Stellar System: Kheris
Primary Star: G-type (orange-yellow)
Secondary Star: M-type (red)
Number of Planets: 10 (4 within habitable zone)
Galaxy: Viridion Galaxy
Distance to Starfall City: 0.003 light-years
The crew scattered around the central command table as a projection of the Kheris star system and its worlds floated a foot above it, stretching the entire length.
Kaito stood near the edge of the large circular command table with his arms folded, eyes aimed down at the glowing star map. Finn stood close by, bandages wrapped around most of his arms and parts of his face. Aqua stood quietly near Kaeline and Elysia, trying her best to appear as small and invisible as possible. Rorik and Jinx were on the opposite side of the table with Nara right beside them, her arms folded and her tail swaying slowly with irritation. Elara stood at the head of the table, calm, but not relaxed. Not even close.
Beside her stood Sylas.
His golden hair was slightly messy from the medical treatment, but somehow that only made him look more devilishly handsome than he already was. Elara finally spoke.
"This is Sylas. He participated in the exams with Kaito, Finn, and Nara and as of now, he will be traveling with us as the newest member of the Starlight crew."
Sylas gave a light bow, one hand across his chest.
"It's a pleasure to travel alongside you all my fellow star hoppers." He said smoothly.
Jinx leaned across the table, squinting at Sylas like she was inspecting an ultra rare collectors item that she's been searching her entire life for.
"Hold on, hold on." She waved a hand.
"Forget all that formal shit for two seconds. Yo kid, has anyone told you that you look like one of those galactic models on the holo-billboards?"
Sylas blinked.
"Models…?" He repeated confusedly.
Jinx pointed at his face.
"Yeah models1 What you never heard of 'em before or something? I grew up in Starfall City, hotspot of this and the surrounding galaxies and let me tell you kid, I know a marketable face when I see one. If you ever get tired of the star traveler business, let's talk business. I'll be your agent and I promise you we'll make bank. Just… be a little open minded to a few things."
Sylas stared at her for a moment before letting out a small chuckle.
"Uhh… I'll keep that in mind. Thank you"
The room loosened for half a second. Only a half though, because when his chuckle faded, his eyes met Kaito's for a fleeting moment.
Neither said anything.
Sylas looked away first. Kaito did the same a heartbeat later. Elara noticed.
"Kaito." She said.
His head lifted.
"How are you feeling?"
Kaito hesitated for a moment before finding his words.
"I think I'm good." He said.
Elara's eyes narrowed before turning her attention to Elysia.
"Elysia."
Elysia stood with her hands folded in front of her, her usual bright smile resting on her face.
"Yes, Elara dear?"
"What's the status of Kaito's vitals?"
Elysia's pink eyes drifted to Kaito.
"Well it seems they've all stabilized before he left the medical bay on the licensing station. His heart rhythm, organ function, essence flow, they all currently within normal range. I didn't detect anything of immediate concern."
Elara's expression shifted for the smallest moment.
"Are you sure?"
"Mhm." Elysia hummed.
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sylas told me Kaito went through heart failure. Something like that takes even the strongest elves quite some time to recover from."
Elysia giggled softly.
"Well, it seems Kaito dear doesn't apply to that situation."
The room went quiet. Elara's gaze slowly shifted from Elysia to Kaito, then back to Elysia.
"What about the limiter? Why didn't it work?"
Elysia blinked innocently.
"Oh. That thing." She lifted a finger, smiling.
"It didn't work because I removed it before the exams."
Elara's eyes widened.
"You… removed it?" She asked slowly.
Elysia nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
The single word seemingly smothered the room with air thicker than mud.
"Why…? You knew the risk Kaito faced without it. You knew what that limiter was there for." Elara's voice remained calm, but that calm felt more dangerous than yelling.
"I never instructed you to remove it."
"That's because I told her to." Kaito blurted out.
Everyone turned to Kaito. Elara's eyes locked onto him.
