Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Shin Megami Tensei.

Chapter 1

Wonderful World

It was a gorgeous summer afternoon in a beautiful forest. The sky was a bright blue with flickers of yellow and orange in the horizon, without any clouds to disturb it. The sun was bright and golden, almost white, its rays casting curtains of light in the air. The air was warm but there was a pleasant cool breeze scattered between the trees. The trees and the grass were a deep and bright green, various sounds betraying the presence of life hidden in their leaves.

It was a wonderful world, full of colour. The warm rays of the sun filled everything with life. God had more than made up for the destruction He had once caused.

A tall black man with blue eyes walked among the trees, accompanied by a child. He appeared to have been looking for someone. "Hey, have you seen Gale and Argilla around here?"

"I tink dey're wit Roland an' de oders! Argilla's dere too!" The boy that had answered his question was wearing the sun like a second skin. Brown hair that had been bleached golden by the rays, a golden tan and amber eyes that glowed with mirth. His name was Cielo; a short boy full of energy, playing with yet another kitten that he had found somewhere.

The others… That would be Greg, Adil and Jinana. Maybe even that James kid that the others occasionally mentioned. He remembered the name of his girlfriend; Amelia. She would be there too.

At the thought of so many children, Frederic Wolf, known to everyone as simply Fred, could already feel a headache coming. He already had seven children to look after, explaining himself to the guardians of five more was the last thing he needed. Especially Greg's. The last time was a trial of his patience unlike anything else in years. His foster parents were overly strict, for reasons known only to them.

Fred himself had no problem with the children playing with each other. As far as he was concerned, the kids deserved all the friendships they could get. He would let them play for as long as they needed, with anyone they wanted.

Still, it was getting rather late. Even though it was a rarity, there were still a few hungry Tuners roaming around at night for human flesh to eat. They generally tended to avoid this wooded area and focus on the more densely inhabited urban districts such as Karma City. However, Fred preferred not to risk it. He could defend himself – he had a Magnum and some crates of anti-demon ammunition to make things easier – but he could not say the same for the kids.

Just as Cielo had voiced his answer, the two children in question had shown up running from the trees. Gale was already a handsome child, tall with pale skin, platinum hair and bright blue eyes that seemingly glowed in the dark. A tiny mole beneath his right eye was the only thing that marred his appearance. Argilla was also blond, but of a much richer colour, and her skin was rosy both from the sun and from her natural complexion. She too was tall for her age, and her warm brown eyes shone with mirth.

They were both holding piles of papers. Fred could guess what they were for. "You guys were working on homework?"

"Yes, Greg and the others were comparing notes with us. We took some extra for Jenna and Sera", replied Gale. The two girls had gotten sick with the season change.

Argilla laughed. "You know how those two get like. School is the most important thing in the world."

Gale gave her a stern look. On his childish face, it just looked adorable. "You know how important it is to learn as many things as possible. We'll need them all for the future!"

Gale and Jenna were absolute perfectionists when it came down to anything, from schoolwork to housework to mere crafts. Heat was following closely behind them, always competing with the two to see who would be the best. Fred could tell that this perfectionism was tiring out all three of them, but whenever he tried to tell them to take it easy he would be met with protests. It took special coaxing to convince them to take a break. Not so much with Heat, who took sports as seriously as school, but Jenna…

In the old days, it would be surprising for schools to be open during the summer, but in the new world, like many other conventions, vacation and working periods had lost their original meanings. School was an unofficial thing, hosted in a sufficiently large building with classes taught by volunteers. The schedule was extremely flexible, as everybody tried to balance their jobs with the classes. The result was that school days and free days just intermingled with each other. One day was a history lecture, and the next was beach day. Maybe both. Fred himself could not truly remember what regular school had been like; he did vaguely remember having to get up early in the morning every day and complaining about it, but the feeling of it was so distant it was impossible to recall.

"Are they any better?"

