A man and a woman walked together as if they were weightless, floating above the ground as though they were walking on water. Elena stared at them and realized they were heading directly toward her.
The girl had strawberry-blond hair and amber eyes, with a heavy dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her warm, olive-toned skin only added to her beauty. She wore an elegant red dress that seemed more suited for a gala than for what was unfolding around them. Unlike Tabitha's sharp intensity, the girl's warm eyes and gentle smile made Elena feel that she possessed a kind soul.
Rash turned to Elena and said:
"Look... the redhead is coming toward us."
Elena nodded in silence.
Rash added with a faint smile:
"That is Siniata. She is part of our team. And behind her, that man with the pale skin, brown hair, and black shirt... that's Khaiso. He will be with us as well."
Siniata and Khaiso soon arrived. Rash greeted them warmly:
"I believe you met Elena earlier this morning?"
Khaiso replied jokingly, giving Rash a light tap on the shoulder.
"Are you kidding? Is there anyone in Azaveria who doesn't know her and her bold speech?"
Elena felt a flush of embarrassment. She wasn't used to this much attention, nor to such blunt honesty. "Oh my God..." she thought, "Why did I speak so loudly? Why are they so brutally honest?"
Rash continued, "They recognized her even before you arrived."
Khaiso smiled and flexed his muscles slightly. "Yes, we saw the way you looked at her... we knew immediately that you knew her through us."
"Great..." Elena thought, "As if things weren't awkward enough already."
Then Siniata spoke with concern:
"Elena, isn't it too early for you to join the competitions? This is your first day here. Shouldn't you discover your abilities first?"
Rash replied quickly and seriously, "It's fine. I will take responsibility for protecting her. Satisfying her curiosity is what matters most. It doesn't matter if we don't win the Orb of Light."
Khaiso and Siniata exchanged glances. Then Tabitha shared the vision she had seen earlier of Rash looking at Elena, and the three of them smiled in silent understanding. Khaiso sent a light-pulse message that only they could understand:
"What's with those looks? For the first time, I've seen Rash give someone that kind of look."
Siniata added: "Didn't you notice her marks? Could it be a marriage mark?"
Tabitha answered firmly: "What's wrong with you, Siniata? Is your light starting to dim? Have you ever even seen Rash's mark so you could compare them? His imprint has never been visible."
Rash interrupted their quiet exchange with a sharp look, as if saying: I've caught you.
He said aloud: "Enough. Focus. You chase the Orb of Light, and I will guard Elena. Tabitha, you go first. Then Elena and I. Khaiso, follow us. Siniata, take the rear."
At that moment, Siniata sent Rash a private pulse:
"If I didn't know you so well, I would believe you were pretending. But I do know you... no matter how hard you try to hide it, you can't. You know how rare the Orb of Light is this time... getting it will be nearly impossible."
Then she said aloud: "Just remember... we are doing this for you."
Tabitha and Khaiso repeated together: "She's right. For you."
Rash smiled, realizing they had discovered something growing inside him. They had known him since childhood; he couldn't hide anything from them. He wondered in silence:
Perhaps they are right... this feeling I have... in Azaveria, this only appears when two marriage marks match perfectly... what I feel... this isn't normal.
Suddenly, a terrifying silence pervaded the entire place.
It was as if time itself had ground to a halt, as though the universe were holding its breath in anticipation of a rare cosmic event.
Elena felt an inexplicable dread. Without thinking, she moved behind Rash and gripped the back of his shirt tightly.
In a trembling, fearful voice, she asked:
"Rash… what is this? What is this terrifying energy overwhelming the place?"
Rash signaled for her to be silent and whispered calmly:
"They are coming… their energy always arrives first, to announce their presence."
His voice dropped even lower:
"They are… the Serathigahs."
Elena's voice shook as she asked:
"Who… are they?"
Whenever they enter a place, a bitter cold descends, as if everything is freezing; even the air itself grows heavy, and time seems to stand still.
When all eyes turn toward them, space begins to warp in a haunting silence.
They are mysterious beings unlike anything else. They possess no true physical bodies, appearing instead as shadows—halos of darkness blending with light, a fusion of transparency and pitch-black.
They belong to no place or time.
There are always six of them, appearing in every age, vanishing and returning in a strange cycle.
No matter how hard you try to stare at them, their faces shift constantly.
As for their eyes, they are not eyes at all, but rather like deep black holes.
Anyone who gazes into them feels as though their own light is being sucked inward, seeing nothing but a lethal void, as if they are approaching the very edge of nothingness.
Their voices come as whispers, directed only to those they choose.
It is rare for them to speak—it is, in fact, nearly impossible.
And they always leave you with a lingering sense of waiting for something unknown.
They are utterly selfish, to the point that they have described themselves as being more selfish than selfishness itself.
If they attend an event—which is an almost impossible occurrence—know then that it is an event of extraordinary significance by every measure.