The dark planet loomed before the spacecraft as the ship neared Sendrum. Devyn watched the small planet grow larger with intrigued eyes. This was the first time he had actually seen the planet as he had been transported to and from the grey planet in dendrum ships where there were no windows. As they approached the planet, Devyn slowly lowered the power to the thrusters and allowed Sendrum's gravitational system to pull them in.

Castyr had awoken from his long sleep and was peering at the dark mass in front of them with blank eyes. The star had seen many planets now and was unfazed by the small, demon planet.

"How long until landing?" Kilo inquired from the back seat where he had moved to be with Castyr once his conversation with Devyn had concluded.

"An hour or so," Devyn replied. They would skip over the dendrum's landing and head straight to the village, so Devyn had added roughly half an hour to their flight. Kilo answered with silence, which Devyn had gotten used to by this time, so quietness was not awkward. The three continued to sit and watch the planet grow in size as they neared Sendrum's atmosphere.

Vibrations began to course through the craft, shaking the ship as they entered the planet's atmosphere and began descending through the thick clouds. It was not long before they broke through the many layers of clouds to begin zooming over Sendrum's sharp surface. A wide body of water quickly came into view as Devyn followed the ship's directions to the coordinates of the clan's village. The Soul Sea. Devyn steered the ship to fly along the edge of the sea. He did not want to run the risk of crashing into the deadly sea should complications arise.

After passing the Soul Sea, Devyn returned the ship to be straight on with the course. The three continued over the dark rocks for roughly twenty minutes and were quickly approaching the location of the village. Devyn furrowed his brows as they came upon the coordinates provided by the dendrum that Miren had bribed. The surface remained dark, contributing no indication of life or inhabitation.

That's weird. The town should be right beneath us. Devyn lowered the craft closer to the planet's surface to find its texture to be cloudy and wispy. A thick, dark fog had covered the village, obscuring any sign of life the lights may have provided. Devyn lowered the hovercraft into the dense fog where he began to spot faint lights the closer he got to the ground. Finding an area that had no lights, Devyn slowly lowered the ship until they had landed on the dark surface of Sendrum.

The fog that had dissipated from the air currents created by the ship's landing quickly recovered and enshrouded the craft in a dark cloud. Grabbing their weapons, Devyn, Kilo, and Castyr cautiously exited the ship once the ramp had lowered. The moment Devyn set foot on the rough ground, the clinking of chains echoed through his mind, and the feeling of cold metal digging into his neck and wrists haunted his body. Being back on the dark planet caused the traumatic nightmares Devyn had endured at the hands of dendrum and demons to resurface.

The cool wind wafted over the three, but it felt like whips against Devyn's back, and he felt as if he had been stripped down and was back in the hands of the dendrum chained alongside the other numerous prisoners waiting to be sold. Shivers ran through Devyn's body as he shook the wretched memories from his mind. He needed to focus on finding Denzyl and getting their asses off the cursed planet once and for all.

Kilo drew his sword from his back when the three began to make out the shapes of buildings that were flanking them on either side. They had set down in the middle of the town's main street. The three prepared to defend themselves from the town's residents, but what met the three caused confusion; they were surrounded by buildings and homes, but not a single soul was in sight. The lights were on, but no one was home.

After standing silently for a few moments to make certain there was no imminent threat, Devyn took the lead and advanced into the seemingly ghost town. His memory of the town was limited, but what he could recall was crystal clear in his mind. Though obscured by the thick fog, Devyn was able to recognize the outline of the buildings and guide the small party down the main street to the mansion where he assumed Denzyl was being held.

The three became more confused and curious as they cautiously made their way between the buildings. The town was in pristine condition except it was completely empty. Where had everyone gone?

A chill began creeping into Devyn's body as the three advanced through the town. The human clutched his chest as his heart began to grow cold, his eyes widening when he recognized the freezing sensation. "We need to get out of this fog," Devyn told Kilo and Castyr urgently. The angel and star had not yet begun to feel the side effects of the strange mist, but they did not protest and quietly followed Devyn as he began to hurry to the nearest building.

