THE CAPITAL CITY OF ETHERNALIA LEONIS

A HIDDEN DIMENSION ON THE ROOTS OF THE WORLD TREE

MICHAEL DECUS COR

*ring* *ring* *ring*

I hated the sound of that bloody ringing, because it meant that my beauty sleep had come to an end, and if it's come to an end at 2am in the morning, then that means I'm in for a stressed filled early morning, possibly the entire day. I turned over the bed, dislodging the sheets from my body as I swiped up on my smart house's AI control sphere. Written in bold purple letters were the words.

(INCOMING CALL FROM MAXIMILLIAN)

For a moment I had the extreme urge to smash something, and even more so considering that I couldn't see the words, but rather I could perceive it. One of the perks of not having eyes I guess, I groaned as I accepted the call, hoping to all the gods that my best friend was not calling me for something stupid.

"What!" I growled out in annoyance, just enough to let him know how pissed I was at his call. But he didn't seem notice, or he didn't care as he started speaking immediately.

"Get up and get down here, it's Cassiel." He said to me with a straight voice.

"And why the hell am I supposed to care, what is she up to now?" I asked him as I got off my bed, and made my way to the window of room, overlooking the serene blue lake that glistened under the glow of the night sky.

"She was found in a club this time, she's high again Mike, and she's having another episode. I can't calm her down, I need your help." He said to me with his voice seemingly subdued.

He knew that on a normal day I wouldn't give a shit, Cassiel was a vampire, dragon, and demigod hybrid. A powerful warrior and general, but obviously a completely stupid teenager without a heart. She's my twin sister and we hate each other's guts, we've always did, and I think we always will. But she was also my one weakness, because no matter where she is, and what trouble she's in, I'll come running every time to save my elder twin; because I love her.

And because Max loves her too, though in a very different way from me, he's always going to be running towards her, hoping and looking for a chance that she would look at him the same way he does at her. I hate that he does that, he's my best friend, and my fellow student, but these days it seems he spends more and more time with my sister than he does me. I'm not really jealous of that, it just that it hurts me to see chase a bitch that doesn't give a crap about him, but for both their sakes, I have to be there.

"Fine! Where the fuck are you guys? I'll be there in fifteen."

"We're at the BLACK CITY OF SIN, the side entrance of club Lilith."

"Max, we've been friends for a long time, practically our entire lives. But what in God's name, possessed you two idiots to go to the most depraved club in all of Spero, and let's not forget the fact that you're also a dragon prince, but you're dragging another dragon princess who I might add is also the bloody grand princess of Spero there? I'm blaming you for this, because you know exactly how my bitch of a sister behaves, yet you let it happen." I growled out to him as I threw on some simple clothes, and walked out of my room and straight onto the roots of the world tree.

The call was still connected and I was hearing everything going on at the other side from the receiver that was now in my ear. I walked forwards a bit, towards a TELEPORTATION CIRCLE that was naturally formed by the world tree. This was a private circle, that could be used by only me, and those I chose. Perks of having your bloodline connected to a tree that's responsible for transportation across nine major worlds, and over 250 sub dimensions hidden within it's roots and branches.

"I didn't let her go there Mike, she slipped out. And you know she's also Teluna and Gus's student. Brash as she is, she's quite talented when it comes to playing with the shadows and hiding. But fortunately..."

I cut him off as I stepped into the TRANSPORT CIRCLE, and felt the world bend and fold around me as I was transported millions of miles away from the capital Ethernalia Leonis to the Black City. I felt a little woozy, but I've gone through the circle so many times, that the after effects were completely negligible.

"You're the only person in all of existence except our parents who can find Cassiel if she wants to hide." I completed Max's sentence as I appeared behind him.

"Thanks for coming Mike, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"it's not as if I have a choice, you're my best friend and you're totally in love with a train wreck, a wreck that's unfortunately my elder twin bitch of a sister. I'm Jeremy because I'm protecting you from her, don't let her drag you into her pathetic and stupid life, she's not who she used to be." I said to him as I walked forward and lifted my passed out sister, who was laying in a puddle of her own vomit and urine. A grand princess of the most powerful civilization in the universe, and this is what she's turned to.

"You're not who you used to be either you know." Max said to me as we walked forwards. I stopped and looked at him, before smiling and replying with a bitter voice.

"I guess that's explainable Max, after all…..I don't think you would remain the same when your father and mother were forced to fight and betray each other by a force they couldn't control, and all because they wanted to save their children. Now my mom is a prisoner on the moons that hang above our heads, her body and powers spit into three. And my father is out there, still searching, hunting, looking for a way to save our mother, and to pay back the bastard who did this to our family. I can't ever be the same again Max...our family is broken, and so are we."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

CASSIEL CASTITAS COR

*SPLASH!*

I jumped out of the water sputtering and coughing, very much awake, and unfortunately for the fool that threw me in this bloody lake, very much annoyed. Which means, he or she should prepare to die. The water around me began to boil as I looked up, silver soul flames appearing in both my hands.

