A New Begining

[Inariel Myotis]

The suns were ripe, the light beaming upon the face of the Mother. The courtyard was a beautiful sight to behold littered with various plants and a gorgeous array of architecture. His steps were firm and sound despite the gazes upon him. He must have looked like an anomaly to them, his form was... different than the last time he trekked here. His body was now clad in a pelt of ebon fur black as a starless night, his ear, fox-like and far more defined. Wing folded around him like a cloak yet trimmed with a subtle red energy. Inariel, despite the glares and looks of intrigue and fear walked uninhibited. After what he faced, an ordeal that forced him to acknowledge his past and present he no longer hides behind a veil of uncertainty. There was only purpose on the path he tread, the long arduous road would only become longer, for now, his sights were set on dismantling the barriers between him and the other families.

Their first encounter wasn't the most...welcoming. But it needed to happen. No doubt many were aware of his part in the crumbling of one of their eldest pillars. And any who watched the crown jewel were more than aware of his knack for slaying. But he did not regret an ounce of it, for it was the shattering of their biases and notions of superiority he had to tear down first. They needed to see what the corruption of their ideal led to, and how the Crimson Crown would respond to prejudiced acts against his people. The myotis would no longer turn their bellies up and submit to opression. They belonged here, just like the other members of the family. However, today, his following duty as a crown was a more... diplomatic endeavor one that he was sorely lacking in as his understanding of the realm politics was still infantile, and without the guidance of his twin moon he was left to navigate this thicket of policy alone. Nevertheless, he did have one possible ally in this, a powerful one, The current Vesta crown, Zeik Hellgate. They had... an unexpected unity between them, more of a conscious understanding rather, as they experienced the founding energies of the First King thanks to the Hadal stone. He would not claim them brothers in arm necessarily, but aside from Aurelius and now, Nagase, belonged to the scare few who had a deeper understanding of his true nature, his wish to resolidify a bond with his...family.

"He should be here, somewhere."

The place was bustling, students of the school scuttling about in between classes and test scurring like a colony of squirrels in pursuit of clarity. Though he had been dubbed the Ace of Hearts for his exceptional prowess as an Amaris, one of the few to master the art of conjuring a familiar, his knowledge of the school infrastructure was wanting. But he knew firsthand the results of the influence of the courts and if the Myotis were to become the force they once were, they would need to decide for themselves. is being here, it felt vastly different than his first experience. When he arrived here last he possessed only tunnel vision for power. But with his curse lifted, his bond with the earth restored he was able to appreciate the beauty of this place. The whisper of ambition on the winds, and cackling of the birds, and the gossip of the flowers. It...was peaceful. It made him ever more grateful for his experiences thus far, to walk hand in hand with the mother once more, and hopefully, her fellow children his...siblings. Even now though, he held a goal of his own, to expand his connection with mana, and walk the path of blades as well as his quest of mastery.

[Alice Akuma]

Clad in a makeshift cloak torn from a hospital curtain, she fled the school grounds, arcs of electricity snapping wildly in her wake. Her breath came in frantic bursts, her bare feet barely touching the cold pavement as she sprinted forward. Around her, voices clamored in panic—students of all ages, shouting in a cacophony of languages she couldn't understand. The air was thick with confusion, their fear compounding her own. But she couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when they were coming for her.

She clutched the thin fabric tighter around her, holding onto both her modesty and the dread clawing at her chest. The overwhelming din of voices pressed in, scrambling her senses, and before she could react, she collided with something solid—something unyielding. It was like hitting a wall, and the impact sent her stumbling backward. Blinking rapidly, she looked up, expecting brick or metal, but instead, she found a creature standing before her. A towering figure cloaked in black fur, its piercing eyes gleaming with something unreadable. The aura it exuded sent shivers racing down her spine.

Her breath hitched as fear seized her throat, locking the words she wanted to scream. Around them, students and medical staff formed a circle, watching, whispering, uncertain whether to intervene. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out everything but the realization that she was trapped. She had no choice. Moving purely on instinct, she sprang to her feet, her foot lashing out in a desperate act of survival. A surge of pink static crackled through the air as she aimed for the beast’s face, the force of her strike would send sparks scattering in all directions forcing the medical staff to step back.

“Please, let me go… I've done nothing wrong!” she cried, her voice raw with desperation. But her plea was met with confusion. No one understood her words, their faces filled only with unease and wariness. The language she spoke was foreign to them, as distant as the world she no longer belonged to.

She took a step back, her body coiled like a live wire, ready to strike again. But deep inside, a sinking feeling settled in her chest—one she couldn’t ignore. It didn’t matter how fast she ran, how fiercely she fought. She was alone, surrounded, and utterly lost.

