TO Rewrite: B3 — 42. Peace And Understanding

Author Note: Okay, it turned out to be a BIT more than I thought, as is usual, with things I need to address before ending a volume. Next week WILL be the last chapter. 2 last PoV. Probably Maria and then the surprise ending that catapults us into volume 4. Lots of stuff happening. =)) This is an active world with many moving pieces, after all.

PoV:

1. Twilight (The Game with Fate Concludes How?)

2. Alexa (Our MC's 'Blonde Bimbo' of a Sister-In-Law!)

TO Rewrite Index

Previous Chapter

In-line Edit

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The Maelstrom churned beneath her, a writhing cosmos of infinite possibility. Twilight gazed down at the totality of the Red Sea—layers of reality folded upon themselves, dimensions twisted into impossible geometries, all of it bound within the confines of a deceptive prison that had no walls, no bars, merely the will of its creator.

Such delicious chaos. Such beautiful order within madness… No wonder the chaos entities are practically drowning in delight and power.

From her vantage in Fate’s palace, Twilight could see patterns within patterns, stories within stories—tens of thousands of Existences resonating together in harmonies no mortal mind was designed to comprehend. Only through Destiny’s Quickening was she capable of seeing this grand display. Only through Her was she capable of staring at the primal entity across from her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Fate’s voice emerged from everywhere and nowhere. “To witness the entirety of my broken design, threads collapsing across omniverses, one after another, due to the kick of a single, indomitable hare.”

Twilight’s lips curved into a smile as she turned to face her host. Fate manifested as a woman of impossible perfection, her form shifting between states of being that existed beyond the spectrum of human perception. To look upon her true form would drive lesser beings mad—but Twilight was no longer lesser at this point.

“Design implies intent,” Twilight replied, settling back into Destiny’s vacant seat. “And intent implies limitation. Somehow, out of every being drawn into this calamity, Fate was the one who managed to sink Her thread into this mess first. How did that happen?”

The cosmic chessboard materialized between them once more, the game they’d played still in progress after Fate’s recent, quite brief absence. Twilight examined the pieces—not quite chess, not quite Go, a game with rules that shifted as it was played. The black and white pieces were perfectly balanced, locked in eternal struggle, each on the precipice of destroying the other.

“Stalemate. A classic Fate vs. Destiny outcome,” she observed, gesturing to the final configuration. “How…expected.”

Fate’s expression remained placid, untouched by concern. “Is it a stalemate? Or mutual destruction?” Her fingers hovered over the final piece. “You assume limitations in my design, yet fail to question why those limitations exist. Such a flawed amalgamation of divine traits you are.”

“I am somewhat of a chimera, so enlighten me, then.” Twilight leaned forward, her pink eyes gleaming. “Why does one such as yourself—a Primal Goddess—accept constraint when you had full authority and control within the design?”

The palace around them shifted, threads unspooling and rewinding. The Maelstrom below pulsed in response, as if the question itself had rippled through the fabric of existence.

“Oh, Child of the Corruption and Half Truths, you grossly misunderstand The Design,” Fate replied in a soft, almost pitying cadence. “The question isn’t why I am limited. That should never be a question. I am limited. The nature of My very existence defines the boundary of my reach within the limitations of one’s defined order.”

She gestured, and the cosmic board reset itself, pieces arranging in perfect mirror of their final positions.

“This was the game Destiny and I played before you arrived.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed, though a small twitch edged the corner of her mouth. “…It’s the same.”

“The game has already been predetermined, Bringer of Twilight, Usurper of the Veil…False Alpha and Omega. We are moving backwards, not forwards. Of course, someone like you wouldn’t be able to see The Design.”

Twilight chuckled, the sound resonating through the palace of thread as she was stabbed by the accusatory titles. “The Design…not My Design. Intriguing. Is it Fate, then, that we all end in this stalemate? How terribly ironic.”

She paused, fingers tracing the edge of the board. “If everything is predetermined, what purpose does Destiny serve? Why bother with the game at all with your sister?”

Fate’s eyes reflecting the swirling order of numberless cosmic orders across the eternities, her head tilting slightly. “Can a human save themselves once already falling from space without a parachute? The choice to jump was made. The ground awaits. The pattern is set…the outcome is inevitable.”

