"Before the stars burned, before the Great Storm,

and even before the Ten Celestials, there was the

Creator. By His power He formed the celestial

bodies, He ignited stars, He laid out time's flow,

and He made the Four Primordial Ones, Dalyoff,

Lucritus, Oryana, and Kosmos."

Creysalvem, Fourth verse of Kreyatem

A beautiful autumn sunset filled the area, clouds in shades of pink and orange passed by. In the center were two beings, Lucritus and the other Oryana; they wore ornate yet ancient garbs and were discussing something over a large cloud-like table.

The table was projecting a battle; soldiers hiding behind barricades as beams of concentrated plasma shot out from every direction. They were on a street, skyscrapers looming above them, with wrecks of tanks, vehicles, and aircraft littered all over the place. There were bodies of fallen soldiers everywhere and the stench quickly overwhelmed even the most veteran among them. Overhead, aircraft flew past, raining bombs and plasma beams upon the beleaguered soldiers.

"I told you this would happen," Oryana said as she typed something down on a transparent tablet.

"And yet you did nothing to stop this," Lucritus, who was at the far end of the table, turned a knob and the projection shifted rapidly to a different location.

"Nothing good would come out of us meddling in mortal affairs," Oryana replied, "And it would only displease Father."

"Never mind, let's see if our hunch was right and it was him who helped the Crus," Lucritus turned the knob again and the scene shifted rapidly and stopped.

They were now looking at a relatively peaceful area, save for the emergency sirens and distant explosions. The location was divided by two distinct features, namely, the height of the buildings and the architectural style. To the left, there were skyscrapers and to the right there were low-rise buildings built in a style reminiscent to one of Terra's cities. To the far right of the city there was a wall and a building that had a tower at its center.

"The palace," Oryana noted, "Where is the Emperor?"

"Patience, I'm trying to zoom in but this contraption seems to be refusing my commands." Lucritus turned the knob a few times before the projection zoomed in on a man.

The man was beneath a tent with men frantically running around, they were carrying weapons, supplies, munitions, and other things. He wore a plain soldier's uniform but had different badges adorned on it. He was speaking to similarly dressed men in a different language.

"Why is he not off-world yet?" Oryana placed her tablet onto the table as she walked towards Lucritus, eyes glued onto the projection.

"He is commander-in-chief, he has to stay with his men."

"That doesn't mean he can't send them orders from a safe distance?!"

"Oryana," Lucritus sighed, "A good general fights with his men, not away from them."

"Whatever," the lady looked on as the projection seemingly moved on its own to the inside of the building.

"This thing has a mind of its own..." Oryana looked on with a perplexed expression.

"I'm going to have Ildeman take a look at this after," the ancient being tried turning the knob but it wouldn't budge.

The projection now showed a woman with two young ladies behind her, all three wore elegant and ornate gowns.

"Alexandra," the woman in the middle, who wore a dark blue gown, called.

"Yes, mother?" a girl wearing lime green answered.

"Find your brothers."

"Understood," the girl pulled out a rose and blew on it. The petals on the rose started fluttering around and flew out in different directions.

"Amelia," the woman called out.

"Yes, mother?" a girl to her left wearing a cream gown replied.

"Look for your grandmother, I need to look for the High Mage before we leave."

"Yes, mother."

This time, the girl made an orchid appear out of thin air, she blew on it too, and it started flying away.

"The woman in blue must be the Empress Consort..." Oryana noted.

"It seems so," Lucritus tried turning the knob but it still wouldn't shift the projection, "Cursed machine!"

"Patience brother," the lady tapped the projection and a panel appeared before the frustrated being, "You just need to find alternatives."

Lucritus nodded and he began to use the panel. The scene shifted rapidly, this time it was outside of the building and at the location they had previously observed.

"They're closing in..." Oryana walked back to her tablet, "This scenario happened four seconds earlier than my previous estimation."

"What?" her brother turned towards the lady, "How is that possible?"

"The flow of time has somewhat been strained here..." Oryana began typing on the tablet, "My powers are seemingly useless on this planet as of the moment."

"Wait," Lucritus observed the scene closely, "No..."

From the left of the projection, between the skyscrapers and the shorter buildings, a mass of black came rushing through. Beams of plasma shot out from the right, explosions, and the sounds of sirens being drowned out by the mass all combined in a symphony of horror. Then, just as it had appeared, the mass dissipated and was replaced by bolts of purple lightning.

"It's her," the ancient lady observed, "Avra."

Black dots were spewing out from the left, screams, gun shots, and explosions came afterward. Aircraft were falling onto the ground as the black dots drew closer their shapes became more defined. They were humanoid, but they were grotesquely misshapen. They had tattered wings on their back, their arms were bulging and filled with molds and worms. Their faces, their horrid faces, were filled with holes; their eyes were either intact or falling out, and maggots feasted on their flesh from inside those holes. Some had horns, others didn't; while some were massive and dwarfed the buildings of the city on the right.

"W-where is the Empress, Lucritus?" Oryana was no longer typing.

"Hold on," Lucritus began typing onto the panel and the scene shifted again, this time to the woman in blue again. She was now outside, her two companions no longer in sight. She was speaking with the Emperor beneath a tent, tears flowing down her face as she spoke to him. Her words were drowned out by the explosions and the screams from outside.

"What are they saying?"

"Let me increase the volume," Lucritus replied.

The sound of explosions, gun shots, screams, and demonic laughter filled the room.

"You can't stay here!" The woman's voice was soft but audible.

"Alexander will *inaudible* -are of you all," the man looked behind him, "You have to leave, now."

"We're not leaving without you!" the woman clung onto the man.

"My, lo- *inaudible* -as to be done."

The man looked at two men and they took the woman by the arm and dragged her into a transport ship. As the ship departed, the once blue sky darkened until it was pitch black; the only lights visible were from the building, the lasers, and the purple lightning. Laughter could be heard in the background, an eerie and masculine laugh.

"Delvetere," Lucritus slammed his fists onto the table and the projection dissipated.

"Calm down, brother," Oryana walked to her brother's side.

"Sister, use your vision and tell me, what will come after?"

The lady hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes, "I see... I see the Empress Consort giving birth..."

"What else?"

"Twins, the younger of the two will be girl and she will give birth to a boy... a... AH!"

Oryana collapses onto the floor panting.

"Sister, come on, don't force it," Lucritus cradles her as she gasps for air.

"I-I saw... I saw Dalyoff... he was holding the boy... h-he will bear his mark," Oryana paused, "The boy is Dalyoff's heir."

Lucritus was silent, all he could think about was how any of this could be possible. Dalyoff, the eldest of the Ten Celestials had been dead for eons, but if Oryana had seen him then it means he was either still alive, or his spirit was telling them something.

"Then we must protect the mother and her daughter," Lucritus looked at Oryana, "Gather the others, it's time for a family reunion."