[Inariel Myotis]

As he waited, something he detested doing, he further admired the plants when suddenly his ears twitched. His eyes darted over to witness a clamoring of people. A girl, skin like murky waters fleeing. The sound of crackling sparks escaped all around her. Out of all the noises though, her exasperated heart rate stood out the most. The fierce thumping of her heart, her blood pumping through her in a way he had never experienced before...was this girl human? He had little time to ponder before she crashed into him. He didn't budge, he was a 8 ft tall pillar of seasoned flesh and her tiny frame was met with the utmost resistance.

She then went to attack him, his first instinct was to sever her foot as he was sure she must have been some kind of captured criminal, but then he caught a glimpse of the terror in her eyes and the song of fear in her heart. She was frightened, disoriented, and panicking and those chasing her were only adding to this. He...understood this confusion, as he felt it when he first woke and responded quite the same, with violence. He would not allow her to make the same mistake he did, and take the life of an innocent. Instead, he allowed his wing to extend serving as a shield against her assault placing a few feet between them as he parried her strike, revealing his torso covered in a blue loin cloth and a body ordained in golden armaments.

"She's...strong..."

The force of her blow was enough for him to acknowledge her potential, but she was rabid, feral, and a danger to all of them. He was sure everyone expected him to shed her blood, but perhaps this gave life to a new possibility. For him to shows his restraint by containing the situation rather than tossing more fuel to the flame. He could see the desperation, she was saturated with the scent of perspiration and struggle. Her language was scrambled, he couldn't make heads or tails of it. One thing was certain however, she didn't plan to surrender without a fight, so be it, he would oblige. He placed his hand up admonishing the other to step back as they would only get in the way.

"Bloom..."

In that instance, the earth responded to his call, and from it, the roots of a tree but a few yards away from her came to life erupting from the ground aiming to esnar her.

[Alice Akuma]

[0?/0?]
Her eyes darted between the towering bat and the uneasy crowd, desperation tightening her chest. She didn’t know who would move first—the staff, twitching with nervous energy, or the beast before her, radiating an unshakable, suffocating presence. There was no fear in him. No hesitation. He was fear itself, standing as a silent executioner before her.

Then the earth rumbled beneath her, a deep, guttural tremor that stole her footing and sent her crashing back to the ground. A gasp caught in her throat as she shut her eyes against the dizziness. When they opened again, they burned with a brilliant red glow, a pale crescent moon cradling her irises—Mammon’s Glint. Everything changed. The tremors that once threatened to bind her in place revealed their source: tree roots, writhing like serpents beneath the soil, creeping toward her with sinister intent. But now, she saw them for what they were—slow, crawling, and trivial.

A smirk ghosted across her lips. What was meant to ensnare her was nothing more than an inconvenience. With the grace of a dancer, she twisted her body and leaped from the ground, launching herself high into the air. From this vantage, she took in the chaos below—the scattered students, the murmuring staff, and the creature that remained still, watching. *Judging.*

“I need an exit…” she breathed, scanning for a path before they could cage her in completely. Time was against her.

Without hesitation, she stretched out her hand, charging her Ava, the energy crackling to life at her fingertips. If they wouldn’t let her leave peacefully, then she would carve her own way out.
[0?/0?]

[Inariel Myotis]

"Those eyes..."

Twinked with a gleam, mystic eyes? It is a trait rarely seen. What was she?

"Good reflexes..."

He thought as she nimbly evaded his attempt to grab her. Whether her response was calculated or merely intuitive he could not say. It did intrigue him though. Her naten flow was unlike anything he had seen thus far on the mother, and though there were many secrets and varying types of beings on the planet the cadence of their energy held similarities. Hers though held a certain thum that he had yet to observe. He wondered...what her blood tasted like. It urged him to explore...if she could handle a bit more. He performed a swift array of ava, something rarely seen from him, as he could twist the earth to his whim. However, he would follow the traditional practice to expedite this process and promptly respond.

"But...unrefined."

Upon completion, the tree he manipulated would begin to unravel like a ribbon before springing to life, 5 ribbons of flowing wood orbiting around him. He sent two of them after her, with far more speed and precision than his earlier invocation they accosted her swiftly. It would be difficult for her to evade him while in mid-air yet he took no chances. The wood ribbons aimed at her charging hand aren't her legs trying to subdue her once more. There would be one that cut his wrist soaking up his blood before burying itself into the earth beneath him leaving 2 ribbons still by his side.

[Alice Akuma]

Alice’s breaths came ragged, her body trembling with exhaustion. She had been fighting for what felt like an eternity, yet each desperate movement only drove her deeper into despair. Her limbs ached, her energy flickering like a dying ember, and worst of all—she knew it.

Her opponent’s presence loomed like an unshakable weight, his aura oppressive, suffocating. He barely moved, yet his power filled the space between them, a crushing force that made her feel impossibly small. The roots he commanded twisted and coiled in the air, their thorns gleaming like the fangs of a predator poised to strike. Alice hurled another bolt of electricity, but it fizzled out before reaching its target—weak, aimless, pathetic.