"You did…? But, why?"
"Because I needed to test a new ability, and I couldn't do it with that thing holding me back. I understood the risk that came with it and I was willing to take it. No…"
He paused as his gaze drifted briefly to Aqua standing beside Kaeline.
"It was something that needed to be done to get me close to my goal."
Kaito looked back at her.
"Talon made me co-captain until she comes back so don't blame Elysia for anything. She was following my orders."
The two stared at each other for a long moment. Elara's fingers flexed slightly at her side. Then—
"I see." She said quietly.
Her attention turned back to Elysia.
"Did you have any prior knowledge of the guardian inside Kaito before the exams?" She asked bluntly.
Elysia's smile remained but something deep behind her eyes flickered ever so slightly before it was gone the next instant. Then she chuckled bubbly.
"Of course not. I was just as shocked as everyone else when I found out. But when it comes to Kaito dear… Nothing truly surprises me anymore."
Nara scoffed under her breath.
"...your full of shit."
Elysia's eyes snapped toward her though her smile stayed. Just barely though.
"What was that, Nara? I couldn't quite hear you from over there." Elysia asked sweetly.
Rorik's eyes widened before he bent over to whisper in Nara's ear.
"Uh… Nara. Maybe chill for like—"
"I SAID YOU'RE FULL OF YARKLE SHIT PINKY!" Nara barked loud enough to shake the whole ship before pointing at her.
"You really think we can't see through that fake ass act you put on?"
Elysia's entire face twitched, yet her bubbly smile remained. Even growing wider than before.
"My, my, Nara. It seems Jinx's poor hygiene isn't the only thing that's rubbed off on you."
Elysia placed a finger against her cheek.
"I was confused at first, but now I'm beginning to understand why you're only a C-ranked traveler."
Nara's slit pupils shrank. Jinx stepped in front of her before she could lunge across the table.
"Nara." Jinx warned quietly.
But even still, Jinx's eyes didn't leave Elysia.
"What's been your deal lately?" Jinx asked, voice sharper than usual.
"You've been real bitchy ever since Kaito joined the crew."
Elysia's smile finally lowered just a little.
"Nothing about me has changed since the day Elara and Talon asked me to join their crew. The only true change is that Kaito became my captain. My true captain and to be frank, I don't appreciate the way he's being persecuted as if he's done something wrong."
Her eyes swept across them.
"Kaito dear did nothing wrong. And the fact that he houses a guardian does not change the fact that he is still the Kaito we know."
Then she smiled again.
"That is all."
Sylas, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
"That may be true. But whatever is inside him doesn't seem to be an ordinary guardian."
All eyes shifted to him. His face remained calm, but his hand subtly touched the hilt of the golden sword on his back.
"It knew of my brother."
Elara's eyes narrowed faintly. Elysia tilted her head.
"And how can you be certain of that?"
Before Sylas could answer—.
"Because the boy tells no lie." Atlas spoke from his back.
"I was passed down through Sylas's family for generations. Theron was my former host before Sylas became my current one. Though my memories of Theron are becoming more scrambled by the day. But the truth remains unchanged. Theron existed. And whatever resides inside that young human has knowledge of him."
Nara's brows scrunched together.
"How is that possible?Kaito never met his brother. And even the captain doesn't remember him, even though Sylas said they went to the same academy together with Talon."
Atlas fell silent for a moment.
"I do not know." He finally said.
Aqua's quiet voice cut into the silence.
"I think I do."
Everyone turned to her.
Aqua stood near Kaeline, hands folded in front of her. Her icy-blue fins twitched slightly, but her face remained calm.
Kaito's chest tightened.
"Aqua…" He said carefully.
She glanced at him, then back to the room.
"I think I know why no one remembers his brother."
Sylas's red eyes narrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Aqua's webbed fingers tightened around one another.
"The leader of the Grand Order… His name is Lucifer. A man who seeks to rewrite this universe."
Kaito's brows scrunched together.