Fred smiled at Argilla. She was always the concerned one. "Their fever has dropped a lot, and they got their appetites back so yeah. They'll be alright in a couple of days."

Their faces lit up at the good news. Their huge smiles made him happy too.

"Let's go back, okay?" All children voiced their agreement. Serph and Heat – the last two children – had stayed behind to look after the girls. Fred was not worried about leaving the four of them along in the house. They all had sound judgment and had already proven themselves capable of defending the house against regular people.

Those poor burglars…

Well, it was no wonder that Fred home was a target for burglars. It was almost the size of a mansion, built to house himself and seven children that would eventually grow up and want their privacy, and it looked easy to break into. The place seemed to be in a constant state of construction. It had more or less started off being a mix of old wreckage, bricks and broken glass taken from the protective dome built above Karma City. It looked more like a refugee camp than a house. Comfort was something that had been achieved over time. A replaced wall, new coats of paint, heating a plumping, proper furniture instead of thrown around blankets and ever filling with belongings. It was not perfect, but it was cozy and spacious. It was home.

Quite a few people had called out Fred on its secluded location. They said it would be an easy target for any Tuners. Fred was not concerned about it; Tuners avoided the house like someone had sprayed Estoma Spray all over it. He supposed it was due to the influence of the nearby makeshift shrine that had been made shortly after the sun went back to normal. People avoided that area in general and advised others to do the same, but Fred held a special privilege in the area.

Around half an hour of walking later, the four reached home. The sky was already orange with flickers of purple, and the windows were lit. The scent of freshly picked flowers filled the air, many of them being Fred's selections. Music could be heard from a room; Heat was going through his "new" CD collection. They were gifts from some old Lokapala members. They were all one big family here, and Fred would not have it any other way.

Nobody had to announce their presence when Cielo was around. "We're hoooome!" And he was immediately assaulted by his personal kitten collection. Not normal behavior for cats, but Cielo was like catnip to them. They almost had at twenty of the cute little critters now. Fred knew that he really ought to put his foot down on this but then the dreadlocked boy would get those sad puppy eyes that never failed to make him feel guilty.

Everybody let Cielo drown in the colourful fuzziness as Serph and Heat ran to the entrance. Serph greeted him with a big smile, quiet as ever, while Heat tried to hide his own behind an unsuccessful attempt at scowling.

Serph looked as if the colours had been drained from him, leaving them muted. He was pale like the snow, and his hair had a dark brown hue that looked like aged bark. His grey eyes shone with intelligence beyond his years, and he was a bit on the short side, with quite the soft face. Heat called it girly. He was quiet, barely ever speaking at all, but he the type to take initiative. He was quick to act, always coolheaded in any manner of situation, from trouble at school to helping Cielo catch all those cats. He and Sera were always at each other's side, with Serph acting as her shadow.

Heat was the exact opposite of Serph in terms of colour; he had been given rich brown hair, amber eyes and a tanned complexion. He appeared to be a short-tempered child on the surface, but he was actually very sensitive. He merely had a difficulty in expressing himself. He followed Serph and Sera like their personal guard, in spite of all his complaining about the two never leaving each other. He was thirsty to prove his worth and tried to be the best in anything; a tendency that always led him to the top five of his class, much the surprise of anyone who did not know him that well.

"About time you showed up", grumbled Heat. "Sera was worried sick!" He was met with several strange looks. He flushed. "I mean, she was already sick! Eh, she is. She's worried, that's all!"

Fred chuckled at his antics and leaned down to ruffle his hair, making him flush deeper. "I'll go up and tell her I'm sorry. Are the girls doing better?"

Serph nodded in confirmation. "They can eat with us."

Fred nodded in satisfaction. "Can you guys put some water in the pot and get the vegetables out? Menu's soup tonight. I'm going to check up on the girls."

The boys and Argilla handed over the homework to Fred and rushed to their chores, leaving Fred to check up on Sera and Jenna. All the kids had different rooms. He walked up to Sera's room and knocked the door.

