The Vessels woke up early that one morning. But as soon as they reached the garden, they soon noticed that Hideoki was busy tending the garden.

"Okay. When was the last time I saw Hideoki-san did this?" Itsuki couldn't help asking that soon broke the silence among the group which consisted of him, Shuichi, Misae, and his sister Erika.

"Last year, I guess. Though I'm not sure," Misae answered and proceeded to think about it.

"Well, we're all unsure about that. Besides, Hideoki-san rarely tend the garden. He's usually in his room reading some papers or more often, in the restaurant's kitchen thinking of new dishes to add to the menu." This time, it was Shuichi who said that.

Soon after, Nanami arrived to where they were standing at and placed her hands on Misae and Itsuki's shoulder.

"It's a yearly habit of my cousin whenever Mariko's birthday would arrive," she said.

"Ah, that's right." Erika nodded when she said that as her reply.

Then they all remembered that it was indeed Mariko's birthday. But this was one of the rare times in ten years that they saw Hideoki personally tend the garden his late wife would usually take of. The usual person who would do that would either be Eichirou or Akira.

"Speaking of which..." Erika started upon thinking of that and looked around the area, in and out of the mansion. "...where is Eichirou-san? Shouldn't he be helping Hideoki-san, at the least? I mean, it is about Mariko-san, after all."

"He's busy right now."

Misae and Itsuki faced the older woman. "Busy? On what?"

"Today, he said he has to head out early in order to prepare for a photo exhibit to be held two days from now," Nanami explained.

"Oh, right. The photo exhibit. He's been staying up late just for that these past days. I hope he's okay," Misae couldn't help voicing out her worries for the eldest Vessel.

"He was doing it for his mother, so I guess all the stress and fatigue will be worth it in the end."

They all turned to the source of that voice just behind them. They saw Helen looking at Hideoki, but the prominent thing they noticed about her was the scroll she was holding.

"You're early in visiting the bookstore," Nanami commented with a smile. But Helen didn't say anything after that but just returned the older woman's smile.

"I'll be heading out for a while. Tell Mizuhashi-san that I'll be late for the training later."

Nanami nodded and just watched Helen leave the mansion. But not without wondering as to why Helen would head outside for a while.

xxxxxx

That photo exhibit, as Amuro had guessed before, was mentioned in one of the letters sent to the Mizuhashi mansion a week before the letters for Hideoki arrived. Since the anniversary of Mizihashi Mariko's debut to the fashion world fell on the day after her birthday, Eichirou decided to do the exhibit on that day.

He was busy doing the last checks necessary to that location so that all he needed to worry about were the photos to be displayed there.

"Mizuhashi-san, the lightings for the stage are all done."

Eichirou turned to one of the technicians he hired for the job.

"Alright, thanks. Once the photos are all here by tomorrow, I'll ask for your help again to set up the remaining lightings."

The technician agreed and soon proceeded to continue the rest of their task for that day.

After that, Eichirou heaved a sigh and eyed the stage with hopeful eyes.

He has one plan that he wanted to happen for that day and that was for him to be able to talk to someone who had a big part in his mother's life.

But he only had one problem, though.

"Are you sure you could convince her to take part of the exhibit that you're planning for Mariko-san's birthday?" Kanako asked as soon as she approached the photographer.

Once more, Eichirou sighed and faced Kanako who eyed him with worries.

"To be honest, Kana-chan... I don't know. The person I need to talk to didn't even appear to me and my father ever since my mother's death."

And Eichirou was somehow aware of the fact that the said person held a certain amount of grudge towards Mariko.

"Can I leave things to you for a while? I think I need to breathe some fresh air," Eichirou inquired after a while.

Kanako nodded and took the clipboard with the list from Eichirou. "Just make sure the air you decided to breathe in would actually clear your mind."

The photographer laughed at that and finally left the room. He already stood on the hallway and while thinking of something to do to put his plans in motion, he stopped to his tracks when he noticed something on one part of the lobby.

"Why is she here?" Eichirou couldn't help uttering as soon as he saw Helen looking at one of the paintings hanging by the lobby. "And what's with that painting?"

Weird enough, he could sense something strange about that painting. But what could that strange feeling be?

xxxxxx

Helen left the building long before Eichirou could even approach her.

Wait, is that girl a speed runner or something? She's fast.

Despite the disappointment he felt, he just sighed before going inside the building once more. But having his head filled with curiosity with regards to the painting in question, he decided to approach it.

To his confusion, it was the painting of a regally-looking woman clad in a flowing Greek-style white dress. She seemed like a goddess with that outfit.

The painting appeared to be ancient, and definitely something he had never seen before.

Upon looking around, he saw the manager currently fixing one of the paintings displayed in the hallway of that building. Without hesitation, Eichirou approached him.

"Iwasaki-san, do you mind if I ask you something?" Eichirou ventured as soon as he saw the building manager.

The said man approached the young photographer with a cordial smile. "It seems to me that something caught your attention, huh?"

Eichirou smiled before nodding. "So you guessed it." Soon after, his expression turned serious. "It's actually about this painting."

