The black rain fell for the tenth day in a row, a monthly occurrence in Neon City. The black rain that was thought to be a gift from Athanasius himself, blurred the vivid lights and blending them together in a grim yet colourful way.

   “Did you wait long?” A hooded man said to a woman staring up to the blackened sky with the rain hitting her face. Two of them were well contrasted to each other. The man had snow white hair and gentle, ocean blue eyes while the woman had deep black hair and sharp, crimson red eyes though at this moment, they were more lost than sharp.

   “Not sure, been too busy thinking.” The woman said with a lack of emotion, not taking her eyes away from the sky. The sight of her like this hurt him.

   “Listen Sarah-.” The man tried to mend her broken heart but she wouldn’t have it.

   “Save it Malcolm! I just gave my sons away and for what!? So that the gods that started all of this have a chance to live while we sacrifice our lives!? It’s not fair, Malcolm. None of it is!” Malcolm couldn’t think of what to say. With all of the events before this, he could think of any solution to any problem that came his way but this was something he couldn’t solve. The woman he loved, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his two sons had to give their kids away. She was right, it was unfair but they had to. It was for their safety. So long as their kids lived on, they would have nothing to worry about with their future.

“We did what we could. Had we not done it, they would be in even more danger.”

“But how do we know they’re with the right family to give them what they need?”

“We don’t. All we can do is watch over them from afar.”

“That’s if we survive this.” A monotoned voice spoke from the shadows. The couple turned to see a blind man walk towards them. His skin was deathly pale and his hair was snow white.

“Don’t talk like that, Martin.” A woman behind him spoke. “It was hard for us to leave our kids but you had it easier. At least your child won't have to worry about not knowing her parents.”

“Leave my Snow out of this, Aqua!” Martin hissed.

“Your daughter was brought into this the moment she was born.” A man said calmly as he walked into the light from behind Sarah.

“It’s the same for all of them. We are all victims of the War of the Gods.” A woman beside him continued.

“Blaze, Arica.” Sarah called. Arica walked over to Sarah and hugged her.

“How are you doing, sugar?” Arica asked with concern.

“I think I’ll be fine. I just don’t know what I’ll do without them. They were everything to me.”

“It’s the same for all of us hun.”

“Where’re Bruce and Leon?” Malcolm asked.

“Bruce went with Leon to drop off the twins.” Blaze answered.

“I don’t like this. Leon and Bruce are the fastest among us. They should’ve been here by now.”

“You think they were caught?” Sarah asked. To her dismay, that question was answered with the crashing of two bodies falling from the sky. For the men, time had slowed down. They couldn’t even hear the screaming voices of the girls. When they finally came back, they looked up to see the one man they didn’t hope to see until they were all together.

“Sarah! Run away! Now!” Malcolm didn’t hesitate to call out to her. He had to give her time to get away. Sarah didn’t hesitate to run either. So long as one of them lived, there was a chance for the next generation.

“Now why would you go and send her off? I was hoping to finish this war before the 5000 mark.” The man floating above them said with a chilling gaze. Malcolm looked at the others who were frozen in fear. The sight of their friends beaten so easily by a single man but not just any man.

“I won’t give you the chance to lay a finger on my wife, Teivel!” Malcolm yelled, snapping his friends out of their trance. They had to do what they could to stop him. It was their job.

“Very well then. I guess I’ll taste her despair after you five.”

Sarah had lost count of how long she had been running. She only knew that she had to get out of the city. If not for her safety then her children’s. She found a dark alley with a ceiling to block the rain so she took this chance to pull out a piece of chalk from her pocket and started drawing on the three walls and the floor below her. When she was done, four sigils were created. The sigils were a secret from her clan. It would take her at least 1000 miles away from her starting point but there was no way of knowing where it would take her. She could only hope she wouldn’t be in reach of Teivel. After taking off her shoes, she stepped into the circle.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Teivel said from the entrance of the alley while holding something in his hand. “Shouldn’t a good wife say goodbye to her beloved husband?” Teivel threw what he was holding towards her but it landed on the ground. What she saw caused her to let out a blood curdling scream. On the ground was Malcolm’s head. Rage, sorrow, Despair, Fear. Sarah felt all of these emotions and much more but she wouldn’t let it control her. Not this time. With full resolve, Sarah spread her arms to the sigils.

“Umbra alio, alium mundum!” Sarah chanted. In the blink of an eye, she was in another world but just before leaving the alley, Teivel whispered something that caused her to scream in between the  transport.

“I know where they are.”

Sarah didn’t know where she was and she couldn’t see where she was but her greatest fear was what that man will do to her children. Drowning in her own sorrow, she began to crumble in her own tears. What was to happen to Kalpana, her home, her people, her family?

