Voices, voices everywhere. The place is very bright, I could not discern as to where I am right now, but I know that this place is far from our home.

Seven shadows in total, including my parents’. They are taking me somewhere, but where…

What am I doing here?

…

…

***

She walked into the darkness of the cave, unsure of her destination, but she still continued on her path. Without the heat from the bonfire, she could feel the cold creep up from her arms and feet towards her body, even with two jackets already on. The only thing that keeps her going was the glow from her bracelet, which glowed brighter as she went deeper inside.

Her feet only moved forward, not once backing down even though her mind told her to.

She wants to know

Who she is…

What happened to her, to her parents… the world?

These questions swirled on her mind as she walked slowly, slowly, slowly towards a place in which she has no idea what was inside.

And then…

“Aaaah!! My knee!”

Tsukihime tripped, her right foot hitting a protruding rock. She was too fixated to the bracelet’s light that she lost sense of the surroundings that she was in.

She finally reached the inside of the cave.

It was rather spacious, the whole area spanning over several hundred meters long. There was a giant mound at the center of the area, a little mountain inside a mountain. Like the cave shaft that she just went in, it was also covered with darkness.

None of it mattered to Tsukihime, though, for her sights were fixated at one thing.

When she first found out about her real origin, the family had no choice but to take her to where they found her. The memory was still fresh to her brain, the mechanism that she was in that place.

The one which preserved her life, and has endured centuries until somebody finally opened the lid.

A cryogenic capsule, a menacing red glow illuminated the inside, signaling that there was something wrong with the capsule itself. Inside was a person, still alive but clearly had difficulty breathing.

It was a boy, around the same age as herself.

As she stared into his face while slowly moving forward, her right hand unwittingly touched something from the capsule. A loud beep reverberated on the walls of the cavern, surprising the tranced girl. That, and the sound of the machinations inside the capsule quickly filled the sound void around her.

Not long after the noise has started, the ground shook. Stones and pebbles from above began falling down like raindrops in the sky as the gigantic mound in the middle began to move, gradually unfurling from its coiled state.

Without second thoughts, the frightened Tsukihime quickly ran away into the cavern to where she entered. Her running was constantly interrupted by the quake, causing her to trip and fall flat on her stomach. She could not find her balance due to the swaying of the earth, and her racing heart does not help her at the situation that she was in. Adrenaline rushed throughout her body, letting her almost see in the darkness of the cavern and give her energy to at least run faster, away from the danger that she definitely triggered.

The shaking began to move towards her, the noise sounded like clawing and hissing. It was clear that her actions had awakened something, and it did not appreciate her waking it up.

She looked behind almost every minute, not realizing that a looming figure was standing in front of her. Tsukihime collided on him at full speed, causing the both of them to fall on the ground.

“Tsuki! Where have you been!? I’ve been searching for you when the earthquake happened,” Ren asked her as he tried to get up from his fall, but the girl did not answer the question. Instead she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the outside of the cave, which the misteria storm still wreaked havoc.

The shaking was almost unto them at that point. They could feel the intimidating presence of a very large creature closing in fast towards them, and the cave is only way out. Without question, Ren carried Tsukihime towards the exit, the snowstorm still on its peak. His legs almost gave out due to the girl’s weight and the sudden change in environment, the snow being too deep for them to step on properly.

Just as they got out of the cave, a very long, gigantic figure forcefully poke its head in the entrance of the cave, the Kettenkrad ejected and flung a good distance away.

The earth rumbled, shaking the very core of the both of them. The creature sleeping inside the cavern finally revealed itself to them, standing so tall their heads almost tilted upwards when they tried to take a glimpse of it.

“Oh, my… goodness. What in the world’s name is that thing!?” Ren exclaimed, staring at the creature with both awe and fear.

The area was dimly lit, so they could not see the entirety of the creature, but its outline and shadow was more than enough for them to know that this being is huge.