"Come in, Fred!" That was his cue to come in. Sera was sitting up in her bed, still somewhat pale but looking much better.

Whereas Sera was once black and whites, now she was rosy. She was a small girl, with dark red hair of an impossible shade, peach coloured skin, chocolate brown eyes, and a blush always filling her puffy checks. She was an absolute angel to everyone and everything she met and always smiled no matter how bad she felt. It was impossible not to smile at her presence. She too seemed to have knowledge beyond her years; in fact, Fred was certain of it. However, some things were better off left unsaid.

"Hey Sera. How are you feeling?"

Sera was all smiles. "Much better, Fred! Serph and Heat were looking after me so I was okay. My fever's dropped too."

"Let's see… Where's the thermometer?"

"On the drawer." Fred left the papers there and took the thermometer. "Today's homework. Gale and Argilla got extra notes from the others."

Sera chuckled. "They didn't have too, but I'm glad."

Fred left Sera alone to take her temperature and went to Jenna's room.

"Who's there?"

"It's Fred!"

"Come in…"

Jenna looked absolutely miserable. "About time", she groaned. "I was rotting in here."

Fred did not really try to hide his amusement. "Hello to you too, Jenna." Jenna was not amused.

Sera and Jenna looked like twins, sharing the exact same red hair and brown eyes. Jenna was merely a bit paler and she was growing to become very tall one day. To Fred's mild surprise, she was still intersex and that caused her some insecurity around strangers. However, beyond that, she was confident, perfectionist, single-minded and occasionally scared the other kids with her strong demeanor. She and Gale were inseparable; they were already getting jokes about being a couple. It had taken quite some time to convince Gale to go to school today because he wanted to stay with her.

Fred waved the papers to her. "Today's homework. Gale and Argilla got them for you."

Jenna collapsed on her bed with relief. "Thank God… I was falling behind so many times cooped up in bed."

"Jenna, you only lost two days."

"I'm not losing to Heat!" Fred hid a sigh. It was always a competition for her.

He put on a grin. "What about losing to Gale?"

Jenna flinched but she did not back down. "I am not losing."

Fred laughed. "Okay, okay. Let's just get your temperature and I'll get dinner ready, alright?"

Those children… It was a responsibility, yes, but he was truly blessed to meet them.

The next day was free so Sera and Jenna had full time to recover. That and the homework significantly improved their moods; it was somewhat ironic given how most children hated homework, but none of these kids liked sitting idle.

This day too, was beautiful. All of them were really, in their own way. Each day the sky painted itself with different colours. The old harsh glaring yellow had almost faded completely, now that plants were covering the surface once again. Other areas were in worse condition, but here the oxygen concentration was great enough to make the sky mostly blue.

Sera and Jenna had stayed inside to finish their homework, accompanied By Gale. The blond boy had insisted staying with them with the prospect that Sera might need help. The real reason was that he wanted to be near Jenna but he knew better than to claim that the long-haired girl needed any help.

The rest of the children had opted to spend the day outside, and hang out with Greg and his group again. Fred was walking them there, mainly because he always liked to see them all playing together. He knew that the kids were not in danger being left on their own, getting lost or otherwise, so walking them there was not all that obligatory. It was some sort of nostalgia, he guessed, that mainly motivated him to do this.

Greg… One would have to be blind not to see the similarity.

Fred shook his head. He really should not be thinking things like that.

"Hey guys! You're early!"

"So are you!"

The children laughed. Fred took a quick headcount. Two, four, six… ten. Quite a crowd, like always.

Gregori – known to everyone as Greg – was a tall boy with masculine features that had quite the exotic looks. He was dark skinned, but his brown hair had a hint of red in them and his eyes were a pale blue. Needless to say, everyone was completely baffled over his ethnicity.