 "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Demons and Angelics of all ages!" The announcer yelled through the microphone.

"It's time for the main event! Introducing the Champions for tonight's fight! In the white corner, the Angelic Champion of the world! He's got an icy grip that doesn't quit! He's the Prince of Cool: CRYOZOOOOOOOONE!!!" Half of the audience cheered as Cryozone, in his light blue track suit, waved to them and showed a bit of his power by making an ice sculpture out of thin air. Zero, behind his black, emotionless mask, watched as he smashed the sculpture into tiny pieces with his bare hands. Cryozone gave a cocky grin to Zero as the announcer continued. "And in the black corner, the hometown anti-hero! He's got a quiet stare that could kill! He's the Spawn of Athanasius: CHEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRNOBOOOOOOOOG!!!" The crowd roared from the sound of his stage name but Zero didn't use any tricks to show off. It wasn't his style. "The rules are the same as always: first one to die, lose consciousness, or forfeit loses! Any form of attacks are valid! Now, it's time to choose-" The announcer pointed his mic to the audience. 

"GOD'S PLAYING FIELD!!!" They yelled at the top of their lungs. On the jumbo screen above the ring, eight different terrains were shown rotating. The one that stopped would be the one that the contenders would fight on. As the terrains spun, a cage covered the ring. The terrain of Water stopped and Cryozone was grinning from ear to ear. This was his terrain. Suddenly, the cage started to blur before turning into a giant block of water. The announcer quickly swam out of the stadium before yelling out "Begin!" 

God’s Playing Field - an underground battle arena where two people from different races fight until one is unable to fight. There are no restrictions to how ‘unable’ they can be.

Cryozone shot himself towards Zero and sucker punched him, causing Zero to spin uncontrollably. Cryozone linked both of his hands above his head and his arms incased themselves in ice. 

"Cryo-Hammer!" He yelled as he smashed Zero's head and knocked him to the ground. Cryozone stomped down to Zero's head but Zero pushed himself away from him and started swimming upward. "What's wrong Chernobog? Scared of a little water?" Cryozone jumped up and grabbed Zero's leg before swinging him around and throwing him back to the ground. Zero was slammed to the ground but Cryozone wasn’t done with him. Cryozone put his feet on the inner water surface with his knees fully bent.

“It looks like Cryozone is ready to use his special move: Cryoslam!” The announcer proclaimed to the audience. Everyone began to stomp their feet in a rhythm but it wasn’t for Cryozone but for their Champion, Chernobog. Zero’s heartbeat synced with the beat. Cryozone pushed his feet off of the water which had him flying towards Zero at top speed with his arms out in a fist but as he was just a hair’s breath away, Zero vanished in a puff of black smoke. “Show yourself, Demon!” It wasn’t long before a blackened figure appeared before him.

“You’re really loud, y’know.” The figure said. The figure was wearing a suit with a yellow tie to match its ominous yellow eyes.

“What the hell is this!? This is supposed to be a one on one match!”

“Take a better look idiot. Chernobog isn’t  just a Demon.” Before Cryozone could say anything, a painful ringing echoed in his head along with pain in his ears. Cryozone fell to his knees as a single thought came to his mind.

“I’ve been stunned!?” A hand placed itself over his face.

“Chernobog seems to have distracted Cryozone and is about to waste no time on his special move!” The announcer called.

“Enter The Shadow!” Zero called out with the audience. The black figure spread to the entire ring, engulfing it in darkness. The audience couldn’t see or hear anything that was happening and to Zero, it was better that way. “Some forms of Darkness are better left kept in the Shadows.” Those words echoed in Zero’s head as he finished off Cryozone. When the shadow disappeared, the audience saw the crowd favourite, Chernobog standing over the immovable Cryzone. The crowd cheered and roared as the victor was decided.

Enter The Shadow - an ability that fills the target with images that can temporarily or permenantly leave them incapacitated. Cannot be used to harm other Darks.

“It’s been decided! The winner and still Champion is Chernobog!” The Announcer proclaimed over the crowd. It was another notch on Zero’s championship belt. When Zero was presented his belt once again, he raised it over his head for the audience to see.

When it was all over, Zero made his way to the locker room where he dropped on the bench from exhaustion.

“For an idiot, that guy sure had some mental strength.” Zero said aloud. The dark figure reappeared and sat beside Zero.

“I think thats the second time you’ve had to open the third ring.” The man said. “First time was when you had to-.”

