The rain continued to pour as everyone measured up their opponents.

Kalos would be facing his father.

Of the two, Kalos theoretically had far more magical energy, but his father was an eminence meaning he had far more experience and talent when it came to using the magic he had.

Eevana would be facing Peeta.

Of the two, Peeta was stronger and had far more magical energy than she did, however, she was a saepenar. A being of pure darkness, her magic could cause serious damage to even an eminence.

Kalos ran over to where his father was, he created two swords and swung them diagonally in an attempt to completely shatter his father’s armour in one strike.

Raymond saw this and dashed to the right, narrowly avoiding Kalosýni’s attack.

Then a loud explosion came from behind where Raymond once stood.

Everyone stopped and saw an X shaped hole that was once grassland.

Raymond looked at Kalos, whose eyes burnt a brilliant blue.

Raymond smiled.

“Awesome!” Raymond said before his frantic melee with his son began.

Meanwhile, Peeta and Eevana slowly paced around each other as the sounds of chaos and destruction tore the skies apart.

Eevana channelled a ton of darkness in her hand before Peeta spoke.

“So… Kalos.” He said, causing her antennae to stand upright. Peeta took this opportunity and flashed right before her eyes. He swung his sword diagonally, but once Eevana regained her composure, she caught Peeta’s hand effectively stopping his attack.

But blocking Peeta’s attack took a greater toll on Eevana’s body than she initially thought. Firstly, she wasn’t a proper saepenar, meaning her body was slightly weaker than it was supposed to be. Even though Kalos had given her all that power, it couldn’t change the frailness she was born with.

Eevana backed away from Peeta before letting loose all the darkness she had accumulated in her hands.

A massive shockwave spread throughout the surrounding area as a black beam of death made its way toward Peeta at an incredible speed.

In an act of pure desperation, Peeta used his only weapon as a shield. He deflected the black beam upwards into the sky and felt the weight of a thousand suns as Eevana continuously shot darkness at him.

“Tell me saepenar! Is this power yours or does it belong to Raymond’s son?” He asked as his Eexel absorbed a large chunk of the darkness Eevana was shooting.

“My power comes from our union. Something that you’ll never have or understand.” She yelled.

This was the first time Peeta had seen a saepenar express itself so… emotionally.

“Don’t make me laugh! You’re a killing machine. Enough with this lethal light show. Do what your kind does best, rip me to shreds!” Peeta said as he dashed out of the beam's way, he then charged towards Eevana who was still discharging lethal amounts of magical energy.

She tried her best to face the beam towards the fast approaching Peeta but it was too late, he kicked her right leg and grabbed her by the neck.

“So many of my men have fallen to your kind. So much so that I might not care whether or not you like little Kalos.” Peeta said as he squeezed her neck slightly.

Eevana tried blasting his face with a beam of darkness but he absorbed it rather quickly.

“Ah… you seem to forget that my affinity for darkness is quite high. Well, lethal amounts can and probably will kill me, but it would seem as though you’re running out of juice.” Peeta said as he continuously increased the amount of force his hands had on Eevana’s neck.

Eevana then let out a laugh, even though it pained her.

“I may be out of juice, but I’m not out of tricks,” Eevana said.

Peeta frowned as he felt a burning sensation all over his body.

“Wait a minute! I thought we set the curse to act when I try to attack Kalos.” Peeta yelled as he let go of Eevana. He fell to his knees as his entire body was engulfed in black flames.

“Yes, we did. However, I have some of Kalos inside me right now-"

“That sounds strange,” Peeta commented.

“Shut up!” Eevana said while rubbing her neck.

Peeta continued to burn as he writhed around.

“I believe you are an existence close to an eminence, no? If I’m right, then you possess extreme regenerative abilities. So, you’re going to sit there and burn forever, or until you and I come to an undertaking.” Eevana said as she paced around the fallen knight.

Peeta struggled to maintain his consciousness as pieces of his brain were burnt and regenerated in and out of existence.

“What understanding do you speak of?” Peeta asked as he desperately tried not to bite off his own tongue.

“Firstly, I am a saepenar. However, that doesn’t mean that I personally had anything to do with the losses you’ve experienced. So, unless you want to burn for eternity, you’re going to have to see things this way.” Eevana explained.

“Look. I’m not an idiot. I know you didn’t kill any of my men. But I’d rather burn for eternity than live a single day with you in my sight.” Peeta said.

Eevana sighed before walking away.

“Wait! Out fight… isn’t over.” Peeta said as his body sizzled.

Eevana ignored him and looked at the fight between Kalos a d his father.

Kalos was losing, but it was clear that he had tones of magic left to keep going.

Kalos sent out a barrage of what could only be called magic missiles at his father.

They were a mixture of dark and light magic so Raymond had to stay focused as to not get blown into tiny pieces.

Raymond did have Reu, so he was having no trouble matching Kalos in terms of raw power.

At this point in their battle, both of their armour’s were destroyed and they were just fighting for the sake of the fight.

Kalos formed an actual fosblade in his right hand and a blade of darkness in his left.

“Oh! Marvellous! Now then, come at me, boy!” Raymond said as he used Reu to Block all of Kalosýni’s attacks.