Mr. Iwasaki faced the aforementioned painting and his expression brightened before turning to nostalgia. "I remember your mother smiling at this every time she would look at this."

"My mom?" Now that had truly caught Eichirou's attention.

The building manager nodded. "This was from your mom. She wanted it to be placed somewhere in this building as soon as she received it from a client. From what Mariko-san told me, that client gave it to her as a celebratory gift for her debut."

Okay. How come he had never heard about this?

It only made him unable to say anything. Once again, Eichirou decided to take another look at the painting. But upon looking at it carefully, he was surprised to see the Hundred Heavens' lotus symbol drawn on the ball of light that the woman in the painting was holding.

What was this supposed to mean?

He was supposed to ask Mr. Iwasaki about the identity of the client who gave the painting to his mother, but the beeping coming from his Celestial Shifter soon interrupted him, indicating that another Tarean attack was happening.

"Just great..." Eichirou couldn't help grumbling under his breath.

But then, he didn't have much of a choice. It was his duty.

xxxxxx

At that same moment, the other Vessels got alerted about the attack with their Celestial Shifters beeping at the same time. Itsuki couldn't help groaning before opening his Shifter to assess the situation.

"It's on the Four Clubs Building," Itsuki stated that seemed to have surprised Akira, making everyone focus their attention on the young mechanic.

"Isn't that the building where they held most of the famous exhibits and fashion shows over the years?" Erika asked and Shuichi nodded.

But his attention remained on the distraught-looking Akira.

Misae faced the concerned person with a frown. "Is there something wrong, Akira-kun?"

"That's the same building where Eichirou-san will hold his photo exhibit for him to commemorate Mariko-san's debut in the fashion world."

"Which means, Eichirou is already there. We better hurry."

The rest agreed to Shuichi's words and with the help of Nanami's teleportation ability, they ended up getting transported in front of Four Clubs Building in a matter of seconds.

"Ah... What had just happened here?" Misae could only ask as she and her companions looked around the area the moment they had arrived.

They saw quite an amount of people seemingly petrified.

"They looked as if an ice spell hit them and froze them to spot," Erika said as she walked around cautiously.

"It's not an ice spell that did this," Itsuki stated soon after. The others turned to where the composer was and they saw him touching one of the petrified victims. "They're still warm. No ice magic could preserve the victims' body temperature."

Shuichi nodded as soon as he understood the situation. "That means magic is the only answer as to why they're like this."

"Yeah, but what kind of magic? And what kind of Triske Monster are we going to deal with right now?"

Well, it was the question that they wanted to find answers immediately. And that means they had to find Eichirou as soon as possible. They all went in to Four Clubs Building and looked around for any signs of their comrade.

Just like what they seen outside the building, similar situation could be seen inside, as well. Moments later, the four Vessels heard clashing sounds. That was when they knew the answer, so they all hurried towards the source of the sound.

When they looked around the hall to find Eichirou, they saw the said person had donned his armor and fighting quite a large group of Gargonemas while trying to fend them off from the other people in the area who weren't affected.

"Eichirou-san!" Misae called out.

Though the blue warrior didn't spare them a glance, his frustration as he took out several Gargonemas in his path could be seen as enough answer. The others soon donned their suits and decided to help SeitenWater.

Soon after, a Triske Monster whose form was based on a camera appeared before the Seitengers.

"Okay. Does any of you know the name of that monster?"

"Seriously, does it even matter?" SeitenLight asked back quite incredulous to SeitenFire's question.

"Hey! It's still needed for a proper introduction, you know."

The rest could only shake their heads, in spite of the Gargonemas holding them off.

"He introduced himself as Macera earlier when he started petrifying everyone here!" SeitenWater shouted as he continued to deal with Gargonemas on his end.

"Thanks for answering, Eichirou!" SeitenFire still managed to replied before striking the Gargonemas in front of him with a grunt.

While it was happening and when SeitenWater finally destroyed the Gargonemas he was fighting, he ordered the people who weren't petrified to leave the building before the monster could petrify them.

It was a good thing that all of them were still sane enough to do what was needed. But SeitenWater soon noticed that one of those people who got trapped inside the hall refused to leave. He frowned at that.

Wait a minute! Could that be...?

But more important issues got SeitenWater's attention instead and distracted him away from that particular person. He soon noticed Kanako making sure that the other people could escape the building unscathed.

"Kana-chan, once you're done with that, make sure you take that woman out of here, as well. If it's necessary that you use force to do that, then do it," SeitenWater ordered and pointed to the woman that he saw earlier looking at him.

The young woman followed the direction Eichirou was pointing at and it dawned to her as to who the woman was.

"Isn't that...?"

SeitenWater nodded once. "Yeah, it's her. My mother's former apprentice, Odagawa Haruna."

Kanako understood SeitenWater's intention and agreed to what he asked her to do. "Don't worry. I'll do it."

