Seto's house was full of all sorts of mysterious, magical things. From enchanted books to potions of all colors to candles with purple flames lighting up the house (although it was daytime), Seto's house was certainly one to enter with caution, despite how cool it looked.

It was afternoon, and Seto sat at a table near the wall lined with potions, reading a book and picking at some mushroom stew. He looked up from his reading when he heard a knock on the door echo through the quiet house.

"Come in," Seto called, already able to tell who was at the door by the way they knocked. (One of the biggest rules of the Overworld: Always knock before entering Seto's home. Always.)

Brice opened the door, grinning. "Did you hear that Mitch woke up today?"

"He did?" Seto asked as Brice closed the door and took a seat at the table across from Seto. "It was only yesterday that Jason found him passed out near the castle, right?"

"Yeah," Brice nodded. "But I'm glad he woke up okay. So it's nothing serious or anything."

"Do you know what actually happened to him?" Seto asked. "There's a lot of rumors going around. I have no idea what actually happened."

"From what I heard, he was in the forest and got attacked by a gang of skeletons," Brice explained. "They chased him all through the forest until he ran up the hill to ShadShine, where they couldn't chase him because of the sun."

"Doesn't Mitch usually go there with a sword, though?" Seto asked.

Brice shrugged. "Well, yeah. I guess the skeletons were too tough, then."

"Why didn't he take the easier route out of the forest, then?" Seto questioned. "And why did he faint?"

Brice shrugged, looking a bit flustered. "I don't know, Seto. These are just things I've heard."

Seto paused. "You're right," He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that none of these rumors sound right to me. I think something bigger's going on that we don't know about."

Brice looked alarmed. "Really? Like what? Are we...in danger?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm not sure. "It just...doesn't seem right to me, I guess."

Brice shrugged. "At least Mitch is alright."

"At least," Seto agreed.

≪≫

Jason soared high above the earth. As much as he enjoyed flying this high, he was on a mission today.

Jason was the head of the Castle Guard at ShadShine castle. Next to Adam and Ty, he was one of the highest in ranking out if all the angels and demons in the Overworld. He took a secret pride in his title, his job of watching over his world...and also having to watch over Adam and Ty from time to time.

At ShadShine castle, the Castle Guard was a group of angels and a couple demons that watched over the village. They usually went on daily patrols searching the land for any sign of trouble, rather than actually guarding the castle (with Adam and Ty around, no guards were really needed). Jason was the leader of this group.

However, today was different. While everyone else went on their daily patrols, Jason had received a special mission from Adam and Ty, and that was to try and investigate the strange portals popping up. Mitch's information had been vital: There was someone on the other side, and they weren't friendly.

After a couple of minutes of flying west of ShadShine, deeper into the forest Mitch had been attacked in, he decided to land and see what he could find. The portals were most common around here.

The forest was eerily quiet when Jason landed. He looked around, but there was no sign of any portals or suspicious characters.

Jason wandered around for a bit. He sort of enjoyed the peace and quiet of his solo mission, yet he did his best to keep his goal in mind.

He walked on a little farther until he made it to a clearing. He thought nothing of it at first, until he noticed the ashes on the ground.

Curious, Jason bent down and picked up a pinch of the ashes between his fingers. Getting a closer look at the ground, he discovered some blackened sticks and branches, and realized this place hadn't been a forest clearing a little while ago.

Jason stood up, and looked around. Some leaves were singed on nearby bushes. Had there been a forest fire?

...No. This wasn't just a forest fire. It was too small. And Mitch had said the creature who attacked him was firey...

Jason found himself lost in thought, until something grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth with one hand and wrapping the other arm around his neck.

Jason let out a muffled yell, grabbing his attacker's arms in attempt to throw them off to no prevail.

"Hehehee..." A male voice chuckled in Jason's ear. "An angel, huh?"

Jason struggled more, trying to get a glimpse at the strange voice.

"You know...I love to beat up angels like you...~"

≪≫