Chapter cover: Silhouettes of four people. In the middle of the four, Lea faced forward with a black sword in her left hand.

...

Summary:

This is a story about a squad from the Clan Of Stars. OWL, CROW, DOVE, LION, and BADGER are codenames for five individuals. Some are revealed, while others are still unknown. There are only speculations about those five individuals, but only the Head Family (H.F) and a few certain Elders of the clan know the squad involving those five people.

This is a story where the gears of the world begin to turn - whether it will lead to the World's death or the World's survival...only fate can tell.

The chessboard from eons ago...the players and the pieces are set. The white player has made his move. How will the squad handle his move? What will they sacrifice? Who is the real black player among the five?

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OWL's Report I

In a two weeks time, one of the Black Mage's commanders will make their move. As for who - I do not know. Whoever is reading this report, for once, sit down, and consider your decision properly - I have two conditions.

1. This mission must be led by me. Only the 6th squad. As for the members, I am sure you have known at least two of my members are stationed in Ereve. They don't have much choice since they are connected to the Silent Crusade - a hidden faction of Ereve. CROW and BADGER. DOVE will be there too, for "protection". As for the last member, LION, he will be on standby.

Any injuries inflicted on my squad members, are my responsibility. Therefore, have a peace of mind - I will deal with the problems.

2. Don't bother stopping me. You can try to stop my squad - and if their plans succeed, let's just say Maple World is doom.

I am still trying to dig up more information from my "connections". It looks like the commander is challenging the Empress.

...

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OWL's Report II

I have attached the newspaper article with this report. CROW and BADGER told me the situation in Ereve is...bad. Tactician Neinheart is doing everything he can to calm the situation, CROW said Empress Cygnus is doubtful of her rights of the throne. It was an unexpected psychological attack towards the Empress.

THE MOON - 18/3/ X643

SHOCKING NEWS! WHO IS THE TRUE EMPRESS?

As we know, Maple World always have an Empress of Ereve - and it is our beloved Empress Cygnus or is it? Eight days ago (10/3) , a woman claimed Empress Cygnus is a fraud and she does not have the royal blood of the Empress. The woman, called herself Hilla challenged Empress Cygnus for the throne. She has the Skaia, a legendary jewel which thought lost - or was it? The legendary jewel was supposed to be passed down through the line of the Empress of Ereve and although the current Empress do not have it, she does have the royal blood of the Empress line - but, even that is called into question. The conference will take place at Ereve, with most of the Explorers and the Job Instructors of Victoria Island attending on 20/3/ X643 and of course, the rightful heir to the throne will be revealed on that confrontation.

Commander Hilla...she's dangerous. I will confront her personally - without my squad members, they agree, since we have no idea what is her strength.

A Hero is making his or her move. It's not Mercedes or Aran. Evan won't be attending the conference. For convenience, I will call the Hero PHANTOM. I cannot trace its movements too much or else giving my position away.

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CROW's Report I

OWL will be moving on her own on the day of the confrontation. DOVE will be sitting in the conference - we have confirmed he will be arriving with Grendal. Not sure about LION's movements, judging from his words,it is likely he will be helping OWL on escaping if it comes to that.

As for me, my job is to clean up any mess they leave behind. DOVE will be doing his own things. BADGER will do what she does best in the shadows.

...

...

Location: Ereve

Date: 20/3/ X643

Time: 13:55:02

In the middle of the conference room, Empress Cygnus was fidgeting with her dress. Neinheart noticed her movements and managed a smile despite the strained atmosphere. "Nervous?"

She nodded numbly. She rubbed her eyes and did her best not to yawn, she didn't get much sleep the night before and ate a little for breakfast. Her eyes darted around the roman pillars. She looked up and heaved a sigh. It was a beautiful blue sky.

With her five Knights beside her, she felt slightly braver, but as time drags on, her confidence crumbled bit by bit. She didn't show it. In front of a huge crowd, with the Explorers whispering doubts in front of her, she felt she had no ally among them. Then, she caught an owl's eye.