“Don’t bring up buried pasts, Itzal. No one else needs to hear about it.” Zero interrupted. Neither one of them said anything for the longest while and Zero was growing more and more irritated for some reason. “Are you gonna come out or am I gonna have to send Itzal after you!?” Zero and Itzal stared at the dimmed corner where a man who looked much like Itzal walked towards them. He was also wearing a suit but with a red tie to match his eyes and a dark aura surrounding him.

“As expected of the Champion of the Neon.” The man said in a deep tone.

“Who are you and how did you get past Metalman?” The man had a grin over his face.

“If I couldn’t get past one mortal, how could I call myself a God?” A slight chill raised the hair on the back of Zero’s neck which was the first time to ever happen. “Oh, and you may call me Athanasius.” Zero paused as he stared at the man proclaiming to be the God of Darkness. Athanasius was one of the Eight Gods ok Kalpana and said to be the most corrupt and conniving among them. He is even disliked by his “worshippers”, the Dark Demons.

“And to what do I owe the honor of being visited by the bane of Kalpana?” Zero asked calmly. Athanasius made a quick glance to Itzal and to both his and Zero’s surprise, he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

“Now that we’re alone, let’s talk properly. Now I assume you’ve heard of Nexus Academy.” Athanasius said while pacing around the lockers.

“A school in the middle of an island no sane person would live on where all four races learn together. It’s the talk of the town.” Zero didn’t take his eyes off the man that removed his Shadow from the room. He also tried his best to reconnect with Itzal in case Athanasius tried anything.

“Well then that cuts my explanation in half! The reason I’m here is that I want you to attend the school-.”

“Not happening.” Zero interrupted. Athanasius stopped in his tracks and looked at Zero with a blank stare.

“Now Zero, I didn’t walk past an Earth-Child and take your Shadow from you just so you could refuse an offer of mine.” Zero had nothing to say. He knew that anything involving that God would mean all kinds of trouble but he had to get Itzal back. He wanted Itzal back.

“Why do you want me to go there. You could’ve asked me to do so many other things. Why attend a school?”

“Let’s just say that someone close to you left something unfinished that I need you to take care of.” Zero was confused. When it came to friends, Zero was scarce with them. It was a regular thing for all Dark Elementals but it was worse in his case. Being the Champion of an illegal fight club had its unwanted perks. “So I’ll take your silence as an acceptance to my deal.”

“I go to a school for the sake of my shadow. Sounds like a deal.” Athanasius let out his hand but Zero just stared at it for a second.

“It’s common courtesy to shake hands to seal a deal.” Zero raised his eyebrow.

“A god with a business-like ideals. That’s something you don’t see everyday.” Zero shook his hand.

“Wait until you meet Chaos.” Athanasius snapped his fingers and Itzal reappeared on the bench he disappeared from. “I’ll expect good things from you Zero.” And with that, he disappeared into the shaded corner. Itzal stared at Zero, trying to find out the events of what happened by reading his face but there was nothing. As usual, Zero made it impossible for the only person he trusted to reach out to him but Itzal had grown accustomed to it.

“I won’t ask what happened,” Itzal said as he crawled back into Zero’s soles. “but just know that I’ll follow you wherever you go.” Zero paused for a moment before walking to his locker and opening it. A picture of a ten year old Zero sitting on the lap of an old man, the man he called his father.

“Good, because it seems our next battleground will be filled with some ‘unique’ faces and skills of interesting proportions.” Zero and Itzal smiled in unison as they walked out of the locker room.

Evelyne tapped her feet impatiently as she waited for her friend to come out of the house. They were supposed to go to the statue of Celestia for an award ceremony. Evelyne was about to pound on the door but the door swung open, leaving her fist swinging towards a broad chest. A boy her age in a white T-shirt and shorts holding a plastic bag stood in the doorway with an alluring smile.

“Did you wait long?” The boy asked. Evelyne took a minute to snap out of her daze.

“I’ve been waiting for thirty minutes! What took you so long!?” Evelyne yelled. The boy’s smiled became more apologetic.

“Sorry there was something I had to take care of and it couldn’t wait.” Evelyne huffed in frustration. It was damn near impossible to stay mad at someone like Ray.

“Whatever, let’s just hurry. We’re late enough as it is.” It took only about twenty minutes of running but they made it in time for the Sage of Light to finish the opening speech. It would have been faster but although they were both angels, Ray hadn’t earned his just yet.

There was a huge crowd of Solarians gathering to see the awards given but most of them were here for one award: The Light of Celestia Award, an award given to young Light Elementals who prove themselves in the ways of Sol, the City of Light. This year, there are five candidates. As time went by and awards were given, Evelyne noticed Ray’s heavy breathing.

“Ray, are you ok?” She asked. Ray turned to Evelyne when she noticed he was sweating heavily. His white shirt was completely soaked.

