In the city of Constella, the city where people worshipped the stars, everyone was hurrying to prepare a festival. Despite the thick snow on the ground, nobody seemed to mind them, instead, they focused on their tasks and finished them as soon as possible. This day would mark a special moment, which the High Priestess of Constella would pray and wish upon the stars for the good omens happening on the next year. Elena was an elegant young girl, who had long white hair inherit from her mother, so did her beauty. Born from a high-class family, she was destined to hold a noble position in Constella, specifically, she was taught and promoted to be the High Priestess of Constella, just like her mother was.
But the festival did not go smoothly. When the architectures were working with their statues, the Gargoyles suddenly appeared and attacked them. Thankfully, Elena happened to be in the accident at the right moment. With her powerful magic, she successfully subdued the Gargoyle and chased them away. But it did not help her to sway the thought that something or somebody was trying to sabotage the festival.
When Elena went back to her room, she asked two persons to observe the repair of the damage the Gargoyle caused. One was a handsome doctor, who was exhaled from the Damus house, a noble family in Aakhen. He wore a complex combination of clothes: a white and noble white and black coat, a pair of black pants and boots. He also had a plague mask hanged in front of his neck and some potions attached to his coat. He was a kind man, who used his skill to cure people without money. Elena had a crush on him, but the doctor, named Ray, seemed not to notice it and saw her as a friend instead, which annoyed Elena so much. Meanwhile, the other one was...
"Al!"
A young Suin, who had short black hair and cat ears turned back. He looked at the young man, who had similar hair color as him, calling out his name.
"Pavel, Cerise. You came," the young Suin greeted them.
Pavel was Al's friend, who trained with him in Perlands City. Despite the cold weather, Pavel seemed not to be affected by the cold, totally different than Al. If Al wore warm black clothes to keep him withstanding the cold, Pavel only wore long pants and a black tank top, with an old brownish scarf. Looking at him, Al was amazed and wondered if his friend felt the cold or not. Meanwhile, Cerise was the daughter of the Citylord of Aakhen. And she marked herself with her noble, complex, and luxurious clothes. She had short blue hair with a piece of white hair in front. Just like Pavel, she did not feel the cold at all, despite her clothes did not look like warm ones.
Seeing the destruction created by the Gargoyle, Cerise asked, "Did something happen?"
"Yeah," Al nodded, "The Gargoyle suddenly went on a rampage. Thankfully, Elena stopped them so they did not cause harm much."
"Oh, Cerise, Pavel. I didn't know that you came," the doctor said in surprise.
"It's really nice to see you here, Ray," Cerise said, and she asked, "Where's Elena?"
"She returned to her home, saying she would need to change her dress for the festival," Ray answered.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting!"
The four of them turned back, and all they saw was a completely different Elena. Not only she tied and changed her hairstyle, she looked even more beautiful when the city lightened up. She also changed her dress, from a white one to a blue, and showed off her smooth and white shoulder, and the dress revealed yet hid her chest.
"How do I look?" Elena asked but she kept looking at Ray. Only Al and Cerise noticed that.
"You look good," Ray spoke calmly.
"That's a fine dress," Pavel showed the same expression as Ray.
When they spoke, both Cerise and Al were completely silent.
"That's it? That's all you could say?" Elena was surprised and she was really annoyed, especially as Ray.
"Er..." Ray was stunned. He knew Elena was angry but he did not know why. Meanwhile, Pavel just stood there and did not say anything.
"Fine!" Elena muffled in anger, and she left without saying anything else, leaving the four of them, which two of them did not understand what just happened and why she acted like that.
"Ray, Pavel, you two are hopeless," Cerise commented, and she did not hold back any punch.
"What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?" Ray asked and he had no idea what he just did.
"Why are you angry at us? What about Al?" Pavel asked and looked at the Suin.
"Forget about it. The two of you should help to repair and prepare for the festival. After that, I will explain why."
When Cerise spoke that, she actually meant it. Seeing how mad she was, both Ray and Pavel had no choice but to follow her order.
When Ray and Pavel left, Cerise stood with Al for a while. Then, she asked, "Why didn't you say anything?"
Al smiled, "Even if I said something, it wouldn't change the fact that she wanted to be complemented by Ray."
"Well, I can't say I disagree," Cerise sighed. But then, she saw the sadness in Al's eyes. She then asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Al replied, "I just finished buried my parents. It's on a hill that has a nice view of the sky."
Cerise paused. Al's grief for his parents was the reason she was not angry at Al when he did not comment on Elena's new dress.
Not long ago, the entire Cidonia continent was stuck into a war, between good and evil, between trust and betrayal. One day, Straze, a mysterious man who held unbelievable divine power, came from another dimension to Orbis and he waged a war between his monster army and every city of Cidonia. The first city involved in the war was Crimson City Meldric, a city that worshiped the Fire Spirit. The second city was Perland, the most advantaged city all over Cidonia, where Pavel came from and swore to protect. Another thing was Cerise was a transferred student who came to Perland to study. Aakhen city, Cerise and Ray's hometown, was having a hard time overcoming the hardship. Led by Citylord Furious, Cerise's father, the city's circumstance was getting worse but thankfully, Furious was not a bad leader. After the war, with the help of his daughter, the city kept getting better and better. The next city was Witchaven, also known as, the city of sorcerers, which was having a hard time shifting between the new and old leaders. The final city was Constella, which was Elena and Al's hometown. But the war was not the worst thing. Before the war happened, every city closed to each other, and each of them had its own problems, which had been stressed for years until the war came. Miraculously, every city put their ignorance and difference aside and worked together to defeat Streaze and stopped the war.
But the aftermath of the war was still there. Perland's leader, Lilias, joined side with Straze and worked with him to invade the other cities, which no one could expect it. Until now, Pavel and Al could not believe why she betrayed their trust and became a cruel and ambitious queen, who would do and sacrifice everything to gain what she wanted. And Lilias's goal was to rule all over Cidonia. Both Pavel and Al were the member of the Perland's Raiders, an organization swore to protect the city. Together, they worked their own way to find out why Lilias betrayed them. But they found out she was not the only one who did so. Al's parents also joined her, and they were known to be killed as their punishment.
Back to the present, Al tried to hold his tears, and his hands did not stop shaking. He spoke with a trembling voice, "But why? Why did they join Lilias?"
Cerise tried to comfort him but she did not know what to say. They all saw the proof and his parents had to pay the price for joining the cruel and ambitious queen. And they stayed silent.
Suddenly, when tears were rolling on Al's face, he felt something. A sinister aura surfaced and he looked at where it came. He wondered what was it and why it appeared, and he started feeling uneasy.
Seeing he was acting strange, Cerise asked with her worrying voice, "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
Al did not answer her immediately. Wiping out his tears, he looked at Cerise and asked, "Do you feel that?"
Cerise replied, "What do you mean?"
Al then understood that. Only he noticed the sinister aura. He did not understand why he could feel where the source came from but he knew he had to take action before it was too late, even if it was a mistake. He then turned to Cerise and asked, "Can you please look after them?"
"Where are you going?" Cerise asked when Al was about to leave. She looked worried and did not want him to do anything recklessly.
"I just need to check something," Al said. He did not want to worry his friends and alerted the city unnecessarily. But he knew what he should do if he was right.
Looking at his eyes directly, Cerise could sense something. Concerning Al, she suggested, "If something happens..."
"Don't worry, I will send a signal if something is wrong," Al said and he left afterward.