And with that, the childhood friends did their respective tasks at hand. Once again, Gargonemas attacked SeitenWater who, in frustration, cast a real freezing spell towards the enemy group before casting a single slash attack powerful enough to eliminate the goons.

He wanted to heave a sigh after doing that, but he couldn't. Especially upon sensing Macera's dark energy, as if charging himself to cast a deadly attack. When SeitenWater looked for the source, he soon confirmed his suspicion, especially when he saw the Triske Monster turned to the escaping Kanako and Haruna and used its camera-like weapon to send a light beam towards the two women.

"Kana-chan, run!" SeitenWater yelled in fear as the thought of his childhood friend getting hurt once again started to cripple him.

Thankfully, the two women managed to evade the first attack and ran fast with no turning back. SeitenWater gripped his Hyakureider tight and eyed the Triske Monster in anger for nearly hurting Kanako and his mother's former apprentice.

"You're going to pay for that!" he exclaimed in rage and charged towards Macera who just cackled and waited for the blue warrior to attack.

Not long after, Macera cast the same deadly spell towards the approaching SeitenWater using his camera-like hand by flashing a glaring light from it. Around the same time, however, when SeitenWater was ready to avoid it in order not to be petrified, the lotus symbol on his helmet emanated a flash of blue light that stopped him from running towards the monster.

True enough, the flash of light distracted even the Triske Monster and he used that to fire a barrage of ice attack towards the monster. To his surprise, SeitenLight used that as a medium to cast her light attack, letting the ice act as reflectors for the white warrior's spell.

This move made Macera retreat, but not without leaving them a warning about the fates of the petrified victims.

"You better not think this is over, Seitengers! You only have 24 hours to defeat me and restore those I've petrified back to normal. Well, I don't think you can even do that. All of you are still weak!"

Though the Seitengers wanted to chase the Triske Monster and end his life, it would be impossible. Not to mention that the monster's warning alarmed them.

"We only have 24 hours? This is a joke, right?"

xxxxxx

Heaving a heavy sigh wasn't enough to calm down the Vessels, especially if the situation hadn't been settled completely. Not to mention that there were petrified victims in which they all needed to save before the Triske Monster's given time limit. Though at some part, Itsuki couldn't help doubting the Triske Monster's words.

"Well, I think the damage that Erika and Eichirou-san is enough to shut him up for the time being," Misae stated after placing all the victims in one room for the meantime for protection's sake.

"Yeah, and that means we need to do all that we can to bring them all back to normal."

"The only question is, how we'll we be able to do that. It's not like we can drag that monster out of the Tareus Dimension and end him to the spot. That would mean suicide for all of us," Eichirou said, speaking for the first time.

But the other Vessels noticed something weird about the photographer. Only at that point, they chose not to say anything at the moment as they knew how pissed off Eichirou was. Or at least it looked that way.

"Yes, it does mean suicide. But we're not that crazy to die immediately when we still have a job to finish here," Shuichi said after a few moments of silence. "And I think right now, you better finish that other job you wanted to deal with for some time now, Eichirou."

Of course, that only made the photographer face the biker placidly looking at him. It didn't take him long to understand Shuichi's words. Eichirou soon turned to one area of that building after disintegrating his armor and saw Kanako and the woman Haruna talking quite heatedly to each other for some reason. The sight made him frown, though.

I wonder what they're talking about. Nevertheless, he had issues to deal with at the moment. His friends gave him the chance to do it without worrying about Macera for a while. He might as well take it.

Right after taking a deep breath since he really needed it, Eichirou started walking to approach the two women. But he hadn't even walked halfway when suddenly, Haruna turned sharply to his direction that made him halt to a stop. Debating for a short while whether or not he would smile, he just looked at the said woman.

"Don't include me in any of your plans, Mizuhashi. Especially if it has something to do with your mother," Haruna started rather icily that made Eichirou frown.

After that, she left him there a little speechless and at the same time, confused because of Haruna's actions and attitude. A few moments after recovering, he sought answer to Kanako who just sighed quite disappointingly and shook her head. Eichirou could only watch Haruna walk away from that place.

What happened for her to become like that?

"Are you alright, Eichirou-san?" Itsuki ventured when none of the group could approach the photographer.

Eichirou sighed without tearing his gaze from Haruna. "I don't know."

xxxxxx

Minus Eichirou, the rest of the Vessels returned to the mansion to figure out what to do to save the victims within the 24-hour limit that Macera gave. Though if one would be honest, having to deal with time limits that a Triske Monster gave was even more frustrating than dealing with due dates for their personal projects related to their fields.

"24 hours? I wanted to say it's a joke, but-"

"No, it's not. Macera always do that, even in the ancient times."

That voice made them turn to the source, only to see Akira and Hideoki entering the living room, with the former holding two scrolls on his hands.

"What are those scrolls for?" Itsuki couldn't help asking with a frown.

Akira sat on the sofa first and placed the said scrolls on the center table before facing the Vessels. "These scrolls contain information about Macera. It was the first Vessel of the Heavenly Water Spirit Guardian's Powers who first encountered this Triske Monster 5,000 years ago. And believe it or not, the time limit that Macera gave at that time for someone to save his victims was shorter than 24 hours."

