I awoke to a blood-red fleshy room, slit eyes peering at me from the walls. A large, yellow zipper appeared on the banquet table I sat at, a clown emerging.

“Laugh,” he whispered menacingly, red eyes flashing beneath a white, moon-marked mask. He drew a dagger that was lodged in his chest, whipping a tail of blood as it emerged. His eyes glowed brighter, burning like bonfires, and the room turned a darker shade of crimson. The room began to spin, as the Flucti Acolytes appeared along the table, manically cackling as if they were crazy. The clown became a moon, then it turned into darkness.

I awoke in my bed at the Stella Praetorium, starlight glittering through pink linen cloth.

It was just a dream. All just a dream.

Pulling the sheets away, I floated to the wardrobe. Opening it, I saw an array of vibrant, royal clothes, then a plain blue-and-white striped dress. An angel’s wings were not directly attached to their body, but instead sat an inch above where they should connect to my back. This means I can wear whatever I want, without ripping it when my wings materialise. It was my day out today, and I wanted out of my uniform. It was flashy, it was long, but at least it was comfortable. I sat on the white sheets of my bed, brushing my teeth with a hand mirror. I spat into a dish brought to me by ‘star fairies’, who took it away through a trapdoor in the ceiling. Gently opening the door and closing it behind me, my hair got caught and I yelped. The guards, whom I was trying to avoid, turned to me curiously. In the week I’ve been here, something important I learnt was that the guards were quite overprotective. Despite all the ‘magic training’ I’ve done with Nova, they still insist on babying me.

“Why do you dress like that, Lady Auva?”

“Like what?”

“You need to wear more clothes befitting of your status-“

“I wear. What I want.”

The guard talking to me dropped to her knees, apologising profusely.

Heh, that felt good.

“Rise. I’m not that cruel.”

The guard quickly rose and backed off. In that same moment, a loud pop came from the entrance. Firmly opening the doors was Atlantis, trident in hand and child in the other. Pacific had given up on resisting, now laying limp in Atlantis’ grip.

“Auva. Calypsis is calling for you.”

“Then why are you here?”

“She can’t fly.”

“Shall we go meet her?”

Atlantis reached out a hand, then sheepishly withdrew. He called water to surround him, jumping off the side.

I spread my wings, walked out the doors, past my guards, then stepped off the Stella Praetorium. Gliding through the air with Atlantis, we landed in a small park filled with trees, bushes, and flowers. They were like a collage, a little red here, some blue over there, a splotch of yellow in front of me. Notioning that Calypsis was up ahead, Atlantis left. A wind picked up, rustling the deep green trees and bushes. A man, presumably a caretaker, blew leaves into a pile with a flick of his fingers, with another placing them into a metal crate. Walking past him, I ran my fingers upon the rough trunks of the trees, the occasional caterpillar wriggling by. As I traversed further down the path, the winds grew stronger. Stray leaves whooshed past my face, the occasional disoriented bird tumbling by as well. Pushing on, I saw a clearing. It was rather small, about 5 meters wide, with a large rock in the centre. Upon that rock sat two figures, both facing away from me. A hand reached out and grabbed my leg from an adjacent bush, pulling me in before one figure turned to where I was before. Black hair ruffled in the wind, grey eyes scanning for who was behind him. Pale white skin seemed to glisten in the sun, painted nails glistening instead. Ianis. I recognised him from the meeting. Another figure turned, tugging on his sleeve. Vana. If he said something, I couldn’t hear it through the raging windstorm surrounding them.

“So whaddya think?”

I turned. Right in front of me was Calypsis, her face nearly touching mine.

“About what?”

I withdrew from surprise, arms struggling for balance. She pulled me down below the bushes, whispering into my ear.

“There’s a rumour going around, about Ianis and Vana,”

“It’s not good to spread rumours, Calypsis.”

“Well aren’t you a goody-two-shoes. Anyway, rumour says they’re dating.”

I had a small peek.

They are sitting pretty close.

“Yeah, maybe. It’s not nice to speculate about others.”

Calypsis mouthed my words, mocking me. Flicking her twin ponytails out of her face, she continued to observe.

“Wind lady and I are betting on if they’re dating. I think they are.”

“It’s not nice to-“

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not nice to bet if people are dating, I get it miss perfect.”

“No, I was going to say it’s not nice to call goddess Aera ‘wind lady’.”

She shrugged me off. We waited for a while, quietly watching them from the bushes until--

“Oh, just kiss already!”

