Vhaezora
Ten million light-years away from Earth, the survivors of Orynx arrived on an unfamiliar planet.
Vhaezora was a remarkable terrestrial world with a clean atmosphere and vast stretches of untouched land. Three suns moved across its sky. Each one followed its own orbit while Vhaezora continued along its path around all three.
The first sun was known as the Great Sun. It was the largest and brightest of the three, shining white light across most of the planet. The second was a blazing sun that cast a warm hue over Vhaezora during certain periods. It was slightly smaller than the Great Sun and remained farther away from the planet.
The third was known as the Ancient Sun. It was the smallest of the three and the farthest from Vhaezora, appearing as a pale-blue sphere in the distant sky.
The new world looked peaceful, but the beings who arrived on it carried the destruction of another universe with them.
Six portals opened in the middle of a desert.
Demons, beasts, and spiritual beings began emerging from them one after another. They looked around in confusion, studying the unfamiliar sky and the strange ground beneath them. Nothing about the planet felt like Orynx.
When the last survivor stepped through, the portals closed.
The King of Orynx arrived soon afterward. He walked to the front of the gathered survivors, turned to face them, and raised his voice.
"My people, Nova has destroyed our world. Our universe is gone. The ancient relics and everything we built have been lost."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle over them.
"We will not blame every spiritual being for what happened, but I will never accept what Nova did."
The King raised both hands.
"Let us rebuild our empire!"
Eris stared at him.
Then she walked forward.
"This is all your fault!"
The King smiled faintly.
"Look closely at who you're speaking to."
Eris's expression hardened. Her eyes darkened as she turned toward the gathered survivors and released a furious cry.
"Ahhh!"
Then she faced the King again.
"My friends died because of your insane plan!"
Murmurs moved through the crowd.
"Plan?"
"Was he the one who caused all of this?"
The King stepped closer to Eris until his face was near hers.
"You refused to follow my plan," he said. "I told you not to interfere with Nova. I said I would handle her myself, but you refused to listen."
Eris's expression twisted with anger.
"And what exactly would you have done? We waited for you, but we never saw you do anything!"
The King smirked and stepped away from her.
"Everyone, calm down."
A demon in the crowd raised his voice.
"Who drove Nova into a rampage?"
The King looked at Eris.
"She did."
He pointed directly at her.
"Your beloved Harbinger, Eris. I tried to stop her, but she refused to listen. She wanted power. She, along with the First and Second Harbingers, attempted to kill Nova so they could take advantage of her strength."
Eris's expression slowly changed.
A smirk appeared on her face, then widened into a smile.
"So this is how we're playing it."
She stepped backward. The markings around her cheeks appeared as her energy began to rise.
Eris looked up at the sky.
"I hereby command any being who started this war, this destruction, and this incident…"
Before she could finish, someone seized her hand.
Eris turned sharply.
The person leaned closer and spoke quietly.
"Stop. Believe me, I also want to kill certain species, but I'm waiting for the right time."
The King stared at them, fear briefly crossing his expression.
Was she about to command me to die? he wondered.
The person pulled Eris away from the crowd and led her toward a quieter area.
"So the King is behind all of this?" the person asked.
Eris nodded.
"Who are you?"
The person turned toward her.
"Oh, right. I'm Elara, Zarek's younger sister."
Eris looked at her with mild surprise.
"Interesting. I've heard a lot about you from your brother."
Her gaze then dropped to Elara's hand.
Eris's eyes widened.
"Wait. The Crimson Blade… Are you its new wielder?"
Elara looked down at the weapon and scratched the side of her head with a small smile.
"I kind of obtained it in a strange way, but yes."
Rin suddenly ran toward Elara.
Elara smiled and lifted her into her arms.
Eris looked at the child.
"Is she your younger sister?"
"Yeah," Elara replied. "My parents recently brought her into the world."
Eris turned her attention back toward the unfamiliar planet.
"I wonder which planet we landed on. And what are those three objects in the sky?"
She pointed toward the three suns.
Elara followed her gaze.
"I don't know. All I know is that we're on a completely different planet now."
A short distance away, the King raised his voice.
"How many portals opened here?"
A beast who had watched the portals before they closed answered.
"Six."
The King's expression tightened.
"That's strange. There should have been at least thirteen to fifteen portals. Most nations did not have enough spiritual beings within their territories to activate them."
He looked across the desert.
"Let's search the area. We need to know where we are and whether anything else is nearby."
The survivors began following him across the unfamiliar land.
Xyne walked with Skye and her brother, Xyke. She looked toward the three suns and smiled.
"Wow. This is amazing."
"Yeah," Skye replied.
She glanced at Xyne.
"What was that girl trying to do when she said, 'I hereby…'?"
Xyne shrugged.
"She has a Reality Command ability. I don't know exactly how it works, but I think she was trying to identify the person who started the war and kill them."
Xyke and Skye stared at each other.
"Wow," they said together.
They continued looking at each other until Xyke frowned.
"Don't speak while I'm speaking."
Skye punched him.
The two siblings immediately began fighting with each other while Xyne sighed and walked ahead to speak with Ryvex.
Eris, Elara, and Rin continued through the desert together.
Then Eris felt a touch against her back.
She turned and found a beast girl standing behind her.
"Can I help you?" Eris asked.
The girl stepped forward.
"I'm Velkryss. I met Nova in Astravon Empire. She saved me."
Eris nodded.
"Alright. I'm Eris."
Velkryss looked toward the others.
"Is Nova evil? Why did they try to kill her?"
Eris shook her head.
"No. They weren't trying to kill her because she was evil. They wanted to wipe out the angels."
Velkryss's expression darkened.
"That insane King."
Before Eris could respond, movement appeared across the desert.
Several figures emerged from the distance and surrounded the survivors. They carried advanced technology and wore unfamiliar armor. Their weapons were unlike anything the people of Orynx had seen before.
One of them stepped forward and shouted:
"vokh! Drazh'kuun!! - Stop! This is our territory!"
The King smiled.
"What is this? An ambush?"
One of the armed figures raised a spear and threw it directly at him.
The King caught it with one hand.
Then the spear exploded.
Dust rose around him.
When it cleared, the King was still standing without a scratch.
He looked at the surrounding figures.
"We don't understand you, but don't force us to fight."
Another member of the species stepped forward and shouted:
"Zhuun, khu ur'! - People prepare yourself!"
The survivors immediately reached for their weapons and prepared themselves.
A figure from the new species began walking forward. The others moved aside, forming a path through the desert. Then they lowered themselves in respect.
Behind their leader stood several demons and beasts from Orynx, bound in chains.
The leader raised one hand and spoke:
"vezh, Zhuun vekh-drazh. Khaar kraazh, zhuun dhaak! - See, we have hold your people captive, if you attack they die."
The King looked around at the prisoners.
"Does anyone understand what they're saying?"
No one answered.
Then everything happened at once.
Every member of the new species collapsed. Their bodies were torn apart before anyone could see what had attacked them. The demons and beasts they had held captive shattered their chains and ran toward the survivors.
The King looked across the desert in confusion.
"What was that?"
He turned forward.
A figure stood before him—a spiritual being with a physical body.
Elara recognized him immediately.
Her grip tightened around her sword, and red flames burst across her body.
She launched herself forward.
"Elarion!"
Boom!
To be continued…