Ryu Kanaki stood by the window of his office, looking out over the huge lawn behind the manor to the several gardens beyond. Two of them had been walled off thanks to Cameo Graves, the little faedra girl who specialized in nature magic. The walls she had made were made solely of vines and flowers. The flowers she grew for the center garden were roses with blue and red petals; Toji Flowers, she called them. It only made sense since that garden belonged to Toji and Natsu. 

The other garden, the one with the statue of Hades and surrounded by flowers, had been walled off with a hedge covered in red and green lotuses that she had taken from the pond in the Kasennoah Glade on the old property. The glade itself had been created by Toji and Natsu during the Reconstruction when Kas and Noah Strannick had died in that very place. In the five years since, it had become a place of peace and reflection, where one could find seclusion and comfort. 

The tree where they had died had become overgrown by the most beautiful flowers and vines, the tree itself always a verdant and healthy green that never succumbed to the elements. In fact, one winter when Arla had gone to be alone for a little while, she found that the entire glade had been untouched, warm and inviting.

“Just like them,” she had said with a small smile.

You’d like what we’ve done with the place, Ryu thought to himself now as he watched staff and visitors milling about in the warm spring air. Peter and Amber Collins were running around with a young boy, playing tag with Sam, Ryu and Kyoko’s youngest son. He could imagine Natsu and Toji sitting on the porch now watching the scene.

But you’re not here, are you? You’re never coming back… His smile disappeared, replaced with a despondent frown. Turning from the window, he glanced at his phone, the unknown number displaying the most recent text he had received.

The most recent being over a year ago.

Kimi de yokatsu ta. 

That’s all Natsu said. In four words, he had conveyed his gratitude for Ryu taking over the management of Helman Hall, along with Victor, the dark elf head butler, and Gabriella Luna, the head housekeeper. Following Toji and Natsu’s departure, Hero and Hawk had spent weeks back and forth between the Realms, leaving the management of the estate in question. Ryu stepped up, easing a lot of the stress from Elaine and Jordan Franks’ shoulders, the ones who usually saw to things when the Helman’s were absent.

However, after Kas’ death, they were simply too unfocused. When Ryu offered to take over, they gladly accepted, leaving shortly after that. Ryu wasn’t sure how his brother knew about the state of things but it didn’t matter. Natsu knew everything was in good hands.

There was a small knock at the door and Ryu sighed, pocketing his phone. “Yes, come in,” he said.

The door opened, Victor appearing to announce in his usually stoic manner, “Master Ryu, you have visitors. Prince Julian Frae, and Mister Felix. They said you were expecting them.”

Ryu brightened. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Victor.”

Victor opened the door wider, stepping aside to admit the two young men. He bowed once then left, closing the door softly behind him. Felix looked around, looking every bit as uncomfortable and out of place as anyone not of this world could be. Ryu knew he was a demon, and a former assassin at that, but he was just as respectful with him as he was with anyone else. Especially as Felix was an unusual demon who had a hard time relating to, if not trusting, other people.

They walked across the large room, shaking Ryu’s hand. 

“Thanks for seeing us,” Julian said. “I know you’re busy these days.”

Ryu shrugged. “It’s nothing I can’t take a break from,” he said, motioning to the two chairs before the large desk. They all sat and the man smiled. “I thought Victor knew not to call you ‘Prince’ anymore?”

Julian gave a bemused grin. “Old habits die hard for someone like him. I gave up trying to break it a long time ago.”

“Fair enough,” Ryu chuckled. His dark eyes shifted to Felix who slouched with his elbows on the armrests, his fingers folded under his chin. “She’s not here, by the way.”

Felix’s leg stopped bouncing and he sat up straighter. “Whomever do you mean, sir?” he asked slowly.

Ryu gave a knowing smile. “She’s on a special assignment and won’t be back for at least a week.”

“Did she know we were coming before she left?” Julian asked. He raised an eyebrow. 

“No, she left just before you called. It’s for the best, anyway, given the amount of tension that’s been growing around here.”

“From the selection, I take it?”

Ryu sat back, nodding. “Among other things, yes, but that seems to be the major factor right now. I’m sure once Hero takes the Throne, everything will settle down.”

Julian gave him a small smile. “So, you are backing him after all.”

“I never said I wasn’t,” Ryu said with a grin. “He is my boss and my loyalty is to him first.”

“Him having a legitimate claim and being a good dude has nothing to do with it?” Felix asked, his green eyes dancing with mirth.

Ryu laughed. “It certainly helps. He’s been good to me, to us. If he hadn’t agreed to my taking over, we would have been back in Japan years ago.”

Julian sat back, the smile gone. “Japan sank.”

Ryu’s gaze fell to his lap, clasping his hands together. “Yeah, I know,” he said quietly. “I’m sure Natsu didn't mean for that to happen. It wasn’t his fault…” his voice trailed off. After a moment, he added, “Whatever they did, it caused a lot of violent natural disasters, including tsunami’s, continent shifts, earthquakes, all of it. Japan wasn’t the only country to disappear.”

Felix nodded. “Korea, New Zealand, twenty-eight percent of Australia, Hawaii, just to name a few. All of them are under water.”

“Then there’s the weather changes,” Julian said. “Torrential rains that can last for days, flooding, more intense storms, blizzards that have buried towns.” He shook his head. “I only met Toji once, and I never met Natsu, but I don’t think they intended to cause so much more devastation.”

