A week has passed since their attempted annihilation. The survivors of the fallen Kingdom of Lycra had taken refuge in Aeris' manor. They've taken jobs within the manor, learning from its workers, and they began to live an earnest life once more. Though there were people in protest, not only have the survivors become employed by her, they are also under her jurisdiction—with the help of Kaelen. Nothing could be done to rid these new citizens.

Lyra peered through the window from Aeris' office to find Kaelen pointing out far, ordering some of the lycans to fill in tasks. Her hand fidgeted with the device, its needle gradually losing its progress. She placed the device in her satchel and grabbed her cloak.

"Are you off to your mother's secret lair?" Asked Aeris, scratching her head with her quill hand but never looking away from the paper she started scribing on.

"It won't keep being a secret if you keep blurting it out like that," Lyra shot her arms out through the sleeves of her cloak. "I'm on the verge of something, and I want to do some research."

"You've been in there for days," said Aeris, her eyes finally lifting from the paper. The ink smudge across her forehead from where she scratched revealed itself. "We need to be productive with our time."

"I'll join the knight's academy or something when I'm done," Lyra said nonchalantly, her focus fully on the door that was within arm's reach.

"You," Aeris scoffed. "A knight? You'd have a better chance being a chef than a knight. And you can't cook."

"I don't have time for this!"

Lyra pulled the door and stormed out of the office. She knew her anger was misplaced, but her research needs to be concluded. After discovering the dimension Draven showed her, the possibilities of visiting the past have opened many doors for her. She couldn't waste time, as the device she made was losing its power, never knowing when she would be able to see Draven again.

With haste, Lyra hurried out of the manor. Shrugging off any greeting that came her way. She knew she had one person she wouldn't be able to shake, and it was Kaelen. Knowing that, she snuck through the kitchen and exited the manor through the back.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

Despite the gnawing cold, the sun kept up with its warmth. Drops of melted snow fell from leaves still green within the manor. Their cadence was a reminder of what the first spring would be like—a season to look forward to.

Kaelen wiped the sweat off his brow as he finished chopping the firewood in his human form. His chest heaving as he stared at the pile of wood that was almost as tall as him, three times as wide. He drove the sharp edge of the wood axe into the stump he was chopping on and looked around. The second ring was peaceful. The trickling of a nearby creek gave the manor a serene ambiance.

A deep exhale left his nostrils as he decided to call it a day, despite it being just after noon. Kaelen entered the manor, accepting a towel from a servant once he stepped in. He found his way to Aeris' office and knocked. A flashback to a near memory played in his head when he just entered. He received a scolding from Aeris while Lyra held a laugh behind her back.

"Come in!" He finally heard from within.

Without hesitating, he entered the room. His eyes scanned wall to wall and said, "Where's Lyra? Usually she's glued to your hip."

"I was under the impression you caught her on her way out."

Kaelen stepped in slowly, taking his time in surveying the office. To his knowledge there wasn't any danger present. He noticed a large portrait of a woman. Her features were unmistakable. The portrait was of the Black Death. The gravity finally settled once he figured out he was staying at the abode of a legendary icon.

"All non-human species call her the Black Death," said Aeris. Her eyes pierced his, seemingly tapping into his train of thought. "What gave her that title?" Her arms folded and crossed in front of her, her posture leaning onto the desk.

Kaelen didn't know where to start. His gaze went back to the portrait. "The Black Death started as a myth," he began. "Until the cities of the Underworld began confirming her swift existence. When she and her company attacked, it was like a mist, suddenly appearing and then the trace of their existence leaving just as fast with a devastating wake.

No mercy swept through villages and towns like a plague. The color of her company was black—found day and night. When they rode, the end came for those they sought. But suddenly, the ruthlessness stopped, and her existence became a legend." Kaelen glanced at Aeris, who was interested in every word he said. "Your mother was an amazing woman. She helped with the liberation of my people."

He saw a wonder in her eyes as they twinkled at his telling. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"I guess there is still much to learn before I can even hold my head above water."

"I think you're where she wants you to be."

Aeris admired his optimism, especially soon after the fall of his prideful kingdom and the death of his father. She rummaged through papers on her desk and found a paper that had the crest of knights. She held the paper out to him. Without a second thought, he took the paper and began to read it.