"Lucifer…" He repeated under his breath.
Aqua continued.
"He believes this universe is flawed. Filled with pain, suffering, death, war, hatred… He believes he can fix it by creating something better. Something under his design."
Her gaze moved slowly until it landed on Elara.
"And in order to do that… he needs you."
The room tensed and every eye snapped toward Elara.
But Elara didn't move. She didn't flinch or react a bit. Her expression remained calm, composed, as if someone had just told her the weather outside the ship rather than the fact a cosmic madman seeking to destroy the universe wanted her specifically.
"Do you know what he looks like?" Elara asked.
Aqua shook her head.
"No. His appearance changes constantly."
"Changes?" Finn muttered.
Aqua nodded.
"He swaps and possesses bodies of elves captured for him. But that's only the beginning. I remember… back at the academy, Sera used to tell me she knew powerful people who could make my nightmares go away. My bad thoughts. My fears."
Her icy blue eyes lowered.
"At the time, I didn't believe her. I thought she was just saying something nice because I was struggling and she just wanted to be there for me as a friend."
Her eyes lifted.
"But I think she was telling the truth. And I don't think Lucifer is a normal being like us."
She looked directly at Elara.
"I understand if you don't trust me. I understand if no one here does. But I believe Lucifer has some sort of ability that can remove events… and people… from this universe as if they never existed in the first place."
That statement seemingly sucked all the air from the room like a hole was blasted into the side of the ship.
Sylas went completely still as if his body forgot how to move.
Kaito slowly turned his head toward Aqua, disbelief stretching across his face.
Finn's eyes widened beside him, his breath caught somewhere between his throat and chest.
Jinx forced a weak laugh that didn't sound like her at all.
"You're kidding… right?"
Aqua's gaze shifted to her.
There was no humor in it. No uncertainty. No lie.
Jinx's face drained of color.
"... what the fuck…" She muttered.
Elara's eyes narrowed faintly.
"How can you be sure what you're saying is true? I've never heard of an ability like that or an affinity that can perform such a feat."
Aqua's gaze dropped again.
"I'm not fully sure." She admitted.
"My memory is still broken. I only remember pieces. Mostly moments with Sera. Some meetings. Some briefings."
She paused, trying to pull the scattered fragments together.
"I remember Sera and I attending one briefing where our tasks and target worlds were explained to us. They said we were primarily targeting worlds with high elven populations and low-tier technological advancements."
Nara's tail stopped moving and her slit pupils narrowed.
"So why were you all on my world? We're not elves." She asked sharply.
Aqua looked over to her.
"Your world was targeted for a different reason."
Nara's expression darkened.
"What does that mean?"
Aqua hesitated.
"I never spoke directly to Lucifer himself. Sera and I were under the command of his most loyal companion. The man who preserves the captured bodies and conducts…" Her voice wavered slightly.
"…experiments on them."
Aqua's eyes lowered.
"His name is Morgoth. He tasked us with aiding Lucifer's search for more power by locating worlds and star systems rich with natural energy."
Her gaze returned to Nara.
"Just like yours."
Nara said nothing.
On the opposite side of Nara, Elysia's smile remained, but for a brief moment her eyes drifted subtly to Kaeline who met them with that same quiet sharpness. They both already knew some of this, but hearing it here, in front of everyone, made it heavier.
Finn spoke up.
"Why elves? Is there a reason he's specifically targeting them?"
Aqua shook her head.
"I don't know."
She looked genuinely frustrated by the answer.
"I really wish I did."
Her attention shifted slowly until it landed on Sylas who still hadn't moved. His red eyes stared at nothing, but she could see the storm brewing behind them. She watched him for a short moment before speaking again.
"There is an elf in captivity… who resembles you slightly."
Sylas's breath stopped. The words snapped him out of his trance. His head snapped to hear suddenly.
"What do you remember? His hair color? His eyes? Anything?"