“What about your world?” Ryu asked, furrowing his brow. “I’ve heard rumors of a bleedover? Something to that effect.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the Divine Realms are still merging,” he said, annoyance coloring his words. “Five years and it hasn’t stopped or even slowed. It’s gotten to where there’s no point in naming separate Realms like we did in the past. Those in Gods Hall have been trying to figure out a way to make it all make sense but it’s not going so well.”

“Hero has an idea that might work,” Julian said, folding his arms over his chest. “It’s just getting the rest to agree that’s the catch.”

“Has he brought it up?” Ryu asked.

“Once or twice,” Julian nodded. “Everyone is still so set in the way things were that it’s not easy to get them to listen. Angels and demons coexisting on the same plane of existence at the same time without a middle ground is something they can’t get around.”

“You’re also talking about sixteen Kings and archangel governors not willing to give up their seats,” Felix added.

“Why would that be an issue?” Ryu asked, his gaze moving between the two Divine who sighed at the question.

“There were sixteen separate Realms before the Reconstruction done by the Devil Gods,” Julian said. “Nine in Heaven, Seven in Hell. Now, there’s eight, with a ninth being formed as we speak.”

Ryu stared unblinking. “You mean they’re combining into even larger Realms.”

“Exactly,” the two said.

“Not only is this selection primarily about who the next High Divine will be,” Felix said, “but also who will rule the new Realms of the Underworld.”

“Heaven and Hell are both infinite universes in their own right,” Julian said. “The way the Universal Core is moving, they’re running together, becoming one large ring in the center of the Core.” He held up a palm, a soft light emanating from the center. 

Ryu’s eyes went wide as the light took shape, a solid ring with three spinning rings rotating steadily in concert with one another as they twirled on separate axes within it. He sat forward, watching with great interest as two of the internal rings began to move toward each other, before they overlapped completely, leaving there to be two spinning rings, one vertical, the other horizontal. He pointed at the image and shifted his gaze to Julian’s face.

“That’s the Universal Core Natsu and Toji made?”

Julian just nodded.

Felix moved his index finger, pointing out what they were all seeing. “What you saw first was how they left it. Over the last few years, the Divine Realms have come together, forming one ring. The one that’s horizontal is your Realm, the Mortal Realm. What surrounds us all is the Veil.”

Ryu sat back, running a hand through his hair, the other tapping on the desktop, his eyes wide. “That’s what Hero’s looking to rule over?”

They both nodded. 

“Obviously, he can’t do it alone,” Julian said, dropping his hand. The image faded into soft flakes of sparkling iridescence before disappearing altogether. “He’s going to need eight new Kings to help with the Underworld. The Veil is already taken care of by my family, and the Mortal Realm is watched over by everyone.”

“We just need to get him on that Throne first and then everything else will come after,” Felix added.

Ryu nodded. “That should be fairly simple to do. From what I hear, he’s one of the more popular candidates.”

“He also has a legitimate claim,” Julian said. He sat forward, fingers folded loosely between his knees. “That’s why we’re here, Ryu. We came to get the proof he needs to validate that claim.”

“You think it’s here?”

“It was.” He pointed to a spot on the desk. “It sat right there for a long time practically unnoticed.”

Ryu stared at the indicated spot, his frown deepening as he tried to recall what Julian was referring to. A lot of items that had covered this desk had been removed and replaced by various people, Hawk and Hero included. Trying to pinpoint one in particular was tricky at best. He shook his head.

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” he said apologetically. 

“It’s a box,” Julian said. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a folded up glossy picture and handed it to him. “It’s about the size of a large jewelry box with an ornate lid. It’s covered in symbols and images you might not be familiar with.”

Recognition flooded Ryu’s face as he looked at the image. He did recall this box, and what was written on it. He’d been studying it the first day he’d come to Helman Hall to meet with Natsu. His brother hadn’t been too thrilled to see him pawing at his father-in-law’s possessions, but he was far more understanding when Ryu told him what was written on it.

“Hoshi no gengo,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Felix sat forward. “You know that language?” He didn’t bother to hide his surprise.

“What’s—” Julian asked.

“Language of the stars,” the other two said in unison. 

“You know it as Stjernesang,” Felix said, turning to his leader. 

“Ah,” Julian said with a nod of understanding. He pointed at the image. “Hero’s father was only ever able to translate one of the symbols and even that took months of tireless research to figure it out. This is a language that shouldn’t be known by anyone, so I’m surprised you do.”

Ryu chuckled. “It’s not all that surprising,” he said, examining the photo. “There might not be a lot written down from that time, but what is has made its way into a lot of myths and legends throughout the world, including Japanese. I took an interest in dead languages and lost cultures when I was a kid, and this was one I thought was the most interesting of them all, precisely because it was virtually unknown.”

“How were you able to read it, though?” Felix asked. “It’s not as though a translation key was provided.”

“How was the Rosetta Stone cracked?” Ryu asked with a knowing smile.

Felix looked to Julian who shrugged. “He has a point,” the other said. The demon rolled his unusual eyes.

“So you just sort of…guessed.”

Ryu laughed loudly. “No, not at all,” he said. “Years of research and study gave us a moderate understanding of what we were reading. The translations we have might not be a hundred percent accurate, especially when it jumps from one language to another, but we do have the gist of it.”

Julian nodded at the photo. “You know what it says?”

“Most of it, yeah,” Ryu said.

“It better not be a riddle,” Felix muttered under his breath. “I fucking hate riddles.”

Ryu chuckled. “It’s not, I assure you. It’s more of a request if anything.”