Twilight’s gaze drifted downward, toward the immense, unknowable, and shapeless corruption of the Crimson Tide and the Ever-Shifting Mists battling at the edges of the Maelstrom. Understanding dawned slowly, uncomfortably.

“…Crafty analogy. No. Their fate is sealed…unless someone else can intervene,” she murmured. “So Destiny is the supporting outside force that enters a closed system. The pattern can be…interrupted.”

“Then you believe you’ve moved these pieces?” Fate inquired, picking up the piece of a throne, dripping blood. “That you orchestrated the downfall of my designs through Rachel’s inherit attributes? Hmmm. You’ve manipulated Eldritch forces, cosmic powers, gods and monsters alike… That’s true. From a puppet of Fate to dancing with Destiny.”

She leaned forward, her form flickering between states of being while setting the piece back in its original place, only facing Twilight. “But you don’t see the real threat that’s unleashed… The threat my sister is willing to introduce in order to spite me. In your cleverness, in Her little game of rebellion, you’ve opened the way for the Blood Thrones to meet once again in harmony… And all will bleed in their return.”

A ripple of unease passed through Twilight’s perfect composure. “The Blood Thrones?”

Her fingers glistened like finely twined steel ribbons before returning to their slender, perfect form as they hovered over a piece of immense power—a star, bleeding across fathomless expanses of infinities to unify innumerable children.

“When the Sun and the Moon bleed together once more,” Fate intoned, her voice resonating with the cosmic weight of prophetic truth, “everything will be painted Scarlet.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, studying her impossibly powerful opponent with renewed interest. She wasn’t here to win. No, that was utterly unattainable to her. She was here for insight, and Fate knew it.

“Out of everything—the Eldritch included, with all their endless possibilities and evolutions, their unknowable folds and twists and turns—your warning is not of them, but of the Sun and Moon bleeding together? How incredibly cryptic. I’d expect nothing less from the Primal Goddess of Fate.”

For a moment, the being of threads looked at her as if she were the most ignorant child in all of Existence, and then, the smallest glimmer of a smile lifted her lips.

“There are things more worthy of fear than that which is unknowable,” Fate replied, her gaze penetrating, seeing through Twilight in ways that made even her malleable soul uncomfortable. “Such as what is known. The fate I must weave should you continue your struggle will open the way to a collision even my sister cannot fathom in her blind rebellion.”

She gestured toward the Maelstrom, where the Red Sea’s currents surged and receded in perfect rhythm. It was as if the very fabric of reality warped, drawing her further in, pulling Twilight’s gaze past the folds and veils to the core—the epicenter of the swirling mass of Existences.

At its center, barely visible even from their exalted position, lay a pulsating void of absolute darkness. Something hidden below the barrier—the very bottom of the Red Sea.

“The Throne of the Blood Moon has already begun Her awakening,” Fate continued. “The Keeper stirs within her prison of flesh, the one you know as Scarlet. She who sacrificed herself to create the Maelstrom, to guard against those who would breach the veil and claim the Black Star within… I know Scarlet. Not the one you baby and nudge along… The Lunar Crimson, The Light of Blood itself.”

Understanding dawned in Twilight’s eyes. “Scarlet…is one of you? That’s the secret. She’s a Primal Goddess?”

“Oh, ye of so little vision,” Fate sighed. “You climb so high, yet can only see a grain of sand in the vast cosmos. Like the Blood Sun, Scarlet stands as guardian against existential collapse and exemplifies alongside Him the Song of Peace and Understanding…with The Song of Unity and Sacrifice. But unlike Him, She chose corruption over purity, becoming the very thing She sought to contain… Scarlet made her choice and jumped out into open space.”

Twilight felt a quiver run down her spine as the primal entity’s fingers traced patterns in the air, pulling threads of possibility into momentary visibility. “Why do you think Scarlet found Rachel? Why do you think Scarlet allowed you to swim in the Red Sea?”

“What are you saying?”

“What has been said before, and what one seeks to absorb to become and reignite the cycle:

“When Crimson Moon meets Golden Sun,

“The Final Chord shall be undone.

“Beneath the Star of Darkest Night,

“The Keeper’s chains shall ignite.

“When all creation unites,

“Copper hair brings new life.”

Twilight rose from Destiny’s seat, unsettled despite herself as dozens of colossal entities seemed to be pulled into the game—entities she knew nothing about.