"Put that away before you do something stupid. We're on Nasir, we can't afford to damage him, or wake him up." My brother's annoying voice sounded out in my ear, how did I get here anyway.

"What the fuck do you want, Cripple?"

I asked him as I dunk my head back into the lake, not at all willing to listen to what ever shit he has to say. I'm a mess, looks like I've partied a little to wild tonight, at the very least at least my glamour rune held, making my disguise water tight. Only my brother with his empty eye sockets which gives him the power to see all things hidden and unseen, he never really explained how it worked, and then Max, with that nose and perception of his, that could find a needle in a haystack in a fraction of a second. The two idiots that just won't leave me alone; the blind cripple of a brother, and hopeless puppy that's following me around just so that I can love him back. They're both so pathetic, no wonder they're best friends.

I came up from under the water and began taking off my wet clothes. Mike raised an eyebrow but didn't even flinch, while Max with his light shade brown skin was rapidly turning red as his narrow eyes widened in shock and surprise. He quickly turned around, but not before I could see the tent in his trousers. Seems like I'm still as flawless as ever.

"You have an important tournament tomorrow, the final battle you would have to fight as a champion in the War City Of PARABELLUM. One final fight against an opponent you can not take lightly, a fight against me. And you're here getting drunk, it would be stupid to underestimate me Cassie, it might have been two years since I last kicked you and your warband's ass, but I'm not the kind of opponent to play with. I've gotten stronger sister!"

What a joke, it's a joke. I'm not the kind to mince words, neither am I the kind to underestimate my opponents, but I can't take my brother seriously, I won't! Because he's so much just like HIM!, just like him. They're nice, and kind and good and everyone loves them, and when they're angry they're beasts, monsters, warriors and everyone still loves them. I HATE IT!, not that people love them, but that the both of them love me.

My father and my brother, they act like the world is built on sunshine and that nobody else can hurt them, and then they get hurt and then a lot of people will pay the price, mostly the guilty, but there's always going to be an innocent. But look at me, I'm not any better. By virtue of being the first born of my father, I'm the dragon princess, the one who would inherit his mantle, the future queen of Spero. 18 years old and I've won more wars and skirmishes in five years than my father has done in his entire life. So yes they love me, the people love me, my father loves me...but I don't understand it myself. Why was I so angry, if there's anything wrong in my life it has to be the both of them, it's always their fault. And it's because they're too good, too perfect, not like me, I'm broken. And I can't ever measure up to them, I can't be as good or even better than them, and they don't care.

They just try to protect me, them and their weak selves. My father almost lost his life multiple times building this future for us, my brother lost his eye because I gave his assassin access to him, its my fault he's blind, yet he kept it secret for three whole months, and he would never have told me had our dad not killed the person responsible. He was protecting me, he's the one who is blind and weak, and yet he's protecting me! I'm not that weak.

"Listen here Cripple, even in your best days, you're not my match. You and your warband have been MIA for two years, your ranking never dropped because no one had the guts to touch it, not when they finally realize Leo Wind was in fact the grand prince of Spero, and Lucian Wind was in fact the dragon prince of the wind.

Though that was not the only big reveal that day, those two were the most important. But none the less, it would take a lot more than you have to even leave a scratch on me. There are five categories of competition to be carried out tomorrow, starting with the one vs one battles against my soldiers and yours, and then the chess games between the both of our warbands, finally ending in a Beast King Battle league match. Just to know between the both of us, who is better than the other once and for all little brother." My words were strengthened by the anger I was feeling, but Mike wasn't showing anything, no reaction at all.

"We used to be happy, even when Dad was still in a healing sleep, there was a time when we loved each other beyond measure and nothing in this world could have separated us. And then Dad came back, and for just a while we were happy again, but now....Cassie how did we ever get to this point. Is there any hope left for our family, for us?".

He just shook his head and disappeared, his form turning into a visible gust of air. Max was already gone too, and though my heart ached a bit, I quickly squashed it as I focused on the stars above me, and pulled out my rolled up stick of weed.

This was a little too intense, and I'm really in the mood to ponder on my emotions. As I lit the stick and blew rings of smoke into the air, feeling my mind and senses dull as I floated face up on the lake, I couldn't help but think about what my brother has just said to me, and I in turn had to ask myself that question.

"How did it ever get to this point, why did we get so broken, where did we go wrong."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<6 YEARS AGO! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<