't make up everything on the spot when it came to my plan." he promptly added as he proceeded to look at her once more. "I admit, I might have made up the majority of the plan, but one thing I was certain on was ensuring that I rescued you the moment I got—" he further added until he quickly cut himself off as he knew he was going to mention the key, so he cleared his throat then as an attempt to hastily cover up his tracks in the hopes she wouldn't catch on to what he did.

But when he saw her slowly raise her left eyebrow at him and cross her arms, he quietly huffed at the sight as he became reminded of the way her mother would do those gestures whenever she suspected he {or really anyone} was hiding something from her. So, he wasn't surprised to know he was right when she spoke.

"The moment you got what?"

"Nothing."

"Dad—"

"It's nothing more than a slip of a tongue, mija." he interrupted, perhaps too quickly, but he had felt she wouldn't notice as he kept his tone casual and dismissive.

"You know, I hardly think that's the case, given tonight's situation." he heard his daughter slowly countered as she continued to keep her arms crossed and her eyes centered on him. "That's all it is, mija, so don't think too much about it." he had added, hoping his daughter would drop the matter, but he knew from the way she intensively stared at him that she wouldn't as she was her mother's daughter...

"Dad—" she began, but right before she could continue addressing him, they heard the sound of a door opening as they mutely glanced at each other before glancing down at her shiszi mark as it began to glow.

"Ali?"

When they heard her nickname, the two glanced at the opened light beige, wooden door to see Shiron's son standing at the door and across from them as Issac saw the knight fondly looking at his daughter. Quietly, he scoffed at the love fairy's arrival before observing Aliya as Issac saw her look at the knight with a lingering fondness in spite of all the things the love fairy and his family had done to her in the past.

"Jesse."

He didn't understand how she could look and address the love fairy with so much fondness, but seeing as the love fairy appeared to be the only knight that didn't hate her {yet, he had thought, having known that the boy's need to seek approval from his father would result in Jesse turning on his daughter... again}, he forcibly kept his mouth shut and refrain from speaking as he looked at the way the knight and his daughter continued to look at each other.

While it was completely normal for friends to stare at each other, they were staring at each other for a excessively long amount of time now and it didn't help that they never took their eyes off of each other. As such, he suspected there was a possibility they saw each other as more than a on-and-off {now on} childhood best friend.

Beforehand, he would have been thrilled, but given how he hadn't quite forgiven the love fairy for the pain and heartache he caused Aliya in the past, he grew annoyed at the sight and found that he needed to break... whatever this was that was going on between them as a sly, almost pity smirk formed over him.

"You know, I was wondering when we would see you again, seeing how you're her nemesis and all." he tauntingly greeted, breaking his silence as he saw the two snap out of their long, drawn out stare with the love fairy looking at him in disbelief.

"Nemesis?"

When he looked up to see the love fairy's crestfallen and confused face at the fact he called him her nemesis, he thought to spite him, but stopped when he recalled his daughter's fondness for the knight. So instead, he only mutely looked on as he saw his daughter look at him and back at the love fairy, who they saw still retain his hurt and puzzled look.

"Jesse—" he heard her begin, now taking a step toward the love fairy, but as soon as they started to see him reach for his sword, he saw his daughter cut herself off as she became dazed from the sight, as if Aliya was unable to process the knight's action now. But when her shiszi mark began to glow brighter, he saw her snap out of her dazed state right in time as two knights began flying to them.

"Royal killer!"

Not long after the knight spoke, Issac saw his daughter lost in thought and was about to ask her what she was on her mind when he felt her suddenly grab onto his left arm. Not long after, Issac saw his daughter exaggeratingly gasp.

"Oh my gods! Look!" she dramatically exclaimed as he puzzlingly stared at her, having now been confused by her response. "What are you doing?" he quietly whispered, but he saw the way Aliya ignored him as she maintained her focus on Jesse along with the knight, who was now joined by two royal guards as they also began making their way toward them.

"It's Magnus and Aureus Braveheart!" she exaggeratedly announced as he silently scoffed at her response.

That's obviously a lie she came up at the last second. There's no way that any of these men here are going to—

"Where?!"

... Okay, either she sold that lie surprisingly well or she's surrounded by idiots.

So as he saw his daughter pointing toward Jesse's direction and noticed the two guards start to turn to look, he saw his daughter tug his arm and drag him out of the area right as he saw more royal guards bursting through the backdoors and across all different directions while her shiszi mark continued to persistently glow.

"After them!" the two heard the knights and the royal guards yell, charging after them as they continued to run when he heard his daughter excitedly gasp.

"There!"

As he felt Aliya quickly pull his arm and throw him into a nearby room, Issac saw his daughter following in after him as she quickly latched the wooden door with a wooden beam before he saw her exhaustively sigh.

"I think we're good."

But as soon as she said that, her shiszi mark glowed and before he could think to block Aliya's mark from giving them away, they quickly heard pounding on the door.

"That door isn't going to hold forever, shiszi!" the knights and the royal guards determinedly boasted as he saw his daughter sighing at their situation now as she grabbed onto her head.

"Out of the all of the rooms that I could've possibly dragged us to, I chose to drag us to the one room with no exits!"

"Mija, it's fine." he softly told her as he glanced around the room and noticed that there weren't, in fact, any exit doors. Rather, as he looked, he saw the stacks of bowls and assorted goods and quickly realized that they were in a —

"No, baba. This isn't fine! I mean, who just brings someone to a pantry room, of all places, when trying to escape a bunch of knights and royal guards?" she followed up, shaking her head now as he gave her a small but reassuring smile.

"Mija, it's okay."

"No, it's not. None of this is okay and the worst part out of the whole thing is they're right." she sharply counter as they saw the door being battered with swords. "The door isn't going to hold forever." she firmly added on as they heard another wave of forceful knocks began to rattle the door, as though it was meant to prove her point in that moment.

"Sooner or later, we will get this door to fall and as soon as it falls, you and that monster of yours will be ours!" he and Aliya heard the knights and the guards determinedly continue and perhaps to make a point, the group of men began stabbing their swords into the door itself, which began to quickly splinter from the actions of the knights and the guards.

"She's right." the shadows said in agreement, but he dismissed their words the moment he saw Aliya abruptly run toward the other side of the room and began frantically rummaging through several items on the shelves.

"Mija—"

BAM!

When he heard the knights and the guards pounding on the door, he turned his attention away from his daughter and as he did, he heard the shadows chuckle.

"That door isn't going to hold for much longer."

Pushing their words out of his head, he then turned his attention back to his daughter, who Issac noticed had just finished slipped something in her pocket as he blinked.

Huh. I wonder what she just put in her pocket.

"Mija?"

When he spoke, he saw her eyes turn to him and as she looked, he saw the girl approach him as she gave a meek chuckle.

"Sorry. I was uh trying to find something to help us, but I didn't see it." she explained, reaching him now as she stood across from him, but Issac got the sense she was hiding something as he slowly stared at her.

"Mija—" Issac attempted to begin, only to find himself cut off as the pounding at the door grew louder.

As they heard the knights and the guards pounding on the door, he could see her mind racing as he knew [in spite of her relatively calm persona] she was stressed from the fact they were all but moments away from having their only barrier knocked down.

He knew they were trapped, but he wanted to tell her that they would figure something out. But when Aliya looked at him, she looked as though she had so much she wanted [or needed] to tell him, but couldn't... and that made him nervous, especially when she began to speak right then and there.

"Marcus and the others will know that you have allies in the other three kingdoms, so your best bet is to venture to the wall."

"Aliya—"

"Go straight into the heart of the Enchanted Forest and don't stop moving. Keep going until you see the end of the forest. There, you'll see the wall. Once you spot the wall, go over it and don't stop moving until you find someplace safe. Okay?"

"Aliya—"

"I know everyone says the wall is dangerous, but right now, anywhere has to be better than here and besides, even if it's dangerous as everyone claims it is, you've survived worse. I mean, if you could outsmart Magnus and survive a thousand-year-old war that wiped out the entire Celestial race, then you can endure what the wall has in store for you."

"Aliya—"

"Baba, I made promises to our family to keep them safe and I've seen every single one of those promises I made break before my eyes. I couldn't protect Aunt Stormy or mamá or Lillian and I failed them. That's why Jaxon disowned me. It's because I made too many promises and I just failed to honor my word... just as I failed them when I said I would keep our sister safe. In their eyes, I couldn't be trusted to save any of us and so, Jax were right to disown me when they did because it's true." she continued as Issac's heart sank at her words.

"Mija, what Jaxon said to you that night, that wasn't—"

"Baba, everything Jax said to me that night was true. Okay? They said I wouldn't be capable of saving anyone because I couldn't even save our family and now look. We're nowhere closer to finding out the whereabouts of Lillian and Jaxon and for all we know, Aunt Stormy and mamá could have really did die in the separate fires that we saw, because their cases turned cold and no one wants to go reopen a investigation into a cold case once they've seen that the death is straight-forward." she countered as she sighed.

"I failed to keep them safe and that's just something I have to live with." she further added as his heart continued to sink further at every word she said.

"Mija..."

"However, I'm not going to let you end up like the rest of our family. Okay? I might have not been able to save any of them, but now I have a chance to do what I couldn't for them because I have a opportunity to keep you safe, so that's exactly what I'm going to do." she determinedly stated as he smiled before he began to frown.

"Mija, I get that you care about me, but you shouldn't worry so much about me." he insisted as he sighed before he decided to look away from her. "Okay? I'm the Shadow Prince and—" he briefly attempted to add when she interrupted him.

"— That doesn't matter."

Wait, what?

Surprised by his daughter's response, he began to turn to look at her as she continued to speak.

"Okay? Yes, you're Brisha Hakimi the Shadow Prince and yes, you're actually a Celestial shadow demon occulust and not the Avalonian healing faerie you had us all believe, but like I said, that doesn't matter to me." she sincerely continued as he puzzlingly stared at her.

"Why?"

"Because at the end of the day, you're my baba."

"But my powers—"

"Baba, your powers are fine. Okay? There's nothing wrong with your Celestial shadow magic." she assured him, interrupting him as he blinked and mutely stared at her. "You could possess whatever type of magic you wanted and it wouldn't change the way I look at you. Or similarly, you could possess no magic and it wouldn't make a difference to me." she followed up as he blinked again.

Wait... Is she... Is she indirectly trying to say that she sees me the same way she did prior to the Shadow Prince reveal and trying to work her up into saying that she accepts me for who/what I am?

"O... Okay, well there's my form—"

"Apá, you could take on any form or change your name to whatever you wanted and I'd still love you the same. Okay? I mean, you could be literally anything and it wouldn't matter, because I'm always going to accept you for who you are. So, whether that means you are still Issac the Healer or if you choose to embrace being Brisha the Shadow Prince or even if you decide to infuse both sides of yourself to become a mix of your personalities, you are always going to be you." he had heard his daughter softly and earnestly tell him, interrupting him now as Aliya warmly smiled at him. "So, regardless of the fact that you're the Shadow Prince, I'm okay with that and I accept it, because you're always be my father...." she softly and earnestly followed up as his eyes lit up at his daughter's response.

She said it! She said it! Oh my gods, yes! She accepts me and she's okay with the whole Shadow Prince thing! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Realizing that she truly did accept him and that she saw him the same way she did prior to the whole Shadow Prince reveal, he began to infectiously smile at her as he was unable to contain the overwhelming, immense sense of joy he felt as she heartwarmingly spoke to him. However as he smiled at her, it hadn't dawned on him that she began to trail off and as such, Issac never realized what she was beginning to allude to...

"... Even when I'm no longer there to tell you that myself."

Because as soon as she said those words, he saw her reach into her pocket and as she did, she retrieved a white-and-golden striped sphere as he blinked.

Huh. So, that's what she had in her pocket. I wonder if that's the thing she said she was trying to find help us but couldn't.

"Wait, is that the thing you said—"

"Yes."

"Wait. If that's it, then why lie about it when you clearly found the thing that's going to help us?" he asked as she sighed. "Because it's not meant to help us. It's meant to help one of us and I... I knew you would never approve of what I'm about to do, so I had to lie to keep you from seeing what I was up to." she remorsefully explained, solemnly sighing as he puzzingly stared at Aliya, who began to lift the top of the sphere as he blinked.

"Wait. One of us? Aliya, what are—" he attempted to continue, only to cut himself off when he saw her twist top side of the sphere, which she then aimed at him as he slowly looked at her.

"Mija—"

"I'm sorry for lying to you. Really, I am, but this... this is the best thing I could think of and I hope you can come to see that this is what's best for you too." she added, now cutting him off as she solemnly sighed, making him nervous as he saw the sorrowful gleam in her eyes.

"Wait—"

"I love you."

... Until it was too late.

Because in that moment, the sphere opened and as it brightly glowed in front of him, Issac saw a light golden circle form around him before encasing him as the circle quickly morphed into a light golden force field, to which his eyes widen at the sight.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" he found himself repeatedly saying as fear and panic began to set in for him. "Please tell me she's not doing what I think she's doing!" he exclaimed in panic as he saw the shadows emerge alongside him and chuckle at his reaction.

"Oh, she's definitely doing what you think she's doing." the shadows stated, telling him the exact opposite of what he wanted to hear as their response only made him panic more as he looked at his daughter and persistently began banging on the force field.

"Aliya!"

BAM!

As he saw the door beginning to splinter further from the knights and the guards' stabbing into the wooden material, the fear and the panic he felt towards his daughter quickly heightened as he frantically continued to bang on the force field.

"Aaliyah Fia Luzi Finklestein, drop this shield right now!" he frantically yelled, but to his dismay, he only saw her softly smile at him [either having not heard him with the force field being active or purposely ignoring him now] before she prepared to take her stance. In response, he simply continued to yell for her to drop the shield just as the shadows decided to chime in, seemingly because they had enough of him yelling or they simply saw no point behind his action.

"Princeling, you can yell all you want, but what you say won't make a difference. Her mind was already set on doing this and once that door falls, she knows she'll be dead by dawn as soon as those idiots grab a hold of her." the shadows told him as he helplessly stared at his daughter as she pressed a white-and-golden outlined button on the sphere before she shatter said sphere in front of his eyes.

"But she's willing to die before she lets anything happen to you. Hence why she just shattered the sphere as she just made you invisible to not only the knights and the guards, but to herself too." the shadows told him as he sensed they were genuinely saddened by her decision, but as he was about to ask, their attitude changed.

"Of course, you can still see everything that's going on because you're still trapped, but she had expected you to use your powers to escape so you couldn't learn of her fate. However, seeing as you are still standing here like an idiot, it can be safe to assume that you have no intention on honoring your daughter's final wishes." the shadows further said as Issac sharply glared at the shadows surrounding him.

"She's not dead!"

"True, but she will be."

Not long after the shadows said that, the door promptly came crashing down as he helplessly saw Aliya standing her ground as she took down some of the knights and the guards before he saw Silvanus stringing his daughter up in a series of vines as the nature faerie knight rendered her defenseless.

"I have the traitor, but there's no sight of her monster." he heard Silvanus tell Marcellus as he saw the seeker-knight scanning through the pantry room in search of him before he saw the knight's eyes eventually fall back to his daughter.

"He's not a monster." he heard her stubbornly say, still coming at his defense as the knights and guards surrounding Silvanus and Marcellus chuckled at her response.

"You're still stupid as ever, but that doesn't surprise me. You were never the brightest anyways, but that's besides the point." he heard Marcellus mockingly tell his daughter before the seeker-knight struts around her.

"There were reports that the Shadow Prince was last seen with you at this location and now, he is nowhere to be seen, which begs the question... where did he go?" he heard Marcellus ask her as she scoffed at the seeker-knight's question.

"Ha! Like I'll tell you and besides, why bother with asking me when you can find him yourself? I mean, you are the seeker, no? Isn't your whole job description just based solely on seeking out certain people and relics?" she taunted as Issac saw the seeker-knight's eyes darkened at her.

"Oh. Did I strike a nerve, seeker?" she mocked as she dryly chuckled. "I'm just asking because for someone whose a direct descendant of the seekers, you're not really living up to the hype that's associated with your descendant's namesake." she further taunted as Issac saw Marcellus' anger heighten from her response.

"Watch it, half-breed." Marcellus sharply stated, lifting his tied-up daughter off of the ground as she dryly chuckled. "Oh, so the seeker has lost his touch after all. Imagine that. I didn't think the goddess of peace herself would forsake you now, given how she blessed your family's bloodline, but hey. I guess this is karma for what you did to me as changelings." she further taunted as the seeker-knight growled.

"It wasn't Thena who forsook me, you idiot." Marcellus sharply snapped as he sighed. "It was the stupid god of yours, Poseidon, who did it." he added as Issac saw his daughter's eyes light up at the news.

"Ha! Oh, gods, that's amazing! Imagine trying to offer me to the god as a sacrificial offer to get your revenge on me for beating you in the Race of Avalon as a changeling and please your own ancestors, only for the god himself to turn around years later and forsake you after his passing by having you struggle with your seeker abilities." she gleefully taunted as Issac saw Marcellus' eyes violently glow.

"Oh, like that's supposed to scare me." she sarcastically added as he saw Marcellus aggressively throw Aliya onto the ground before turning to the nature faerie knight.

"Slivanus, keep those vines steady and hold her down."

"But His Highness, the Director and the Senior Fae only gave us orders to bring her in, not—"

"What they don't know won't hurt them, Sliva." Marcellus casually interrupted as Issac saw the seeker-knight draw out his sword. "Besides, without her monster and her friends here to come to her aid, there's no one here to stop us from finishing this freak off and unlike last time, we'll actually succeed in finishing her off." the seeker-knight arrogantly continued as Issac silently clenched his fist.

"Plus, I mean, who's really going to miss her?" Marcellus swiftly continued as the seeker-knight directed his sword's blade to Aliya's throat. "She's a nuisance; a villain who's been plaguing this kingdom ever since she came to exist. So really, Slivanus, if you think about it, we're really doing Fairytopia and the kingdom of Avalon a favor by eliminating the monster now before she can do more harm to our home." Marcellus casually continued as Issac began banging on the force field again while his helplessness in watching his daughter's situation unfold before his eyes started to intensify.

A helplessness that the shadows had preyed on as he began to hear faint, low chuckles swirling around him.

"Oh, she's not going to survive this. Once the seeker slains her, the people of Fairytopia and the kingdom of Avalon will hail him as a hero and condemn her as a villain as they reduce her to be nothing more than his monster just as—"

"I'm aware of what happened." Issac bitterly and quite dismissively mumble as he heavily sighed and leaned his head against the force field that currently held him captive.

"Still, there has to be something I can do. I can't just let her die! Not when she's all I got left." he insisted as the shadows began to quietly chuckle among themselves before resurfacing back to him.

"Well, princeling, there is something you can do."  the shadows slowly began, but as soon as he heard their response, his initial hope towards their response dampened as Issac sensed what it was that the shadows would tell him. "No. Anything but that." he firmly said, attempting to walk away from the shadows when they resurfaced in front of him, causing Issac to stop in his tracks as he sighed.

"Come on, princeling, you can't ignore her powers. They're inside of you and sooner or later, it's going to want to come out. You might as well give in to them now and use your mother's powers for something noble than for them to resurface later on down the road and you use them as your mother initially intended for you to do."  the shadows urged him as he shook his head.

"No! No way!" Issac firmly persisted as he crossed his arms and glared at the shadows in front of him. "I can barely get a grip on my own powers as it is!" he further pointed out, having recalled the way he nearly allowed his powers to get the best of him and how it took Aliya helping him to regain control of himself.

"So, activating her own powers on top of mine would just only make things worse! Besides, I already completed the first half of the prophecy with my powers, so I don't need to use hers as there's no point. Especially since everyone believe I'm the Shadow Prince from the awakening that occurred." he said right as he saw the shadows began to crackle at his response.

"Oh, shadowling, you think that was your awakening? What happened back in the Heartdome wasn't even part of it and you have the audacity to call yourself the Shadow Prince. Ha!" the shadows mockingly revealed as they laughed while Issac's face faltered from their response.

"What?"

"See, you, your daughter, Phantom and all these Avalonians here think your awakening is done because you saved her from being executed, but the truth is, that wasn't your real awakening because you never actually revealed your Shadow Prince form nor did you show the true and fullest extent of your powers, so it's not a true awakening." the shadows casually explained as Issac's jaw dropped at the relevation.

"No, I did it. I... I showed my powers and I took on the Shadow Prince form. I'm pretty sure I—"

"Enhanced speed and strength? Really, shadowling? Those are your two basic powers as you've barely begun to scratch the surface of what you're capable of doing, which is why those don't count. As for your actual appearance, well, you just simply revealed your royal Celestial demon form." the shadows added as they chuckled at his reaction.

"That's why what happened at the Heartdome doesn't count as a real awakening and why your portion of the first half of the prophecy is still technically unfulfilled, because for you to truly get your awakening, you kinda need to let go and embrace what you are to you know... actually be the Shadow Prince."

"But I—"

"Brisha, let's just be real here: When you activated your powers the first time, you held back the damage that you did and refrained from using any of your powers. So, no. It still does not count and besides, Marcus had released her by then, so she wasn't really in a near-demise position at the time you came to save her. As such, if you thought about bringing that up, which you were, the answer still remains the same: it doesn't count and so, your awakening has yet to happen."

As Issac processed what the shadows were telling him, he frustratedly sighed as he thought he completed the first part of the prophecy, only to now come and find out that he didn't. He was, to say the least, annoyed by the shadows' relevation.

"Great, just great." he sarcastically and bitterly mumbled as he sighed and rubbed his head from the unwanted news.

"But! There is still time to complete your portion for the first half of the prophecy and claim your true awakening." the shadows excitedly added as Issac glance at Marcellus holding his blade to his daughter's throat and Slivanus holding her down with his vines as the Shadow Prince came to realize what the shadows meant by Aliya's near-demise as she was on the verge of losing her life to Marcellus and one of the seeker-knights' friends... again!

"After all, you said that you wanted to do something about her situation, right? Well, here's your chance to save her and earn your true awakening!"

Issac felt he had done a relatively decent job when it came to concealing his true powers from everyone. But as he saw the shadows intensively but eagerly staring at him and he thought of their relevation to him, he stopped watching his daughter's situation as he stared at his hands and sighed.

"I'm not the Shadow Prince, am I?"

"No, but you will be once you activate your powers and claim your true awakening, shadowling. But once you do this, there's no going back. Once we are out, you're always struggle to try to conceal us because once we get a taste of that sweet beautiful freedom, we aren't going to want to go back and you won't be able to make us go back so freely." the shadows smugly chimed in, swirling around him now as they chuckled.

"You're going to need your daughter's help to gain control of yourself just as she has helped you done tonight, of course, but even then, Aaliyah won't be able to help you forever now as in time, you'll eventually succumb to the darkness and learn to embrace the shadow within you."  Issac heard the shadows cunningly add as he sighed. "Oh come on. You knew this moment was bound to come up eventually, Brisha." the shadows had followed up before snickering at his dismayed look.

"I know, I know!" Issac frantically snapped as he sighed and glance back once more at Aliya from afar. "I just—" he began before cutting himself off as he sighed.

"I just don't want to lose myself and turn into something I'll come to despise. Just like I'm afraid of becoming a monster and all that comes with it." he quietly confessed as he sighed. "But I also don't want to lose Aliya! Not when she has her whole life ahead of her. She deserves better than this and I... I just don't know what to do." he followed up as he sighed once more.

"Well, that's quite the predicament, princeling, but it all comes down to what you value most, so perhaps you should start there and decide what's more important to you."  the shadows simply told him as Issac glanced at his hands and back at his daughter.

He's always known the answer to the shadows' response, but as his eyes darkened at the sight, he felt a surge of anger soaring within him as he clenched his fists and swiftly turned to face the shadows once more.

"What do I have to do?"

"The question isn't what you have to do, princeling, but rather what are you willing to do?" the shadows pressed as he promptly began to open his mouth, but the shadows stopped him from answering.

"Before you answer, princeling, think very carefully about what your answer is because once you say what your answer is, it will define you from this moment forward." the shadows added as his eyes went to his fists before he looked at his daughter.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to ensure her safety." he firmly but truthfully answered as he slammed his right fist against the force shield. "Just tell me what I need to do." he sternly added, now shifting his attention from his daughter to the shadows that subtly smirked at his response.

"Release us." the shadows promptly stated as Issac stared at the shadows swirling near him and beneath him, he glance at them and back at his daughter before he lowered his head as he knew this was the last opportunity he had to reconsider, because he knew once he agreed to release them, he couldn't go back.

He knew the risks that came with letting them out just as he knew what would happen to him if he agreed to release them. He could easily prevent the risks from occurring and save himself by simply declining right here. The shadows would still be contained and he would still {mostly} be in tact, but as he thought of his daughter, he knew he didn't care for the risks or how he turned out, because he knew he was going to whatever it took to ensure her safety... no matter what happened along the way.

So with his mind set and his decision finalized, Issac proceeded to lift his head up and looked at the shadows in front of him, knowing what he needed to do.

"Done."

Once he said that, a light blue, almost teal-like misty glow immediately began to surround him and the shadows as the two began to merge. When the misty glow faded and the mist settled, Issac's form stayed relatively the same as he still possessed his warm-beige skin. However, his jet-black hair began to gain white and pale light blue streaks while his eyes were no longer his light honeysuckle color or dark, lime-green color as shown in his first form, but rather his eyes were now a light blue, almost teal-like hue.

In contrast to his form slightly changing though, Issac's outfit did change as he was no longer wearing his light grey sweatshirt and black casual pants. Nor did have his plain black shoes or his light yellow wings.

Rather, he was now wearing a light blue and sliver armored suit with spiked shoulder pads while he possess no wings [making him now wingless like his daughter] and worn black combat boots rather than his plain black shoes.

Smirking at the sight of his new outfit, Issac then glanced at his hands and saw rather than the black, shadowy glow he was used to seeing, his hands now began to glow the same light blue, almost teal-like color that was reflected through his outfit and evident in his eyes. From there, he then touched the force shield and with that one touch, he exploded the force shield as the force field disintegrated upon his touch.

As soon as force field came undone, he stepped out of the once-existing shield where he noticed the knights and the guards surrounding Marcellus and Slivanus all begin to [predictably] raise up their swords toward him.

"Stay down!" the knights and the guards firmly ordered as Issac glance at the group of men and started to chuckle, now catching everyone's attention as the knights and the guards raised their swords higher.

"We said stay down!" the knights and the guards firmly ordered and as Issac glance at the group of men and their swords, he chuckled once more as he began to gradually form a menacing and eerie smirk. The men, in turn, took his lack of response as a threat and naturally began to strike him.

Once he saw the guards and the knights getting near, Issac maliciously and [perhaps even a bit] mischievously chuckled as light blue crystals began to form on his right arm. As the crystals had began to encase his right arm, he smirked as the crystals began to form spike-like effects, which he then used to swing at the unnamed guards and knights who dared to get near him.

While most of the unnamed guards and knights relied on their swords, all it took was one touch from his right arm for the swords to break under the impact of his crystal ability. Those who had their swords break from his crystals quickly realized their mistake and attempted to flee, but he would grab them with his crystallized right arm and throw them aside as they crash into the wall and became encased by Issac's crystallization.

Those who relied on their powers though were slightly different, depending on the power itself, but Issac found a way to deal with those who relied on their powers.

As he stepped onto the ground, a light blue, almost teal-like shadow portal began to form under his left foot as Issac's malicious and mischievous smirk grew at the sight. From there, he leaned into the miniature shadow portal as his body began to become submerged with the mini portal itself.

However once Issac's whole body went through the shadow portal, a trail of light blue crystals began to follow as he attacked not from above the ground, but below as he moved through the ground and began collecting unsuspecting knights [or guards] as he grabbed onto their armor from the ground and sent the knight or guard crashing directly into the wall, trapping him in his crystallization.

Or in some cases, he would grab the knight or guard by their feet and toss him in the air before spinning him around and aggressively throwing them back towards the wall, where they would find themselves in the similar fate as the others: trapped by Issac's crystallization.

Either way, the guards and knights he fought virtually stood no chance against him as his magic wasn't something that neither of them were prepared for. Especially since none of them knew about crystallokinesis or how to combat it because that kind of power did not exist in Avalon!

Simply put, the guards and knights were up against an enemy who was only meant to be a myth and now that he was real... they wish he had just stayed a myth because the real thing was a lot scarier than any of them could ever anticipate. Nearly all of the men Issac that fought all came to this conclusion. All of them, that is... except two.

"Hey!" he heard as Issac quietly chuckled at the two knights' voices. "You mess with them, you mess with—" Marcellus and Slivanus sharply but quite fiercely added on, but when he casually turned to face them, he saw their heroic and brave act start to crack as he saw the two knights glanced at each other and back at him as they blinked.

"Us?" Marcellus and Slivanus awkwardly finished before shaking their heads as they stared at him. "Wait. I thought we already saw the Shadow Prince back at the Heartdome." the two had pointed out as he began to musely laugh at their response right as the seeker-knight's eyes [in the moment] began to widen from his chuckle alone.