She was surprised. Normally owls do not live here and yet, how did one get up here? Is it somebody's pet?

Then, the sound of a gong rang throughout the room. And the owl flew away, forcing the Empress to focus the beautiful brown haired lady whose clothes were a darker shade of blue of her dress and an circlet - identical to Cygnus's - on her head, walking towards her with a confident smile on her face, and flanked by four guards. They stopped at a distance away, and their eyes met.

Hilla has arrived.

XXX

Perching on one of the intertwining pillars, there was a person. On the other side, was another hooded person. They both notice each other presence and stared at each other, but the shadows of their hood covered part of their faces and they were at the shadows. The breeze blew past them, but it wasn't enough to blow up their hoods. One was wearing a mask, another did not.

Then, one of them did a hand signal: Not an enemy.

Recognizing the hooded person's swift hand dance, the young girl replied back with her own: Hilla is a liar.

With a curt nod, they both turned their attention back on the newcomer, Hilla. The hall was silent as they waited for Hilla to speak.

The young girl curled her lip. Her right eye, its sclera had turned black as she activated her ability. Her right pupil became smaller and she managed to break through Hilla's glamour. Underneath that glamour was a red-haired woman, the child frowned under the leather mask. From this position, she can't see Hilla's face, only a part of it was shown.

Unconsciously, her hands went for her weapons which was hung by her side, underneath her cloak.

Oh shit, her guards are skeletons?!

Immediately, Lea released her ability. Her right eye throbbed painfully, but she could not cover it as her left eye was covered by the mask.

"Alright, everyone look at this!" Hilla had a jewel on her hand, lifting it by the chain, she announced to the crowd. "Skaia, the keepsake from Empress Aria is glowing brightly in my hand."

Even from here, Lea could see the jewel shining its luster off. She bit her lip. She wanted to shout, but she has to wait for the right moment. She heard of stories about Skaia, that it was lost long time ago and never seen again. Lea wanted to punch Hilla's face for her proud tone.

"This proves that I have the power of the empress." Hilla paused, waiting for the information to sink in.

Lea could see traces of doubt on the peoples' features. Jake had a scowl on his face when he saw the jewel. Some people wowed at the elaborated jewel and soon after that, chaos ensued. People started chatting with each other about the jewel and Hilla. Almost immediately, they stopped and stared expectantly at Hilla.

Hilla smiled. "Do you understand that?" Now you know who is the true master of Ereve is." She closed her eyes before smiling smugly at the current Empress who looked worried, her eyes dancing wickedly.

Lea wanted to laugh. The woman was naive. Oh well, Lea popped her index finger. the lie has been spoken. The truth will come soon...

Again, the chaos came like a storm. Lea observed the current Empress. Her hands were clasped together so tightly that the knuckles turned white. Empress Cygnus's eyes were downcast as she listened to the Explorer's conversations.

"Can't believe-"

"No way- it was supposed to be gone!"

Lea couldn't take it anymore, she just laughed right then and there, silencing the crowd. Puzzled, they looked around the room, fortunately LION was doing a good job, doubling over with Lea's laughter. Then, she stopped and LION stopped having a fit and wiped the tears from his eyes, people were wondering if LION was still a child as he was laughing in a girl's voice. However, Empress Cygnus was not convinced and she almost spotted Lea who became still, not making unnecessary movements.

"Wait." A voice said. It was strong and confident. Lea looked at the hooded person who was addressing the crowd from his hiding place.

Good job. Lea thought before directing her attention back to Hilla who had looked uneasy. Empress Cygnus's eyes widened with surprised at the voice. Lea could see the light of hope in her eyes - although it was far. Lea felt the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions a little too early?" The hooded person continued, spinning his cane then stopped his little action.

"First of all..." He added smoothly. "there's the bloodline."

