They had only talked for a few hours when his sister Ariandel made a strange request.

“Brother.” She hesitated, “Could I see your soul altar?”

Lukas immediately fell silent.

To be honest he had gleaned a lot from their conversation. He discovered that apart from the unparalleled power the blood bound artifacts provided to those who were lucky enough not to be driven insane, they were written rumors of the unique abilities they bestowed to their wielders. Naturally they tried to find out if it was true by getting him to cast a few harmless spells but apart from almost instantaneous spell casting and massively augmented spells, nothing out of feature jumped out to them. Once they had exhausted every means, they rested whilst they spent the next few moments reminiscing about their hometown. The House of Raydore was placed in a little town called Demacia south eastern from the Cathedral of light. It was a only a 3 days journey by carriage but more than two years has passed since they had left. As they wondered if everything was still the same, it didn’t take long for Lukas to realize his sister deeply missed home. Soon she made him promise they would both visit their hometown once he was done with the Annual Contest. After all there was nothing better than to return their mother carrying the best news possible.

“I know it’s very bold of me to ask,” She blurted out, a little bit restless, “But I realized if what has happened to you changed your artifacts…then what about your soul altar?”

There was no denying her request was one of the major taboos within the magical society. Soul altars in the Continent of Lush were regarded almost sacred as they were seen as very manifestation of magic, of one’s fate, talent and their innermost connection to the world. They stood at the heart of each one’s soul, a culmination of one’s destiny and fortune thus no two soul altars were ever the same. From what she has just witnessed, Lukas knew her sister would not be so clueless to realize that whatever had happened at the forest had transformed him at a fundamental level.

But could he trust her?

He had already seen his soul altar and so there was no doubt to how his sister would react once she laid her eyes upon the enigma of his soul. What would she see? What conclusion would she draw? Would she able to tell what happened? That was the question he dreaded the most. He knew he urgently needed answers to many of the questions he had, but the only one who could provide them, the only one he could trust was the young girl sitting in front of him, a chosen disciple of one of the strongest elders in the Cathedral of Light. Lukas had no idea who she was, but his previous host had heard rumors that her master one of the 7 Chromes, a title provided to the guardians who acted as the major pillars of this institution. Regardless, this was the only shot he had at finally getting at least some of his answers. He had to take risk.

Taking a deep breath, he tentatively asked. “Is it possible?” He wondered.

Taken aback, Ariandel nodded. “It is possible but…are you sure?” She couldn’t help but ask, her face flushed with excitement.

Lukas stared deep into her eyes…and decided to bet on his instinct. By logic, he shouldn’t have trusted her. He was a stowaway soul in the body of her brother. If he was still back at Earth, that was enough for him to be captured and locked at an asylum. But between her and her real brother, there existed a bond strong enough to linger even after his death. It was a love so deep that up until now he felt it coursing throughout his being. At the eve of the astral event, the stars had fallen and they had merged into one. He had inherited his dreams, his memories, his identity and desires; most of all he had taken the most integral part of his emotions with him. For she was only one her brother cared deeply enough to beseech the gods and actually have his prayer answered inform of him.

He decisively nodded, clearly revealing his confidence in her.

Gratified of his trust, Ariandel yet sighed as she felt compelled to tell him the truth.

“Although Soul Altars are usually treated just as manifestation of one's spirit and soul, they also contain insight into one's path as a mage. If such knowledge falls into the wrong hands…”

Lukas firmly waved her concerns away. “I fully trust you sister. There is not a soul here that I would show rather than you. To be honest I’m also acting for my sake as well. Once I returned I had delved into my soul altar… and there have been some changes that have stumped me as well. We might as well search for answers together.”

At his reply, she sweetly smiled. "As you have trusted me with this, then I swear on our blood that none of it will reach any one's ears… even my masters."

Feeling her sincerity he beamed before his face got serious.

“So what should I do?”

Her sister sat across him, her voice resonating within the abode. “Before we begin, there are few things to learn.” She cleared her throat before she began, “Entering someone's soul altar isn't as easy as it sounds. They can force their way into yours, which will almost always leave you half-dead or peer directly into your soul which can only mean they are much stronger than you can ever imagine. Not even Heaven Mages have hope of accomplishing that.”

“Does that mean their strength must be higher than a Heaven-stage Mage?” Lukas asked baffled. He was barely a Mortal Mage now and the Heaven-stage was a whole two ranks above him. Sure he had made it his goal to reach such strength one day, but the prospect that there existed even higher stages than that made him feel like he had a long journey ahead.

“Even higher my master once said.” There was a wistful look on her face before she snapped back into focus. “But for now let’s not fret over it. Those ranks are too far away from us.”

Calling for him to do the same, they both sat crossed legged against each other, their hands intertwined. She took a deep breath and then stared at Lukas

“Are you ready?”

Lukas nodded.

"Good, you have to listen to my instructions very clearly and follow them precisely. Since this isn't a forced entry there is almost no danger but we still have to be careful."

By then something occurred to Lukas, "How did you learn to do this?" he curiously asked.