It was a letter detailing the open registration for becoming a knight. His eyes furrowed at the words before he let the paper fall to his side within his hand.

"They seek a werewolf for a knight?"

"Not particularly," Aeris rose from her chair and stretched her arms while arching her back backwards by the window as she peered out. "In your human form, you'd be able to participate. No one knows you're a werewolf until you turn into one."

"Why me?" He cut to the chase.

"Lyra needs a push in the direction. She's struggling to find where she needs to be."
"Am I her babysitter?"

Aeris' eyes looked at him again. The light played a quick trick as her posture and demeanor resembled her mother for a split second.

"Keep a watchful eye on her. Not as a babysitter but as a friend. I know this isn't the kingdom you want to fight for, but don't let your talents go to waste chopping wood." Her eyes shot a glance at a clock, and she gathered papers from her desk. "I must get going. Decide what you need to do, and your wants will follow."

Aeris' words echoed in his head. His father wouldn't want him to stand still either; he knew that. Folding the paper, he set out to find Lyra.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

Blue Glowstone shone bright over Lyra's head, giving ease to her visual stimulation of her experiment. Bronze pipes flowed around what used to be the gear room. Lyra took the liberty of rearranging the room to suit her scientific needs. A long table stretched along the center of the room. A large body of water shimmered by the flat surface. Her device was secured and connected inside a small reactor just across the room. She inspected every inch of the reactor, making sure everything was secure before she ran a test.

Lyra drew a big breath as she rested her hand on a lever behind a wall she devised with loose material she found at her house. She ran through her calculations again in her head. There were some minor holes. But she knew that without results there would be no improvement.

With faith-guided determination, Lyra flipped the switch. She could imagine the milliseconds of traveling electricity through the wires, powering the reactor in an instant. There was a windup with its low, yet high-pitched, humming. The observation windows on the reactor—as long and wide as her forearm, a thick glass that could withstand impacts from an arrow launched from a warbow—glowed a light blue, flickering every now and then with an ethereal purple. The room inherited these colors, mixing on to the walls. It's deafening to the mind.

Lyra's mouth was left ajar at the sight before her. Not once has she ever experienced dimensional rifts until Draven, nor did the thought even occur to her. And now she had the chance to make them herself. She stepped away from her protective barrier, slowly approaching the reactor. She watched as her device withstood the pressure. Immediately, her hands went to work. Twisting knobs to relieve pressure within the reactor and applying cool water to keep it from overheating. She could hear the strain from the pipes as some of them whistled from within.

The pipes in the room began to rattle; the reactor had become unstable. As confusion riddled her face, she hurried to flip the lever, but nothing came from switching it off. The reactor had gained its own sufficient energy through her device. Other than the fact that at any moment the reactor could explode, she was happy with her discovery. The observation windows began to warp, not due to any nature other than what was happening within. All of the paneling on the inside began to shake and jerk. A small orb began to materialize, phasing in and out of existence. Its color was the darkest parts of the night, void of stars or any light for that matter—the light seemingly going around the orb. One of the panels lost its place, sucked into the void.

Lyra's body was peppered with goosebumps as she felt like something was watching her from beyond the void. The shattering of the glass snapped her out of her trance. One of the observation windows fell victim to the phenomenon. There was a twist and pull handle below the reactor she implemented for emergencies. She did not expect to use it so early in her research. With a great sum of her force, she extracted the device. Lyra could feel the suction of the orb pulling it back. She used her leg strength to push herself away from the reactor, crashing to the floor.

The humming of the reactor began to lose its high-frequency decibel as its power source was ripped from it. The black orb didn't remain, possibly due to the magical aspect of the power source. Lyra began to laugh, loosening her nerves, which she just realized were on fire. This was nothing she expected. Her mind flowered with theories, wishing to tinker with her newfound phenomena. But she knew that time would be wasted if there was no rest involved.

". . . magic and science don't mix well." Draven's words rang in her head.

But the words only gave her more determination. She decided as a second goal she would introduce a power that allows them to coexist.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

All of the sun disappeared beyond the apparent horizon, leaving a lilac sky in its wake. The clouds hovered over the frigid plains, their mass as if the heavens had crashed into the atmosphere.

