XX-IV

"I saw him, my Queen!" Alviary said as he enters the room where the Queen and the other Angel Gods were planning their attacks in Biringan. They all turn their heads to the frantic living God, eyes were filled with confusion and curiosity. "Who, my King?" the Queen asks as he approaches Alviary and tries to calm him down. Instead of answering the Queen, he starts muttering in an unknown language that even the Queen does not understand. He starts pacing around blabbering about another god that was supposed to not exist but he has seen that god and he was not dreaming when he saw him; he was literally there.

When the Queen the name of the fictitious god, she runs to Alviary with eyes wide open. "My King, stop with this nonsense, such God does not exist," she insists, trying to make Alviary spouting things and calm himself down. "No, no, no, my Queen," Alviary said in a hurry. "I really saw him. He seems real when I did," Alviary said pushing his words towards the Queen. She looks at the Angel Gods for what is happening when suddenly Triton and Stephen went inside of the room. "Your Highness, we are here," Stephen greets, earning a few gasps as soon as he steps into the room. "Stephen!" the Queen yells in glee. "What such beautiful wings you have," she said and approaches the boy, who got flustered by the sudden compliments he got from the Queen. Yes, his wings are beautiful; magnificent even. But for the boy, it was the weight that distracts him from seeing them as beautiful as others would say.

Stephen just smiles and walks to where Triton is when he felt the urge to vomit. His coughs sound like a dog barking loudly at night. Worried expressions were seen on everyone's faces as they listen to Stephen's sudden barks. Triton went beside him and was about to touch him when Stephen held his hand in front of him, stopping the wolf from getting near to him. It was a bizarre sight and everyone anticipates what was going to happen next. As Stephen lets out the last coughs, his wings suddenly surround him, caging him inside.

Moments later, lights start to glow from the inside. Changes can be seen from Stephen's back. His body suddenly floats into the air, and tiny pieces of golden glass encircle him. Those tiny pieces of golden glass form like a big circle around him and little by little, his oversized wings became small, and Stephen's body curls like a fetus from his mom's womb. Everyone who is in that room at that time witnessed another reborn that they did not expect.

"A new reborn," said the Queen, as she watches the process of encapsulating a tiny human inside of the golden globe. When the process is over, the globe stays floating in the room, and everyone agrees to talk about the war in another room where they cannot disturb the globe since the process of being reborn is too fragile. A little disturbance could create an alarming result that neither the Queen nor Alviary could reverse.

~0~0~0~

"Aguy, Stephen, wake up!" his grandmother yells from the kitchen as she finished cooking breakfast. Giggling as he tries to surprise his grandmother from behind, the good old lady pretends to not know what was going on. So, when little Stephen jumps out behind her, she gasps playfully and grabs her chest, mimicking a scared lady. "Oh, my goodness!" she exclaims as she watches the kid laughs at her. "You scared me!" she said playfully and chased the little boy around the house before they settle to eat. They laugh and talk as they eat their breakfast. Stephen talks about inanimate objects and his grandmother just listens to the little boy.

"I really saw him, grandma!" he exclaims, he jumps out of his seat and spread his arms sideward. "His wings are this big and he was this tall and he has pointy ears!" he said excitedly, describing the mysterious man that he saw flying across the woods slowly. "Do you think that is Alviary, grandma?" he asks, hoping that his assumptions were correct. His grandma nods, "Yes! I think you just saw Alviary!" she said and smiles at the boy while putting the dishes away. "He looks so ethereal, grandma! Just like those stories that you used to tell me!" he exclaims again. Their whimsical talks were cut when an old man comes knocking at their door.

"Can you please get that, Stephen?" his grandmother asks. The little boy nods and happily went to the door to see who it is. He gasps when he saw his favorite folk healer. "Grandpa Laryo!" he exclaims and jumps to the old guy and hugs him tightly. "I have something to tell you!" he said excitedly and drags the old man into the house and starts talking about the man who he thought is Alviary. "Wow! Aren't you quite lucky to see a living God?" Laryo said as he was listening to the young boy. The boy looks confused about the word 'lucky', so Laryo explains to him what it meant if you see Alviary flying across the woods.

"This is an old folk tale but according to the legend, if you see a living God in person, you will have all your hopes and dreams will come true," Laryo said as he trying to mimic a magic wand with his stick. Stephen gasps while covering his mouth with his hands and giggles in between them. He went to his grandmother and tells her about the old tale and his grandmother just told him that it might be true or not. Since then, whenever little Stephen goes to the woods, he looks for Alviary or wished to see Alviary again, and whenever he goes to sleep, he wished that all of his dreams will come true.

~0~0~0~

"Stephen!" a big voice calls him. When he opens his eyes, he was greeted by a wet nose and heterochromia eyes. "Oh, Triton. Good morning," he said sleepily, smiling at the wolf with a tired smile. His body feels heavy and his arms are aching. He looks around the room and sees that the walls are wooden and there is no roof. "Where are we?" Stephen asks Triton. The wolf just looks at him worriedly and calls for Laryo and Uran. The two older men went running to his room when they heard the worried call from the white wolf.

"Stephen!" they exclaim as they both burst into the room, looking at the disheveled kid in front of them. "What happened?" Laryo asks Triton but the wolf just looks at him with teary eyes. Stephen looks at them with confusion as if asking if they were real or not. "I just woke him up and then he asks me if where he is. I don't know what is happening but I can sense that it was not good," said the wolf as he observes the boy intently. "What does he mean by that, kid?" Uran asks as he tries to comprehend what was happening to Stephen. The boy just sighs and asks them why is his body is aching. Uran answered him, "We just finished your heavy training yesterday. Don't worry, it's normal. After this, you are ready to go to Phantom Island."

Stephen widens his eyes and jumps out of his bed, and went to the mirror that was hanging beside the closet. He looks behind him and his wings are not there. He looks into his eyes and they were the same colors. He lifts his shirt and the tiny scars from his training with the Angel Gods were not there.

'What is happening?!' he screams in his thought. His hair is still the same from a month ago. The color is still the same. Is his journey to the Phantom Island is all a dream? His sacrifices and everything that he saw were just part of a dream? He looks to the others when he noticed that they were not there. He tries to scream their names but his voice is not coming out. He held his throat and his eyes suddenly filled with darkness.

But at the end of that darkness is a bright light. He came running to that light but was stopped by a hand. He looks up and sees a man in silver armor. He has platinum hair, pointy ears, and silver wings with a hint of gold in it. He looks ethereal just like Alviary. The mysterious man held his hand back and smiles at the boy.

He greets Stephen and walks towards the latter, only to stop a meter away from him. Stephen looks at him in confusion and nervousness as the man stands there tall and proud. The man smiles and Stephen looks at him in shock because the latter did not anticipate such a revelation coming from the man. He, then, stares at the man and says,

"WHAT?"

~0~0~0~