"No, no, no, no!" Marcellus fearfully exclaimed as Issac's malicious and mischievous smirk grew at the sight of the knight's panicked state.

"Marcel! What's wrong?" Slivanus quickly asked as Marcellus' eyes only grew frantic. "We got it all wrong!" the seeker-knight exclaimed as the nature faerie stared at him in disbelief. "We got what wrong?" the nature faerie puzzlingly asked as Marcellus shook the knight.

"We got his form all wrong! We all thought the first form he took when he saved her from being executed was his Shadow Prince form, but that's not it!" Marcellus frantically exclaimed as he gestured to Aliya, who was still tied up in Silvanus' vines as she just mutely looked on between him and the two knights since her mouth was now wrapped in vines [so even if she wanted to say anything, she couldn't].

The sight of his daughter's state only angered him more, but he mentally told himself to wait as he would get these idiots in time... and this time, he wouldn't let them get away from him. Issac made the mistake of letting them go last time and now he was going to amend that mistake and finish what he started with these two and their friends [as soon as he got a chance to encounter Aragon and Katsu].

"Marcel, what are you talking about?"

"What we saw back there was his Celestial Royal form as a shadow demon occulust, not the other way around!" Marcellus cried out as Slivanus baffedly stared at his classmate before looking back at him as the nature faerie cautiously blinked in his direction.

"Wait. If what we all saw back there was really his Celestial form as a shadow demon occulust, then..." Slivanus slowly began, briefly talking to his classmate before the nature faerie's eyes grew wider as he trailed off to look at him with panic and fear.

"No, no, no, no!" Slivanus immediately exclaimed, now displaying the same fear as Marcellus as Issac tauntingly smirked at the nature faerie. "I... It's you!" the nature faerie fearfully exclaimed as he stared at him in shock. "The Shadow Prince!" Slivanus exclaimed at last as Issac couldn't contain his laughter and began to laugh before a twisted, menacing smirk began to form on his face; his awakening now being recognized by these two idiots.

"The one and only!" Issac manically exclaimed; his smirk still eeriely in tact as he faced the two knights in front of him. "And you have someone of mine I want back." he sharply stated as Issac saw Slivanus and Marcellus glance at Aliya and back at him. "So give me back my daughter and all will be forgiven." he calmly added, masking how he really felt as he needed to slowly bait the two knights in, then when these idiots thought they were safe, that's when he would strike.

So far, it seemed like Slivanus was buying into his lie as the nature faerie glanced at Marcellus and at Aliya before looking back at the seeker-knight.

"Marcel."

"No."

"Marcel, my guy, did you see what he did to Fairytopia's former graduates of the Institute knights and the royal guards?" Slivanus quickly asked as Issac saw the nature faerie aggressively gesture to all of the poor unfortunate souls who dared to attack him.

"Yes, Sliva. I am aware of what the Shadow Prince did to our kingdom's former graduates of the Institute knights and the royal guards, but—"

"Then you know why we need to give the Shadow Prince back his daughter!" Slivanus promptly exclaimed as Issac saw the nature faerie looking at him. "This isn't like the time we attacked her when we were little faes, Marcellus! Issac—" the nature faerie promptly added when he decided to interject into their own conversation and interrupt the nature faerie along the way.

"My friends call me Issac." Issac briefly interrupted as he cleared his throat. "My enemies, on the other hand, call me Brisha and oh. One other thing: if you're going to refer to my royal title, then you better get my name right while you are at it." he further added as he saw Marcellus start to annoyingly exhale at him while the nature faerie gestured to him.

"You see?! You see what I mean! He isn't the same person we encountered all of those years ago! Back then, I would love to hold his daughter as bait and mock him since there wasn't much that he, if anything, could do to us. I mean, there wasn't really much that a healer could do." Slivanus told Marcellus as the nature faerie knight kept gesturing at him.

"But now, look at him! I mean, he's terrifying! He's dangerous and I'm not trying to end up like the others and get crystallized by him!" Slivanus frantically added in panic, which made Issac's smirk grow as the Celestial was starting to like the idea of the nature faerie freaking out over his second form.

"So, let me just remove the vines from her and then, we can—"

"Keep those vines on her."

"Marcel, I love messing with her as much as you do, but she's not worth the price of having to face, much less endure, the wrath of the Shadow Prince. I mean, Brisha is one person and we had completely outnumbered him, but now it's just us and—"

"Sliva! Pull yourself together! We were born to do this! Alright? We can handle him!" Issac heard Marcellus motivatingly tell the nature faerie, who huffed before he optimistically nodded. "Yeah, okay. You're right." he heard the nature faerie tell his friend before he looked back at him.

"You don't stand a chance against us, Shadow Prince!" Slivanus proudly addressed now as the knight drew out his sword and aim his blade towards him. "So, stand down now or we'll make you stand down!" he heard the seeker-knight valiantly add as Issac casually held his arms up.

"Alright, I'll stand down..." he casually said, but upon trailing off, he started to smirk as he took a step forward. "... Or, maybe I won't." he finished as a miniature shadow portal formed beneath his feet, which he used as he slid into the portal and began travelling underground.

As he continued to travel underground, the two knights began to search for him, but as soon as they spotted his trail of light blue crystals, it was far too late as he sent the two knights crashing into the wall and made their swords fell out of their hands.

Upon seeing their swords, he touched them with his crystallized hand as the swords broke on impact and fell onto the ground, resulting in a uproar from the two knights who seemed to be very distressed about losing their swords.

"You monster! Those swords have been part of our family's history for eras and you just destroy the swords as if they were nothing!" Marcellus and Slivanus angrily snapped, referring to their family's connection to the swords that had been passed down to them by their own respective family.

"Oh, trust me. I'm about to do a whole lot worse than destroy your family heirlooms." he darkly threatened as his smirk eeriely grew.

As soon as he spoke, the crystals that initially appear on his right arm began to spread toward the right side of his face, creating a spiked crystallized coat. Not long after the crystallized coat formed over the right side of his face, a thin layer of the crystallized coat began to form over his right eye as he faced the two knights and chuckled.

"So you two are supposed to be Fairytopia's newest heroes of the realm?" Issac mockingly asked as he viciously laughed. "Without access to your swords or your powers, you two aren't anything special." he followed up, laughing once again as he sighed and looked at the two men in front of him.

"Which begs the question: what should be done about you two?" Issac followed up as he ponder a bit on his question before he abruptly gasped. "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed as he glanced at the two knights with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

"I will just cut you both down..." he darkly added as he trailed off and briefly continued to stare at them before his demeanor drastically started to decline toward a darker aspect of rage when his eyes fell on the seeker-knight; the decision now finalized as his light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowed sinisterly.

"... Starting with you!"

With his mind set, Issac began to maintain his crystallized grip on the seeker-knight, who started to make a series of abrupt high-pitched, squeaking gasps as the crystals form around his throat. While the crystals continue to form around Marcellus' throat, Issac saw the seeker-knight weakly grasping onto the crystal around his throat, which began to expand as the crystal took on a spiky appearance.

As he continued to hold his crystallized grip on the seeker-knight, he saw Marcellus' distressed face as the seeker-knight weakly made another high-pitched, squeaking gasp. With the seeker-knight weakening, Issac's eyes lit up as his smirk quickly evolved to a cheshire-cat like smile at the sight of the seeker's demise.

So when Issac saw Marcellus gradually growing weaker and realized that the seeker-knight's life was reaching its end, he knew he was close to succeeding as the seeker would soon be out of his hair. All he needed to maintain his grasp on the pest a little bit longer and—

"Stop! You're going to kill him!"

"That's the point." Issac darkly countered, now clenching his crystallized right fist as the crystals around Marcellus' throat shattered. From there, the seeker-knight abruptly fell to the ground as he annoyingly sighed.

So close yet so far.

"But since you just had to interrupt his [what would've been] death, your seeker will live..." he bitterly said as he glance at the seeker-knight's near-unconscious state and annoyingly huff at the sight. "... Sadly." he then bemoaned as he unclenched his crystallized right fist.

"Either way though... you're next."

As he lift his head up and faced Slivanus, his cheshire-cat like smile turn to a menacing smirk as he saw the nature faerie's look of horror and shock.

"Oh and seeing how your friend is out of commission along with the team you two had on hand, I doubt anyone is going to come to your aid, so if you're lucky, I can make your death swift before anyone knows you're missing." he followed up in a joyous tone, which only made Slivanus panic more as he chuckled once more at the knight's fear.

"So, I guess this is where your story ends." Issac followed up as he held his crystallized right arm and smirked as a crystallized light blue beam began to appear out of his hand with his target set on the nature faerie, whose fear heighten at the sight of the beam. Without saying more to him, Issac mutely release the crystal beam toward Slivanus and smirked as the beam began to reach its intended target.

"No, no, no, no!"

When he heard the nature faerie's cries, he was so certain that the beam would hit him that he looked away and in the one second that he took his focus off of Slivanus, Issac would come to regret his decision...

Because as he expected to see Slivanus crystallized to death [or something to that extent] upon looking back, he saw the nature faerie was far from where he initially put him as he was near the other side of the wall, which had confused him... until he glance over and saw a few, staggerling vines on the ground with a fragment of a crystallized piece of a sword lying by the vines he saw.

Vines? Where did the... Wait... She was the only one I saw with vines, but she... She wouldn't—

"She would. I mean, if she can stand in front of Marcus and risk taking a hit for him, refuse to give you over to the guy who could've restored everything she lost, and encase you in a force field while risk getting captured herself to ensure your safety, is it really that farfetched to say she wouldn't push one of her childhood bullies out of the way and take the hit herself if it meant getting you to snap out of your state while saving Slivanus in the process?"

In that moment, fear flooded through him as he glanced back to where Slivanus initially was and when he did, he observed the crystal beam colliding into his daughter as he felt his whole body growing numb to the core from the sight. Not long after that, he saw the beam push her toward the wall as his eyes widen at the sight; the realization of his unintended consequence dawning on him at last as debris began to fall on top of her.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

At the sight of his daughter, Issac's Shadow Prince form immediately reversed back to his healer faerie appearance as he maintained his warm-beige skin and regain his light honeysuckle color in place of the light blue, almost teal-like color in his eyes. Furthermore, the white and pale light blue streaks in his jet black hair had left, solely leaving his hair jet-black again.

In addition, he regain his prior outfit as he went back to wearing his light grey sweatshirt, black casual pants, plain black shoes and had his light yellow wings attached to his back as this outfit replaced the new, current one he gained in his Shadow Prince form.

From there, panic began to set in as he ran {he could have flew, but he didn't think to do so} and found a pile of debris at the wall as his eyes grew wider once more.

"No, no, no, no!" he exclaim from panic as he quickly began removing the debris. He frantically continued to remove the debris until he removed the last piece and found his daughter at last. But to his dismay, he discovered her in a limp, almost staggered-like position as he saw various scratches on her face and arms, which he knew came from her coming into direct contact with the fallen debris.

"Aaliyah..." he solemnly and heartbreakingly whispered before he heavily sighed at her current state. "What have I done?" he quietly asked, intending for the question to be rhetorical, but the shadows took it as a chance to chime in... which they did the moment he had finished asking.

"Told you. She must have used that second you looked away to push Slivanus out of the way and took the hit that was meant for him to get you to see the consequences of being so centered on one thing. You were so consumed by your rage towards the knights that you didn't stop to think about how that consumation could have consequences and it took her getting hit for you to see that for yourself."

After the shadows spoke, he solemnly and heavily sighed as he went to check her pulse, but as soon as he went to touch her, a pale blue-colored rune with ancient Celestial symbols started projecting itself above his daughter's unconscious and frail body as his eyes widened from the sight of the rune's fractured state.

"No, no, no, no..." he repeatedly mumbled, his voice low and panicked as the shadows chuckled at his reaction towards the fractured rune."Oh come on, Brisha. You didn't think the seal would keep your daughter's powers and her demon form concealed forever, did you? Much less, keep her from being undetected by your mother and other demons?"  the shadows lightly mocked as he glare at the shadows swirling by his daughter.

"Well, it was supposed to do those things. That's why I cast the Celestial rune on her in the first place!"

"Well, now that you broke through the rune's defense with the crystal beam hitting her, it won't be long before she starts gaining access to her powers and her demon form. Luckily for you, the beam wasn't that impactful, so her powers and her demon form will only be delayed. That is to say she won't get her powers and her demon form immediately, much less right now. But if she takes on another powerful hit such as that of the crystal beam just now, the seal will shatter and when it breaks—"

"I'm aware of what will happen if the seal breaks." he sharply mumbled as he sighed. "Should I expect something to happen to her from the fractured state of the rune though?" he dreadfully asked as he saw the shadows glancing at her and back at him.

"Well..."

"Just say it."

"... Yes. Even though her powers and her demon form are delayed and won't come out for awhile at least, the fracture in the rune was just enough to expose her to your mother and the rest of the other demons. Well, minus Phantom. He's the only demon to have known about her prior to the seal breaking, but it's still weird how he knew."

After the shadows said that, he instantly face-palmed himself and scold himself on what he did before he sighed and stopped. "Great." he sarcastically mumbled, but much to his dismay, the news was far from over as the shadows kept going.

"Anyways, they will be able to see her as she will be able to do the same. Furthermore with the seal fracturing, she will be exposed to not only us, but the shadows around her. She'll be able to see, communicate and understand us as she will be able to do the same for the shadows around her. However, that also means we won't be solely talking to you and only be visible to you as we can also see her and talk to her and no. You can't try to tell us otherwise because when you had agreed to release us, you knew of the consequences that would follow and this is one of them."

As the shadows spoke, he frustratedly rubbed his head, having mentally scold himself for being so careless when the shadows continued.

"Aside from all the things we just said, that should be it as far of what will come from the rune's fractured state, but of course, the demons will be the least of her problems because after that seal shatters—"

"Everyone will come after her once they all know she inherited my powers, which will only result in her being in danger." he finished, interrupting the shadows as he sighed and glanced at Aliya again. "Well, in more danger than she already is right now." he solemnly added as he tapped on the rune, which then dispel onto his daughter as the transparent fractured pale blue rune enter her body. As it did, a faint light blue, almost teal-like glow formed over her before disappearing as the glow and the rune were no longer seen.

"So much for not dragging her into your world, huh?"

"Shut up."

"Oh come on, Brisha. Don't be like that. Besides, it's not our fault that you brought this upon her by cracking the seal you placed on her. You engaged with your rage and now, she faces the price for the decision that you made." the shadows mockingly counter as he glanced at the shadows as they began to laugh among themselves.

"But hey, at least you got the first part of your name-sake prophecy done, so congratulates! You are now officially known henceforth as the Shadow Prince as your awakening is complete!" the shadows cheerfully added before vanishing, now leaving Issac as he sighed and looked back at Aliya.

"I never meant for you to get hit. I only intended for Slivanus to get hit because I was targeting him out of the rage I felt for all the things he did to you, but in the end, I couldn't even get that. Instead, you got hurt in his place because of me and I'm so sorry, mija. I'm so, so sorry..." Issac solemnly and heartbreakingly told her as his eyes welled with tears.

Holding her close, Issac kneeled his head over hers and as he did, a single teardrop fell from his eyes and fell on her. As soon as the teardrop fell on her, a light golden-colored lotus flower-like symbol formed over her before the symbol disperse and became light golden dust that scatter across her body. As the dust fell on her, a light golden glow blanketed her as Issac looked up to see the dust transparently fusing into her.

Not long after that, the glow around her vanished as he began to hear a series of faint coughs, causing him to look up as his eyes widened at the sight of her eyes fluttering as her eyes had briefly flickered from her natural light amber hue to a light blue, almost teal-like hue.

Issac initially began to panic at the sight, but when he saw her eyes revert back to their natural light amber color, he began to relax just as he heard his daughter groan and slowly begin to sit up as he saw her hold onto her head and wince.

"Uugh..."

"Mija?"

He [admittedly] didn't think she would've actually hear him since he had spoke so softly [as if he was afraid to think she was really there], but when he saw her stop rubbing her head and turn to face him, he knew the gods [and even the fates for that matter] weren't playing with a cruel trick on him, especially when she spoke.

"Apá?"

Immediately after she responded, his eyes welled with joyous tears as he quickly pulled her into a fiercely protective hug.

"I thought I almost lost you, but you're okay!" he tearfully exclaimed as he pulled her away from the hug and looked at her in a teary-eyed manner as he started to feel responsible for what had happened to her.

"Mija, I'm so sorry! I am so, so sorry! I... I let my darker intentions get the best of me and I... I had wanted to hit Slivanus, but you must've pushed him out of the way when I wasn't looking and..."

"Dad—"

"I know I should've just grabbed you and left, but I... I was so convinced that I could get revenge on them and save you that I... I... I—"

"Hey."

As she gently held onto his shoulders, Issac could see it was her attempt to steady him, but he didn't think she could as he just felt so heartbroken and shaken and rattled by what happened to her.

"What happened to me isn't on you, okay? I'm the one who chose to take the hit when I pushed Slivanus out of the way. I knew what I was doing and you couldn't have known that I was going to do what I did. I thought I would have had time to move out of the way after I pushed Slivanus out of the beam's direction, but I was obviously wrong since uh... well..." she initially began, but when his eyes began to be on the verge of welling up with tears again upon hearing her trail off, he saw Aliya clearing her throat as she gently looked at him.

"Hey, hey, what happened to me falls on me and me alone. Like I said, I knew what I was doing and you shouldn't feel the need to blame yourself for my decision. Okay?"

"But I leaned into my dark impulses again and I—"

"Baba, we can't look back. All we can do is look forward and learn from our mistakes, so we can try to avoid making the same mistakes in the future." she softly told him, interrupting him as he saw her sigh.

"Besides, you're only acting like this because you're struggling to deal with your emotions as a result of all the years you suppressed your emotions. That's why you felt the need to act on the dark impulses, but it's just about finding a balance." she softly added as she warmly smiled at him.

"You'll get the hang of it eventually, but right now, it's just a learning experience. These things just take time, but you'll get through it. I promise." she softly continued before she pulled him into an affectionate hug. In response, he began to genuinely smile as he happily returned the hug.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." she softly told him before ending the hug as she pulled away from him, which led him to release his hold on her. "Now come on." she added, now standing up as he proceeded to do the same.

"We should get a move on before..." he heard her add on, observing as she went to turn around, only to see her abruptly trail off as she stopped talking.

He was confused by this and was about to ask her what was wrong when he spotted a group of knights surrounding them with Jesse at the center of the group as they saw he was positioned beside his dad, Ambrose and Prince Marcus; the four men intensively staring at them as he and Aliya quietly huffed at the sight.

Here we go...

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Well, isn't this interesting?"

As the Senior Fae began to speak, he saw the shiszi and her monster looking at him as he looked at them and continued to talk.

"You and your monster got a lead on our men when you brought destruction to the Heartdome, but oh, how the tables have turned because now, we have you and your monster trapped with no way out." his father followed up as he began to address the shiszi, who slowly looked at him as he chuckled.

"So, now I suppose this is the end of the line for you and your monster. I mean, it's almost fitting. The monster will end up in the Senior Fae's custody while he gets to watch you be chained and executed for the murders you committed in front of all of Avalon. A ending perfectly suited for our kingdom's very own murderer." Prince Marcus sharply chimed in as he observed the shiszi and her monster glancing around them to see the knights again before the love fairy saw their eyes going back on him with the shiszi breaking her silence to address him.

"Jesse, please. I know you have every reason to believe that I'm a murderer, but I am innocent."

"Heh. It's hard to believe that without any proof, shiszi, and given the murders of the dozen royal guards we found in the break room, I would say that innocence claim of yours isn't going to hold up for much longer." his father slowly counter as he saw the shiszi and her monster glaring at his father before her eyes went back to him.

"She didn't kill those guards and she didn't kill the royals." her monster firmly insisted as he saw his father simply scoffed at the monster's claim when he saw the shiszi begin addressing him as he saw her eyes centered on him once more.

"I know I don't have proof, but that shouldn't matter because you know I'm not a murderer!" he saw the shiszi firmly protest, causing him to look at her as his father picked up on his hesitation.

"Shon, what are you waiting for?" his father sharply whisper, but right before the love fairy could follow through, that's when her monster began to speak.

"Jesse, come on. I know you won't believe me if I were to say I wasn't a monster, but you know her. You know my daughter and you know the kind of person she is, so I'm asking you to look beyond what happened tonight, and do the right thing here.... Please." the monster sincerely pleaded to him as he took a step forward. But as soon as the monster did, Jesse saw his light honeysuckle eyes quickly gaining a bright crystallized white sheen with a undertone of a teal, almost light-blue hue beneath his irises.

As such, everyone quickly realized that the monster's eyes were beginning to glow unnaturally [because in Avalon, no one's eyes glowed the way that his were doing right now], causing fear to spark among the group as the knights instinctively began to reach for their swords at the sight of the monster's newfound glowing eyes. So even after the glow from his eyes left and the monster regained his light honeysuckle eyes, the knights still held onto their swords as he found his fear heighten alongside them with his aggression growing at the monster.

"What is he?" Jesse sharply and aggressively asked, now facing the shiszi as his voice became laced with a undertone of fear as a byproduct of seeing the monster's eyes glow the way that they did.

As he stared at her, he saw the shiszi glancing at the knights surrounding her and her monster before she looked at his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus. From there, he saw the girl look at her monster before she took a deep breath and finally proceeded to look at him as she began to address him.

"Jesse—"

"He's not Avalonian, so what is he!" Jesse sharply snapped as he saw the shiszi take another deep breath before she began to give her response.

"Jesse, you know what he is, but even so, I can see why you're scared of not knowing all that he is. After all, he's a Celestial as well as the last shadow demon occulust of his kind, but even as we know what he is, we still don't know all there is to him, hence why you and everyone else around you just freaked out at the sight of his eyes glowing just now." she slowly answered before Jesse saw her take another deep breath.

"The thought of not understanding what's in front of us can be terrifying and strange. I get it, but just because something is new to us, that doesn't mean we should immediately fear what we do not know either." she further added as he saw the monster removing his arm he placed over the girl as she took a step forward toward him.

"But even so, it shouldn't matter what he is, because even though he's different from all of you and not Avalonian, his appearance shouldn't make you change the way you perceive him. Not when you and everyone else know who is he." she softly continued as he found his grip on his sword tightening.

"Who he is?" he sharply repeated as he saw her frowning at his response. "Come on. Surely, you know who he is." she insisted, but as she spoke, he simply couldn't shake off his fear along with the ever growing uncertainty of the monster as he looked at her and back at her monster by the girl.

"Hmm, it's hard to see him for who he is when he's lied to us for a thousand years, shiszi, but what we do know is that he's a monster." his father and the Senior Fae passive-aggressively said as he saw the shiszi's eyes sharpened at their words. "He's not a monster!" she firmly protested, but as he silently looked on and listened to their conversation, he found it easier to believe his father as well as the Senior Fae than opposed to the shiszi, who he found harder to believe, given all that they knew.

After all, the monster was different and no one ever took that well, because to be different from the norm meant he was dangerous and that's exactly what the monster was!

But as the shiszi spoke with so much earnest and sincerity in her tone and he began to face her, the love fairy began to feel torn between whether or not to believe her when someone began to speak to him.

"Jesse, don't let her deceive you the same way she deceived me. She's a liar and a traitor to her people. Remember that before you hear her next words." Prince Marcus advised him and as he began to process the prince's words, he began to recall all the things that she and the monster did.

Once Jesse did that, the realization finally became clear: the monster couldn't be trusted and... neither could she.

Perhaps, she sensed what he came to realize because in that moment, he saw her relatively calm persona drop as she looked past his father and the Senior Fae before she looked past the prince and looked at him with desperation in her eyes as he knew it was a last ditch-effort to get him to side with her as she spoke.

"Jesse, I'm begging you to trust—"

Having heard enough, he mutely retrieved his sword and positioned the blade near her heart, rendering the shiszi speechless as she abruptly cut herself off from continuing her statement further. Rather, she only stared at him in disbelief and shock as while he looked at her in pure heartbreak as he could no longer see her as the girl he loved.

Instead, he saw her in the same light as everyone else and as the realization dawned on him, his eyes began glistening with tears at the fact they were on opposite sides again before he began to look at the shiszi with anger seething through him. In that moment, his face had hardened at the sight of her as he knew what he needed to do next.

"Arrest them!"

As soon as he gave the command and the knights began to close in on their fugitives, he saw the shiszi's eyes darken as she looked at him.

"You want to know who the Shadow Prince is?"

As soon as she made the question known, he saw her monster looking at her before he saw the monster glancing at him, his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus before the monster looked at the knights that clearly outnumbered them. From there, he saw the monster look back at her as he heard the monster mischievously chuckle and excitedly clench his fists.

"Oh, I like where this is going..." the monster excitedly chimed in before trailing off as he saw the shiszi glancing at her monster. "You want to show them?" she follow up as he saw the monster chuckle.

"Oh, trust me..." the monster had excitedly answered before trailing off as everyone saw his light honeysuckle eyes flicker toward a light-blue, almost teal-like color. As soon as his eyes changed color, the monster began to mischievously smirk as he [in addition to everyone else looking on] noticed a whirl of light blue, almost teal-like shadows began to swirl around the monster.

"... I'd love to."

After the monster said that and he saw the whirl of light blue, almost teal-like shadows swirling around the shiszi's monster, the young knight noticed the way the monster's light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowed brighter amidst the shadows swirling around him.

Not long after the monster's eyes glowed brighter and the shadows engulfed him, Jesse [along with the shiszi and everyone else in attendance] saw the monster shooting up into the air as his physical form became replaced by a glowing orb of pale blue sparkling matter that led the love fairy to believe the monster was tapping into his celestial shadow magic.

So as soon as he reached the top of the ceiling wall of the pantry room, Jesse saw the monster's sonic wave dismantling the room as everyone shield themselves [well minus the shiszi, who was forced to rely on her hands as cover] from the impending damage.

When the room crumbled and the walls fell down completely, everyone saw they were back in the palace's hallways as he turned to see the debris on the verge of falling on Aliya. Sensing that there wasn't much she could do, he saw the traitor using her hands as a shield, only to quickly stop when she noticed the shadows making a force field to shield her from the last of the falling debris.

The sight stunned him as he gasped.

"How is she doing that?" Jesse found himself asking as he heard his father chuckling. "That's not her doing, trust me. The shiszi is still magic-less. What you're seeing is just the by-product of our shiszi having the Shadow Prince as her father." his father now clarified as he saw the debris stop, resulting in everyone else lowering their shields as the shadows swirled around the shiszi before they left, leaving her on her own once more.

When he looked up again, he saw a quick swirl of pale blue sparkling matter spinning around the [now] ceiling-less pantry room [which didn't even exist now — thanks a lot occulust!] before he saw the pale blue sparkling matter dramatically land back onto the ground, which quickly began to shake and somewhat crack around the matter's landing once the powerful impact was made.

So as the knights [along with his father, the Senior Fae, Prince Marcus and the shiszi] balanced themselves to avoid falling over, everyone looked up to see a trail of light blue, almost teal-like sparkling, shadowy mist quickly disperse to reveal a massively, gigantic light blue, almost teal-like gorilla roaring as it {he?!} slammed its fists into the ground, causing the ground to shake at its impact once around.

Almost immediately, everyone's jaws dropped as they were genuinely dumbfounded by what they were seeing as the shiszi's monster took on a healing faerie form and the next, he was this giant gorilla!

While shape-shifting into other Avalonian forms and other species {like humans} was something that Avalonians shape-shifters and half-shifters could do and something Jesse was accustomed to seeing, someone transforming into an actual animal was completely unheard of!

Especially since Avalonian shape-shifters and half-shifters could not do what the shiszi's monster was doing!

The shiszi's monster was defying what they knew about shifters and it was downright terrifying to see the kind of powers he could wield at his disposal.

"So um... I'll be honest. I didn't know this was going to happen. In fact, I'll be the first to say that this was not planned." he heard Aliya yelling, cutting through the roar as she blinked. "But yeah! Meet my baba... again!" she added, sounding genuinely excited as she yelled once again before leaving her spot to fight the knights that charged at her.

It was here that the monster roar's reached him and blowed his hair back, causing his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus to look before he saw all their eyes widened, making him nervous.

"What?" the love fairy slowly asked, only to look back to see the giant gorilla standing in front of him.

Oh. That explains the stares now... Great.

As soon as he made eye contact with the monster, the love fairy knew he was at the monster's mercy, seeing how the monster's power greatly unrivaled his own. As such, he fully anticipated to find himself being thrown around or ripped to shreds by the monster's form, but to his own surprise... none of this happened.

Instead, the monster just simply reached over his hair as Jesse saw the monster fix his hair {to the best of his abilities, at least} and lightly poked his nose before the monster ran off to fight alongside the shiszi, who was still dealing with the knights around her. When the monster left, Jesse [in the moment] found himself stunned by the encounter.

