Eerie Welcome

(Moon realm - Seksulfur's P.O.V)

"Hand him over", I demanded with a growl.

Flying through space was going smoothly until a sudden surge knocked me into the moon realm. Hopefully, the ship's AI would be able to shift into automatic mode once the control stops for a while.

But, as for the reason why I was here...

"Didn't you hear me?", I snapped, glaring at the old man with eyes of killer-intent.

That old man hovered in mid-air, giving me a simple smile as Dzinu floated in some kind of orb above him. He claimed to be the maker of the Legendary moon sword, but I didn't feel any kind of special aura from him.

Or... Was I being careless?

"As I said", the man spoke up. "It's not my fault that he fell into a sudden state of unconsciousness."

"Why do you have him in there then?"

"Would I endanger the powerhouse of this realm?", he closed his eyes. "He's slowly returning to himself. Leaving him out in the open would have exposed him to some of the souls who haven't felt their rage disappear."

I laid back, "Why did I get kicked in here then?"

"He tried to pull you with him", the old man smirked.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Rest assured, he just didn't want to go through certain... Memories, on his own"

"Memories?"

He nodded, "Yes, he is still a human soul."

"Hm", my eyes moved away for a second. "When will he-"

"Now"

The orb began to shift and bend as Dzinu slowly began to regain his conscience.

"One thing boy", the man began to slowly fade away. "Be careful once you step foot on that planet."

"Hmm?", I cocked an eyebrow.

"Now then, I'll take your leave"

The man completely faded away, leaving a burst of light that sent me out of the moon realm.

What did he mean by what he said?

Being careful?

What, of those people who dwelled on that planet?

Or was it something completely different?

(Crux Coelestis Space ship - Shyza's P.O.V)

The doors to the cockpit slid open as I walked closer. For some odd reason, the ship announced that it was going into auto mode. I wouldn't have worried much since Sekky could've been tired of piloting for so long, but something just compelled me to move to the cockpit.

"Sekky?", I peeked into the little room, finding Sekky with heavy eyes barely being able to keep them open.

"Did something happen?", Olivia walked in behind me.

"Woah, did you fall asleep?", I walked towards him.

Sekky wore a long sleeve turtle neck shirt that had a grey colour with blue lights moving between his joint areas. A small cloak hung on his left arm, displaying the cross symbol of the organization. On his wrists were sleek high tech watched which could perform lots of functions like wide-scale scanning, body heat and even as a secondary storage cube. He also had black pants and cool grey boots that blinked blue lights when he walked and red lights whenever he sprinted.

"Yeah, I just felt a bit tired", he shook his head. "Dzilaiza, how close are we to Celladonia."

His ear comm blinked to life with a beep as Dzilaiza responded.

[Dzilaiza: We're in the planet's gravitational field]

"A-Already?", Big sis spoke, but in a really low tone.

Big Sis had a pretty uniform. She wore a yellow bishop sleeve shirt with a silver cross brooch on her chest and a short white skirt. Her black tights had streaks of light that travelled downwards in a slow manner as the soles of her shoes softly blinked.

Sekky shook his head, swiping his palm over the large screen in front of him.

[Dzilaiza: Activating visuals]

Just then, harsh lights burst into the cockpit as the celestial body's light made its way in.

"W-Woah"

Before us, stood the Ice King; Celladonia. It was half the size of the Great mass and always had a winter season throughout the year. Well, in some parts of the year, it would orbit closer to the sun. Thus, reducing the freezing temperatures a bit.

The icy blue planet was mostly famous for its landscapes and an enormous line that cut deep into the planet, travelling from the north-west side to the south-east.

Most people called it the King's slash since it looked as if a sharp object had tried to slice the planet in two. That area was deemed dangerous for some unknown reason though and very few tourists visited. They wouldn't even land on its surface due to how expensive the protective suits were, leaving them to observe from the planet's exosphere.

However, no one visits the planet at that time since that's when it orbits deeper into the ice belt. The temperature plummets insanely, almost reaching temperatures as low as -1000 degrees. Luckily, our all-purpose uniforms and advanced skin shield could protect us from the cold.

"We're landing", Sekky began to tap on several holographic windows that popped up around him.

[Dzilaiza: Preparing for landing phase]

A protective layer of energy surrounded the ship as Celladonia's gravitational field began to pull it close.

[Dzilaiza: Time for touchdown - 30minutes]

The ship began to shake a bit after we passed the planet's exosphere, gradually picking up speed.

"HHAA YES!", I plastered my face on the window. "I can't wait to see the-"

I froze

Volumes of white, fluffy clouds faded away as we got deeper into the atmosphere and that was where I ceased movements.

Mountains and mountains of snow and winter woods were the only things you could see once you got closer. Snow gently fell on the land with an eerie glow as the sight of one of the planet's four moons made everything look so mystical. The moon seemed to radiate a purple colour as auroras gracefully danced in the sky.

"Pretty...", I muttered.

[Dzilaiza: Contact made]

The space ship landed on the fluffy snow with a soft hum.

"Alright", Sekky got up from his seat. "Activate Skin shield."

[Dzilaiza: Activated]

My face was still plastered on the window, glued to the white lands.

"Shyza?", Olivia tapped on my shoulder. "Shy-"

"YAAAAAYY!!"

She flinched, "W-Wow, y-you seem way too hyper."

"Hehe, sorry for startling you", I grinned. "Sliza."

