Prologue

Prologue

Perhaps when Selena first met Cynthia in kindergarten asking about the Cat in the Hat, she should've turned tail and run in the opposite direction. Then, they wouldn't have been on that beach together that night. They would've been nowhere near the catastrophe that changed their lives forever. 

Looking back, Selena knew someday Cynthia would put them both in a situation they wouldn't be able to get themselves out of. And finally, that day has come.

On the eve of their first day in college, with the super blood moon illuminating everything they could lay their eyes on, two girls sat on the coast in comfortable silence. Both were staring at the majestic moon, their arms crossed over their knees.

Cynthia could still taste blood on her lips and didn't have to look at the mirror to see the growing bruise on her cheek. Selena didn't have to ask how she got them because she had learned years ago that the answer to her inquiry would always be the same. The two of them had been friends for a very long time. They know when to push and take a step back regarding each other's issues. And today, Cynthia needed the escape no matter how late it was in the night.

"Stargazing at midnight," Selena muttered as she absent-mindedly tossed a seashell on the water. "Swell."

Her tone wasn't sarcastic, nor did she carry any heat in it. She was thinking how it would've been a brilliant idea to have grabbed a jacket before sneaking out of the house. Wearing nothing but a threadbare hand-me-down white shirt and tattered blue jeans to go biking in the middle of the night wasn't really one of her best moments. It's not like she can voice her complaints seeing how Cynthia left her home in her pink pajamas. It also didn't raise her mood, that she forgot to tie her waist-length hair before meeting up with Cynthia. It's gone evermore unmanageable, frizzing out in every direction. She envied how Cynthia managed to secure her ever neat curls in an elastic band before tackling their short journey to the docks. She rubbed her hands together and embraced herself to fight off the biting wind.

To sum it all up, Selena can tolerate the fishy smell of the sea and the chilly breeze it brought, if it meant Cynthia gets to escape the reality that is her life. One thing Selena managed to grab, though, was the little tube of Neosporin in the medicine cabinet on her way out of the house.

"Here."

Cynthia turned to look at her. She glanced down at her hand, smiled, and winced in pain as soon as she did.

"Thanks."

Selena looked away as Cynthia started applying the ointment to her busted lip. In the corner of her eyes, Selena observed her friend. When Cynthia lifted the hem of her top, exposing the huge cut on her hip, Selena could only purse her lips together and grit her teeth to stop herself from making her thoughts in the matter known. Her eyes stung, her breathing slowed, and her entire body trembled, thinking about the horror Cynthia may have had suffered before meeting up with her. A cut like that could've only come from a knife, and Selena knew this incident wasn't the worst of it. She took a deep calming breath, focusing her thoughts on her breathing. Soon enough, she had dispersed the feeling of helplessness and resentment bubbling inside her.

They were eight years old when they agreed that if the words they were about to utter won't help the situation at hand, at any given time or place, they should just zip it. And zip it, Selena did.

Just a year more, and both of them will be legal adults. Cynthia would be able to leave her home soon without being hounded by Human Rights officers claiming she should be under the protection of a guardian. A guardian who happens to be her weak mom, living with a partner that beats her up, wasn't responsible guardian material. In other words, Cynthia's home life was the epitome of hell on earth.

"Why don’t bad people get offed early?" Cynthia asked all of a sudden, her mouth forming a pensive frown.

Selena cleared her throat before answering. "Karma will get him someday."

"Can't I be his Karma?" asked Cynthia, her hands curling on the sand as her gaze sharpened at the moon. "I can make him go away."

"No, you can't," Selena said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "We've talked about this. Wishing and doing other people harm no matter how bad they are, is unacceptable behavior."

"If only I could just ask him to leave, and he'd actually listen," Cynthia told her, voice quiet.

"As if the devil would listen," Selena said and tossed another seashell on the water.

Cynthia huffed with her nose stuck up in the air. "A girl can dream."

