Chapter 04
The Emerald Watcher
Missy woke to the soft crackle of morning news from the tiny television resting on the crate beside her futon.
She blinked at the familiar ceiling of her cramped apartment.
Tiny room.
Tiny futon.
Tiny life.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Missy slowly sat up, rubbing her arms. Her skin was clean. No blood. No bruises. No strange strength surging through her veins.
But something still felt wrong.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Hunger gnawed at her like an animal.
And beneath it all… a cold certainty.
Last night was real.
The television continued.
~ "This morning, Greenlights Group president Curgen Green was found in critical condition outside the City of Moondust. Authorities report multiple fractures and severe internal trauma caused by… sources still under investigation."
Missy's breath caught.
~ "Mr. Green is currently in a coma. Doctors state his chances of survival are extremely slim."
Her hands flew to her mouth.
She sprinted to the bathroom.
Moments later the small apartment echoed with the sound of her vomiting.
The memories flooded back.
The alley.
The fight.
The impossible strength.
Bermilion.
But he hadn't fought her.
They had talked.
A long… tense conversation.
Yet now—
Missy gripped the sink.
"I can't remember a single word…"
All she remembered was Bermilion's face.
The look he gave her.
She slowly touched the side of her head.
"Auris…?"
Silence.
If the television hadn't been mourning Curgen Green, she might have believed the entire night was just a nightmare.
Her phone suddenly buzzed violently on the counter.
MR. JAKE – CALLING
Missy groaned and answered.
"Hello?"
Her boss exploded through the speaker.
"MISSY! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
She winced, holding the phone away from her ear.
"You're late! I have special guests arriving this morning and my assistant is missing!"
"I'm coming!" Missy blurted. "I'm already on my way!"
She hung up and jumped to her feet.
No time to think about Auris.
No time to think about Curgen.
No one saw her last night.
She was safe.
Everything was fine.
Missy splashed water on her face, threw on her usual plain clothes, grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.
---
Moondust City greeted her with its usual quiet rhythm.
Street vendors opening stalls.
Steam rising from breakfast carts.
The morning sun painting the towering mountains gold.
Those mountains were Moondust's greatest protection.
Pirates hated them.
Invaders avoided them.
Beasts rarely crossed them.
Which meant anything that did appear beyond those mountains was either otherworldly…
—or worth half the city.
Missy boarded the tram like she always did.
But today she barely noticed the ride.
Her mind kept circling back to one thought.
Auris used my body.
Her fingers flew across her phone.
Missy:
> Ady, something weird happened last night—
She deleted it.
Typed again.
> Do you ever feel like someone else is living inside your head—
Delete.
She groaned quietly.
"This is insane…"
The tram stopped.
Missy stepped out and crossed the street toward her workplace, still staring at her phone, still typing and deleting.
Her hair was messy.
Her eyes tired.
Her head lowered.
She didn't see the hovercar approaching.
Inside it sat two girls dressed in expensive academy uniforms.
They slowed when they saw someone in the road.
Then one of them leaned forward.
"…Wait."
Her lips curled.
"Is that Missy?"
The driver squinted.
"Oh. It is."
A pause.
Then a cold smile.
"Don't slow down."
Missy finally looked up.
The headlights were already in front of her.
BAM.
Everything went black.
---
High above the clouds…
A lone black crow struggled through the sky.
Its wings trembled with exhaustion.
Through the mist, something enormous emerged.
A floating castle.
Its walls were made of glass-like crystal that shimmered green, blue, and gold beneath the sunlight.
The crow slammed against a window.
Inside, a woman standing quietly in thought turned at the sound.
Commander Meilin.
She calmly opened the window.
The crow tumbled inside.
It hit the floor.
And instantly transformed into a girl.
Mixandra.
She gasped for breath, collapsing to her knees.
Three figures stood in the room.
Commander Meilin.
Commander Jin.
And Princess Monalice.
All three stared down at her.
"What did you see?" Meilin asked quietly.
Mixandra struggled to speak.
Her voice trembled.
"The Oxilord…"
The room froze.
"He's returned."
Princess Monalice stepped back in shock.
Commander Jin's face hardened.
Whispers filled the room.
"The Oxilord…" "Impossible…" "The last time he appeared—"
Mixandra forced herself upright.
"The host body… he's using someone in Moondust."
The murmuring grew louder.
Commander Jin raised a hand.
Silence returned instantly.
"Continue observing him," Jin ordered.
"Track his movements. Report everything."
Mixandra nodded weakly.
Princess Monalice and Commander Jin left the chamber.
Leaving only Mixandra and Commander Meilin.
Mixandra groaned.
"I don't understand these missions…" she muttered. "Turning into birds, spying on people… this feels more like witchcraft than heroism."
Meilin smiled faintly.
"Come."
They walked into a long corridor made entirely of glass.
Below them stretched the vast grounds of MOA.
Students filled enormous training fields.
Some shaped water into spiraling weapons.
Others lifted mountains of stone.
Lightning crackled across distant arenas.
"Elemental wielders are called Forges," Meilin explained.
"Those who give power to the elements."
She gestured to the training grounds.
"Geoforge. Aeroforge. Pyroforge. Hydroforge."
Students clashed below in dazzling displays of power.
"But you…" Meilin continued.
"You are different."
She turned to Mixandra.
"You were chosen by the Order."
"The next Emerald Wizard."
Mixandra stared at the academy below.
"To protect our world from darkness."
Meilin began walking away.
"And from the Oxilord."
Mixandra remained at the window.
Her thoughts drifting back to the city far below.
Moondust.
And the girl she saw there.
The girl who looked exactly like her.
Mixandra whispered quietly.
"…Why do we have the same face?"
Far below the clouds…
In a hospital room in Moondust City…
Missy's unconscious body twitched.
And her eyes suddenly opened.
Glowing faintly green.