"Mikleo!" Illumia shouted as she caught up to the water seraph. He stopped, but he didn't turn to face her. "I haven't seen you two this mad at each other in a long time. Don't you think-"

"Could I be left alone?" Mikleo asked frigidly.

His emotionless words felt like a small stab to her chest. She placed a hand over her heart as if she felt like she needed to cover a wound. He's never spoken to her so coldly before. Her reply was stuck in her throat, but she managed to unchoke herself. "O-oh, yes. I'm sorry..." Sorrow blossomed within her as she watched him walk away.

To allow Mikleo some space, she wandered to the market near the sanctuary. She found a small secluded alleyway behind one of the buildings and sat on a crate. To distract herself, she pulled out the copy of Asura's journal and started to read. She was amazed at how detailed it was.

As she read the retelling of her adventure with Altul and Asura, she came across various drawings of hellions. Not only had Asura been keeping up with where they went or who they met, but he also kept a detailed battle log. It depicted the hellions and their weaknesses.

Passing the drawing of herself, Illumia realized the journal was becoming more and more erratic. The details of the journey slowly shifted into focusing solely on hellions. She could tell when the madness was starting to consume him by reading the slow shift in the journal entries.

Ignoring those entries, she returned to the drawing of herself. She read the kind words Asura wrote about her and the light seraphim. However, he didn't mention anything else about light seraphim. She was hoping to learn a little more about her kind, but it was futile.

Closing the book, she sighed in defeat.

The book remained cradled on her thighs as she stared at the cover. Her fingers traced the strange silver symbol that was in the shape of a sun. It was intricately detailed with triangles, diamonds, and dots. The symbol had been found throughout the journal, but she had no idea what they represented.

Lifting her gaze, she gasped in fright when she saw the spectral image of Asura. He stood before her, wielding a large spear adorned with angel wings below the sharp tip. The colors of silver and gold mingled well to create a beautiful weapon.

She shook her head in disbelief, dropping the book as she scrambled to her feet. The Asura that stood before her was not the mad hellion she knew. It was the face of the kind man before he was corrupted by malevolence. "Asura..."

The spectral image simply smiled before walking away.

Illumia didn't understand what was going on, but she knew she had to follow him. She wandered through the central district behind the image of the Shepherd until he escorted her out of Ladylake. They crossed the bridge but she hesitated. Turning to look at the city, she knew Sorey and Mikleo would be worried about her. Even Lailah would be concerned if she were to suddenly vanish for a short time. However, she needed to follow the specter.

Apologizing under her breath to her friends, she continued to pursue the ghostly image of Asura. He took her across another bridge to the northeast of Ladylake. She slowly watched as the scenery began to change, almost as if a spell was being cast on her. Inside a dense forest, Asura guided her to a nearby lake where a small island was situated in the center of the calm waters. On the island was a large boulder that was split down the middle. She didn't know where she was or why she was here. She looked at the man, only to fall silent when she heard voices from the past.

*****

"So, this is the divine artifact of light," Asura gasped in awe.

"It truly is beautiful," Altul said.

Asura turned to Illumia. "If we claim this artifact, our contract will be forged?"

The light seraph nodded. "Yes. Our contract will be the cornerstone of our journey. As I promised earlier, you shall be granted the power of purification. You will be able to fight against the hellions and vanquish the malevolence from this world. But...is this truly what you desire, Asura?"

The man's eyes locked with hers. "More than anything. I know of the Shepherd's burden and am prepared to shoulder it all."

"You will not be alone," Altul stated. "Illumia and I shall share this burden with you so it may not weigh only on your shoulders alone."

"Are you ready, Asura?" Illumia asked.

"Yes." A determined Asura crossed the lake and reached the island safely. He climbed to the top of the large boulder and grabbed the handle of the spear embedded in the stone. Using his strength, he pulled out the divine artifact and admired its beauty. The spear had blades on both ends with angel wings adorning the bases. He nimbly spun the spear around, smiling excitedly. "What an astonishing weapon."

Taking the spear, he returned to Illumia and Altul. He attempted to hand the spear over to the light seraph, but she refused. "It is yours." She held out her hand. "May I have your hand, Asura?"

"Of course." Asura gave her his hand.

She took his hand. "Once you become my vessel, your body will be ill for three full days. In that time, Altul and I will watch over you as your body becomes accustomed to my powers. Once you have regained your strength, our journey to eradicate the malevolence shall begin."

"Will you make me wait any longer?" Asura asked with a snicker.

"Impatient as always," she laughed. Using her powers, she bestowed the gift of purification on him. Asura was officially the next Shepherd. "Take upon the spear of light in my name and use it to purge the darkness from this world."

"I shall use this gift wisely," Asura replied.