Their conversation died down, and once again, their interest was back to the colossal blood moon that seemed so close yet so far away. Selena yawned and stretched her arms while Cynthia gave her a small smile, seeming apologetic at the prospect that Selena was starting to tire, and yet she was still not ready to go back to the hell hole she had just liberated herself from. Realizing what her friend was thinking, Selena rolled her eyes and waved a dismissing hand at her.

 The moon's reddish hue in contrast with the starry sky, reflected by the black sea, the solitary ship floating alight dimly through its windows, coupled with the sound of the crashing waves, seemed so surreal to Selena. When the picture couldn't get even more magical, a floating castle suddenly graced her sight, popping into existence as if it had always been there. With a castle hovering so close to the moon, both girls sat straight, their eyes wide and jaws dropping, their hearts beating wildly in their chest.

"Is that a castle?" Cynthia asked, snatching Selena's arm and shaking her. "Hey, pinch me-- Aw!"

Selena cleared her throat when she watched Cynthia rubbing a hand furiously on her shoulder. "So, it hurt."

"It damn well did!" Cynthia whisper-yelled at her. "Now what?"

"We need to go," Selena answered as soon as she asked. "Providing that this isn't a dream, that is obviously something we aren't meant to see."

Cynthia opened her mouth to talk, only to stumble down when the ground shook underneath their feet. Selena swore and growled in frustration. They tried to stand and inch their way to their bicycles but abandoned the notion when an explosion of light cloaked the black sand coast of the Batangas Port, forcing them both to shut their eyes. They dropped down in terror, aware of the sudden searing breeze. Selena, who was the first to gather her wits, opened her eyes as soon as the warmth disappeared. And the first thing she did was reach for her best friend's arm. 

So, some bomb just exploded. What's next? She thought anxiously and could only pray that was it. She dragged Cynthia back to where they left their bicycles, yelling at her to hurry up.

They both knew they had to get as far away as fast as possible. Something extraordinary just happened, and the most logical response was to run away and regroup.       

They glanced one last time at the sky in search of the castle, only to realize it was gone.

Selena mounted her BMX, and Cynthia followed suit. The two of them had never pedaled that fast in their entire life, and to think, with the same bicycles, they've tried to outrun a police car once.

 ---

Somewhere in another world...

           The cloak was destroyed. The castle had an all-out radiance explosion covering thirty kilometers of Earthen grounds. Given that they are directly above the sea, there had been talks about the blast reaching the shore. Earth, a world far behind in the evolution scheme, was their world's problem once again.

           The Five Ruling Kings of the Welkin Kingdom weren't pleased to know that there could be witnesses despite the inconvenient time the castle was attacked. And one of them, King Trevino, the fat and red-skinned, bald head Welkin, is conspiring to do something that hasn't been done in a million years.

           King Trevino watched the group of noblemen before him. Twenty Trevian lords stood a couple of feet away from the throne with their heads bowed low, waiting patiently for the meeting to start. Their jeweled frames gleamed red like luscious rubies, shined and polished to perfection. When King Trevino addressed Julius, his secretary, to start the conference, the atmosphere in the throne room changed from calm to heavy. Some of them began to fidget while others seemed to have shrunk in height, crouching so low as if it would help them hide from their King's gaze. Everyone knew meetings like this tend to end horrifically, and no one was thrilled to be there. After all, it wasn't a secret that of all Kings of Welkin, King Trevino was the most ruthless.

           "The Luxflamen happened at exactly three in the morning, Your Majesty," said Julius. "Witnesses, if not unlikely, could be very few."

           "Excellent. I want all those granted power by the Luxflamen kneeling before me this full moon. Six Welkin days! I'm giving you six Welkin days to bring them to me. I want to have them at my disposal before my ambitious brothers, and rivals get to lay even a finger on them. And before you imbeciles try to make your concerns known, I am aware Earthlings are forbidden entry in Welkin, but that's what makes them invaluable," he said greedily and rose from his throne. His pet Fiery, whom he named Boron, was a massive cat as huge as a horse with red scales instead of fur, fangs as long as their arms, and spiked tails with the strength to shatter Welkin armor and crystals. Boron tailed him quietly, eyeing everyone hungrily who refused to meet its gaze. "I want them." The King declared-- an ultimatum.