"You're joking?" Misae asked with wide eyes.

But Akira remained stoic as he shook his head. "No, I'm not. For some reason, with the way he lengthened his time limit now could possibly mean that the Tarean's imprisonment in the Tareus Dimension had weakened them considerably."

"Well, 5,000 years is no joke," Erika commented.

"You could say that," Hideoki smiled at Erika's comment. "By the way, how come Eichirou didn't come home with you?"

The Vessels looked at each other for a few moments before facing the head of the Mizuhashi household with a sigh. Shuichi decided to speak for the group. "Well, he has his own issues to deal with and I said to him that he should settle it first before we deal with Macera again."

"Own issues? Are you talking about Odagawa Haruna?"

"The famous fashion designer?"

"Yes, it's about her," Shuichi replied placidly. "It seems that Eichirou wouldn't want to rest until he gets to the bottom of the problem regarding her."

"I don't think that boy would easily convince Haruna to help him with his own project considering the fact that she hates Mariko to a degree."

"Hideoki-san, I think 'hate' could be a really heavy words to use for that," Misae commented with a wince.

The historian just gave a small smile. "But that's the truth, my dear. At least, Haruna stated it that way."

"Why does she act like that towards Mariko-san, anyway?" Itsuki asked.

For a few moments, Hideoki peered at Mariko's picture placed in a picture frame on top of the fireplace. "That's because Odagawa Haruna had been Mariko's apprentice until my wife died. And yet, even if she'd been dead for a long time now, it appears that my wife's shadow continues to cloud Haruna's real identity in fashion world. People would associate Haruna to Mariko most of the time no matter how hard she tried to stay away from it."

"But... isn't that the same as us? Our parents' achievements in their respective fields that people would always associate to our achievements," Erika couldn't help commenting that only made the others nod in agreement.

In fact, they could understand where Haruna's hatred would stem from. But they could also see that they appeared to have handled it differently from Haruna.

"Anyway, we'll just leave it to Eichirou for now. I think he'll be able to figure something out," Shuichi soon stated with a determined voice that disrupted the temporary silence surrounding them. "What we need to worry about right now should be Macera's time limit to the victims."

Itsuki nodded before speaking once again. "The only way for us to counter that would be to deal with his flashing light attack. The camera-like hand of that monster is definitely the key."

"The problem is we need to destroy that hand without getting petrified by the light coming from there. Doing it one by one would be suicide. Same goes to doing it together," Misae reminded. "Now I can finally understand why Eichirou-san said that earlier."

"Speaking of Eichirou-san..." Erika paused and faced the others with a confused expression. "Did any of you see the blue light that suddenly flashed from his helmet a while back?"

"Blue light? The only color of light I saw at the time was white and that was coming from you, Erika," Itsuki stated. "Remember? You suddenly used your light powers to reflect with Eichirou-san's ice spell earlier." The composer's eyes soon widened right after saying that. "Wait a minute! Of course. Why didn't we think of that?"

It didn't take too long for the other Vessels to realize something from there. But Shuichi had another matter to think of besides the plan to destroy Macera. Erika said about the blue light flashing from Eichirou's helmet...

Is it possible? If it was, then the Vessels could have another advantage in the next battle besides Erika's powers. The biker couldn't help smirking at that.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, the gathered energy coming from the petrified humans' hopelessness was pouring down to the still slumbering emperor. Though it was enough to make Emperor Darshao open his eyes and talk to his retainers, it still wasn't enough to make him stand up and move completely.

"What do we expect? It still isn't enough. Our emperor need more energy coming from those filthy humans' hopelessness." Alvre's disappointment were expressed as she said those words.

Of course, as expected, that news had caused another frustration to the said Tarean leader expressed through growling. But since he was still unable to move properly, the emperor could only do so with his leaking powers enough to cause thunder and lightning to roar and strike around the Fortress of Screams once again.

With a sigh, Karkino faced Macera who was only busy jumping up and down and swinging his flashlight-like arm.

"Macera, are you done recovering your energy?"

"I did, my lord." The Triske Monster bowed as soon as it uttered that reply.

"Then go back to the surface and continue your job. Petrify more humans and make them feel even more hopeless than they ever had in their lives. Not just the humans. End the Seitengers, as well. No excuses!" Karkino ordered with a firm tone that left the Triske Monster no choice but to obey.

With that, Macera left the Emperor's room to proceed with its mission.

However, just like the previous attack, Orcus could sensed that something was about to happen to the Seitengers' growing powers.

"I'd like to see this one for myself one day. Grow stronger, Seitengers and we'll see if you had truly surpassed your predecessors far better than any of your kind had ever done..."

xxxxxx

Erika took a deep breath right after heading out to the garden. Hearing her brother and the others continue to discuss their tactics in defeating Macera had only given her more headache than usual. She should've expected that, though. Besides, she chose to take this path so she might as well learn to deal with this.