She shrugged as she replied, “My master taught me this. She needed to see my soul altar so she could prepare a more comprehensive guide for my cultivation. She called it the Vestigious Ritual, which meant to glimpse through that which is hidden in the Olden Language. Quite harmless but it can only be performed when one is willingly. So feel at ease brother,"

Lukas nodded as he filed away the ritual into his mind. He will have enough time to research and learn about the olden language later but for now they both tried to relax by taking some deep breaths before they closed their eyes.

“Now I'm going to begin.” She slowly spoke. “First, let free of your body, make sure you don't tense. Second, release your mind, slowly lowering your mental defenses. Then open your soul by entering into a soft like meditation, just deep enough for me to enter."

Fully relaxing, Lukas felt himself falling into a familiar breath of meditation. His body was freed, his mind floating, lingering like a wisp of smoke. Briefly after, he felt a presence, a manifestation brushing at edges of his mind. He could sense it wasn’t threatening though it seemed almost familiar with scents of a morning breeze and warm sunlight washing over him.

‘It’s me brother…’ she whispered her intention across the void, ‘Let me in…’

A little hesitant on what exactly was he was supposed to do, he felt her presence whooshing itself inside, an alien existence intruding into the deepest recess of his mind. Suddenly an icy cold sensation flooded his body. He felt as if he was about to be possessed, tendrils of frozen ice climbing alongside his arm and legs, into his body and mind. Fear instinctively rose within him. Unthinking he was just about to retaliate when he heard her plea.

‘Don't tense brother, trust me… you can sense it for yourself. I bear no ill intention.’

It took him a while to relax but when he finally did, a small opening appeared. Ariandel finally slipped inside, finding herself inside a large expanse of darkness. Her presence in his mind formed a perfect replica of her body, except she was translucent, almost like mist, her hair long, weightless and clothed in a long white robe fluttering to an invisible wind. Witnessing the never ending darkness frightened her but she could tell her brother was near. She called to the void, hoping he was conscious enough to hear her.

"Lukas, are you there?” She floated in the air like a fairy in the midst of a sky less night. “You need to let me in…”

All of sudden, the darkness pulsated before a golden star flickered into the existence above her. From it a staircase of golden steps rapidly descended towards her with a large shinning door waiting at the very end.

Shaking her head from the flair of it all, she alighted on the stairwell. She slowly took a step and another which brought her closer and closer to the top. She could sense her brother behind the ornate doors, waiting, beckoning for her to enter. Filled with anticipation she quickly hurried until she was finally at the eave, standing tall against the gates that stood three times her height. Logic demanded the doors to be heavy, impossible to open even, but she unhesitatingly placed her hands on the gate and then easily pushed it open showering herself in a light so bright she was forced to close her eyes.

Against the brilliance, as she walked through the opening, she physically felt her environment shift. The light soon receded and before her eyes, an endless expanse was revealed. She gasped when she saw the endless sky cleaved in half and the floor a glassy reflection of the sundered heavens above. The spectacle was so bizarre that she stood there frozen, trying to comprehend if she had indeed entered her brother’s soul altar or had somehow travelled into a strange world.

When she started walking directly in the middle of the two worlds, the golden doors vanishing behind her, she sighed in awe. No wonder her brother readily agreed to her ritual. He risked showing everything to her probably because he also needed answers of his own. Stretching her left hand, she felt gentle warmth wrapping her skin, while when she did the same to her right, a cold breeze prickled her hairs. She knew it was all an illusion as souls altars are just that, pure manifestations but it didn’t take away from the grandeur she felt every time she stared at the endless skies or the floating clouds.

Feeling his summons she soon reached him. Her brother was waiting, his back turned towards her, his long white robe fluttering against a far off silhouette looming in the horizon. His mind imprint was exactly the same except his demeanor seemed older almost as if he had matured too quickly. The difference didn’t end there. When he turned, she found both of his eyes were unnaturally bright with his right eye flared in a golden color, while his left eye let out a bewitching bluish-silvery hue, the same eerie light that emanated from his artifacts Ariandel observed.

He smiled once he saw her. “I never imagined this would work." He said "It feels strange …almost like we can feel each other's emotions.”

“Of course it would,” Ariandel said proudly before she added, “My master told me our imprint can be likened to the exact image of our thoughts, of how we perceive ourselves. Our inner thoughts are protected but our emotions are truly laid bare. In the end, there is no need to lie to ourselves inside our own souls.”

“But brother,” she exclaimed as she got closer. “Your eyes…are different here.”

Lukas subconsciously raised a hand to his face. “Really…”

She nodded. “One seems to glow in a golden light, the other lets out the same silvery hue.” She turned her gaze to the expanse surrounding her. “Quite like your soul altar in fact.”

Stunned, he asked, “What does it mean?”

Her sister shook her head in defeat. “I have no idea…though I’m quite sure there might be a meaning to it”

Shrugging, he took her hand. “Come let me show you something.”

“Something other this…” she gestured towards the day and night sky, her somewhat disbelieving.

