SLAP! It left a sting on her cheek. She was silenced, instantly.

"That"s what you get from watching those stupid shows on TV!" And then, she"s by herself. Again and again and again. Ever since she can remember, things has always been like this. Why does it feel like she"s a stranger in this world? She always felt so different.

Explaining, being honest, and reaching out to people. These never worked. So why bother? The things that she can see, as long as others can"t, they will never be "real." Her tears dried up, so as her words.

Van could clearly remember the day she"s standing in a room, with a sharp knife in front of her. "I wonder…" She whispered, with a voice devoid of emotions. "What is it like to cross the world? Maybe, there"s a world somewhere out there who can see the same things as I do." The tip of the knife pierced her finger, a blood droplet formed. Staring at it intensely, she wondered and wondered.

Then, the crystal she picked up when she was just a small child, grew scorching hot. She had to pull it out of her pocket. It was covered in a strange white gas. That white gas, only she can see. She had always wanted to throw it far away, but she couldn"t.

Then, for the first time, she saw an image above that crystal, formed by the "smoke". As if a memory she never knew, it showed her a lush garden, with giant flowers and strange creatures she has never seen before. She saw something like a fluffy rabbit with wings hovering like a b.u.t.terfly above the flowers. And then, she saw a young man with long silky silver hair and emerald green eyes. He"s wearing what looked to her like a soldier"s uniform. He had a light breastplate and shoulder pads. He looked at her, and smiled so enchantingly. It captivated her heart in an instant. The tears that have dried up, started falling again. She smiled.

Van"s eyes are tightly shut. She laid down the ground, defenseless. Then, something walked to her and lifted her up. It carried her far deeper into the dark tunnel carefully, gently, not to wake the sleeping girl.

~ o 0 o ~

Aya used both of her silk whips to restrain a number of dark tentacles while Scarlet fired six arrows each on her both hands. It paved a way for them to advance. Freyja used her aura blade and started slashing the left over tentacles as she ran through the opening Scar and Aya created. The two of them followed her as fast as they could.

"I guess we have to fight it out after all!" Scarlet shouted, running with all of her might.

"Yeah! We can"t run forever! These things are endless!" Aya added, feeling her legs start to hurt.

"Frey, can you sense the source of this?"

"I think so. Follow me!"

While running, Freyja recalled the vision she just saw. She"s not sure whose memory it was, but she had to gamble and trust on it: Creatures called Phreins can also traverse worlds. They"re fierce and extremely adept at using their Aura. The vision also showed Phreins being master concealers of aura, which is bad news for them. However, the vision also talked about how Phrein aura has a strange trait: Once their aura core is in contact with Celestials, beings with pure white aura, it fluctuates violently. This allows Celestials to locate them far easier than anyone could. "My aura is white. Am I a Celestial? Is that where I came from? Do these memories belong to me? Are they the memories I forgot?" Freyja thought, looking at her white aura. "Who knows. But if ever that I am a Celestial, and that this thing is a Phrein, then there"s this possibility that I can detect it." She clenched her fists and trusted her instincts. Then, something came to her.

"What"s wrong? Why did you stop?" Aya and Scarlet almost tripped when Freyja suddenly stopped running and blocked them off. "Van! There"s something else with the same white aura aside from me. Van"s crystal has pure white aura too!"

With a smirk she continued running forward. "I"m sure of it. We can find Van." Freyja bit her lip, forcing her aching feet to go on. Trusting this feeling, she rushed straight to where her instincts led her, deeper and deeper and way deeper into the tunnel.

She was right. Freyja stopped, so did Aya and Scar. And there, she found a giant blob spurting hundreds of dark tentacles. Right in the middle of the blob, she can see Van sleeping in a fetal position. Freyja"s vision grew red. "VAN!" She rushed to her first thing, her white aura blade ready to slice the blob open. However, before she could come close, a man with dark skin and silver hair, about 6 foot tall, with pointy ears, appeared in between them. He parried Freyja"s attack, but Freyja manage to block his counter. Freyja jumped back.

"What on earth is that!?" Scarlet tried to fire an arrow at him, but he quickly evaded it. Aya too, attacked, but was deflected. Freyja glared at him fiercely. "You are a Phrein. You"re not supposed to be in this world!"

"Why don"t you try asking yourself the same thing?"

���Listen guys, this thing is a Phrein. Be careful! It"s not human." Scar and Aya were taken aback with Freyja"s warning. Freyja herself, was shaking. But looking at Van behind him, she grit her teeth. And attacked him again.

But the Phrein was too fast, and skilled with a kind of swordsmanship she"s never seen before. Freyja was on the losing side. She left an opening and was. .h.i.t by the Phrein"s attack. Though she blocked his strike, it is only enough to prevent fatal damages. Freyja was sent flying against a wall.