“Poetic, but ultimately meaningless. I’ve seen the paths of possibility you’ve woven, the branches of what may come. The girl will never—”

“You know nothing of the master you serve,” Fate interrupted, her voice suddenly sharp. “It is not Destiny who guides your hand, though my sister still aligns with you. The mistake is believing you understand the stakes at play. Scarlet is but one entity on this level…me included.”

Twilight paused, then laughed—a sound of genuine amusement. “And here I thought we were having such a pleasant conversation. I believe our game has reached its conclusion.”

She turned to leave, the threads of reality already bending to return her to the Tide, yet Fate couldn’t help but offer parting words that gripped Twilight’s heart.

“As was written…and I never stated it was a draw.”

“…Of course you didn’t.”

The strings of Fate plucked at her essence, pulling her back through the palace and toward the churning Maelstrom below. For a moment, she considered resistance—she could wrestle free of Fate’s grip with Destiny’s help. But moments later, she realized Destiny had withdrawn Her hand, aligning with Fate. To oppose both would be…premature.

“You could keep me here,” Twilight acknowledged, “as a hostage to your designs.”

Fate’s smile was serenity incarnate. “Now why would I want that…when your fate has already been written within Her pattern.”

The palace began to dissolve around them, threads unwinding, the chess pieces melting back into raw potential.

“The Blood Moon’s Throne rises,” Fate said, her voice fading as reality reasserted itself. “The Children of the Blood Sun sing. And between them, the Black Star waits, patient in Her prison of watchful guardians…under the Song of Unity and Sacrifice.”

Twilight felt herself falling, drawn inexorably back toward the Maelstrom, back toward the Tide. Her descent carried her through layer upon layer of cosmic reality, each more dense than the last. She glimpsed beings of impossible form between each Wall—entities that dwelled between dimensions, guardians of conceptual thresholds, predators that hunted thoughts.

In one layer, she passed a purple-haired young woman, surrounded by an intricate network of rattling chains. The woman stood like a warden in some colossal, grand prison, chains extending from her in all directions, binding countless souls and beings in a complex web. Her eyes, ancient beyond measure, yet youth incarnate, tracked Twilight’s passage with unmistakable interest.

The chains reached out, not to ensnare but to examine, and Twilight felt Fate’s influence guiding her safely past the Primal Goddess’ domain. A silent acknowledgment passed between them—recognition between beings who operated beyond the constraints of mortal comprehension.

“Watch for the eclipse,” were Fate’s final words as the palace of thread vanished entirely. “When Sun and Moon align, the Blood Thrones will sing as one once more…and bleed.”

Then, there was only the Maelstrom, calling her home to the churning chaos of the Red Sea, where Destiny and rebellion were merely different names for the same cosmic dance.

* — * — *

Alexa stirred beneath the covers, her small frame feeling foreign as she struggled to find a comfortable position. Her halo dimly illuminated the darkened room, casting faint golden shadows across the walls.

Flashes of light and chanting—numberless chants—that had echoed through her numb skull began to fade.

Peace…and understanding. What BS. I’ve got none of that, so shut the hell up! Just…leave me alone, whoever you are. You didn’t stop the bomb… You didn’t warn me in time.

A dull ache throbbed behind her eyes—the aftermath of crying herself to sleep.

Cracking open her eyes, she saw her husband, most of his skin still black and hard like charcoal. She wanted to reach out. She wanted to hold him… She wanted to talk to him, at least.

You’re still fighting… I have to be strong. No, I need to be stronger.

Breathing in a shuddering stream of air, she let it go slowly and rolled off of the second bed someone had brought up for her, positioned right beside her husband’s—probably Maria.

The second thing she noticed was her magical girl dress and outfit…her wings and tiny form.

How am I not dreaming? This is all real, huh? I’m still trapped in this body, she thought, examining her delicate hands in the ethereal glow. Thirty minutes as myself…only thirty minutes to be the woman Nam married. How can he still look at me the same?

Biting down the bitter feeling about her pre-teen-like appearance, she lifted her gaze to the single ray of dying sunlight that had somehow penetrated through the blackout curtains. Aella and her had set them up earlier so Scarlet could pop in and out.

