Chapter 1-6: From hero to Zero to Keiro.

"Okay, so what is it?" Axial demanded an answer. She seemed frustrated and annoyed.

"Shh, keep your voice down," Miya reminded her.

"Onee-san, I don't think anyone would be eavesdropping on our conversation,"

"We can't take that risk anyway," Miya informed her reluctantly.

Axial sighed. "So, just what is it?"

"Has Zero every told you about his family?"

"Nope,"

"Then I believe you went to his house before. Am I right?"

Axial nodded.

"Was he the only person living there?"

"It seemed so,"

"Hmm…"

"What do those questions have to do with anything?"

"Zero might have a twin brother,"

"Oh, so now you plan to assume?"

"What if he doesn't know that he has a twin brother?"

"How did you come to this?"

"Because Zero doesn't exactly have a last name – or a family name, as some would like to call it,"

"You mean like ours – Cresentfall?"

"Exactly,"

Axial was speechless. In fact she didn't care about the conversation anymore. How can that be useful anyway? Asking her questions about her first close friend… her only close friend.

"Doesn't that make you curious?"

"I prefer not to doubt my friends,"

"Your friends?"

"Of course,"

"You'd rather doubt your family then?"

"In some situations,"

"And you actually dare to say that in front of one of your family members?"

"You guys already taught me not to lie to you, and so I won't,"

Miya felt furious, but Axial was speaking the truth anyway. She kept her cool and continued.

"Maybe we should ask Keiro about this…"

"Don't,"

"Why not?"

Axial paused for a moment, as she went through what Keiro just told her not long ago.

"Do you have any relatives here?"

"All my relatives…"

"All of them left,"

"Because… they left,"

"Not surprising,"

"Not surprising? It's not surprising?"

"Well, to be transferred from-"

"Ok, I know you want to find Zero badly. I do too, but you're taking this too far," She interrupted Miya.

"In what way am I taking this too far?"

"Involving me!"

"And here you're complaining about something I plan to give you ever since you've been complaining about not receiving it from me since you were young,"

"What?"

"Don't you remember? When you were young, you always, always curse us for leaving you out of our activities and now when I plan to involve you, you curse me again!"

"Because these kind of… so-called "activities" are meaningless!"

"I'm trying to help you look for your close friend!"

"And I'm trying to let him go!"

Miya zipped her mouth.

"Why can't you see that?"

Miya diverted her eyes to the side. She didn't want to look at Axial anymore.

"Please…" The silver-blue-haired dancer said, suddenly between her sobs. "I don't want to think of Zero already,"

She went back up the stairs, back into her room.

"Hmm," leaked out from Miyas mouth before she returned back into the kitchen to fix something for herself.

"Honey, don't you think we should return home soon?"

"Nah, dear. I'm sure they'll be fine on their on,"

"But don't you think that letter Miya dear sent us is a bit disturbing?"

"What, a complete clone of Zero?"

"Look-wise,"

Sam let out a deep sigh. "Even if we do return, what will we be able to do?"

"We can at least give her advice," Rachael suggested. "I'm sure she needs guidance right now," the priest added.

"She's 17… she'll manage," Sam assured her calmly and then resumed his work.

It was already night time, and the silver-blue-haired dancer was still in her room.

She was lying down on her bed, resting. Well, she looked like she was resting, but actually she was deep in her thoughts.

"Maybe we should ask Keiro about this..."

"Did he take away the colour of your eyes at the same time?"

"Why do you want to see her?"

"I have some questions I would like to ask…"

"… Sayonara, Axial Cresentfall."

She turned herself to the side.

"All of my relatives… all of them left,"

She cuddled herself closer. "Why must all of these happen to me…"

Immediately after that, she jumped out of the bed and had a grim look on her face. She rushed towards the window, opened it and leaped straight down from it, running towards the beach.

"This force…" she mentioned within herself as she made her way towards the source of the powerful energy. She was heading towards the academy!

""Hey, Ayla," said Miya.

"What?" was her reluctant reply as she continued to comb her hair.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I thought I just heard someone's footsteps…"

"Why're you asking me? Go ask Natty or something,"

"She isn't here," Miya said while glaring at her sister.

"Oh," Ayla directed her eyes away and pretend that nothing happened.

Miya sighed and went up the stairs. She knocked on Axial's door, but there was no response.

"It's me, Axial," she said before she knocked a few more times. "Let's talk," she added.

But there was still no response. She tried to twist the knob, but it was lock. "Let me in!" she raised her voice at the door.

And yet, she still didn't receive her response.

"For Odin's sakes," she cursed to herself before she went all the way downstairs to get the key and went back up again. She slotted the key in, twisted and unlocked the door. She pulled the key out, and went into Axial's room.

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed before she ran towards the window.

"From what you just shouted out, I'll assume that Axi ran away," A rather familiar voice told Miya. The snow-white-haired dancer turned around. It was Natsumi.

"Took you long enough to return home,"

"It's not like Melissa is better than me,"

"Her job is different,"

"What does this have to do with Axial?"

Miya stopped and pointed at the window. Natsumi walked towards it. She looked outside, and saw footprints. She showed them to Miya, who then leaped out of the window.

"I'll leave it to you," Natsumi let Miya know before she went down the stairs.

Miya then followed the footprints – which led her to the academy.

"We seriously need to remove the window," she told herself before she focused all her concentration into following the path and – hopefully – reaching Axial in time before something happens again.

Meanwhile, at the academy itself…

"Everyone, get away from the academy, now!" Exclaimed a priest who pointed away from the large building. Many bards and dancers were running around with panic, while a few villagers were gathering, wondering what was happening.

"I said get away from the academy!" The priest raised his voice. "Get back to your home or something! It's dangerous!"

"What's going on?" asked a feminine voice.

"Oh, God Poing. Melissa, something's inside the academy," he said before he turned towards it. "And, no one knows just what kind of monster would attack now, and cause such a ruckus!"

Melissa took a look around herself. She discerned through all the figures running around, and someone caught her eyes. "Miya!" she called out.

The exhausted dancer came running towards her.

"What… the hell… is going… on?" she asked loudly between her deep gasps of air.

"Something has invaded the academy," Melissa calmly told her sister.

"The academy?" the dancer reacted with surprise.

"We aren't sure what is it, but…"

"The students! Are they all out of the building?"

"We evacuated many students from the building. Even so, we can't be sure that everyone has escaped, but we can't be sure that everyone hasn't escaped either," he answered. "With that kind of a blast, I think it's obvious they'd react,"

"A blast?"

Both the priest and priestess nodded at the same time.

"Then… have you seen Axial?"

"Axi? Isn't she at home?"

"She ran away from home," Miya replied. "I followed the footsteps, but eventually it disappeared, and there was a commotion here,"

"So you immediately made this your next destination," Melissa said hastily, yet grimly. She began to scratch her chin, as she slowly recalled the ancient history of the ancestors of Gaia.

That mark… she thought to her self. But she shook her head. "Quickly, find her!"

"I was planning to do that," Miya said out loud. She took a few steps towards the academy, but returned towards Melissa. "Where the hell should I search?"

"Over there," Melissa pointed at the academy. Miya gawked at Melissa.

"You want me to go closer towards the source of the problem?"

"That's where Axial is probably headed,"

"How would you know!"

"Trust me!" Melissa said before she faced the priest. "Father, please gather all the priests and escort all the villagers to their home, before –"

An explosion erupted from the building. An ear-piercing, monstrous roar echoed throughout the whole village as a gigantic, vicious, furry monster stuck itself out of the whole building.

"What the hell IS THAT THING?" And to think Miya was the one who said that.