Ophelia trembled softly as her mind raced, her eyes darting back and forth as she desperately searched the memories she had blocked out for so long. Searching for any possible way that Seth could have seen what he clearly had saw.

It just... wasn't possible. She had been there when it was written on her head and when that damned dagger plunged into her own mothers chest. She had been made to watch it all while everyone around her celebrated like it was a good thing, and even congratulated Ophelia on having such a wonderful mother.

There hadn't been a moment since it was written that she would have ever been able to leave. So how?!

Not unless... he had somehow snuck into the ceremony and his mind was twisting it into some kind of dream to protect him. Could that possibly be it?

Her head snapped to the doorway at the sound of footsteps, as the man in question came strolling back into the room. But before she could do any more than part her lips, her voice caught in her throat at the sight of the smaller figure following him.

Ophelia swallowed her slew of questions that would make the inquisition question if it was too much, and simply put on the kind motherly smile she had never seen herself.

Woe glanced at his sister as he walked into the room, nervously wringing his hands in front of him as he did so. He didn't make eye contact with her, which was probably for the best as Ophelia was already worrying about how fake her smile looked.

Corvus spared a look towards her for a few seconds, confused on why she was acting so strangely. But eventually he figured it out, she must have been worried about Woe. He might have had wonderful powers and be strong enough to lift a truck, but he was still a teenager.

The species that was known for being dumb, rash and getting themselves into trouble. She was probably thinking of all the things that could go wrong and the possibility of losing him again.

He nodded to himself, confident in his deduction, before strolling over and putting his hand on Lea's shoulder. He squeezed it softly, trying to give her a reassuring tone in his voice.

"Don't worry High Priestess. He will be safe with me. I will protect him with my life... Like he was my own family."

He squeezed her shoulder again, gaining another strained smile from her in response, before he confidently nodded and turned away. On the couch nearby, Astra simply shook her head in disappointment and sipped from her tea again.

Woe might have seemed like an odd choice to some, especially compared to his other travel companion. Astra was trained to fight, she was a newly evolved Celestial like himself and she was supremely powerful to back that name up.

But Woe was none of those things. He had no real combat training or experience and he was not a Celestial, just a mid level transcendent. It was all because of his power.

With so many unknowns plaguing him, Corvus decided the best way to combat them was to eliminate as much of the board as possible before the game could even start. If any of the unknowns he faced relied on an ability, Woe could simply switch it off. With Corvus' Celestial strength, he was sure he would be able to win any fight after that.

It was just a shame that Woe's transcendent ability didn't increase his control over his ability. It still disabled everyone in the area, allies and enemies. Instead it gave him... Well honestly, despite his words he wasn't even sure if he would have to protect Woe, as his evolution had made his defensive talents practically monstrous.

Glancing at his strange little brother, Corvus took the letter from underneath his breastplate and flipped it open again. His eyes skimmed the words, until they landed on the timing segment, which was actively counting down.

The event will begin in 30 seconds time.

The event will begin in 29 seconds time.

The event will... 28seconds... 27 seconds... 20 seconds... 10 seconds...

When the counter finally hit zero, the mundane paper in his hand started to glow brightly. The ink scrawled upon the page started to melt, starting with that shifting line and rapidly spreading as a tidal wave of ink moved across the glowing page.

It quickly dripped off of the page, dropping onto the floor in one congealed mass with a wet splat. The river of black ink slithered across the ground to an open spot a few metres away, before starting to arranged itself into a circular array of runic symbols.

The space above the runic circle shuddered, the image of the wall behind it shifting and morphing as the space itself warped and bent... before it snapped back to how it was previously and the paper stopped glowing.

The room was silent for a few seconds, before Ophelia finally spoke.

"Was... was that supposed to happen?"

Astra opened her mouth to answer, but the words never came. Instead she glanced at Corvus, who shrugged in confusion. The paper glowed brightly again, as the space warped and bent once more. Cracks formed in the air, before rapidly repairing themselves and going back to normal again.

"I... I think our defence totem is interfering with it." Corvus muttered as once more, the letter failed to do what it set out to achieve.

The tense air was completely gone, replaced with a palatable awkwardness, like watching a magician fail at a card trick for the fourth time in a row. It was just embarrassing at this point.

"You know, The one's that Lee set up to stop another shattering. Hold on, let me see if I can..."

The next time the letter in his hands glowed, Corvus held it tight in his hands and pumped his own mana into it, flooding the simple paper with his own power. The space shuddered and warped once more, yet with Corvus' assistance the cracks rapidly spread before the space in front of them finally shattered into a familiar portal.

At least familiar to those who had seen Lee at work.

A tiny, scaled head poked through the portal, glancing around the room in confusion and a little embarrassment. Woe flinched at the appearance of the creature, while Ophelia started to summon her spectral self but Corvus quickly held up a hand.

After all, he recognised this little creature. Not personally, but he knew what it was. It was a Kobold, just like Nugget. The one who had followed him around invisibly and sacrificed his life to wake up Prometheus.

This one had similar features, in the way that 3 foot tall humanoid lizards looked similar to each other, but it had blue scales instead of the red that Nugget had.

The little kobold's eyes widened when it saw the four of them staring at it and it quickly hopped through the portal, showing them that it was wearing a perfectly tailored butlers suit. It even had a little hole for its tail to poke through.

The kobold cleared its throat, before bowing its head and looking up at them, speaking in an adorable high pitched voice that didn't at all convey the threatening and intimidating tone it was trying to project. As if its tiny body didn't ruin that already.

"Greetings to you, I am the servant of his Greatness the Eternal Dragon, the Everlasting Flame, the Progenitor of Dragons, The -"

"Prometheus, We know. He signed the letter, you know."

The Kobold's eyes snapped to Corvus as he interrupted its grand, well practiced introduction, and at the part dedicated to its master no less! It let out a huff of annoyance, yet kept its professionalism. It was already annoyed that it's dramatic entrance was ruined by defences beyond what it expected of such a lowly species, but now to interrupt it?!

Yes... Professionalism now... Kill them later, if it was so lucky.

"Yes... Well, You have been invited by his Greatness to attend a meeting of other leaders of this... humble planet. Which one's will be joining you?"

Corvus gestured to Astra and Woe, who stepped forwards and stood next to him. The former leaning on him casually, while the latter stayed a single step away from him and didn't dare to look up from the floor.

Glancing over his companions, the Kobold let out a gentle snort, although whether it was supposed to be impressed or condescending wasn't clear. Although Corvus had a strong feeling it was leaning towards the latter.

"Very well, You will follow."

It turned on its heels, hopping through the portal and not even bothering to wait for them as it's little feet padded away on the other side. Astra leapt through first, followed slowly by Woe.

Corvus glanced over his shoulder at Ophelia once more, who still held the nervous and forced smile on her face, before leaping through himself as the portal snapped closed behind him.