"Freyja!" Good thing, Aya"s silk whips caught her just in time, cushioning her back. Freyja still had a few bruises, but can still fight.

"Where are your guardians?" The Phrein looked around, looking surprised. It appeared to them that the Phrein was expecting something else. "You did take a human vessel, did you? But you look celestial to me through and through. Did you get your vessel killed?" His words surprised Freyja. "I look… celestial? Human vessel?" She repeated, unsure if she heard him right. Freyja had so much to ask this creature. But shoving the curiosity aside, she reminded herself that the priority at the moment is to save Van. She stood up again and called for more aura to reinforce her blade.

When Scarlet attacked with a rain of arrows, burning some of the tentacles, Aya at the same time launched both her silk whips. When the Phrein deflected their attacks, Freyja charged at him, not giving him time to parry. He was lucky enough, he managed to evade her strike. But it was Freyja"s plan all along. The moment he jumped away From Freyja, she quickly headed to Van. She will slice the blob off and pull her out!

Unfortunately, before she could do so, the Phrein shouted "If you want her to die, do it!" Freyja stopped. It"s true, she can see Van"s aura around the blob, and in her body, basically nothing. Her hesitation was her biggest opening. The Phrein launched another attack, sending Freyja flying against the tunnel"s wall. This time, Aya couldn"t catch her. Feeling a broken rib. She can"t move.

"Your friend is sleeping peacefully. Be merciful and don"t wake her." The Phrein attacked Scarlet and Aya next. All they could do was block and cushion their hit, so as not to end up like Freyja. They can"t land a single hit all.

Still on the ground, Freyja glared at the Phrein and demanded for answers. "You"re after me, aren"t you? Let them go!"

"You"re the one who awakened me in the first place!" The creature shouted, "I was sent to pursue you but I was sealed by your guardian. And now, after long centuries of slumber something dispelled my seal." The creature then looked at her from head to toe, wondering. "But I"m surprised that you"re a full Celestial. I"m pretty sure you took a human vessel. Then that must mean that you"ve found a way back to Celestia!?"

Freyja could tell that he"s genuinely curious. "Freyja Lenfiare, I need to know something… How do I go back to our world? If you tell me, I"ll spare your friends. Otherwise…"

Things are turning out worse for Freyja. She wants to know what the creature was talking about. But she can"t tell him she doesn"t have her end of the bargain. Freyja smirked. "I see, you"re still incomplete then. Too bad, you can"t go home." She looked confident and so sure of herself, the Phrein was visibly startled with her words, and started hitting her in panic. "Shut up and talk, Celestial!"

"Wake the h.e.l.l up, dumba.s.s!" Freyja shouted, looking at the sleeping Van, ignoring the Phrein hitting her left and right. "Van!"

Van is surrounded by gigantic flowers in full bloom, with rabbit like creatures with wings, hovering above them. Behind her is the man with long silver hair and emerald eyes. He smiled sweetly at her. "It"s so nice here." Van said, smiling ear to ear. The silver haired man held her shoulders from behind. "Then stay here with me, forever."

Kirin"s touch is so comforting, it"s making her sleepy. She leaned on him, eyes closed. Just then, she heard a faint voice. Someone is shouting, but she chose to ignore it. After all, what could be better than having Kirin, the man he"s been longing to reach for so many years, beside her? Nothing. Nothing at all.

"Van! Wake up G.o.ddammit!" That annoying voice she"s hearing, it sounded desperate. Though faint, it won"t stop. Van had it. She stood up all of a sudden and shouted. "What the h.e.l.l is your problem!?" Kirin then, covered her ears with his big hands. "Then don"t listen."

Van fell silent and looked down. Now that Kirin is covering her ears, she can"t hear the voice anymore. But, it bothered her even more now that she can"t hear it. Van caught glimpse of a tree, and a concrete bench. It was nothing special, but looking at it, she"s reminded of something important that happened. "That"s right." Van thought, recalling the day when she saw a gloomy girl sitting by herself, drawing something on her sketchpad. Back then, she was so surprised to see her draw the man in her dreams. A part of her was annoyed, that she even showed off by saying his full name to the girl. But at the same time, she felt a burst of energy rush through her body. She never thought there will be someone who will see the "real things" she sees as "real" too. For the first time in her life, she wanted to know more, to live more, to explore more.

And then, Van remembered something. Kirin crying. Clenching her fists, she finally said out loud, what she"s been so afraid to say for quite a long time now. "The owner of that feather, its Freyja, right?" Tears fell from her eyes, feeling her heart squeeze in pain again.