But as soon as she stepped outside, she saw Helen still busy reviewing the footage from their last fight. With a sigh, she approached her childhood friend and sat beside her. Helen just smiled at her before continuing the task in front of her.

"Anything unusual?" Erika asked just to break the silence between them.

Helen shook her head without looking at Erika. "None, by far. But I think we could really take advantage of the spell you used a while back with the help of Eichirou-san's ice spell." Soon after, however, Helen stopped typing on her laptop and eyed her friend with a frown. "I thought you guys were discussing your next counterattacks to defeat Macera."

"I have to stay away from them for now. I had enough of issues about Triske Monsters and trying to come up of a way to defeat them. Let's just say I need to take a breather."

Helen just smiled at Erika's way of trying to lighten up things around them despite the obvious tension because of Macera's time limit. At that point, she was able to discern what was truly wrong with her friend. "Is there something you want us to talk about? Other than the Triske Monster?"

Erika eyed the novelist before nodding somberly. "How did you know?"

"I just... know. We might not have the longest time to be together, but I was still able to figure out a lot of things about you." Helen sighed before continuing. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

It took Erika a while to finally speak. But Helen remained patient in waiting. The latter was aware that the pianist wanted to be ready. Erika sighed after a few more moments of silence between her and Helen.

"You went to the Four Clubs Building yesterday, right?"

Helen nodded almost immediately, without hesitation. "Yeah, I did. Not just yesterday, but the other day, as well."

"Was it about the painting that was there? The one that previously belonged to Mariko-san?"

Once again, the novelist nodded. "How did you know?"

"The painting that was displayed there... looked similar to the vision that I had before the fire ten years ago. Once in a while, I keep going there to look at it, hoping that it would provide some answer as to why I keep dreaming about it before," Erika explained.

"But no answer showed, huh?"

Erika nodded and sighed heavily. "What about you? Why did you go there to see it?"

It took a while for Helen to provide an answer since she was still busy replaying the footage. "Just like you, I was hoping it will give some sort of sign or answer. But my reason wasn't about a vision or anything. It's about one of Professor's research a long time ago."

"Research?"

"About... the first Seitengers... and the priestess that they were tasked to protect at the time 5,000 years ago."

Of course, Erika wasn't expecting such information at all. Then again, she was still new with these things so it was natural. "There was a priestess that they had to protect?"

Helen nodded. "When the Professor first told me about that, I thought of it as a mere fairytale. Until he told me of the Celestial Five Lights stored within a single vessel. And that's her, regarded as the most powerful maiden of her time. Her powers alone could defeat a great army of Tareans and could even deal with the Seven Great Shadow Defenders."

"Wow... I didn't know there was someone like that fighting the Tareans before."

"There was more to that story, I know it. But Professor didn't mention much about it to me since he said that every record about her was scarce."

What the two girls didn't know was that Eichirou had been listening to them the entire time. He just arrived from his talk with Haruna regarding his plans about the exhibit, which didn't turn out quite well, much to his dismay.

For some reason, he was able to hide his presence from the two girls whom he knew could detect Hasureiki and even other magical presence faster than he and the other Vessels could. It was then that he was able to realize the answer to his earlier question with regards to the painting.

Was that the story of the painting that Mom received before? Could that woman be the priestess that Helen-chan and Eri-chan are talking about?

Eichirou could only shake his head to try clearing his thoughts. His realization only led to more questions rising with regards to what they were actually fighting for.

Why would Mom allow that painting to be displayed there anyway?

xxxxxx

Even with a lot of things going on in his mind, Eichirou surprised himself for actually sleeping well last night. But then again, he knew he had to rest properly for him to be able to continue with two tasks at hand ― dealing with Haruna and defeating Macera. Well, the latter could be done with the help of the other Vessels. It was the former that he would surely had trouble accomplishing. At the moment, he was unsure if he would be able to do anything with regards to his plan.

But Eichirou really wanted to do everything to make sure the exhibit would work well in the end. It was about his mother, after all.

And yet, it was that same reason in which he found it hard to talk to Haruna. Well, he could understand her sentiments towards the shadow of Mizuhara Mariko still towering over Odagawa Haruna in the entirety of her career as a fashion designer. It was like Mariko had never died.

Looking up, he found himself standing outside of the room that Hideoki had allowed Helen to use in the duration of her stay there. To be honest, it wasn't just Haruna and Macera who made him think a lot of things. The conversation between Helen and Erika that he heard as soon as he arrived home... He wasn't sure why he felt something different about that. He wasn't mistaken that the topic those two childhood friends were talking about was the painting given to Mariko a long time ago.

Was it possible that the painting could be related to their mission as chosen Vessels?

"Good morning, Eichirou-san."

It was that greeting that snapped the photographer from his musings. He smiled as soon as he saw Erika closing the door of her room and approached him soon after. "Good morning, Eri-chan. You're early."

She smiled and pointed at the whiteboard placed on the hallway's wall. Immediately, he understood what she meant.

"Helen-chan's not there, if you're looking for her. I think she slept at Nanami-san's bookstore while doing more research to help us."

