Acacia POV

  (Ten days earlier)

  Time had become a fractured, meaningless concept to Acacia. Adrift in a sea of memories. Zephyra's smile, Christine's laughter, Mirkil's steady gaze, they flickered in and out of her vision, a cruel, endless loop. Each fleeting apparition left her more hollow, more broken. A cocoon had formed around her body ten days ago and she was stuck inside like a fetus in a womb.

  'Have I gone mad?' Acacia mumbled while her eyes were closed. The dark vines had covered the entire room: floors, walls and ceilings. The white flowers, their tips stained with a chilling, blood-like hue, had erupted in grotesque abundance. Blood welled from her palm, the pendant digging into her skin, a mark of her tormented grasp. From the crimson flow, ethereal darkish-red butterflies emerged, their wings shimmering as they crawled out of the cocoon and drifted towards the flowers, creating a scene of disturbingly beautiful decay.

  'No these are simply a manifestation of your new ability: illusion. You can create illusion but it comes at a price. It messes with your brain and you can confuse hallucinations for reality if you are not mentally strong to handle it.' Daemonis explained. 'Your abilities are growing at a steady pace. Your mana is responding to your emotions, you are becoming the perfect vessel.' Daemonis added with a hint of pride.

  'Perfect, being crazy is an ability now...' Acacia shifted once more as she felt her wings grow surrounding her body. 'I failed. I let myself slip. Revenge meant action, not this... nothing. I couldn't even keep them safe. What was the point of being given a second chance? Lucian... Elric... I should have seen it. I should have done something.' Acacia moved restlessly as her body started to ache, trapped in her cocoon.

  'Isn't it tiresome, Acacia? They keep taking things from you. Cerais, she knows you're different, doesn't she? She'll use that. Elric, he threw Zephyra away like she was nothing. And your brother? Still pulling the strings, always the puppeteer. You, on the other hand, you possess power they can't even comprehend. You're a god's instrument. Why suffer their petty games? Unleash your potential, Acacia. Make them fear you. Then, no one can touch you, no one can hurt you again.' Daemonis said in a low voice.

  'You are right...I won't let anyone hurt me anymore.' Acacia stopped moving and felt her spine crack as if it was changing. She has felt this feeling before when she first accepted Daemonis and grew her wings for the first time in that cocoon. It was unbearably painful, a memory that she didn't even remember until now. Although the pain she feels now was more bearable.

  Acacia ignored her body changes and connected with the butterfly she affiliated with Elric. The butterfly slowly disconnected from his neck and flew to the ceiling, watching everything. She saw Elric holding a framed photo of a girl, his grey hair disheveled and brown eyes seemed lost. He was seated in an armchair and neatly dressed in a black suit.

  'Is that Bella?' Acacia thought as she directed the butterfly to move closer above him. She saw the framed photo clearly and it was a girl with long platinum blonde hair in ringlet curls and bright honey brown eyes. She had a flower crown on her head and was donned in a yellow dress. 'Is that his sister? They don't look alike.'

  "I have failed you, Erla. I couldn't find the orb of wishes to bring you back. I thought I would have more time to find it but my search had to be cut short." Elric placed her framed photo back on his desk.

  His wrist watch started to beep, he reluctantly picked up the call. A monotone male voice said through the wristwatch. "Your presence is needed immediately in the meeting room."

  "Understood." Elric ended the call and combed his hair through with his fingers, trying to look presentable and smoothened out his black suit and left the apartment.

  Acacia moved the butterfly around the room and searched the house, the butterfly slipped the doors and drawers but she found nothing of use to her. She moved towards his bedroom and saw some scattered papers and pictures on the bed. The butterfly flew towards the pictures, she saw some bank statements and skimmed through the boring papers but stopped at the rough sketch of a pink orb.

  'The Orb of Wishes,' Daemonis said, his voice clear in her mind.

  'So, that's the Orb of Wishes,' Acacia murmured, her mind already racing with possibilities.