Then, out of thin air, a very bright flash of misteria lightning struck a bunch of pine trees near them, setting them on fire. As the flames quickly burned the trees, it gave light at the creature, making its appearance even more menacing.

***

The monster has the appearance of a centipede, having a very long segmented body covered in some kind of armor with legs on every segment. It lacked eyes, but the long antennae that protruded on its head was more than enough for this beast to see even in the dark. But what made it even more frightening was the pair of forcipules underneath its mouth, still leaking of deadly poison that burned the snow under it as it drips. The low growl-like sound that it makes as it breathes adds a very menacing vibe to it.

It was a monster out of their league, something that should not exist at all. That creature was certainly an aberration to the natural order, although in reality, that order was already broken when the Catastrophe happened. But still, it was unlike any creature that they had seen.

As Tsukihime and Ren slowly backed away from the monster, they felt several other creatures heading straight towards them at full speed. Soon, these creatures stopped behind them, their heavy breathing suggested that they have come from afar.

“We finally found you, monster. Prepare to die!”

Dumbfounded, their eyes widened at what they witnessed.

The newly arrivals were a pack of giant wolves, not any different from their post-Catastrophe predecessors except for their size. For a long time, the existence of these creatures, only known as Fenrir, had been debated and treated more as a myth. They were reclusive creatures, rarely seen by people who lived far south. They were said to be a majestic kind, hunting for prey with precision and swiftness that rivaled most other creatures that lived in that era. Almost as quiet as a passing breeze, they strike with such speed that their prey would not even know that they have just been killed. Other than that description, there was basically no other information about these creatures.

At that moment, the both of them have witnessed the arrival of an entire pack of these legendary creatures, even hearing one of them speak.

As epic as that moment was, it did not help the situation that they were in. On one side, a titan-like centipede creature towering over them, its fangs ready to strike at any time, and on the other, a pack of giant wolves, eyes glowing with rage and teeth bared, also ready to retaliate, all the while the both of them being at the center of the action.

The standstill was tense, only growling and breathing could be heard from all around them. Everyone was just waiting for the other to make their move.

Moments later, the alpha Fenrir let out a very loud roar, rallying the pack on the attack.

“Oh crap! We need to get out of here!!” Ren screamed, pulling Tsukihime up and out of the area. With all their strength left, they escaped, nearly getting caught in the Fenrir’s charge. The ground rumbled once more as these two creatures clashed in the middle of the snowy field. Although the Fenrir gave a good fight, they were no match for the speed and raw power of the colossal centipede, the pack being picked out one by one. Their spew out powerful misteria beams from their mouths, and their strength was remarkable, and yet it did nothing to the tough armor of the beast, seemingly ignoring these attacks as if they were insect bites. An attack on the flank was also a failure, due to the centipede’s amazing spatial awareness, shrugging off any attacker with a whip of its tail that was more than enough to incapacitate a Fenrir. The pack may have the numbers, but that advantage was nothing before the creature’s overwhelming power and armor.

“Those wolves have no way of winning against that monstrosity. The armor is too impenetrable for their beams to even scratch it. We need to get out of here while we sti---“

As Ren pulled Tsukihime’s hand to guide her away from the fight, she instead pulled him back, stopping him from his tracks.

“What is it, Tsuki? Can’t you see that this place is dangerous right now!? We need to go, NOW!!” he shouted at her face in frustration. True to his words, the area has become not just a battlefield, but rather a murder park for the giant centipede monster.

He pulled the girl’s hand once again, now with a bit more force.

“Come on, we need to get out of---“

“No,” she answered.

“Wha--- what are you talking about!?”

“I…” she answered, fear and nervousness still flowing around her body.

“I need to help him.”

The boy could not believe his ears. Everything was in chaos and what was in the girl’s mind was to help some beasts that they do not even have affiliation with.

“What are you talking about? Those beasts will die, there is no doubt about it!”

