"Mama... Papa... Andrea...," were the words of a young boy in his teens looking at the scorched land around him where the corpses of his entire family lay.
There were still traces of black in his short snow-white hair and blood can still be seen on his innocent azure eyes. There was nothing but pain and regret in his heart as the events that happened sunk into his mind.
The young boy was staring at his bloodied hands and gazing at the corpse from time to time. No ne knows how much time had passed, but it seemed like an eternity for that poor little child.
Without another word, he slowly grabbed a halfly burnt wood with a sharp end and prepared to stab it to himself. Slowly, but with no hesitation or doubt, as if being controlled by something, he raised the wood and plunged it into his heart.
However, right before the wound penetrated his bones, it stopped. Then, tears began to fall from his eyes.
"That is a very painfulway of killing yourself, kid. You probably need five to seven strikes before you pierce your heart," a man in his mid twenties said to the young boy, grabbing the stick out of his hands, and exposing the freshly made wound in his chest.
The kid turned his head to the man with long hair the color of vines. His azure eyes locked to the latter's sharp and deep eyes in the shade of a red rose. The man was stunning and charismatic, full of vibrance and life, contrast to the depressed and mourning kid parallel to him.
"What is your name, kid?" He asked, but the boy could only stare at him. It seemed like nothing could bring life to him anymore. His eyes were dead, only containing regret, pain, and sadness.
"You know, you must be familiar with this," the man said as a Violet Celestial Card appeared above his hand. It had a unique image on its back and its from was filled with violet light, preventing anyone from seeing what it contained. [1]
Seeing the card, an glint of curiousity appeared on the eyes of he child, but it was quickly replaced by resentment and deep sadness.
"This is a Celestial Card, much like what you probably summoned when all of this happened. Each Celestial Card contain a different ability, and a famous one is called {A Balanced Soul} It is capable of bringing people back to life."
As he said this, life breathed back into the eyes of the child. The red in his eyes completely disappeared and his hair turned complete snow-white, turning him back to a sweet innocent boy.
"What is your name, boy?"
"Marco," he shyly replied.
"Good! Marco, I am Thorn. Do you want to bring your parents and sister back to life?" Thorn asked while staring him directly in the eye.
"I do!"
"No matter what it takes?"
"I do!" He replied with no hesitation.
"Then come, follow me. If you become powerful enough, you will be able to meet your family again," without a single question, Marco followed Thorn after burying his family.
...
Inside a wooden hall, a group of six people can be seen. They were surrounded by simple furnitures, all made of wood and some porcelain and jade accessories. It was a traditional and clean setting with no eye-catching trait for the untrained eye.
Of the six though, three, who were all below 20 years old, marveled at their surrounding.
"He is late again! Just because Lady Luna is not here, he is acting like a barbarian!" The lady with long golden hair and eyes said. She was wearing a ball gown which coupled with her demeanor made her look like a princess. She had flawless skin and looked young, but she was definitely older than the three teenagers
"Let us not wait for him anymore, Dianne. Let us start. Why not introduce your choice first?" The other lady in a ponytail proposed. She had a long black hair and was wearing a pitch black dress. This together with her eyes made her skin the only thing contrasting the shade of her look.
"Great! Everyone, meet Ariah! She is a very talented young lady. At her age, she is already a Yellow Celestial. Not to mention, her Card deals with sound and is quite useful," Dianne promoted. Her other two comoanions were pleased, but the three teenagers were looking at her in shock as if she had just said taboo.
Noticing this, Dianne spoke, "Oh, do not worry. I am aware that her Card is a Celestial's life, revealing it is like losing one of her arms. Fear not, though, as everyone here is trustworhy. You may have only seen each other for an hour, but as you have been handpicked by each of us, there is no need to fear. We will all be brothers and sisters in blood and suffering."
The three calmed down after hearing her, prompting Ariah to talk, "It is a great honor of mine to meet all of you. I will do my best to live up to the standards of The Celestial Agency!" She said with enough gusto to make her rose-pink eyes sparkle and her pink and white hair bounce.
"Gale," the blacked-haired lady said.
"Alright! I brought this young knight! His name is Arth. He was rigorously trained not just in his Celestial Card, but also physique, making him a Yellow Celestial as well! Furthermore, his Celestial Ability deals with extreme enhancement. We got ourselves a vanguard here," the man with long white hair and eyes said. He was wearing loose clothing and had the mannerisms of a street gangster, differentiating him to the other five inside the room who were all noble in actions.
"Hmph! Clearly, my prospect is much talented than yours, not needing to bolster her physique just to become a Yellow Celestial," Dianne boasted.
"What?! Are you an idiot or something? My prospect is a Yellow Celestial and has a powerful physique! Clearly, mine is more talented!" Gale rebutted fiercely.
"Oh, please. He is just hard-working! My Ariah here is pure talent!"
"Oh yeah? My--" Gale was interrupted in the middle of his statement when the black-haired lady spoke, "Stop it, you two. There is no use battling against each other."
"Hmph! Just introduce your prospect already, Eve," Dianne said.
"Fine. Her name is Zerah. She is a Yellow Celestial as well," Eve said. She purposefully stopped to pique the interest of everyone.
"Come on, what is her Celestial Ability?" Gale asked.
"It is related to Runes!" Eve said with her head high. She knew very well that she had the best prospect around.
Even her two colleagues were speechless for a moment after hearing the ability of Zerah.
'Damn! That's one good ability,' Gale thought.
Right on time, breaking the silence, the door creaked open, showing two familiar faces.
"You are an hour late, Thorn!" Eve reprimanded.
"You would have to forgive us. This young boy had just finished burying his entire family," Thorn replied.
"Oh, please! What a lousy excuse--" Gale almost bit his tongue a he saw the eyes of Marco while he was talking. He could clearly see the deep sadness contained in them, making him choke on what he was about to say. "Ahem! So, who is he?" He diverted.
"His name is Marco, a freshly awakened Celestial - A Red Celestial."
"What?! You chose a Red Celestial, and might I add a freshly awakened one, as your prospect? How brave!" Dianne commented.
"He is very powerful, his Celestial Ability is a berserk type."
As Thorn told Marco's ability, a meaningful silence reigned over the room.
"You know, what this means, Thorn. He is a risk," Dianne warned.
"Come on, even if a hudnred of him appears here, he will not be able to break a vase you will not let him to," Thorn shrugged
"That might be true, but what about our prospects?"
"Well, they better be strong enough to survive his berserk. This is no playground after all, no palce for whining children," Thorn confidently said.
"He is right. As they will be a team, it is the others' job to support and work around his Celestial Ability," Eve added, gaining nods from all the parties involved.
"Then, you are officially Celestial Agents. That simple. Remember that it does not matter who you were or what you did. What is important is who you are now and who you will be tomorrow. Prepare yourselves a competition will be held for all branches of the government six months from now. Although it is an annual event, this is the first time The Celestial Agency will be taking place, so dare not sully our name," Eve reminded.
"Well, then. It is time to work!" Gale said.
'It's six in the evening,' Marco thought.