  'A desperate god's ploy,' Daemonis said, a hint of disdain in his voice. 'The god of stars birthed that orb from starlight, a tool to buy adoration. One wish, and one only, per soul. But it vanished, stolen ages past.' He paused, his gaze sharp.

  'He'd risk everything to bring her back? She holds more weight than I imagined.' Acacia's lips curled into a subtle smile as she guided the butterfly to hide in the ceiling. 'Excellent....this changes everything.'

  Acacia broke her connection with the butterfly and waited for the ache in her body to cool down. After a few minutes she thrust her hand against the cocoon and tore it with her nails as she crawled out while keeping a tight grip on the pendant. Some reddish liquid poured out of the cocoon and her wings had grown longer. She slowly stood up to her feet and used the vine on the wall as support. The butterflies flew from the flowers and hovered around her.

  "When did you become this many?" Acacia looked at the butterflies as they fluttered their wings in a happy manner. She mentally counted them and they were fifteen in number. 'I must have gotten stronger from that fight or was it because I drank human blood? I will investigate that later.'

  She stretched her stiff legs and arms, a series of subtle pops and cracks echoing from her joints, a testament to prolonged stillness. She walked towards the bed and opened her palm, her fingers were stiff and it took a while to stretch them out. She removed the pendant and placed it gently on the bed. 'How does my illusion ability work exactly?'

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  'Use your imagination, as long as you have an image you can create an illusion but if you lose focus of your mana is too low, the illusion breaks.' Daemonis explained.

  'This damn mana! A constant, nagging limitation. I need more to surpass my limitations.' Acacia's left index finger twitched at the thought.

  She took a deep breath to calm down and grabbed a bunch of vines, tearing them from the wall and twisting them into a ball. She focused on the image she remembered and tried to turn the vines into an orb but it didn't work.

  'What are you doing?' Daemonis asked with a hint of curiosity

  'Getting revenge and I will need your help.' Acacia replied and mentally pictured the pink orb in her head and tried to turn it into the orb. Daemonis didn't say anything but she could feel his excitement.

  (Currently)

  Acacia had spent four days trying to create the illusion and successfully made a pink orb. It needed a lot of focus and mana to maintain but it was going to be worth it. She had heard Bella's usual early morning pestering for her to come out but Acacia didn't know how to face them. It felt awkward to act like everything was normal but she couldn't hide forever.

  Acacia snapped her fingers and all the butterflies disappeared. She held the pink orb in her hand and tore the vines from the door and opened it. She saw Kel holding up a rusted axe with a shocked Maximus and Edwin.

  "You're alive...." Edwin said in a low voice.

  "You look like a bird's nest." Acacia replied and stared at the feathers on his skin, dirty face and rough hair.

  "And you look like a wet rat." Edwin's surprised expression immediately disappeared and was replaced with a scowl before a small smile tugged his lips.

  Maximus came and hugged Acacia, letting out a happy grunt. Acacia stiffened in his hold before relaxing into the embrace. 'For a big guy, he is quite a softy.'

  "Where did you steal that orb?" Kel lowered the rusted axe and gestured to the orb.

  "I didn't steal it, it's mine." Acacia rolled her eyes and Maximus pulled away from her. 'So they can't tell that it is a bunch of vines? Good.'

  Acacia tightened her grip and walked towards the living room where she saw Bella seated on the couch and Jahir bandaging up her leg. Bella's eyes widened, she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as if unsure of what to say.

  "....sorry for punching you." Acacia hesitated and said in a soft voice.

  "I'm.... also sorry for yelling at you." Bella slowly looked back at her.

  "I am missing a lot of context."Kel looked at the two with slight disbelief and placed the axe on the floor.

  "So...you are going to tell us or not? The room you just left looked like a different place on its own." Edwin walked out of the corridor with Maximus. He leaned against the wall and looked at Acacia expectantly.

  "If you think we are going to be like Elri—" Jahir started to talk but was cut off.

  "It's not about trust in you. It's about the risks. This world... it's a weapon waiting to be used. I can't afford any vulnerabilities. Someone could use you, twist you, to get to me. So, until I'm certain, I keep my cards close. What I will tell you is that Lucian Algernon is my brother." Acacia shook her head as she spoke.