Eichirou nodded. "By the way, did you sleep well?"

"I should be the one asking that to you," Erika replied rather placidly that surprised him. She sighed after that. "Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee? I bet you really need it."

Eichirou nodded and followed Erika to the kitchen. Since it was her turn to cook and prepare breakfast for everyone and that he was already awake, he might as well help her.

Erika served a cup of black coffee to Eichirou after a few minutes. He couldn't help smiling at the sight of it, for some reason before looking at her.

"Is there something wrong?" Erika asked as she tilted her head.

He shook his head and proceeded to drink the coffee. He smiled again as soon as he tasted it. "You know what? I like the way you make my coffee better than that of Itsu-chan and Shuichi."

"You did mention the same thing to me on my third year here. I was only learning how to brew coffee properly from Hideoki-san at the time." Erika showed a nostalgic smile as she said those words. "I guess I had to learn it so I won't have to put up with the way Onii-chan would brew my coffee, even though I'm much of a tea person."

"And it wasn't because your father likes coffee?" Asking it casually was a bit of a risk on his part.

Erika was silent for a few moments before smiling once more. "At first, it was my reason for learning how to properly brew coffee. Getting away from Onii-chan's coffee was the second. But I guess I just don't want to forget my father's smile whenever my mom would make his coffee every time. His smile to me and my brother... I really don't want to forget everything about it."

No words came from Eichirou after that. Well, he understood what Erika meant. He, too, wouldn't want to forget his mother's smile. Even if people would still incorporate her image on his photos and talent in photography, he doesn't want to let her smiling image go.

"Do you think I could make her understand that?" Eichirou mumbled moments later before taking a few steps on his coffee.

"You mean Odagawa-san?"

The question asked back to him had caught him off guard. "How did you know about her?"

Erika smiled as she placed a cup of tea ― her preferred hot drink ― on the countertop. "Hideoki-san mentioned a few details about her while you were away yesterday. Though I do understand her sentiments in dealing with the shadow of someone who died a long time ago as she strived to create a name to herself, I have a feeling that a part of her holds something important about Mariko-san. I mean, she was Mariko-san's apprentice and after your mother died, Odagawa-san pursued a dream still related to it. Maybe at the moment, she still couldn't admit it to herself because of that resentment. Maybe someone has to make her realize that."

Eichirou couldn't think of anything to say after that. But he could understand where Erika was heading to with her words.

"The only way I could think of for you to make her realize that is to let her do something that is the embodiment of everything she ever felt since Mariko-san died," the pianist suggested not long after. "You already did the same thing just a year ago. I think it's about time she do something like that, as well. She needed to do something to release whatever resentment that Odagawa-san still has for your mother."

At that point, Eichirou remembered the event that Erika was talking about. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do as soon as those words registered in his mind.

"Thank you for saying that, Eri-chan."

"It's the least I can do, you know. But I do have a feeling that Odagawa-san was only a small part of your current worries. I know that you heard what Helen-chan and I were talking about yesterday."

Just as I thought... Eichirou should've seen that statement coming. So he was right about Erika being able to sense almost everything ― especially mystical energies ― around her. He wasn't sure if the others noticed that part of her, though. But if one would ask him, he did consider that observation weird.

He sighed and faced the youngest Vessel. "The painting that you and Helen-chan were talking about... Did you know that someone gave it to my mother as a gift for her debut in the fashion world?"

It was expected that Erika would be surprised to hear that. But it didn't take long as he soon saw her face turning serious as she drank her tea. "I wonder who that person was. But do you really think it has something to do with the Vessels? Helen-chan mentioned about a priestess that the first Seitengers had protected a long time ago. And that painting could tell us something about that story. Do you have any idea about the person who gave it to Mariko-san?"

He shook his head. He, too, wanted to know the answer to that question. But where would he get that answer he needed to hear?

"If such a person existed at the time that the battle with the Tareans was starting, then there must be something important about her that even old records didn't contain. Perhaps as a way to conceal it to the enemies who managed to be released from one of the broken Tarean Seals."

"Helen-chan did say that records about that priestess were scarce. Do you think verbal records existed?"

Eichirou sighed at the question. "If such a thing existed, we have to find surviving people who knew her story. One of them could possibly be the person who gave that painting to my mother."

xxxxxx

Later, the other Vessels finally woke up. But they all frowned at the sight of just Erika making herself busy in the kitchen all alone when it was supposed to be a joint morning duty by her and Eichirou.

"Don't tell me that guy left the mansion without telling us again," Shuichi started while helping Erika carry the other kitchenwares to be placed at the dining table.

"Yeah, but I actually told him to do so. He already had his breakfast before he left," Erika explained without looking at the others.

"You told him? But why?"

Erika faced his brother as soon as she finished placing the plates to their respective spots on the table. "He needed it. And since Shuichi-san seems to have a different idea as to what really happened to our battle with Macera the last time, fixing something important to him would at least provide a path for Eichirou-san to learn even more about his mother and his powers." She faced the racer after that. "Isn't that right, Shuichi-san?"

