New Age 1387
“Without Sacrifice, Growth cannot exist.”

The Grand Cathedral of Aethra stood at the center of Caelrith like the physical embodiment of belief made stone. White marble rose in towering symmetry, so precise it felt less built and more declared into existence. Relief carvings wrapped every surface—life blooming from void, forests unfolding from nothing, civilizations rising under unseen divine pressure.Gold inlays traced every arch and column, catching daylight and scattering it across the city below in fractured warmth. Caelrith itself stretched outward beneath it, orderly at a glance—markets, districts, roads—but even that order felt like it depended entirely on the cathedral staying upright. Because here was where Aethra was believed to descend.

And today, the belief was failing.

The alarm rang once.

Then again.

The second tone did not belong to any normal ritual.

Every priest in the hall stopped mid-motion. Hands froze mid-prayer. Lips parted without sound. Even incense smoke seemed to hesitate midair, curling unnaturally as if unsure whether it was allowed to continue rising.

A third tone hit.

Now it was unmistakable: not a ceremony bell. Not a war signal.

Something else.

Inside the cathedral corridors, movement began.

Three figures cut through the lower sanctum routes at unnatural speed.

Seraphina kept her focus forward, arms tight around the infant she carried. Kael ran slightly behind, steadying himself against pillars when needed, breath already uneven. Lilith led them without hesitation, scanning intersections like she expected the building to rewrite itself in real time.

Kael broke the silence first, voice low and tight. “That second alarm… that wasn’t normal protocol.”

Seraphina didn’t look back. “Nothing about this feels like protocol.”

Lilith’s voice cut in immediately. “Stop talking. Move.”

Their boots echoed through marble halls already filling with panic. Priests were running in opposite directions. Guards shouted conflicting orders. A man dropped to his knees mid-corridor, praying loudly enough to be swallowed by chaos.

A statue of Aethra along the passageway cracked slightly down its face.

Not from impact.

From pressure.

Kael noticed it. “Uh—did that statue just—”

“Don’t look at it,” Lilith snapped. “Eyes forward.”

Seraphina adjusted her grip on the child without slowing. The baby shifted once but remained quiet.

Then the air changed.

Not temperature.

Not sound.

Presence.

A collective awareness that something had already arrived.

Lilith slowed half a step.

“…We’re not alone,” she said.

Kael swallowed. “That’s comforting.”

Seraphina whispered, “That’s never comforting.”

They entered the cathedral’s main artery hall.

And the crowd hit them.

Mass movement. Panic without direction. People pushing past each other, tripping, praying, screaming. Guards tried to form lines that collapsed immediately under pressure.

A priest fell to his knees and began praying louder as if volume could fix reality.

Kael stared. “This is evacuation?”

Lilith didn’t answer.

Because the Knights arrived.

They didn’t enter.

They appeared.

Between pillars.

Along balconies.

Blocking exits that hadn’t been blocked a second ago.

Perfect formation. Absolute silence. Bowstrings already drawn.

Every helmet faced the trio at once.

Seraphina stiffened. “That’s… coordinated.”

Kael muttered, “That’s terrifying.”

The captain’s voice came calmly from the far side of the hall.

“Surrender the child.”

No name.

No explanation.

Just command.

Silence dropped hard enough to feel physical.

Lilith exhaled once. “So that’s what this is.”

Kael snapped, “We don’t even know what ‘this’ is!”

The captain raised his hand slightly.

Every bow tightened in sync.

“Final warning.”

Lilith moved.

“DOWN!”

Light erupted.

The arrows did not fire forward.

They existed forward.

Stone detonated as beams tore through columns and floor paths, carving glowing fractures into the cathedral interior. Kael was thrown into a pillar hard enough to crack it.

“FUCK—!” he shouted, ripping an arrow fragment from his shoulder. “That burns!”

Seraphina dropped low, shielding the infant instinctively as debris exploded overhead. “Kael!”

“I’M FINE—THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT FINE!”

Lilith pivoted through incoming fire, grabbing a slab of shattered marble and hurling it forward. It disintegrated midair before impact.

“They’re syncing fire patterns!” she shouted. “Don’t stand still!”

“How are we supposed to—” Seraphina began.

Another volley struck.

The floor ruptured again.

Then—

A deeper sound swallowed everything.

BOOM—

The rear cathedral wall exploded outward, ripping sunlight into the interior. Dust and stone surged through the opening like a reverse tide.

All three were thrown out into the city streets.

Outside, Caelrith was already collapsing into motion.

Market stalls overturned. People running in chaotic arcs. Guards shouting orders no one followed. Banners snapping violently in shifting wind.

Kael coughed as he pushed himself up. “Okay… outside is worse.”

Seraphina looked around. “Outside is always worse.”

Lilith’s eyes stayed on the cathedral breach. “No. Inside was containment. This is exposure.”