That was... weird. He could have attacked me, but he didn't... why?

"Someone get us a sword!"

Snapping out of his thoughts at the sound of his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus eagerly wanting to engage in the fight, Jesse looked for the nearest knight to handle them as his eyes at the moment fell on Castor and saw the perfect moment to get payback from his earlier comment as he knew the knight had been awaiting a moment like this to prove himself to Avalon.

Ha! This is awesome! Karma for the win!

"With all due respect, this is too dangerous for you three to get involved in... which is why Castor is going to get all of you to safety!" Jesse promptly countered, grabbing the knight as he placed the knight in front of his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus. Almost immediately after the love fairy volunteered Castor for the job, Jesse saw the knight's silent but furious glare towards him as he smugly grinned.

"That's not a problem for you, is it, Castor?" Jesse smugly followed up as his gleeful smile had surface. "No, Jesse. It is not a problem." he heard Castor forcefully answer before adjusting his look towards the three as he saw Castor ushering his father, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus away from the battlefield. As he did, Jesse saw the knight send him one last look before Jesse saw the four out of sight.

Perfect.

When he turned back to look at what was going on, Jesse saw the shiszi kicking a nearby knight to the ground as she grabbed the knight's sword in the midst of the sword falling mid-air. It had then dawned on the love fairy that the shiszi and her monster were no longer having them all go on a chase as the two were fighting back.

With the shiszi and her monster's partnership, Jesse quickly saw why they were both a threat as the two were rapidly becoming a tightly dynamic but detrimental duo to the other knights as he saw the shiszi returning back to her old days as a troublemaker while her monster speedily took on several, new animal-based forms he hadn't been able to keep track of as the forms just came so fast! However when he caught sight of the monster taking on the form of a pegasus, he knew the two were fixing to escape, which meant he and his team needed to stop them... and quickly!

"Stop that... pegasus?!" Jesse firmly ordered as he saw the shiszi hopping on the monster's back and locking eyes on him; lightly saluting him before he saw the two take off through the halls of the royal palace.

"Get them!"

Activing his wings [much like the others], Jesse and his group of men went after the shiszi and her monster. But as soon as Jesse and his team were out of the destroyed pantry room and had begun to embark on their search for the two, they are quickly met with their friends as he saw Prince Rhys, Princess Nancy, Chepi, Ember, Iris and Crystallia looking at them.

"You guys haven't seen a pegasus running around here with the shiszi, have you?" Jesse asked, knowing the six Avalonians had just missed them but he didn't think it would hurt to ask. "No, but even if we did, we wouldn't tell you." Prince Rhys and Chepi sharply stated as Jesse bit his tongue and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He knew their attitude towards him came as a by-product of what he did {or didn't do rather} to the shiszi when they were little changelings. Since that night, Prince Rhys and Chepi have held a grudge against him over what happened to their childhood friend... or 'best childhood friend' as in the nature faerie's case {not that he took the title seriously as he knew he was the only best childhood friend the shiszi has... or had}.

"Okay, fair enough. But she and her father are not who they claim to be. I mean, I know you were all there when Issac revealed his Shadow Prince form to all of us. It's obvious that they are both a threat to our home and our kingdom, so if you could all just set aside your personal ties to the two and help us find them, that would be great, especially since we're pressed for time." Jesse politely but urgently tell them, but as soon as he spoke those words, he saw the six Avalonians glancing at each other and back at him.

"No."

"Guys—"

"Ember, Rhys and Chepi, go search for Aliya and Issac. The faster we find them, the less of a chance Jesse and these knights have at getting their hands on them." Nancy firmly stated as Jesse annoyingly groaned at her response.

You've got to be kidding me right now! Ugh! Why would she do this to me and right now, of all times, to do this?!

"Iris, Crystal, you two are with me. We'll buy Ember, Rhys and Chepi some time to find Aliya and Issac or at the very least, try to reduce the amount of knights coming their way." Nancy said as he saw the princess' friends nodding at her orders.

"Got it!"

So as Ember, Prince Rhys and Crystallia listened to the light princess and flew off {presumably thinking this would all be wrapped up by the time dawn arrived}, Jesse sighed as he searched for the nearest knight to him until his eyes eventually landed on the wind faerie.

"Aeolus, grab a group of men and go after them. If Her Highness thinks she can coordinate the fugitives' escape, then she has another thing coming." he firmly said as he saw Aeolus nodding at his words. "Got it, Captain!" Aeolus promptly exclaimed as Jesse saw the latter grab a group of knights before following after Ember, Prince Rhys and Chepi.

"I'm not..." he mumbled, before trailing off as he quietly huffed. He despised the title as it made him feel all icky inside, like it was just another title that would come with high expectations he would be forced to follow. He meant to tell Aeolus that much, but when he saw the knight was gone, he [instead] turned his attention to Princess Nancy, who smugly crossed her arms as she stood by Crystallia and Iris.

"Your Highness, with all due respect, aren't you about justice?" Jesse had bluntly countered as he saw the the princess turning to face him. "I mean, I'm just asking because you don't seem to be following what you preach. Then again, neither do your parents, so I guess it's no surprise to see you like this when your parents fumbled the bag in raising a demigoddess." he sharply said, mocking her as he saw Nancy's eyes darkened.

"Ooh, did I strike a nerve?" Jesse lightly taunted as he saw Nancy dismissively laughing. "Oh, please. Like you, of all people, could actually get under my skin." she bluntly began as she smirked.

"Alright? Let's get something straight here: I am a princess and a demigoddess of the light. You, on the other hand, are nothing more than a mere love fairy, which seems ironic, considering you don't follow what you preach." she sharply added before she laughed again. "So, if you think you are meant to pose some kind of threat to me, lover boy, think again, because you don't."  Jesse heard her viciously continued as he blinked.

Ouch.

"In fact, we can even put on a whole demonstration in front of your knight crew and let them see for themselves that you are the furthest thing of a threat." Nancy confidently added as he noticed Crystal and Iris were looking on with cryptic look... one he couldn't read or decipher.

"Or, you can simply call off your men and we can all go our separate ways..." Nancy had further added before trailing off as she held her arms up and gestured to Crystallia and Iris. "... Unless you want to deal with me and my friends." the princess now gradually finished as he promptly laughed upon hearing her response.

"Ha! So, that's your whole speech, huh?" Jesse swiftly asked, laughing once more as he smirked at the demigoddess in front of him. "An empty ultimatum?" he further taunted as the love fairy saw the light princess-and-demigoddess chuckling at his response.

"I tried to be reasonable and spare you from having to face getting humiliated in front of your whole knight crew, but since you asked for it..." the light princess-and-demigoddess slowly countered before trailing off as she raised her right arm and formed a mythical light scepter using her light-manipulating magic.

"... Bring it on, Captain."

As soon as she said those words, he saw the other knights looking at him and when he saw Kai giving him a slight nod, Jesse glanced at his sword and raised it towards the demigoddess and her friends.

Here goes nothing...

"Get them!"

Once Jesse had given the command, he saw the knights charging against the demigoddess' friends while he saw the demigoddess staring back at him as he quietly observed the white pearled, light golden mythical scepter in her possession.

"I hope you're more bite than bark, Princess."

"Likewise, Captain."

Observing as her amulet glowed in sync with the scepter in her hand, he watched as the scepter gained a bright golden glow before she plucked a strand of her hair. "Let's how you fare against illusions, lover boy." she began as she placed the strand of her hair in the scepter. As soon as she did, she slammed the scepter down and seconds later, several copies of the demigoddess arose from that single strand of hair.

Glancing around him, Jesse saw the copies of the princess as her copies charged against him. As he sharply growled, he quickly withdrew his sword as he attempted to slice his way through the copies, but because she was a demigoddess, her copies were vastly more powerful than if it was an illusionist mage who made them.

This, of course, quickly proved to be a challenge for him as her copies were unparalleled to him in the sense that their host held exceptionally more power than he did. So when he braced the attack from one of her several copies and stopped himself from falling onto the ground, he had heard the copies chuckle at him.

"What's wrong, Captain? Didn't the grand ole Director himself teach you how to fight or is he a exceptionally poor fighter like you?" the copies mockingly taunted as Jesse clenched onto his sword and silently growled.

"When I find you among these stupid copies of yours, I swear I'm going to make you pay!" he sharply snapped as the copies dismissively laughed. "Oh, please! I would love to see you try, lover boy!" the copies [and maybe even their real host herself] mockingly taunted as he had sharply growled from these copies and their host undermining him.

"You know what? I've had just enough of you!" he sharply snapped as he picked up his sword and swung the hilt around his hand before he held tightly onto his sword again.

"And I've been thinking it's about time for someone to put you in your place!" he threatened as his gemstone on his amulet began to faintly glow a light pink color, changing from its default dark blue state. As his amulet glowed, so did his eyes and his blade, which started to gain the light pink hue as shown in his eyes and his amulet's gemstone.

"Love Blast!"

As soon as he said those words and the blade on his sword started to illuminate a bright, light pink hue, he began to cast several blasts of pink violet-colored energy charges from his sword, weakening a few of the copies he came across. Feeling like he had the upper hand here, Jesse began to continue advancing the copies with his Love Blast, allowing him to continue reducing the strength of the demigoddess' copies until he had begun to make her copies disintegrate by the constant love energy-powered blasts.

However even with this power, it still wasn't enough as he fell after a copy of the princess blast him with a ray of light from her scepter while he was fighting one of her copies mid-air. As such, the powerful blast of light energy caused him to crash in the wall as his rose-gold heart-shaped wings became slightly torn from the fight before he ultimately fell onto the ground. When Jesse attempted to stand up, he saw the princess' eyes glowing a bright golden hue as she raised her scepter towards his exposed throat.

"Stand down, Jesse."

I guess this is why no one goes picking a fight with demigods and demigoddesses, much less their parents. No one picks a fight with them because it doesn't matter how skilled you are or how much power you use to try to beat them, these over-powered nuisances will always win.

"There's no need to make this worse for yourself than you already have." she further added as he tiredly groaned and bitterly huffed at her words.

Ugh! So much for trying to put Princess Nancy in her place.

"Now, as Princess of the Light Kingdom, I order you to bend the knee and call your men off." she firmly ordered as he dryly chuckled at her command. "What? You think you won or something?" he weakly retorted, figuring if he couldn't beat her in a physical fight, then he could beat her in a battle of wits.

"Well, considering that I'm the one standing and you're the one on the ground, I would say it's safe to say that I won this fight and to think I only used a fraction of my power when it came to battling you." she firmly, swiftly and maybe just smugly countered as he quietly growled at the brashness in her response to him.

"Look, I tried to spare you, Jesse. I really did. I tried to give you a chance for all of us to go our separate ways, but you didn't listen and you chose to challenge the demigoddess princess of light herself." she calmly told him before she sighed.

"This all could have been avoided if you had just simply heed my words and listened to me, but no. You wanted to be difficult and you wanted to go against your fate and now, look at you. You are exactly where I envisioned you to be: on the ground with my scepter pointed at you." Jesse heard the princess tell him, watching as she retracted her scepter before Nancy shook her head once more.

So even in accordance to her stupid precognition, I was still destined to lose to her. ... Ughhh! I can't stand her!

"I don't mean to brash or rude to you. Okay? I just... I just... All I wanted you to was just listen, but you couldn't even do that." she remorsefully added before she sighed again.

This is so stupid! Gods, I wish someone could catch this smug, entitled demigoddess princess off her guard and put her in her place! Just once! Please!

"Look, just because we fought, it doesn't mean we have to keep going at each other's throats." she continued as she gave him a small, caring smile. "So, how about I help you up and we talk about this like civilized Avalonians?" she softly suggested as she held her right hand out to him. "Does that sound like a reasonable request to you?" she softly followed up as he mutely stared at her.

Jesse thought he would have no choice, but to comply with the demigoddess princess' words as a means of defeat, but when he had spotted a pair of glowing violet-blue eyes in the corner of his eye, he decided to go along with Nancy's little 'peace offer' in the hopes that whoever's eyes he saw glowing just now would do him a favor and catch the demigoddess princess off-guard once and for all.

"Sure. Sounds good to me."

As he innocently smiled and held his hand for her to grab, he carefully held onto his sword as he felt her pulling him up.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." she cheerfully said before frowning as she looked at him. "Are you hurt?" she asked as he struggled to conceal his anger over the demigoddess' [genuine] question as he knew he was hurt, but it obviously hadn't connected to Nancy because she couldn't get hurt as easily as an Avalonian who wasn't a demigod/demigoddess.

"Oh, no. I'm fine." he had passive-aggressively lied, having been too bitter to correct her and too tired to genuinely care when he spotted the pair of glowing violet-blue eyes in the corner of his eye. "But you won't." he cryptically added and before she could even ask him what he meant by his response, he pulled his hand back in time to witness her entire body become engulfed by a strong, blue-violet colored lightning blast that struck Nancy's back before she abruptly fell onto the ground without so much as saying a word.

"Now, who's the threat?" he mockingly taunted to the unconscious princess as he crossed his arms and laughed.

"That would be me."

Looking up, he saw Crystallia's blue-violet eyes flicker to her natural ocean-blue eyes as he saw her left hand briefly hold a few sparks of lightning before the sparks faded, causing him to gasp as his eyes widened.

"You can wield—"

"Yes, I can wield lightning. It's a gift I inherited from my mother."

"But you... Aren't you—"

"A water fairy? Yes, but I'm also the daughter of a weather fairy and by some design, I was able to inherit both of my parents' gift. I just never felt the need to use my mother's gift until now." Jesse heard the water fairy casually answer, interrupting him as she shrugged. "You do know that dual Avalonians do exist, right?" she casually followed up as he bashfully waved her question off, not trying to let her know that he didn't know about dual Avalonians being a thing.

"Pfft — Yeah, of course!" he awkwardly answered, to which he saw Crystallia slowly blinking at his response as he awkwardly forced a cough. "Anyways! Why did you attack Nancy when I saw you on her side?" he followed up in an effort to move on from the topic when he and Crystallia were joined by someone else.

"She was never on Nancy's side and neither was I."

As Iris resurfaced among the knights, he saw the Senior Fae's daughter crossing her arms as she looked at him.

"But you—"

"Jesse, the traitor and the monster might have been my friends at one point and all, but when compared to my dad, neither of them mean anything. So, I have no problem going against the two and all those who side with them." Iris casually interrupted as she sighed.

"Though, I admit Rhys might be a challenge for me." he heard her mumble and Jesse quickly pretended he hadn't noticed as he placed his sword away.

"As for me, well, my parents are benefactors for his projects and I don't think they would like it if I was siding with the traitor and her monster. I imagine it would look bad to the Senior Fae and he would cut ties with them, which would greatly hurt my parents in the long run as they gained a lot from the things he has done for Fairytopia." Crystallia simply began as she shrugged again.

"I don't have nothing against her or her father. I just don't want to risk endangering my parents' strong ties to the Senior Fae, so if I have to side with everyone else and see her and her father as our kingdom's threats, then so be it." Crystallia followed up as she crossed her arms.

"So, what do we do about our demigoddess princess here?" she casually followed up as he, Crystallia and Iris began to ponder on what to do with Nancy when they saw the Senior Fae's daughter start to cunningly smirk.

"I might have a idea... but I'll have to run it by my father first." Iris briefly answerd as she huffed. "So, in the mean time, Crystal, you'll come with me and we'll bring some knights with us to carry her, so she's out of sight before anyone realizes she's missing in action." Iris followed up before she snapped her fingers, to which Jesse saw several knights adorning scarlet red-colored eyes as they began to mutely lift the demigoddess princess.

"As for you, Jesse, you will go track down our missing fugitives and stop Rhys, Ember and Chepi from helping them escape as it is imperative that neither of them leave." Iris firmly stated as he nodded.

"Of course, Your Highness." he obediently answered, now catching himself off-guard as he had blinked at his response to Iris' command.

Your Highness? But, she's not a princess and her father isn't a king, so where did that come from and why did it sound so right when I said it?

"Good. Don't disappoint me or else."

As Iris left him on that note, he saw her and Crystallia both leaving him as some of the scarlet red adorned knights followed them with the unconscious demigoddess princess' in their grasp as he blinked.

Huh.

Jesse thought to question it more, but realizing that he was just assigned a command from the Senior Fae's daughter, he glanced to see that it was just him as he blinked.

Did the guys who were left with me all end up being under her spell after all?

"Captain?"

Jumping from the newfound voice, he quickly turned to see Kai staring back at him as he sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you." Jesse said as Kai puzzlingly stared at him. "Right. Well, we should get going before the fugitives escape." Kai countered, though it took a bit for the love fairy to realize that his friend's voice seemed strangely monotonous for someone who showed so much energy earlier.

The thought of Kai's toneless state bothered him, but when the fire faerie reminded him of their mission, he stopped thinking about his friend's monotone voice as the two flew off in search of their fugitives.

When the two eventually reach the center of the palace, the two are quickly dismayed to see half of their men dispatched as he saw Kai's eyes darken from the sight. "These fugitives are going to keep running circles around us if we don't do something about it! This has to end now!" Kai had firmly snapped as Jesse quietly blinked, realizing that he sounded more passionate than he did a few moments ago.

"I'll look for the monster. You go look for the traitor and we'll deal with Ember, Prince Rhys and Chepi separately if we come across them. Alright? Cool." Kai further added and before he could get a say in, he saw the fire faerie head in a separate direction as he blinked.

That was... weird.

As much as his friend's behavior was starting to alarm him, Jesse didn't have time to linger more on the matter, because right in that moment, he heard swords clashing. Curious, he flew over to the balcony and glanced below at the sight of a few knights clashing with the shiszi while he saw her monster donning the form of a winged water dragon, who shot water out of his mouth as the knights began to trip over the water and fall.

Rolling his eyes at the sight, Jesse climbed onto the balcony and jumped down right as he saw the shiszi finish up dispatching a few more knights. Taking this as his opportunity to put an end to her reign of terror and chaos, he waited until she was alone to intercept her as their swords clashed upon him landing on the floor.

"Well, if it isn't the hero himself." she sharply greeted as their swords begin to clash and slash at each other again. "You know, I'm just curious. Did our friendship ever mean anything to you or was that also another lie?" she added as their swords proceeded to clash into each other once more.

"Our friendship meant everything to me, but you had to go and ruin it just like you go and ruin everything else!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?"

"Yes!" Jesse angrily snapped as he lunged his sword at her, only to see her block the attack with a swift dodge and clash. "Everything is always your fault! Just like you ruined the induction and caused the return of the Shadow Prince!" he sharply added, lunging at her again as she blocked the attack with ease.

"Besides, if anyone's lying here, it should be you! I mean, who just decides to betray their home on a whim and goes running around with a monster?" he taunted, blocking her attack as they saw two knights being chased by the shiszi's monster, who still maintained his sky blue, water winged dragon form as he continued to shoot water in the background.

"Don't call him that!"

If it wasn't for the fact she hadn't yelled her response out so loudly, Jesse doubted he would've been able to react in time to see the sword coming at him. But luckily, he was able to block the attack as he saw the shiszi's light amber eyes seething with anger.

"He's kind, he's loyal and he has my back — unlike you!"  he heard the shiszi angrily snap as he blocked her attack before he scoffed at her response. "You really think that even with the lies he tells you?" he counter as she scoffed. "It has to be better than trusting you." she snapped as the love fairy glared at her.

"Trusting me? Ha!" he sharply exclaimed as he scoffed again. "You want to go talk about trust, but that's hilarious coming from you, because if anything, you lied to me about everything!" he angrily followed up as he clashed his sword against hers, to which she aggressively blocked as her anger is heightened from his words.

"The only ones lying to you are your father and Ambrose!"

After she said this, Jesse noticed he struck another nerve in the shiszi as she was moving with a different level of aggression that he had never quite seen out of her before. Her movements, he saw, were faster and he sworn he might've seen even her speed past him a few times as he saw her taking every opportunity to weaken him.

Jesse, having genuinely been caught off-guard by this side of her, tried to keep up with her, but he quickly realized it was an effort that would be in vain as her strikes became more rapid and fast-paced. Simply put, he could not keep up with her like he had a few moments ago.

He knew that much when she succeeded in dropping him onto the ground and disarmed him of his sword, before he saw the shiszi pinning him onto the palace's floor with the tip of her sword pointed directly at his exposed throat. As he looked up to meet her eyes, he saw her light amber eyes flicker to a light blue, almost teal-like hue before he noticed a sinister gleam in her eyes that admittedly made him more nervous than the actual color change in her eyes.

But, not wanting her to know that she was genuinely freaking him out right now with this new side of her, he decided to attack her from a different approach in the hopes that she would be able to snap out of whatever state she was in before she really did kill him!

"What? Are you going to kill me too like you did with the royals and the dozen royal guards?" he sharply snapped, trying to ignore the rapid pounding that occurred from the sight of her sword being so close to his throat.

"You believe that?!"

Yes... You're literally holding a sword above my throat, Jesse bluntly thought but he [wanting to still live and not, you know, die] kept his mouth shut on the matter as he saw the shiszi raising the sword higher at him.

"If you really believe that..."

As such, Jesse presumably believed that she was on the verge of finishing him off, so he looked away and closed his eyes, knowing he had no choice but come to terms of being her next victim. At least, he assumed that was going to be the case until he heard her sword landing beside him with a sharp thud, causing him to open his eyes and look at the shiszi, whose eyes were now the usual light amber eyes he was used to seeing and no longer the scary light blue, almost teal-like color he had seen moments ago.

"... Then you never knew me at all." she sorrowfully finished, dropping the sinister gleam in her eyes as he saw it was replaced by a wounded gleam in her eyes. From there, she heavily sighed and turned away from him.

Once she looked away, Jesse glanced at her and back at the sword beside him as he blinked, internally trying to figure out why she hadn't killed him like she did to the fourteen innocent Avalonians whose lives she took.

After all, he knew she was capable of killing people and she had her opportunity to make him be her fifteenth victim... but she didn't and it left his mind reeling in confusion.

She could've genuinely killed me if she wanted to. It was in the flick of her wrist, so all she had to do was simply act on that anger she felt towards me and that would've been the end of me. But, she didn't do that. Instead, she just tossed the sword back... If she didn't want to kill me, then is there a chance that she hadn't killed the others like we all think she did? Or, was sparing me just part of some bigger agenda she has planned out with her monster?

Jesse thought to ask her these things to try to make sense of her decision, but before he could, the love fairy spotted a pair of angelic, white-feathered wings with pure bronze gold glistening from the tips of his wings coming towards her from behind as his eyes widened.

Marcellus is still alive?! That's great! Wait... Marcellus is alive... and he's coming straight towards Aliya! That's not a good thing!

He meant to warn her about Marcellus coming, but right as he was about to give her a heads-up, the seeker grabbed the shiszi and snatched her up from the ground. As soon as he grabbed her, the love fairy could see the seeker-knight holding on the girl by her neck-collar before he flew off with the shiszi in tow.

Once Jesse saw Marcellus flying off with the shiszi in his possession, he quickly stood up as the love fairy looked on with genuine concern for her.

"Aliya!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Let's see how your monster feels about this!"

Laughing as he held the shiszi in his grasp while flying mid-air over the palace, he then spun her around before aggressively slamming her into the palace's walls where she lands in the dining hall area and bumps into one of the polished white-and-golden tables before she falls onto the ground.

From there, he smirks at her weakened state as he chuckled at the way she began to stand upon seeing him approach her.

"Oh shiszi, I'm going to make your life so much worse. That way when I'm through and this is all over, you'll wish my friends and I had succeeded in ridding our home and Avalon of you all those years ago." he smugly stated as he cracked the bones of his shoulders before looking at her once more with a smug smirk.

"Before I do all of that though, I'm going to start off easy by punching you in the face." he smugly stated and not long after that, he proceeded to punch her directly in the face as he channeled all of his aggression into the punch.

When he was done, he expected her to react in pain, but to his dismay, all she did was laugh. "Ha! Is that the best you got?" she mockingly taunted as she laughed again. Marcellus silently growled as her reaction wasn't one he wanted, but before he could say something, someone else stepped in.

"If you're not impressed by him, then let me try."

Upon moving out of the way, Marcellus saw Aeolus holding a black baton and once the knight approached her, he watched as the knight swung the black baton directly into the shiszi's face, having also channeled all of his aggression into the baton. Once Aeolus was done, he saw the knight chuckle as he crossed his arms.

"Had enough yet, shiszi?"

As the two observed a gush of dark golden metallic blood slightly flowing from the shiszi's nose and dripping onto her short-sleeve shirt, the knights saw her weakly coughing in pain before she looked at the two and shook her head as she faintly laughs.

"Wow, you two are pathetic if that's all you got." she mocked as the two knights glanced at each other as they were evidently peeved by the fact they hadn't broke her enough to get her to call for her monster, whom they were hoping to catch.

"That was my favorite baton too and nothing! Ugh!" Aeolus whined as he huffed. "Well, if your punch and my baton couldn't faze her, then what else can we do to break her, so that she can attract the monster's attention by crying out in pain?" the knight asked him as the seeker had pondered on the question before blinking.

"Hey, is it just you alone?" he asked as Aeolus shook his head. "No. I have a whole team with me, I just..." Aeolus briefly answered before trailing off as Marcellus smirked. Mutely, the two seemed to be in sync because he saw the knight run off and moments later, he saw the knight come back with his entire team as his smirk grew larger.

"Alright, shiszi. If having two beatings from two knights separately wasn't enough for you, then how about a beating from the whole team?" he smugly asked as he saw her eyes briefly falter from his question, but the look faded as she gave a faint smirk.

"Bring it. I'll handle it just I've handled everything else." she cockily answered, standing right as he and the shiszi saw Aeolus' team [which consisted of five knights] arriving with batons as she faintly chuckled.

"Is this all you could get?" she mockingly asked as he saw Aeolus smirking. "Oh, trust me, shiszi. This will be more than enough after we're all through with you." Aeolus promptly answered and not long after, the knights began to circle around her as she stood in the middle, glancing from every direction in a effort to figure out where they would strike when one of them attempted to throw the first punch on her.

However, she ducked and when the first knight grabbed onto her, she broke the hold using her arms and turned around before landing a direct punch on the first knight's face, knocking him down in the process. As he, Aeolus and the remaining four knights mutely look at the shiszi, she began to crack her knuckles before she looked at them and smirked.

"Well, who's next?"

"All of us." he, Aeolus and the remaining four knights smugly answered and as they delivered the punch(es) onto the shiszi, Marcellus knew they had caught her off-guard when she fell onto the ground. Her head reeled for a little bit, but when she stood up, they were all ready as they struck her at different points with their punches and batons.

The shiszi (to her credit) tried to keep up, but after they each decided to use their magic to gain a upper-hand advantage on her, she never managed to achieve the same strength [nor stamina] in the same way she had started.

So while she was still standing and getting a punch every now or then, he [along with Aeolus and the remaining four knights] outnumbered her and proved to be a force as they all gathered their batons and struck her down in various places on her body, forcing her to fall as he smirked at her bruised state.

Watching as she winced and staring at her bloodied arms and several bruises that formed on her face from the batons [in addition to the punches and their magic] striking her, it was collectively believed that they broke her. However, when she somehow managed to stand up, everyone had groaned as they heavily sighed at her unwillingness to break.

But when they saw she was in pain as she held onto her right side and glared at them, Marcellus thought they had some kind of victory in the making as he smirked.

"I imagine you're starting to feel what the power of many can do against one who holds none." he briefly began as he smirked. "So, if you think that hurts, just wait till you see what we do to your monster." he smugly taunted and as she glared at him, he could see the anger in her eyes heightened as she angrily clenched her fist.

"Don't even think about touching him!" she angrily snapped and as she charged at him shortly thereafter, the seeker extended his baton as he swung the baton across her face and struck her from the front, watching as she promptly fell onto the ground and listening to the proud, smug laughter coming from Aeolus and the other four knights.

"Oh, shiszi. I already did." he taunted as one of the knights handed him a sword, which he chose to now use in place of the baton.

"And there's nothing you're going to do about it because you, simply put, are not strong enough to stop what's about to happen." he further taunted and as he saw the shiszi attempting to stand up, he promptly kicked her over as she fell back onto the floor.

While his companions chuckled, he quickly grasped onto the sword and before the shiszi had a chance to react, he aggressively proceeded to plunge the sword into her left ribcage. As soon as the sharp blade dug into her skin [as she no longer had armor like before and was thus, expose and vulnerable to attacks like these], he finally got the distressed, anguish yell out of her as he smirked at the sound.

Now, you got no choice but to come now, monster.

"Like I said, you're simply not strong enough." he smugly added as he rapidly pulled the sword out, earning another distressed and anguish yell from her before she had faintly stared at him as her eyes held anger. "You weren't strong back then and you're certainly not strong now, shiszi." he added as he tightly tugged on her face and laughed.

"You're a joke, shiszi, and that's all you're ever going to be." he further continued, glancing at the metallic, shimmery dark golden blood spreading on the bottom-right corner of her shirt as he chuckle and promptly released her face, to which she fell onto the ground with a swift thud that was caused by her head crashing into the polished, marble flooring.

