Thanks for the reviews for last chapter! There is a surprise at the end of the chapter :O Read to find out what it is!


I jumped in front of the dog and luckily Kimi didn't fire the arrow. "He's fine. He just gets excited about new visitors."

"What is he?"

"He's what humans call a dog. They keep them for company." I patted Timothy's head, who had no idea she was almost killed. "Specifically he's called a golden retriever."

Kimi stared a long time at Timothy, then put her bow away. "Invite me in, then."

I held onto Timothy's collar and took her back inside the house, then held the door open for Kimi, who walked in and looked around. She looked like she was going to draw her weapon at the first sign of danger.

"Shyla! I've brought a visitor." I called.

"What is she wearing?" My sister came downstairs, buttoning up her top. I had no idea what she had been doing, but I didn't want to know.

"This is-"

"Kimingleva."

"That's a strange name. Where are you from?"

Before Kimi could say anything, I said, "Russia."

"Oh… Cool. So do you have a house or anything?"

"I don't need one. I'm fighting and finding food most of the time."

"...Right. Anyway Alex, Aunt Marie is in the garden and Mom will be here for a visit in a bit." Shyla said and went back upstairs, closing her bedroom door a little loudly.

"Do you really find food all the time?" I asked.

"Asmodae isn't plentiful in food. If you want fresh meat, you have to get it yourself."

Wow, I thought. I would hate to live on her planet. "So is all of your planet like that?"

"No, the Elyos have it easy." Kimi talked about the Elyos with deep hatred and venom in her voice.

"So… Why don't you share resources?"

"Why would we want to share anything with them when they almost destroyed the world?" Kimi walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Wait, what?" I quickly followed her in.

"Atreia was different before the Cataclysm. There were no Asmodians or Elyos, everyone lived together. We would fight against the Balaur, who were trying to either dominate or destroy everything and everyone. It lasted for thousands of years, then the Empyrean Lords suggested peace to the Balaur but something happened and the planet shattered. It was the Elyos' Empyrean Lord Ariel, who suggested peace and because of that, the Asmodians have to fight to survive. The weak never stand a chance."

I was struck semi speechless. Well that's one reason to hate them, I guess. "So… Do you see each other?"

"Oh yes. There are rifts that keep appearing in the sky and the Elyos come through, blaming us for what happened. We kill any that come through."

"So when you appeared here…"

"I was hunting Elyos." Kimi said, matter of factly like it was completely normal to go killing people - Daevas.

"So, the Elyos. Do they look like you?"

"Of course not. They look almost like the Ancient Atreians once did. White wings, luminous skin… They-"

"Wait, what wings?" She has never mentioned this before.

"Of course. There's no Aether here, so I can't show you but all Daevas have wings."

Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I looked at Kimi's chest and saw something glowing. "Hey there's something glowing on your chest."

"It's my necklace." She's knows the word necklace as well. I wonder what other words she knows. "It contains Aether but not a lot." She took it out from under her clothes and I saw it wasn't like anything on Earth (obviously). It was a chain and on the end sat a glowing white ball. It flickered occasionally. "It's running out."

"Is that bad?"

"I don't know what will happen when it runs out. Daevas need Aether to fuel their immortality."

"So without it, you'll become human?" Honestly that didn't sound so bad.

"Without it, I'll die."

"Oh well then, we had better find that rift." A sudden urgency came over me. I had to save Kimingleva, despite nearly killing me and Timothy. I couldn't watch her die. "How do you know where to look?"

"The necklace will glow brighter when it detects Aether. I suggest we go to the woods. It's where I came from." Kimi got up and walked out of the house. I quickly followed her, shouting a quick "Bye!" And leaving before anyone could stop me.

Walking to the forest, I realised I had to get fitter. Kimi walked so fast, I was out of breath just keeping up with her.

Finally, we reached the spot where she said she had come out from.

"So… Uh… This is… Where you came.. From?" I panted, collapsing down on the ground, completely out of breath.

"Yes. There is still leftover Aether here, but it's fading fast." Kimi sighed.

"How often… Do rifts appear on your planet?"

"I don't count. I'm mainly hunting. But they appear mainly in Beluslan, Morheim, Enshar and Gelkmaros." I guessed those were cities or something on her planet, but I didn't ask. I needed to catch my breath. "Wait. I feel something." Kimi stepped back. I got up and backed away, not fancying being obliterated, if the rift appeared.

I looked at Kimi's necklace and it was glowing as bright as the Sun. I waited anxiously and then electricity crackled through the air and a huge rift I'm guessing with all sorts of colours swirling in it crackled into existence. "Is that the rift?" I had to raise my voice a little over the noise.

"Yes, but I can't go through it. It's the rift I came through from Asmodae."

Something told me this wasn't going to end well. I got an unpleasant feeling, taking a wild guess who would come through. Please don't be who I'm thinking of.

The rift flashed, and a guy fell from the rift. He recovered quickly and looked back. The rift shook, then with a crack of electricity and bright light it disappeared.

Kimingleva growled, her eyes glowing red and aiming her bow at the man. "Elyos!"


So what do you think will happen? And what are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading!