Still seated on the floor of her room, Asuka's eyes opened. The thought of what happened in her inner world replayed in her mind over and over. Both Annie and her had tried make sense what the entity they encountered was, but they both couldn't come up with an answer.
Interrupting those thoughts was the sound of children causing a ruckus and Thalia with help from Martha and Marco to calm them down.
"Must be dinner time," she muttered.
Taking her time she stood and made her way to the door. She opened it and made her way to the staircase revealing the true level of pandemonium that had been caused. Children running around, gleeful expressions plastered on all their faces. Thalia apparently surrendered to the storm sat in her chair exhausted and letting them run wild.
Martha and Marco darted after the children, trying to catch them as they zoomed past—but the kids always managed to slip through their fingers.
Arthur was there too, seated at the table with his food, poorly hiding his laughter as he watched his older siblings struggle.
Asuka chortled at the scene. She looked over at her grandmother, who had taken notice of her appearance. Asuka gestured at the kids, questioning how things came to this. Thalia calmly stretched her arm over the table before grabbing and lifting a black jar with white powder inside.
Asuka nodded in understanding.
Slowly, she walked down the stairs and stood in place, observing the chaos. Before the kids, Marco or Arthur noticed, Asuka poured anima into her legs and carefully shot forward and grabbed two of the oldest kids by the back of their shirts.
"Amanda. Ozzy. Why would you kids be causing problems for granny and your elder siblings. Especially when it's almost time for sleep."
The two froze, only just realizing what had happened. They turned slowly to look at her, sweat trickling down their faces.
"S-sorry Asuka," they both said in unison.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Am I?"
They turned toward the end of the table, where Thalia sat in her purple robes. Guilt crossed their faces the moment they saw the bags under her eyes.
"Sorry Grandma Thalia," they both said bowing their heads.
Thalia slowly rose from her seat and walked over to them. She placed a gentle hand on each of their heads, caressing their hair with the kind of softness that silenced even the rowdiest of hearts.
"It's alright, darlings. But you must be careful. Your younger siblings look up to you. They see what you do—and they'll do the same, whether it's good or bad. So, be mindful, okay?
The two nodded and returned to their seats, quietly finishing their food. The other children, having watched the entire scene, followed suit and settled down.
Asuka took her seat, served herself some of the remaining food, and began eating. Across from her, Martha mouthed a silent thank you. Marco, seated beside her, gave a small bow. Asuka simply nodded in reply.
She then looked over at Arthur who noticed her look. While blushing, she gave a little wave to the boy who blushed and did the same.
The rest of dinner was finished in peace.
~
The next day came and Asuka was up early again eating a snack. Suddenly, she sensed a familiar anima signature from outside and quickly stood to open the door. There she found Ichigo standing in his dark clothes.
"Master! You're back!"
"Yeah. I know I'm early. Sorry for not giving a heads up. But there's something you need to hear."
His voice was calm, but the edge of seriousness in his tone didn't escape her. She stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
"We should talk out here. Everyone is still sleeping."
She remained quiet with a contemplative expression before speaking again.
"I also have something to confess."
It wasn't a mystery to Ichigo that Asuka was keeping hiding things about what transpired in Aboa. He nodded and they made their way to the tree and sat on the log next to it.
"I'll go first," said Ichigo,"The emperor has assigned you a new mission."
Those words sent a shiver up Asuka's spine. But she remained calm.
"It will take place two months from now. You'll be required to infiltrate a cathedral in the town of Cael. It is suspected that Derelictus Sumus has infiltrated it and is slowly gain enough power to take control of the town."
"Derelictus Sumus. Master mentioned them to me before."
"I see. Taking over the religious capital would be bad."
"That's putting it lightly. If they are able to take control of Cael, that means that they were either able to defeat the Seraphim there, or they've convinced some of them to join them. If that happens, it could spell the end of this continent."
"Seraphim? What is that?"
"Oh right, I haven't told you about them yet. Seraphim are beings who are hybrids between the Aeons and man. Or in this case, descendants of them."
"I suppose that makes sense. If demon hybrids exist, hybrids of the divine should as well."
"The way you say it... it sounds like there are many of them. Why are there so many Seraphim, but so few Nephilim?"
Ichigo remained quiet for a moment. His blank face was unreadable to the girl. But soon, he let out a sigh and began to speak.
"It's quite the long story. To keep it short, there was a calamity which led to demons and Nephilim being greatly feared for their potential. After the event, Aeons and man joined and the first Seraphim were born. They were trained and molded to become warriors in order to fight back against the demons and Nephilim. At least this is what people were told."
Asuka's tilted her head in confusion.
"What they were told?"
"In truth, they were birthed to slaughter all the Nephilim. To the Aeons, they posed a threat that not even they couldn't foresee because of the calamity that transpired before."
Asuka's eyes widened in shock. Her breath caught in her throat.
"All of them...slaughtered?"
Ichigo took his time responding, letting Asuka absorb the information.
"Yes. The blood of those seraphim flow through the highest ranks of the church...and our emperor."
That last part caught her off guard. But there was something Ichigo mentioned she wanted to bring attention to.
"Earlier, you mentioned a calamity. That was a Trinity wasn't it?"
Now was Ichigo's turn to be shocked.
"You already know?"
"The girl I was with in Aboa told me a story of a hero who tried to conquer Caelestis."
"Seems you've already learned a lot."
"I'll tell you about it later. It's also a long story."
Ichigo nodded.
"Fair enough," Ichigo said, "Back to the mission—you're to infiltrate the cathedral, eliminate the infiltrators, and figure out how they got in."
"Okay. I understand. Will I be doing this mission alone like the last."
"No. You'll be accompanied by the princess of the kingdom Anastasia Solarin."
Asuka blinked.
"Princess? Like... actual royalty?"
"Yeah. She's quite strong and is a Seraphim like all others of her blood. It's been a while since I've seen her fight but if she is still growing at the rate she was, she'd be just as strong as you are now if not a little stronger."
"Wow. Someone as gifted as me? I can't wait to meet her."
Ichigo then nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Well...I should warn you. She's a bit...difficult. Rude, to put it mildly. But then again, having a father like hers would make anyone act like that."
"Well it doesn't matter. If the entire kingdom is at risk, I can put up with a bit of rudeness. I'm guessing some time will be taken to fully plan out this mission. Yes, but that is still quite far away-no need to worry about it now."
For moment neither spoke until Asuka let out a sigh.
"Well, I guess it's my turn."