He had thought to leave it there, but then Marcellus found Aeolus retrieving the sword he had just dropped as he saw the metallic, shimmery dark golden blood dripping from the tip of the blade.

"She's your monster. It's only fair that, as our hero, you finish her off." Aeolus promptly told him as Marcellus retrieved the sword and stared at him. "This is the only chance we might get her to be this weaken and if you kill her, then there's a chance the Shadow Prince will follow suit, so... it's all or nothing and right now, these people need justice... justice that you need to deliver as our seeker." Aeolus followed up as Marcellus blinked before he confidently nodded and gripped onto the hilt of the sword.

"Yeah. Yeah, this would be a good opportunity to finish her off, huh?" he asked before he glanced at the sword and nodded. "Okay. I'll do it. I'll finish her off." he firmly said and as Aeolus grinned, the seeker proceeded to make his way back to the shiszi, who was once again trying to stand up when he aimed his sword at her and smirked.

"You might have brought pain to the innocent people of Fairytopia with all of the murders you committed and brought terror and destruction towards the kingdom of Avalon, but tonight, it will all come to an end when I, Marcellus Nero Braveheart, deliver the finishing blow to put an end to your wicked reign." the seeker valiantly spoke as he began to raise the sword higher as Marcellus aligned the sword with the shiszi's heart.

"So begone with you, wicked beast, and go back to the shadows from which you came!" he had valiantly added and as he began diving the sword closer to her heart with the intent to plunge the sword into her heart, he nearly succeeded in ridding their home [and their kingdom] of the monster when a crystallized blast appeared out of nowhere and struck the blade of the sword!

As gasps occurred among Aeolus and the other four knights, Marcellus stared at the blade break at the crystal's impact before he found himself left with the hilt of the sword that no longer seem to exist.

So, the monster's not far then. Good to know.

"Aeolus, get your men and start—"

When he turned from where Aeolus and the four other knights were standing, he cut himself off after the five men were nowhere to be found as he tightly gripped onto the hilt of the sword that was just recently given to him... and now stood to be destroyed at the Shadow Prince's hand.

Where did they—

He was in the process of trying to figure where the five knights went when he heard a low, dark and sinister chuckle nearby.

"Ha! Did you just notice that your friends were missing?"

Upon hearing the voice and recognizing the source of the voice to belong to the Shadow Prince, Marcellus tried to search for him, but when he turned, he heard another low, dark and mocking chuckle.

"Ah, that's good ole classic hero maneuver for you. Aureus was good at implementing that and I can see you're committed to following in his footsteps." he heard the Shadow Prince continue as he heard the prince chuckle at him. "Well, this is a good start... but I doubt the same can be said for them." the Shadow Prince now added as he heard a snap.

When the seeker-knight turned, he saw five light-blue, almost teal-like shadows emerging from the ground as he quickly realized the shadows resembled the five knights... because they were the five knights!

"Guys!" he exclaimed from shock and panic before he gripped tighter onto the hilt and began his search for the Shadow Prince. "What did you do to my friends!" he firmly demanded as he heard another chuckle, though he still could not detect where the shiszi's monster was.

"It's not what I did, seeker, but rather what you did." the Shadow Prince further added as he had heard the prince chuckle. "I mean, I don't know about you, but these guys don't look too thrilled about being casted in the shadows of the so-called chosen one." the prince further continued as the Aeolus' shadow began to charge at him.

Dropping the hilt, he found himself blocking Aeolus' shadow attack from tackling him onto the ground as he held the knight back from hurting him by using his arms. Yet as he kept holding the knight back, he realized that Aeolus' shadow also proceeded to match his strength as Marcellus found himself looking on in disbelief.

But not long after, he felt a swift kick from behind him, causing him to stop locking hands on Aeolus' shadow, who promptly proceeded to also kick him as Marcellus quickly fell onto the ground.

"Ow..."

As Marcellus sat up and rubbed his head, he noticed that the halls of the palace quickly grew a lot darker as the walls were now engulfed by a darker pale blue hue, which admittedly creeped him out more than he would like to confess...

WHAM!

As Marcellus felt one of the knights' shadow slam into him, he grunted from the unexpected hit as he quickly stood up and found himself battling against the knights' shadows as the seeker in the moment was trying to think of a strategy, but he was getting attacked from every which way and it was hard to think when you're constantly on the ground!

The Shadow Prince must've been near and able to see his ongoing fight, because he heard the prince chuckling at him.

"Take back your shadows and give me back my friends now!" he firmly demanded and not long after, he became graced with the Shadow Prince's presence as the prince appeared before him as a black translucent shadow with light blue, almost teal-like glowing eyes whose smile grew larger as a lightly amused chuckle came out of him.

"How about no?" the prince smugly countered before he chuckled once more, which gradually began to get on the seeker's nerves. "Also, you should probably focus less on me and more on those so-called friends you got." the prince added right as Marcellus felt a shadow baton strike his back, causing him to promptly fall as the prince faked a wince.

"Ooh, that has got to hurt!" the prince sarcastically noted as Marcellus growled from the prince's commentary. "Stop talking!" he sharply snapped, attempting to pick himself up from the ground when he was promptly pushed back down as he felt the five shadows all pinning him down and prevented him from moving his arms.

Curse you Poseidon! If you hadn't stripped me of my seeker's powers, I would be able to use my Seeker Vision right now to see how the shiszi's monster is capable of doing this, but no! Now, I'm losing to this monster and my friends are stuck having to serve him as his little shadow puppets, so thanks a lot, Poseidon! You once again manage to screw me over!

"Aw, but I thought we were having so much fun."

"This is not fun!" he angrily snapped when he saw a swirl of light blue, almost teal-like shadows occurring in front of him before he saw the swirls fading to reveal the Shadow Prince kneeling in front of him as he held a black, sharp dagger and held the dagger closely to his exposed throat.

"You know, seeker, you're the worst kind of good because you're not even great. You, just like Magnus, Aureus and the rest of the seekers who came before you, are nothing more than heroes that reek of false righteousness and if I'm being honest, those kind of heroes are the ones I tend to hate the most." the Shadow Prince slowly followed up, still retaining that low, deep voice as the seeker-knight cautiously kept listening.

"So seeing how you managed to escape from my grasp in the past and seeing how you managed to escape your near-death earlier tonight, I think it's time I deal with you now... unless, of course, you apologize for the pain you caused." the Shadow Prince further added, the low, deep tone on Marcellus' mind as the seeker saw the prince's eyes flickering.

Apologizing was the last thing he wanted to do, but seeing how he was at the monster's mercy, he chose to give in and hoped the monster would hold up his end of the bargain.

"Brisha, me and my men meant no harm to your daughter. We simply hurt her to disarm her and we took no pleasure in causing her pain." he told the Shadow Prince and hoped his words would be enough for the shiszi's monster to spare him... and maybe even get him to return his friends back to their physical forms.

So when the Shadow Prince retracted the dagger from his throat, Marcellus thought the monster took him at his word and believed him. He thought to list his demands then, but upon seeing the monster's eyes darkened, the seeker knew [almost immediately from the moment he looked on] that he might've messed up somewhere in that apology of his.

Marcellus didn't know how he messed up, but when the Shadow Prince just mutely proceeded to move the dagger closer to him, the seeker thought he would have became history right then and there as panic set in.

He's going to kill me, he's going to kill me, he's going to kill me, he's—

When he heard a strong gust of wind, Marcellus snapped out of his thoughts and glanced up to see the shiszi standing in front of him as she blocked the monster from using the black, sharp dagger by placing her hand on the dagger's hilt. Despite everything that he did to her, she was coming to his aid and the seeker couldn't help but be baffled by her decision.

Wait... She's saving me? Why?

Neither the shiszi or the monster spoke to each other, he noticed, as he saw the Shadow Prince intensively staring at the dagger in his hand and back to {presumably} the shiszi, who stood in the way. So when the prince's eyes darken, he thought the monster was going to run the dagger through the shiszi himself and move her to get to him [seeing just how much the monster really wanted to kill him... again], but much to his surprise.... that didn't happen.

Instead, Marcellus saw the Shadow Prince mutely snapping his fingers with his other hand as he saw the shadows that engulfed the palace disappear as light flooded the walls again. When that was done, he felt a few physical forces falling on him before he heard slight groans.

"Marcel?"

When he glanced to his left, he saw Aeolus and the four knights back in their physical forms and no longer cursed to be the monster's shadow puppets as his eyes lit up at the sight. "Guys!" the seeker happily exclaimed as the five climbed off of him before helping him sit up and giving him a hug not long after right as they glanced up to see the shiszi still holding onto the dagger's hilt as her monster centered his focus on him.

Mutely, the shiszi released her hand on the hilt and moved towards her monster, who gripped on the sword as a swirl of shadows circling around the Shadow Prince before his form reverted back to the false Avalonian healing faerie form. When the shadows vanished and the six looked at the shiszi's monster, he [along with Aeolus and the four knights] noticed the Shadow Prince became more exhausted as they sensed he wouldn't pose that much of a threat to them than he had did earlier.

They thought this might have been the case when the Shadow Prince spoke.

"L... Leave."

As soon as the Shadow Prince said that, the six saw him drop the black, sharp dagger in his hand before he began to stumble. As they silently looked on, they all noticed how he struggled to keep his eyes open and as soon as his daughter caught him, he blacked out right then and there as all of them saw his body going limp.

"Dad!"

Almost immediately after that, they saw the shiszi trying in vain to wake her father up, but when it was apparent that her monster wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, they all glanced at each other and quietly chuckled among themselves.

"Having trouble, shiszi?"

When she heard them, they immediately saw the shiszi pulling her unconscious father close to her as she sharply stared at them.

"Marcellus, take your men and leave. There's no point in continuing something that's already finished, so let's just agree to go our separate ways and be done with this." she firmly stated, masking the faintness in her voice as she had made herself sound louder than how she really was.

Glancing at each other, the six knights began to collectively chuckle at her words and as they chuckled, Marcellus saw the realization dawning on her as he saw the shiszi's anger starting to reflect in her light amber eyes, having sensed they weren't going to heed her father's order or hers.

"Marcellus—"

"Oh, come on. Just because he spared us does not mean we have to return the favor. I mean, he was technically the one trying to kill me. Three times, might I add, he had tried to kill me and not to mention, he forced Aeolus and these knights to be part of his shadow puppetry, so no. We are not required to spare him just as we're not required to spare you." he now countered, having pointed out the obvious as Aeolus and the other knights chuckled while the shiszi's eyes darken.

"Don't take it personal, shiszi. It's just you and your monster made us endure this ongoing chase since the moment you and him went on the run and now, we finally have you two in a weakened state." he added as he saw Aeolus and the others nodding.

"I mean, we don't even have to say anything about your monster, seeing how he's unconscious, so already it's apparent that he can't wield more of his powers and from the looks of it, he won't be wielding more of his powers... at least, not for awhile." Aeolus tauntingly added, causing him and the others to chuckle as he saw the shiszi glaring at the knight.

"As for you... well, you never had any powers to begin with, so I guess it was just a matter of us trying to break down that fighting spirit of yours and I think we managed to achieve it. After all, with your monster now out of commission, what more do you got to fight for?" he smugly said, taunting her further as Marcellus saw her eyes darkening at his words.

"Face it, shiszi. You and your monster are done for. You both gave it a good run, but now your luck's run out and it's time for you two to face the consequences for the crimes you two have committed." Marcellus bluntly and swiftly stated as he snapped his fingers.

"Aeolus, you and your men keep an eye out for anyone that might want to help them." he ordered as he saw the knights nodding.

"Yes, sir!"

"As for me, I'm going to restrain them. Then, we'll bring them to the Director, the Senior Fae and Prince Marcus, so they can face their fates." he firmly followed up as he took out the sliver, iron-clad handcuffs and began making his way towards the two.

"Marcellus... come on. We can talk about this." she told him as he chuckled at her response. "The time for talking has passed, shiszi. Now, hold still so I can arrest you." he firmly countered and as soon as he pulled out the sliver, iron-clad handcuffs, he could see the shiszi's fear heighten from the way her eyes widen from the sight of her and her father's impending fate coming closer with each step he took. 

However as he was about to handcuff the shiszi, a blast of dark reddish orange fire struck the sliver, iron-clad handcuff, melting on impact as he and the shiszi's eyes widen from what they witnessed. So, the two went to see who intervened as soon as they looked, he saw the shiszi's light amber eyes lighting up as a excited grin began to form on her face.

"Ember!"

"In a flash, Aliya." Ember cheekily greeted, swinging her gray hilt sword as the blade of her sword held a dark reddish orange glow before reverting back to the standard sliver hue. "I hope we're not too late. We would've came sooner, but we had some things holding us back." she added as Marcellus stared at the fire faerie in confusion.

"We?" he puzzlingly asked as she simply nodded. "We." she confidently confirmed, now grinning as she spoke. Though he was confused by her response, that confusion of his wouldn't last long because in that moment he learned who else was with her.

"Roots and vines, bind these knights you shall!"

"AHHH!"

When he and the shiszi turned their heads, the two saw Aeolus and his men trapped in a series of roots and vines as he quietly huffed. "Chepi." he mumbled as he saw the nature faerie's eyes brightly glowing toward the five men before she looked in their direction. When she did, he had quickly saw her eyes glowing brighter in his direction, but when he saw her look at Ember and the shiszi, he saw the glow in her eyes vanish as she flew toward them.

"Ember, did you handcuff him?" the nature faerie had asked as he saw the fire faerie nod. "Mhm! I sure did!" Ember cheekily answered right as he heard a snap-and-a-locking sound, to which he quickly looked and found himself handcuffed with the second sliver, iron-clad handcuff that he had planned on using for the shiszi's monster.

"Hey!"

"It's nothing personal, Marcellus. I just never really liked you and besides, you tried arresting my friends just now so... Something had to give." Ember casually answered as he watched her start to stand up as he glared at her in annoyance and anger.

"Uncuff me right now, Ember!"

"Hmm, how about no?" she cheekily asked, lightly looking at him as she mischievously giggled, before she held the key to unlock his handcuff in his face and pocketed the key in front of him. When she was done, he glared at her as he felt more irritated toward her.

"Ember!"

Giggling more at his response, he saw her mischievous eyes sparkling with mischief as he rolled his eyes and turned his focus onto the nature faerie as she went to check on the shiszi, who was still holding onto her monster when Chepi arrived.

"Aliya, are you..." he heard Chepi concernedly ask, only to trail off when he noticed that she saw her bruised face and various scars that covered the upper-right area of her face and her arms as the nature faerie's face fell upon looking at her. "You're hurt." she lamented before that sorrow Chepi felt quickly turned to pure rage when she turned to face him.

"It was you! You did this!" she swiftly and angrily snapped, her eyes regaining their bright green glow as he saw vines magically sprouting out from the palace's floor and threatening to engulf him whole when he saw the shiszi rushing to the nature faerie's side as she stood beside Chepi.

"Epi, forget him." he heard the shiszi firmly urge her as he saw Chepi taking her focus away from him as she looked at the shiszi. "Besides, I'm f... fine." he heard the shiszi attempt to say before he saw her eyes spinning [presumably from the dizziness he imagine she must have felt at that moment] as she began to stumble not too long after he noticed her apparent dizziness.

"Aliya!"

When Marcellus heard Chepi concernedly calling out, he saw Ember's mischievous look towards him fade as she began to mirror the same concerned nature as Chepi did and not long after that, he saw the fire faerie ditch him to see what was going on with her friend.

Stuck in his handcuffs with no way out, he was forced to endure the ongoing situation with the shiszi, who he saw land in the nature faerie's arms as the dizziness in her eyes seemed to be less evident as before.

"T... Thanks." he heard the shiszi faintly say as he saw Chepi's focus on him completely vanish as she focused more on the shiszi, something he noticed when he saw the vines retracting back to the ground. "Yeah, no problem." he heard Chepi softly say and as he saw the two girls looking in each other's eyes, his eyes widened as the realization dawned on him right as the two looked at Ember when the fire faerie arrived to ask about the shiszi.

Chepi's falling for the shiszi!

Almost immediately, anger set in as he felt another line being crossed with the shiszi. He endure the shiszi beating him in a race that cost him a sponsorship as little faes, he endured the shiszi as she and her family became favored by Poseidon after he and his friends' attempt to offer her as a sacrifice to the god failed, he endured the shiszi outranking him by being top of their class, but it was this that irritated him because what he could not stand was the shiszi gradually winning the nature faerie's heart!

I'm the one who has everything that Chepi would want! I'm rich, I'm actually in her league and I am the most popular person here! Compared to me, the shiszi is nothing! She's a street rat, she is nowhere near Chepi's league and she's the least popular person here! In fact, she's the most hated person here, especially with all that she did tonight, so why does it look like she's going to get the girl when it should be me!

He [along with everyone else] knew that the shiszi was a monster, a traitor, a villain, a murderer, a troublemaker, a nuisance, a half-breed and a Fae-Maid [among other things]! She was all these things, yet Chepi just looked at her as though she was none of these things! In fact, Chepi looked at the shiszi as if she was perfect!

He dealt with the shiszi beating him left-and-right, but now that he saw there was a chance he could lose the girl of his dreams to her too, it proved to be the last straw for him and he knew the shiszi had to go... now.

"That's it!" Marcellus sharply and quite aggressively snapped, startling the three girls out of their conversation as the seeker saw Chepi, Ember and the shiszi puzzlingly looking at him. "I've had it with you, shiszi!" he further added [in the same tone that he used for his previous statement], to which he saw the shiszi quietly scoff and mumble something inaudible.

"I, Marcellus Nero Braveheart, will not be disrespected by some nobody any longer!" he angrily snapped as he promptly stood up. As he stood up, his amulet began to switch from its natural dark blue default state to a ruby red hue. In response, his natural forest-green eyes changed to reflect this ruby red color too.

As soon as his amulet and his eyes changed colors, the restraints placed on him began to gain a light ruby shade of red and not long after, he moved his hands and the restraints broke upon his action.

"Talk about super strength." he heard Ember, Chepi and the shiszi mumbled among themselves, before he saw Ember and Chepi's eyes widened. "Wait, your middle name is Nero?" the two had followed up, but Marcellus chose to ignore this as he struck with addressing his own monster in front of her friends.

"I'm going to finish what I started all those years ago and rid our kingdom of you for good! Once and for all!" he valiantly continued, directing his focus on the shiszi, who remain unfazed by his words while her friends viewed him with disgust; a look he acknowledged in Ember but one he purposely ignored when it came to Chepi.

"No!" Chepi and Ember firmly exclaimed as he saw their respective amulet and eyes glowing in sync. "Don't even think about touching her!" the two firmly exclaimed as their palms began to light up with their respective magical ability.

While he brushed off Ember siding against him as it was expected, he couldn't brush off Chepi siding against him as his eyes fell when it came to his crush. He was crushed by the nature fae's allegiance, but he mentally told himself that in time, she would come to see that he was doing the right thing.

So as Marcellus faced Chepi and Ember, he obtained the black, sharp dagger the Shadow Prince previously held in his grasp and held the dagger heroically in his hand as the seeker took a deep breath.

Magnus and Aureus slayed their monster a thousand years ago. Now, it's your turn to slay yours.

Even though Marcellus did not like the idea of going against his crush, he knew that what he was doing was the right thing... even if Chepi [and her friend] couldn't see that yet. So as the seeker's eyes diverted from Chepi [and Ember], he redirected his attention on the monster at hand as the shiszi was still in his sights.

It's now or never.

So taking another deep breath, Marcellus looked at Chepi and Ember with a determined gleam in his eyes as he held the dagger steady.

"Watch me."

When he said those words, he had imagined that he would cleverly charge past his crush and her friend with ease, grab a hold of his monster and slain her where she stood. The shiszi would fall, his crush and her friend would both come to realize that he was right and hail him as a hero with the nature faerie professing her love to him shortly thereafter.

It was the storybook ending that he envisioned would happen... but this was real life and things never happen like how one imagined things, because as soon as the seeker spoke so heroically and prepared to make his charge towards the shiszi... this happened.

"Aaaaah!"

In that moment, a high-pitched, powerful shriek caught him off-guard as he dropped the dagger in his possession and promptly fell to the ground. After he fell, the powerful shriek continued to emit towards him as the wave of sonic energy encased him and only him. He tried to penetrate the sonic scream by covering his ears to make the shriek muffled enough to allow him to think of a plan, but this did little to help as the shrieks only persisted.

"Aaaaah!"

As Marcellus found himself caught in the sonic scream, he thought he would've never see the end of it, especially as the shriek just kept going!

So when the sonic scream finally stopped, Marcellus saw the soundwaves vanishing as he didn't see a sound barrier encasing him anymore. So as he uncovered his ears, he realize he could look again and he quietly sighed in relief at the sonic scream ending.

Finally. It's over.

"Ha! That's what you think."

As he heard the chuckle and realized someone had just read his mind, Marcellus quickly retrieve the dagger he dropped and swiftly spun to see who was responsible for reading his mind [and as he kept pondering, the one responsible for causing the sonic scream]. However when he did, the seeker realized it was only just another one of the shiszi's friends as he bitterly scoffed at who he saw.

"Prince Rhys of Deheubarth." he sharply greeted and observed as the prince smugly smirked at him. "The one and only." the prince cheekily countered as the seeker annoyingly sighed at the prince's answer.

Of course, Prince Rhys of Deheubarth is the one who set off his sonic scream and read my mind. Why am I not surprised by this?

"Because you knew it was me the whole time."

"Stop doing that!" Marcellus sharply snapped as he aggressively charged toward the prince who swiftly dodged his attack as he saw the prince calmly looking at him.

Annoyed, the seeker went to strike once more, but again the prince dodged his attack with ease before landing a swift kick on him as Marcellus promptly fell onto the ground.

"Curse you, mind reader."

"Oh, I didn't need to read your mind to know your moves." the prince casually answered as he crossed his arms and chuckled. "No, your anger gave that away for me, so thanks for making your moves predictable through your temper." the prince further added as Marcellus sharply glared at the prince and clenched his fist.

"Ugh! You're more annoying than the shiszi, I swear!" he angrily exclaimed, now lunging towards the prince, who swiftly dodged the dagger [again] as the seeker quietly growled. "Just stay still!" the seeker irritatedly snapped, charging towards him as the prince simply laughed.

"Now if I stayed still, where would the fun in that be?"

"Ugh!"

Again, Marcellus charged towards the prince, but this time, the prince blocked the attack and in the process of blocking, the prince managed to disarm him of the dagger as they saw the dagger fly out of his hand and toward the ground.

"Like I said, your anger makes you predictable."

"Stop talking!"

As Marcellus attempted to lunge at the prince with his fist, the prince swiftly grabbed onto him, but he broke the hold by using his arms as he turned around. However when he turned, it was the prince who landed a direct punch on him as Marcellus found himself promptly punched in the face and knocked onto the ground as he fell with a swift thud.

"Ow..."

Rubbing his head, Marcellus attempted to stand, only to see the prince holding the dagger he had previously held as Prince Rhys aimed the dagger toward him.

"Stand down, Braveheart." the prince had firmly ordered as Marcellus laughed at the command. "What? You think you won or something, Your Highness?" the seeker sharply taunted as he saw the prince chuckling at his question.

"Well, considering that I'm the one standing and you're the one on the ground, I would say it's safe to say that I won this fight and to think I only used a fraction of my power when it came to battling you." the prince swiftly and smugly countered as he growled at the prince's words to him.

"So, needless to say, Braveheart, it's over. Plus, I got the high ground and well, you never stood a chance against me." the prince cockily and smugly added as Marcellus mutely glared at him until the seeker saw Aeolus sneaking up on the prince in the corner of his eye. As such, he cleared his throat and readjusted his focus on the prince as he faked a sigh.

"You know, you're right." Marcellus casually began, observing the prince's confusion as he gave a fake, lighthearted chuckle. "I know, surprising right? I bet you never expected me to say you are right, but tonight was meant to be a night of change and well anything is happen." he added as he chuckled again, causing the prince to suspiciously raise his eyebrows toward him.

"What? I'm just being modest." Marcellus promptly insisted, making himself sound as genuine as he could. "I mean, after all, it's just like you said. You have the high ground and I don't. You beat me so, it's clearly safe to say that you were obviously going to win this fight of ours directly from the start." he added as he huffed. "It was always going to end like this, I know, and maybe you're even right about me not standing a chance against you." he further added as he saw the prince scoff at his response.

"Maybe? I was right about you not standing a chance against me."

"Like I said: maybe you were right and maybe you're not right." the seeker had swiftly and semi-sharply countered as he saw the prince rolling his eyes. "But then again..." the seeker cryptically added before purposely trailing off as he saw the prince's puzzled look, which made him subtly smirk at the sight.

... I'm not the one you should have been watching for.

When he saw the prince's puzzled look turn to one of suspicion, he knew the prince had read his mind when he saw the prince's eyes sharpen. "What are you planning?" the prince sharply asked as the seeker made a sly innocent smile.

"Me? I'm not planning anything. Like you said, I never stood a chance against you, so how I can be planning anything when you clearly best me?" he casually countered as he saw the prince's eyes darkened at his response.

"Marcellus—"

"He's right."

When the prince realized he was interrupted, Marcellus observed as the prince glanced at Aeolus as the air faerie approached them with a casual demeanor.

"He's not planning anything..." Aeolus further added before he [and the prince] saw the knight trailing off as a subtle smirk donned his face. "... Because I am." Aeolus promptly finished as he saw the prince suspiciously stared at the knight, whose eyes and amulet began to switch to a stormy shade of grey.

Upon seeing the color change, Marcellus knew the prince's suspicions toward Aeolus began to heighten. But before the prince could read Aeolus' mind [just as he had read his] to figure out the knight's intentions, the knight's eyes and amulet began to glow in the prince's direction as Marcellus quietly smirked at the sight.

Not long after Marcellus saw Aeolus' eyes and amulet begin to glow, he observed as the knight began drawing air out of the prince's lungs as the air started to swirl around him. From there, he observed as Aeolus transformed the swirling air into an air bubble that began to encase his face, causing the prince to silently gasp now as the knight continued to intensify the pressure of the air bubble.

So as the prince fell on his knees, Marcellus smirked as he stood up and observed the prince, whose silent gasps and screams persisted as he struggled to weakly maintain his hold on his throat.

"Ha! Who has the high ground now, Your Highness?" he smugly taunted as he heard a dismissive scoff beside him.

"That would be me."

As he saw Aeolus release his hold over the prince, the two knights observed as the prince weakly fell onto the ground and looked at each other.

"He'll pass out." Aeolus casually assured him, but Marcellus only laughed at his response. "If you give the opponent a moment to recover, then there's a chance they can come back and win the fight." the seeker lectured as the knight puzzlingly stared at him.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning if you keep assuming that the Prince of Deheubarth will pass out now and he ends up recovering from that stunt of yours, then he'll come back and deliver twice as much damage you inflicted onto him." the seeker deadpanned as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't you ever pay attention to the Director's lectures? I mean, that was one of the first lessons he taught us." the seeker added, now scolding the knight, who laughed.

"Haha, wait! Hang on now! You actually listened to the guy's lectures?"

"You don't?"

"Pfft — No." Aeolus casually answered as Marcellus' eyes widened from the knight's response. "If I'm being honest here, I don't know how I even got to be a knight when I cheated through most of the Director's knighting exams." the knight added as he shrugged. "Eh, who knows? I might've just been lucky." the knight casually finished as Marcellus blankly stared at Aeolus and promptly facepalmed himself.

"Anyways, I'm telling you that he'll pass out but since you seem so convinced that he won't, then why don't you do something about it considering that he's your problem?" Aeolus heatly added, to which Marcellus stopped facepalming himself as he gleefully began to grin at the proposal.

"Gladly."

At the sight of his gleeful grin and his delighted response, Marcellus saw the knight's heated look turn to one of confusion as Aeolus mutely stared at him and blinked. Since it was apparent that the knight wasn't sure of what to say, the seeker promptly made his way to the prince.

Once he arrived and analyzed the prince's state, he saw the prince wasn't quite moving, but not wanting to risk anything [and secretly wanting to get his payback], he swiftly kicked the prince's lower ribcage. After that, he waited to see if the prince would react, but to his delight, the prince didn't do anything as Marcellus saw the prince was still a limp, motionless position and grinned at the sight of the prince being unconscious.

"You know, I would say I feel bad for you, but we both know that would be a lie." Marcellus had lightly mused to the unconscious prince as he chuckled to himself and began to stand up from kneeling over the prince's current state.

"Rhys!"

As Marcellus and Aeolus both looked up to see Chepi encasing the remaining four knights in her roots and vines, the two then saw the nature faerie looking from the knights to her friend as they saw her distraught face over the prince's condition.

It was then the seeker awkwardly coughed as it dawned on him [perhaps too late, given that the damage was done and the moment passed] the prince he greatly loathed was one of his crush's dearest friends.