Stopping on the side of the street, Devyn hurled over and clutched his throat as he began to cough violently. Kilo pinched his brows when he realized the urgency of Devyn's condition. Being human, Devyn was more susceptible to poisons and similar substances. And whatever was in the air was definitely something of the sort. Uncertain of what was causing Devyn's symptoms but aware that he needed to act quickly to save the human, Kilo grabbed Castyr's hand and Devyn's arm and brought the two to stand next to him. Devyn had trapped his breath and was holding his hand over his mouth to prevent his symptoms from growing worse.

Closing his eyes, Kilo steadied his breathing before expelling it slowly and allowing a portion of the energy from his core to flow out of him and create a bubble around himself, Castyr, and Devyn. Once surrounded by the glowing purple energy, Devyn removed his hand and gasped for air. The chill began to slowly recede the more he breathed in the clean air that had been purified by Kilo's energy.

"Thank you," Devyn said to Kilo between breaths. Kilo nodded at the human in quiet response before swiveling his head to peer at their surroundings. Visibility was limited due to the fog, but a bright light caught the angel's eye.

"There," Kilo said, drawing Devyn's gaze to where his finger was pointed. Devyn squinted as he looked out into the dark haze to see a light that was moving toward them rapidly.

"They must've seen us land," Devyn said as the three watched the light near. It was attracted to the glowing bubble surrounding them. "Hold your breaths," Kilo told Devyn and Castyr before dissipating the bubble and sucking the energy back into his body. The moment Kilo retracted his energy, he grabbed Devyn by the arm and Castyr by the hand and began running for shelter.

The pursuing light zig-zagged in the haze in reaction to losing its glowing reference and began racing toward the location of its last sighting. By the time the light had reached the spot where the purple dome had disappeared, Kilo, Castyr, and Devyn were already far away racing toward the one building that had no lights on and seemed the most vacant. Devyn did not realize exactly which building they were running toward until they arrived at its front steps. Devyn's eyes widened when he found himself standing before the doors to the mansion of the clan's royalty.

Looking back at the light that was racing through the haze in a desperate attempt to find them and knowing they would not last long in the poisonous fog, Devyn reached out and turned the handle of one of the doors to test his luck. Much to his surprise, the handle moved with ease, and the door opened quietly. Gesturing to the angel and star to follow him, Devyn hurried into the mansion where he immediately released the breath he had been holding and gasped for air.

Kilo and Castyr calmly began to breathe again as the three examined their surroundings. The mansion was dark except for the small amount of light that seeped in through the windows. Confused as to why there was absolutely no one in the mansion, the three slowly advanced toward the large staircase and began ascending the steps. Kilo kept his sword by his side, and Castyr never let go of his gun as the three cautiously made their way through the mansion combing through the halls and empty rooms.

Devyn remembered the dining room, main entry, staircase, and Denzyl's room, but they felt so different to the human when they were enshrouded in eerie darkness. It was not until the three reached the landing to the third floor did Kilo stop them from continuing. The angel held out his arm in front of the human and star and gestured into the hallway with his head. He had heard movement. Someone was in one of the rooms.

Taking the lead, Kilo silently stepped into the hallway and began making his way down the dark corridor. Devyn and Castyr remained closely behind the angel as Kilo stopped in front of the fourth door on the left side of the hallway and motioned to Devyn. Nodding to the angel in acknowledgment of Kilo's nonverbal words, Devyn positioned himself to stand directly in front of the door while Kilo backed up a few paces. Castyr readied his gun as the three took their places. Lifting his leg, Kilo made sure everyone was ready before slamming it into the door and forcefully opening it.

Devyn immediately rushed into the room and pointed his gun at the demon whom Kilo had heard. The demon threw their hands in the air in a non-threatening posture and remained still as the three advanced toward them. When Devyn got to where he could make out the face through the dim light, his eyes widened, and he lowered his gun.

The human let out a short breath of relieved confusion before voicing, "Monir?!"