"Empress Aria didn't have any children. That is why she gave up her throne to her niece."

Lea nodded at the fact.

"Your identity is rather suspicious." He paused. Lea watched as a few of the Explorers' expressions changed. Jake looked as if he wanted to throttle Hilla's neck.

Hilla gasped then retorted. "What are you talking about?!"

Conveniently, he continued as if nothing has happened. "Secondly, an empress who's not an adult yet has a weak body. That's because she cannot fully accept the power of Shinsoo."

People are glancing around, wondering who is the speaker, their expressions, confused. The Aran has his arms tucked, and his eyebrows furrowed. Lea raised an eyebrow. Last she heard, there is a girl - and now a boy? She filed the information in her brain.

"Thirdly and finally, did you mention that the treasure of Ereve is the Skaia?" He took a deep breath. "That was a false rumour only created to attract the thief Phantom."

Lea wanted to facepalm. She never thought 'Phantom' was his name. She conveniently gave the hero that nickname because he was hard to trace. While Lea was lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice Phantom's wink at her.

Hilla began to panicked as she took a step backwards, her eyes darting around her surroundings - especially the audience.

"Skaia was a common gem that Empress Aria favoured."

Hilla growled at the sky, frustration was evident in her voice, with each word, rising into a scream. "Just how can we believe your words?!"

Between Hilla and Empress Cygnus, was the hooded person. Traces of black and white mana swirled around his feet, indicated he had teleported there, then the mana dissipated into the air. Hilla had to cover her eyes as the sudden blast of wind came from the mana hit her. There was a stunned silence.

Taking advantage of the silence, Phantom continued. "There is no way you cannot believe me, that's because the real Skaia is with me..."

He discarded his cloak, revealing his identity. He wore clothes that was meant for noble, but with her keen eye, Lea could tell they were tailored for battle. The hat on the other hand, puzzled Lea. It was the first time she saw a hat like this. Blue scarf, a mask that he could pull down anytime and the feathers...were they from the monsters of Ereve?!

With his dramatic appearance, he introduced himself. "in the hands of thief Phantom!"

Hilla was horrified. That was a priceless expression.

Lea clapped her hands twice, echoing the area. Along with it, the two elves stood up and exclaimed or...fangirled, "Phantom!" Only Jake looked at her hiding spot, but he wore his poker mask. It was only a few moments and to avoid raising suspicions, he did a great job feigning his surprised expression.

Phantom summoned a card and threw it at the fake Skaia, shattering the jewel. Hilla gasped in surprise as a mixture of red and blue mana danced in the air as the container broke. Breaking out of their trance, the Cygnus Knights readied their weapons, glaring at Hilla with a displeased frown on their mouth.

"Are you going to continue putting up your act, Hilla?" He added coolly.

Immediately, Lea disliked Phantom. His cool attitude irked Lea. He spun his cane then slammed his palm onto the cane, halting it and began summoning his buffs; Chakra from the Thieves, Hyper Body from the Warriors and then Hurricane from the Archers. Lea raised an eyebrow. Reinforcement - close enough and projection. Subconsciously, she popped her index finger again. Her eye narrowed at the spells - it was odd, she couldn't see any mana traces around him except for the teleportation from before.

If it was fake spells - Lea grinned - that Phantom has accomplice.

"Now, how about revealing me your true colours?"

Lea felt the atmosphere around Hilla changed. Her eyes bulged with anger. "I have come this far..." She released her glamour, giggling as she did so. While dropping her act, she summoned her staff, the soldiers' glamour too, were released with hers. Her clothes changed too, and it looked as if it was from an old civilization, but it was a bit too revealing much to Lea's distaste. All the audience were at their battle stance, watching her every move.

Hilla sighed, her body relaxed. "Okay, fine. I'll back off on this one."

Lea did a long 'ehhh'. Hilla's eye twitched.

