It is currently nighttime in the middle of June. Two individuals walk through a house with everyone inside sleeping soundly.

“Father, why are we here?”

“I WISH TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING. IT IS A TEST OF YOUR SENSORY PROWESS.”

“Is this about the ‘hero’ summoning you’re to perform tomorrow?”

“YES. ATAR, I WISH TO ASK YOU SOMETHING.”

“Anything, father.”

“LOOK OVER THERE. DO YOU SEE ANYTHING ODD ABOUT THAT CHILD THERE?”

“The young man lying there?”

“YES. ANY ANOMALY? ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY? ANYTHING AT ALL THAT WOULD MAKE YOU LOOK AT HIM TWICE?”

“...hmm.”

Atar observes a young man sleeping in his bed. If the young man were to wake up, Atar would not be discovered. This is because Atar is not a human being, not even a being that can be seen with the naked eye.

He is a spiritual creature known as a Yazata.

Atar uses senses impossible for human beings to have to search every single micrometre of the inside and outside of the man’s body.

He performs analyses on the respiratory function, digestive function, and muscle function of the young man dreaming before him.

Atar conducts a genetic analysis to determine the region this young man’s family originated from as well as any genetic affinities. Atar explores the recesses of his brain for tumours, aneurysms or other neural diseases.

He examines the young man’s heart health, and finally, his bright soul. To no avail...

“I’m sorry, father. I cannot see anything especially wrong or noteworthy with this man. No truly distinguishing characteristics. He appears to be the same as every other human.”

“YOU DON’T SEE IT... ON HIS SOUL PERHAPS?”

“See what?”

Atar takes a second look at the soul of this young man.

The soul is located within the brain of an individual. The physical brain acts as a medium between a person’s soul, which is a spiritual entity, and physical reality.

The brain dictates the level of intelligence the soul will be able to express, the strength of their memory recall, as well as the lower functions needed to physically sustain life such as the digestive system, muscle activity and blood circulation.

The physical sustenance of the life-form to which the soul is attached is what allows the soul to remain in the physical world.

Atar looks at the behaviour of the soul. Does it produce the right outputs to the physical brain? Are the connections between neurons of the brain and the soul deteriorating in any way?

Does it behave anomalously in any perceivable manner? Does it have any--

Huh? A... ripple?

Atar looks up at his father’s face. His father expresses anticipation at Atar’s reaction of understanding.

“I see... a ripple? At the nanometre scale, a ripple. The connection between his soul and the brain is showing a slight rippling behaviour... that’s odd... not something I’ve seen before.”

Atar’s father expresses slight dejection on his face, but without much surprise. He had wished to hear something else, something more, but even this outcome is to be expected.

“NEVERMIND THAT, JUST FOLLOW ME TO THE NEXT ROOM.”

“Alright...”

“Now, what about this one?”

“This woman?”

Atar looks at a young woman in another room sleeping in her own bed. Atar and his father travel to her instantly. As spiritual entities, neither of them are bound by physical constraints like walls, so they can move from room to room in mere moments.

Such is the power of a spiritual being.

Now that Atar knows what he’s looking for, he can make the connection much more quickly this time.

“She also has the ripple. She also has... burn marks on parts of her body. What do those mean, father?”

“...CERTAINLY, YOU CANNOT SEE IT. THE BURN MARKS ARE A CONSEQUENCE OF... HER VENGEANCE, NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. THE RIPPLES OF THEIR SOULS ARE A CONSEQUENCE OF SOMETHING. DO YOU NOT SEE THE CORE OF THEIR SOULS?”

“I cannot see past the surface of their souls, father. Wait... do souls even have a ‘core’? What is at the core of their souls?”

Atar is limited as a spiritual being, unlike his father. He cannot see underneath the surface of the soul. He doesn’t have the sensory capabilities to do so.

“FOR NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS, THERE IS NOTHING AT THE CORE DISTINCT FROM THE REST OF THEIR SOULS. THE CORE IS THE EXACT SAME AS THE REST OF IT. BUT FOR THESE TWO...”

“There’s something? Something anomalous... What do you see exactly, father?”

