Celestial Saga: Exiled to Earth II - Chapter 9：Stage EIGHT

Scarlet’s eyes are fixed at the flames, getting bigger and bigger. She can’t move.

The flames clumped together, forming fireballs. “Dammit, show yourself asshole!” Van shouted, randomly throwing punches in air. “DAMMIT!”

The fireballs fled towards them. Freyja, Van and Aya managed to evade, but the spaced out Scarlet couldn’t move in time.

“SKAR!” Freyja shouted, running to her. But it was all too late. Right before their eyes, the gigantic fireball, almost twice as big as her, hit Scarlet head on. The fireball engulfed her entire body before her friends’ eyes.

“Am I dead?” Scarlet asked, aware that she’s been hit. Scarlet looked around. It didn’t look like heaven or hell at all. In fact, the surroundings looked so normal, and familiar. A small concrete and wood house, a small yard garden… of course she recognized it, it’s her home. She stepped inside, saw her dad watching the TV, looking so much younger. She’s standing in front of him, but he can’t see her at all. “Am I ghost?” She went straight to the bedroom and saw a nine-month old baby on the bed, with pillows all around her.

In the middle of her nostalgia, she felt a sudden sinister presence. It is very much alike when they were lost at the forest, and the mysterious fires. She stood on guard, looking around. Slowly, she sensed a Dark-reddish aura surrounding the entire room. The aura formed fireballs and to her surprise, attacked the baby on the bed! Instinctively, Scarlet jumped onto the bed and shielded the baby with her back. To her surprise, the baby opened her eyes and looked at her, as if she could see her! But it’s not the time to wonder, she took the baby in her arms and took the fireball attacks on her back. She felt the sting, the pain, but she could bear it. After gently putting the baby on the floor, for the bed to act as a shield, she faced the clump of aura and with her bare fists, tried to restrain it as much as she can.

There’s only one thing in her mind: Protect the baby!

In her surge of emotions, she herself, is covered in a bright red aura. Sharp arrow-like aura formed on her hands. It was pretty much like Freyja’s white blade, only thinner, smaller and more wobbly. She shook her hands and found that these aura arrows can be dislodged from her hands. She threw them straight at the enemy and saw that for every strike she hits makes the dark-reddish aura vanish into thin air. She called out more of these by concentrating her energy to her hands. Soon, it rained red aura arrows in the room, completely obliterating the enemy. Finally, the presence was gone completely. “Oh shoot!” Remembering the baby, she looked down. But the baby was laughing, unburned.

Then, a memory flashed in her mind. When she was young, they did say she was found on the floor. And she remembered back then, in her earliest memories, seeing a red ‘bird’ like creature fly over her. Scarlet sighed, and smiled.

When the baby’s mother, her mother, came into the room, she disappeared.

“I see.” Scarlet understood something. She can’t say she completely understands it such that she can explain in clearly to others, but she somewhat had a newfound peace with herself and with the mysteries happening around her. “It makes sense now. I don’t know why, but it does. It’s like, it’s something I have to do.” She opened her eyes, and found herself back to Freyja’s burning house. Her body engulfed in flames. She felt the sting, but she’s in unburned just like in the vision. Scarlet took a deep breath and growled. She called out her own bright red aura, it shrouded her entire body. The fireball engulfing her vanished into thin air.

“Skar!” Aya ran to her in tears. But it still isn’t time to celebrate, the house is still engulfed in flames! Scarlet is positive. This is the same type of flames she saw in that time-travelling vision. Summoning her aura-arrows like she did there, she hit every bulk of flame, which disappeared immediately upon contact. “Hurry Frey! Help me!”

“Okay! I’ll try!” Freyja closed her eyes, concentrated and released her white aura, the same as what Scarlet did. A white aura blade formed on her right hand. “There’s something here Frey!” Van sensed the same chunk of red aura near her, in an unused room. “It’s the same as the green bush thing so maybe this is the culprit!”

“Thanks Van!” Freyja rushed to the room, and bingo! She was sure the moment she saw it. The clump of dark-red aura flames. It’s definitely the one causing all the flames around the house. She squeezed the aura blade in her hands and charged at it without hesitations! She cut the clump of fire in half!

As it vanished into thin air, the flames in the entire house started vanishing as well. Soon, the presence was totally gone. Freyja fell onto her knees, chasing after her breath. The white aura blade dissipated too, and the aura surrounding her and Scarlet vanished.

Much to their surprise, the house is completely unburned. But they are too exhausted to even think about that. It’s a mystery they can solve tomorrow. Freyja laughed, lying on the floor. “God, that was scary! Hahaha!” Van sat beside her. “Something sweet after all this would be nice. How about we grab some ‘halo-halo’?”

“Great idea. Hahah!”

Scarlet and Aya stepped into the room.

“Skar! Are you okay?” Freyja stood up and went to her at once. “I was sure you were burned by that fireball.” Freyja looked at her head to toe. Van and Aya affirmed to it.

Scarlet sighed, and held Freyja’s shoulders. “Listen, about Van’s question about our auras, I think I know now.”

Her words earned her all ears. “You said that you might be causing a disturbance in this universe, by awakening your white aura, right?” Freyja nodded. “And your birthday is November 6, 1991. Right?” Freyja nodded again.

“I was born five days after you. And while inside that flame, I think I just happened to see the past for a while. The disturbance has already started the moment you were brought into this world. Your aura might still be sleeping that time, but maybe, the universe already saw you as a threat.” Scarlet sighed and looked at Van and Aya, before shifting eyes back to Freyja. “So similarly, this universe made us, sealed at first and when the time comes, we do our job.”

“What do you mean our job?” Van interfered.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s to stop Freyja from ruining this world. We have to get her out of this universe!”

They all fell silent. What Scarlet said made more and more sense, as they pieced together the events happening. Freyja clenched her fists. “I… I’m sorry.”

Scarlet patter her back. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to wherever you came from.” This warmth made her remember Kirin. Bracing herself she grinned. “Of course.”

For some reason, she felt her chest so much lighter. “Alright! How about we have some halo-halo now? I’m hungry!” Freyja cheerfully ran ahead. Of course, they couldn’t agree more.

“You better treat us!”

“Hell no! I don’t have money!”

~ o 0 o ~