As he spoke, though, Tsukihime ran straight into the area.

“It’s not about the wolves, Ren! There’s someone there! I need to help him!”

Once again, Ren was bewildered, but having some sort of obligation to protect his family member, even if she was not of their blood, he had no choice but to follow her. On his way, he found the Kettenkrad, it landed upright and seemed not to have taken any serious damage. He got his bow and arrows and continued to follow Tsukihime, which held her hand forward.

***

Circling around the chaos that ensued, Tsukihime had her eyes focused on the tail of the beast, revealing the capsule that it latched into. Due to her tampering with the capsule’s lock, its lid was opened quite a bit, but the beast moved so fast in the darkness, she could not discern whether the person inside was still alive at that point. On her way there, a Fenrir was thrown and landed near her. It was the leader of the pack who got hit quite badly in the body. Despite its injuries though, the giant wolf slowly got up to its feet, ready to go for the attack again.

Hearing the Fenrir’s words when they arrived at the scene, she suddenly had an idea that popped out of her head.

“Wait, waaaaiiitt!!”

The Fenrir quickly shifted its eyes on the source of the voice, a short girl with golden hair. It gnarled at her, trying to intimidate the girl that seemed to work for a bit.

“Listen to me, I have an idea,” she told the beast, catching her breath.

“Heh. And why would I listen to you?” the creature snarled, its breathing obviously labored.

“I may have a way to defeat that monstrosity,” she answered, which began giggling then went on and done a full laugh for a while.

“Oh, really? And how do you propose we do that, eh? You see the situation in front of you? We can’t even dent its armor! But you, a little human, have an idea. Right, now why don’t you go away like the cowards you are!”

The last phrase snapped her patience string. Her eyes burned with rage as she angrily marched towards the Fenrir, her conviction at an all-time high.

“Now listen to me, you big fat piece of dog meat!!!”

Hearing her words, Ren was not surprised at that point about Tsukihime badmouthing. He witnessed several instances where the girl’s anger goes through the roof and her just rampaging with curses, so much that he wondered if those patterns of speech were normal during the Old Era.

“You just can’t let go of your pride, don’t you? It’s always like that with you… you ANIMALS!!! Still holding to your ego even though you’re on the verge of death. Now, would it hurt for you to stand up, get down off your egotistical throne and listen to me, stupid dog!”

Insulted to the core, the Fenrir bared his fangs on Tsukihime, but the girl did not even flinch, instead pointing her hand towards the beast as if she was going to shoot it, although she knew herself that she could not use any misteria arts yet.

But the Fenrir suddenly changed its mood, which surprised the both of them.

“That… thing on your hand. So that’s what you are.”

The beast looked towards her, and then lowered its head as if it was offering her a ride.

“Hop on,” it said in a low tone.

“Tell me your plan on the way.”

Both Tsukihime and Ren had no idea as to what made the Fenrir change its mind, but getting the help that they want, the two just got along the flow. Accepting its offer, the girl carefully mounted herself on the beast. Its fur, while looked menacing, was light and fluffy at touch and sturdy at the same time. Its broad shoulders were stiff and muscular, it felt like riding a horse, except that this horse has sharp teeth and claws. It stood, lifting the girl off the ground.

“Give me your blade, Ren. I’ll need it,” the girl said, and Ren complied, albeit with a little confusion and fear in mind. He unsheathed his blade, the steel reflected the glow of the fire from afar, and gave it to her handle first. Tsukihime then received it and held to it as tightly as she could

“Alright, let’s go!”

At her signal, the Fenrir, with all its strength, dashed towards the battlefield with Tsukihime on its back. Ren could only trail them from behind, ready to assist her at any time, armed with his trusty bow and arrow. Although still in the dark about her plans, he trusted Tsukihime’s guts about the situation.

Meanwhile, the beast asked her about her idea.