Calypsis stood from her hiding place, screaming at the top of her lungs. Ianis and Vana looked at her in embarrassment and surprise, so I took this as a perfect time to grab her and fly away. We landed on the steps of the Exitium Praetorium, where Goddess Apocexitia was summoned. Calypsis was struggling the whole way, yet she probably didn’t want me to drop her. Now that we were out of the shadows of the forest, I could clearly see what she was wearing. On top of a red lace dress was a terrifying hoodie reading ‘Ianis X Vana’.

“What… are you wearing?”

Narrowing her eyes, she whispered something like ‘Iana’ and slunk back into the Exitium Praetorium. Spreading my wings, I flew away. Too much crazy for today.

Landing on the smooth marble floors of the marketplace, I sat down. According to Chirus, every floor in here is smoothed, because Celestia insists people go barefoot. Over the hustle and bustle of the crowds were the mechanical clangings of the loading dock. Air locks opened and closed, allowing in spies from Earth, each bringing bags of phones, laptops, watches and even Virtionite. The spies were all angels, dark brown cloaks covering their glittery uniforms. One pulled back her hood, then walked to the deposit zone.

“Nova!”

She turned to me with a pained smile and a wave, then kept walking. Odd. A rustle of wings came from behind me, accompanied by the metallic clanging of spears.

“We’re here, Lady Auva.”

Damn, they found me.

Swivelling around to face my guards, I threw a star to the ground. A flash of light erupted, blinding them as I made my getaway. The updraft became stronger as I flew over the pit below, pushing me higher.

“You tryna escape your guards, huh?”

Gliding next to me was Vana, butterfly wings fully extended. I briefly nodded, then continued flying. He twirled around me, then grabbed my hand.

“Come with me to the Ventra Praetorium! Lady Aera’s really laid-back, ya see.”

“Okay?”

He made a little squeak, then dived. His wings fluttered behind him, and we were in free-fall. The void below was steadily approaching, solid darkness the only thing visible. We got closer and closer, still falling. Like a membrane, it stretched like there was a force field around us, eventually breaking so we could slip through. When we did, it snapped back to what it was. Below the void was completely different to above it. Scattered around were street lamps, providing what little light there was. Occasionally one would flicker, going out to only shine once again. They floated around in the darkness, bumping into each other. Extending his wings, Vana let go, notioning for me to follow him. After what seemed like an eternity of flying, we arrived at a large ball of storm, crackling with lightning. Vana extended his palm, and the storm parted. We touched down on the wooden decking inside, the storm closing behind us. Inside was like a rainforest, trees growing higher than they did above, spotlights on the ground illuminating the area. A little above the ground was the decking we stood on, seemingly smoothed. Vana’s wings rapidly transformed, becoming fabric that rolled off his back. He turned to me, bending down to my height.

“Welcome to the Ventra Praetorium! This is where the updraft above the void comes from.”

He skipped further down the boardwalk, until it came to a sharp left. Dispelling my wings, I followed. Moving to a door in front of the bend, he opened it. Inside was a large, king-sized bed, the sheets lined with gold and the pillows silver. Carelessly flopping down onto it, Vana turned back to me.

“This is my room! Isn’t it pretty?”

Somehow, the furniture seemed to glitter more than mine. The colour scheme was different as well, green-mint-white instead of pink-sky-white.

“You don’t need to show me around, you know. I’m just hiding from my guards.”

“Well I want to. And you rudely barged in on me and Ianis. So you’re doing me a favour.”

A dark look flashed over his face for a second, and I stumbled back.

“Anyway, let’s keep going!”

That was oddly terrifying.

Venturing deeper into the vast forest inside this swirling ball of storm, we came to a large church-like building. Two gold bird statues stood watch over the front door, remaining motionless in the severe windstorm swirling around them. Stray leaves whizzed past my face, the powerful gale in the church’s little bubble almost unbearable to be in. Despite all this, Vana stood upright, unfaltering. He skipped over to the front doors, and opened them.

“After you.”

Inside the church was much better than outside. Despite the open alcoves in the walls, there was no wind whatsoever. Like a regular church, wooden pews were placed in rows with a central path leading to an altar. Upon the altar was a gold dish. It was full of water, little glittery metals floating inside.

“Hello!”

Where did that voice come from?

I looked around. Rising from under a row of pews was Calypsis, still wearing her ‘Vana X Ianis’ jumper.

“What are you doing here?”