Unfortunately, while most people let it slide – this was America after all, nothing weird with mixed ethnicities – his foster parents did not. Fred was not privy to the details, but apparently they had tried to get rid of him quite a few times while he was still a baby. Each and every time the orphanage said no because they were too many orphans to accept children that already had guardians. Fred had also refused when he was offered because even though the kids were easy to keep an eye on, he was still feeding seven kids and an eighth one was beyond his ability. That, and raising Greg would be extremely awkward, but he did not tell them that.

As he grew up, Greg had turned out to be an honest and fair child in spite of fears of the opposite. Not that he did not have his own issues; he had responded to all this by turning into some type of schoolyard social justice warrior and staying out of his house for as long as possible. His circle of friends had skyrocketed too.

And what a circle he had gathered. Greg was friends with almost everyone, but some of the kids were practically his followers.

Other than Gale, who was drawn to Greg to the point of near worship, one of his friends was Roland; a bespectacled boy suffering of albinism, who preferred to sit inside reading and writing instead of doing anything athletic. He was reading books that Fred was pretty sure no kid at his age should ever have access to, had a constant pessimistic streak, and generally avoided socializing like the plague. What he did do instead of socializing was keeping notes on people. Greg apparently found that fascinating because he abruptly started stalking poor Roland until the boy got fed up with it. He would still grumble about it, but according to Gale he was happy with the result.

Adil was another odd one – he and his family were deeply religious. He was more than that but that was the trait that stood out to Fred the most, mainly due to how unusual it was to actively practice religion after the Black Years, as they had taken to calling them. Some part of Fred admired this. Adil himself was mostly drawn to Roland and the two could have surprisingly long discussions over all sorts of subjects, mostly ethical; as much as ethics could be discussed by elementary schoolers. He also thought that everyone in his playgroup was crazy and vehemently denied being a "social justice warrior" because the name sounded stupid – never mind how he was always behind Greg and Gale to cover them to the teachers when they unleashed their childish righteous rage.

One of the children saved by the evil school bullies was Jinana, who was drawn in the group immediately upon introduction. She used to hang out with a kid named Charlie – who had been nicknamed Bat for some weird reason – but over time what seemed to be like a good friendship turned into Charlie clinging onto Jinana for anything. He would actually beat up any kid who even dared to talk to her. When she eventually confronted him about this, he started stealing money from her. She was rescued by the boys and Argilla – who happened to be with them at the time – and she was quickly welcomed in the "team". The girls in particular had hit off quite nicely. Charlie was still going to the same school – he did not have much choice, seeing as there were no other schools – but had started hanging around a band of troublemakers. Otherwise, he left Jinana alone.

James and Amelia did not have that much of a dramatic story with them; James used to hang out with the group that Charlie was now in even though he really hated it. Then he met Amelia and got an instant crush on her. An incident of her being bullied for "hogging up their hommie" – intercepted by none other than Greg – was the final nail in the coffin for him to stop talking with them. Now both the children were friends with the others. Serph really liked to tease James about "treating Amelia right", much to the boy's embarrassment. Fred was pretty sure that Serph was referencing something, but he never bothered to ask.

Just like what Fred expected, the children started off by discussing about the twins and then they ran off to play.

If Fred had any tension, then the sound of their laughter melted it all away.

Some may have called this life monotonous, but to him it was idyllic. His own childhood was dark in colour, grey with harsh yellows, with nary a reason to laugh and trying to hold back tears. The kids used to ask him to play hide and seek with them a few times; in spite of how good they all were in the game, they could never find Fred. He told them it was practice.

Way too much practice. In all the wrong ways.

At times he wondered what he would be like if he had lived like a normal kid. What if the sun had never turned black? What if his father had not died in a hailstorm of bullets? What if he had not spent his childhood trying to convince an unfortunate, depressed man to "lay off the booze"?

But he knew that had all of that happened, these children would have never existed. He would have never met all those great people that shaped him into who he is.

He was leaning back at the bench and enjoying the golden rays of the sun against his skin when he heard it. A bell ringing.