“Get me to the tail of that thing, I’m going to get someone out of the capsule. Maybe that will weaken it, and then you go for the attack,” she answered, clutching to the fur of the Fenrir. She was scared, the wolf had felt it with its instincts. It knew it was a natural response when going on a battlefield, itself being overwhelmed by fear when they first encountered the monstrosity ages ago. Even at that moment, as he saw his comrades fall one by one at the clutches of the monster, he still feared that thing. That, and one other reason was why it decided to help the girl, as improbable as it was.

They circled the monster, aiming at its tail, which the Fenrir saw the thing in which it clutched with.

“Is that it?” it asked, pointing its nose towards the capsule.

“Yes, that’s it! Be ready!”

That being said, the Fenrir hastened its pace, aiming at the tail of the monster. While its main focus was on the remainder of the pack, the two of them tried their hardest not to be spotted as they sneaked behind it. Then, when the tail finally went down for a moment, Tsukihime, without any warning, jumped off the back of the Fenrir and grasped a tendril that was attached to the capsule, almost slipping and falling into the snowy area.

“What now!?” it asked, waiting for further instructions from the girl who gripped on the tendril with all that she had left.

“Continue on the diversion! I’m gonna try to disconnect this thing from it, then----oooh waaaaahh!!!”

The monster suddenly moved and raised its tail again, now unknowingly bringing the girl with it.

“Tsk. Easier said than done,” the beast snarled in annoyance as it rejoined the pack once again, determined to end this skirmish once and for all. They all ran around in circles, confusing the monster and halting its movements, at least temporarily.

As the action below continued, the girl made contact with the capsule once again. There, she saw the face of the boy, still in a sleep-like state but almost on the verge of waking up. The red warning lights continued to blink inside the capsule, and at that time, the display outside it read: “WARNING: OVERRIDE FAILED”

She tried to pry open the lid, to no avail. It was too heavy and was locked quite tightly, so she had to think of another idea. As she looked at the back of the capsule, cutting the tendrils that were on her way, she noticed a strange purple glow that seemed to come from it. There, she discovered the real cause of the monster’s overgrowth.

The glow came from a bundle of neuron-like strands that attached themselves to the exposed circuitry of the capsule. There, she could see the steady flow of misteria from inside the capsule to the monster, effectively draining the boy inside. She remembered something about misteria being the life force that keeps creatures and humans alike living, and that a complete drainage of it meant certain death, for the soul would have no more anchor to reality and would result in it disconnecting from the body.

The girl had little time left, she could feel the life force of the person inside slowly fading away with every minute that passed. While holding to her dear life on a tendril that firmly attached itself on the capsule, she reached for Ren’s blade that she tied to her back, and thrusted it with brute force towards the bundle of strands.

A loud screech was heard all around the area, the monster being subjected to excruciating pain as the blade snapped some of the fibers that connected itself on the boy. Finding out that said connection was compromised, it began to whip its tail furiously to get rid of Tsukihime who held on tightly on the capsule. Round and round the monster went, desperate to remove the girl from its tail. Eventually, her grip loosened due to the absurd amounts of centrifugal force that she had to endure, flinging her body away.

As her hand lost her grip on the monster, with the blade still stuck on its tail, time seemed to flow slowly all around her, due to the adrenaline being pumped by her body. She was going to land back first onto the snow, but there would be no guarantee that she would survive the fall, given the force that was used to flick her away. Her eyes were still on the capsule, the boy’s facial features still engrained to her memory. Her mind tells her that she knew this boy from a long time ago, but she could not even remember his name. If ever, she could not even remember her own name, doubting if Tsukihime really was her name from the long past. Not that she did not trust Ren and his family, but she could not help rethinking about her life in the past.

Usually, when a life threatening event happens to a person, he or she experiences sudden flashbacks of the most important parts of their life, but for Tsukihime, it was something else entirely.