           "My King," one of King Trevino's subjects tried to protest wide-eyed and shaking. "Earthlings will never be welcomed in Welkin! They ought to be erased! For good!" Boron approached the dauntless speaker. The beast's fangs grew in size the moment it snarled. The Trevian Lord gave off a helpless yelp, leaning away from Boron's maw.

           "My dear, get the Fiery away from him, please," King Trevino's consort said as she lay a hand over the King's arm. Her seductive husky voice reverberated throughout the room. King Trevino can almost hear the silent sighs of relief coming from his people. "We're having a diplomatic conference, not a Royal Joust."

           "Of course, Garren," their King smiled at her in false sincerity. Why I decided to marry a snake, I'll never know, King Trevino thought bitterly. As if Boron understood the gist of the conversation, it walked away from the trembling Welkin with a disappointed huff. The King turned his attention back to the pitiful audience he had gathered when murmurs started to arise.

           "Their Radiance is uncontrollable, my King. Their origin is said to be cursed!" said another. "Before you know it, they'd become our demise!" Garren's open but subtle display of defiance to him clearly boosted their boldness to speak back to their King. "We can't just forget the fact that Earthlings were the ones who defeated the---"

The Fiery hissed angrily at the advisor, who dared mention what was supposed to be taboo. "Take this imbecile away and lock him up," said King Trevino, and his royal guards entered the room. They dragged the poor nobleman away, and everyone watched the scene, horrified. Still, there are those courageous enough to voice their concerns.

           "You may end up putting your people in terrible danger if—"

        "The Castle's Cloak didn't explode on its own!" he thundered, the ground shook underneath them all. Even Boron, the Fiery, shrank away from his master, whining in fear. "One of my brothers did it. Oh, I bet all my tails, one of them was responsible."

           No one offered their opinion whether they agreed or not. To speak ill of the Five Kings of Welkin will only mean treason. In Welkin, loyalty to the land itself was their supreme law. This law also guaranteed that all of Welkin's citizens respect all Ruling Kings of Welkin. To harbor treasonous thoughts alone would grant phantom pain to a Welkin.

           "I want reports," King Trevino's voice lowered. "Were there any humans who got hit by the blast?"

           Silence.

         "Permission to speak, Sir," a woman's clear voice cut through the silence like a hot knife on butter. Every head turned to the source. Resmeia, King Trevino's favorite Trevian, raised her gaze and met the King's victorious smirk, calm and steady. Some of the eyes turned to the King's consort and saw her eyes turn deep black at the sight of her. Resmeia may lack crystal formation in her body, a tell-tale sign of a weak constitution, but her face was as perfect as possible. Having fewer crystals covering her petite form made her seem more appealing to the eyes. The image of her-- softer, smaller, leaner than the average Welkin woman-- was making a fool out of every man in the room.

                 "Yes, Resmeia?" King Trevino asked, calmly, yet it was evident to all present, he was vibrating with excitement and anticipation. His three tails were swishing behind him in a gentle sweeping manner.

           "I know who they are," she said. "My Eye saw them get hit by the Luxflamen. And I may have located some of them."

           "Prepare a search and salvage team," said the King, beaming this time. "Bring them all to me."

           "Right away, my King," Resmeia said and bowed her head. "May I take my leave?"

           "Go."

         After taking three steps back per Welkin's royal custom, Resmeia turned and left. The King turned his attention back to his subjects, taunting them to defy him, imploring them to speak another word of complaint. Alas, no one dared. When their ruler dismissed the meeting with a wave of a hand, they could only sigh in relief.