Oh right... I forgot they were friends... Oops.

"You!"

"She's talking to you." Marcellus and Aeolus quickly said; the two now trying to dispel the blame onto the other to avoid enduring the wrath of the nature faerie, whose eyes now began to gain a dangerously bright green glow.

Oh gods... I might have messed up a bit...

"Hey! I just remembered! While the prince had casted that sonic scream over you, Chepi sent the fire faerie to go with the shiszi and her monster on their escape, so I'm going to go look for them while you deal with the consequences of the Prince of Deheubarth being your problem." Aeolus quickly said as Marcellus' eyes widened.

"Wait—"

"Also, you might need this." Aeolus promptly said, picking up the black, sharp dagger before he hastily pushed the hilt of the dagger to him as Marcellus promptly held onto the dagger before he stared at the knight once more.

"Wait—"

"Okay, cool! Great talk!"

"Wait—"

"Bye!"

As soon as Aeolus closed the conversation, the seeker saw the knight hastily leave as Aeolus left him behind to... well, deal with the consequences of targeting his crush's friend. So, as he came to terms with the unintended consequence of his decision, he quickly hid the dagger before the seeker started to face his crush with a calm and collected facade to hide the impending fear he felt.

"Chepi, I can tell you're upset by what happened, but I promise it was done for the betterment of the kingdom." Marcellus slowly began but as he spoke, he quickly came to regret his words when he saw the nature faerie's eyes glowing brighter at his words.

"The kingdom?!"

As soon as she said that, Marcellus saw towering vines and roots raising from the palace's floor, causing great cracks toward the flooring as the knight's eyes widened at the sight before he had quickly recovered from his heightened panic and cleared his throat.

"D... Did I say that? I meant—" he awkwardly and tensely say, trying to save face when the nature faerie interrupted him.

"Stop talking."

As soon as she said this, Marcellus saw Chepi hovering above the ground as vines rapidly began to spread toward his direction as his eyes widened. 

"Just stop talking!"

Not long after she said this, her eyes glowed brighter — more brighter than what he was used to seeing — and before he had time to react, Chepi waved her hands and as the vines followed her movement, the vines quickly charged towards him and quickly struck him! As soon as the vines touched him, the sheer force of the vines quickly overpowered him as the powerful impact sent him crashing directly into the grand altrium adorned with statues of past heroes of the realm as statues of famed knights in two rows.

After crashing into the hall of heroes, the vines kept Marcellus tumbling into the grand altrium until...

SMASH!

The vines had finally met their match in two nearby statues as Marcellus crashed into the statues of his ancestors. After crashing into the statues of Magnus and Aureus, the seeker shortly sunk to the ground where he gain a ringing in his ears. As the vines retracted and he began to sit upright, the seeker grunt in pain as he held onto his head, which was now throbbing from the sheer force of the vines' collision with the statues.

"Ugh..."

As his head spun and his vision blurred slightly, he continued to hold onto his head and wince until the ringing in his ears began to clear up just enough for him to make out a voice... a voice that was calling out to... him.

"... Marcel!"

When he heard the voice, he slowly lift his head in time for his head to gradually stop spinning as his vision's blur lessened just enough for him to make out a face now as he blinked by who it was that he saw.

"A... Aeolus?"

"Marcel!" Aeolus exclaimed in relief as he heard the knight's relieved sigh before the knight went to help him up and inspect the damage done to him. When Aeolus seemed convinced that he'd be okay, the knight's concern started to fade as he saw the knight stifling a few chuckles before looking at him.

"By the gods, those vines really did a number on you, huh?" the knight added, laughing now as Marcellus mutely but sharply glared at him. He wanted to say something, but before he could, someone else had spoke in his place.

"Oh, trust me. When I'm done with him, those vines will be the least of his worries!"

At the sound of the voice, he and Aeolus reluctantly turned to see a scornful Chepi enter the hall of heroes with towering vines surrounding her as her hands and eyes continued to fiercely glow towards him and the knight's direction.

"And when I'm done with him, I'm coming for you!"

When Marcellus saw Aeolus realizing he wasn't safe from his crush's wrath either [seeing as the knight suffociated Chepi's friend to the point of making him unconscious], he saw the panic and fear set into the knight's blue eyes before anger quickly took over as the knight stared at him.

"Why did I get involved in your stupid mess!" Aeolus heatly snapped as he sighed. "I was happily fine just watching you get beat from the sidelines, but noooo! I just had to come to your aid and now look! I'm about to become fertilizer, thanks to you!" the knight angrily and heatly added as Marcellus observed Chepi's vines rising higher as he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Um, becoming fertilizer might be the least of your worries, bud..." he mumbled, observing as he saw the knight's heated anger turn to a look of confusion.

"The least of my worries? What are you—" he heard Aeolus puzzlingly begin, before he saw the knight looking at the vines and promptly cut himself off as he saw the knight's anger heighten toward the seeker upon directing the focus onto him again.

"... If these vines don't kill both of us by the time this is over, so help me Marcellus, I will kill you myself!"

"Me?! Why me?"

"Why? I'll tell you why! It's your fault I'm in this mess!"

"My fault?! Why is it my fault when I never even asked for your help!"

"You might have not explicitly asked for it, but you sure didn't deny my help either!"

Marcellus opened his mouth right then to protest, but he soon stopped when he realized that the knight was right... he hadn't denied Aeolus' help.

"I uh... fine. You got me there." he begrudgingly admitted as he saw Aeolus' eyes lighting up in a victorious delight. "Ha! I knew it!" Aeolus proudly exclaimed, right as the two heard a loud clang in the distance.

"Emby! Watch his head!"

"Sorry! I've never carried a dead person before!"

"He's not dead!"

"Well, he looks dead to me!"

"For the last time, Emby, he's not dead! He's just unconscious!" the shiszi loudly exclaimed as he and Aeolus cleared their throats, to which they saw the shiszi awkwardly turning from her friend to face them. Not long after, the fire faerie looked on as she held the shiszi's monster in her arms before they saw Ember clearing her throat as she went to look at her friend.

"... Um, Aliya, I thought you said we would've been out of the palace before Marcellus noticed we were gone." he heard Ember begin as he saw the shiszi blink.

"Was that before or after his friend delayed the accuracy of my timing?" the shiszi counter as he saw Aeolus rolling his eyes at her question.

"You know, if you two had just complied with my orders, neither of you would be in this mess!" Aeolus firmly exclaimed, attracting their attention now as the girls turned to look at him but it was Ember who spoke for them.

"Right, and um, tell me. How exactly is your situation better than ours? I mean, I'm just curious, seeing as those vines aren't directed at us but rather to you and your buddy over there." Ember smugly taunted to Aeolus as Marcellus glared at the fire faerie the moment she included him in her comeback to the knight.

The two knights had planned to say something right then, but before either of them could say anything, they were reminded of their current situation when they heard Chepi speak.

"Roots and vines, suffociate these knights you shall!"

As soon as she spoke those and thrust her hands toward them, Marcellus and Aeolus realized her plan wasn't to deal with them separately. Her plan was always to deal with them together and it became clear that Chepi only indicated to deal with them separately, so she could catch them off of their guard and distract them from knowing her true intention.

But having now been aware of her true intention, Marcellus and Aeolus quickly dodged the vines as he stared at Ember, the [still] unconscious monster in her arms and the shiszi, realizing that in spite of their complication, they still had a mission to complete. Plus, if they were lucky, then the two could direct the vines from their direction to that of her friends, saving themselves from the suffociation spell in the process. 

"Get them!"

As soon as he said that, he saw Aeolus glancing at Ember, the [still] unconscious monster in her arms and the shiszi as the knight nodded.

"Yes, sir!"

So as Aeolus began flying towards the three [well two when excluding the limp body in Ember's arms], the seeker knew Chepi caught onto their plan when her eyes had darted from him to that of the knight heading to her friends.

"No!"

As she moved her arms towards Aeolus' direction, Marcellus cunningly slipped past the knight in time to see a sea of roots and vines drown him as he saw the knight trying to emerge out of the roots and vines, but the roots and vines wrapped around Aeolus, breaking through his armor as the plants clung tightly onto his [now] exposed throat.

Wincing at the sight, Marcellus then saw the vines and roots charging towards him as the seeker quickly retrieved the dagger Aeolus had given him and struck at the plants. As he did, he heard his crush giving an agonizing, distressed and anguished cry as he saw Chepi quickly faltering at the damage he was causing to her plants.

Oh, that's right! Nature faeries are one of the most powerful elemental Avalonians out there as they are so deeply connected to nature, but that connection comes at a price. In hurting these plants, I'm also... hurting her.

As much as he hated hurting her, Marcellus knew he had to do whatever it took to survive, so he internally ushered an apology to her as he kept striking at the vines and roots that came his way, listening to her screams of pain along the way.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" he heard Ember and the shiszi desperately plead to him right as he finished slashing through another vine that had came in his direction. As such, another scream of pain came from his crush, who was now kneeling on the ground and clutching onto her heart as the glow that surrounded her began to drastically dim.

"Am I hurting her or is she the one that's hurting her?" he deflected, gesturing to the shiszi as he saw the two girls puzzlingly staring at him. "Don't give me that look, shiszi. You know fully well that this is your fault. If you hadn't convinced Chepi that you and your monster were both worth caring about, then she, Ember and the rest of her friends wouldn't be in this position." Marcellus sharply continued, further blaming the shiszi as her eyes faltered at his words.

"Now, her life is endangered and guess whose to blame for that?" he followed up as he kept his attention focused on the shiszi. "You. You endangered her, just like you're endangering Ember and the rest of her friends." he further added, persistently blaming the shiszi, who now seemed to be believing him while the fire faerie looked more and more irritated by what he was telling her friend.

"Aliya, hold onto your father real quick." Ember firmly stated, plopping the monster's body onto the shiszi's arms, whose eyes widened at her friend's response.

"Ember, it's really not—"

"Hey! We all chose to side with Aliya and her father, because we genuinely believe that they are innocent and we're all aware of what the consequences are by siding with them. But one thing that she is not doing is endangering us. If anything, that's you!" Ember firmly snapped, walking up to him as he scoffed.

"Besides, you're the one hurting Chepi by slashing every single root and vine you come across, so tell me: who's endangering who?" Ember further added as she crossed her arms. "Her best childhood friend or the guy claiming to love her?" she followed up as his eyes darken from the end of her question.

"Hey! I've always loved Chepi!"

"Really? Because you sure aren't acting like it."

At this, Marcellus felt a nerve struck and when he saw Ember's smug smirk, he charged at her with the dagger as she laughed. "Finally! I've been dying to fight you." she cheekily said, taking out her sword as the two clashed.

"You, Chepi and the rest of your friends are all on the losing side. You all stick with her and her father, then you're all just going to get hurt like now. Okay? Rhys is already unconscious, Chepi isn't that far behind and Nancy's status is admittedly unknown just like Iris and Crystallia." he told her, adding Iris and Crystallia in last as an afterthought, but also to not raise suspicion to Ember regarding the last two girls he mentioned.

"So, what do you think is going to happen to you next, huh? Do you really think the shiszi and her monster truly care about you enough to keep you from enduring the same outcome as the rest of your friends or worse?" he further added, clashing his sword alongside Ember's sword; the two swords clashing into one another as the two pulled back.

"No, they don't! Both of them are great at using people and disposing them when they are no longer needed. Neither of them care what happens to you because at the end of the day, they are just going to choose themselves over you. Think about that before you decide to commit your life to them and get dragged into their mess."

"You can lie all you want, Braveheart, but I know Aliya and her father and I trust them."

"You're loyal to a fault, fire sprite. I'll give you that, but trusting them will only get you so far and later on down the road, that unwavering trust in them is going to soon come back to haunt you." Marcellus firmly countered, now blocking her attack as he disarmed the fire faerie of her sword, observing as Ember's sword landed out of her reach and towards the monster as the sword had knocked some key out of his pocket.

Marcellus meant to get a second look at the key that fell out of the monster's pocket, but right before he could, he was promptly reminded of what he was currently doing when the fire faerie spoke.

"I told you, I'm not going to believe the lies that come out of your mouth!"

When he heard her, Marcellus looked away from the key and back at Ember as he huffed at her and gave a light sigh.

"Fine. Don't believe me, but whatever you do, be careful with how much trust you put in the two because somewhere along the line, one of them is going to use you and when they do, you are going to end up getting hurt when one of them ends up deceiving you."

"Stop talking!"

Watching her growl, he saw the fire faerie charge at him as he placed the dagger away in time to see her trying to lunge at him with her fist. Seeing this, he swiftly grabbed onto her and held her in a chokehold, before it dawned on him that this was the same move the Prince of Deheubarth had pulled on him.

Haha, yes! At least one good thing came out of losing to that pretentious prince!

So when the seeker saw Ember break his hold on her by using her arms and turned around to punch him, he anticipated the attack [as having been the one to attempt what she was doing] and swiftly landed a direct punch on her. As he punched the fire faerie in the face, he watched Ember get knocked onto the ground as she fell with a swift thud, causing the shiszi to gasp as she was [apparently] looking on as a spectator.

"Ember!"

Yes! Redemption! Who's the best? I'm the best! WOO!

When the fire faerie tried to stand, he aimed the black, sharp dagger at her as he smirked at her and chuckled.

"Stay down, fire sprite. You have lost and I got the high ground." he smugly said, finally seeing a reason to steal one of the prince's quotes as it [admittedly] sounded cool to say in the moment.

"Ha! You underestimate my power!"

"Oh, really?" he challenged as he laughed. "Let's see where your power lies then." he further said and as he prepared to strike, he was promptly met with the clash of the fire faerie's sword as the seeker saw the shiszi glaring at him.

"Don't touch her."

"HA! That's the power of friendship for you!" he heard Ember confidently yell out as the seeker rolled his eyes at her response before looking at the shiszi in front of him.

"Alright. I won't touch her." he briefly began before he chuckled. "Not when I got my monster in my sights." he shortly taunted as he saw the shiszi exhaustively sighing at his response. "This is going to get old, really fast." he heard her mumble as he chuckled. "Hey, you could've avoided this if you had just died the first time around." he countered, now clashing with her as she had blocked the attack.

"But no! Instead, Poseidon just had to save you and now, look. You have brought nothing but chaos and destruction in your path since the moment you first came into existence and that's going to stay until I deliver the people's justice and rid the people of their traitorous villain."

Observing as the shiszi gripped tighter on the sword in her hand, she mutely began to charge at him, but he swiftly dodged the attack before he proceeded to disarm her. As soon as he got the shiszi disarmed, the two watched as the fire faerie's sword landed near the girl and the shiszi's monster as it brushed aside the key he had seen moments ago.

"So now, it seems as though I've gained the upper hand... again." he smugly stated, turning his attention back to the shiszi as the two heard the fire faerie laugh. "Ha! That's what you think!" he and the shiszi heard the fire faerie confidently challenged as Marcellus rolled his eyes from Ember's response, but before he could say something, she had beat him to speaking.

"Aliya, catch!"

Within a few seconds after Ember spoke, the shiszi quickly reached to grab what the fire faerie threw in her direction as she looked back to him with a confident and determined smirk of her own.

"Get ready to get bested by—"

"A key?" he finished, swiftly interrupting her as he laughed at the white twisted-stylized key he saw bearing the image of a white skeletal-like head. As he continued to laugh, he noticed the shiszi irritatedly glaring at him before she glanced at the key in her hand and over to Ember as he saw the fire faerie sheepishly offer her an apologetic smile.

Huffing, he saw the shiszi turn back to face him as he pointed the dagger to her and chuckled at her pathetic attempt to make a comeback. "Face it, shiszi. You've lost and now, you're going to die at my hand at last." he now taunted as he smugly smirked at the sight of seeing the shiszi's demise coming to fruition while he heard Ember's desperate but fiercely firm pleads for him to leave her alone echoing in the background as the fire faerie's voice came across as static noise for him.

As soon as he said that, he then gripped the dagger tightly in his hand and as he went to lunge the dagger in her, it seemed as though his victory was within his reach.

But right before he could finalize that victory and make good on his word, a vine had wrapped around his arm as he looked to see Chepi faintly but angrily glaring at him as she moved closer during the time he was dealing with Ember and the shiszi.

"Chepi, come on. She—"

"She means more to me than you ever will because she's the one I love, not you, so let me tell it to you straight: I will never love you. Not in this life or in any other life because my heart will always belong to her and that's something you will never have." she sharply interrupted, just low enough for him to hear before she thrust her hand towards him, summoning more vines and roots as the plants caused him to swing directly into the back of the grand atrium until...

SMASH!

As the vines and roots forced him to crash into one of the statues of some knight he didn't know, the seeker fell to the ground as the sea of vines and roots began to engulf him. As he struggled to fight off the plants Chepi summoned to suffociate him, he felt the plants wrapping around him, breaking through his armor now as the plants clung tightly onto his [now] exposed throat in the same manner as Aeolus.

Choking on the plants wrapping around his throat and threatening to finish him off, Marcellus quickly reached for the dagger he still had in his hand and began slicing through the plants as the seeker felt the plants weakening from the pain he was causing them. But through this, he was able to free himself from the sea of roots and vines as he threw the plants aside in time to see Aeolus reemerging from his own sea of plants as he saw the knight rubbing on his throat.

"Aeolus?"

"M... Marcel?"

When he saw the knight start to stumble, Marcellus immediately flew to the knight's side and caught him from falling over right as he saw the knight weakly glancing at him. "T... Thanks." Aeolus faintly said as he nodded. "Yeah, no problem." he said in turn just as the two began to feel the ground shaking beneath them.

"W... What is t... that!" Aeolus exclaimed [or tried to, at least] as Marcellus kept the knight steady while glancing up to see the statues beginning to shake as they began to quickly topple around them.

"Chepi's nature abilities. I'm guessing she must've made enough force with her powers to cause everything in the hall of heroes to fall." he quickly answered, moving them out of the way as he and Aeolus observed a statue's dismembered head coming straight towards them.

Clasping his arms together, Marcellus created a force field to shield them from the damage as he sighed. "This should hold." he told the knight, who faintly nodded as he saw Aeolus struggling to maintain his consciousness as he appeared to be on the verge of fainting.

"Hey when this is over, you're getting medical attention." he insisted as he heard Aeolus faintly chuckling at his response. "I'm f... fine." the knight insisted as Marcellus simply shook his head, rolled his eyes at the knight's comment and sighed.

"Uh-huh." he mumbled [for a lack of a better response] as he looked to see huge columns and the statues crashing all around them in sync, observing as they all fell perfectly in order as he saw the exits were blocked from the impending damage.

So when the damage ceased and he was able to release his force field, he saw the fire faerie deactivating her own force field that kept her, the shiszi and the shiszi's monster safe as he smirked.

"Oh, you three are so getting arrested!" he insisted, placing Aeolus down, but right as he was about to fly towards them, he heard a faint chuckle.

"I don't think so."

Turning over, he saw Chepi faintly deactivating her own force field as Ember and the shiszi both puzzlingly looked at her until they saw the nature faerie's hands start to regain their light green glow.

"Chepi—" he sternly began, but he was promptly interrupted by his crush's friend and the shiszi as the two frantically ran to her [carrying the monster along the way] before appearing directly in front of her as the two looked worried and concerned for her.

"Chepi, hold on! If you use any more of your powers, you're going to collapse and you'll end up looking all corpse-like and whatnot like him." Ember promptly said, gesturing to the monster's condition as the shiszi quickly shot her a stern look.

"No offense, Aliya. I mean, he looks good for a corpse." the fire faerie added, to which the latter promptly groaned in frustation.

"For the last time, he's not dead!"

"Well, every time I look at him, he looks pretty dead to me." Ember casually said with a shrug as the shiszi rolled her eyes before she sighed, shook her head and turned to face the nature faerie.

"Epi, you shouldn't be using anymore of your powers, especially since you've already helped out more than enough. So please, whatever it is that I think you are about to do, don't do it. Okay?" the shiszi softly pleaded before she sighed.

"I already feel bad for dragging you and the rest of our friends into this and... I... I just don't want any of you to get hurt over—" the shiszi remorsefully added when she was promptly interrupted by Chepi, who gently placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Aliya, listen to me. You didn't drag me into anything. Okay? I was planning on helping you from the start because I genuinely care about you." he [regretfully] heard the nature faerie earnestly and softly tell the shiszi, quietly observing as she stared at the shiszi for far too longer than what was needed when he saw Chepi's hair gain a light pink hue, making his heart sink as he silently glared at the shiszi in anger from afar.

"But I mean, Ember and the rest of our friends cares about you too, so it was a no-brainer to help you since we all thought you were innocent and of course, we all wanted to help Ike too since he, too, is our friend." the nature faerie earnestly added as the shiszi giggled softly at her words and gave a light nod. "Well, thanks." the shiszi softly said as the nature faerie nodded in turn. "You're welcome." Chepi softly said before Marcellus saw the two girls staring at each other for far longer than what was necessary, only annoying him more.

"Which is why my apá would find it best if you didn't use any more of your powers." she added, now gently removing Chepi's hand from her shoulder as he saw the shiszi hold the nature fae's hand, to which Chepi responded by seamlessly intertwining her hand into the shiszi's hands.... much to his annoyance. "If he was, of course, awake to tell you, but—" the shiszi bashfully said, only to get interrupted as the nature faerie giggled softly at her bashfulness.

"Aliya, I'm aware of what he would say if he was awake, but he would also want me to follow my heart and do what I felt was best."

"I hope you're not thinking that's what he meant by what's best for you." Ember chimed in as she gestured to the monster, earning a shoulder punch from the shiszi as Chepi chuckled and lightly shook her head.

"No, but Ike was aware of the risks nonetheless and so am I." Chepi softly stated as he saw the nature faerie softly linger at the shiszi before she pulled her hand away and flashed a soft but almost sorrowful smile as Marcellus raised an eyebrow at her expression.

What are you planning?

Obviously, this made Ember and the shiszi worried as the two concernedly looked at her, though it was apparent that the shiszi looked more distressed due to the closer connection she had with the nature faerie.

"Chepi—"

"Epi—"

"May the elements be in your favor."

Realizing what Chepi was going to do, Marcellus flew to stop her, but the nature faerie was faster as she used the last of her energy [and her powers] to create a series of vines around Ember, the shiszi and the shiszi's monster.

"Chepi, Chepi, wait—" he heard Ember and the shiszi say, but the nature faerie only smiled at the two before she thrust the vines away. "Chepi!" he heard the girls exclaim just as he arrived to see the nature faerie faintly grinning at him.

"Y... You'll n... never get them and that's a p... promise." Chepi faintly sworn as his eyes widened at her words. "Chepi—" he began, struggling to contain his hurt and frustration by her decision when he cut himself off when she smugly smirked at him before she staggered. "Chepi!" he had frantically exclaimed, his panic overriding the anger he felt toward her in the moment.

So acting quickly, he flew toward Chepi's side and caught her as her body went limp from the overexertion of her powers, leading to his crush's collapsing in his arms as her head leaned on his chest.

"Oh, Chepi..." he remorsefully and sorrowfully began as he held her close and sighed. "I'll get them and when I do, you'll see that I was right." he softly added, brushing her hair back as he softly smiled at her unconscious state. "You'll see, my love." he quietly told her, placing a light kiss on her forehead before placing her down as he determinedly stood up.

"Okay, well seeing that she just recently made those vines, they couldn't have gone far, so—"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Quickly turning around at the sound, Marcellus saw the vines quickly decaying [with their host now unconscious] and gradually dying above the grand atrium, but he saw the vines managed to hold on just long enough to launch the three toward the stained window glass display of his ancestors, Magnus and Aureus, as his eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Marcellus frantically exclaimed as the panic and fear of the three crashing into his ancestors made him worry. So, he quickly activated his wings and rushed to grab a hold of them [thinking he could catch them in time] but to his dismay, the three promptly shattered the window display as he shrieked in horror.

"NO!"

As he observed the shattered window pieces falling onto the ground, he looked up to see Ember and the shiszi as the two made it out of the palace before the girls saluted him and glance down as they {presumably} saw the ground that awaited them.

"You three aren't going anywhere!" he angrily snapped as Ember clung onto the shiszi, who in turn clung onto her monster. "That's what you think!" Ember smugly taunted as she began to activate her wings and looked at the shiszi, who started to freak out at the reality of their new situation.

"Hang on!" the fire faerie promptly yelled before gravity began to kick in as the three began to fall, freaking the shiszi out as she clung onto her monster and Ember and started to scream at their rapid descend toward the ground.

"How do you two plan on escaping with the unconscious monster on hand?" Marcellus taunted from below, now flying out of the shatter window display and heading towards them as he saw Ember's eyes widened.

"Aliya, please tell me you got a way out!" Ember frantically exclaimed as Marcellus saw the shiszi revealing the white twisted-stylized key he saw her with just moments prior to the destruction of the hall of heroes.

"A key? That's your escape?" he mockingly taunted, believing that Chepi's efforts were in vain as he viewed this as a easy capture, especially given how he expected the key to be useless in their situation.

"A key? Aliya, tell me you're joking!" Ember protested, staring at her friend in disbelief as he gave a mocking laugh at the shiszi's answer to their pending problem.

"Ember, do you trust me?"

"Yes..."

"Then I need you to trust me when I say that this key is going to get us out." the shiszi insisted as he mockingly laughed. "Ha! That key is about as useless as you are!" he taunted, but right as he did, he saw the shiszi gaining a light blue, almost teal-like glow all over her.

As such, he suspected the key wasn't as useless as he initially perceived... especially when he noticed the shiszi's light amber eyes start to mirror her monster's eyes in his Shadow Prince form as she, like her monster, now held light blue, almost teal-like eyes in place of her natural eye color.

Huh. That's new... Interesting.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Regardless of what you think that key can do, shiszi, none of you are going anywhere! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Marcellus confidently boasted and as the girls turned to look at him, he saw Ember attempting to blast a series of flames toward his direction to catch him off-guard.

He expected to be dodging her attacks, but he quickly laughed when her 'flames' became more like a series of little sparks.

"Ha! That's all you got, fire sprite?" he taunted as he saw Ember's eyes widened from the sight of her powers weakening. "I must have used up all of my powers when I was fighting the knights!" the seeker heard Ember frantically exclaim, the realization dawning on her as he laughed at the fire faerie.

"Tough luck, fire sprite! You know, if you were on the winning side, I would help you restore your powers again!"

"Well luckily, it's just temporary! So, I don't need to be your side, especially since I'm already on the winning side!"

"You're not on the winning side!" Marcellus firmly exclaimed when he heard the shiszi laughing at his response.

"You're sure about that?" the shiszi smugly challenged before she smirked at him, but before he could ask what she meant, he ended up seeing what she meant for himself.

Because as soon as she said that, he saw the shiszi pointing the key straight toward the ground as a whooshing sound came out of the key. As soon as he heard the whooshing sound, he began to see a series of light blue, almost teal-like flames appearing out of the key and began to spin a circular, counterclockwise motion.

"I'd think again if I were you, seeker!"

"No!"

Marcellus made it his mission to grab onto the three before they fell into the flames, but right as he was about to reach them, the three managed to fall into the flames and once they fell, he saw the flames close behind them and vanish, only being able to listen to Ember and the shiszi's own screams as his anger heighten by how he was so close to obtaining them... only to lose the three and see them escape out of his clutches!

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" he angrily shouted as he sharply growled at the unwanted outcome he didn't envision would happen, but knowing he still had a job to do, the seeker forced himself to calm down and analyze what he knew so far about the escape.

"Okay, seeker. Let's go over what you know." he calmly began as he sighed. "Somehow against the odds, the shiszi managed to escape from Fairytopia and the whole kingdom of Avalon, but the villain also managed to escape with her monster and brought Ember in their mess too." he began, huffing as he sighed.

"That key she used must've been some Celestial relic, because what that key did just now wasn't on the same scale as a typical Avalonian relic. In fact, none of the keys we have in Fairytopia and across all of Avalon could do what that key did, so it's clearly more advanced than our stuff." the seeker further added as he sighed once more.

"In addition to that, it's clear that she must have also held some connection to the key because her eyes and her entire body was glowing in the same light blue, almost teal-like color that her monster had when he shifted to his Shadow Prince form and the shadow form. So, it definitely has to be some sort of Celestial heirloom or something that only pertains to them." he further added as he huffed.

"But how did they get their hands on the key and who, if anyone, gave them the key?" he further asked, pondering on the matter before he sighed once more. "Well either way, it's likely that the two are getting helped by a non-Avalonian too as whoever held the key before them had clearly wanted the two to escape, but why would..." he continued before trailing off as his eyes widen.

"The prophecy! Ugh! I forgot about that stupid prophecy! Whoever gave them the key must have some kind of connection to the Shadow Prince prophecy!" he exclaimed, angrily screaming into his suit of armor to release his frustration before he stopped and sighed.

"Well, their non-Avalonian ally is clearly meant to be an enemy of ours and they got their way as the Shadow Prince and his daughter escaped." he continued as he annoyingly groaned from the realization of what their escape would mean for him. "Ugh! Great! Now, I have to go and embark on yet another stupid chase!" he angrily added as he begrudgingly huffed.

