Rex Crozzo opened his eyes as he looked around. What is this place? He was on his bed after a night of training and helping Elysia plan a date with Reve. The young man called the Serpent of the South paused as he looked around.

Seven Treasures,

Seven Choices

A voice echoed in his mind and the young man paused. What the hell?! 

Are those... Chess pieces?! 

Lust is the flower Electro

The Purple Bishop glowed, dancing with electricity as it sparkled in place

Gluttony is the Seed 

A chess piece glowed red, flames singing around the piece as the flames embraced the serpent of the south

Pride is the stone 

An amber rook Glowed as a sandstorm hid it from view while Sand quickly engulfed the Serpent from head to toe

Envy is the Spring 

A chess piece glowed as soft snowflakes fell on Rex's head.

Sloth is the Wind 

The queen Piece glowed, and the melody of musical notes danced as a soft breeze ruffled Rex's hair Removing the pieces of snow, soot, and Sand,

Greed is the dirt 

The chess piece glowed as the water danced and sang playfully around him, drenching his shirt. 

and

Wrath is the Forest 

The last chess piece glowed and before the Serpent of the South could react, a soft pair of familiar hands covered his vision. 

"No, he is mine," A familiar yet older voice echoed in his mind and he could hear nothing but sheer affection, happiness, and a bit of sadness in the voice. 

"Who..." 

"Rex!" 

-=-=-=-=-=

Kiana Kaslana grinned as she exited one of the hidden entrances around the Crozzo house. She just climbed the roof and did some parkour like the sneaky cat she was. The young woman saw the window and smiled as she prepared herself

"You do know you could have just knocked," Elysia Apocalypse, the unofficial matriarch of House Crozzo, said as she looked at Kiana from the window of her room. 

"Big sis El?!" Kiana was shocked at the s-rank suddenly appearing from... Wait. "Why are you in Big Bro Rein's room?!" 

"Rein had another nightmare," Elysia said and the young woman fell quiet. Reinhardt often had night tremors and he hid it well until Elysia noticed. Sure, Reinhardt didn't want Elysia to worry about him but she was quite insistent and took over the responsibilities of the house without any ulterior motive. An act that made her popular with the members of the House and Reinhardt's order.

"Oh..." 

"It's not the usual, but he was worried that some girls would steal Reve away and break his heart." 

"What about Rex?" Kiana asked.

Elysia just smiled at her. "You can have him," Elysia teased as she looked at Kiana before closing the window, enjoying the way Kiana turned red. Ignoring what Elysia, Kiana focused on the sexiness of her Mei. 

"Hey, Rex! I..." Kiana immediately moved and threw the blanket off Rex. Something was wrong! Rex would have been awake immediately. Quickly checking her best friend's pulse and heartbeat, the young woman sighed in relief. He was just sleeping. 

"Rex... wake up," Kiana whispered, shaking him lightly.

Frowning at the lack of Response, Kiana gently traced the scars on his face. The same ones he got when he saved her. 

"You dumb-dumb... always worrying about other people more than you do to yourself," Kiana whispered as she pinched his cheek. Noticing how he moved, Kiana smiled as she watched the serpent of the South wake up. "Rex!" 

"Ugh... what the hell was that? What the fuck?" Frowning at the curse, Kiana pinched his cheeks and pulled. 

"Language!" Kiana whisper-shouted as she frowned at him. A frown that was replaced by a smile when the scarred hand of the serpent of the south gently caressed her cheek. 

"Sorry," Rex whispered as he looked at her. Shaking her head, Kiana hugged him tightly, ignoring if it would crease her uniform. 

"I snuck out of Himeko's house so I can tell you to walk with us," Kiana said with a grin. "And I won't take no for an answer."  

"Damn it..." Rubbing his temples, the Serpent of the South let a small smile form on his face. "Let me just get ready," 

"Good! I'll make some breakfast!" 

"Ehem," A small cough made the two teenagers look at the door to see a smiling Rita, a grinning Rin, and a thumbs up from Reve. Seeing her opportunity, Kiana playfully pulled the scarred Serpent, making him pin her. 

"Kyaa! Help, this vicious snake is attacking me," Kiana playfully cried out while Rex rolled his eyes. 

