Chapter 1

AT PRESENT TIMES

Melenōs Fortress

Helengrein, Deirdre

THE wind howled as the trees danced wildly. The fortress located at the west end of Deirdre, one of the three great lands of Demetrius, stood a hundred feet tall and extended from the northern to southern fortresses. It served as the defense borders of the Kingdom of Demetrius and faced the sea that leads to the neutral and mysterious kingdom, Sarania.

The fortress was silent. There were no soldiers roaming around to guard the western section of Deirdre.

The wind howled once again, harsher than before. Two figures clashed together at the top of the fortress. The smaller figure waved its arms wildly across the air in a seemingly dancing pattern, and the wind followed its movements. It produced a bluish-green aura that attacked at the other figure who defended itself with a staff.

As the dance of the smaller figure gets wilder, the wind became stronger. The one holding the staff took a step back and suddenly tripped. Its body fell from the top and into a hundred feet below.

The smaller figure ran towards the edge of the fortress and looked down. There's no trace of the hooded figure anymore.

"You are still alive," a woman's voice came from under the hood, speaking in her own language. Her accent was that of a sulky drawl.

She scanned the whole land from the top of the fortress then she looked behind her. There was a small spot behind the clouds, the only sight of the land of Sarania across the sea. "My brethren... I must apologize that I have to leave," she continued to mumble before she looked back at the land of Deirdre. "I must redeem myself from the chaos I've caused upon the Kingdom of Demetrius."

She raised her hands and stretched her fingers out in front of her. The wind formed into a platform.

~O~O~O~

LIU RESIDENCE

Helengrein, Vestia

"CHLOE, come on! You're going to be late for the train!" a loud voice coming from the 1st floor of their wooden house shouted.

"Coming!" she shouted back. She tossed her personal things inside her bag and hurried out of her bedroom, dragging her large suitcase with her. Her shoulder-length brown hair was disheveled, along with her baggy pants and simple olive shirt. Her dark gray eyes glowed in excitement as she bounded down the stairs.

Standing near the door was a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He was wearing a green-collared polo and white khaki pants. There's a cloth covering his ears tightly. He's talking to their parents as she walks down the stairs.

"Let's go!" She went straight to their parents and kissed them on their cheeks. "Æsch, Mē, Zē."

Her mother smiled warmly, her skin was as radiant as Chloe's with her eyes as blue as the sky. Chloe saw her as an angel, she was too reserved and laid-back. "Please stay safe on your travel, Chloe. And don't forget to write to us."

Her older brother went out of the house with their luggage and put it on the carriage.

"I will not, Mē."

Their father, standing much taller than the two of them, took off a gold necklace with a pendant shaped in a teardrop and looked at her. "Promise me you'll take care of this, Chloe," he said and put it on her neck.

The girl looked down at the pendant, fingered it, and looked up at her father with wide eyes. "Really?" Her father nodded with his infectious smile and she squealed as she jumped to hug and pecked him with kisses. "Thank you, Zē!!"

Her father chuckled and petted her head gently. "You're welcome. Now go on. Beware of the bad guys out there, Chlo'."

She nodded and ran out of the house where her brother was already waiting for her. "Let's go, Lulu-chi."

Lucian and Chloe Liu, residents of the west end of Deirdre, the town of Helengrein.

Every year, the Krystalline Academy of Vestia - the mainland of Demetrius Kingdom - opens to all Demetri who wanted to become Krysts. The slots were limited for first-year scholars and luckily, Chloe was able to join because her brother was already a student of the academy for 3 years. He is graduating this year.

Krysts are Demetri that can wield magic. They varied from the basic elements like Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind to the deadly elements like Lightning, Time and Metal, and those considered harmless elements like Healing, Telekinesis, and Teleportation. The scholars are trained to become warriors that protect the whole kingdom. Once they graduated, they are assigned to the Krystalline Palace and deployed to many cities and provinces of the kingdom.

KRYSTALLINE Academy was located at the capital city of Vestia, the city of Galenus. The west end of Deirdre was far and the only means to reach the capital city was the bullet train made by the smiths of Markus, the militaristic land and home of the weapon-makers.

Lucian groaned in protest when he felt that someone was shaking him.

Stop it... I want to sleep, he mumbled in his head. He swatted the hand that was shaking him and was ready to sleep again.

A voice suddenly shouted in his mind, WAKE UP!!

Lucian jolted up and looked around, trying to process what happened and where he was. He looked at his side where his sister was and saw her frowning at him. People were buzzing around and some were even holding their luggage as they walked in the aisle.

"We're here," Chloe said as she looked around with wonder in her gray eyes.