His eyes snapped open. He sat straight up, frantically looking around, searching for the source. The children kept playing, oblivious to the sound. Was he the only one who heard that?

The ringing sound reached his ears again, much closer than before. He felt something brush against his leg. He looked down.

It was that cat. The black one with the silver eyes and silver ear. The one that wore a black ribbon with two bells that looked like fanged maws.

The cat that had once introduced itself as Schrodinger.

His world blanked out for a few moments. For a second he was back again, under the neon lights and the dry, almost artificial air. Sneaking through the factory covered with blood, standing in front of a giant egg, an airport that no one had a use for.

Through the haze, he saw those deep silver eyes peeping at him. They slowly brought him back to reality. He slowly steadied his breath – when had he stopped breathing? The cat was standing still but tense, its tail waving indicating that he wanted him to follow.

And so he did.

They walked through a makeshift path through the forest. He recognized the destination right away. Thought it already seemed abandoned, Fred knew the way by heart. He let himself be guided there anyway. Walking ahead felt disrespectful.

This place was sacred. Before God went mad with grief, it was nothing special, but it was now. Something extremely important had happened here. Fred knew that there was a similar place not too far from here.

The area was marked by stones and rubble in a circular shape. The entrance was marked by ribbons, discarded weapons and torn fabrics. All the surrounding trees had been splattered with orange paint and had inscriptions in a cursive writing that Fred had no hope of ever reading, yet he recognized as Sanskrit.

It was a clearing that had been turned into a type of shrine. During the day, it was bathed with light so golden that it seemed out of this world. At nights, everything glowed silver regardless of whether there was a moon or not. Crystal clear water had flooded the grass but there was no obvious spring where it could have possibly come from. It was as reflective as a mirror; stepping in it felt sacrilegious. Inside the clearing were seven gigantic lotus flowers, all in full bloom, glowing with their own light.

Eleven years ago, the sight had stolen his breath away. It was no less magnificent now.

Fred was one of the very few people that were allowed in this place. There were not any rules that forbade entrance. This was simply how it was. Entering this place was a privilege that had been earned. Fred did not feel that he had earned it but he accepted it regardless. This place was important to him on a personal level.

This was where he had found the children, as newborn infants, wrapped naked in the warm petals of the lotuses.

Something had compelled him back then too. A golden light falling from the sky that nobody else seemed to have noticed. He witnessed the flowers' glorious bloom.

It was a miracle from God.

He had only been a child at the time, tasked by God to take those infants under his care like they had once done with him. He had no idea why God had tasked him with such a thing, but it was a duty he took with honor.

There was another clearing like this but it was much smaller. That was where Greg, Roland and Jinana had been found. Perhaps more. After the news of Fred finding the babies spread, people went looking in the forest and soon discovered the second location. They took the babies from there and spread them across different families. Soon the excitement died down, and a smaller shrine was made around it.

Why had the cat brought him here?

Seeing his confused gaze, Schrodinger, with a very human gesture, pointed its head somewhere in the clearing. Fred followed its gaze, curiosity growing by the second.

And found himself gazing at one very tired owl.

He blinked once. He blinked twice. Nope, the owl was still there. It was absolutely exhausted. It had no reason to be out at this time. There was no explanation why it had chosen to sit in a puddle instead of a branch. There had never been any association between the people he knew and owls.

And for some reason it had a whole bunch of letters tied around its leg.

Fred blinked owlishly. The owl blinked back. Fred looked at the cat. He was met with a steady gaze.

He took a few careful steps towards the owl. Seeing that it did not move away, he stepped closer. Eventually he was on his knees in front of it. With no further ado, the owl stood straight as if in attention and lift the leg with the letters. Fred noticed that they were tied there with a thin ribbon.

He was astonished to see ten envelopes there, and they were not the standard envelopes that could be found in any post office. Those were made with a glossy, cream-coloured paper that had decorative designs all over its surface, and the address was written with calligraphic letters in deep green ink. Even more surprisingly, the envelopes were completely dry.