Rex, dressed in a male version of the Ranger uniform with a gray trench coat and a pair of stretchable pants, blinked when Kiana presented a slice of egg pie with a grin. His favorite... Leaning in, the young man took a bite of the slice. 

"Fucking brats..." A tired Ren Cruz whispered as he looked at them from his position as the baker and owner of the bakery while Fu Hua smiled at the sight. 

"You're just jealous because it took you 45,000 years to confess to me," Fu Hua teased as she put on her shoes. "I showed you some signs." 

=-=-=--=-=-=--=-=-=

Mei and Bronya got into their classroom at a surprising sight. Kiana Kaslana, with a pair of glasses on, answered a page filled with test questions. The scarred man who was Kiana's childhood friend wore a pair as the two answered the questions. 

"The Bronya must be having a nightmare..." Bronya whispered as she looked at the sight. 

"Rex, number 5 is X=25," Kiana said and a nod from Rex got their attention. "630 seconds," Kiana said as she stretched lightly. 

"Good. You just need to get used to these formulas," Rex said as he lowered the stack of papers in his hands. "Just focus more on the general stuff and not just in combat," 

"But it's so boring!" 

"Boring is good," Rex answered as he smiled at her. "Speaking of which, here," Rex pulled out a revolver. 

"Crozzo-forged?!" Kiana whispered as she looked at the Hand canon. 

Noticing the engravings, the young woman raised her brow. "A bear?" 

"It's the title I got when I went north," Rex said with a shrug. A grin appeared on Kiana's face.

"So... you can be my teddy bear now?" Kiana asked with a grin. 

"No," Rex replied without missing a beat. "Anyway, I have to go to my classes," Standing up, the scarred Serpent of the South and the Bear of the North took his things.

"Hey, Rex. Eat with us okay?" Kiana asked as she looked at him. 

"I will," Rex said as he rubbed her head. Leaning in, Kiana smiled at him before quickly using her stronger form to quickly push him back to his seat, take a seat on his lap, and put the hat on his head on her own. 

"Insurance," Kiana said with a bright grin. 

"Hey, your girlfriend might get Jealous," Rex teased and Kiana raised a brow as she turned around to see Mei pouting at them. 

=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-

New story sneak peek. 

"Adam-Kun!" Mei shouted out loud as her subordinate was sent flying to the wall of the arena they were in. 

"Senpai!" Carole cried out.

"Focus!" Bronya called out as she held her gun out to the dust cloud in front of her. 

The silhouette of a man appeared as the dust cloud receded. 

"You're late," Void Archives announced with a smirk. 

"Shut up," The newcomer said as he looked at them. Dressed in a black version of Void Archive's outfit with a black trench coat the young man looked around the same age as Mei as he looked at them with a bored expression, the right sleeve of his coat danced with the breeze with no arm to hold it in place. 

"How ironic, history repeats itself," Void Archives whispered as he looked at the back of the newcomer, his dark hair now reaching his shoulders. 

"Why are you doing this?!?" Mei shouted as she glared at the duo. 

"A world without her in it is not worth it," The man said as he looked at them, holding out a crystal containing portions of the Authority of Finalitty. 

"Who are you?" Bronya asked as she glared at him. 

"A forgotten man wanting to see the most important person to him," The young man answered as he held his hand out, absorbing the fragment to himself, causing his dark hair to have a starry tint. 

"That far?!" Void Archives shouted in shock as he looked at the man. "You're willing to sacrifice your entire existence for her, Cosmos?!" 

"Cosmos?" Mei whispered as she looked at the man. 

"How?! We know all the Herrschers! How can you be one?!" Bronya shouted as she looked at him. 

"Who knows," The young man said as he approached them casually, "Tonight, Rex Crozzo," Flames danced around his left arm as a silhouette of a familiar young woman seemingly embraced him in a loving manner while a familiar sword appeared on his hand

"The Herrscher of the Cosmos joins the Crusade," Rex announced with steel in his words as the entire world burned. Mei and Bronya felt their stomachs drop at the announcement. A Herrscher was powerful enough to destroy the world and the fact that they could tell he was experienced in handling his powers due to how he was able to evade their detection for this long.

"Those words... you're a member of House Crozzo!" Adam said in Anger. "How?! The only members left are Reinhardt, Reve, Rin, and I!" 

"All living things forget," Void Archives said. "Only a few remember perfectly."