"A chase that wouldn't be so bad if I knew where they went!" he exclaimed before he blinked at the realization of his words. "Huh," he mumbled before he blinked. "I know they escaped. That much is obvious, but now the next question is..." he began before trailing off as his forest-green eyes slowly drifted toward the spot where he had first seen the flames released from the key he saw the shiszi holding in her possession.

"... Where did they go?"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"AHHHHHH!"

After falling through the flame portal, the fire faerie abruptly landed on the dark grey concrete-like stone flooring and fell face-front onto the ground as she groaned.

"Ow..." she mumbled before sighing as she began sitting upright and held onto her head. "Had I known that flame portal was going to drop us the way it did, I would've used my wings to make the fall more graceful for all of us." she further added as she stopped holding onto her head and began to stand up as she heard a low whoosh.

As she turned to see what was making the sound, she glanced back at the flame portal staring back at her as she saw the royal palace appearing in the flames on the other side of the portal until the flames began dissipating. When that happened, Ember saw the royal palace start to flicker in the flames as she huffed at the sight.

"Well, there goes Fairytopia..." she began before trailing off as she saw the flames take the last remnant of her kingdom along with it. "... And now the only home I've ever known is gone just like that. Great." she grumbled as she huffed from the portal now being out of sight before she quietly sighed to herself.

"My parents are going to scold me so much for doing this, but maybe they'll understand when I explain to them that I tagged along to keep our friends safe." she further mumbled, crossing her arms as she quietly sighed.

"And I mean, look on the bright side. You never got your adventure with them in the same sense Rhys and Chepi did, so maybe this will be just that and not to mention, you'll have some stories to tell your parents when you end up reuniting with them again." she optimistically followed up before she excitedly nodded.

"Yeah! Aside from the whole going on the run thing and Ike still being unconscious, this is still going to be the best adventure ever!" she perkily told herself right as she heard a faint groan behind her.

"Uugh..."

When Ember turned, she saw her friend stirring as she immediately flew to her side from the very moment she heard her. "Aliya! Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, now kneeling by her friend, who slowly began to sit upright as she nodded.

"Y... Yeah, I'm alright." her friend slowly answered, slightly stammering as she saw her friend holding onto her head. "I just wasn't expecting the portal to drop us the way that it did." she heard her friend add as she nodded.

"Yeah, me neither. If I had known it was going to do that, I would've used my wings and held us, so our fall could've at least been more graceful." she said as her friend lightly chuckle. "Thanks, but you've done more than enough for us as it is, Emby. I mean, between your wings and your powers, I think you should slow it down a bit before you end up overexerting yourself too." her friend softly added as she warmly smiled at her.

As she did, Ember noticed her friend's eyes were back to their natural light amber color and no longer glowing the light blue, almost teal-like color she saw moments ago when her friend held the key that led to their escape. Though the color itself didn't matter, she was just curious as to how and why her friend's eyes glowed the way that they did whenever she saw Aliya hold onto the key.

She thought to ask, but when she looked at her friend closer, she noticed she was still holding onto her head and decided against it as she didn't want to add more things to her friend's long night.

"Thanks, but I'm not the only one who could slow it down a bit." she softly said as she saw her friend lightly scoffing at her response. "Come on, Emby. I'm fine." her friend insisted, removing her hand from her head as Ember stood up. "Uh-huh." she had mumbled, unconvinced by her friend's response as the girl rolled her eyes.

"Emby, I'm fine. Really." her friend insisted once again as she raised her eyebrow at her friend's response. "Somehow, I find that hard to believe with everything you went through tonight." she swiftly countered, now standing up as Ember saw her friend removing her hand from her head, having now stopped holding onto her head.

"Ember, come on." her friend began as she stood up. "I told you, I'm..." she heard her friend add on and having expected Aliya to give her the same 'I'm fine' lie, she mentally tuned her out. But when she saw her friend holding onto her head again, she tuned back in time to hear her wince as she concernedly looked at her.

"Aliya?"

When Ember looked at her friend, she saw her friend gradually swaying, as though she was unable to maintain her balance. Not long after, her eyes began to close before she abruptly began to fall, causing the fire faerie's eyes to widen at the sight.

"Aliya!"

Almost immediately, she flew to her and caught her friend from falling onto the ground as she placed the girl gently on the ground. "Aliya?" she asked, lightly shaking her but when her friend didn't respond, her panic started to set in. "Come on, Aliya! You and Ike can't both pass out on me now!" she frantically yelled, attempting to jolt the girl awake, but still, her friend remained motionless as her panic grew.

Out of ideas and with their kinda-but-not-really healer still unconscious, Ember found herself left to her own devices. She wasn't sure what else she could do until she glanced at her hands and back at the unconscious girl across from her. Once she did that, she got an idea of how to wake her friend up as she moved closer.

As she did, the first thing she noticed was the way Aliya had significantly dark under-eye circles beneath her eyelids as they appeared to be greatly sunken, causing her to huff from the sight of her friend.

"And she says she's fine." she sarcastically mumbled as she scoffed. "Ha! Yeah, right." she added as she went to check her friend's breathing, which to her relief, was still normal. So after Ember determined that her friend was simply unconscious, she then proceeded to lean closer toward her friend before she raised her right hand and took a deep breath.

"Please don't hold this against me. I swear I'm not doing this on purpose, I just need you to wake up!"

As soon as she said those words, she promptly swung her right hand towards Aliya's face as she swiftly slapped her friend and quickly moved back as she held her breath.

Please wake up, please wake up, please—

"Aaah!"

When she heard her panicked scream, she glanced up to see Aliya abruptly sitting upright as she began breathing heavily. "Hey, you're okay." she assured her friend, who started to calm down a bit as her breathing gradually grew less heavy before eventually returning back to normal.

Once her breathing had returned back to normal, she began to sigh in relief before she felt a firm but oddly aggressive punch on her left arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" she sharply exclaimed as she saw her friend unclenching her left fist. "That's for slapping me." her friend firmly answered as she glared at her. "What was I meant to do when you fainted out of nowhere!" she snapped, before she saw her friend's eyes widen in disbelief.

"I fainted?"

When she heard the genuine confusion and disbelief in her friend's voice, her eyes softened as she sighed.

"Yeah, you did and I was worried that you would end up looking like your dad. So, I tried shaking you and jolting you awake, but you weren't responding." she solemnly explained as she sighed a second later. "That's why I slapped you." she added as she huffed.

"Emby, I'm so sorry for punching you. I didn't realize that's why you slapped me and I should've known better than to think you would slap me just because, so I'm really sorry for what I did to you."

"Aliya, that's not—"

"Yes, an apology is necessary, because I reacted without even bothering to hear your side first when I shouldn't have done that. I should've given you a chance to speak before reacting the way I did, which is why I'm sorry for what I did to you." her friend firmly interrupted as Ember listened to her sigh.

"Aliya, it's really..." she gently began, only to trail off when she saw the girl smiling at her. "Oh, and thanks for waking me up." her friend softly continued as Ember gave a small smile to her friend and nodded, deciding not to finish her previous response as she spoke.

"You're welcome. Besides, that's what friends are for." she softly said as her friend briefly huffed at her response, perhaps wanting to say something when she and Aliya heard a faint groan near them.

"You don't think—"

"There's only one way to find out, so come on." she softly countered, now interrupting her friend as she stood up and looked at her friend's father. "Let's go see if he's awake." she softly added as she glanced over from Issac and back at his daughter, who she noticed was now standing on her own again.

As she quietly sighed in relief at the sight, she glanced down to see the white twisted-stylized key that was previously in her friend's possession as she blinked at the sight before her eyes briefly widen.

"Oh! Aliya, you forgot..." she began, now attempting to call out to her friend, but when she saw the girl was already long-gone, she trailed off as she moved closer to the key. When she did, she noticed the white twisted-stylized key baring the image of a white skeletal-like head as the key possessed light blue, almost teal-like glowing eyes that resulted in her immediately shivering from the sight.

"On second thought, I'll just hold onto the key until she needs it." she insisted, pocketing the key before she speedily flew to join her friend, who she discovered was now kneeling across Issac as she saw her friend concernedly looking over her father's current state.

"Any luck?" she softly asked, now kneeling down beside her when she saw Aliya solemnly shake her head at her question and heavily sigh. "No. He's still in the same..." her friend initially began, now looking at her but when the two heard another groan, she saw her friend trailing off as they turned to see Issac beginning to stir from his current state.

"Oh, what do you know? He's alive after all." she noted as she saw her friend rolling her eyes. "He was always alive, Emby." her friend reminded her as Ember glanced from her friend and back to her friend's father before she crossed her arms.

"Hmm... I don't know, Aliya. I mean, he was out for some time now that I was beginning to think our corpse was never going to wake up." Ember lightly followed up as she saw her friend rolling her eyes at her response before she felt the girl playfully punched her on her right shoulder. "For the last time, he was never a corpse." her friend countered, right as they heard his groans getting slightly louder. As such, they turned to see Issac's eyes begin to flutter as Ember pierced her lips together.

"Hmm, I don't know, Aliya. I mean, he still has potential to secretly be a corpse." Ember cheekily said as her friend rolled her eyes at her commentary and lightly punched her right arm, to which the fire faerie rolled her eyes and lightly shoved her. This went on for a bit until she and Aliya had heard another groan from Issac that was more audible than the last few they've heard out of her friend's father.

"Uugh..."

"He's waking up." she and Ember said in sync as they stopped their shenanigans the moment he spoke. "You know, we should probably give him some space." Ember pointed out as she gesture to how close they were to him. "Oh! Right. We shouldn't crowd him." Aliya added, agreeing with her as she and her friend moved just in time for her father to gradually sit up as he began to hold onto his head and groaned once more.

"Ow..." they heard Issac mumble before he trailed off as he was still in the process of waking up. Not long after, a impish grin began to form on her face, having viewed the moment as the perfect opportunity to mess with her friend's father. So when her friend glance back at her, Ember made sure to keep her face devoid of any emotion as she listened to her friend sigh.

"I wasn't paying attention to the time that passed since his black out occurred." her friend had quietly confessed as she sighed. "Did you?" her friend followed up as Ember shook her head at the question. "No." she also quietly confessed as she saw her friend turn away and huff. "Yeah, okay." her friend briefly said before she sighed again and ran her hands in her hair.

"But I mean, it couldn't have been for more than what? A few hours?" her friend followed up as she blinked. "I don't think it was a few hours. I mean, he was out for awhile, I feel like." she had said as her friend nodded, having agreed with what she said. "Yeah, you're right. So, it couldn't have been a few hours then, because it had to be more along the lines of a couple hours." Aliya followed up as she nodded, having agreed with what her friend said.

"Okay. So we're sticking with the couple hours as our answer in case he asks?" her friend added as she nodded at the question. "Yes, but I thought it would be best if I told him." she suggested as she saw her friend blinking at her response.

"Wait. You want to tell him?" her friend asked as she gave a light nod. "Yeah." she answered before she saw her friend suspiciously eyeing her. "Wait. Why do you want to tell him?" her friend slowly followed up as she opted in for a casual approach to the question.

"Oh, you know. I just thought it would make more sense if he heard the news from a friend than from his daughter since I figured he would freak out more if it came from you." she reasonably answered as she saw Aliya blinking.

"Oh." she heard her friend say as she awkwardly chuckled. "Yeah, okay. That makes sense." she heard her friend add on before she stopped running her fingers through her hair and chuckled once more. "Sorry. I... I thought you wanted to tell him for another reason." her friend added as Ember pretended to appear shocked by the response.

"Like what?"

"I thought you had wanted to tell him, so you could come up with some outrageous response and see how quickly he bought into your lie before he freaks out, given how easily gullible he can be at times." she casually, almost dismissively said; her eyes no longer focused on her as Ember's eyes widen at her response before she faked a laugh and scoffed.

"Pfft — Come on now. You know, I put that behind me. It's all in the past now." she casually said, adjusting her look right as she saw her friend skeptically staring at her before she shrugged, the skepticism fleeting from her friend's eyes, much to her relief. "I mean, if you say so." her friend simply said, right as the two heard Issac groaning again.

When they turned to face him, she and Aliya saw Issac rubbing his head as he winced. "How long was I out for?" he slowly asked, now looking at them. As Ember briefly glance at him and back at his daughter, she looked at her friend's father again. When she did, she made a sorrowful look at him as she heavily sighed.

"Fifteen years." she solemnly lamented, maintaining her serious, sorrowful look as she observed Issac's frantic and panicked eyes staring back at her now. "Fifteen years?!" her father frantically exclaimed as Ember sorrowfully nodded. "Yes. Neither of us were sure if you were going to make it. I mean, we thought you were dead." Ember further added, never making eye contact with his daughter as they saw his eyes widen more from her response.

"Dead?!"

When she saw Issac freaking out more at her response, she wanted to keep it going when she felt her friend's intensive stare. So when she turned away from Issac and glanced back at her friend, she saw her friend's annoyed but very stern look as she crossed her arms.

"You put it behind you, huh?"

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist messing with him." she insisted as she saw her friend skeptically looking at her. "Uh-huh." she heard her friend mumble before she huffed. "Fine. I'll fix it." Ember told her before she looked at her friend's father, who seemed to be figuring out how much time he had missed.

"Oh come on, Ike. Don't be so gullible now." she lightly said, giggling as a playful smile formed on her face. "Wait. So, I wasn't out for fifteen years?" she heard Issac slowly ask as she and Aliya shook their heads. "No." she and Aliya answered as he sighed in relief.

"Oh, that's—"

"Because you were out of twenty years." she finished, taking the chance to mess with him as she endure Aliya's semi-sharp punch on her right arm while Issac's eyes widen more at her response.

"Twenty?!"

"No. You weren't out for fifteen or twenty years, baba. We don't know exactly how long you were out because neither of us were paying attention to that, but it couldn't have been no more than a couple hours."

After Aliya said that, Ember saw Issac sighing in relief before he glanced away from his daughter as he turned to her and proceeded to glare at her in pure annoyance, to which she responded by flashing him a mischievous, playful grin in his direction. Not long after, she began to giggle while Issac simply rolled his eyes and Aliya shook her head before crossing her arms.

"Anyways, what's the last thing you remember?" she heard her friend ask, now bringing her and her father into focus as she stopped giggling. "The last thing I remember is us being in a pantry room and... and now we're h... here." he slowly answered, slightly stammering as she and Aliya stared at him holding onto his head again as he winced.

With his focus no longer on them, she and Aliya began to quietly conversate among themselves in regard to his response.

"The pantry room?" she asked as her friend huffed. "Yeah... It's not one of the greatest decisions I made." her friend grumbled as she blinked. "How did you two end up in some pantry room, of all places?" she curiously followed up as her friend sighed. "We were getting chased by knights and the royal guards, so I thought to pull us into some room I perceived to be an exit. But rather than an exit or at least be a room with some kind of exit door, it turned out to be a pantry room, which is one of the rooms that have no exit doors." her friend briefly explained as she huffed at her response.

"Oh."

"Yep."

"Wait, so why is that the last thing he remembers?" she followed up as she saw her friend shrug. "I don't know. My guess is that the pantry room had to be the last thing he remembers because it was before..." her friend briefly began, before trailing off as her eyes abruptly widened, which caught her attention as Ember looked at her. "Before what?" she followed up as she saw the girl heavily sigh.

"Before I—"

"H... How did we get here, anyways?"

When the two heard Issac speaking again and looked to see him standing up, she saw Aliya adjust the look in her eyes as she kept her face neutral to {presumably} not risk freaking her father out.

Seeing this, Ember decided to chime in as she saw a way to mess with her friend's father once more, because she couldn't resist messing with him when his gullible nature just made things more fun for her.

"Oh. We just dragged you through seven realms." she casually said as she saw Issac's eyes widen frantically from her response.

"Seven?!"

At his response, she couldn't help but laugh at him as she saw her friend shaking her head as she turned to face her. "Emby, you've got to stop messing with my apá every time you see a moment to exploit his gullible nature for your entertainment." her friend firmly scold her as Ember simply grinned. "Never!" she triumphantly proclaimed as she saw her friend shaking her head again as she rolled her eyes before they turned to face Issac, who still looked genuinely panicked as Aliya shot her a stern look that screamed 'fix this'.

"Aliya—"

"Fix it."

"Fine."

Childishly huffing, Ember turned her attention from her friend to her friend's father again as she sighed and lightly crossed her arms.

"No, but in all seriousness, we didn't drag you through seven realms, Ike. Instead, we carried you through a portal and—"

"A portal?" he asked, now interrupting her as she nodded. "But how were you—" he followed up, but she interrupted him when the realization finally dawned on her.

"Oh!" Ember exclaimed, perhaps too loudly as she saw her friend jump back a bit. "That. Yeah, I didn't create the portal." she then clarified as Issac puzzlingly stared at her. "If you didn't make it, then how—" he attempted to ask when she interrupted him. "Oh. Aliya created the portal by using this key." she casually explained as she heard a slight gasp from her friend.

"The key. I just had it. Where is—" she heard her friend quietly but frantically panic as she mutely glance at her and took out the key in her pocket. "Looking for this?" she asked, revealing the key in her grasp, causing her friend's eyes to widen from seeing the key in her grasp.

"How did you—"

"I saw the key on the ground, so I'm guessing it must've fell out of your hand at some point after you passed out. I tried to hand the key back to you after we heard Ike waking up, but you left, so I figured I would just hold onto the key for you until you needed it or something." Ember casually answered, having interrupted the girl as the fire faerie knew what her friend was on the verge of asking.

"Oh." her friend briefly said before she sighed in relief. "Well, thanks." her friend softly added as she grinned. "No problem." she softly said, before she turned her attention back to her friend's father.

"But yeah. We found the key and..." she briefly began, only to trail off as she blinked. "Issac?" she added, now calling out to him as she still held the key. "Ike! Where did you go?" she followed up, still seeing no sight of her friend's father as she huffed.

"Aliya, did you see where—"

"Look out!"

Not long after she heard the warning, she felt her friend grab onto her and push her {and to an extent, herself} out of the way as a massive crack began to form around them, which led to them tumbling {somewhat} over the ground below them. When this happened, the fire faerie quickly activated her wings and held onto her friend.

However, when they did this, a cloud of dust began to swirl around them and prevented them from seeing the person responsible for the cracks. But despite this, the two were able to slowly see a pair of bright light blue, almost arctic-like eyes staring back at them through the cloud of dust, which made her and Aliya gasp.

Caught off-guard by the intense glow, she momentarily got distracted enough to lose control of her wings, which quickly led to them falling onto the ground as she unitentionally dropped the key. As soon as they made contact with the ground and Aliya managed to retrieve the key from the ground, the cracks amplified and within seconds, the cracks created a hole around the spot where she and Aliya were at.

... Great.

Not long after that, the ground caved in as the two promptly began to fall through the first level of the building.

"AHHHHH!"

As the girls rapidly continued to fall, Ember reactivated her wings and grabbed onto Aliya in time for them to make contact with the ground. As such, she was able to lessen their blow as neither of them endured any injuries from the fall, thanks to her using her wings. As such, she retracted her wings and released her hold on her friend.

Unfortunately, right as the two felt they were safe, the two felt the ground shaking again as the result of a powerful punch and like last time, the two were promptly sent tumbling {somewhat} above the ground as cracks {again} emerged from the ground.

So as they briefly hovered above the ground again, the girls looked up to see a cloud of dust and were met with a pair of bright light blue, almost arctic-like eyes staring back at them again from the cloud of dust.

Not long after that, the two promptly crashed into something before they sunk onto the ground as Ember groaned. "Ow..." she mumbled as she rubbed her head. "Here." she heard and when she looked up, Ember saw her friend holding her hand up as she accepted her offer. As soon as she gave Aliya her hand, the girl proceeded to lift her up before releasing her grip on her as the fire faerie flashed her a small smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem." she said as Ember noticed the key was still in her friend's possession, which made her sigh in relief as the fire faerie was glad to know that neither of them had lost it. "What did we end up bumping into anyways?" she curiously followed up, rubbing the back of her head as she saw her friend tightly grip onto the key and cross her arms.

"I'm not too..." she heard her friend continue, before she trailed off as her eyes widen. "What are you—" Ember began to ask, but when her friend mutely spun her around, she had cut herself off upon seeing what her friend was looking at.

"Oh."

As she {and Aliya} looked what was in front of them, the two saw a light-blue, almost teal-color box/chest-looking cryptic tomb. As they looked, they both noticed the considerably large white-horned and light blue, almost teal-eyed skeleton head positioned in the center of the box/chest-looking crypt tomb.

As the fire faerie looked closer, she realized the skeleton head was actually part of a lock as the head was connected to skeleton legs that formed into a square with light gold stripes engraved onto the chest. Furthermore, she noticed that the center of the lock was being held together by several light blue, almost teal-like glowing chains when she noticed her friend's eyes landing on the diamond-shaped keyhole in the center of the chest.

"Aliya?"

As soon as Ember called out to her, she saw her friend's eyes switch from her light amber hue to a light blue, almost pale like glow as she saw her friend start moving closer to the keyhole, which caused her eyes to widen from the sight.

"Aliya, wait! Don't—"

But in that moment, she saw her friend's left hand making contact with the keyhole and as soon as she did, Ember saw a pale light blue rune appear over the keyhole. As soon as the protective rune appeared, the fire faerie saw the rune cast a series of mythical, ancestral symbols that she couldn't read or decipher as she knew nothing about the symbols.

Not long after, she saw her friend's light blue, almost pale-like glowing eyes instantly revert back to their natural light amber color as she slowly approached the girl.

"Aliya?"

"Ahh!" her friend immediately exclaimed, clearly panicked as she jumped from the sound of her voice and fell, dropping the key in the process as she started to breathe heavily. "Hey, it's okay." she softly assured her friend, who looked rather far from assured as she picked up the key and immediately stood up.

"N... No, it's not okay. I... I messed up by bringing us here! Okay? I brought us to New York City in the Surface Realm and took us to the Heartstone Foundry!"

"The Heartstone Foundry?"

"Yes! This is the place where Aureus kept her imprisoned, but now we have to find my dad and go before—" her friend had hastily and urgently answered, trying to get the words out before abruptly cutting herself off as Ember blinked.

"Aliya?" she called, but her friend never responded. Instead, she mutely moved closer to her and glance over her shoulder. As soon as she did, Ember heard her friend solemnly gasp before the girl's face fell.

"We're too late."

"Aliya, what are you—" she attempted to ask until her friend mutely spun her around again. As such, she looked at what [or rather who] her friend was looking at as she gasped.

"Is that—"

"Yeah... that's him."

So as she glanced at Issac, she noticed his eyes were no longer the light honeysuckle color or the dark, lime-green color she had first seen as he still retain his new bright light blue, almost arctic-like color in his eyes. As she continued to look, she noticed he still retained his warm-beige skin, but his jet-black hair had gained white and light pale blue colored streaks.

Furthermore, his outfit had changed as he was now wearing a light blue and sliver armored suit with spiked shoulder pads while he possessed no wings [making him wingless like his daughter, though she didn't recall his first form having wings either] and worn black combat boots rather than his plain black shoes.

"But I don't get it. I thought—"

"What you saw back at the Heartdome was him unlocking his Celestial demon form as a royal, not the actual Shadow Prince form he's in now."

"Wait so, this is his real form as the Shadow Prince?" she slowly followed up as her friend gave a brief nod. "Yep. Everything you see is his true form. Well, except his eyes." her friend briefly said as she puzzlingly blinked.

"His eyes?"

"When he's in this form, his eyes end up switching from the light honeysuckle color you are used to seeing to a light-blue, almost teal-like color." her friend followed up as Ember glanced at Issac and back at Aliya.

"Well, if that's the case, then why are we seeing him with these light blue, almost arctic-like eyes instead?" she asked as she saw her friend huffing as the girl crossed her arms. "I don't know, but if I had to guess, I would say someone's possessing him." her friend answered as she blinked and nodded.

"Okay, but if Ike is being possessed like you suspect, then who's the one controlling him?" she asked and right after she made her question known, they heard a eerie chuckle echoed across the underground level of the foundry.

Not long after they heard the chuckle, the two girls saw a transparent shadow hover above Issac before the shadow materalized and took on a physical form. Looking on, she saw a older light-skinned male with solely white eyes [a sight Ember has never seen before] with dark ash-grey hair as he worn a sliver and cyan-ish blue suit.

"That would be me, little flame, though this was not done on purpose. I wanted him to follow his destiny voluntarily, but when he refused, I couldn't let him turn his back on his destiny and his role in his prophecy. So, I made the prince more willing to face his destiny head-on."

"Well, seeing how he's under your control, I doubt he's doing this willingly." she firmly countered as she stared at the man hovering above Issac. As she did, the first thing she noticed was his odd grin, which creepily maintained its smile as she shivered and moved closer to her friend. "Who is he anyways and why is he grinning like that?" she quietly asked her friend, now looking at her as she saw her friend huffing.

"That's Phantom. I don't know much about him since I only just met him earlier tonight, but as to why he grins like that, I have no clue." her friend quietly answered as she nodded. "Ah." she simply said, right as she and Aliya went back to facing Phantom, who proceeded to expand on his grin as it morphed into a eerie delighted smirk.

"That's what you may think, little flame, but trust me. I'm only guiding him," Phantom added as Ember crossed her arms. "Somehow, I doubt that's truly the case here." she sharply countered as he only chuckled at her response before his eyes drifted to her friend.

"Ah, little duchess, seeing how you and your father brought your third party along, I trust she will have a impact on your father's prophecy. Not now at this moment, of course, but soon. Oh, very, very soon indeed!" he further added as Ember puzzlingly stared at him and back at her friend as she crossed her arms.

"Third party? What is he talking about?" she promptly asked as she saw her friend heavily sigh at her question.

"He foretold that my dad and I would have a third party, but he never mentioned who, so I tried to avoid bringing anyone with us. But in spite of my best efforts, you became the third party he talked about through a series of circumstances or simply premediated by the Fates themselves, though I admittedly still have no idea what the second part of his statement means."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Basically, he's just saying that his foretelling came true... just like how he said the three of us would be reunited again and how he said he trusted I would be the one to guide my baba into helping him seek out what's been lost, which I did when I led him to the Lady Bone Enchantress' tomb... Heh."

When her friend finished, the fire faerie saw the girl awkwardly chuckling as she quietly frowned, knowing the girl would blame herself for what happened tonight, much like how Ike would end up doing the same thing... if he remembered anything from tonight, that was.

"Aliya—"

"Yes! I must thank you, little duchess, for fulfilling my lady's purpose but for also following your role in your father's namesake prophecy. A prophecy that is close to coming true, thanks to your efforts." Phantom gleefully added as he delightfully chuckled, to which she saw her friend look away.

"Yes, without you, none of this would be possible and now, my lady is closer than ever to being freed just as your father is closer to fulfilling the rest of his prophecy. All your father needs to do is reclaim the Ossis Key, free his mother and then, Brisha will be able to continue his overarching destiny." Phantom proudly added as she saw her friend look back and sharply clenching her fist as she saw her eyes seething with anger.

"Ugh! You claim he has to follow his overarching destiny and that he has to fulfill his namesake prophecy, but you don't get to decide that!" her friend angrily and sharply snapped as Ember saw her friend gestured to her {possessed} father.

"He does, because it's his life and he should decide for himself what he wants! Alright? Not you, not her and certainly not anyone else!" her friend determinedly added but as she spoke, Ember noticed Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes flickering a bit as she caught a glimpse of his light honeysuckle eyes resurfacing a bit before the light blue, almost arctic-like color took over again.

Huh.

"Little shadow, that's cute, but your father has no say in this matter because quite frankly, Brisha does not have a choice. He is my prized vessel just as he is destined to become my lady's perfect host, a villain and a monster. Your father is all of these things because that is who he truly is, so it's pointless, little duchess, to see him as anything else but these things." Phantom had calmly countered as she saw her friend's eyes seething more from anger.

The nerves of this guy.

"He's not your prized vessel! He's not my grandmother's champion! He's not a villain and he's not a monster! Alright? You and her and everyone else don't get to decide who he is because he is his own person and he gets to decide who he is! Not you, not his mother and certainly not anyone else!"

Again as her friend spoke, Ember noticed Issac's light blue, almost pale-like eyes flickering as she caught a glimpse of his light honeysuckle eyes resurfacing once more before she saw the light blue, almost arctic-like color taking over.

Interesting.

"Oh, little duchess, you can keep insisting that your father gets to choose who gets to be, but the truth is he doesn't get to decide who he is because it was never his choice to begin with." Ember and her friend heard Phantom say as his eerie grin grew. "Simple as that." he added as she saw Aliya's eyes seething with rage.

"Hey! Who are you to dictate who Issac is anyhow when you don't even know him?" she firmly and sharply countered, now challenging Phantom herself as she heard the latter chuckle at her response.