Darkness blanketed her surroundings, as if she was sucked by a black hole, never to be seen again. But she could still definitely feel that she was falling to her possible death. All that she could see were herself and the capsule where the boy was still held captive, sucked almost to death by the monstrosity that probably used his misteria energy who knows how long. Her hand, outstretched at the capsule, began to glow a bright blue light, although she was not using any misteria arts at that time.

You… must… remember…

“Remember what? Please, tell me! What is it that I need to remember!?” her mind shouted at the voice of someone she does not see yet somewhat knew.

Your origin… your pact…

You must remember… before it’s too late.

As these words reached her, she suddenly saw flashes of memories from her past.

Another young girl, just like herself…

The moon… it was quite larger than normal…

The moon… that’s it!

It was there all along, in all of her vague dreams, the moon was always there, as if it was watching her, observing her growth as an individual. And that girl… she finally remembered who that was.

Tsuki’s mouth opened, quietly saying the other girl’s name. After that, her bracelet glowed a very bright white light, illuminating the whole area. It finally opened, revealing layers upon layers of runes that enveloped her whole arm. A crescent-shaped object then formed on the bracelet, like something from a bow. It emitted a blue hue, with the same runes engraved on its entirety. The jewel that was with the bracelet had now became its core, where the crescent object originated. Vein-like projections slowly spread themselves on the girl’s arm, seeping through like electricity in a circuit board.

She felt immense pain, her whole arm seemingly being burned by something. But she endured all of it, pointing her glowing hand at the capsule itself.

With a loud voice, she chanted an incantation.

Spirit of the Moon, show me the path to enlightenment!

Mare Illuminatus, Forte!!!

A bluish rune-like writing formed on the touch display panel that was supposed to open the door of the capsule, and a second later, it made a miniature explosion that destroyed said panel, unlocking the lid and letting it open. The monster screeched in pain, as if it lost several of its limbs, and continually shook its tail from side to side, the person inside went also in free fall like her.

Unfortunately, either by terrible luck or fate itself, not one, not two, but three very powerful misteria lightning bolts have struck the boy, the body landed on the snowy ground smoking hot and seemingly scalded.

Meanwhile, Tsuki had already landed back first onto the ground. If not for the Fenrir’s catch on her using its body, her fall would surely be her last. Her whole body felt very painful, but nothing compared it to the scorching pain coming from her right arm, where the bracelet remained open and exposing its misteria conduits.

“You… haven’t used any misteria arts for a long time, did you? That was dangerous, it could have get you killed,” the Fenrir said to her while moving her to a more comfortable position. The monstrosity was still on a torturous rampage, its misteria source now gone.

“But, I must give commendations when it’s due. You’ve done a great job. Thank you.”

She could only smile weakly, but with smugness written all over her face.

“We can’t just stand here, though. We need to move before it notices us once again. Now that you removed its source of power, it will stop at nothing for revenge,” the beast continued, now trying to make the girl stand on her two feet.

As it said those words, the monster suddenly shifted its focus on them, as if it heard what the Fenrir had said. With full rage seen on the rhythmic movement of its multiple legs and antennae, it charged towards the two at full speed, intended on either eating them whole or crushing them with its weight. By instinct, the Fenrir put its body in front of Tsuki, determined on protecting the girl at all costs, when out of thin air…

Diamond-splitting Chop!!!

***

The monster’s charge was diverted by an attack, veering it off course. The boy stood in front of them, his right hand still sparking with misteria. Both the Fenrir and Tsuki felt that something was off with him, specifically his left hand, something sinister, yet necessary for some reason. It felt as if he had another personality separate from the one in front of them, silently lurking within the confines of something. The aura that he emitted was so strong, the Fenrir backed down, its fight or flight instinct kicking in.

But what surprised them the most was the fact that he still stood after being hit by three misteria lightning bolts, which were known to result in a certain death if struck. If ever, the bolts even seemed to have empowered the boy, given on how hard he hit the monster with his bare hand.

