Episode III — Shadows Lurking in the Darkness

Chapter 4: One Sneaky Toad

Ember eagerly watches her brownies baking in the oven. “Geez, these brownies are taking longer than I expected. I hope Nyx likes them and gives me something cool!” she exclaims with anticipation. Smiling to herself, she takes out her phone and snaps a photo of the brownies through the oven door window, planning to show it off later.

“Ember, can you please come and help with something?” her mother’s voice interrupts the moment.

“Coming!” Ember shouts back as she quickly leaves the kitchen, setting her phone down on the counter and carelessly leaving it behind.

As soon as Ember is out of sight, Dorgia materializes and seizes the opportunity. It was easy to learn Ember’s password after spying on her all morning, so now the toad hacks into her phone. He scrolls through her photos and videos until he finds the ones desired by his master. With a malicious smirk, Dorgia selects all the images and videos Perseus had requested, and texts them to the Archmage.

***

Perseus rushes through the hallways, frantically searching for the Atomic Deva.

“Where the heck is Nyx? She always goes missing whenever I need her most!” he angrily mutters to himself.

Just then, the text message notification on his phone rings, catching his attention. He picks it up and sees messages from ‘Ember.’ A victorious smile spreads across his face, and he locks himself in a room to secure his privacy.

“So, what do we have here?” he comments as he starts saving all the images and videos to his own phone. In one of the images, he sees both of his grandkids and Gebmar trapped inside the pyramid.

“How did those two morons get stuck in there? It was only supposed to be Mike!” Perseus exclaims. He opens each one of the files until a single image makes his eyes narrow.

It’s a video, and in it, Michael looks like he’s in the Ethereal Realm, battling the Self. He’s undergone a startling transformation that captures the Archmage’s attention. Michael’s hair has turned violet, and his skin is tinted bluish-lavender. Most intriguing to Perseus are the mysterious inverted S-shapes hovering above Michael’s head, glowing with an enigmatic energy.

“What the hell is wrong with Mike? Why does he look like that? And that thing on his head—I’ve seen it before. But where?” Perseus mutters to himself, scratching his beard.

The Archmage opens Ember’s text and types, ‘Got everything. Delete this conversation and the visual evidence from her album!’

***

Upon reading his master’s response, Dorgia selects the photos and videos of the Awakening Test in Ember’s phone and deletes them permanently. Just in time, too, as he hears the girl approaching. The toad carefully places the phone where Ember left it, then becomes invisible once more just as Ember rushes into the kitchen.

Archmage Perseus Dryad

Dorgia

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– Alfonso D. Grau ✨

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