"Oh, trust me, little flame, I have known Brisha far longer than you and her will ever know." he cryptically told her {and Aliya} before chuckling once more as he sighed.

"As much as I would love to entertain this conversation more, girls, I think it is best to end it as is. Besides, why should we drag this on any further when his prophecy is so close to being fulfilled and my lady's freedom is within reach?" Phantom followed up as she and Aliya glanced at each other and back at him.

"Yes, I do believe I have entertained you two long enough, but now it is time for him to claim the Ossis Key from you two and fulfill the rest of his prophecy, which I'm sure won't be a challenge for my prized vessel." Phantom further added, gesturing to Issac as the delight and proudness returned, which was especially evident when they saw his eerie grin growing larger.

"He's not your — Ugh!" she heard Aliya frustratedly exclaimed as she saw the girl begrudgingly crossing her arms. "It's like my words are lost on him!" she heard her friend angrily add as the girl huffed from the annoyance she felt toward Phantom.

"Do you think we can beat him?"

"Who? Phantom?"

"Uh, I meant your possessed dad."

"Oh." she heard her friend dejectedly say before she saw the girl heavily sighed. "You want my honest opinion?" the girl countered as she nodded. "It would help." she answered as she saw her friend glancing at her possessed father and back at her before the girl heavily sighed once more.

"I've seen my baba take on seasoned knights and royal guards and reduce the number of these men within a matter of seconds. I've seen him take down my former classmates and he nearly would've taken down Marcus if—"

"—If you hadn't stepped in and intervened." she finished, recalling the moment as she saw her friend nodding. "Yeah." she heard her friend simply said as she crossed her arms. "So... you're telling me all of this to say... what?" she followed up as she saw her friend heavily sigh again at her question.

"I'm telling you all of this to say we can't beat him."

"Um, I was hoping you would be irrationally optimistic here and say we have a fighting chance."

"I know, but Phantom is controlling him and as long as he maintains his hold over him, we don't stand a chance."

"But?"

"But... I suppose if we were able to get through to him and got him to break free from Phantom's control, we could potentially stand a chance, though that seems unlikely since his hold over my apá is incredibly strong." her friend briefly answered when she thought back to the way his hold on her friend's father seemed to weaken whenever Aliya spoke, so she suspected that the guy's hold over Issac couldn't be as strong as her friend claimed it was and she was going to say that much to her when her friend continued.

"So, no. We can't beat my apá, but if he gets the Ossis Key and he ends up succeeding in fulfilling the rest of his namesake prophecy by freeing his mother, then things are going to go from bad to worse." her friend added as the girl sighed. "Maybe, not tonight, but soon, so it's imperative that my apá doesn't get his hands on the key, because if the Lady Bone Enchantress is freed, then she won't just go solely after Fairytopia and finish what she started in Avalon." her friend further said as she blinked.

"She won't?"

"No, because it won't just stop there. She'll end up targeting this city too and bring trouble to all the innocent people who live here in this realm. So, I imagine if she's able to fulfill her destiny of perfecting the Surface Realm and the Avalonian Realm, then she'll find any excuse to go perfect the other realms she may deem unfit for her image and—"

"—will only bring about unwanted trouble to them as well." she finished as she saw her friend nodding. "That's why it's critical that you destroy the key before my baba is able to obtain the key and fulfill the second half of his prophecy." her friend firmly stated, planting the key in her right hand as her eyes widen from her friend's response.

"Aliya, I—"

"My lady has waited long enough to be freed from her imprisonment and so, it is time to finish this." Phantom firmly stated, forcing her and her friend to stop their conversation as the two of them looked at the latter as he began to point towards her direction as she was the one in full possession of the key.

As soon as Ember saw Issac's eyes targeting her, she began to awkwardly and tensely chuckle at the intense eye contact.

"You know, on second thought, maybe—"

"No, we're not switching places and no, I'm not taking back the key from you, so don't bother finishing your sentence because we're not changing the plan."

"But—"

"Ember, I know you're panicked, but don't worry about him, okay? I'll handle him. Just focus on destroying the key and I'll focus on buying you some time and try to stall him as much as I can. I can't guarantee I'll be able to get you much time, but I'm hoping to get you enough to finish the job." her friend determinedly told her as Ember huffed.

"And if I can't destroy the key by the time he gets through with you?"

"Use the key to your advantage and use it as leverage against Phantom. After all, he can't make my apá get you if he thinks you're capable of destroying the key. He wants my grandmother out and he knows that key is the only way she's obtains that freedom. So even if you can't actually destroy the key, sell it. That's your best way of stalling but if push comes to shove and Phantom doesn't buy the act, then you're going to have to fight my apá."

"And how do I fight him?"

"Avoid his crystals." her friend firmly answer as Ember's eyes widen at her response. "Crystals?" she puzzlingly asked as her friend briefly blinked before realization dawned on her. "Oh... That's right." her friend mumbled as she blinked.

"What?"

"You never got a chance to see what powers gained from his true awakening... but yeah. He has crystallokinesis, which I've seen him use to encase his enemies inside of his crystals and when I saw him travel underground as he always made a crystal trail beneath the floor." her friend had casually explained as Ember's eyes widen at her casualness of the girl's response.

"What?!"

Even in spite of her reaction, Ember sensed Aliya wanted to tell her more, but before she could tell her what else she should know, that's when Phantom chose to make his presence known to them again.

"Grab the Ossis Key now!"

As soon as Phantom gave the command and promptly cut her off, she and her friend both observed as Issac began slightly twisting his left foot before he mutely but rapidly began to charge toward them... Or rather, more accurately, her.

"Aliya—"

"Ember, you got this!"

Yeah, because I'm somehow meant to find a way to destroy this key and if I unable to do that, then there's a very likely chance that I will have to endure Ike and his crystals... Crystals, of all things! How are you even supposed to defend yourself against crystals when it's never been a thing before?!

"Baba, wait!"

When Ember snapped out of her thoughts, she saw Aliya placing herself squarely in Issac's direct path before she pushed her arms outward to {presumably} act as a barrier between him and her as the girl was now actively preventing him from reaching the Ossis Key and, to an extent, her as well.

As soon as she did that, the fire faerie saw Issac promptly raise his left fist to his daughter's face but when he heard Aliya speak, she saw the latter narrowly freeze mid-way into completing the punch as a gust of wind briefly formed onto Aliya before the wind moved past her and created a gust of dust with the cracks that started to form around them. When the dust settled at last, she noticed that Issac had lowered his fist away from Aliya's face and pulled his arm back before he momentarily froze.

"Okay, maybe it's a good thing she's the distraction, because if that was me, he would have just encased me in his crystal..." she briefly mumbled to herself before she glanced at the Ossis Key and quickly trailed off as she widen her eyes. "... which is going to be the case if I don't destroy this key!" she quietly but frantically exclaim before she took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down.

"Okay, this is fine. Besides, it's like Aliya said: you got this. You just have to somehow find a way to destroy this key before he gets through with your friend and comes for you and the key..." she gradually mumbled to herself before she trailed off as she heavily sighed and glance back at the Ossis Key once more. "... No problem." she then finished, though as she spoke, Ember sounded less confident in herself as she sighed again.

"Baba, I know you're being controlled by Phantom, but he isn't in charge of you. Okay? You are and even though I don't know much about him, I do know you and I know you're stronger, so force him out."

When she heard Aliya speaking, she glanced up from the Ossis Key and looked at her friends as she saw Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes staring back at his daughter.

Please work, please work, please—

"Little Shadow, it's no use."

When she heard Phantom's voice, her heart sank when she saw that Issac's eyes still remained the same.

No...

"I still have control over the Shadow Prince and he will listen to me and only me, so your efforts to get through to your father are pointless." Phantom further added as Ember angrily clenched her fist and turned to Aliya, who was now dodging a lunge that her father was now throwing at her.

"If anyone can get through to him, it's you!" she encouragingly shouted as she saw her friend dodge another punch before she turned to face her. "Um, I don't think so!" her friend yelled back as she yelped and narrowly dodged another hit.

"I know you believe you can't get through to him, but I've seen you do it! You got through to him the first time when it came to Marcus and I've seen you get through to him every time you went to challenge Phantom!"

"What are you talking about?" she saw Aliya ask as she narrowly deflected her father's lunge at her before turning back to her. "Every time you spoke, I would see him regain a bit of his light honeysuckle eyes!" she truthfully answered as she saw her friend's puzzled look.

"How? When I looked at him, his eyes were always the same!" Ember heard her friend counter as she saw Issac lunging at her, to which she saw her friend swiftly move and in doing so, Issac had swiftly punch the spot in which his daughter initially stood.

"That's because Phantom knew he was at risk of losing control over him every time he knew Ike believed you! He knew the love you had for your father was capable of making him slowly start to lessen his control over him and he couldn't risk losing his hold over him. That's why you saw his eyes as the same because by the time you looked, he would end up reeling Ike back into his control!"

"Wait. So, that's true, then—"

"You still have a chance of getting through to him, so ignore what Phantom said to you and keep talking!"

After she said those words, Ember saw the realization of her words dawning on her friend as she saw the doubt in her friend's light amber eyes become replaced by determination as her friend's nod matched her newfound resolve.

"Okay!"

So as she saw her friend continue to block and dodge her way into enduring another second of her fight with her father {as Ember knew Aliya had no intention of inflicting any kind of harm on him}, she went back to focusing on the key.

"Alright, let's do this." she determinedly told herself as she flicked her left hand, expecting her palm to be cover in orange-reddish flames, but when she looked, she saw little bits of sparks coming out instead as her eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't do this to me! It's very important that you cooperate with me, because I got a lot of people depending on me, so come on flames! Do your thing!" she frantically yelled to herself, trying in vain to activate her flames, but every time [to no fail] she would still see the little bits of fiery sparks.

"Ember! What's the progress on the key!"

"Absolutely terrible! My powers won't even cooperate with me! I thought it was temporary when I tried to use my powers on Marcellus while we were escaping, but now I'm starting to think this might be permanent!"

"Maybe, you just need to rekindle that spark again to activate your powers again since there's a chance you might have extinguished the flame within you when you overexerted yourself and used up most, if not, all of your flame elemential magic." her friend suggested as she huffed at her response.

"How am I supposed to do that!" she countered as her friend briefly pondered. "Hmm... I'm not sure..." her friend briefly began before Aliya gasped. "Oh! Maybe, you can rekindle the flame in you again by switching places with me! You can handle my apá for me and I'll work on the key for you in the mean time!" her friend cheekily suggested.

When she heard her friend's suggestion [the one that she tried to implement a few minutes ago but got turned down], she turned to see Aliya caught in her father's choke-hold before she saw the girl using her arms to free herself as she briefly caused her father to stumble a bit before he charged at her once more.

Deciding she didn't want to endure any of that, she gave a light laugh as she crossed her arms.

"Uh, no thanks!"

"That's not what you said a few minutes ago when you tried making the suggestion!" she heard her friend yell before she yelped and narrowly moved in time for Ember to see her friend's dad swiftly punch the very spot in which she had previously stood only moments ago.

"Well, that was before the fighting actually took place and besides, I thought you were getting through to him again!"

"I was getting through to him until he started becoming persistent and saying that this is what he has to do because he feels as though he doesn't have a choice in his namesake prophecy or his overarching destiny when we both know there's always a choice and it's the one you make for yourself!"

When she heard Aliya say that, she saw Issac charging at her as the girl blocked his strike before the two pulled back.

"You're fighting a lost cause, so just give it up already!" she heard her friend stubbornly snap at his daughter, who mirrored the same frown she made after hearing his response.

"You're not a lost cause, baba, and I'm not going to give up on you because you're worth fighting for!"

"There's no use in fighting back! Okay? You're going to lose! It's inevitable, so just get out of the way and let me get the Ossis Key from Ember, so I free my omi and complete this prophecy!" he further added as she saw him charging at Aliya and proceeded to lunge at her.

It looked like he had his daughter when she grabbed onto his arm and held him in a chokehold... a move Ember didn't think was particularly wise, considering Issac knew what to do and how to break out of her friend's chokehold.

"If you want to give up on yourself, baba, then fine. By all means, be my guest. But, I won't. I'll always fight for you, even when you don't!" she saw her friend firmly and determinedly vow as her friend continued to maintain her hold over him.

"So, no. I will not move out of your way and let you get the Ossis Key from Ember's grasp nor am I going to let you go through with your prophecy because deep down, I know that's not what you want. You, however, won't do anything about it, so I'm just helping you out by being a nuisance and making it more difficult for you to follow through in the hopes that you snap out of it." Aliya stubbornly insisted as Ember saw Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes glowing in irritation at his daughter's response and her overall unwillingness to work with him.

"Well, can you stop being a nuisance and actually release me, so I can go do what I need to get done?" she heard Issac sharply snap as she saw his daughter briskly laughing. "Ha! No." his daughter bluntly answered as she saw his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes darkening at her answer.

"Aaliyah—"

"Look, the only way I'm moving is if you end up breaking out of my chokehold and as far as I'm concerned, that's not going to happen since I have the upper hand here." her friend confidently and quite arrogantly stated as Ember quietly winced at her friend's response.

"Ah, that's a poor choice of words." she mumbled and this would eventually dawn on her friend when Issac promptly pushed his arms back and broke out of his daughter's chokehold; his light blue, almost arctic-eyes glowing brighter as he turned and faced the girl with a smug smirk.

"You were saying?"

"Yeah, I knew it." she mumbled as she saw her friend awkwardly chuckle at her father's question which she knew was a clear indicator that his daughter was now beginning to regret her words, but she knew her friend wouldn't say it as she saw the girl meekly look at her father.

"Heh.... You know, seeing how you broke out of my chokehold as quickly as you did just now, I'm starting to think you have been going easy on me this entire time." her friend slowly said as Issac chuckled at Aliya's response. "You could say that..." he slyly began before trailing off as she and Aliya saw his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes started glowing brighter, now causing her eyes to widen.

That was him going easy?!

"... But that's not going to be the case anymore." he darkly finished and as soon as he said that, Issac grabbed onto her right shoulder and as he began forcibly digging into her bones, she saw his daughter start to grunt from the pressure he was applying to her shoulder bone as she knew he was now beginning to crush her shoulder bone, which only would persist the longer he kept maintaining that sort of pressure on the girl.

I got to get him to snap out of it before he ends up hurting her for real!

"Issac, stop! That's enough!" she firmly ordered as she saw her friend look at her and back at his daughter before his light blue, almost arctic-eyes began glowing brighter.

"Hand me the key and I'll stop." he sharply countered, now looking at her as he took his eyes off of his daughter. "Or refuse and you'll come to see that breaking a few bones will be the least of her problems." he darkly threatened, adding onto his previous response before she saw a eerie smirk start to form on his face.

That can't be good...

As soon as he spoke, Ember saw a series of light blue, almost arctic-like crystals appear on his right arm and began to spread towards the right side of his face, creating a spiked crystallized coat.

Not long after the crystallized coat formed over the right side of his face, Ember saw a thin layer of the crystallized coat began to form over his right eye before he switched from grabbing Aliya's right shoulder to her throat as he began lifting her up. As soon as he did, Ember saw the crystals start to form his daughter's throat as her eyes widened.

"Aliya?"

"Don't f... focus on me! I... I'm fine!" her friend weakly and quite stubbornly protested before she saw the crystals take on a spiky appearance and continue to expand around Issac's crystallized grip on his daughter.

"If you care about her, then you'll do what I said and surrender the key." Issac firmly ordered as she saw his daughter weakly kicking her legs in an effort to free herself from his grasp. "N... No! Don't l... let him g... get that key!" Aliya weakly protested, but not long after that, she saw Issac grip tighter on his crystallized fist, accelerating the process as Ember saw his daughter weakly grasping onto the crystal around her throat.

She saw her friend attempting to look unfazed and maintain a strong facade, but as he continue to hold his crystallized grip on her, Ember saw Aliya's distressed face as she began making weak, squeaking gasps. "Aliya!" she exclaimed with panic as she gripped onto her fist.

I got to make Issac see what Phantom has him doing before he ends up losing the last person in his life and I end up losing a friend!

"Issac, I know you cannot seriously be that desperate for the key that you're willing to put your daughter's life on the line! You just can't! Not after all that you've done for her and the things you sacrificed to keep her safe just as she has done for you! I mean, come on! Is the key really worth more to you than her own life!"

When she said that, she saw Issac's smirk and intensity in his eyes falter as she spoke, which gave her hope that she could get through to him and save Aliya without having to give up the key.

"Look, I know deep down, you don't want to hurt Aliya so fight Phantom's control and snap out of it before he ends up being the reason you lose the last person in your life and I end up losing my friend!"

As soon as she said that, she saw the intensity on his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes  lessen to a significant degree as his eyes weren't as bright as she and Aliya had first seen them. So when she saw that, she started to sigh in relief, having felt good about her chances of getting through to him.

Okay! I can do this! I'll get Issac back to normal and I'll save Aliya — all without having to give up the Ossis Key!

Unfortunately as soon as Ember gave a relieved chuckle and fell into the belief that things were going to go her way, the fire faerie began to hear a eerie, almost smug-like chuckle in the nearby distance as she huffed at the chuckle.

"As I told your friend, little flame, it is no use. You can try to convince him all you want, but he won't listen because I am the one in control, not him."

No, no, no, no, no!

As soon as Phantom said that, Ember saw her friend's crystallized grip getting tighter onto his daughter's throat as his face quickly harden; his smirk now fading while the light blue, almost arctic-like glow in his eyes became persistently brighter.

Ugh! This Phantom guy is really starting to get on my nerves!

"At this point, Ember, you have two options: a, you do exactly what I say and hand the Ossis Key over and I won't have to do anything neither of us will come to regret or b, I cut her down and I finish her right here for you to watch." Issac sharply threatened and it was clear to her from the way his voice grew deeper and more menacing that this wasn't his doing.... not that any of this had been his doing in the first place.

"Issac, please—"

"Ember! You've tested my patience long enough, so just do what I'm telling you to do!" Issac firmly and quite aggressively exclaim, now interrupting her as he snapped.

"Your friend's life depends on it, so hand me the Ossis Key now!" he sharply followed up as her eyes fell on him and back at Aliya, who weakly managed to shake her head right as Phantom's response to her friend began to echo in the back of her mind.

"Ah, little duchess, seeing how you and your father brought your third party along, I trust she will have a impact on your father's prophecy. Not now at this moment, of course, but soon. Oh, very, very soon indeed!"

She realized, with a heavy heart, that she knew what Phantom meant by saying she would have a impact on Issac's namesake prophecy.

This was the defining moment that would either make or break the rest of his prophecy and she knew, it had all came down to what she was willing to sacrifice more.

She tried in vain to have her friend and the Ossis Key, but as she looked, she realized she simply couldn't have both. As much as Ember would've wanted that, she knew she had no choice but to choose which one to prioritize more and knew something had to give.

So when she looked at her friend again and saw she was on the verge of falling unconscious, the fire faerie heavily sighed to herself as she glance at the key in her possession and looked back at her friend's father, who was now looking at her with a dazed, almost twisted gleam in his eyes; a sight she had never seen from him before.

"Last chance, Ember! Give me the key or—"

"Alright!" Ember exclaimed at last, interrupting him as she heavily sighed again. "You win." she reluctantly said as she sighed once more. "Just drop her and... and the key is yours." she further added as she saw the dazed, almost twisted gleam in his eyes fading the moment she gave him an answer.

"Deal."

As soon as he said that, Issac clenched his crystallized right fist and as he did, she then observed as the crystals shattered from his hold. With the crystals breaking, she saw the crystals on his fist retracting as the crystallized side of him did the same. As such, it wasn't long before she saw his crystallized side of him gone. From there, she saw the crystals releasing their hold on her friend, who promptly fell onto the ground as she weakly coughed.

Not long after, she saw Issac staring at his daughter as she noticed his eyes flickering to his light honeysuckle color and glistened with concern, remorse and potentially even that of guilt as she suspected he wanted to tell his daughter something before the light blue, almost arctic-like hue returned.

Once that happened, she noticed his eyes were glowing a lot brighter as his face became devoid of emotion while the concern, remorse and possible guilt she saw in his eyes completely vanish with Phantom reclaiming his full control over her friend again. So, it wasn't long until he began to remember his task and turned to face her.

"The key, Ember." Issac stated, though his voice was devoid of any emotion as he sounded more monotone than anything else when he spoke. So as he held out his left hand to her, the fire fae glanced at her friend, who was still trying to recover as she heavily sighed.

I'm sorry.

"A deal is a deal, right?" she briefly began, looking away from her friend now as she approached Issac. "Here. It's yours... just like I promised." she added before placing the key in his left palm as her friend's father held the key in his possession. "Thanks." he said, though she noticed that his voice was still devoid of emotion as he still sounded more monotone than anything else.

Though his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes remained and he looked indifferent, Ember knew it was all a facade Phantom made him wear. So for his sake, she hoped Issac didn't remember any of the stuff he did under Phantom's control because she had a feeling he would just end up self-loathing himself more than his daughter self-loathed herself if he ever came to remember all of the things that he did under Phantom's control.

"Yeah... no problem."

So when she saw Issac gripping onto the key, she expected him to start making his way toward his mother's tomb. However right as he was about to start making his way over there, she saw her friend's eyes widen as Ember assumed she had an idea of what was going on, especially as the key was now in her father's hand instead of hers.

So naturally, it only made sense then that her friend would want to make one last-ditch effort to stop him from following through with his namesake prophecy and possibly even alter her dad's overarching destiny before it truly went into motion.

"Wait!"

Ember thought Issac would've ignored his daughter and just keep going {seeing how Phantom amplified his control over her friend}, but instead he froze at the sound of the girl's voice as she saw Aliya running to his side.

"I know you feel like you have to go through with this because you feel like you have no other option, but you do have a choice in this, baba. No matter what Phantom, your omi or anyone else tries to tell you."

After Aliya spoke, she saw Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes start to lose its intensity as his eyes became significantly less brighter than she saw moments ago, which made her think there was still a chance to stop him from going through with fulfilling the second half of his namesake prophecy.

"Okay? The only one who actually gets to dictate the outcome of your prophecy is you, because it's your choice and yours alone. So before you do anything, just answer me this: do you want to actually go through with this?"

After her friend spoke again, she assumed Issac was starting to take his daughter's words into consideration because his light blue, almost pale-like color in his eyes started to flicker to his light honeysuckle hue as the Ossis Key in his grasp began to slowly slip out of his possession.

"I don't want to go through with this..." he truthfully began and as Issac spoke, she {and Aliya} saw the Ossis Key in his grasp start to slowly slip out of his hand. It's very likely he would've let the key slip through his hand completely, if he hadn't trailed off and sighed.

"... But that's not my decision to make." he solemnly finished and once he spoke, Ember {and her friend} saw Issac tightly grabbing a hold of the Ossis Key once again. As soon as he did, his light honeysuckle eyes flicker back to the light blue, almost arctic-like hue as her face fell at the sight.

"Issac..."

"Baba, please—"

"I'm sorry."

As soon as he said that and he placed his hand on her shoulder, she and Aliya saw the light blue, almost arctic-like hue take over again as he tighten his hold on her shoulder. Not long after that, Issac threw the girl back, before he began to make his way towards the Lady Bone Enchantress' tomb.

"Hang on! I got you!" Ember promptly exclaimed and true to her word, she caught her friend and stopped her from tumbling further through the room as she held onto the girl with her wings on full display.

"Thanks." her friend graciously told her as she nodded and promptly set them both down on the ground again as she released her hold on the girl. "You're welcome." she softly said and closed her wings before offering a small smile to the girl, who attempted to return the smile until she saw her eyes drifted toward where her father stood.

When that had happened, she saw Aliya sigh and dejectedly sit on the ground as she observed the girl helplessly looking at her father, who had now approached the pale light blue rune with the series of mythical, ancestral symbols they saw earlier from when her friend unintentionally activated the rune.

"Aliya, I'm sorry." she began as she sat beside her friend, who was now holding onto her knees as she sighed. "I know how much you really wanted to keep the key out of his grasp and I tried my best, but when Phantom made your father threaten your safety for the key, I... I had to choose between you or the Ossis Key and I—" she attempted to continue when she was interrupted by her friend.

"I get it. If the roles were reversed, I would have done the same thing too, so I don't blame you for giving up the key to save me." Aliya sincerely said before she solemnly sighed. "I just wish I could've gotten him to see he had a choice." her friend finished as she no longer held onto her knees now before Ember began to sigh in turn.

"Hey, you did your best and that's all you can do. You know? It sucks, but you gave it your all and you can't blame yourself for what happens next. I mean, it's out of your hands at this point, you know?" she countered, but when she turned, she saw her friend determinedly clenching her fist as they looked on to see him hold onto the key in his grasp.

"It's not out of my hands." her friend determinedly stated and as she spoke, Ember saw her light amber eyes glistening with determination.

"Aliya—"

"My baba may not think he has a choice, so he'll follow through with what's expected of him, but I said I wasn't giving up on him and that's exactly what I'm going to do." her friend determinedly stated, now interrupting her as she continued.

"So even though I couldn't get him to see he had a choice in his prophecy right now, that's fine because I still have the rest of his overarching destiny to convince him and help him alter the course of said destiny, even though I don't know what his destiny is." her friend determinedly and quite optimistically added, briefly rubbing the back of her neck before she stopped and continued.

"But despite that, I refuse to let my apá be perceived by everyone as a villain and a monster and have those things become his legacy. Okay? That's not going to be his fate, Ember. Not if I have anything to say about it." her friend determinedly finished and when Ember saw the stubborn gleam in her light amber eyes, she knew Aliya wasn't going to stop until she succeeded at her goal, which made her chuckle softly as she lightly grinned.

"Well, you might as well go ahead and count me in then because if you think I'm going to let you do this on your own, you are mistaken. Okay? Issac's my friend and if there's anything I can do to help, then I will do it, because he doesn't deserve to be perceived as a villain and a monster. Not when you, me and the rest of our friends all know he's so much more than that." Ember cheekily chimed in as she saw Aliya's eyes widen at her words before her eyes soften at her words.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

So as they watched Issac insert the key into the protective rune-casted keyhole, they saw a light blue, almost teal-like glow begin to encase the lock as mythical ancestral-like symbols began to around on the lock. However, these symbols promptly vanished as soon as the key went in place and not long after that, they saw a bright light blue, almost teal-like glow started to emerge from the key. Shortly thereafter, the bright light began to intensify before the tomb began to promptly explode.

As such, she and her friend proceeded to shield themselves from the debris they expected to fall on them, but they hadn't anticipate the large gust of wind that followed. As such when they felt the large gust of wind, Ember and Aliya both attempted to stand their ground but even with her wings, they were no match against the intense gust of wind, so they promptly proceeded to get blown back.

So as the two grunt and promptly proceeded to tumble through the area, Ember used her wings to brace their fall, which occurred when they briefly crashed into the back of a wall. As such, the two were able to withstand the raging gust of wind, which died down. So when the girls realized they were exposed, they expected to get hit by the debris. But when they didn't feel anything hit them and the glow began to die down, the two saw a set of doors briefly appear and open up as they looked at each other and back at the doors.

"Ember—"

"Too late!"

Deciding to go see for herself, Ember flew to the entrance of the doors where she saw a series of ancient Avalonian symbols written across the walls upon landing gracefully on the ground and deactivating her wings. "Huh." she quietly mumbled as she crossed her arms.

"So, are we going in or what?"

"Ah!"

When she turned to see Aliya standing beside her, Ember glanced back to their initial spot as she looked at her friend, who giggled at her reaction as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on. Let's go inside and try to see if we can find anything."

As soon as she said that, Ember stepped inside and as Aliya followed suit, the two saw the light blue, almost pale like tomb that looked mostly intact aside from a few broken stone fragments of the top cover that they saw lying on the side.

From there, they saw a few glowing light blue chains that appeared to have been attached to the tomb were lying on the ground before they had spotted something in the tomb. So upon moving closer to look, Ember and her friend found—

"Bones?"

As they looked at the few dark gray and sliver-ish bones they found lying in the tomb, Ember scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me! There's nothing in here but bones!" she added as she noticed Aliya puzzlingly looking on.

"This... This doesn't make any sense."

"You're telling me! I mean, I can't believe that we were all so worked up about Ike's namesake prophecy over what? A few bones Aureus buried back a thousand years ago?" she continued, now looking at her friend as she dryly laughed while Aliya crossed her arms.

"I don't get it. Why would she have me guide my apá here and have him free her if all we were going to find is a few bones?" her friend added as she crossed her arms.

"I don't know, but from the looks of things, I would say your father's prophecy is a dud, because I don't see her anywhere." she simply answered as her friend huffed at her response, before she abruptly looked at her with widen eyes, catching her attention as she looked at her.

"What?"

"Um, not to alarm you but... there's something on your foot." her friend answered as she glanced at her flats.

As soon as Ember went to look at her flats, her eyes widened as she realized that she, in fact, did have something on her shoes as she saw a shadow lying comfortably on the edge of her right flat as she observed the light blue, almost teal-like shadow with its shimmery whitish-sliver beading eyes casually staring back at her. They stared at each other until the shadow blinked, which was enough to freak her out as she screamed.