Wryly smiling, he told her, “This is just the beginning…”

With quickened steps, they dashed through the plains arriving directly in front the pedestal, the seeming insurmountable distance crossed in a heartbeat. In one soul’s altar, one’s concept of distance was highly subjective but when the 3 statues came into focus, Ariandel was speechless, the breadth and beauty of it all bearing on her mind like a heavy weight.

She helplessly groaned when they finally stopped. "I had no idea when you said your soul was different you meant this.” Her eyes raved over the looming figures that seemed to dominate over the endless expanse almost as if they were gods.

Lukas replied in exasperation. “Trust me; I was just surprised as you are when I first arrived.”

Collecting her bearings she summoned her strength and focused her attention on the three humongous statues that stood before her.

Like a magnet, her attention was immediately pulled to the winged figure on the right, holding a sword in one hand while the other held the sun that illuminated its part of the sky. But that wasn’t what had forced her to turn. Instead she distinctly felt her blood singing, a deep seated resonance thrumming between her and the statue, evoking a close feeling of kinship. The figure’s finer features were particularly obscured but the flaming sword in its hand and the bright sun held high above its head made it seem as if it was a mighty figure ready to battle.

Just to be sure she asked, “Is that...”

"My Elemental Light, yes it is" he answered, fascinated by the new development. “But… now it seems much more than that. I can feel it connecting us.. through blood”

‘A Bloodline connection' Aria was stunned when such thought crossed through her mind.

She also found she couldn’t deny it. Both she and her brother awakened to Elemental Light at the ceremony; in addition the winged statue seemed to be calling out to her soul altar. Ignoring the uncanny resemblance between the winged statue and her golden maiden within her soul altar, this meant they might possess a bloodline they never knew they had. But the more she thought about it the more questions she had. What kind of bloodline did they possess? Why wasn’t there a record of it in their family's historical heritage? And what did this entail in the end. It wasn't a secret that the some of the most powerful noble houses in the continent possessed powerful bloodlines that gave them an edge over other houses. But years of breeding have thinned such bloodline to an almost a negligible degree. Any later generation who happens to get lucky to awaken even a smidgen of it is hailed as a Prodigy. They are destined to be stronger, talented and will be able to advance leaps and bounds way ahead their peers. Shaking her head she placed all of these thoughts at the back of her head, meant to be researched later when she gets the chance.

When she looked at the other side, the other figure was just as humongous and almost at the same height as the winged statue. Although it was also obscured, she could make out it possessed a long scaled tail of some kind and on its folded hands laid out a piece of a star that shone under its own obsidian sky. As it glowed, she found herself drawn to its allure almost as if the whole cosmos was promised to her under its silvery blue radiance. It shed a pale light on the endless expanse, with white clouds glimmering underneath the night.

“What …what is that?”

Lukas shook his head in reply, “I have no idea…but from what I can tell, it seems to be a Star. Other than that I wasn't able to glean anything. It’s probably because my strength is too weak at the moment.”

Ariandel absent-mindedly agreed in understanding. If there was nothing his brother could glean from the statue then she was even more helpless. Maybe in the future after they have both grown stronger but for now her eyes shifted into the third and the most prominent statue upon the pedestal.

It was at this moment that Lukas felt a certain kind of restlessness, a buzzing that seemed to carry a slowly increasing dread within his soul altar. Puzzled and confused he was sure his sister told him that they were absolutely safe within their soul altars. But then, why did he feel in his gut as there was some kind of disaster about to strike? Unsettled he fervently tried to calm himself while he intently focused trying to trace the source of danger he sensed.

Meanwhile Ariandel was slowly raising her eyes, beholding the godly statue ever so slowly and feeling like a small ant against the dazzling power and authority the statue radiated in waves.

Lukas was just about to explain to her his thoughts on the figure when a visible vibration passed through his soul altar. It shook them to their core; their senses scrambled and their mental imprint unstable.

"What is happening?" Lukas panicked before his eyes fell on Ariandel’s imprint. She was horrifying bleeding out of her orifices, if that was even possible. But despite the ghastly red blood that came out of her eyes, her mouth and nose; her face was still held high and her eyes were wide open as if she somehow couldn't tear herself away from whatever she was witnessing.

The deep foreboding in Lukas’s heart exploded. He tugged at her, anxious and confused trying fruitlessly to stem the flow of blood on her body.

"Aria, are you okay? Answer me!” He demanded, pulling at her stiffened body which went limp at once and just in time to catch her. Crossing arms in their imprint form felt oddly closer and intimate but his thoughts were too jumbled to even care. He didn't want the only familiar connection he had in this world to disappear, especially when she was still in his soul altar.

Seeing that Ariandel won't stop looking Lukas turned his head and then looked above at the Godly statue. At first he didn't see anything different but when the statue's eyes suddenly blazed cerulean silver to his astonishment, they settled on him almost as if they were alive. Lukas had never felt so naked and vulnerable in his entire life that he forgot to even breathe.

With the glowing eyes sharp and inviolable, they felt as if they held the entire world and its realms within its gaze. Lukas felt such a horror that before he could even form a coherent thought the majestic orbs let out a swift ray of light that fell on both of them and by the next second all they could see was a blue and golden silver brilliance as they both fell unconscious in the very next second.