Lea continued, pulling down her hood, revealing her owl mask. "So are you gonna run with the tail between your legs? It's kinda...anti-climatic, isn't it?" Her voice were slightly muffled by the mask. Jake was baffled at her actions. He mouthed: What are you doing?

She jumped down, reinforcing her legs so that the impact will not hurt her as she hit the ground. People glanced at her, Cygnus's jaw dropped. Lea closed her right eye, temporary blinding herself. She let out a dramatic sigh and scratched the back of her head.

"I guess that can't be help, huh...I mean," Lea giggled. "it's expected for a shamaness like you to be a coward isn't it?" Lea put her right fist under her chin and tilted her head.

"What are you-" Grendal began. Lea shook her head.

Hilla made an eye contact with Lea. Hilla's eyes were at first narrowed then widened with surprise. Then, she laughed, doubling over. At the same time, Lea gestured at everyone in the room to back off, leaving her and Hilla and her skeleton warriors alone. They complied, not sure what to expect. Phantom at first hesitated, but when he caught Lea's murderous glare, he reluctantly left her, but near enough to give her assistance in case she needed it.

Hilla muttered. "You fool. You just went and reveal yourself - you do know I can kill you today right." While she spoke, her six skeleton warriors had her surrounded.

Lea sighed, unsheathing one of her twin swords. Its silver hilt reflected the light and shone directly at Hilla's face.

"That is..." Lea cracked her neck. "if you can hit me." Hilla was grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of killing Lea.

"I don't see why not!" Hilla used two of her fingers and pointed upwards, forcing her puppets to attack Lea. They attacked her all at once.

In Lea's eye, they moved extremely slowly. Lea swung her sword upward, breaking of the bones of the forearm of one skeleton and used her another hand to draw the second, obsidian blade. Lea stabbed one of them and forced herself upwards to avoid the lances, then kicked two of the skeleton's head which rolled over the floor, their jaws clattering. Their bodies disintegrated and at the corner of her eye, she saw another lance coming. She twisted her body that the lance merely grazed the cloak. Even with the cloak weighing her down, Lea felt her body was light.

Lea didn't waste her time speaking. She slid between their legs and before the skeletons could react, Lea threw her obsidian blade into the air, and grabbed the plumes of the helmet and pulled it off from the skeleton. Swinging the equipment around with her right hand, she threw it backwards where a pair of skeleton tried to stabbed her, but one of them was knocked down by the equipment. Whistling, she did a split and the two skeletons stabbed each other, they tried to pull out their weapons, but failed as they were lodged in between the ribs.

Hearing her obsidian blade coming back to earth, Lea did a handstand, and linked her legs to the linked lance and heard as the sharp lances pierced the cement where her feet used to be. Lea released her grip and fell to the ground, doing a cartwheel before somersaulting in the air, grabbing her second blade and brandished them together at the skeletons with a glint in her eye and skidded onto the ground as she landed.

The pair of skeletons who had tried to stabbed her legs went after her. When they tried to stabbed her, she deflected the weapons away and with one smooth stroke, she chopped away their heads. The disconnected bodies stumbled, then clattered to the ground, and disintegrated. With two more left, and the skeletons finally decided to release their lances and they charged after her. It was funny, since they are practically armed with bones.

One tried to grab her throat, only to find its bone fingers missing and the other had one of its leg cut off.

Normally, weapons can't cut through bones, except Lea's was reinforcing them.

Done with the final two, she turned her head towards Hilla who snarled. She swung her staff at Lea, a thin line on her lip. "No wonder...you are a monster."

Lea growled in response.

Even slicing down the six skeletons, Hilla was confident she could escape. Lea's eyes narrowed at that thought. Something is wrong...the bounded field in Ereve...has it been weaken?

"No." Lea sheathed her swords, baffling everyone.