Atar looks towards his father in curiosity. His father hesitates, in an attempt to find the right words.

“TO EXPLAIN IT PROPERLY, ATAR, EXPLAIN YOUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF DIVINE PROTECTIONS.”

“It is a blessing attached directly to the soul’s surface, relinquished upon brain death. I have never seen you grant one though...”

“YES, FOR I STOPPED GRANTING DIVINE PROTECTIONS AFTER... MY FINAL BATTLE WITH THE REDEEMER. NOW I ONLY GRANT THEM TO HERO SUMMONS, AND EVEN THEN, ONLY THE PROTECTION OF THE HERO, A DIVINE PROTECTION CRAFTED BY SAPIORA. AT THE SOUL CORE OF THOSE TWO... AND ONLY THOSE TWO IN THIS ENTIRE WORLD... THERE EXISTS SOMETHING LIKE... A DIVINE PROTECTION.”

Atar freezes. Perhaps he heard this wrong. It should not be possible.

“...Wh-what? But... you can’t... you can’t place--”

“YES, ATAR, I DO NOT HAVE THAT POWER. THE POWER TO REACH INTO A SOUL PAST ITS SURFACE AND GRANT A DIVINE PROTECTION RIGHT AT THE CENTRE. AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK. FURTHERMORE, THE DIVINE PROTECTION GRANTED...”

“That is what is causing the ripples? Does it mean he will die soon from the volatility of his soul’s connection to his physical brain?”

“NO, THAT ISN’T WHAT IT MEANS... THE RIPPLES ARE CAUSED BY THE POWER OF THE DIVINE PROTECTION...”

“The... power... But... has a new deity been born? Has the Lord of Hosts been revived?”

An ancient enemy. An enemy so important to Atar’s father’s existence that he changed all of his ambitions after destroying them.

“NO. MY WORK TO PREVENT THE EMERGENCE OF DEITIES STILL GOES WELL. FURTHERMORE, THE LORD OF HOSTS EVEN AT HIS PEAK COULD NEVER GAIN THIS KIND OF POWER.”

Atar’s father examines the woman again. He looks into her soul, to the anomaly at its core. There he sees it. Something only someone of his level of power could perceive. An anomaly of great might. Something impossible. Something not of his creation.

“THIS DIVINE PROTECTION... IS DENSE... THE SPIRITUAL POWER IN IT IS FAR, FAR MORE THAN I HAVE IN MY ENTIRE DISTRIBUTED FORM. MY STRENGTH COMPARED TO THE CORE OF EITHER THIS WOMAN SHAULA’S OR THE MAN AJAX’S SOUL WOULD BE LIKE... LIKE COMPARING THE MASS OF A GRAIN OF SAND TO THE MASS CONTAINED IN ALL THE STARS IN THIS GALAXY. IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DESTROY. IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, IN FACT.”

His father looks towards the sleeping woman, Shaula, in dismay and impotence. Atar looks at the woman with nothing less than pure, unadulterated fear.

They are both in the home of something unfathomable.

“H-How powerful are they? When will they overthrow you?”

“NO. THEY HAVE NO MAGICAL AFFINITY. THEY HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE AT ALL OF THAT WHICH IS IN THEM. I’VE OBSERVED THEM FOR YEARS AND NEVER HAVE THEY GRASPED MY PRESENCE. BY ALL ACCOUNTS, THESE TWO ARE NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS. I’VE CHECKED THEIR RECORDS ON THIS WORLD. THEY HAD NORMAL BIRTHS WITH MULTIPLE DOCTORS AND NURSE WITNESSES.”

Atar thinks to himself. The existence of such entities can only mean... complications for their plans.

“Should you not... destroy them? They are currently defenceless. This will prove to be a huge problem to the completion of the Kshatra Vairya. Will the process even work with them incorporated?”

