When Irese finished reading, he scratched his head. “It’s not signed, and I don’t recognize the writing,” he said, putting the letter down. Sakura looked at it, then pondered to herself, “destiny…fate…I have a feeling this is connected to the Saika and Tshering.” She looked at Irese. “What could this all mean?” Irese shrugged. “I haven’t the slightest clue, my dear. I’m as perplexed as you. Still, how is it in the pile of our business partners?” Sakura rested her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll look into it. You can focus on sorting through our business partners. I’ll see if I can find any clues,” she kissed his cheek and took the note to her desk. Sakura scanned over the text. Her red eyes scoured over every curve, line, space, and punctuation mark. She couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary by looking at it normally, so she decided to look at it with magic. She lifted the paper with magic and looked at it backward, sideways, upside down, anyway she could. She sighed and set the paper down. The light reflected off of it onto Irese’s eyes. “Hey, what was that for?” he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes. Sakura was surprised. “Uhm, that wasn’t me, dear. I don't think this note is made of paper…” She lifted the material with magic once more. Once again, it reflected light. Sakura made sure it didn't hit Irese this time. “Yeah, that’s not paper.” Her companion stood up and walked over, examining the material. “I don’t think I have ever seen this material before… Have you, darling?” he questioned, turning to Sakura. She nodded, “I have, when I was younger. Though I couldn't say what it is. I think I know who might be able to name it, though. Could you go get Rose for me?” she asked before setting the paper down and searching for something. “Anything for you, darling.” Irese left the room and walked to the training grounds. There, Rose was letting her anger out while training with her brother. Indigo grunted, “Damn, you may rip the immortality out of me with those kicks.” He was sitting down to catch his breath when he saw Irese. “Oh, hey, Irese! What are you here for?” Rose rubbed the back of her neck and apologized to Indigo before looking towards Irese. “Is something wrong?” Irese nodded, “Yes, and no. Sakura and I found a note made of an unknown material in the stack of files from our business partners. I think you may be able to figure out what it is.” Rose nodded, then turned to her brother, “Thank you for training with me. I appreciate it.” Indigo nodded and hugged her. As the pair walked into the office, Sakura lifted her head and sighed in relief. “I’m glad you agreed to help Rose. I appreciate it.” She handed her the note. Rose took it and tilted her head. “Strange… It’s infused with magic, but it’s an old magic. I believe this is an early example of Saikan magic. I remember dad teaching some of it to me.” Sakura examined the note, then her eyes widened. “You’re right! I would have never thought to look for magic in it.” Rose nodded, then sniffed the paper and instantly pushed it away, covering her nose. “Ugh, such a horrid smell!” she said before sighing, “Maybe if..." She started warming her hands up with her fire powers. Once her hand was hot enough, she put it against the letter and watched it react. Instead of burning, it emitted blue sparkles. Sakura exclaimed, “Fire and Ice can make steam, and saikan steam can uncover certain saikan spells!” She made her hand as cold as possible. Almost instantly, ice spiked out of her palm. Once the two hands were next to each other, a soft steam rose around the letter. Soon enough, the letter emitted a soft white glow and turned gold, revealing another letter. “What the hell?” Irese exclaimed. Rose and Sakura shrugged, “Don’t question old saikan magic,” Rose said before she noticed the stack of papers of their business partners started floating. “This all feels oddly familiar…” She thought for a moment before she performed a quick spell on the gold shee, and it shot beams to specific pieces of paper. Each paper glowed and revealed the faces of their business partners. Irese went and looked at each paper. “Sakura, write these down.” Sakura nodded and got a piece of paper and a pencil. “Ready!” She replied Irese started reading the names, and as he said each one, the papers sparked and became holograms of each person’s head. There were three families and four other people. First, there were the Badiales: Sage, Everest Trefal, Faye, and Kenan. Second were the Aharts: Athena and Farren. Third, Lila and Selestia Aster. Fourth, the Squires: Eustace and Amethyst. Finally, the last three were Sapphire Hawthorne, Onyx, and Zaire. Sakura wrote every name down, then counted them: “thirteen people. Hm. I don’t understand this.” A few more faces appeared that weren’t in the list. “Wait… that’s Dad, Selestia, Maki, and Oscar!” Sakura stated as she wrote them down as well. Rose used her magic to group all the holograms and sort them into their respective families. “We know Dad, Selestia, Maki, Oscar, Amethys, and Eustace– But no one else. I have no idea what any of this could mean.” She said as she looked through the different faces. Before anything else happened, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared and swirled around them before forming into the shape of a person made purely of stars and black smoke. Sakura and Rose instantly bowed their heads. Irese was confused as to who this mysterious figure was, but he followed their lead. “You do not have to bow to me. I am just here to explain what is happening.” A voice came from the mysterious figure, but it did not have a mouth. The figure moved closer to the group of people that erupted from the papers. “You two are wise beyond your years to figure this out. I am glad your companion did not interfere. Strange, I thought there were three siblings… where’s the eldest?” They were looking at Sakura and Rose. Sakura tilted her head, then saw Indigo by the door. “He’s right here,” she said as Indigo walked over and bowed his head in respect. “Very well. Since the three of you are here, I can explain everything.” They cleared their voice and made themself into a more humanoid form. “I am Tshering, the deity of destiny. I can change the fates of whoever I see as unfit in this world. However, as I am the creator of the saika, I have chosen to lay that task among the most powerful