-Sky's POV-

"Sky. Wake up! It's time to get out there." I let out a groan of annoyance. "Five more minutes PLEASE..." My father let out a sigh. "Did you forget that you promised your friends you would meet up at the town square today?" Oh yeah. "Alright, fine." I said, trying to get up through my exhaustion. Father left to give me some privacy. I took a look out the window. The crops looked like they were closer to death than ever. Wonder when the next messiah will be picked.

Oh! Your not sure what I am talking about, are you? My name is Sky Flora, and the place I live goes through some interesting times. A long time ago, people went against God's word, and received a fate known as "The Divine Punishment". As a negative result of this, the world is constantly loosing energy, so around every century, a messiah is chosen to bring the world a new beginning. They are sent to the Tower of Ai, and are supposed to do a ritual after gathering nine blessings, which each come with its own trial.

"Hey! Sky! There you are!" I felt myself get tackled into a hug by one of my friends. She had black hair, but was known for her emerald green eyes , which sparkled as if they were jewels themselves. "Hey, Esmeralda. Do you know where Chaos is?" Esmeralda and Chaos Dragnion were twins, although they were anything but identical. Esmeralda was older by just a few seconds. "He's at the meeting place, waiting for you! Dummy." She lightly punched me in the arm, and I laughed. We had a simple chat as we walked to the rest of the group.

Chaos was cool and strong, and he was a great brother, since Esmeralda can be very stubborn at times. The two of them are rarely seen without each other, and they are simply a blast to be around!

Then there's Rue and Engel, a pair of sisters. Some of us have nicknamed them "Yin and Yang", since they look like complete opposites. While Rue has jet black hair and piercing red eyes, Engel was a platinum blonde, with eyes like shimmering gold. They are always joking around, and Rue pulls pranks here and there.

Dianthia is the best swordsman I know! She is more swift than defensive, but can always throw the opponent off guard. She has dark brown hair in a long ponytail, and brown eyes that read the arena quickly.

Chrysantha, on the other hand, is a fun loving poet! She has almost silver hair and deep pink eyes that seem to notice everything. She always carries around a pocketbook and a pen, in case inspiration hits. Everything she writes seems like it has a driving power behind it, and that's a great thing about her.

Then you have Connor. He's highly religious, and loves food, so he gets picked on a lot for it. He is the type who looks like he could be himself for Halloween, only in dark clothes, and people would think he was dressed up as a shadow. And almost anyone could tell he had a crush on Chrysantha.

Kaori has been one of my friends for a very long time, and she is really gently and kind. Her hair is pink with blue streaks running through it, and when we were little, she would put it in a ponytail with a heart. Now, she just wears it down, but it does an even better job of complimenting her blue eyes. She is also one of the greatest dancers anyone has ever seen!

And Freed.... well, Freed is my fiancé. It's kind of an arranged marriage, but I'm happy with it. He is cool and collected, and although he is a bit awkward at times, he is a great person to be around.

Without all of us, the group just wouldn't seem right. I even found a bunch of matching red charms that we all have, as a token of our friendship.

"Hey, sleepyhead! Decided to show up, huh?" Kaori said, jokingly. A couple of the others laughed, while I playfully shoved her. "Anyways, now that the whole gang is here, what do you guys want to do?" Esmeralda asked. After all the minor joking and random chatting, we decided to do some exploring. At the end, we all came to a pretty area, with a hill and some trees. Everyone began branching off into little groups. Connor slept at the base of a tree (which caused Rue to draw on his face, thus earning a scolding from Engel), Chrysantha began to write. I was chatting with Freed, when a man on a horse came to our area. He was small and old, yet seemed perfectly capable of arriving. "Young miss, would you perhaps go by the name Sky Flora?" He asked. Freed gave him a hesitant glance while I responded. "Yeah, that's me." "Ah! Good! I was told to bring this letter to you." I was handed a letter, wrapped into a kind of scroll. The ribbon was unusually shiny, and the paper looked extremely high quality. "Thanks, but..." before I could ask my question, the man had already left.

After telling everyone, they all gathered around me, curious to find out what the letter said. I opened it up and read it aloud.

"Dear Sky Flora,
It has come to my attention that a new messiah is needed in the land. Upon this discovery, I have chosen you to play the role of the messiah. You may bring whoever you want with you, but know this: you must obtain all nine of the blessings, which will light the torch you have also received. Then, proceed to the altar, where you shall light the nine candles seen. The wax dropped from these candles will give light to the center flame. After this, your duty is complete
Sincerely, M. Vermillion."

Everyone stared at me in complete awe, and honestly, I couldn't blame them. "I'm.... the next messiah?" The first one to speak after that was Connor. "So you get to go to the Tower of AI? Probably the most religious place ever?" "No DUH it is." Rue retorted. Engel rolled her eyes. "Rue, what did I tell you about being nice?" After that, silence filled the area again. "Your so lucky! Can I go with you please???" Esmeralda asked. I couldn't help but smile at her. "Of course! all of you can come!" This caused a large portion of them to get really happy, and I couldn't help but keep that smile after everyone chatted amongst themselves, and Freed gave me a kiss on the forehead.

-Chaos' POV-
Great job, Sky. You became the next messiah. I could only think so much as Esmeralda was ranting next to me. That's when I felt a tap on my shoulder. The guy on the horse who delivered the letter. "Oh, I'm sorry," He said. "I forgot to give this one as well!" I took it, and it looked more average than the previous one. "Oh, and make sure Miss Flora doesn't see this one." This caused my eyes to widen slightly. "Wait, why?" The man was already gone when I asked. "Well THAT was totally normal." Esmeralda said. I looked down at the letter. Why should Sky not be seeing this?

It wasn't until I actually read it until I realized.

______________________
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!