“NO, IT WON’T. THEY WILL INTERFERE WITH MY GOALS. BUT DESTROYING THEM... THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT, EVEN ASSUMING THAT THEIR SOULS PASS ON... ATAR, CONSIDER THE FACT THAT I HAVE ALREADY GRANTED MANY DIVINE PROTECTIONS OVER MANY CENTURIES. ALL OF THE DIVINE PROTECTIONS ADMINISTERED IN THE PAST THREE HUNDRED YEARS HAVE BEEN THROUGH ME AND ME ALONE. BUT... SOMEONE...”

Atar understands. Someone, a certain being far above them, far beyond their capability to even understand, has decided to give these two children its blessing. Its mark of protection.

“Someone else is granting divine protections. You fear that this being, capable of manipulating souls to grant such divine protections, will...”

“DESTROY THIS WORLD. A BEING CAPABLE OF GRANTING SOMETHING LIKE THIS TWICE COULD DESTROY OUR WORLD, OUR SUN, THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE WITH A THOUGHT.”

Atar now understands the meaning of something... something important. Something necessary to prevent their extinction. Their failure.

“So... that’s why you’ll perform the summoning ritual tomorrow.”

“I NEED TO BUY TIME. SENDING THEM TO OMICRON WITH THE REST OF THE CHILDREN WILL GRANT ME AT LEAST TWENTY YEARS TO COMPLETE MY FINAL GOAL.”

“I see...”

“WHAT WILL BE THE COST OF PERFORMING THE SUMMONING AT THAT LOCATION? THE EFFECTS OF THE RITUAL OF WATER AND THE RITUAL OF FIRE?”

“My estimates with Anahita have placed the casualties between ten thousand to twenty thousand if you plan to send about two hundred and ninety-seven individuals in the summoning. We also estimate that a five-kilometre radius from the centre of the summoning area will be uninhabitable for the next few millennia. Does... does Anahita know why...”

“YES, I’VE BROUGHT HER HERE THREE WEEKS AGO. I PLACED HER IN CHARGE OF MONITORING THE STATUS OF THE YOUNG AJAX AND SHAULA, AS WELL AS THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR HOUSEHOLD, TO SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF... WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO THEM. YOUR RESEARCH ON THE VIABILITY OF THE KSHATRA VAIRYA IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE SO I CHOSE NOT TO INTERRUPT YOUR WORK FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS. WE HAVE TO MAKE PREPARATIONS TO PERFORM IT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY ARE SUMMONED TO THE WORLD OF OMICRON. ONCE THEIR INTERFERENCE CAN NO LONGER IMPEDE THE PROJECT...”

“Yes, I understand, father. But... the gods of Omicron... what if Sapiora learns of this and tries to return them here?”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER. BY THE TIME THEY RETURN, THE PROJECT WILL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. ACTUALLY... I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM...”

“Huh?”

“WHEN I SEND THEM, I WILL GIVE THEM EVERY TOOL NECESSARY TO GUARANTEE THEIR SURVIVAL. IF THEY AREN’T SENT BACK BY SAPIORA, I WILL SEARCH FOR THEM AFTER I COMPLETE MY PLAN. I WILL TRAVEL TO OMICRON MYSELF AND RETRIEVE THEM.”

“What!?”

Atar acts shocked at what his father has just said. It cannot be wise to... it cannot be wise to take actions to involve oneself with those two. Beings whose existence can mean the survival of your world, of everything you might hold dear and love...

“THEY ARE MY GATEWAY INTO A WORLD HIGHER THAN OUR OWN. WHATEVER THEY ARE... WHATEVER STRENGTH THEY MANIFEST... IT WILL AID US IN SURVIVING AFTER THE KSHATRA VAIRYA. IT WILL AID MY WISH TO ENSURE THE CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. FURTHERMORE... ATAR. I NEED YOU TO PROTECT THE BOY AJAX’S PARENTS AND SISTER. I HAVE TO STAY IN THEIR GOOD GRACES FOR WHEN THE TWO OF THEM RETURN AND IF THEIR FAMILY DIES, THEN... THINGS WOULD NOT END WELL FOR US. THE GIRL SHAULA HAS NO SUCH TIES TO THIS WORLD REMAINING. SHE HAS ONLY THE BOY AJAX. I HAVE TASKED ANAHITA WITH PROTECTING AJAX’S FATHER WHO ISN'T LIVING WITH THE FAMILY AT THE MOMENT.”