"AHH! GET OFF! GET OFF!"

As Ember panicked, she ran out of the tomb as she began shaking her flat to get the shadow off, but to her dismay, the shadow only stubbornly cling harder on her right flat as she looked at the shadow with disgust and annoyance.

"EWW! You're still clinging onto me! Ugh! Why can't you leave me alone and just let me be?" she persistently whined, now continuing to shake the flat in an desperate effort to rid herself of the shadow, but still the shadow persistedly stayed, so she dejectedly huffed and sulk over her new unwanted company until she glanced back to the tomb, where she saw Aliya walking out as her eyes widened.

"Aliya! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave you back there. I just—"

"It's fine." her friend casually said before she saw the girl come to her rescue as Aliya bent down and looked at the shadow on her right flat. "Aww, it's kinda cute." her friend softly said as Ember sharply glared at her. "Right. I'll move it. Sorry." she added before she began to gently nudge at the shadow attached to Ember's flat.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but you have to go." she heard her friend softly but firmly tell the shadow as she gently nudged the shadow again and saw the shadow lingering before it began to detached itself from Ember's flat. Once the shadow left, she flashed a relieved smile to her friend. "Thanks." she softly said as the shadow began to drift away from her. "Yeah, no problem." her friend softly said before the two heard a delighted chuckle above them, causing the two to annoyingly sigh as the girls knew who was nearby.

"With the prince's prophecy complete, my lady's freedom is finally here and she will walk among us once more!"

"You're still here?" they asked as the two looked up to see Phantom as he abruptly appeared in front of them and simply hovered mid-air.

"Of course! I had to see the rise of my lady for myself." he excitedly answered as they noticed he was still creepily grinning at them as they awkwardly chuckled at the sight before they crossed their arms.

"I don't see how, considering that she's not here." she and Aliya said as Phantom only gave them a eerie grin. "Oh, she'll come and once she does, she'll be able to finally reclaim what was lost." Phantom told them as they puzzlingly stared at him.

"Wait. What do you mean by that?" they curiously followed up, but he only gave them a cryptic laugh. "You'll see." he had simply answered, but before they could get him to elaborate on his response, the two heard a faint groan, causing them to take their attention off of Phantom as they turned to see Issac tiredly rubbing his head as he winced.

"Ugh..."

"Apá?"

"Ike?"

When he looked at them, the two noticed his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes were gone as he regained his light honeysuckle eyes again, though his outfit stayed the same.

"Aliya? Ember?"

He attempted to walk to them, but when he began to stumble, their eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Dad!"

"Issac!"

As soon as she saw him falling, Ember activated her wings again and flew to catch him right as he was about to hit the ground. So as she helped him up and steady him, she saw Issac flash a small smile to her direction as she grinned.

"T... Thanks." he softly said, now placing a light touch on her shoulder, but as soon as he went to touch her, she abruptly gasped as a black-and-sliver outline formed over them.

Not long after he had touched her and the outline formed, she found herself in a black abyss until the landscape changed to reveal a hazy, sunset sky with scattered clouds across the sky before she saw someone hunched over.

As she stared at the hunched individual, she blinked and a second later, she saw three different-colored flames {orange, purple and red} surrounding the hunched down individual as the three flames all seemed to resemble some sort of ring. As the flames grew, the imagery changed and very quickly, she discovered she was face-to-face with a dark electrifying blue flamed silhouette of... herself!

When the dark blue flamed silhouette turned around, she noticed a pair of large-white glowing eyes that stared back at her for a moment before the silhouette gave a screeching shriek. As the silhouette screeched, the flames expanded as she was only met with the expansion of the large-white glowing eyes and the equally large-white glowing mouth before she was consumed by the shriek of the silhouette version of herself...

As soon as the flashes ended, she and Issac both found themselves covered in the same black-and-sliver outline once more before the two abruptly pulled away. As soon as they pulled away, the outline vanished as everything went back to normal. Well, normal-ish as they were both on the ground now and gasping as they were trying to process what they saw.

What was that about?

There was a brief moment of silence between them as they were genuinely confused until Issac broke the silence as he continued to look at her.

"What the..." he had began before trailing off as his eyes widen. "Wait. No. It can't be..." he added before he trailed off again as his confusion morphed into one of gradual realization, which only made her more confused, especially as he began looking at her with a sort of haunting gleam in his eyes. When she saw his look, she found herself caught off-guard by it as she had never seen him look that way toward her before.

"Uh, Ike. What's with the—"

"Hey! Sorry! I would've been here faster, but — whoa!"

When the two heard Aliya's voice, the two had turned to see the girl catching up to them as she blinked. 

"Are you two alright?" they heard her concernedly ask as Ember nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright." she casually answered, deciding to brush off what she saw in brush off her friend's strange reaction as she noticed the girl holding out her arm to her. So in response, she mutely accepted her help and once she was standing again, she flashed the girl a bright smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem." her friend softly said before she saw Aliya make her way to her father, who began to awkwardly but weakly [and almost tensely] decline her assistance.

"You know, I think I'm actually okay to stand." he insisted as she saw her friend's daughter slowly blink at his response. "Baba, no disrespect, but you literally were on the verge of collapsing until Ember went in to catch you from hitting the ground." Aliya pointed out as she saw Issac nodding at her words.

"I know and I am appreciative of that, but I am fine. I can stand." he insisted as Ember blinked at his response.

"Uh, no disrespect, but you haven't actually gotten up." she pointed out as she saw Issac begin to dismissively roll his eyes at her. "That's because I'm taking a break." Issac countered as she skeptically stared at him and crossed her arms. "Uh-huh." Ember mumbled as they heard Aliya huffing at his response.

"Apá, I love you, but come on. It's obvious to everyone here that you're clearly not fine, so can you please just let me help you? Please?"

"Aliya, I get that you're concerned for me and I get it, but I'm fine. Really." he insisted as Ember silently face-palmed herself.

Well, this is no surprise, considering how stubbornly persistent they are when it comes to using their same lie to portray the idea that they're fine when they're really not.

"Aliya, I know you mean well, but I don't think your father's going to budge. Besides, he seems pretty insistent about not wanting your help, so there's no point in dragging this on. You might as well just leave Issac there." Ember gently told her friend, now turning to face her as she saw her slightly huff at her response.

"I know I could just leave him there and let him stay there on his own, but I won't. I'm too much like my tía in the sense that my stubbornness won't allow me to give in and too concerned like my mamá to let this go." her friend briefly said as she saw the girl sighing.

"Besides, he only acts like this because he feels like he has to do everything on his own and hold the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he doesn't. Not when there are people who want to help lessen that weight for him. He just has to want it and learn that it's okay to ask for help, just as it's okay to accept help too. He just tends to neglect himself, so he refuses to accept that help or ask for it because he feels like he's not enough, so he neglects himself, but he shouldn't because he's just as important as everyone else and he deserves to be helped too." she told her as the fire faerie saw her friend turn to face Issac, who she knew had been listening to the girl as she saw her friend mutely stare at his daughter the entire time.

"So, he can insist he doesn't need it, but I'm always going to persist. Not because I know he'll have no choice, but to eventually accept it after I bug him enough on it, but because I know in time, he'll come to see he doesn't always need to face things alone. Not when we're all in this together." her friend softly finished as she saw Issac's eyes softening at his daughter's words.

"But I mean, it's like you said. If he doesn't want it, then I guess there's no point in dragging this on, so—"

"Wait." he briefly interjected, now interrupting his daughter as he sheepishly sighed. "I... I could use your help." he confessed as she stared at him in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what?" she followed up, now deciding to chime into their conversation as she lightly crossed her arms at his response.

"You know, I didn't quite get that. Did you?" Ember lightly countered, now facing her friend, who chose to play along with her as they both knew what he said. "No, Emby. I don't think I did." her friend cheekily answered as they turned to Issac, watching as he huffed at them.

"Do you think you could say that again, preferably louder?" she lightly requested as her friend nodded. "Yeah, we just want to make sure we're both hearing the same thing here." her friend lightly added as they saw Issac huffing again before he spoke.

"Mija, you're right. Okay? I feel like I can do everything on my own but the truth is, I can't." Issac admitted as they stared at him in disbelief, causing him to huff again. "I could work on that, but seeing how this is starting to kill me as it is, can you please take my hand and help me up?" he finished as Ember and Issac saw his daughter pretending to debate on the matter.

"Hmm, I don't know. I mean—"

"Aaliyah Fi—"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Aliya hastily interrupted, causing Ember to giggle as she observed her friend shake her head and huff as she pulled her father up.

As soon as she had him standing again, he softly stared at his daughter. "Thanks." he told her as she lightly smiled. "You're welcome. Just don't try to name drop me again." Aliya lightly but half-seriously stated, playfully nudging him as he gave a light chuckle. "Deal." he cheekily told her as Ember saw her friends genuinely smiling at each other.

"Okay, this is cute and all, but can we go back to when he was about to name drop you? I mean, I'm just curious to know what—"

"You're not learning my full name." Aliya promptly stated, now interrupting her as she turned to face her. As she did, Ember huffed as she realized she wouldn't get to find out her friend's full name so easily.

"Come on. Not even a hint?" she asked as she saw Aliya shaking her head. "Nope. What he said is all you get." her friend insistently said as she huffed once more. "You're no fun." she countered, now earning a giggle as she shook her head before she turned to face her other friend, believing that she could get him to reveal something to her.

"Issac, come on. Is there any chance that you could..." she began before she trailed off when she saw the latter release his daughter's hand before he turned to face the opened cryptic tomb in front of him.

"Ike?"

"Dad?"

When he didn't respond to either one of them, they began to get concern and were going to call out to him again until they saw him regain the light blue, almost arctic-like hue again as his light honeysuckle eyes were no longer seen. Once they saw his eye color change, their concern grew to annoyance as they knew what this meant.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Isn't this just overkill now?"

"Yes, which is why we need to get Phantom—"

"You called, little duchess?"

When she saw Aliya jump from Phantom's unexpected appearance, she saw the girl glare at him before she huffed. "I did and it's about—" she had said when the girl was cut off by Phantom as he glanced at Issac's eyes and creepily chuckled. "Ah, so you've both noticed." he stated as they rolled their eyes at his response.

"Don't you think this is excessive? I mean, Issac already freed her, so what more does he have to do?" Ember countered as she and Aliya saw him chuckle once more. "Oh, he did, but there's just one more step he has to do in order for my lady to truly be freed, then his namesake prophecy will be fulfilled." he answered as the two raised their eyebrows and skeptically stared at him as they crossed their arms.

"One more step? What do you mean?" she asked as Aliya nodded. "Yeah. The prophecy just said for him to free her and he did that when he used the Ossis Key, so by all accounts, he shouldn't be bound to your control anymore because he did what you expected of him." her friend firmly added as Phantom eeriely chuckled at the girl.

"Is that you truly believe, little shadow?" Phantom calmly countered as she saw her friend turn from him to see Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes glowing brighter. "We both know what Brisha has to do to fulfill his namesake prophecy." he further added as she saw her eyes widen before she immediately scrambled to retrieve the prophecy in her possession.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" she heard Aliya hastily and repeatedly mumble when she saw the girl hold the scroll in her hand and look at the scroll in her grasp as she looked on and blinked at the sight.

"Wait, isn't that—"

"Yes, and no, before you ask I didn't take it. Somehow, it got into my dad's hands but as to how it got into his hands, I couldn't tell you because I don't have a clue. All I know is that he had it." she answered, her eyes still set on the scroll when she abruptly gasped.

"No, no, no, no, no, no."

"What?" she asked, piercing over to see the prophecy as she saw most of the lines had faded, but one line had remained as she blinked.

"When bones bounded by soul and flesh of pure blood reunite, she who is born of the shadows and darkness shall be freed once more as her rise begins." she puzzlingly read as she tilted her head and blinked. "What kind of line is that?" she followed up as she stared at her friend, who quickly sealed the prophecy as the girl sighed.

"It means he—" her friend started when Phantom interrupted the girl. "Why explain when he can show her?" Phantom promptly counter and not long after he said that, he eeriely chuckled as he abruptly vanished. As soon as he left, the two saw Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like glow in his eyes intensify as he began making his way to the entrance.

"You won't find anything! It's just nothing but bones!" she yelled out to him before she saw her friend's panic heighten. "Wait! Baba! Stop!" she saw her friend frantically but urgently yelled as she saw the girl about to run to him when she gently held her back.

"Hey, nothing is going to happen. Okay? Once Issac sees the bones, he'll be confused as we were and walk out." Ember softly assured her, only to frown when she saw that her friend was far from assured as she heavily sighed.

"He won't be confused. If anything, he will already know what to do once he sees the bones."

"What do you mean?"

"To answer your question, I have to ask you this first: what do you know about the Lady Bone Enchantress' imprisonment?"

"Well, that's easy. Aureus sealed her in the tomb." she answered as she saw her friend sighing. "You remember how we looked in her tomb and we never saw her physical body?" her friend asked as she nodded. "Yeah. We looked and we all saw was nothing but bones." the fire faerie answered as she saw her friend sighing again.

"Well, one of the things I recalled seeing upon touching the rune was the Seeker imprisoning her and the reason as to why we never saw her physical body is because when he imprisoned her, he chose to bound her soul to the bones to ensure she couldn't leave." her friend answered before she sighed again. "When the Seeker did that though, he didn't realize she enchanted the bones to be touched by someone of her blood." she further added as Ember puzzlingly stared at Aliya.

"But aren't you and Issac—"

"Yes, but when she enchanted the bones, she had made it to that the only one who could touch the bones would only be touched by someone whose blood was specifically pure like hers and mine isn't because I'm not directly related to her." her friend said and as soon as she said that, the fire faerie's mind went back to the line she read in Issac's namesake prophecy.

"When bones bounded by soul and flesh of pure blood reunite, she who is born of the shadows and darkness shall be freed once more as her rise begins."

"Wait, if you're not directly related to her, but he is, then that means he's..." Ember slowly began, but once she saw her friend nodding, she trailed off as the girl had mutely confirmed what it was that she going to say.

"Oh my gods! What are we doing standing around here then! We have to go stop him before he completes his namesake prophecy for real!" Ember promptly exclaimed as she saw her friend blankly stare at her.

"That's what I — whoa!"

As she grabbed onto her friend's arm and began to quickly fly towards the entrance once again with Aliya now in hand, they promptly made it inside. As such, she released her friend in time to see Issac reaching his mother's tomb as their eyes widened.

"Issac! Stop!" Ember yelled, but when he didn't look, she groaned and turned back with the intent to talk to her friend, but when she looked, she didn't see Aliya by her side as her eyes widened.

She was just right here! Where did she—

"Wait!"

When she looked up and moved closer, she saw Aliya preventing Issac from touching the bones as she held onto her father's hands.

Oh. There she is.

"Baba, there's still time for you to make the choice that you want and I know you don't want to do this because that's what you told me and Ember, so come on. Don't let Phantom, your mom and everyone else make you feel as though you don't have a choice, because you do, and that choice is the one you make."

"Yeah!" she cheered and as she saw her friends looking back, Ember began to grin as she found a way she could help out.

"Aliya's right, Ike, so own your decision, push Phantom out and fight back because this is your life, not theirs!" she determinedly added, so when they saw the intensity of Issac's light blue, almost arctic-like eyes significantly decrease, Ember excitedly began to grin, thinking that she helped Aliya make a dent in him to break out of Phantom's control as she cheered.

"Yes! We got a breakthrough! Woo!" she excitedly proclaimed, but right as she got excited, they heard a eerie chuckle echo in the tomb as her excitement quickly turned to annoyance as she and Aliya knew who was near.

"Still trying to convince the prince that he has a say in this?" they heard as they looked up to see Phantom hovering above Issac in his shadow form as he chuckled. "Well, it's no use because my control is still as strong as it was before." Phantom followed up and as soon as he said that, she saw Issac pull his hands from his daughter's grasp before he held onto her right shoulder as her eyes widened.

"Issac! Don't—"

But before she could finish, Issac promptly flung Aliya into her direction as she promptly caught the girl in time for the two to watch as his eyes briefly flicker to his light honeysuckle color. When he looked at them, they thought he was going to say something, but then the flicker vanished as his light honeysuckle color became overpowered by the light blue, arctic-like hue as they quietly sighed upon seeing the color becoming restored again.

From there, the two saw Phantom's eerie grin growing in his shadow form as he laughed. "Now, fulfill the prophecy and complete the starting point of your destiny." he firmly stated and as the two glared at him, they could only helplessly watch as Issac mutely retrieved the bones. As soon as he grabbed the bones, a light blue, pale-like glowing energy began to radiate from the bones as the entire cryptic tomb began to shake.

"That can't be good." Ember pointed out, still holding onto her friend right as they saw the tomb begin to break in half and release a large gust of wind, causing their eyes to widen from the sight as her friend spoke at last.

"Nope!"

Not long after that, Ember tried to leave before the wind got them, but by the time she began to lift her wings, the wind crashed into her as she and Aliya became pushed out of the cryptic tomb as the two briefly screamed before crashing onto the ground in spite of her best efforts to lessen the blow for them.

"Ow..."

"Aliya! Are you alright?" she concernedly asked as she rushed to help her friend stand up, which she mutely accepted as she took her hand. "Yeah, I'm alright, but I'll be better once these mind games end." her friend said right as she got Aliya standing again.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Seeing how the girl was good to stand on her own again, Ember released her friend's hand right as they heard a series of low-hushed giggles. Cautiously glancing at each other, the two turned to face the entrance, where they saw an angelic glow radiating over the cryptic tomb in place of the light blue, almost pale-like energy glow they saw moments ago as they briefly covered their eyes.

"You know, I must thank you, nieta."

As the angelic glow faded and the wind settled, the two lowered their arms and as they did, they saw Phantom regain his physical form as he stood outside of the tomb's entrance beside a older pale-skinned, lime-green eyed woman wearing a simple white gown with a light sliver sash tied onto her gown. As she continued to look on, she saw the woman's ravenette hair, her black high heels and the dark grey-colored crown that was adorned with bones.

Ah, so this must be Ike's mother and Aliya's grandmother: the infamous Lady Bone Enchantress.

"For without you, my shon would've never been able to find me and free me from my prison. He needed you to guide him here to the Surface Realm in this mortal city and you did just that." the Lady Bone Enchantress cheerfully praised as she giggled. "And now, I've been reunited with my champion once more. The one who will help me achieve my destiny by helping me finish what I started all those years ago." she added as she saw Aliya briefly turn away and she angrily clench her fist before she growled and looked back.

"He's not your champion!" Ember saw her friend angrily snap, now stepping forward as she saw the girl's grandmother chuckle at her granddaughter's response. "I would beg to differ." she said and not long after, they had observed the Lady Bone Enchantress and Phantom stepping aside to reveal Issac as he emerged from the cryptic tomb as he stepped out of the entrance and took a step forward.

As he stepped forward, the two saw the ground crack beneath his feet as they stared at his eyes, expecting to see the same light blue, almost arctic-like color. But this was no longer the case for them as they noticed that while Issac's eyes were still light blue, his eyes had no longer held the arctic-like sheen.

Rather, his eyes were now a light blue, almost pale-like color, which was a lot brighter than the light blue, almost arctic-like color they had both seen Phantom use on him.

Furthermore, while he had still possessed his warm-beige skin, his outfit changed as he no longer worn the light blue and sliver armored suit with spiked shoulder pads nor did his jet-black hair have white and light blue, almost pale-like streaks in his hair.

Rather, his jet-black hair was now a midnight blue, almost raven-like color as his hair contained several white streaks. In addition, he was now wearing a white and sliver tunic with a light blue, almost pale-like cloaked robe and a black belt she noticed was decorated with bones as well as the dark grey bone-shaped crown they saw wrapped around his head while he still retained his black combat boots.

"I thought Phantom's second possession over Issac was overkill, but now this is getting to be too excessive! I mean, what could you possibly need from him right now when he just literally freed you!" she exclaimed, observing as Issac stood between his mother and Phantom as she saw the Lady Bone Enchantress face her and giggle.

"Ah, yes. The girl." she said, ignoring her response as she chuckled. "I almost forgot. Bringing the girl here is another thing that I must thank you for, neita, as she will also be very valuable to me when it comes to helping me complete my destiny." she added as Ember puzzlingly stared at her friend's grandmother.

Wait, this doesn't make any sense. I just thought she only wanted Ike. Besides, what could she possibly want with me?

"Look, I don't know why you want my friend or what it is about her that makes her so valuable to you and your destiny, but I don't intend on letting you get your hands on her. So, you can thank me all you want, but don't think that you're getting to her without a fight." her friend firmly and determinedly stated as she smiled at the sight.

And Marcellus said I couldn't trust her. Ha!

"Oh, nieta, your willingness to protect her is noble but foolish because there is nowhere she can hide that I may find her. Just as there is nowhere left for her to go that I am not willing to search for her and even should we end up parting here tonight, destiny will find her soon enough and reunite her with me again." the Lady Bone Enchantress calmly counter as her eyes widen at her response while Aliya's eyes darkened at her grandmother's words.

"So really, nieta, why should we drag this on longer than necessary?" her friend's grandmother followed up as she chuckled.

"After all, I've waited long enough and I don't intend on letting my newfound opportunity to go claim a vital piece of my destiny end up going to waste before it gets taken from me, so it's safe to say this is where your usefulness ends." the Lady Bone Enchantress swiftly added before the two saw her turn to face her shon and smirked as she spoke once more.

"Brisha, deal with my nieta and when you're done with her, bring the girl to me!"

Once the Lady Bone Enchantress gave the command, the two saw Issac mutely smirk before he abruptly vanished. Not long after, Aliya's grandmother and Phantom also vanished as she huff at the sight of them leaving.

"Great. Now, where did they go?" Ember annoyingly asked as Aliya huffed. "Forget about them." Aliya countered as she sighed.

"You're right. We can worry about them later. Right now, we need to focus on figuring out where Issac went because the faster we can find him, the sooner we can work on finding a way to break your grandmother's hold over him and get out of here before—" Ember had insisted, before she abruptly cut herself off as Aliya blinked at the sudden action.

"Ember? What's..."

While Ember saw her friend talking, she tuned out when she observed a light blue, shadowy blur form before the shadowy blur materialized and turned into Issac, who was now hovering behind his daughter as her eyes widened in pure shock.

Oh no.

"Ember, why are you—" she heard her friend say before she cut herself off as the girl seemed to have reach the same realization as she did, having now slowly turned around to see her father smirking at her as his eyes darkened.

"Well, if it isn't my sorry excuse of a daughter." he greeted as Ember noticed how venomous his tone became when he spoke, which she suspected must've been his mother's doing since she knew he wouldn't ever talk to the girl in that manner otherwise.

I thought Phantom was annoying, but this woman is something else!

"Dad—"

"You've brought me nothing but failure and disappointment time and time again." he sharply interrupted before he began to darkly chuckle, which made her gain shivers down her body as she blinked.

"So, it shouldn't surprise me that you've become a traitor to me too." he followed up as Ember {and presumably Aliya, seeing how she believed that this was also new for her to hear}'s eyes widen.

What kind of mind games is she playing to get her son to see his remaining daughter as a traitor?

"What? No! Baba, I wouldn't—"

"I shouldn't be surprised though. I mean, I figured you would turn against me at some point, but it doesn't faze me, considering how you've been nothing but a failure and a disappointment, so a betrayal from you is no different." he further added before he bitterly scoffed as her eyes only grew wider from what she was hearing.

Wow. His omi is really something.

"Dad—"

"You thought you could deceive me and stand in my way, but I know better now." he added and though she didn't see her friend's look, she sensed Aliya was freaking out because while Issac's possession by Phantom attacked her on a {mostly} physical level, his possession by his omi was appearing to be different since the girl's grandmother seemed to be attacking her through Issac himself from a more personal, emotional level.

"Dad—"

"So, this ends now!"

As soon as he said that and she saw that he was about land the punch on her friend, Ember took out her sword and promptly flew to them. As she stood in front of her friend, she came to Aliya's rescue as she blocked the hit and stood her ground against her friend's possessed father.

"That's enough, Issac! You know, she's not a traitor because she would never betray you. Aliya cares about you too much to do something like that, so stop this nonsense and come to your senses. Okay? Your omi is poisoning your mind from within and making you think things that aren't true, but you can fight her, so push her out! For your sake and ours, please fight back!"

Despite her words, Issac was unfazed by her response as his light blue, almost pale-like eyes only glowed in retaliation as she huffed.

Seriously?

Realizing she wasn't going to get through to her friend, she then gave a heavy sigh as she looked at him.

"Issac, as my friend, I don't want to hurt you, but if you won't fight back against her control, me and your daughter will." she firmly stated, now gripping tighter on her sword as she saw Issac's light blue, almost pale-like eyes only glow brighter in retaliation as he scoffed.

"Ha! Like you and her can actually stop me." he swiftly taunted as Ember gripped tighter on her sword and angrily growled.

Oh my gods! I know he's possessed by his mom and all, but he's starting to get on my nerves! If he had to get possessed, I'll take my chances with Phantom again because at least then, I knew Issac wasn't even this remotely obnoxious when Phantom possessed him!

"Baba, stop! She's not your enemy!" her friend firmly snapped as she saw Issac's eyes drift from her to his daughter.

"You're right. She's not the enemy..." he briefly said before trailing off as he smirked once more, which had made her worry as he went from looking at her to Aliya again. "... Because you are!" he finished as they saw his eyes glowing brighter once more.

As soon as he spoke, she and Aliya saw a series of light blue, almost pale-like crystals appear on his right arm and began to spread toward the right side of his face, creating a spiked crystallized coat.

Not long after the crystallized coat formed over the right side of his face, Ember saw a thin layer of the crystallized coat began to form over his right eye. From here, they saw the crystals spread to his right arm and begin to morph into a crystallized arm-wielding sword as her eyes widened at the sight.

"Uh, Aliya, just how powerful is your dad exactly?" she quietly whispered as she observe the girl shrugging. "You'll have to ask me again in a couple of weeks because right now, it's too soon to say." her friend answered as her eyes widen.

"Too soon to say? How is it too soon to say when Ike is literally using his arm as a crystallized sword on top of everything else that he's done tonight!" she quietly countered as her friend simply shrugged.

"That doesn't help." she quietly mumbled right as she observed Issac charging at them [or more accurately, at his daughter]. Quickly, Ember used her sword and began creating several reddish-orange slashes to project bursts of her own elemential flame energy as she looked at Issac once more.

"Ha! Take that!" she proudly boasted, triumphantly smirking at her attacks heading to Issac until she noticed that his sword began to absorb the slashes as reddish-orange energy surges began to appear on his crystallized sword before returning to its natural state. When she saw that, she began to tensely chuckle as Aliya quietly shook her head and face-palmed herself.

"Slash projection, huh?" he asked, observing his sword take a hit before he chuckled. "Cute, but I can do better." he smugly added as his sword took the last slash projection she made as they saw the reddish-orange glow occurring in his sword again before fading as Issac looked up and deviously smirked.

"My turn."

I might have gotten too excited there...

Not long after, she and Aliya saw Issac's crystallized sword internalize the reddish-orange energy surges before he cast several crystallized-flame infused slash projections and fused the slashes to become a singular large slash projection that he then directly sent to her. So having seen the projection that was now coming her way, her eyes widened as she knew she could only deflect small projections at best.

Oh no.

"Ember! Look out!"

As soon as she heard that, she felt a quick but forceful shove as she briefly fell onto the ground and groaned from the impact of her fall.

"Ow..."

After she groaned, she sat up and rubbed her head in time to hear a sharp scream, which caught her attention as she looked up to see her friend getting hit with the singular slash projection that sent her crashing toward the back of the building, where she heard the sound of debris follow as a crystallized misty, shadowy flame-like smoke arose from the spot where Ember saw her friend land at. Not long after that, she quickly stood up and retrieved her sword as her eyes widened at the sight.

"Aliya?"

From there, she saw Issac mutely staring at the direction of his daughter's crash before she saw Issac turn back to face her. As he did, she noticed his eyes still retained their glowing, intensified light blue, almost pale-like color as she began to feel her panic set in when he broke his silence.

"Well, with my traitorous daughter out of that way... That leaves me with you and from the looks of things, it won't be long before I grab a hold of you." he stated and as she looked at him, Ember held tighter onto her sword, having now known that she was at a disadvantage as she observed her friend chuckling.

Not long after he chuckled, Ember saw his eyes glowing once more as light blue, almost pale-like crystals began to form on his right hand as he chuckled once more and proceeded to aim at her.

"Ike—"

"So, let's get this out of the way..."

The sight of her friend only made her nerves worse and with her other friend's fate unknown on top of her powers not working, the fire faerie was forced to come to terms with the fact she was unable to do anything to stop Issac from fulfilling his mother's wishes... Something, she sensed he knew as he tauntingly smirked at her.

"... Shall we?"