"Then, our contract has been forged. May the light of the silver flame burn bright and never extinguish."

*****

As the voices faded, Illumia fell to her knees as some of her scattered memories returned. She remembered she had left Elysia to make a contract with Asura, but they needed to find the divine artifact that belonged to her first. She had been friends with Asura and Altul just like she was with Sorey and Mikleo.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as the memories rushed back. She clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her devastated wails. "Why... Why couldn't I save you...?" She lifted her teary gaze, eyes locking with the ghostly image of Asura. He only smiled kindly at her, just like he did before he was consumed by madness.

She hung her head as she continued to cry. She covered her eyes and tried to deny the truth, but she couldn't. Asura had turned into a hellion and had almost taken her with him. If not for Altul, she would be a mindless dragon killing both humans and seraphim.

Minutes turned into hours before she was able to calm herself. Her tears had dried up but the sorrow remained. She saw the spectral image of Asura was still with her and wanted to ask him why. "Why are you showing me these things...?"

Asura kneeled down in front of her. He placed the spear in between them with a smile. Reaching out, he placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "It is time you forgave yourself and aid the next Shepherd."

"You want me to become a Sub Lord?" she asked in shock. "I-I don't think I'm ready for that!"

"You are," he soothingly said. "Make a pact and purify not only the malevolence of this world but also the small fragment that dwells within you. Only then will you achieve true happiness."

"But in order to become a Sub Lord, I need a divine artifact. I don't know where the spear of light is!"

He continued to smile and removed his hand from her shoulder. "It is here." He nodded to the ground between them.

Illumia looked down at the spectral image of the spear. She thought it was a simple illusion and didn't believe him. To see if his words were true, she slowly reached down to touch the weapon. As her hand made contact with the illusion, she was shocked when her fingers wrapped around the cold metal.

The illusion faded and the divine artifact was right in front of her. "Asura, I..." She looked up, only to find the ghost was gone. Sighing shakily, she gripped the spear tightly. "Thank you."

She took possession of the spear and added it to her arsenal of throwing knives. In the blink of an eye, the weapon vanished. The fabricated scenery around her faded into nothingness. Seeing it all disappear, she felt a sense of peace wash over her before she fell to the ground. The world turned dark and all was silent.

●・○・●・○・●

"...umi...!"

"...mi...Lumi...!"

"Lumi, please....!"

As life flowed back into her body, she could hear the desperate cries of Sorey and Mikleo. Her eyes have been open but lifeless until now. She felt the warmth of another body pressed against hers while her head rested on that person's shoulder. Her eyes slowly returned to normal and her vision cleared.

Catching a glimpse of the clothes of the person who was cradling her against them, she recognized the colors of blue and white with accents of gold. Mikleo was clinging to her. On her other side, she saw Sorey kneeling with Lailah and Alisha standing behind them. They all wore the same worried expression.

"Ah! Illumia!" Lailah gasped when she saw the girl was looking around. "Are you all right?"

"I..." Illumia realized she was still in Ladylake, which puzzled her. She could have sworn she left the city with the ghostly Asura. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you would tell us," Sorey said. "You've been missing for three days."

Her eyes widen as she met his emerald gaze. "Th-that's not possible! I was here reading Asura's journal and then...and then he appeared. We left the city and...!" She hastily tried to pull away from Mikleo, only to be overtaken by dizziness. She fell against him and closed her eyes. "It couldn't have been three days... It was only a few hours..."

"Lumi..." Mikleo mumbled sadly. "It's true. You've been gone for three days. I thought you had gone back to the aqueduct with Sorey and Lailah, but when they returned without you..."

"We had no idea where you went," Sorey added.

"While Sorey was resting, Mikleo, Alisha, and myself searched the city but couldn't find you," Lailah stated. "We searched for a day before Sorey recovered and joined us. That was two days ago."

"We were about to leave the city to search for you elsewhere, but Mikleo wanted to check the back streets one last time," Sorey explained. "And that was when we found you lying on the ground. Your eyes were open, but you looked...dead."

"What happened to you, Lumi?" Mikleo asked worriedly.

Illumia opened her eyes. "I was reading Asura's journal when I was suddenly visited by his ghost. I followed him out of Ladylake and he took me to a familiar place. I regained some of my memories, but I'm still missing quite a few."

"How strange," Lailah chimed in. "Perhaps reading the journal triggered your memories and you were overwhelmed."

"It was all in my head...?" Illumia couldn't believe it. "It felt so real..."

"Memories can feel real," Sorey said.

"If it was all in my head, then..." Illumia got up with help from Mikleo. She took a few steps back and revealed the divine artifact. "How did I come to possess this?"