“Ray, if you want, we can leave. You don’t have to push yourself after what you did last week-”

“I said I was fine Evelyne. Please just let me be.” He said calmly though a bit of hostility that was never shown before seeped through.

“Alright but I’ve gotta ask: what’s in the bag?” Ray’s signature smile returned and she was left dazzled by him.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“And now for the Light of Celestia Award.” The Sage announced. Everyone’s attention was on the Sage. “This award is for the child seventeen years or younger who showed true self-sacrifice for others.” The Sage opened a white envelope and unfolded the paper. “The award goes to,” Everyone was at the edge of their seats but not as much as Ray was who looked like he could keel over at any second. This was the most important moment for him. It would determine his future, his life, his everything. “Ray Calibur for risking his life to stop the destruction of our beloved Celestia.” And then it happened.

“Arrrrrgh!” Someone yelled in pain. It was like they were being tortured relentlessly. Everyone looked to see the source of the yell but Evelyne could see it with her own eyes.

“Ray is getting his wings!” Evelyne yelled. Instinctively, the other citizens moved the chairs away from him and gave him ten metres worth of space. An Angel’s wingspan was able to reached up to 18 metres and when they came out, they came out flapping hard.

Evelyne could see Ray gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in pain, trying to keep the pain from wavering his emotions but that was impossible. He was too happy to change. Receiving the award after keeping his composure for an entire week was worth it for this feeling. The feeling of absolute bliss.

Everyone could see the shape of the wings trying to push themselves out of Ray and for some, it was hard to watch but for most, it was an honour. With one gut wrenching yell, Ray forced the wings out and although they were covered in blood, they shined a light no Angel has ever seen.

“Ray you’re,” Evelyne started but she just couldn’t believe it. The Sage walked towards Ray and turned to his people.

“My fellow Solarians, it is with the greatest on that I present to you a pure-born Archangel!” The Sage proclaimed. The crowd roared as Ray stumbled but finally stood up with his wings spread. Evelyne ran towards him and caught him just before he fainted from exhaustion.

Archangel - a high ranking Light Angelic gifted in the highest forms of light magic.

“C’mon Sunshine,” Evelyne called Ray by her nickname for him. “Let’s clean those wings before they stick.”

“My Champion, why did you force yourself to earn my gift a week later?” A voice called in Ray’s dream.

“One can only truly appreciate a gift from a goddess by showing it to those closest to them. I simply wanted everyone to be there to watch as I receive Celestia’s true ‘Light’.”

“But what would you have done had you not won the award? What would you have done if you had been corrupted by the despair of losing?”

“If I were corrupted then I simply did not deserve the title of ‘Champion’.”

“Then if your resolve to become my Champion remains, I ask for you to complete a task for me.”

“Anything you wish.”

“Attend Nexus Academy for four years and find out the truth of your wings.”

“What secret is there to know about it?”

“The secret of the man you inherited them from.” And with that, Ray opened his eyes and found himself back in his room. His head was pounding and he couldn’t remember the events that led to getting there. Then he noticed a bit of extra weight on his body and when he looked in the mirror, he realized exactly what Celestia was talking about. His wings had a special gleam that he had never seen on any other Angel.

“The sleeping prince finally awakens.” A familiar voice calls. Ray jumped in surprise to see Evelyne staring at him as he ogled his own wings.

“Sleeping prince, huh? I like the sound of that.” Ray mentioned. Evelyne handed him an envelope. There was a backwards ‘N’ on the seal. “What’s this?”

“Some woman in white came and dropped this off. Said it was an ‘invitation’.” Ray opened the letter and skimmed through it. “What’s it say?”

“I’ve been invited to attend Nexus Academy this coming year.”

“That popular school on that forbidden island?”

“That very same.”

“So... are you going?”

“You may not believe me but Celestia asked me to go to this school in my dream.”

“I see.” Evelyne turned and walked towards the door. She was happy for him but she didn’t want him to go. Not without her. Before she could walk out of the room, Ray planted a big kiss on her lips. Had it been any other person, Evelyne would have sent them to Hell and back but Ray was different. She had always been by his side since they were kids and she would always get mesmerized by the dashing smile and deep blue eyes of his and now she understood why. As soon as  Ray pulled away from the kiss, he held up the letter.

“It says I’m allowed to bring one more person to attend.” Evelyne’s eyes widened as she gave him the a smile she still had yet to show him: love. Ray gave her another kiss. “There’s just one problem.” Ray showed Evelyne a part in the letter. It was a riddle. “Apparently if we don’t solve it, we can’t go.”

“Looks like we’ve go ourselves a puzzle to solve.”