  ".... what?!" Bella was quiet before she practically screamed.

  "Blood-related?" Jahir stared at her with shock and confusion.

  "Yes and I never lost my memory. I was just being cautious." Acacia nodded.

  "But he said a beast-man killed you!" Kel gritted out.

  "No, he...he was the one who... killed me and I have nothing to do with my family anymore because the Acacia they knew once already died. I won't explain how I came back and I am not asking you to trust me. But I am headed towards Flow right now and I will destroy it." Acacia continued despite their shocks and disbelief.

  "....so Lucian lied and he killed you? This is all too much." Edwin rubbed his temple and shook his head.

  "Now that I think about it, you look like him...just...very different. You also look different from two weeks ago...." Kel observed as he looked at Acacia. "Your beast kin is a butterfly and that is completely different from your family's well known magic abilities. Is that a secret as well?"

  "Yes." Acacia replied with no intention of explaining further. 'I look different? That's not important right now.'

  Acacia turned around and headed towards the door but was stopped by Bella's voice.

  "You can't just drop this bomb of information and leave!" Bella yelled out.

  "She is right, we are family regardless of whatever the hell we are or what our past was. None of us here have really said anything about our past but we didn't care about that." Edwin walked towards her. "If you don't want to tell us everything, then that's fine. I also have secrets of my own so I understand where you are coming from a bit."

  "What is your secret?" Kel asked.

  "Heh....I don't think you can handle it." Edwin thought about it but shook his head.

  "We literally have someone related to one of the most powerful people in the Flow Society and was considered dead. You are not beating that." Kel crossed his arms but Edwin just shrugged instead.

  "So what's your plan?" Jahir asked.

  "Yeah, so we can help." Bella nodded.

  "I am going against the Flow Society as a whole, The entire organization. It is dangerous." Acacia frowned and shook her head.

  "So what? They are a bunch of babies, if not for that blasted sky craft they had we would have won that fight when they retreated." Kel scoffed.

  "We live with monsters, I am not scared of a bunch of people in fancy suits." Edwin added.

  'They're still trying to help, despite the half-truths.' Acacia thought, a small, amused smile forming. 'Foolishly endearing.'

  "Alright, I'm going to infiltrate Flow through Elric." Acacia glanced at Bella's stiffened form.

  "How?" Jahir asked and stared at the orb.

  "With this, I will use the same methods they used on us and avenge Zephyra." Acacia raised the orb, studying their expressions. 'They still see the vines as an orb. Good.'

  "I will keep these butterflies with you for protection." Acacia raised her thumb to her teeth and tore the skin of her thumb. Five butterflies materialized from her blood and flew to their necks, disappearing into their skin.

  "That wasn't creepy at all." Edwin commented and rubbed his neck but felt nothing.

  "You'll be fine. Now, let's leave this place." Acacia gestured towards the door. They stepped out, the familiar bite of winter replaced by an unnerving, vibrant spring. The snow had vanished, swallowed by a riot of wildflowers and tall grasses, a landscape that felt both welcoming and disturbingly wrong.

  "Do we have to get used to this? This wild weather? It was just snowing yesterday!" Kel groaned.

  "Is this a good sign or a bad sign?" Jahir plucked a leaf and examined it.

  "And I was a bit excited to celebrate the Frost of Whispers this year." Acacia muttered as they looked around the place. She saw some beast-men moving some logs of wood and others with scraps of metal.

  "Gather round! We've no time for dawdling! We raise the Ruins from their ashes, and we deliver justice to those who wronged us!" The voice, ringing with conviction, cut through the air. "Encer is gone! We are free! The seed of a new era is sown, and it will bloom into power!"

  Acacia tilted her head and walked towards the sound of the voice and found a man with bright purple hair in a wolf cut with black roots and bright green eyes. The man stopped his speech at the sight of Acacia.

  "There she is! The princess of Ruins!" Chausse grinned, pointing. The beast-men paused their work, turning their gazes towards her.

  "Princess?" Acacia drawled, her expression flat. "How... quaint."