Kael frowned. “Exposure to what?”

Lilith didn’t answer.

Because something hit the ground in front of them.

Hard enough to erase stone.

CRACK—

The street split outward in a perfect radial fracture. Dust rose instantly.

All three were thrown backward again.

A voice cut through the dust.

Cold.

Controlled.

Unbothered.

“Idiots.”

The dust parted.

Celeste stood there.

Wings settling slowly. Horns catching fractured light. Hair drifting slightly as if the air around her refused to stabilize properly.

Her gaze was not on them.eo

It was on the Knights behind them.

“You could’ve killed her.”

Every Knight dropped instantly to one knee.

“We apologize, my lord.”

Kael blinked. “…my lord?”

Seraphina whispered, “That’s not a knight rank…”

Lilith didn’t move.

Celeste vanished.

No motion blur.

No transition.

Just absence.

Then she reappeared midair.

Elysia was falling.

Celeste caught her instantly.

No strain. No impact. No reaction.

Like she had simply corrected reality’s mistake.

She landed softly, holding the child.

Lilith stood immediately. “That child is not yours.”

Celeste tilted her head slightly. “Incorrect.”

Kael groaned from the ground. “I hate all of this.”

Seraphina tightened her grip on nothing, instinct still clinging to what she had been holding moments ago.

Celeste looked down at Elysia.

“…interesting.”

Elysia blinked.

Then reached up.

Touched her face.

The world stopped.

Celeste froze.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

The tiny hand resting against her cheek should have meant nothing. Mortals touched her constantly—priests kneeling at her feet, knights swearing loyalty, desperate civilians begging for blessings. Touch was meaningless.

But this felt—

Warm.

Real.

Elysia giggled softly.

The sound barely rose above the chaos around them, yet somehow it cut through everything else entirely.

The screaming crowds.
The collapsing streets.
The Knights tightening formation.

All of it dulled beneath that tiny laugh.

Celeste stared at the child in silence.

Then something moved behind her eyes.

A flicker.

A memory trying to surface.

Silver hair beneath moonlight.

A voice laughing softly.

Hands reaching toward her.

“She looks so much like—”

Pain exploded through her skull.

Celeste staggered half a step.

The memory shattered instantly.

No.

A voice echoed inside her mind.

Do not remember.

Her fingers tightened slightly around Elysia.

Another pulse hit.

Sharper this time.

Like chains tightening around thought itself.

Kael noticed immediately. “Uh… is she okay?”

Lilith narrowed her eyes. “No.”

Seraphina slowly rose to her feet, breathing unevenly. “She looks as if she’s hurting…”

Celeste lowered her gaze toward the blanket wrapped around Elysia. Her eyes landed on the stitched lettering near the edge.

Elysia M.

“M…” she murmured quietly.

Another flicker.

Black hair.

A woman smiling.

Blood on white stone.

Again—

Pain.

Celeste’s wings twitched violently.

STOP.

The voice this time was louder.

Older.

Not her own.

Her breathing hitched once.

Then she forcibly straightened herself.

Calm returned to her face so quickly it was terrifying.

She looked toward the trio instead.

“What exactly,” she asked softly, “is a vampire, an elf, and a human doing together?”

Silence.

Even the nearby Knights seemed unsure whether they were allowed to speak.

Kael slowly raised a finger. “Technically I think this is less ‘together’ and more ‘unfortunate circumstances.’”

Lilith shot him a glare.

“What?!” he snapped. “You dragged us into this!”

Seraphina rubbed her temple. “Can we survive first before assigning blame?”

Celeste watched them with open curiosity now.

Not hostility.

Observation.

Like she was trying to understand why they existed.

“You fear me,” she said.

Kael answered instantly. “Yes.”

Lilith answered at the exact same time.

“No.”

Celeste blinked once.

Then looked directly at Lilith.

“That was stupid.”

Kael pointed aggressively. “THANK YOU.”

Despite herself, Seraphina almost laughed.

Almost.

Then the Knights moved again.

The captain stepped forward carefully, helmet lowered respectfully. “My lord, the child must be secured immediately.”

Celeste didn’t look at him.

“She is secured.”

“My lord—”

“I said,” Celeste replied calmly, “she is secured.”

The captain immediately bowed deeper. “...Understood.”

Kael leaned toward Seraphina slightly. “That man is one wrong sentence away from death.”

“He knows.”

Celeste looked down at Elysia again.

The child was still staring directly at her.

Unafraid.

That alone felt unnatural.

Most mortals struggled to maintain eye contact with Celeste for longer than a few seconds. Some collapsed from pressure alone.

But this child only blinked curiously.

Then smiled.

Something unfamiliar twisted in Celeste’s chest.

“…ridiculous,” she muttered.

Seraphina stared carefully. “She likes you.”

Celeste immediately looked away. “Impossible.”

Elysia giggled louder.