“I understand...”

Atar does understand. His father is a sentimental one. One who truly cares about the human race. Every member of it. But not one unwilling to make sacrifices for its future. Many sacrifices have already been made. Countless.

“I WILL SPEAK TO THEM UPON THEIR DEPARTURE. I WILL NOTIFY THEM THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR FAMILIES IN A FEW DECADES. IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL DIVINE PROTECTION OF THE HERO, I WILL GRANT THEM MY DIVINE PROTECTION OF FIRE AND WATER. THEY WILL SURVIVE.”

“But... something I don’t quite understand.”

“HM?”

“These two know each other... genetic analysis of the two of them prove they’re not brother and sister... the only two people in this world with their particular power... how are they living in the same home together?”

How can two anomalous beings be in contact with each other? Especially if they weren’t born to the same parent and don’t share the same past? Such a thing would be too coincidental. Is it the influence of--

“I NOTICED THE TWO OF THEM BEFORE THEY KNEW EACH OTHER. THEY HAVE LIVED IN THIS CITY THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. ONE DAY BY SHEER HAPPENSTANCE, THEY FOUND EACH OTHER... IT MUST BE THE PROVIDENCE OF THEIR DIVINE PROTECTION.”

“I see.”

Atar’s father returns to where Ajax lies sleeping. The young man, who Atar had just thoroughly examined, rests peacefully. Atar might have chosen to end Ajax’s life before his existence became a problem to them but... the consequences cannot be overlooked.

“THIS ONE... HE WILL BE THE ONE TO SUFFER THE MOST... THE WOMAN SHAULA WILL HAVE HIM THERE... BUT HE WILL LOSE... A LOT MORE...”

“Father... supreme Oromasdes... just remember... our goal. It must be completed.”

“YES, MY CHILD. THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT.”

Oromasdes and his son Atar leave the home of Ajax and Shaula. Ajax and Shaula take their last sleep in this world.

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Ajax Leonid wakes up at 6 am, thirsty for a glass of water. Ajax is lying on his twin-size mattress on his back with his head on a slightly flat pillow. He’s covered up to his waist by a thick white quilt. He reaches for the bedside table to the left of his bed for his water bottle. He shakes it slightly to loosen the mini bubbles that formed on the inside of the bottle while he was asleep, removes the cap and slowly and comfortably drinks the lukewarm water to parch his thirst. He savours the water flowing down his throat, enjoying the taste.

You really love the taste when you're thirsty huh...

Ajax looks to the right of him and sees his study table with his laptop on it as well as the entrance to his room still closed. Ajax sees the window to his room to the left of him. He sees the light of early day seep in past his blackout curtains. It should be a warm mid-June morning without any clouds or rain; he had checked the weather on his phone before he went to sleep to confirm it and by the looks of the soft yellow light streaming into the room, looks like the forecast was accurate.

It's brighter than he would like however because he has to go back to sleep immediately. Ajax is normally a young man with medium-length black hair parted in the middle and combed cleanly to the sides but at the moment his head is frizzled and messy. His normally clean and dry tan skin is slightly sweaty from the insulation provided by his large blanket... and possibly nerves.

Ajax absolutely has to get a good sleep for today. Ajax is in the 12th grade right now and today is the day of his 2nd semester English test. This is a rare in-class exam compared to normal exams that occur in-between Monday of next week and Monday of the week after, the so-called exam week. During the exam week, students only show up for days where they have an exam, most occurring either at 9 am or 2 pm with no other classes taking place the rest of the day.

However, this English class bucked that tradition and held their exam on a normal school day before exam week. Ajax doesn't really mind this however because if the English exam was during exam week and too close to the dates of his other exams it'd be an even bigger pain for him.

I wonder if that's what the teacher was thinking?

Ajax is a high school student living in the suburbs near the city of New Amsterdam in New Amsterdam state in the Federal States of Great Britannia. He lives in a middle-class home with his mother, his younger sister Rita and his best friend Shaula Seikennith who's in the same grade as him. His father was relocated for work temporarily and, in order to keep his job and help support the family, lives in another city for the time being.