As I asked this question, Calypsis jumped over to me, patting my head.

“The Exitium Praetorium is connected to the summoning buildings below ‘The Void’.”

“Yes, we know, but why are you here?”

Vana was clearly getting annoyed. His bare feet tapped against the marble floor, echoing through the church.

“I wanna rub it in Wind Lady’s face that she lost.”

“Lost what?”

Vana’s face turned into one of curiosity rather than annoyance, tilting his head slightly.

“Some stupid bet about if you and Ianis are dating. Lady Aera’s involved.”

Almost on cue, Calypsis drew a green calling crystal from a box under the altar and held it aloft.

“Aera.”

The air gathered into a point, expanding into the form of a man, no- a woman. Her golden cloak fluttered in the breeze that picked up, long mint hair doing the same. Tan skin and green eyes contrasted with a white, gold-lined dress. She stretched, revealing green-painted nails and silver bracelets. Puckering her green-painted lips, she materialised a chair and sat down.

“Hello, hon.”

Her deep, commanding voice echoed through the room, prompting gold bird statues to animate and flutter to her side.

“Hey wind lady.”

Aera turned to behind the altar, wavy hair bouncing as she moved.

“Oh. It’s you. Hey kid.”

Calypsis held out a phone to Aera, its screen lit with a photo. It seemed to be quite blurry, a few of my golden feathers visible in the frame. Leaves were being whipped up around as well, yet you could clearly see, in the middle, Ianis and Vana.

“I did say you were right.”

Calypsis slowly shook her head, crossing her arms.

“No, you didn’t.”

Exasperated, Vana took me by the hand and dragged me out. Leaving the Ventra Praetorium, we crossed the gap into the III Deformes. Descending onto the platform in front of the doors, in front of us was what looked like a triangle on a sign. It had circles at its vertices, mirroring the building structure. Each circle was the size of the Ventra Praetorium, marked with a symbol. The entrance, beautifully gilded, was on the side of this equilateral triangle, suits of armor standing guard outside. Entering, the inside was a hallway, stretching out to two doors. One had the symbol of a vulture, another a fox. Vana ambled towards the fox door, butterfly-print fabric flapping in the breeze he left behind. Kicking it open, he bowed for me to enter. A woman, concealed by sheets of linen, sat in the centre of the room, wearing a silver headdress and black gown. A thin veil covered her face, yet I could see her smile as she beckoned for us to come. Her brown skin and void eyes glittered as she sat, like an idol, upon the pile of satin pillows that seemed to remain unaffected under her form. Veiled women stood on either side, gazing out as if they were entranced. As we approached, they abruptly turned to us, and spoke.

“Hello, Vana, Auva. I take it you look for my Ianis?”

“No, Lady Tenebrin. Auva is here to hide from her guards.”

“Ah, yes, Celestia’s guards. Always so overprotective, those people. Very well. But Ianis wishes to see you. Give the acolyte to me, then meet him in his room.”

“Very well, my lady.”

Vana ushered me forward, then left into a door behind Lady Tenebrin. With a wave of her hand, a door appeared in midair, and more veiled women walked through. They genuflected, then walked back through the door. Following them, I was met by a sudden chill. Seeing me shiver, a woman wrapped her shawl around me. We were in what resembled a long corridor, wooden floorboards creaking underfoot. Antique-style lights flickered overhead, and whispers were heard from behind old mahogany doors. Approaching one marked with a star symbol, the women knocked in unison. An eye opened, observing us before it swung open. Inside was an exact replica of my room, but the colours were inverted. The women bowed, then left. I walked over to the bed and plopped myself down. The walls and floor were an eerie black instead of the usual white, placing a hint of uneasiness in me. Pulling the blankets over myself, I drifted off to sleep.

“Auva! Open up!”

What time is it? I feel like I’ve been sleeping for hours…

“This is very important, come on!”

I slowly got up and smoothed down my dress, quickly settling down my hair before I opened the door. Outside was Vana, now dressed in a dishevelled black coat and long plaid scarf. Behind him was Ianis, button-up-shirt partially unbuttoned, jeans wrinkled and creased.

“What is it?”

“One of your guards has been caught sneaking into the Umbra Praetorium.”

“So send them back.”

“No, Lady Tenebrin sensed ill-intent from him. We can’t let him go without your permission.”

We briskly walked along the corridor, Ianis opening the gateway that led back to the first room.

“Why are your faces so red?”

“Ignore that.”