The storm raged further, seemingly in response to the boy’s growing aura. Misteria lightning bolts lighted up the cloudy skies, a bad omen about to come in fruition. After a while, the boy raised his right hand in the air with his palm open wide. With a loud voice, he issued a command spell.

Heed my call, The Judge of the Sun, Gawain!!

Five strings of misteria materialized from his fingertips, arching a bit towards the sky and downwards through the tail of the monster. He moved his fingers inward as to make a fist, and something from inside the capsule responded, breaking through the thick metal plating and flew high in the air, following the strings to his hand. As it approached his hand, the gauntlet opened up, tracing its trajectory and prepared itself for insertion. It revealed an intricate network of metal plates connected by strings of misteria, with a central circular piece as a keystone, and it fitted itself into his hand, interlocking and connecting itself through the boy’s circuits. It then lighted a bright orange glow, with lines of misteria circuitry embedded within the gauntlet that glowed a deep orange hue instead. Tsukihime and the Fenrir could feel the surge of power flow throughout the boy’s body, like a violent stream in a large river after a very severe storm just passed by. The illumination was too bright for them, as if the sun in the sky just descended onto the earth below.

“I will show you the power you desperately wanted, you goddamned monstrosity!!!” he said, raising his hand up in the air, the glow intensified even further.

The giant centipede, with nowhere to go, decided to finish the fight in one single blow, screeching loudly and charging towards the boy at the fastest speed that it could muster. The boy, on the other hand, stood ground, also determined on defeating the one who used his misteria energy for its own benefit.

It’s time for Judgement, o Gawain!

Break the very fabric of existence of the enemy in front of me

Five lines of misteria runes suddenly flowed from the central circle of the gauntlet, each line measuring up to almost forty meters in length. Next, it stopped at one point, and after that, it quickly retracted back to the circle, making the gauntlet glow a very bright white light and seemingly doubled its size.

Key no.3 Off-Limited Mode: Fortress Breaker!!!

He threw the punch at the oncoming monstrosity, which resulted in a shockwave that displaced a large amount of snow around the area. Gusts of wind blew around them, disturbed greatly by the sheer force of the contact. But even with the bright glow of the Gawain, they could definitely see the crack on the reinforced armor on the head of the monster, which was supposed to be one of its hardest part. The boy pushed his fist one more time, and it was the end, for the monster had been stripped off of its armored shell, sending its exposed innards out in the open. Because of the massive air displacement, the gusts did not go away for a while, violently replacing the displaced air in the area like a vacuum.

The blown-away snow began to slowly descend back into the ground in which they rested. The girl and the Fenrir sat on the snowless earth, both in awe and fear of the show of power the boy in front of them that they witnessed first-hand. All of a sudden, he turned towards them, his white coat fluttering with the wind. There, they saw his left eye completely turned red, with small lines of misteria circuitry protruding from beyond his eyelids. No blood flowed from it, but it definitely looked like a bloodied eye. It contrasted his right eye, which seemed compassionate and kind, its black iris unaffected at all by misteria. The appearance of his left eye made the two nervous, perceiving it as a threat, but seconds later it slowly disappeared, restoring it to normal. He smiled to them, then fell on the ground, losing consciousness.

“H---hey! Are you---o---kay,” Tsuki did not finish what she had to say, also losing her sense of being as she tried to crawl her way towards the boy. Her mind had lost control of its body, her vision blurred and eventually turned all black. The cold, the pain, every single one of her senses came to a slow halt, but as she left reality, the just recently suppressed memories of hers flowed through her subconscious, telling her the tale of her past.

***

“What is happening to our daughter, doctor?”

That was my mother’s voice. I will always recognize that sweet voice anywhere, of that person who cared for me for so long. As to why she sounded so worried, I have no idea.

Holding my hand was my father, the one who kept us alive. Stoic as he was, Dad also cared for me, although he rarely showed it in front of me. But I knew that he loved both me and Mom.