Ajax has to get a good mark on this test which counts for 45% of his English grade. He has to keep his 12th-grade average above an 87%. If he doesn’t do so, he would be dropped from the university he was accepted to just two months ago in April. If he doesn't do so, he won't be able to get the life he wants and he'll disappoint his parents. His parents who love him with all of their heart, his parents who both work hard for his success and the success of his sister, his parents who agreed to help his friend Shaula through a rough time in her life by letting her stay at their home.

Ajax starts to get nervous. If he doesn't do well in this English test, he will face regrets and hardship, he might be dropped from the program and--

Ok, enough of that, back to sleep.

Ajax tries to go back to sleep, worried that he won't have enough sleep to be in peak condition for the test. He tries to go to sleep... he tries to go to sleep... but his anxiety is like a giant blocking his descent down the stairs into slumber.

20 minutes of anxiety pass as Ajax tries to get to sleep. Nothing seems to work. He thinks about Shaula who shares the same English class with him.

I bet she's sleeping like a baby without a care in the world. She's normally perfect academically, I can't even picture her getting below 90%.

Sigh

Ah! What if I visualize myself doing well on the test? I read somewhere that visualization stuff like that helps!

Ajax calms his nervous mind and tries to picture himself succeeding. He imagines himself sitting next to Shaula in the usual English classroom and writing the test. He imagines the teacher looking at his paper and, after a quick skim of his answers, placing it back on his desk and stamping a red "100%!" on it.

A bit cartoonish but it gets him into the right frame of mind.

After about 2 minutes of continuous visualization, the mental picture gets clear enough and the visualization exercise serves its purpose, effectively calming his nerves. Now Ajax can get to sleep.

Finally, sleep! Let's go, sleep!

In order to hurry up the process, he pictures himself in a fantasy-like scenario. He found this way effective to get his mind into sleep, it was like counting sheep to him. He thinks about what would happen if fantasy beings appeared in real life in his city.

Ajax pictures a subway car with several people sitting down and a few people standing holding onto the fixed poles in the train car trying not to fall while the train is in motion. Ajax is also there on the train, standing strong.

He has a scenario he liked to envision for the past few nights to get to sleep. He once again imagines it. This scenario is one where Ajax grows a large pair of wings on the train while it is moving over a bridge and flies out the train doors into the sky. He likes this kind of scenario for the shock on the bystanders on the train. They must be thinking they're seeing a divine being, someone beyond their comprehension; alternatively, they must be thinking they’re seeing a mutant with an ability they don’t have. He also enjoys the wings because he can indulge in another fantasy. Flying in the sky like a majestic angel or a spirit. A very fantastical scenario indeed.

Ajax pictures himself standing on the subway car and taking off his jacket and backpack in preparation to unleash his wings. He removes his white tank top as well and pictures his fantasy body as if it were chiselled out of marble (Hey, a man can dream, right?). He pictures the violent action of his back sprouting wings: the skin on his back opens up as the wings erupt from them covered in blood, flapping themselves dry and clean when they’re exposed to the air. The muscles on his back are at the same time shredded by the escape of his expansive wings and then immediately replaced by new muscles that can perfectly control and manipulate his feathery wings. His back would also heal to incorporate the newly formed wings as well leaving not a cut or scrape. It would appear as if he had always had this perfect pair of wings as if he was always an angel.

Would it look cooler if the wings were black or white? Red? One pair of wings or two pairs?

Ajax then imagines the looks on the faces of the passengers of the train car, wondering who he is, what he's doing.

Is he a mutant? Is he an angel?

Ajax continues the scenario by picturing the bridge that the train would normally pass over towards the downtown area of New Amsterdam and he imagines wedging the subway doors open while the subway rushes over the bridge.

The passengers would fear that kind of thing, right? They'd think ‘Is he an angel. Oh my god, he's opening the door. Is he crazy.... he's... flying...’

Ajax drifts off to sleep fantasizing about nonsense like this with a subtle smile on his face. It will be his last dream while remaining on the surface of this world.