"Stay with me." The silver haired man wrapped his arms around her. He hugged her tight, making all the painful thoughts go away with his warmth. "Stay with me here, forever." He repeated.

Van took a deep breath and faced him. Then, she threw herself in his arms and tightly wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you Kirin." She whispered.

A black dagger materialized in her right hand. Without hesitations, Van pierced it right through the silver haired man"s stomach. "I would love to stay, but she won"t shut up if I did." She pulled the dagger and stabbed him another time, this time, right through his heart. "I have three troublesome mates who needs rescuing, dammit!" She pulled her knife out again. Another dagger materialized in her other hand. With both daggers she kept on piercing him over and over leaving his body full of holes.

Then, his body evaporated. The beautiful garden vanished.

Van"s muscles twitched. Much to their surprise, her entire body is covered by a strong dark grey aura. Her aura was so overwhelming, the blob around her burst into tiny pieces of gooey blobs. "That was yucky!" She complained first thing. "Yo guys! Looks like you are in a pinch!" She grinned, looking at Scarlet and Aya who are now bound by tentacles and held up against a wall.

"d.a.m.n you! Whose fault do you think this is!?" Scarlet shouted.

"Whatever!" Van"s dark grey aura materialized into two, pitch black daggers one on each hand. With amazing speed, she slashed the tentacles binding Scarlet and Aya off, freeing them instantly. This time, no more hesitations. Aya restrained the annoying tentacles with both her silk whips. Scarlet conjured a shower of scorching red aurarrows and made it rain at the Phrein.

Freyja closed her eyes and called all the aura she could gather. As she did, more images from her lost memories flashed before her. But this time, her head didn"t hurt at all. She felt the broken rib"s pain fade, and she stood up, with an aura blade bigger than before.

Aya restrained the Phrein with her whips, while Scarlet burned him with his fire arrows. "Go!" They shouted.

Van grabbed Freyja"s hand and pulled her up. They grinned at each other, and nodded. Together, they positioned their blades, reinforcing it further with even more aura. They ran to the Phrein, and with all of their might, slashed him as fiercely as they could. Literally, he was cut into pieces.

The blob, the tentacles, and the Phrein"s corpse started to evaporate into nothingness. Even the traces of his black aura dissipated. The four of them watched quietly as the surroundings returned to the normal tunnel they were expecting to see.

"Oh boy, that black aura will be troublesome still." Seeing it"s not gone completely, Scarlet sighed knowing it will someday cause trouble for them. But at least for now, or the next years, it will be harmless. They sighed in relief.

Freyja fell onto the ground, limbs outstretched. All sweaty and dirty, she laughed out loud. "d.a.m.n I thought I"d die!" She was expecting Van to rebut with her usual insults, but instead, she stared at her quietly, with a smile on her face. Freyja blushed and jumped up. "You"re creeping me out man!"

"But I had to slap Freyja back to her senses because she"s panicking, looking for you!" Scarlet teased with a grin. "I didn"t!" Freyja looked away, crossed arms.

Van, put an arm around Freyja and pulled her close. Freyja thought she heard Van mumble something under her breath. But before she could ask what it was, Van flicked her forehead so hard, it left a red spot. "HEY! THAT HURTS DAMMIT!" She punched her in return.

"That"s for ruining my dream!" Van stuck her tongue out.

"Anyway, what happened in that blob, Van? Were you able to breathe?" Aya asked.

"Yeah," Scar joined in, "When you whooped yourself out of that blob thing, he suddenly became weak. Turned out he"s using you as power source!"

"Scar"s right. That thing said he expected me to be still in my "human vessel" and looked pretty confused too. So, it possible that it"s also using something as a source of energy to fight us, which is you." Freyja added, but omitted the more disturbing things he said on purpose.

Together, they headed out of the tunnel. It"s so windy and bright, it"s like they"ve suddenly grown to appreciate the sun a hundred times more than they did before. Van closed her eyes, looking so peaceful and refreshed. "Well, it"s not really that bad." Van said. "It was pretty good in there actually. I had a beautiful dream." Then, she looked at Freyja. "But someone ruined it. I just had to wake up." She giggled, and ran ahead. "Hurry! Let"s go and eat something I"m hungry!"

Van looked strangely energetic all of a sudden. The three looked at each other and laughed it off. "Yeah, I"m hungry too." Freyja agreed. "We"re all dirty! We"ll be scolded when we get home!" Aya just noticed.

"Let"s worry about that later, kay? Noodles for me!"

Van looked behind her. Freyja, Aya and Scar running after her. Then, she looked at the crystal pendant hanging around her neck. Van couldn"t help but laugh. "Yeah. What a troublesome bunch indeed." She murmured, feeling light, warm, satisfied. This time, with her eyes wide open.

~ o 0 o ~