Kael slowly blinked. “I think the baby disagrees.”

Lilith stepped forward carefully. “Give her back.”

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

Flat.

Certain.

Lilith’s eyes sharpened. “You don’t even know what she is.”

Celeste finally looked back at her.

“…Neither do you.”

The street fell silent again.

Wind swept dust between shattered stone.

Farther away, civilians were still running through Caelrith in panic, yet this section of the city felt isolated now—as if reality itself had drawn a boundary around them.

Then Celeste’s eyes changed.

The color vanished first.

Then the depth followed.

Galaxies spiraled into existence within her gaze.

Endless motion.
Infinite observation.
Stars collapsing and reforming inside her pupils.

The Eyes of Eirlys.

Seraphina stopped breathing for a moment.

“…beautiful…”

Kael turned toward her. “Beautiful?! Those are terrifying!”

“No…” Seraphina whispered. “They’re… sad.”

Celeste’s expression faltered slightly.

She looked at Seraphina.

“What did you say?”

Seraphina swallowed hard but didn’t back away. “Your eyes.”

A pause.

“They look lonely.”

Something inside Celeste visibly reacted to that sentence.

Tiny.

Brief.

But real.

The captain noticed immediately and stepped forward again.

“My lord, permission to eliminate the escorts.”

Celeste didn’t answer.

Because she was staring directly into Elysia now.

The Eyes of Eirlys activated fully.

Knowledge flooded outward invisibly.

Kael suddenly felt nauseous.

Seraphina grabbed her chest.

Lilith’s instincts screamed at her to move.

Celeste searched deeper.

And hit something impossible.

Pain detonated instantly.

“AHH—!”

The street cracked beneath her feet.

Wings flared violently outward.

The Eyes of Eirlys destabilized, galaxies spiraling erratically.

Every Knight immediately lowered themselves further.

“My lord!”

Celeste grabbed her head with one hand, still keeping Elysia perfectly protected with the other.

“What—”

Her voice cracked.

“WHAT ARE YOU?”

The pressure rolling off her became unstable.

Buildings nearby began shaking.

Windows shattered outward.

Kael stumbled backward. “Okay nope—NOPE—something is wrong!”

Seraphina stared in horror. “The Eyes… they rejected her…”

“That’s impossible,” the captain whispered.

Celeste’s breathing became uneven.

“I can’t see you…”

Her voice sounded genuinely afraid now.

“Why can’t I see you?”

Elysia only blinked at her again.

Then laughed.

Softly.

Innocently.

Celeste stared at the child like the sound itself wounded her.

“…Why do you matter?”

Another memory surged.

White flowers.

A hand reaching toward her.

A voice.

“Lucielle…”

Pain hit again.

Harder.

Celeste nearly dropped to one knee.

“No… no…”

DO NOT REMEMBER.

The command slammed through her consciousness.

Her wings twitched violently.

Lilith saw it.

Saw the instability.
Saw the hesitation.

And moved.

A burst of wind magic exploded outward from her bindings.

The nearby Knights were thrown backward instantly.

“MOVE!” Lilith shouted.

Kael grabbed Seraphina immediately. “WAY ahead of you!”

The captain roared, “STOP THEM!”

Knights surged forward—

“Stop shouting, idiot!”

The entire battlefield froze.

Celeste hadn’t even looked at him.

But the pressure behind those words alone cracked the ground beneath the captain’s knees.

He immediately lowered his head. “My apologies, my lord.”

Celeste exhaled slowly.

The pain receded slightly.

Her gaze drifted toward the fleeing trio.

Then back toward Elysia.

The child had grabbed one of her hair strands and was playing with it absentmindedly.

Celeste blinked once.

“…you are very strange.”

Elysia smiled.

Something softened again.

Lilith stopped running.

Kael nearly tripped. “WHY ARE YOU STOPPING?!”

Lilith slowly turned back toward Celeste.

Her hand moved toward Dahu.

Steel slid free.

The air changed instantly.

Even the Knights reacted.

One whispered, “A Yoroshima…”

Another stepped back involuntarily.

Celeste finally looked up.

“…Oh?”

Yamui materialized in her hand almost lazily.

Dark metal.

Silent weight.

The atmosphere around the blade distorted unnaturally.

Kael stared. “…why does her sword look hungry?”

Seraphina’s eyes widened slowly. “Wait… that blade…”

Lilith pointed Dahu directly at Celeste.

“Release her,” she said coldly, “or I’ll cut you down where you stand.”

And for the first time—

Celeste smiled.

Celeste smiled like someone being invited to play.

Not threatened.

Not challenged.

Interested.

“Oh my,” she said softly, tilting Yamui slightly in her grasp. “A grand blade.”

The street reacted to the weapon before anyone else did.

Dust shifted away from it.

Loose stone trembled.

Even the nearby Knights instinctively widened their formation, creating distance without being ordered to.