Her heart pounded, not with the thrill of battle, but with the slow, creeping horror of failure. She had nothing left. No more strength to run, no more clever tricks to delay the inevitable. She was tired. So tired.

A laugh—not hers—echoed in her mind. The realization sank in: she was alone. No allies, no miracles. Just her, the vines, and the man who controlled them.

So, she let go.

The moment she surrendered, a strange voice stirred in the depths of her mind. It was not hers, yet it spoke her language, slipping through her thoughts like a whisper through the dark.

*"You are not alone."*

Before Alice could react, the air before her shifted. A figure—unfamiliar yet deliberate—stepped into the space between her and the vines. He did not flinch as the roots lashed toward him, did not hesitate as he raised a single hand. The air rippled. The vines, once merciless in their approach, stopped.

Alice blinked. The exhaustion in her limbs did not fade, but a flicker of something else took its place.

[Inariel Myotis]

It seemed he had pushed the girl too far. He could tell as her heart rate spiked, yet her moves became sluggish, disturbingly so. She must have already been weakened, and the adrenaline gave her a sudden boost of gusto. She showed promise, her moves, the sway of her naten flow the subtly artistic displays of arbiter use, she could make a powerful ally. Or a fearsome enemy. Part of him wondered what he should do, should he allow her to live? Knowing that her potential could spell trouble for the Astral, or should he curb her life here and now and save them all the trouble?

"You can't seriously be contemplating killing her, she's afraid Inari, she's more of a threat to herself right now than anyone here."

"It was just a thought...besides, I know something of second chances."

The tree ribbons's speed increased yet just as they were about to ensnare the girl a most unforeseen occurrence took place. The unseen rippled just before it split and from this disruption in space-time, a figure appeared, not merely vanquishing the vines, but stopping their pursuit altogether. Then his eyes narrowed, slithering across the frame of the source of the uninvited. His aura began to palpate yet he stayed his hand as he could not yet determine whether this being was a foe as it merely protected the girl yet did not attack him. The other two ribbons continued to oscillate around him, like orbital claws ready to strike.

"Fester..."

What he would do however is cultivate the earth that the bloodied ribbon burred itself into earlier. Incubating a contingency should his first mind, their perceived threats, be made true. Until then his form remained still, stoic, but the presence of his presence only grew and steadily did so until he was given reason to cease. Though he had grown more patient, it was yet still a virtue that he was far from mastering, as was the art of holding back. Something he did not plan on doing for long, for the moment they proved to be an enemy his fangs be made known.

[Zeik]

Between Alice and the lashing roots, the air fractured. Light warped and curled, scattering in prismatic shards that distorted everything behind it. The world beyond the strange refraction bled into an impossible mirage—wavering, shifting, breaking apart, then realigning in ways that defied sense.

The medical staff froze, their breath caught in their throat and their bodies paralized by the emerging anomaly. The moment before had been clear—search and rescue. Secure and protect, all easily defined. But now, uncertainty reigned. Something had appeared, but its presence was equal parts beauty and terror, a being neither visible nor truly hidden.

The roots hesitated finding themselves both unwilling and incapable of continuing their deadly path, they were interrupted by something that defied perception. The light carried with it a feeling, one that kept everyone on their toes. An apparition? A presence, standing where there had been empty space just moments before. Yet, as the roots recoiled, sensing danger in what they could not grasp, the staff remained still, caught in the cruel space between understanding and fear.

The shimmer was not invisibility, nor was it transparency. It was as if the figure existed within a fractured pane of glass, each movement causing his form to scatter into broken reflections of himself—limbs misaligned, edges wavering between sharp definition and complete dissolution. One moment, the vague shape of a man, the next, an eerie disarray of angles and half-formed silhouettes.

A weapon at his side—was it drawn? A head tilted—was it watching them? The medics dared not move. The unknown figure neither advanced nor spoke, but his presence pressed upon them like a held breath before a blade's descent.

Then, slowly, the illusion unraveled. The bending light grew less violent, the scattered pieces of his form drawing inward. A silhouette emerged—not yet clear, but distinct. A man, standing firm, the shifting specter settling into something just recognizable enough for understanding to bloom.

It was Zeik.

Relief did not come easily. The air still rippled around him, a reminder of the unnatural entrance that had stolen their certainty. But the roots had withdrawn, and the wounded woman, Alice, still breathed.

"Alice...that is your name, isnt it?"

He said aloud, using an old rune engraved on his body to speak her language. "These people aren't your enemies...we've nurtured you for years, we dont intend to harm you after waking." He said as he gestured for his staff to give the girl some space and acknowledging Inariel directly with a knod

"These people are my friends, none will harm you here."