His hand moved to his collar. He pulled his white shirt down enough to reveal the swirling cosmic seal across his chest.
"Did he have a mark like this? On his shoulder?"
Aqua stared at the seal. For a moment, nobody breathed. Then she nodded.
Sylas's eyes widened and the whole room seemed to shift around him.
Theron was real. Someone remembered.
Before anyone could say another word, a small holo-projection the size of a fist appeared beside Elara's head.
Her red eyes flicked toward it before it fizzled out a second later.
"We're ending this meeting here."
Everyone turned toward her.
"I apologize for cutting it short, but there's something I need to take care of." Her gaze swept across the room.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow and go over everything we know before we arrive at Starfall City."
Her eyes landed on Kaito.
"Kaito. Go with Elysia to the medical bay. I'll meet you there later. We need to discuss your condition."
Kaito gave a slow nod.
"…Yeah. Alright."
Elara's gaze shifted to everyone else.
"The rest of you, rest for tonight. Recover. Prepare for further instructions."
Not long after the meeting ended, Elara sat alone in the star lounge.
The room was dim, lit mostly by the stars outside the massive curved window stretching across the entire ceiling. Kheris's twin suns glowed in the far distance, one warm and gold, the other small and red.
She sat in one of the lush chairs, one leg crossed over the other. In front of her was a holo-projection of Talon.
"…Okay." Talon started slowly counting off on her fingers.
"So you're saying… Kaito's a yoki…with a guardian inside him that destroyed half of a moon. People and events being erased from existence. Some freak named Lucifer wants to rewrite the universe while jumping from elf body to elf body. The new guy Sylas has a brother that none of us remember. Oh and Kaito almost died again..."
She stared at Elara for a long moment before her face twisted somewhere between disbelief and irritation.
"How in the stars did things get even weirder after I left!?"
Elara shook her head slightly.
"I'm not sure."
"That wasn't actually a question."
"I know."
Talon groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Elara's eyes drifted toward the stars outside the window.
"But…" she continued, voice quieter.
"I have this strange feeling that what Aqua said might have some truth to it."
Talon's expression changed slightly.
Elara leaned back in the chair.
"Sylas's story lines up too perfectly. His brother Theron attended the academy with us."
Talon frowned.
"But we don't remember him."
"No."
"And he claims his brother vanished right before becoming head of the Keldons?"
Elara nodded.
"And everyone acted as if he never existed."
Talon's ears twitched faintly.
"…Yeah. That's pretty weird." She muttered.
Elara reached beside her and picked up the small mechanical cube Sylas had given her earlier. She held it up, rotating slowly.
"Do you remember this?"
Talon leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the cube for a long moment. Her gaze shifted across each side, every groove, every seam. Then she shook her head.
"No."
Elara's fingers curled around it slightly.
"Me neither."
Talon's brows scrunched suddenly. Elara noticed.
"What is it?" Elara asked
"Sylas said the two of us, along with someone else, helped his brother Theron make this for some sort of project."
Talon stared at the cube again.
"I can't think of any project that required us to make something like that."
She paused, a look of something about the entire situation genuinely bothering her now.
"Then again…"
"I can't seem to remember most of the projects we had dealing with technology." She rubbed her temple.
"The ones I do remember only had three of us."
Elara finished for her.
"You. Me. And Bella."
Talon nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Silence settled between them. The kind of silence that made both of them realize the same thing at the same time. Elara stared down at the cube in her hand.
"We would have needed more projects than those few to graduate."
Talon didn't answer. She didn't have to because she was correct.
A soft chime echoed from the ship's intercom. Elara glanced toward the door of the star lounge before letting out a quiet breath.
"I need to go to the medical bay and check on Kaito soon."
Talon crossed her arms.
"Yeah. Probably a good idea, considering the idiot's heart decided to kick the bucket mid-exam."
Elara's lips tugged faintly upward.
"I wanted to check in with you once you entered our home galaxy. I apologize if I gave you too much at once."