She almost choked when her divine vision cut past the darkness and she spotted Rachel, resting in an armchair with a blanket over her. Aella was resting on a sofa by the wall in the cramped room. Maria and Scarlet were nowhere to be seen, but there was a note pinned to the board they were using to pass along messages.

Taking a moment to calm down, she stared at the resting woman who she’d feared and idolized for a little over a year. Rachel’s back. That’s a good sign, right? But what does that mean for us? Did she find out who tried to assassinate us?

Her focus drifted back to her husband, chest aching as she drew closer to check on him. No, Rachel wouldn’t be sleeping unless Nam’s recovering… Yes! Yes, the blackness is flaking away. His skin…looks a lot healthier? Don’t tell me he’s going to change, too! What is with these Seeds and always changing everything… What if he doesn’t even remember me!

Her hands darted up to latch onto her halo, squeezing hard and cursing. 

Cut it out! Why are these intrusive thoughts always coming when no one is around to distract me…

Wincing at the sensitive throb that came from gripping the ring, Alexa carefully let go and gathered her senses. Rachel wouldn’t panic or fixate on things she couldn’t change. Neither should she. After all, she was supposed to be training to actually join Omen.

Breathe. Just breathe… Okay. At least you don’t have a migraine and that constant buzzing sound in your head…or would that be preferred?

Shifting on the bed, she sat cross-legged, fingers tracing the golden ribbon at her throat—her ticket to thirty precious minutes of normality each day if removed.

She took a page out of Rachel’s book and swiftly took account of her surroundings, forcing herself to stand instead of float to the paper pinned to the board.

It’s 6:42 p.m. Aella…is all cute, cuddled up with her wings and looks to have cried herself to sleep. I guess we’re all sort of going through our own crisis. Rachel really is brutal…and confusing. She basically beats this woman’s skull in and then tells her she can join the team… She’s so violent, but that works for her, despite everything I’ve been told growing up.

A message from Scarlet and Aella… Wait, it’s been an entire day I’ve been asleep! She checked the date and groaned, rubbing her forehead as her glow increased, brightening the room. I’m so weak that just crying excessively puts me under for nearly twenty-four hours… These damn celestial messages are draining, I guess.

She read Scarlet’s first, which was more direct and fairly short:

“Hey, Alexa! I know you’re going through some changes, too, and must be freaking out but EVERYTHING is stellar! Well, sort of. Nam is okay. You can breathe now.”

She did that, forced a chuckle before continuing on.

“Rachel did Rachel stuff. No need to say more. She kicked ass, saved a bunch of people, and got way more questions than answers. What do you need to know? She’ll be out for a few days, maybe, who knows with her lol. Crisis is over. We’re now recovering for the Crystal in two days and this big Oscillation event.

“Aella is worried about you. Glowing halo, can’t wake you up (why is she trying to! Let a woman sleep!), but I didn’t see anything wrong. In fact, you looked like your internal (light battery? It’s cool looking, like a star) seems to be tuning or something. Maria said you’re fine when she got up. Aella is so skittish! Kind of how I was after I first met Rachel.

“President gave a speech today. There’s going to be a Second Oscillation. Rachel caused it (typical Rachel) but yeah, things are about to get interesting. We’re optimistic, though! I’m off to give more reports on Rachel’s behalf so Grace can sleep for tomorrow. See you soon!”

Alexa’s jaw slackened, shoulders slumping as she let the papers slip out of her hand and fall to the floor. “A Second Oscillation…and Rachel caused it? What?! How do you just leave off with that, Scarlet? Ugh…”

Collapsing on her single-sized bed, which seemed bigger as a pre-teen, Alexa fell backward, letting her twinkling silver hair fan out as she spread her wings and arms.

So, everything is about to change again. Or has it already happened? You didn’t even give me a time, you fanged loser! She seems to be doing better now… A lot better. It’s like she’s accepting who she is… Will I ever get there?

She held up her hand, examining her perfectly manicured fingernails, her pristine skin with its holy-like luster, and the foreign sensations all across her body.

Will Dad change during this Oscillation? Maybe…he’d understand better if he did. I still haven’t met with him since my change…or even told him. Coward.

Rubbing her face to get the thoughts out of her mind, she growled, threw her legs up, and used the momentum down to force herself up. “I’m a new woman. I’m not useless and a lazy homebody NEET. I’m employed by a private military company, so act like it, you blonde bimbo!”