saika. That way, I can spend my time watching over this lovely species.” Tshering’s eyes scanned the room before looking at the three siblings with satisfaction. “You three have done well in your lives. You have faced hardships, but you are strong now. I’m very proud of you.” They turned to the group of magical portraits. Each portrait grew bigger, and two of them were pulled forward. Eustace and Amethyst Squire. Sakura looked at them and tilted her head. “Eustace and his son?” she sounded unsure. “Yes. Eustace and Amethyst will help you complete your missions. You must find Eustace and get him to join your corporation. He is wise beyond his years, a very strong vampire. He can provide you with knowledge about this world.” Indigo sighed. “What exactly are we meant to do? What are these missions you mentioned?” he asked, skeptical of the whole ordeal. Tshering smiled, then pushed the portraits away and bowed their head to the three Saika siblings. “My dear Children, you have proven yourselves to be strong, truthful, courageous, compassionate, with a strong sense of leadership and a concern for the common good and the community. Those are traits I hoped to find in the Saika from the beginning. Only now have I found a group of Saika who live up to my true standards. Indigo, Sakura, and Rose. You three will carry out my mission and shower this world with justice by changing the destinies of those who do wrong. From this moment forward, the three of you and your future companions will be known as The Mages of Destiny.” Tshering lifted their head as three sparks emerged from the black smoke that made up their temporary form. Each spark changed colors. Red for fire, purple for lightning, and light blue for ice. Each spark evolved into a strand of magic, swirling around each sibling. The red swirled around Rose, exposing her inner strengths: her determination and power. The purple swirled around Indigo, exposing his compassion and courage. Finally, the blue swirled around Sakura, exposing her leadership and honesty. After a few seconds, the strands of magic covered every part of the three siblings like a cocoon. The three cocoons burst open, and the power within the three of them got a major boost. Sparks, icicles, and lightning emerged from each sibling as they tamed the now surging amounts of power they had inside of them. “I have amplified your powers so you can successfully fulfill your tasks. Now, I trust in you to do right in this world. I believe in all of you. Farewell.” Tshering nodded to them before fading into thin air. Irese looked at the three of them and smiled. “Your species is complicated, isn’t it?” he walked over and kissed Sakura’s cheek. “Well, no matter. I am very proud of you three,” he said before hugging them all. After they hugged him back, Rose went over to the group of portraits. “Tshering reordered them. I think this is the order we need to find these people.. I wonder if Dad would want to help find Eustace.” Sakura looked towards Eustace’s profile. “When it comes to Eustace, Dad will do anything. Plus, it will be good for him to have someone to keep him company aside from us.” Indigo nodded. “You’re right. Father can’t keep drawing strength from his children when they’re suffering for the same reason.” His voice was steady, but there was a quiet weight behind his words. “Let’s go to him, get him on board—then we find Eustace.” His eyes remained on Eustace’s profile, absorbing every detail, every expectation tied to the name. But every so often, his gaze flickered, drawn away toward the portrait of Amethyst. A moment of hesitation. A thought left unspoken. Then, Indigo straightened, pushing forward. There was no time to dwell. Not yet. Rose patted his back rather hard and smiled, “Aww ~ are you sure you aren’t just agreeing to this because you want to see Amethyst?~” she teased, knowing Indigo had a love-hate relationship with Eustace’s son. Indigo’s face reddened, and he rubbed his neck. “That is not true! I have no interest in Amethyst. I just want to help find Eustace, that is all.” Sakura smiled and pulled Rose away. “Leave Indigo alone. He’s always had a weird relationship with Amethyst. They do practically hate each other.” She said before nudging Rose. Rose nodded before pulling away. “I know, I know. I was just teasing. It was payback for him teasing me about Oscar all the time.” Indigo smirked and rolled his eyes. “Oh yes. How could I forget that you do not pine for Oscar?” Rose’s face reddened, and she ignored the comment, “Let’s just go get Dad already.” Indigo and Sakura both nodded. “Alright, let's get the supplies we may need, then we will leave in five minutes.” Rose nodded, “Alright.” They all split up to get ready. In Rose’s lab, Oscar was organizing supplies for her. He was making up for the explosion he caused. “You don’t have to do that.” The sound of her ethereal voice caught his attention. With a quick turn of his heel, he faced her. “I know. But I want to make up for my mess earlier.” A small sigh escaped the redhead’s lips. “You are too sweet, I appreciate it,” she smiled softly and started putting things in her bag. “Rosie, how long will you be gone? Are you gonna leave me alone for a long time?” A muscular hand rested on Rose’s shoulder. A small smile spread across her lips. She turned around and hugged him. “Don’t worry. We just have to go get my dad and find his friend. If you want, you could come with us.” Almost like a puppy, Oscar jumped up and smiled brightly, “Really!? I’ll get my stuff!” He turned and ran off to get his things. Sakura leaned against the chair Rose was sitting in. “You two would be adorable together.” “Sakura, he’s my best friend.” She clasped her hands together and started messing with her nails. “Uh-huh-” Sakura removed her hand from Rose’s shoulder and walked over to Irese. Rose sighed and shook her head, “Mind your own business.” “I’m all ready!” The energetic exclamation came from Oscar as he re-entered the room. "Alright. We're ready. Let’s move." As the group crossed the threshold of their base, the gravity of their purpose settled over them. The road ahead was uncertain, but uncertainty was no excuse for hesitation. They carried more than magic or skill. They bore responsibility. Resolve. The quiet understanding that failure was not an option. Forged by struggle, united by intent, they crossed into the unknown. Not wanderers—architects of what lay ahead.