Who could have possibly written these letters? And why write a letter in the first place? Did they not have access to any computers? Karma Terminals? And why send an owl?

He looked at the envelopes. He read their addresses again. His eyes widened in shock.

"I need to gather up everyone."

Fred ran all the way back to the park where the kids were playing, the letters clutched tightly in his hand. He could tell that Schrodinger was following close behind. A small part of him wondered what happened to the owl but it was probably resting.

Once he got there it became obvious that nobody had even notice his absence. It was not rare for Fred to go for a walk when they were playing. Fred took a few moments to catch his breath before checking the addresses on the letters again.

"Hey, guys! Come over here! Greg and Roland too! And Jinana!"

The kids curiously stopped their game – some mix of volleyball with tag – and looked at him curiously. The slowly gathered up with Adil, James and Amelia followed them. Of course they would be curious.

Fred sat at the bench and the cat took a seat over his shoulder. Fred showed them the letters. "A weird owl showed up carrying these. They're addressed to you guys. There are letters for Gale, Sera and Jenna too. I have no idea who sent them."

"What are they about?" asked Jinana.

"I don't know. I didn't open them. But they have your full names and everything on them. I think we should all gather to our house so we can open them together. They're all from the same place."

"What about us?" asked Adil. "We don't have letters, right?"

Fred thought about it for a moment. Whatever was in those letters, they would find out anyway. "Sure, you can come too."

An hour later, everybody, the twins and Gale included, had sat around the kitchen table and were examining the letters. Schrodinger had somehow retrieved the owl – the poor bird looked really flustered – and now forced it to sit still on the back of another chair. Apparently it wanted to fly away. Fred wondered just how intelligent that owl really was.

Cielo examined the folder from all possible angles with one eye closed, as if trying to see if there was something wrong with it. Gale read the inscription out loud. ""Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy". And the address is "Mr. Gale Davis, New Portland, Lotus Garden Residence, fourth bedroom to the right of the hall". How do they know which one is my bedroom?"

"Same here", said Argilla. "They have my bedroom too." Various sounds of agreement came from all around the table. Jenna was staring at her letter with a thoughtful frown.

"What's wrong, Jenna?"

"It says here "Mx Jennifer Angel"."

Fred stiffened. Jenna identified as a girl, and her being intersex was not common knowledge. How could anyone know about that?

Sera lifted her letter. "It calls me Seraphita here."

Heat slammed his fist on the table. "Are they spying on us!?"

Heat was right to be suspicious. The address was so ridiculously precise that it felt like a prank; in fact, if not for Schrodinger being there, he would have dismissed it as one. Not to mention how they knew everyone's full names.

Those names were hardly on any official lists. Fred had simply sat down one evening to pick nice-sounding surnames for everyone, thinking that they would need them. So far, they only had to use them in the school records. Did someone have access to them?

"Neve' min' dat, what is dis "witchcraft" part?"

Roland promptly slammed his head against the table. Everyone turned to stare at him. "I don't think that's a prank."

"Wait, they're calling you guys to do magic!?"

The discussion between the kids grew animated. Fred tuned it out, turning to his own thoughts. Magic… Everyone knew magic was real. He himself had seen plenty of it back when he was a teen. The kids developing magical abilities did not surprise him at all. Heck, he expected it even.

However, all the magic he had seen was combat-related and furthermore, it was essentially data. They were programs. Everything was made of data; it was a lesson that he was taught early but only sank in much, much later. He still did not understand it fully. But if he did, he would not be here.

Fred shook his head. His thoughts were getting off-track again.

The problem with this letter was that it seemed so… medieval. Yeah, that was the word. It was as if they were talking about the "fly on a broom" kid of witch. He snorted. That would be pretty funny.

The kids heard him laughing.

"What's wrong, Fred?"

