Abad stood tall among the three of them. He exhaled sharply, his eyes narrowed as he weighed his options.
“Fae Star Guild? You have quite the reputation for uprisings. The Lord of the Eternal Flame Court practically wants you all dead for treason.”
Zorn’s eyes widened.
Treason?
“Who is the leader of this guild?” Abad asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Before Zorn could stammer out an uncertain answer, he saw Khor and Donal raising their hands in perfect sync on either side of him.
Abad raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.
Zorn suddenly remembered the words he’d been told earlier: [“You are your own leader.”]
Steeling his nerves, he raised his hand along with the other two.
“So, it's the three of you?” Abad asked.
“And the rest of our members,” Donal added, winking as he tilted his head with a casual shrug. “Who knows? Your closest friend or family might just be one of us.”
Abad sighed, staring long and hard at them. Finally, his shoulders slumped.
“They took my son to kill him. Those brave enough to challenge the E.F.C. are no enemy of mine. I hate to pile more work onto your plate, but please. Help me rescue my son and recover the stolen Lunar Relic,” he asked, his voice heavy with resignation.
At the mention of a relic, Zorn’s pulse quickened.
He leaned toward Donal, shielding his mouth with his hand.
“Psst. Don’t you have that thing?” he whispered.
Donal closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, a strained smile crossing his face.
Ah. I messed up, Zorn realized instantly.
“It would have been funny to use it against Brennan,” Donal muttered.
“I’m sorry?” Abad asked, confused.
Donal reached into his pocket and slipped out the Lunar Relic. Its divine light pulsed with grace, reflecting in his emerald eyes.
Abad gasped.
“How is that in your hands, Mage?”
Abad froze as he noticed the mercury glyph, a shimmering pattern of sparkles dancing within the stone.
He was telling the truth.
He really is the Planetary Lord of Mercury, Abad realized, his mind racing to keep up.
“Forgive me. I wasn’t planning on hiding it from you,” Donal explained. “I was simply keeping it close to mask its energy while Brennan chases the decoy I created. The decoy is supposed to distract him for now and keep him away from civilization to prevent any further destruction while I track another group through it.”
"Don't worry, I'll keep its energy hidden for now. Thank you for the extra precaution," Abad replied.
“A Red Convert took the Relic,” Khor added. “Donal just happened to be successful in taking it back from her.”
“Her theft resulted in the death of my Relic Knight,” Abad said, his expression darkening with displeasure.
Khor sighed and looked away, remaining silent.
“Wait, why is it showing a Mercury sign?! It’s a Lunar Relic!” Zorn shouted, throwing his arms out in confusion.
Abad stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the gem.
“The Lunar Relic reveals the soul of anyone it touches. It is the reason stars can incarnate into physical life. That is, if the wish made on them is worthy enough.”
Zorn gasped in awe.
"So that's how I got my glyph! The Relic heard my wish?!"
It finally made sense why Donal had hidden the stone from Sabrina. It was part of the forbidden wishing knowledge Lira was sharing with him back in the Sixth Realm.
He looked down at his own hands, then at Khor, who stood with his arms folded.
Finally, he looked at Donal, who was wearing a knowing smirk.
“Wanna see?” Donal asked, holding out the Relic.
Zorn nodded, his hands shaking as he reached for it.
Abad folded his massive arms over his chest, watching intently.
The moment Zorn’s fingers brushed the Relic, the sparkles shifted.
They swirled and locked into the shape of the Scorpius constellation.
Zorn’s face lit up with a pure, childish wonder.
“SO COOL!”
Abad’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“What star are you?!”
“Huh? Oh, I was told that I’m Antares, but you can call me...”
“Zorn,” Abad interrupted, his voice hushed.
Zorn flinched, shocked that the king suddenly knew his name.
“The Archdemon of Wrath,” Abad continued. “The one prophesied to descend and wipe the worldly body of Heaven clean if they ever betrayed their Above half.”
I'm prophesied?!