Lucian's mouth dropped before he closed it. "Oh."

True enough, they had arrived at the train station in the city, Galenus. Lucian fixed the cloth around his head. "How long have I slept?" He asked Chloe as they gathered their things.

"An hour or so," she answered before dragging smaller luggage out. "You had the most wonderful sleep I have ever seen." She grinned at him and it was his turn to frown at her. He could literally see his face while he was asleep in her mind - open-mouthed, eyes slightly ajar, and snoring. Not manly at all.

"Shut up," he grumbled. They finally exited the train.

"Whoa..." Chloe gasped. Lucian smiled. It was not his first time coming to Vestia so this sight isn't new to him anymore.

Vestia was smaller compared to Deirdre and Markus. Unlike Deirdre which was surrounded with trees and nature, Vestia was surrounded with market, people, and business. From the train, they could see the palace of Demetrius. Its glow from its crystal structure was eye-catching and mesmerizing.

"Is that the palace of the Hwā?" Chloe asked with sparkling eyes of curiosity.

Lucian nodded but his expression was indifferent. "Yep. That is," he clipped.

"Lucian!" A voice coming from their side shouted amidst the crowd. They looked around and saw a petite lady making her way to them. She avoided a hooded figure that was in a hurry. Chloe saw the petite lady glancing at the figure before reaching them.

She's wearing a plain pink hoodie and pants. Her short mahogany brown hair was cut in jags at the back and long tentacles of yellow and light brown highlights on either side. Her eyes were the lightest brown with specks of gold and it stands out than Lucian's blue eyes. "You monster! I thought you're---" She stopped when she saw Chloe with him before she perked up. "Hi! I'm sorry but Lucian is already taken--"

"Barbie!"

"--and he's so loyal to her. Her name's Chloe."

Lucian covered his face with his palm. Chloe glanced at him, amused by his reaction but didn't want to prolong his misery. She smiled at the girl and bowed her head as a greeting. "I'm his younger sister, Chloe. I didn't know he had a girlfriend, much more a name Chloe, too."

At first, the petite woman was staring at the girl, before the information sunk in. "Seriously?" All she could say.

Chloe laughed while Lucian ran a hand across his already disheveled hair. "This is Barbie Lewelyn, one of my best friends. She loved to protect my honor from so-called admirers that she so-called say who wanted to become my girlfriends." Chloe smiled at Barbie while the latter made a peace sign at her. "Barbie, she's my sister Chloe. And please keep your voice down. You're giving me a headache."

Barbie laughed. "Oh, well." She gestured towards the carriage that was visible from where they were standing. "The carriage is waiting." Then she turned to Chloe. "I intend to wait for Lucian and the others every break, and you're the only people we're waiting for."

"They're already here?" Lucian asked. He made sure Chloe was beside him.

"Yup. They're in the dorm probably." Then she lowered her voice and whispered at Lucian. "She looks nothing like you, bro."

Lucian glared at his friend but Barbie already looked at the girl beside him. "Are you here for this school year, Chloe?" She asked as they made their way to the carriage.

Chloe just nodded her head. She couldn't talk as she gawked at the place.

"Great! I'm sure my brother and his friend would love to know you. You're the same age, I would guess." Barbie went ahead to the carriage.

Chloe looked at Lucian questioningly. "Barbie's a resident of Galenus. So she knew this place more than anyone in Vestia did. She and her brother lived here with businesses in the market."

"Oh.." Chloe could only say. She looked around and saw that there were young men and women trying to bargain for a stack of cloth. She turned to Lucian who was busy at the back of the carriage before her gray eyes roamed around once again.

Vestia... I do hope this will make a wonderful journey.

The clouds covered the sun and the whole place darkened for a while. Chloe looked up and when the rays of the sun shone upon her, her gray eyes seemed to turn to gold.

KRYSTALLINE PALACE

Galenus, Vestia

THE palace stood in its glory at the very center of the city of Galenus. It was surrounded with crystals, shining brightly against the light of the sun.

Several warriors wearing gray armor are roaming around, some staying put at each entrance of the palace. Inside the throne room, a woman in a regal white empress gown was sitting on the red throne.

The queen looked young in her old age. Her gray hair was neatly tucked into a bun where her crown sat atop her head. She had those small wrinkles around her dark eyes which emphasized that she hadn't been able to sleep for years.

She was looking at the huge window of the throne room when the sky darkened a little bit.

"Mother.." A man whispered from the dark curtain.

Her feeble hand reached for the red pendant, a crest of an eagle, dangling on her neck as a tear dropped on her face.

She closed her eyes and gave out a small smile. "It is time."