Street lights flickered on as the shadows started to become dark and prominent. The silence was so loud you could almost hear it, save for the trickling sounds of life from the lower rings. Kaelen found himself by a fountain, causing him to reminisce about the large pool of water that shimmered with the radiance of the moon in his kingdom. He felt a hole in his spirit, but it didn't allow the feeling to sway his resolve.

As water spewed gracefully from the fountain, his head turned in all directions trying to find Lyra. Though there were few people wandering the streets—some in groups while others in couples—Kaelen knew he'd be able to find her once he saw her.

Condensation escaped his lips as he exhaled deeply. The angle of his shoulders slouched, his will to find her wavering. The hairs on the back of his neck alerted him that someone was approaching, but before he could turn, a hand smacked the upper half of his back.

"You know," a familiar voice said. "They say sighing is happiness leaving the body." Kaelen turned to find Lyra beside him, her red hair in a messy bun. Her clothes tattered and spotted with grease stains and carbon. "What troubles you, Kaelen?"

"I'm lost," he said simply.

"You mean in your mind, don't you?"

Kaelen's eyes parted from hers as he nodded.

"Follow me," said Lyra, as she started to walk. "I don't know any special places in the second ring. But there's always one place in the third that I always loved."

A smile grew on her face. But before Kaelen could truly admire it, she turned away. He couldn't help but feel excitement pump his heart.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

Tile shingles wiggled in their space, creating a satisfying rattle as Kaelen and Lyra carefully walked on the rooftop. The night was young, but the skies were clear, revealing the celestial sea of stars and cosmic dust. She found a spot and sat down, shivering as a gust of wind tested the heat of their bodies. Kaelen, of course, wasn't affected. Lyra, however, wished she had brought another coat. Kaelen noticed her chin quivering from the cold. He sat next to her and offered the coat he was wearing. She gestured that she didn't need it, but he insisted. Her lips pulled to one side, revealing a smirk as she took it. He saw the relief in her face as his residue heat did its job.

"Are you sure you're not going to get cold?" She finally asked, staring at him in just his t-shirt.

"If there's one thing that's beneficial about being a lycan, it's that we rarely get cold. Give me your hand."

Lyra brought her hand out of the warm comfort of its protection. Kaelen pulled her hand gently towards him, his other hand revealing the toned muscular curvature of his body. He pressed her cold hand above his heart. Lyra suddenly pulled away, receding her hand back into the comfort of her coat.

"Sorry, I don't mean to seem rude." Her face buried itself into the neck hole of her coat, hiding her cheeks. "I'm sure it's common for lycans to express kindness like you did. Not so much humans."

"I'm sorry!" Kaelen rushed to say. "I didn't consider our customs would be different."

There was a moment of silence; the cadence of the street below didn't do much in soothing their newfound awkwardness. Kaelen couldn't help but stare at her, struggling to find a solution.

"What are your plans for the future?" Lyra asked suddenly, easing his anxiousness. Her eyes sparkling to life at the sight of the lower rings.

"What do you mean?"

Without averting her eyes, she said, "You should join the Knight's Academy with me." Though her face was still buried in her coat, her eyes finally met his. "I want someone to be there with me, and in turn, I with them. Aeris won't do it; she's occupied with politics.

And besides, you're a fighter. You'd make the ranks so easy with your skill and brute force. I can't think of any other person that I'd like to be a knight with."

"Were it so easy," Kaelen's gaze turned downcast. "There's no way your people would approve of a lycan to join your forces."

"Don't join as a lycan. You can blend in in your human form—as you are right now."

"You ask me to hide who I am?"

"I ask you to adapt to the situation. You will always be Kaelen, son of Knhaul. You will never lose who you are as long as you remember."

Kaelen gazed off towards the lower rungs. "What if your people were to find out?"

"I won't let them."

His eyes found hers once again and found security in her words.

If it was one thing he knew, they shared the same enemy. Knight or not, he would be able to slay demons. Being a knight would give him more opportunity to do so, however.

His head nodded to her proposal. Lyra stretched her arms out in excitement as she slowly lowered her back to the roof. Kaelen followed her lead, and all he could see was the highway of stars. The vast night sky of wonder dwarfed all of his worries for the night.