“Destroy Heaven? Above half?” Zorn questioned, his head spinning.
Abad tilted his head in wonder.
“You do not know your own purpose? Mage Gradivus sent you and his other boss stars to enforce the law of ‘As Above, So Below.’”
Zorn went still.
His mind flashed back to the walk on the beach with Sabrina.
He remembered her mentioning a war like Lira did, and how that very law governed the world.
“Who is the 'Below' half of Heaven?” Zorn asked hesitantly.
Abad’s expression turned grim.
“The Eternal Flame Court.”
Silence hung in the air for a long moment.
“Those assholes are heaven?”
“The worldly branch, yes. There are six different realms the E.F.C. rules: The First Realm all the way through the Sixth Realm. However, they have become utterly corrupt.”
Zorn's eyes widened at the Sixth.
Wait, my realm is part of the E.F.C.?!
He shook his head to focus.
He needs more answers.
He tried to play it off cool, as if he wasn't hit with a heavy revelation.
“I can only imagine what the 'Above' half looks like then,” Zorn muttered, handing the Relic back to Abad.
“The other six realms of Heaven, the upper half, Seventh Realm through Twelfth Realm, are governed by a celestial branch known as Skyborne Dominion. Together, these two branches of the same wheel were supposed to uphold a universal "As Above, So Below" Law. However, the Below has gone rogue and stopped reflecting the law's light.”
Zorn's brows narrowed slightly.
“So you’re telling me the Above and Below halves of Heaven are at war? Is Heaven fighting itself? What?” Zorn scratched his head, looking completely lost.
“Unfortunately, yes. Heaven, also called Caelestis, is in a long, torturous civil war with itself. Your Planetary Lord is sided with Skyborne Dominion and has sent you down on their behalf. Listen, I know this does not make sense to you now, but all will be clear in due time,” Abad replied, looking suddenly exhausted.
Zorn wasn't ready to move on.
He shook his head.
“Then what's higher than Caelestis?! I wanna complain! I didn't get to choose a side! The decision was forced on me! I know nothing about Caelestis! How do you fight in a war you know nothing about?!
Abad let out a heavy sigh.
“The Axis Crown. It lies dead in the center of the sky between Caelestis's twelve-spoked wheel of realms. That is where this Lunar Relic came from. You wouldn't have much luck complaining to them. They are nearly impossible to contact unless you meet someone who directly works under them."
Zorn paused for a moment.
Great, I'm screwed.
He looked at his hands, trembling slightly.
All I did was make a wish. Lira, what side are you on?!
Donal stepped forward, breaking the tension.
“Well! Now that we’ve had our boring lesson on the 'As Above, So Below, Left, Right, whatever' law...” He waved his hand dismissively. “The first half of your request is done. You have your Relic. However,” he pressed a finger to his lips, “keep its energy hidden. We’re still distracting Brennan with the fake one.”
Abad raised an eyebrow.
“You are playing the moon god for a fool?”
“Yeah,” Donal said confidently, hands on his hips.
Abad shook his head, looking at the small man with wide, shocked eyes.
Donal's audacious response eased Zorn up a little and made him chuckle.
“As for the next mission... your son!” Donal finished, giving a cheery thumbs-up.
Zorn looked over his shoulder at Khor with a deadpan expression.
Khor just shrugged.
“Is Donal seriously Below Heaven’s conduit, too?” Zorn asked.
“No,” Khor replied.
Zorn let out a long sigh of relief.
“Now that I know Don's status as Magician, that means he commands the stars in both the Gemini and Virgo constellations,” Khor added. “Which means he was the ruler of the First Realm, The Helm, of the E.F.C. before it was unfortunately taken over by corruption.”
Zorn’s face went blank.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
He slowly turned his head toward Donal.
“...Of course you were.”
Donal beamed.
“Thank you!”
Zorn turned around and started walking away.
“I need a drink.”
Khor followed close behind.
“You don’t drink.”
“I’ll learn.”
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