Initially taken aback at Erika's matter-of-factly tone, Shuichi soon chuckled before nodding. "You noticed, huh?"

Erika smiled and continued heading to the kitchen to get the dishes she prepared. "You went quiet after I mentioned about the flash of light that appeared when Eichirou-san and I inadvertently combined our powers to stop Macera from petrifying us. Is that particular scenario what I think it is?"

No one said anything as they all waited for Shuichi to answer Erika's question. The racer soon took a deep breath before speaking.

"Honestly, it's still a speculation. But if what happened back then was related to what happened to me during our previous battle with Motross, then we will definitely have a upper hand in defeating that Triske Monster if Eichirou indeed retrieve that power. But Erika ―" Shuichi paused and faced the pianist. "― I still want you to lend him your powers when that happens. The spell that you and Eichirou came up with, even if it was just by chance, had definitely gave Macera some damage the last time we dealt with him. However, we still need something even more powerful in order to defeat that monster once and for all. And I think we can have that, as long as Eichirou acquire that power we need."

"But do you think Eichirou-san settling whatever issues he have with that Odagawa Haruna-san can provide a path for that?" Itsuki asked.

"From what I can see until now, both Haruna-san and Eichirou have to overcome the only barrier that prevented them from unleashing their true potentials all this time. My attachment to the gift that my father gave to me was the very barrier that I dealt with when I proved myself to Condire. Maybe it's the same thing to Eichirou."

"Awakening another Elemental Guide this soon... Is that even possible?" Misae murmured and faced Itsuki. "By the way, have you read anything else yet about these beings? I can't help but think that there's something more to these creatures than just another aide in our battle as Seitengers with the Tareans."

Itsuki sighed and shook his head. "I haven't had any time lately to skim on anything related to the Hundred Heavens. My composing projects have been taking up much of my time that I couldn't even sleep properly because of it."

"Oh, yeah. The Centennial Concert here in Tsukikage is already near," Erika commented upon remembering something. "But Onii-chan, I don't think it's just your composing projects that keep you up at night as of late."

However, Itsuki chose not to say anything at the moment with regards to that. He still didn't want to disclose anything about what truly bothered him to anyone at all, including his sister.

"And you still don't want to say anything to me about that, huh?"

Itsuki saw Erika's raised eyebrow that only made him smile a little and ruffled the pianist's hair. "When I'm sure of everything, I won't miss any detail when I mention it to you. Right now, things still feel a little blurry to me."

Erika looked at her brother for a few moments before sighing. "Just don't overwork yourself, okay? We have Tareans to deal with."

The composer nodded and faced Misae soon after. "Once we're done with Macera, I'll try to read whatever details were recorded in the scrolls in Nanami-san's bookstore."

"We can ask Helen-chan about that. She tend to stay in the bookstore a lot these days, so she probably read about these Elemental Guides."

At the mention of Helen's name, everyone felt a sudden tension rising but Erika paid no mind to that. Both Shuichi and Misae shrugged it off, though. Itsuki just chose to take a deep breath and keep quiet about it. Moments later, however, he frowned at his sister's words.

"Why would she stay at the bookstore, anyway?"

"I think she's trying to find something, anything, about the priestess that the original Vessels had protected 5,000 years ago. I'm not sure if she found information about her, though, since the professor said to her that details about that priestess were scarce."

"Priestess? That's the first time I've heard of it."

"Me, too. But... why would Helen-chan try to find information about her?"

Erika shrugged since she didn't know the answer to that. Itsuki went into deep thinking upon hearing that.

Shuichi spoke not long after, breaking the silence surrounding the Vessels. "In any case, we should stay alert and be ready when Macera decided to attack again. Hopefully, by that time, Eichirou can really provide us something to deal with that petrifier."

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, Eichirou went back to the Four Clubs Building at that early time in the morning. He couldn't help smiling, though, when he thought back as Erika didn't really allow him to leave the house without having a proper breakfast. Well, perhaps anyone would've done the same thing as she would. Not to mention that their battle with Macera wasn't over, so having a proper breakfast would provide him at least majority of the energy he needed.

He sighed as he finally entered the building with the guard's permission. But instead of heading to the room where his photos would be displayed for the exhibit, he decided to go to a different room.

To the room where Haruna's fashion show would be held.

Yes, it was a bad idea to deal with that woman again. But he was sure that there was something more to Haruna's hate to his mother than just being overshadowed by the said woman even though Mizuhashi Mariko was already dead for 12 years. He felt it when he confronted her the last time. He just have to make her see it.

But as soon as he entered the intended room, Eichirou frowned when she saw Haruna standing alone on the stage, eyeing a mannequin wearing an elegant white gown.

Wait a minute... Have I seen that gown before? As soon as he asked that question to himself, an image flashed in his mind that made him gasp almost silently. Not to mention, Haruna was looking at that familiar dress wistfully.

Eichirou was sure it was one of his mother's designs. Or was it?

