The remaining luster in Terra's eyes had all but died out as Alex led her down a long and winding corridor. 'Dead. Your parents are dead.' The words incessantly echoed in her ears. The prosperous angelan clan had all but faded away; in its place was the premise of a bleak future. "They died a few months after you left; the spirit tree was infected, and they used the last of their powers to repair it. Thousands of fairies and spirits dependent on the tree died out and our combat power as a nation was halved." Alex's voice broke. He sullenly led her into the throne room; his weary countenance sagged as he stared at the once opulent thrones of the king and queen that were now covered in cobwebs.
"I wasn't there." She whispered. Tears stubbornly clung to her tear ducts as she eyed her mother's and father's portraits. It had only been two years, but within that short span of time everything had changed. Her eyes widened as she used what little of her powers was left to channel her fairy. Nothing. There was silence. "Brother, what happened to Aria?" Alex's head dropped down as he delivered the final piece of news. "Aria has returned home."
Returned home? When a fairy dies, they will eventually be reborn as a low-level spirit. After a millennium, they will promote to a mid-level spirit. A select few will evolve into a high-level spirit, and the top one percent will reach the top-grade level. If a fairy reaches the top-grade level, they will regain their memories of their lives as a fairy. Fairy contracts are coveted by many of the angelan clan because fairies are born with the powers of a top-grade spirit, and while a top-grade spirit is not able to progress further in their cultivation, a fairy has the capacity for improvement. The reason why a fairy is able to be reborn is in part due to their connection to the spirits and the spirit tree. Long ago, it was prophesized that when the God of Spirits settled in the Forbidden Forest, he created the first fairies. Treating them as his children, he created the Spirit Tree, which allowed their souls to take on a physical form. Eventually, the deceased fairies' souls were referred to as spirits. Once a spirit died, they would "return home." A spirit who dies molds into the husk of the spirit tree. In exchange for a long lifespan, the fairies forfeit their right to be reincarnated. The spirit tree is the lifeline of the fairy clan and angelan clan and keeps them safe from the exploitation of the other races. In some rare cases, a fairy "returns home." This only occurs when the damage done to a fairy is irreparable, so much so that it even damages the soul beyond repair.
Terra wraps her arms around herself in an embrace. Her dress is in tatters and the cold air of the corridor only worsens her discomfort. Her breaths come out in short huffs, a fist clenches around her heart tightly. She tries to picture the last conversation she had with Aria, but her memories come to an abrupt halt as she attempts to remember the timbre of her voice. She can't remember her voice. Her voice cracks slightly as she reaches for Kritana with a newfound sense of desperation. "Give her to me Alex." She whispers. As she looks into eyes of crimson, she sees her father. As she traces the edge of her baby's jaw, she sees her mother. She even sees hints of Aria in the way Kritana smiles. "You're all I have left." Her arms encase the baby tightly, Kritana squirms at the slight suffocation, but Terra doesn't respond. Her mind files through countless memories, hoping to recall the time she first caught a glimpse of Aria's face. Nothing. Terra pulls down the collar of her dress and eyes the faded tattoo on her collarbone; the thing she had been the proudest of. The memory seems far away, the dawn of her new reality sets in. Her heart breaks for the first and last time.
***
Kritana eyed the luxuriously decorated room in the comfort of her own crib. 'It's heaven.' As her eyes drank in the sight of the carved mahogany walls and glittering jewels embedded in the ceiling she sighed with content. It was the nicest room she had ever had the privilege of sleeping in. In her previous life, she was lucky if the floors of her apartment weren't covered in debris. On those rare occasions, she had the best dreams. If she had a little more money than usual, she would even treat herself to food in a restaurant. In her first life, her father was stingy with spending, especially when it came to her. He wanted a soldier, an assassin, a shadow guard, and evidently, he treated her as such. Kritana sighed and looked towards the huge window. Sunlight poured inside the room and illuminated the jewels. It was breathtaking, she mused.
Kritana's ears slightly perked up when she heard the sound of footsteps. A man opened the door, his crimson eyes and pitch-black hair were his most prominent features, but the stubble on his jaw, and the bags around his eyes accentuated his tiredness, a weight that he had grown accustomed to carrying. 'Alex.' Kritana thought. When Alex eyed the baby in the crib for the third time, he noticed how she held the same pair of crimson eyes as his sister and father. His stoic mask cracked, and his eyes softened. It was impossible to hate such an innocent baby; with shaky hands, he painstakingly held Kritana to his chest. She was freshly showered and clean. Her face was no longer covered in monster blood. Her face was almost identical to his sister's, he noted. But the shape of her eyes were unfamiliar to him; they were angled and sharp, unlike the soft curves of his sister's eyes. As her looked into her eyes, he was unnerved by them. He was endlessly intrigued.
He held Kritana securely in his arms as he walked through the halls of the palace. "Your mother is being appointed as the new head of the tower today. The role has been vacant for too long." Kritana's eyes widened. She had escaped from her father and her mother had been restored to her rightful place. The future was changing; however, as she watched the ceremony, a pang of wrongfulness hit her in the chest.