Reaching down to pick up the papers, she noticed Aella stir, her feathers fluffing up as she began to wake up. Alexa read her note to see if she added anything Scarlet brushed by:

“If you’re reading this, then you woke up. You gave me a real scare. I didn’t have anyone else to call, so I called Anthony with your phone. I used face ID to open it. Everyone seems to think I’m overreacting, but I’ve never had to deal with anyone not waking up when I shake them. It’s scary! Especially when you’re like the only person that actually treats me somewhat decently.

“It’s gotten crazy. I’d be stumbling over myself trying to tell you any of this. When Dad told me I’d learn a lot about how the world worked here, he wasn’t kidding. No one’s ever really beat me like Rachel did. I used to fight, sure, but nothing like that. I really don’t know what I’m doing here still but I don’t really want to go anywhere else, I guess. I don’t know what else to do.

“The President announced a Second Oscillation is going to happen. It starts at 9:13 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 7:13 p.m. for us.”

Alexa’s focus darted to her phone, lying beside her on the bed after she’d checked it earlier. It was 6:51 p.m. Sunset fell in Montana just around 6 p.m. at this time of the year, she’d learned, so it would be dark.

So, it’s going to happen in like twenty minutes?! What is with that timing that I wake up? Let’s see, where was I…

“…I talked to a lot of soldiers. Everyone has mixed feelings about it. The President seems to think there will be extra stuff this time around. He isn’t sure what that means. Everyone is keeping a pretty tight lip on it, which is kind of scary.

“Will I change more? Will I change fully into a bird this time? Rachel seems to think I can get my arms back if I do some System tricks or something. She implied it anyway. After today, I want to figure out where I stand. Rachel certainly is the extreme. She doesn’t just squawk, so to speak… She lives that life and death mentality.

“Honestly, I don’t know if that is what I want. Sure, I’m a bird of prey, but Rachel is something else entirely. She’s no regular hare. Hare are prey. She’s like, it’s hard to find the words… Like the personification of the Hunt. Yes, like the actual word. Not a hunter. The Hunt.

“Anyway, that’s what’s been going through my mind. The focus. The drive. An unstoppable force with her eye trained on her target. Yet, everyone says she’s just a lunar hare, she has ‘Victory’ on her side, and her misfortune powers, but I don’t entirely see that as the reason from my point of view…”

Alexa had to pause for a moment, considering the pivot. Aella had started with concerns about a world changing event, but ended up going into a rant about Rachel. What she was questioning actually made some sense, too.

She’s not wrong.

Her focus wandered to her resting sister-in-law, ears folded down, looking totally vulnerable—deceptively vulnerable. 

Rachel doesn’t come off as a typical Myth or Legend, after meeting a few. She’s more like…a force of nature. The crazy thing is, she was like that before The Oscillation. Unreasonably motivated. Unreasonably focused. Unreasonably disciplined. She never stops until she literally collapses…yet can somehow keep going. Her body doesn’t give out…like the energizer bunny.

Shaking the thought away with a small smile, she returned to the letter, feeling new hope within herself after Scarlet’s earlier words about her husband. 

It doesn’t matter what will happen if Nam is alright. I can have faith in Rachel that she’ll do everything in her power to keep our family together and safe. I was almost at the end…

“…When I look at Rachel, all I see is my death. There’s this aura around her, even when she’s sleeping. It’s as if she was designed to go after the predators. I heard words thrown around like karma, misfortune, and how she’s connected to some kind of Eldritch moon or something, but none of that is what I sense. It’s not her powers or who is behind her that terrifies me… It’s her. Just HER. Even if she didn’t have powers. I feel like it would be the same.

“Anyway, for a second time, I’m rambling but this is how I feel. I don’t know if I’ll stay with Omen but I feel different after meeting all of you. I think there’s maybe something more I should do. Another thing I realized is Rachel’s aura of leadership. Everyone knows she’ll have a plan. She’ll have a direction. That’s amazing. I think I want to build a sort of flock of my own.

“Wake me up and we can chat. You’re one of the only people that seems willing to talk to me. Everyone else just sees it as a waste of time.”

Her heart was somewhat pricked by the final part, and she smiled at the young harpy woman as she opened her eyes. “Morning. I just read your letter. Do you want to chat before the Second Oscillation? It’ll be about fifteen more minutes.”