[Inariel Myotis]

As the light-inspired mysticism wavered Inari was able to gleam its creator. It was the Vesta crown, Zeik. With his arrival, Inari no longer felt the obligation to handle the girl and disarmed his brewing arbiters. As Zeik began to reassure the human Inari would instead focus on mending the land he had disturbed. The ribbon that had been waiting to blossom into an arbiter capable of subduing the freighted one instead would be, repurposed. The ribbons oscillating around him would join the buried one intertwining into a knot that mirrored a seed. With his blood as the nutrients feeding it.

"Bloom"

With this encouragement the bundle of ribbons began to sprout, rapidly maturing into a large verdant tree. The branches stretched and littered with tiny buds that blossomed into beautiful cherry blossoms. With that done he turned his attention to Zeik.

"You have quite the...flare for entrances, Zeik."

He said as his wings covered him once more like a veil of shadows trimmed with crimson. They had not laid eye on each other since the ordeal with Antares, and his judgment. Needless to say, even then they shared few words, but what they experienced that day changed Inari, even inspiring him. Their use of soul beat, an experience that allowed them to wield each other's mana interchangeably along with Nagase, the witnessing of the magic of the First Kings, the foundation of the nine. Although the use of the term friend was a bit far-fetched to him it was safe to say that the term acquaintance was too small to encapsulate that experience. Whatever the label that was chosen mattered little, what was prevalent however is that Zeik and Nagase were of the few beings on this planet that experienced him beneath the surface. That understanding held enough merit for him to share a deeper respect.

"I had come to discuss the Myotis's... reintegration into the Nine. When this, dustling, became hostile. She shows promise, dangerous promise."

Inari's piercing crimson gaze ran over her once more. Her naten reserves were practically empty and her body was wracked with exhaustion but there was a strong will to live beating within her chest still. Nonetheless, his purpose for being here far outweighed his curiosity about her. His people had waited eons for a new chance at life and weeks more while he had been out settling a very old score. He would not keep them waiting a moment longer.

"But that does not belong to me, what does, is the discussion about the Myotis's path to sustainability."

With...Aurelius gone it fell to Inari as their crown to steer the Myotis. But this would require more than just his own hands to do so. Much had changed over time in the Nine even in just the last 10 years alone. The Myotis, were beings once known for their diligence and spiritual cognizance. Were now timid, nearly feral creatures. There was a reeducation that needed to happen. Though he once felt himself ill-qualified for the task, after the shattering of his cursed tether to the eye Inari found himself with far more confidence in his ability to lead. He had grown in caliber not only as a sorcerer but a child of Vescrutia, walking evermore in the fullness of his existence. Although there were still areas of grey for him to figure out he would leave those worries for another day. As of now, before setting off on the next part of his journey he needed to make sure his people were taken care of.

[Alice Akuma]

The cold pavement bit at her bare feet as she ran, her breath ragged, her body screaming for her to stop—but she couldn’t. Wouldn’t. The night air was thick with tension, the sharp scent of ozone mixing with the earthy dampness of the trees that lined the courtyard. Behind her, the shouts of the medical staff echoed against the school’s stone walls. They weren’t just chasing her. They wanted to capture her.

She didn’t know why.

Terror clutched her throat, a suffocating force as she wove between the trees, their towering forms her only refuge in the open courtyard. She had spent years unseen, unheard, a ghost haunting the edges of existence. And then, tonight, the silence had been shattered.

The first voice to speak to her in years.

Zeik.

His arrival had been like a crack of thunder—sudden, jarring, impossible to ignore. He had stepped forward, his presence commanding, his voice calm yet edged with something deeper. The staff had reacted to him in an odd way—relief mixed with unease, as though he was both a solution and a problem. Even the man-bat, grotesque and silent, had stilled at his approach, its eerie presence overshadowed by Zeik’s.

She hadn’t waited to understand. She had run

Now, her pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out everything but the frantic need to escape. But the courtyard was a trap, lined with trees yet boxed in by stone and steel. No matter how fast she moved, how desperately she searched, the exits were too far, too guarded.

A sob rose in her throat, but she bit it back. No. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t let them see her break.

Her gaze darted to the edges of the courtyard. The school loomed, its windows dark and lifeless, its doors locked. The only way out was through the figures hunting her—the staff who had waited too long to acknowledge her existence.

She pressed herself against the rough bark of a tree, chest heaving, fingers digging into the wood.

What did they want? What did 'he'want?

Zeik hadn’t chased her. Not yet. But he was still there. Watching.

A voice in her head whispered that he could have stopped her already if he had wanted to. That the *staff* could have taken her by now if they weren’t… waiting.

For what?

Her hands trembled. The loneliness that had once been a dull ache was now a sharp, cutting thing. If she had been invisible all these years, why did they see her now?

And why did she have the terrible feeling that there was no way out?