Peeta crawled up to Eevana as tears ran down his bloodshot eyes.

“Please…” He wheezed.

“I’m sorry,” Peeta said.

“Mmm? Not to be cruel, but I didn’t ask for an apology.” She said as the fight between Kalos and Raymond concluded.

They slowly walked towards where Eevana and Peeta were.

“I know. But I truly am sorry for the way I treated you. I wasn’t angry at you… it’s just that-"

“I know, many of your men must have died. But I’ve only existed for twenty years. I’m pretty sure that in those years, I killed zero knights… I think.” She said as she released her magical hold on Peeta, who continued to sizzle even after the magic was undone.

Eevana then saw Kalos as he walked up towards her, his tall, lean body was pulsing with magic and his eyes burnt their brightest.

“Who won?” Eevana asked as Raymond crossed his arms as he stood over Peeta.

“It was dad, but he said that I’ll be able to beat him in a thousand years,” Kalos said with a pained smile as Eevana brushed off the dirt from his hair.

“That sounds… unreasonable,” Eevana said as they all made their way back to the bubble.

Inside it, they found a wondering Crimwal who looked even older than they’d left him.

“What happened to you?” Raymond asked as he took off his torn rags.

“Oh, nothing much. I just witnessed what could honestly be described as the apocalypse. Four beings sent here to destroy our world, so frightening.” Crimwal said as his eyes darted around, seemingly at random.

“Dad, I think Crimwal is broken,” Kalos said as he too changed.

Eevana was the only one who didn’t need to get a set of new clothes as she just returned to her human-like appearance.

“Wait!” Raymond yelled.

“Before we all get dressed, I have an idea,” Raymond said as he moved to a nearby patch of dry grass. He then mercilessly punched the ground beneath him, vaporizing it in an instant.

This left a hole with a diameter of five meters and an average depth of about a meter.

“Kalos, make one big bathtub right here.” Raymond instructed and Kalos did as he was told.

“What now?” Kalos asked enthusiastically.

“Now, make a hole on the bubble above the bath,” Raymond said and in the next moment, water started pouring into the bath from ten top of the bubble.

Kalos was about to jump into the barely filled bath before Raymond stopped him.

“No! I wanna take some time to myself. You guys do other things while I clean myself of this worlds worldliness.” Raymond said.

Kalos and the others walked towards the carriage with disappointed looks.

Kalos snuck into Estella’s tent to find her singing a beautiful song as Keema slept in her arms.

She continued to sing as Kalos say by her side.

She saw bumps and bruises all over his body, this made her brows furrow slightly.

Kalos saw this and waved his hands in an attempt to calm her.

“Don’t worry. We were just practising a little.” He said while scratching his dirty head. He realised that too much dirt wouldn’t be good for little Keema and so he decided to leave and return later when he’d taken a bath. But, before he could, Estella held his arm, prompting him to stay.

“Have I thanked you yet?” Estella asked softly.

“Mmm? For what?” Kalos asked.

“For everything. Not long ago, I was being attacked and you came to save me. It was you who allowed me to accompany you and Raymond on your adventure. It’s always been you. Even before all this. When Leeden left and I was alone, you’d pass by, check on me and sell me those Oh so delicious fosberries.” Estella said.

“You’ve always cared. Not just for me, but for everyone. Especially Raymond. He needs you the most.” She said softly.

“Well, I’m sure I didn’t do half of what uncle Leeden did,” Kalos said, his head lowered.

“Oh- he wasn’t that great,” Estella said, her voice slightly lower.

Kalos wasn’t sure he’d like what she was going to say next because of the expression on her face.

“Listen Kalos, I think you might have learnt this from your fathers’ story, but not all knights who married Carimaen’s ended up going on beautiful adventures. Some of us were seen as prizes. Men from all divisions of the order were gifted women from Carimaen tribes and I was given to Leeden.” She said.

Kalosýni’s shoulders dropped but she placed her hand on them to comfort him.

“Don’t worry, he wasn’t that bad. Just… not always there. I don’t know why, but Leeden was so devoted to the order. He spent months away, sometimes years. Funny thing is that he’d be so happy before leaving. As though what was out there matter more than what was in his own home.” Estella said.

Kalosýni’s face twisted into a frown.

“Oh, my goodness- I didn’t mean to tell you that and I shouldn’t have spoken about Leeden like that, but-"

“It’s ok. You just wanted to let me know. But something’s confusing me.” Kalos said.

“You and dad keep talking about our journey like it’s over. Whether it’s my vision or little Keema, all of these things mean that we’re only getting started.” Kalos said as he squeezed Estella’s hand rather tightly.

The baby must have felt this so it woke up and started crying.

“I still have much to learn and we still have tons to do. So, don’t go ending our journey by yourselves, ok?” Kalos asked.

Estella nodded before Eevana popped her head into the tent.

“Umm… Kalos. It’s your turn to take a bath.” Eevana said softly.

Kalosýni’s eyes popped open. He turned to Estella, but she had a naughty look in her eyes.

“Go on, leave this poor mother and her child,” Estella made a fake crying sound.

Kalos tilted his head in confusion.