[Sliza: You don't have to tell me, I activated your skin shield long ago]

A blank expression drew upon my face, "You sound way too arrogant."

"Haha, seems like you already had your skin shield activated", Big sis laughed nervously. "Alright then, Blitz. Activate skin shield."

An ornament around her neck beeped in response.

[Blitz: Activated]

"Let's go"

"Okaaaaay"

(Celladonia - Dzinu's P.O.V)

Sek stood in the freezing cold, staring at the white skies as the snow gently fell onto his face. Waves of emotions flowed from Sek into me.

He missed his home...

Or, could it have been something else?

"Dzinu", Sek muttered.

"Y-Yes?"

"What memory were you in?"

"...", I kept silent.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me"

"That's not it. It's just, I remembered the first time I set eyes on the Legendary moon sword"

"Hmm?", he looked down. "Heh, who would've thought that'd you'd end up being that same sword."

"Ha, yeah"

"Sekky!", Shyza jumped off the ship with Olivia.

"Great, we're all out", Sek turned back with a smile. "The menergy traces are up north. We'll just gather the substance and return to the Crux Coelestis ship."

"Umm", Olivia stammered. "How far are we... from the north?"

Sek avoided eye contact with her, "Not too far. We should be able to get there in two days. Of course, we could've gotten there with the Ultra S but..."

"Ahaha", Shyza scratched her head. "It was Sliza."

"The energy your tech gear packs is insane", Sek looked at the watch on his left wrist. "Time moves really slow here. A day's 48 hours."

"I see", Olivia looked away.

"Okay, we're moving now... right?", Shyza walked up to Sek.

"Let's find shelter first", Sek replied. "It's almost night time and the temperatures at that time is extremely low. Our skin shields might not block all the cold."

"So are we staying near the ship?", I asked.

"It would be better if we move a bit into the woods", he replied, looking to his left. "If we were to be attacked by aliens, the ship might be wrecked. I'll leave it in invisible mode while we're gone."

"Hmm, I understand"

"Oooo, the woods!", Shyza's eyes sparkled. "I can't wait to see the Celladonian night sky!"

"Right", Sek nodded. "Let's-"

*ZZT*

"What-", a sudden surge zipped into the moon realm, causing an insane fluctuation to the world's existence.

Just then, the sky began to shift from a dark hue to a blue one and a huge gust of wind swept the snow into a rage.

"S-Sekky!"

"Stay back!", Sek growled, clutching his head as his eyes rapidly shifted between red and blue. "D-Damn it! It's too early-"

"I-Is he okay!?", Olivia stepped forward, freezing in place as Sek's glare locked with her concerned stare. "He's..."

(Moon realm)

The situation in my realm wasn't so friendly.

"What in the world's going on!?", I stood up, quickly leaving the shrine.

The water whipped up in agitation as the moon began to dye in violet colour. Something was forcing the realm to change its nature.

It was as if something else had forced its way into the vast expanse and a distorted crack was the proof.

My arm shone with a sharp gleam as I narrowed my eyes, "Show yourself."

...

"The moon realm huh", a particular spot before me began to shift as the water slowly rose into the air.

"Who are you!?", I bellowed.

"Hmm?", the water slowly began to take form, revealing the figure of a large wolf.

"A wolf!?", I thought.

"Hm", the beast's fangs gleamed an eerie glow. "Is this how you welcome a guest?"

"What?", I stared, confused.

"I'm the spirit that rests within the blue wolf", an ominous aura burst out from the creature.

"Seksulfur?", my glare was fixed on it. "Is this the result of the link? Wait, I never felt any being residing in Sek."

"I plan to stay temporarily", it began to melt away. "The entire planet has marked its dweller with a fresh seal, a normal ritual."

"Ritual?"

"Yes, Celladonia is a living celestial unlike the others", the creature responded. "It knows who belongs to its lands, who doesn't, who deserves to set foot on it and even identifies its dwellers with seals."

"This is simply a welcome gesture the planet decides to perform every time a lone wolf returns", the wolf turned completely into the water. "We'll surely meet again."

Right after that, the waters were calmed and the moon returned to its blue colour. Returning the moon realm to its serene environment.

"Hm", the harsh lights on my arms disappeared. "There's a lot about Sek that I don't know about."

I took one last look at the extensive vacuum before returning to the shrine and linking myself to the material realm.

(Celladonia - [Location encrypted])

(Messenger's POV)

The throne room seemed to press hard against my body as the tension that was emitted by the higher-ups sent shivers down my spine.

I was a mere Delta amid Betas after all and the most powerful wolf sat on the throne before me.

"Great Alpha", I knelt on one knee, gulping.

"What is it?", his majestic voice almost smashed my eardrums despite its softness. "It must've been very important since the forest guardian allowed you within the inner circle."

"Alpha", sweat ran down the sides of my face. "There's a lone wolf-"

"Another one?", he interrupted. "Didn't the planet already welcome a lone wolf days ago?"

"Y-Yes great alpha", I closed my eyes. "But... it seems like there's another one and the planet's extremely delighted."

"Oh?"

Even though my eyes were closed, I could feel the energy of the alpha that always radiated from his eyes.

"We'll take both of them then", he declared. "Stand up."

I immediately stood on both my feet.

"You've done well", he stood up. "Gather our warrior brothers."

"U-Understood"

"We have our special way of welcoming 'lost' wolves", the alpha smirked.