Alisha gasped. "Another divine artifact?"

"Another?" Illumia then noticed the princess could see her. "Wait, you can see me?!"

Sorey laughed. "You've missed a lot, Lumi."

"I... I see..."

Lailah was in awe at the spear of light. "This is the divine artifact of light... How wonderful!"

Mikleo cupped his chin in thought. "Maybe you forgot you had it? You have lost a lot of your memories, Lumi. It would make sense."

Illumia gripped the spear tightly. "But..."

"Mikleo's right," Lailah smiled. "What you have gone through in the past was traumatic. It would be no surprise if you did forget you possessed the spear. Please, don't worry about it, Illumia."

"Maybe you're right..." Illumia replied. "As long as I have it, it doesn't matter."

"Exactly!" Sorey beamed. "Now that we've found another divine artifact, would you like to become a Sub Lord, too?"

"Too?" she parroted.

Lailah giggled. "Let's fill Illumia in on what she's missed."

Illumia listened intently as Sorey explained what happened in the past three days. After scouring the ruins below the city, Sorey and Lailah returned and spoke to Alisha, where she soon became a squire to the Shepherd. The three then searched for a way to deal with the overwhelming malevolence.

Their journey had taken them to Galahad Ruins, where they located the holy water that would serve as the perfect vessel for a seraph. In the ruins, they came across a divine artifact that Mikleo took after they left to become Lailah's Sub Lord. In the end, he and Sorey patched things up and he had been granted his wish. Because of the new pact, Sorey was once again struck with a fever. This time, it only lasted one day.

The light seraph glanced at the white-haired boy. "You stole a divine artifact?"

"I wouldn't say steal..." Mikleo mumbled.

Sorey snickered. "More like borrowed, right?"

"We'll go with that."

"Wow," Illumia gaped. "I really did miss a lot..."

"To be honest, it was kinda boring without you," Mikleo confessed without becoming embarrassed.

"Really? It sounded like you were having fun when you armatized with Sorey and took down those hellions."

"Well, that part was fun, but it was hard not to realize you were missing. It felt like there was an emptiness..."

"Aw," she cooed. "I'm happy you missed me so much, Mikleo."

Her words triggered his bashfulness. His cheeks turned a bright crimson and he promptly turned away to hide his face.

For Mikleo's sake, Sorey changed the subject. "So, what do you say, Lumi? Wanna become a Sub Lord?"

Illumia glanced at the divine artifact. She remembered what Asura said, but she wasn't prepared to become tied to another Shepherd just yet. "I..."

Sorey took a step closer to her. "What Asura did to you was horrible, but I promise I won't let that happen again. I want to show you that I can remain pure of heart. And since I'm the Shepherd, maybe our chances of finding a cure for you have skyrocketed!"

Illumia dispelled the spear. "Please, may I get some time to think about it? I...don't think I'm ready to handle making such an important decision right now."

He offered his usual kind smile. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you."

Mikleo, whose embarrassment subsided, said, "In the meantime, we need to find the Lord of the Land. But first, we should focus on finding someone to pray at the sanctuary. Do you think you're well enough to come with us, Lumi?"

The light seraph nodded. "Yes, I'm okay."

"Just try to avoid reading Asura's journal for the time being," he said, lowering his head. "I don't want to find you like that ever again..."

"Was it that bad?" she asked, unaware of what state she was in when they found her.

"It was awful..." He looked away, his sorrowful eyes cast to the ground. "I found you laying on the ground, eyes open but lifeless. You were cold to the touch and weren't responding. I really thought you were..." He couldn't even bring himself to say 'dead.'

To cheer him up, she poked his nose and gave him her brightest smile. "I'm not going anywhere. The real trick is how to get rid of me. I'm pretty resilient, after all."

He chuckled. "Tenacious as a cockroach. That's what humans say, right?"

"Exactly!"

Alisha, Sorey, and Lailah had been watching the two seraphim interact.

"They're off in their own little world," Lailah smiled.

"Yep," Sorey cackled. "Just let 'em."

Alisha had been shocked at seeing how close the two seraphim were and their behavior toward one another. "Sorey, are Mikleo and Illumia...?"

"They're not an item...yet," Sorey grinned. "Mikleo's adored Illumia ever since we were kids. But now he's completely head over heels for her, and in usual Mikleo fashion, he hasn't confessed his feelings yet. He better do it soon or I'm gonna tell Lumi for him."

Alisha giggled. "Perhaps all he needs is a friendly nudge."

"More like a shove," the boy remarked.

"Hey!" Illumia shouted, grabbing the trio's attention. "Let's hurry and find who we're looking for so this city won't be swallowed whole by the malevolence."

"Let's get to it!" Sorey enthusiastically hollered back.