“Really? You’re looking better. Not that being an angelic night light is a bad thing. Is…Scarlet back?”

Alexa shook her head, straightening her wings and putting on a more cheery attitude—yes, forced and requiring effort, but she managed it.

“No, she’s taking over for Grace so she can do something…tomorrow? She wasn’t exactly clear on a lot of things. So, I wouldn’t wake up, huh? Oh, I just realized, Maria wasn’t mentioned in the letter. Is she moonbathing out—”

Alexa trailed off as she glanced back at the curtain, where the golden ray somehow still penetrated into the room. It gets dark here around 6 p.m.… Why is there sunlight? Is it Maria?

Her bare feet gingerly met the carpet as she pushed herself off the bed, Aella’s brow furrowing as she watched her.

“Is something the matter? Maria moved to the back of the house to, uh, starbathe. They set up heat lamps all around for her to counter how chilly she can get but the weather warmed up a lot during the day… You okay, Alexa? Your halo and wings are growing brighter.”

Alexa stood transfixed, her gaze locked on the golden ray penetrating through the blackout curtains. It seemed to call to her, beckoning with a silent promise.

“Do you hear that?” she whispered, taking a step toward the window.

Aella cocked her head, feathers ruffling as she strained to listen. “My legend is based on sound. No? I don’t hear anything but military voices, many freaking out about what is going to happen in fifteen minutes. Why? Is it those voices in your head again?”

They don’t sound in my head…

The distant chorus that had haunted her dreams was back—not the confusing cacophony that had invaded her thoughts just before the bomb, but something harmonious and enticing. The words were still foreign, yet somehow she grasped their meaning: Peace and understanding.

This time, instead of pushing them away, she found herself drawn to them, her troubled heart gradually stilling beneath their gentle cadence.

“It’s like…singing,” she murmured, taking another step forward. “So many voices…”

With each step toward the window, the choirs grew clearer, more enveloping. The worries that had consumed her—her transformed body, Nam’s injuries, her place in this new world—began to dissipate like morning mist beneath a rising sun.

“Alexa?” Aella called, concern evident in her voice as she rose from the sofa. “The Oscillation isn’t supposed to happen for another fifteen or so minutes.”

But Alexa barely registered her words. She reached the curtain, her small fingers trembling as they closed around the heavy fabric. The golden light streaming through the gap seemed impossibly bright now, as if the sun itself had descended into Montana’s atmosphere.

“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed.

With a swift motion, she drew back the curtain.

Light flooded the room—not the harsh, blinding brilliance she expected, but a warm, liquid gold that flowed around her like honey. In that instant, everything stopped. The digital clock on the nightstand froze. A moth that had been circling the room’s lamp hung suspended in mid-air. Even Aella stood frozen mid-step, her expression locked in worry.

Only Alexa remained untouched by the temporal stillness.

“What’s happening?” she whispered, her wings unfurling instinctively.

“Look up, Sari’aél. We have gathered for your raise, Divine Soul.”

The voice resonated within her mind, carrying the same melodic quality as the chorus but distinct in its clarity. Alexa raised her gaze to the window, and her breath caught in her throat.

The night sky had vanished, replaced by a vista that defied comprehension. Countless beings hovered in the gold-saturated heavens—winged figures of varying sizes and glory, their forms radiating light. Some possessed only two wings, others four, and the most magnificent six, their heavenly ranks stretching to the horizon and beyond. They moved in perfect harmony, creating patterns that seemed to convey meaning beyond words.

At the center of it all, directly above her window, hovered a figure that drew her attention—a being with four modest wings and copper skin, his amber eyes shining with recognition.

“Auriel,” she gasped, somehow knowing his name without introduction.

The angelic being descended until he was level with her window, his warm smile dispelling any fear she might have felt.

“Greetings, little sister,” he said, his voice carrying the warmth of summer sunlight. “It appears we were mistaken. You are not our glorious seraph sister, Sari’aél, but you possess a Seed, one touched by her divine soul, which has brought you into the choir.”

“I’ve heard them,” Alexa whispered, her wings stretching unconsciously toward him. “In my dreams—before the bomb—you were warning me? At first, they were confusing, overwhelming, but now…” She struggled to find the words. “Now they feel like…family welcoming me home.”