"Imagine if they end up wearing pointed hats and fly on brooms?"

"They do. It's in the supply list."

Everyone turned to Serph. "Read them. They're invitations to a boarding school." Serph then handed over his letter to Fred, pointing a paragraph to him.

"A teacher will show up in two days in the morning… Do you have classes that day?"

Greg shook his head. "They're afternoon classes. We won't lose them."

"Hold your horses", interfered Roland. All the children turned to stare at him. "Fred's cool and all, but how're we gonna tell it to our parents? You realize that this is a boarding school. And what will we tell to everyone else?"

They all grew silent, with a few nodding in agreement.

Fred thought it over. "Can you guys tell your parents tomorrow to come and visit?" Jinana nodded. Roland shrugged. "Greg?"

The dark skinned boy nodded. "It's fine. You'll be there, after all." At times, Fred wondered if Greg saw in him what he saw in Greg. The skin tone, the eye colour, the tall cheekbones… He wondered if he knew, or at least suspected something.

Fred turned to Adil, James and Amelia. "You three should keep this a secret from everyone. We'll tell you what happens but you'll have to come up with a good excuse. We'll talk about this another time, alright?" The three nodded.

Who else could they tell… Ah, yes. "I'll tell Kathy too. She'll believe it no problem."

"Mrs. Kathy at Mad Mart? Are you sure?"

"She still has the Jack O'Lantern working for her, doesn't she? And she's in Lokapala too."

"Oh yeah…"

How exactly that Jack O'Lantern was able to find enough Magnetite to survive, no one knew. There were no murders or missing persons in the area. Perhaps he had found some place with high raw data concentration or some old storage facility… The meat factories and the other Karma Society facilities still had not been cleaned up completely. Right after the sun went back to normal, Fred had ordered everyone else to only clean up the bodies, the ruble and all the spilled gore, but otherwise leave them intact.

Putting away the statues had been far more important. They were still not done with that.

"We'll talk more the day after tomorrow. We still don't know anything after all. This could be a prank."

Nobody responded.

The following day everyone was on edge. The children were hardly able to focus on their classes, which was very unusual for most of them. Eventually the teachers asked them if they wanted to go home early but they declined.

Fred had spent the day sorting through the never ending lists of human statues that still lingered the streets. Most of them had been downloaded by God and never returned, which hopefully meant that they had properly died instead of being trapped between life and death. However, Portland had remained largely untouched by the destruction, and thus the statues remained. After he took charge of the remaining Lokapala members and pretty much everyone else, he organized the creation of massive grave sites around the city. The idea was that since no cure was coming any time soon, they should bury the dead properly and hope that they would dissolve over the years and thus recycle their data.

In charge at thirteen. He was the only one left capable of leading, the only one who knew enough of what was happening to give orders. Not just his friends and the surviving Lokapala, but the survivors of Karma City too, those who had spent their lives in an artificial paradise, oblivious to the chaos, now running around in circles and talking nonsense. It was too much.

He had never shared any of this with anyone. His friends had distanced themselves from him. They had not seen what he had. Fred guessed that to them it was like he left for a day and came back as an adult. He guessed he sort of had. Fred barely gave himself enough time to mourn before getting to work.

Fred shook his head. Nothing wrong with reminiscing, but too much of that would lead him to a downwards spiral. The previous leader was a stellar example of that.

That night they gathered up to discuss the letters again. Greg, Roland and Jinana had also called to tell them they'd be there tomorrow. Roland was no issue anyway; he lived in the orphanage so he had no one to ask. Jinana's own guardians would be there too. Greg had called nearly an hour after the two but he confirmed they would be there. He sounded pretty tired when he said that. Fred silently scolded himself for that. He should have gone to talk with his guardians himself instead of making Greg do it.

Sleep was difficult to come that night. He could have sworn that the kids were taking shifts. Fred thought about scolding them but decided against it. If that made them feel more at ease, it was fine by him. Fred was also awake, in spite of being exhausted. He knew that Heat and Gale had spotted him – their windows were lit, after all – but he said nothing.