But now, he is dead serious. He held my hand tightly, as if he does not want to let me go. His eyes are glued forward, but he still has the reflexes to not allow me to fall down my knees when I trip.

“To be honest with you, ma’am, we do not know everything about this phenomenon, so we are not sure about anything the moment. But be assured that we are doing our best to know the cause of all of this.”

There were three persons who I did not know. They wore long white coats, so I knew that they were doctors. But I did not understand why they were there. I was not sick, I did not feel anything wrong with my body, and yet my parents are taking me to a place with doctors in it.

The hallway felt very long with my little feet desperately trying to keep in pace with the adults, and when my legs gave up, my dad carried me on his arms for the rest of the walk. Minutes later, we finally stopped to a room.

It was filled with white light from two florescent lamps on top of the room, and it was mostly empty, with only a table and two chairs filling the space in it. There were two doors, one on the left and one on the right, and beside the right door is a large mirror that almost encompassed the whole wall. The inside was completely quiet, so quiet it made me feel a bit afraid about the place.

“You need to leave her here. We will conduct the test momentarily.”

They had me sit on one of the chairs, then Mom touched my shoulders, gently as she always does.

“It’s all right, Tsuki. We’re just in the other room, okay? Don’t worry, we won’t leave you.”

I saw my mother’s eyes. They almost welled up of tears.

Moments later, all of them left me alone in the room.

I began to feel even more afraid, my senses on their highest levels of alertness. My heart would not stop beating, as if something was lurking, hiding within the confines of the room I’m in. I could not even stand; my feet would not respond to what my mind was saying to it.

Move… move!!

Yet I sat still, alone in the room filled with white light.

I looked at the mirror, and I saw myself, afraid of being left alone.

But…

Mom? Dad?

Faintly, I saw their silhouettes seemingly from behind the mirror, along with seven more people. They seem to be in an argument, with Mom erratically waiting for something while my father held her to calm her down. The seven other people just… stared towards my direction, also waiting for something to happen.

The door suddenly opened, its noise gained volume due to how quiet the room was.

A young man entered, wearing the same white lab coat as the others back at the other wall. He looked at me with gentle eyes, making me ease up a bit. His smile somewhat assured me that he or the others meant no harm. He carried a small violet orb visibly floating on a golden stand. Its brilliance allured my eyes, and so I stared at it with wonder, almost completely ignoring the state that I was in.

“Hello, my name is Dr. Maikel Saifar. I’m a researcher here at the Huygens-Kashima Institute. You are here today because your parents saw something strange in you, something that we want to see to analyze and to help you cope with what is within you right now.”

His voice was as gentle as his eyes, almost like my mother’s. Although my eyes were still fixated from the floating orb now sitting at the center of the table. The good doctor was still speaking, but I could not hear him at all, instead I heard the call of the orb. It had a sweet tune, as if it was calling to me. I outstretched my hand, and it came to me, slowly, floating from its stand towards my palm. The moment I touched the orb, both my hand and the orb simultaneously illuminated the room with a pale blue light, and I felt something else, like a liquid flowing throughout my hand towards my body. Everyone in the room was shocked at the turn of events, especially Dr. Saifar. He could only observe in amazement as I held the orb with my hand.

“You… this proves everything. You possess something, a gift from above. You hold something special within you, child, and we can help you control it,” he said to me, walking towards me and holding my other hand. He felt warm, but not as warm as the thing that I carried on my right. He smiled, and then stroked my hair.

“As the caretaker of the Children of Misteria, I welcome you, Tsukihime Haruna, to the Huygens-Kashima Institute of Misteria Reseach and Development. Do not worry, you’re at safe hands.”

At that moment, my life would be changed forever, a new beginning…

The key to everything…

The power within myself, my soul, my Seed…

Everything has changed… and I hated it.

Until…

I met him…