At that point, Eichirou decided to approach the woman and chose to talk to her again. Nothing would ever be accomplished if he remained standing there and hesitating to talk to her because of her treatment to him.

"What are you up to this time, Mizuhashi? Shouldn't you be busy with your own project in this building? And who told you to even enter here, anyway?" Haruna asked rather placidly. But this time, no coldness could affect him. Especially when he was aiming to achieve something big before he dealt with Macera.

"It's Eichirou. If you're going to refer to me by surname, then you're already talking about my father," the photographer replied rather cooly.

"Why, you little ―"

"And yes, I should definitely be busy with my own project at this time. But that project isn't something I would call as complete if I don't include your works in it. Not to mention, I still have an enemy to deal with before going over this project one last time to show it to everyone."

"I thought I told you not to include me in anything that has something to do with your mother."

"And that's one reason why you're still trapping yourself within the confines of your own box. All this time, you have never done anything that could break that box for you, to help you truly set out to the world on your own ― without my mother's shadow to follow you over and over."

Of course, with those words, Eichirou was expecting Haruna to lash out at him. He was quite aware that the one thing she hated was pointing out something that has something to do with his mother. She hated Mizuhashi Mariko that much... or at least that was what he initially thought.

But the dress in front of her proved a different answer that soon changed his perception about Haruna's true feelings. Eichirou could've attributed it to his powers or something else. Nevertheless, now he had a better idea of what was truly going on about Haruna and his mother.

Haruna took a deep, ragged breath after a long period of silence between her and Eichirou before facing the mannequin with the white gown. "This is the last one..."

"What do you mean?"

"The last dress I designed and created that Mariko-san saw before she died. She was smiling ever so beautiful when I showed her this dress. Even though she was in her bed, feeling so weak, she smiled at the sight of this. She said that the man who would see me wear this dress would definitely say I'm the most beautiful woman he laid his eyes on. Like I'm a goddess."

"Mom... still doesn't stop saying that to you, huh? Even when she was already weak..." Eichirou smiled at the memory.

"But after she died, I started hating this dress. I started hating that one dream I had before she died. This dress was the final confirmation, she said. That I was finally going to have my own fashion show ― in my name alone and not just as her apprentice. She said she wouldn't let anyone tell me that I would always stay in her shadow and not have my own identity. I hated her for letting me go through the very thing she promised she would protect me from."

After that, Haruna took a deep breath once again. But Eichirou was taken aback at the sight of the tears starting to fall from her eyes. And yet he remained standing there, just watching her do so. Something told him that he could only do as much at the moment.

"Even with that, I still couldn't throw this dress away. Every time I would try to do it, that smile she gave me because of this dress would always appear in my mind. That she still believed in me. That a time will come I can surpass her. Get pass through the barrier she inadvertently created by being my mentor..." Haruna shut her eyes tight, as if trying to stop the tears from falling even more, but failed.

Eichirou remained looking at his mother's apprentice crying like that. But in his mind, it kept on saying that she needed to let it all out like this. Once again, he looked at the dress in question. And that was when he recalled something.

"You truly adored her, huh? Even with all the negative things that her death had brought to you, you still remained admiring her as the mentor and designer that you knew she was. You still held on to the one thing that truly kept you going... I envy you for still holding on to this dress as your reminder of her..." Eichirou's voice became softer at the last sentence.

He soon sensed Haruna eyed him in confusion. But he remained staring at the dress.

"I didn't have any physical reminder of her promise to me that I can hold on to. But the sea would always hold her memories that we made together as mother and son. The water and the waves that go back and forth the shore... The very water that washes away every fear and doubt I ever had in my life since she died... Those waters held the promise that she would watch over me whatever happens, whatever choices I make in my life. And now ―" he paused and soon faced Haruna who was looking at him. "― the powers I inherited from her... I'm now using it as another proof that this world she left behind because she had to will always be the treasure she would protect with her life. She wanted to protect the place that held all of her dreams. She might not have fulfilled all of those dreams when she was still alive. But now, I strongly believe that Mom... left this world believing that we can fulfill those remaining dreams for her. That we can fulfill them in our own ways, whether intentionally or otherwise."

That lone white dress standing in the middle of the stage ― it continued to stir various emotions and memories to both Eichirou and Haruna. Nevertheless, they just let it stand there as they intend to realize a lot of things that seemed to have become a barrier to let them reach the peak of their true potential.

As for Eichirou, that dress seemed to have provided a way for him to realize something important. And at the moment, he had to use that realization to end the Vessels' battle with Macera before the exhibit.

xxxxxx

Starting here, I'll be uploading the episodes in two parts, only because I know that each episode would usually take more than 10k word count to write. So I have to divide the load, and maybe to make it easier for me to finish each episode in a week. Not an easy task, I know. But I want to do it this way for now. I'm still doing some trial and error when it comes to writing practices and such. This is one of them. I'd like to be consistent in uploading story chapters, so pray that I'd be able to achieve more if I start doing this.

Thanks for reading, by the way, and I hope you enjoyed it. Part 2 will be posted as soon as I'm done writing it.