The night breeze was chilly but rejuvenating. The sky was crystal clear, devoid of clouds and light pollution. The galaxy was perfectly visible.

Fred wondered sometimes if the rest of the stars were like the sun; massive balls of data that gave birth to entire worlds. Except that data was people's thoughts. If that were the case, then what about all the fossils and stuff that existed before people? Did human imagination created them? Or was the sun a normal star until the humans influenced it and it became God?

Fred knew that he would not find the answer to these questions by quietly pondering over them. At nights like these, he liked picking one of the previous leader's – now his – old literature books and just read as far as he could.

They were all so worn, carrying the faded scent of alcohol in their pages. What to choose…

His eye caught a flash of movement. Fred reached for his gun, but then he took a better look. It was just Serph. Fred relaxed. He thought somebody had snuck into the house for a moment.

Serph slowly approached him. He was in his sleep clothes, looking completely relaxed and just slightly sleepy, in spite of the late hour. "You're nervous", he said in a quiet voice.

Fred smiled at him. Serph was rarely the one to start a conversation. "I thought somebody got in."

"They would have told us." He meant Heat and Gale.

"That's true."

They stayed silent for a while longer. Fred found it discomforting. It felt like Serph was waiting for him to say something. He glanced at him and the boy smiled. Fred released a sigh. It was impossible to refuse him.

"I think they have some kind of tracker on us." Serph raised an eyebrow. Fred cleared his throat. "How do I say this… A tracker, yeah. Or some scanner, like that Analyze spell." He froze. He let that slip…

He glanced at Serph, but the grey-eyed boy was still looking at him with that calm, knowing smile. Something in him loosened at the sight. Of course he knew…

Fred could not take the stuffiness of the indoors space any longer. He led Serph outside. The both sat right on the door. Serph was staring at his feet. Fred at the dirt bellow.

"It's just, they knew stuff like your full names and your gender but not any personal information. Like, those letters were really official, you know? Fancy ink aside. They all said the same things… And the address was too exact. I don't think it's a human who wrote that. It's like an automated email… I think." Fred chuckled a little. "I've never actually seen one. Some older guys told me they were like that." Serph laughed a little as well.

The small moment of laughter faded into somberness. "Serph… did you see that black cat?" The boy did not answer. "Last time that cat showed up was right before I found you."

Serph turned to look at him. His expression – or lack of thereof – made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. He pressed on.

"Every time that cat showed up, very important things happened. The first time I saw it was right before the sun went back to normal. Before that, it was when we broke into the E.G.G. facililty…"

The older man took a deep breath. "Serph, I want you to know that tomorrow, your life will change forever. I know it sounds really dramatic, but I didn't have any warning at all. So here. I don't know what'll happen, but I want you guys to know that."

Serph looked at him in the eye. "You did your best, Fred."

"That doesn't mean I can rest easy."

Serph gave him a sharp nod. It was a confirmation of what they both already knew. Fred had to keep on working. Everyone had to keep on working. The only reason Serph and Sera were here was to make sure that they all did just that.

Fred took a look at the book he had picked out. It was one of his late guardian's odder choices – the Epic of Gilgamesh. It did not have much to do with the situation at hand, but it was something to read at the very least. Serph leaned over his shoulder to read along. The lights at Gale and Heat's rooms turned off.

The night was spent in blissful silence; for all he knew, it would be the last one in a while.

Author note: I swear I will explain what just happened here. From the next chapter, that is. Characterization is mildly challenging; Fred is all grown up, the kids are kids with hints of their old personalities, and I'm intentionally keeping an air of mystery around Serph. Honestly, not even I am quite so sure what is going on in his head. I will go more into depth in the future.

I would love to hear you opinion on this.

Signed, HelenTheMoon.

P.S. Do not expect the update rate to always be so frequent.