Talon waved a hand dismissively.
"It's fine. Nothing really surprises me anymore. Not since I became friends with you at the academy."
Elara chuckled.
"I think I'll take that as a compliment."
"Take it however you want."
For a moment, they both smiled.
Then Talon's expression shifted and her smile faded.
"Elara."
"Hm?"
Talon's gaze sharpened.
"Do you think we can trust her?"
Elara already knew who she meant.
Still, she asked.
"Who?"
"You know who. Elysia."
The name lingered between them.
"Ever since Kaito joined the crew, she's been… off. And I'm not just talking about her usual creepy pink sunshine act. Something else."
Elara listened quietly.
"It feels like she's trying to wrap herself around him. Like she's brainwashing him to fold to every word she says. And the stupid idiot is falling for it."
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You said the exam organizer withheld the footage of Kaito's exam time because Elysia requested it, right? "Why? Why would she do that if she's actually on our side?"
Elara didn't answer immediately. Her thumb brushed across one of the cube's grooves.
"I don't know." She finally said.
Talon's eyes narrowed.
"And?"
"And I'm not sure if we can trust her fully either." Elara admitted.
"But I think it's best we observe before we act."
Talon scoffed, leaning back.
"I hate when you're right…"
"I know."
"But we need to keep an eye on her at all times."
"We will." Elara reassured her.
Talon's gaze drifted to the side like she was already planning seven steps ahead.
"Listen to me, when you reach Starfall City, I want you to defeat Kaito."
Elara blinked once, genuinely startled by what she heard, yet Talon continued without hesitation.
"After that, split the crew into two groups. I'll oversee Kaito and whoever is on his crew. That way, I can keep an eye on him as well as Kaeline and Elysia at the same time."
Elara's lips curved faintly.
"That's a good suggestion. Let's do that."
"I know." Talon replied slightly smugly.
"I'll make sure to beat his ass for you."
Talon's ears twitched. Elara's smile grew.
"But I'll make sure not to scratch his face up too much for you."
Talon's entire face went red. Her pointed ears shot straight up.
"You better…" She mumbled.
Elara's eyes gleamed.
"So… When are you going to tell him?"
Talon blinked.
"Tell who what?"
Elara stared at her.
"Don't play dumb with me. The crystal you gave him. That was the one your mother gave you when you were young, wasn't it?"
Talon's face somehow grew redder.
Elara continued.
"The one she told you to place on the man you claim as yours to marry—"
"OR BESTOW ON FOR PROTECTION! THAT WAS ALSO PART OF IT!" Talon shouted.
Elara stared at her for one long second, then snorted. She bursted into a soft, teasing laugh, one hand lifting to cover her mouth.
"Oh, right." She wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye.
"I forgot about that too."
Talon folded her arms and looked away, pouting like the spoiled princess she absolutely was.
"It's not funny."
"It is a little funny."
"It's not."
"It really is."
Talon huffed.
Elara stood from the chair, the mechanical cube disappearing into a small storage compartment on her belt.
"I'll call you tomorrow after the next meeting and keep you updated."
"Yeah, uh-huh." Talon muttered, still looking away.
Elara watched her for a short moment.
The teasing smile softened into something warmer.
"Talon."
Talon didn't turn.
"I know you care about him, no matter how much of an act you put on" She said gently.
"You're stubborn. Just like him."
Talon slowly turned her head back.
Her expression wasn't one filled with annoyance anymore, just quiet.
Elara's red eyes softened.
"I love you. And I promise I'll take care of him for you until we meet back up."
Talon's lips parted slightly.
"That way…" Elara continued, voice soft but teasing again.
"When the time is right, you can tell him exactly how you feel."
Talon looked down.
For once, she had no sharp comeback. No insult. No threat. Only a faint, embarrassed mumble.
"…I love you too."
Her hand tightened over her opposite arm.
"And… thank you. Please do."
Elara gave her a small smile before the projection flickered and Talon vanished.