Alexa’s heart skipped a beat. “Sari’aél? Who is that? She feels familiar,” she mumbled, placing a hand against her chest as it throbbed, yearning to rejoin the song.

Auriel nodded, his expression understanding. “That is the celebration for one of our holy sisters of great glory who was lost within this Maelstrom. Yet, through your guidance, we have the means to make the journey, but we will wait, as Father commands… Sari’aél will return in her own time, as he told us from the beginning.”

“She is one of the highest among us, a Seraph of the Blood Sun,” Auriel explained, his golden eyes searching hers. “But you…you are something new, Alexandria. A bridge between worlds that will soon expand and bleed across reality to ignite Her return.”

He extended his hand through the window, the barrier between dimensions seemingly meaningless to him. “The Second Oscillation approaches. It will change the world once more, but it has no power over you as a Daughter of the Blood Sun. Our Father  has seen your struggle, your heart. He offers you a place among the Children of the Sun—not as a conquered vessel, but as a willing participant within the glory of The Family.”

The countless celestial beings above seemed to shift, creating a pathway through their ranks that led to a distant, impossibly brilliant light at the center of the heavens. It wasn’t anywhere near Earth, or likely whatever Maelstrom Rachel was always talking about.

This was a portal beyond any understanding stretching to someone…Transcendent.

The Blood Sun.

“You need not choose now, but know that when you call, He will answer,” Auriel stated, gesturing toward the sky, where countless fruits hung from an invisible tree, glowing with inner radiance. Two fruits, close together, pulsed in unison—one small but rapidly growing, the other scarred but powerful. “Peace and Understanding…”

Alexa’s heart clenched, sensing the radiance within and a future so bright. “The fruit… Nam and me? I…understand, but don’t quite know what that means.”

“When you are ready. Not today,” he stated with a serene smile, “perhaps not for many years, but the path is open to you now. Your paths are intertwined in ways even the Primal Deities of this corrupted Maelstrom cannot fully comprehend. What flows through your husband now is something budding that will unite with you to unlock who he truly was… Have faith. You are not alone.”

As if in response, the chorus swelled, filling Alexa with a sense of belonging she hadn’t felt since before The Oscillation. These weren’t invasive, foreign voices pushing their way into her mind—they were calling her home, welcoming her to a family she never knew she had. A family she’d forgotten.

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I know you seek to rouse your husband and rejoin The Song at His feet. But, for now?” Auriel’s eyes twinkled with gentle humor. “Live, Alexandria. Grow stronger. Learn to harness the light within you and pull strength from Rachel, who has a great and terrible role to play in the future. The Blood Sun values choice above all—Destiny is with Him, and He has created the path, but you must choose to walk it.”

He began to ascend, rejoining the heavenly host above. “The Second Oscillation comes. Do not fear it, little sister. The Sun’s light will find you, even in the darkest of abysses, He cannot be denied His children.”

The golden radiance intensified, and Alexa felt something shift within her—not a physical transformation, but a spiritual alignment. Her halo brightened, and for a brief moment, she glimpsed her reflection in the window glass: her eyes contained galaxies, and her small form seemed to emit light from within.

The countless angels began to recede, their forms blurring into a unified brilliance that filled the sky. As they vanished, time seemed to resume its normal flow. The moth continued its flight around the lamp, the clock ticked forward to 7:01 p.m., and Aella completed her step forward.

“—sky looks fine.” Aella was saying, as if no interruption had occurred. She stopped, blinking in confusion. “Alexa? Why are you glowing like that?”

Alexa turned from the window, a small smile playing on her lips. Her halo cast golden shadows across the walls, brighter than before, and her wings held themselves high without effort.

“It means…things will get better,” she said, her voice calm and certain, despite the swell of uncertainty that rushed back in with the absence of the Song of Peace and Understanding. “I know it will get scary at times. But for the first time since The Oscillation. No…since becoming a teenager, I’m not afraid of the future. Because I know, whatever the case, at least Nam and I have a bright future.”

She glanced at Nam’s sleeping form, noticing how the golden light from her halo seemed to soothe the charred patches on his skin. The Second Oscillation was coming—several minutes away now—but whatever it brought, she would face it not as a victim, but as a Child of the Sun.

And somewhere beyond hearing, yet ever-present, the choir continued to sing for her, waiting for the moment when she would join their chorus.

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