“Get out!” Estella yelled softly before Kalos walked out of the tent. He followed Eevana, who was still wearing her silky ack gown.

The two eventually reached the bath which had been freshly refilled with water.

“Is the storm still going on?” Kalos asked even though he could clearly see it was raining through his bubble.

“Yes…” Eevana awkwardly answered as she circled the bath.

“Umm… Kalos. Can you make a wall from here to here?” Eevana instructed and Kalos did as he was told with great enthusiasm.

“Ok, what now?” He asked after erecting a wall that perfectly sealed off the bath from the rest of the bubble.

“Uh- Eevana…” Kalos stopped when he heard the sound of something landing on the floor. He turned around and saw a naked Eevana.

He had seen her body a few times before, but for some reason his heart wouldn't settle as she shyly stood before him.

“Uh-" Kalos tried speaking as Eevana pulled him towards the bath.

“Take off your clothes,” Eevana instructed and Kalos complied.

The two then stepped into bath and for some unknown reason, Kalosýni’s fluster caused him to unconsciously heat up the water they were in.

“Oh!” Eevana exclaimed before she noticed Kalosýni’s flustered face.

She slowly floated to where Kalos was.

Kalos stared at Eevana’s long wet black hair that stuck to her skin, courtesy of the water.

She then washed away all the dirt off of Kalosýni’s hair as he quietly sat.

“You’ve never been this quiet before,” Eevana said.

“Really? Well… I’ve never had been so close to you before without falling into a deep sleep, hehe.” Kalos said with a faint smile.

“I apologized, didn’t I?” Eevana said as droplets of water ran down her skin.

Kalosýni’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

“Is this what you normally look like or is the other form your natural state?” Kalos asked.

Eevana lowered her head.

“No, this isn’t what a saepenar is supposed to look like, but what choice do I have. If I let go, people will start calling you names like the dark lord again and I don’t want that.” Eevana said.

“Mmm, but I wanna see your little fluffy things,” Kalos said while pointing at her upper forehead.

“I should’ve known that’s all you wanted,” Eevana said as she splashed some water at Kalos.

Kalos was about to splash her back, but he stopped himself.

“You don't have to, if you don't want to.” Kalos said with a rather serious face. It reminded Eevana of the expression Kalos had when he first met her. Back when he saved her.

Eevana let out a soft sigh before her skin lost all of its false colour and her majestic horns slowly reformed.

Kalosýni’s eyes widened as he noticed that she also allowed her antennae to pop out.

“I’ll only ever show them to you,” Eevana said.

“What are they anyway? Are they like a second pair of ears?” Kalos asked as he gawked at the fluffy grey organs that fluttered about.

“They are a design flaw,” Eevana said as she lowered her body further into the bath. She made sure that her antennae didn’t touch anyway water, but the steam from the bath wasn’t helping.

Kalos saw her turning red as her antennae twitched.

“What do they do exactly?” He asked as he approached Eevana.

“They can sense magical energy to an extreme degree. I can see a lot of things when they’re out but there’s a tiny problem… they're extremely-"

Kalos blew on them, causing Eevana to punch him in the face.

“Oh, my goodness! Sorry, it’s just-“ She tried apologizing but Kalos laughed at her reaction.

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry.” Kalos laughed as he apologized.

Eevana snuck away from him.

“If you’re going to abuse me, then I’ll never show them to you again,” Eevana said as her face reached its reddest.

Kalos approached her and held her hand.

“I’m sorry.” Kalos apologized as Eevana turned around. Her pure black eyes met Kalosýni’s flashing blue eyes.

“Kalos, what’s going to happen when our journey ends?” Eevana asked as dark wisps flared out from her hair.

“I don’t know, but our journey ends when we stop when we stop moving, learning… feeling,” Kalos said.

Eevana looked into Kalosýni’s determined eyes. She then placed her hand on his chest, there she felt the most powerful heartbeat she’d ever felt. Both literally and in a magical sense.

Kalos had a near limitless amount of magical energy and yet he didn’t feel entitled to anything.

She’d met so many men who selfishly chased their dreams, even if it came at the cost of their happiness and that of those around them. Women too. She’d met so many people who wanted far more than they gave.

Kalos, on the other hand, found joy in helping others and spending time with others.

Eevana was suddenly overcome by her desire to hold Kalos, so she jumped into his arms and looked him dead in his eyes.

“You can touch them.” She said softly as Kalos held her up.

Kalos slowly brushed his nose against one of her adorable antennae. The resulting sensation she felt couldn’t be described by the limitations of the words pleasure or pain.

She clung to Kalos as he raised his arm, causing her to flinch.

He stopped and looked at her as she panted heavily.

“You’re the first man I’ve ever shown my antennae and the first to have ever touched them. When I came to this world, I emulated human appearance and behaviour for so long I’d forgotten how it feels to-"

Kalos silenced her rambling by running his hand along her antennae, but when he saw she was about to pass out, he sent her a wave of darkness shocking her awake.

She gasped for air as her eyes popped open.

She then pressed her lips against Kalosýni’s and the two held each other tightly as the storm raged on beyond the barrier's walls.