WARNING- This chapter contains violent imagery and language that may not be suitable for some readers.
I woke up. The skies were dark, filled with hazes of grey. I searched for Varen throughout the vast building. Maids were passing by.
"Um-"
I couldn't bring myself to speak up. Remembering how they usually responded.
-5 years earlier-
Celestials and Engels are born the same way. From a birth of a star comes the birth of a celestial or engel. Our souls are made up of some of the star fragments. Stars are precious. Like a heart, it keeps us living, but like a flame our lives can burn out, so we scarcely use the power of the stars.
When the skies were dimming in darkness and the stars were burning out,
I carried him on my shoulders and held his little hand in mine as we struggled through the lake. Pure bloods flew, but beasts crawled for their wings were ripped from their backs at birth. I was fortunate to not go under such experiences because I was born without wings. But Zeon was not.
"Ah! Zeph!" His hand slipped out of mine and as I looked back, I couldn't hear him anymore. I tried to fight the waves, but I lost him.
He couldn't speak much, but he called me by the only name he ever heard 'them' call me, Zetheon. It's not a name, it's rather a title.
And though I didn't have a name, I named him, the star that burns eternally.
"Zeon! Zeon!" I cried out desperately.
"Quick, take THAT Engel! We'll need what we need for what is to come," pointed the green witch.
No, not yet, what about Zeon? If they'll want me, they would want him too! I hate them, but right now, with my tiny body, I can't find him.
They lifted me out of the water and I yanked at the Zarqan's clothing.
"Please! Help me! My brother is in the lake!" I turned to the green haired celestial. He whispered a spell and tightened a sparking green glow surrounding me that pulled me into a deep darkness. "He will be just as valuable as I will be for you! Please!" I screamed out. The witch just glared and smirked as she walked away, "Your beastling is long gone Zetheon, there's nothing we nor you can do anything about it." The darkness was sinking my mind into a haze. Before I lost conscious, I glimpsed at the small Red dragon holding Zeon hovering above me. Oh. So he was with her. Atleast he won't have to be with these demons. Maybe he'll have a better chance with the "Crimson familia". That's good enough for me. I should've stayed behind with him. I should've fought out. But my star has yet to burn and without my wings, I won't be able to light up the darkness within these demons.
-Present-
A celestial called out to me, "Hey Zetheon, go get tools from the storage house out in the back and clear out the cobwebs in the field." He threw a ring of keys at my face, these keys were shaped like large nails and had spell engravings.
I glared. Anger and disgust flowed through my body. They know it's risky to clear out cobwebs made from silken spiders from home. It was inevitable that we might have ended up bringing them along our journey here.
Their webs will shred your skin like paper if you're not careful where you look or how you remove the webs.
The celestial held out a hand sparking with light "Come on, get going before you get a scolding."
I bit my lip and walked through the icy winds and snow. It was sun down and I hadn't seen Varen since that night.
"Where's the stupid storageplace, I've been walking forever. It's getting difficult to see with all the snow blowing into my face and the clouds covering the moon."
The trees rustled. I listened to the growing rumbles following me and ran towards the storage house. I jumped over the fence and scraped my right leg against a stuck out plate of metal. My legs were seething with blood and cuts from the webs I rushed into. I gasped for air trying to keep calm as I took out the keys to unlock the storage room. My hands shook from the cold and fear of an infected chasing me down. Desperate, I shoved my arm into the small space of bars in the door. Then a hairy beast I'd never seen before knocked me to the floor and gnawed my leg, trying to drag me from the door but my left arm was stuck. I kicked at its face but its jaws kept a grip on me. There was a small shovel left of my left arm but it was frozen stuck to the wall. I grabbed the keys and chucked at the shovel loose from the wall. Many more of its kind had caught up to the fence of the storageplace. As the beast yanked me from the door, my arm was finally set free. My left hand with a handful of keys and my right hand with the mini shovel, I stabbed its eyes and face. Bits of flesh fell to the floor and my blood continued to gush from its mouth until I stabbed at the corner of its jaw and made a slit. I pulled my leg out and hurriedly limped to the door and unlocked it. I slammed the door shut and locked it. Although I was finally in the storage room, it was dark, cold, and filled with body parts of beasts. My mind exploded into numbing icing fear and I laid there on the floor in the center of the room. I tried to sanely patch my legs but my hands were rigid and shaking from the sanity that left me.
My breathing began to speed up and the beasts outside snarled and attacked the door for what seemed like hours until I gave into the silence of the falling snow.
"Father Varen has arrived." Celestials bowed from his return.
"Where's the zetheon?" He asked.
"He had gone to clear up the webs in the field."
"At this time of night..? When was the last time you saw him?"
A nervous celestial replied, "Just before sundown."
Varen growled with anger," THIS zetheon is no mere zetheon. He was SENT from the imperial council. So if anything happens to him all of you will be held accountable for your actions, whether they were acted upon or not, standbyers will also be punished!" "Aaaaaaghhh these stupid pathetic morons, sending a child to their death." He grunted and ran the path that was partially left behind. He reached to the storageplace and saw the remains of the struggle. He ran further up and unlocked the door, finding the zetheon on the floor. He covered him with his jacket and carried him back to the church.
I can feel the warmth of the fire melting my senses back to me but my arms and legs felt heavy. I sat up in my bed and looked at my bandages.
"Did you eat yet?" I turned to the voice behind me. My stomache growled, I didn't have the appetite to take a bite of anything since I woke.
"No, huh. Well, let's eat. I brought us some of the local food. You should try it, Aeris has some decent meals." He brought out a brownbag filled with steaming buns.
"Sweet or savory?" He asked,"Or both?"
"Both" I replied.
The sweet one was a white fluffy ball consisted of a smooth purple paste and the savory one was a fluffy brown block with chopped blocks of whatever they were.
"Kinda close to what we make, huh." Varen said.
Back home, I served with Engels, baking fluff balls of sweet yemu, a yellow root, and savory rom, seasoned meat of the Mecniah. Mecniah were the main source of food on Regina; they were creatures who produced photosynthetic meals and their flesh were a rare delicacy. I would sneak some back to Zeon and returned to my post. This was before the war had become shrowded with destruction, where there were barely any survivors or workers to feed.
Whenever he saw me, he would muster up his clumsy strength and wobble towards me. I would pull pieces from the fluff balls and feed him. I remembered his innocent happy smile.
Heat stinged me. My face was burning red.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you that the spices in the fluff are very strong," Varen chuckled.
Tears streamed down my face as though to wash away the stinging pain, but the pain in my chest was greater.