Hilla sighed sadly, batting her long lashes mockingly at Lea. "That's too bad." Hell fire erupted from the cracks of the ground, snaking its way to Lea. People gasped, some screamed when the flames scorched Lea. Lea felt the intensity of the flame, it wasn't as hot as hell's flames, but close enough. Without her knowledge, a smile was on her lips, under the leather mask. She thrust her palm towards the flames, sending part of her mana to dispel the spell. The purple flames was extinguished, and the earth mended itself.

Fortunately, it was only her cloak that was burnt to crisp. Lea swatted the ashes away from her hair and clothes which were in perfect condition thanks to her barrier. A four layer barrier was the only thing that protected her from Hilla's hellflame. Lea felt the barrier weakened after the assault which made her warier of the commander.

She retied the white cloth around her hands and then put her hands in the pockets of her camo pants. Her leather black jacket was zipped up, hiding her tank top underneath it.

It wasn't suitable for battle, but Lea wore it anyway since her battle outfit was in her locker in the school. Even if she wore it, it would be a dead giveaway especially to Athena and Grendal.

Many people had their jaws dropped to the floor, some even commenting about her height. The cloak she had earlier hid most of her body physique. Lea knew people have mistaken her as a boy instead of a girl, since her jacket hid her growing chest. She pulled a few strands of her loose hair and tucked it behind the ears as they had blocked her vision earlier.

Lea scrutinized Hilla's face - taking note of every detail of her face. Hilla was sweating buckets as Lea pressured Hilla with only her aura of power.

Hilla took a step back, her bottom lip bleed from biting too hard.

She spoke through her gritted teeth. "This isn't over."

"Nope. It isn't." Lea replied in her monotone voice, putting her hands in her pockets. Hilla smirked at Lea, unaware of her bleeding lip.

"Soon, the Maple World will be in his hands..." In a blink of an eye, Hilla struck the ground with her staff and dark, black mana surrounded her like a tempest and it gradually grew smaller, wrapping her body. Before she disappeared, Hilla's voice echoed throughout the room. "Your move...child of twilight."

She heard Neinheart gasped. "Child of twilight?!"

Lea heard the guards chasing after her, surrounding her. Neinheart pointed at her, his face gave nothing away. "I have some questions for you."

Groaning, she shrugged and waved her hand at Empress Cygnus, saying goodbye. She half twisted her neck and caught Phantom's worried expression. Lea did a quick movement with her hand: Thank you and goodbye.

Phantom widened his eyes then hid his smile behind his gloved hand. "Idiot." If he spoke any softer, Lea couldn't hear his words anymore.

Lea let herself sink into her own shadow and the world went black.

...

...

DOVE's report IX

OWL is fine and well. Normality is back in Ereve, but Neinheart was pissed as he couldn't find any traces of OWL and Phantom. The hero's name is Phantom, or so he claims. No injuries reported, unless you count a burnt cloak, then yes.

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...

Location: Somewhere in Ossyria

Date: 08/04/ X643

Time: 03:08:23

Elder Jaune pushed up his glasses and reread the reports from the trio, OWL, CROW and DOVE. He smiled at DOVE's 9th report. Although it had been roughly 19 days after the incident, he was still uneasy. His instinct told him the incident was not over. The sound of a phone ringing reached his old ears. Since he lived alone in this house, he has no choice, but to answer the call.

He stood up cautiously and went towards the sitting phone which was in another room.

"Hello?"

There was no reply except for a ragged breathing. With his brows furrowed together, he repeated the gesture.

The phone clicked and gave the end beeping tone. He stared at the phone on his hand, his uneasiness grew with every minute.

It was only years later he realized who had called him, it was too late to save the caller.

But from that moment, the peace of the Maple World was shattered. It was a slow, but a deadly poison to the World. Even if there was an antidote, it will be hard to obtained the antidote - especially if the sins of the past continues to haunt the Maple World.

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"Making a promise is one thing, but keeping it is another. Do I really deserve to live for my broken promises?"

-Anonymous