Hi guys! Just a quick heads-up, this story contains 4 worlds, and the characters all live scattered among these worlds. I know that you guys might get confused as to who live where and which world is which, so I have been thinking of making a list. However, I'm afraid that doing that might spoil the story, so I decided that I'll leave it as it is for now. Later, after we reach that one particular point of the story (I promise it won't be long after this), I will then post a list or some kind of a quick explanation. I promise! Haha now, do enjoy this chapter!

Elysium.

Supporting his head with his hand, Kai watches lazily as Hana the ‘caretaker’ water the plants in the garden.

Aunt Featherine had insisted that he join their tea party today, and that they have lots to talk about. He figured that the aunts only want to talk about the growing population in Synxis, or the affairs in Melkyr, or maybe the politics in Throx. Eitherway, he’s not interested in joining the tea party. But then again, those aunties are still the honored maidens, and he guessed he can spare a day to catch up with them. Although he doubts anything has changed since he left the last time.

He was currently seated alone, none of the aunties have come to start the tea party. Well, ‘no rush’ he thought, the aunties do have many times to spare anyway. He guessed that’s what happen when you’re granted an eternity to live.

Several minutes later, or maybe several hours, he doesn’t really know, the aunties started to arrive. Starting from the Three Witches, followed by Ange, Tao’s mother, and then Eva, his own mother. Beatrice, Luhan’s mother, came last.

They all filled the seats, the circular table somehow changing shape into a long rectangular one along the way. Once they all are seated a teapot popped onto the table, followed along by plates of cookies and trays of cakes. The teapot busied themselves pouring tea into the cups, granting them all with a nice smell that Kai recognizes as Earl Grey tea. Kai’s favorite tea.

“It’s nice to see you, Jongin,” Ange started.

“Nice to see you all too Aunties,” Kai flinched a little at the mention of his birth name.

Greetings were thrown here and there and in no time they started to talk about a lot of things. At first the maidens were talking about how they would love to come to Sultan Maar’s next feast, and then they proceeded to talk about how there’s also an upcoming feast in Synxis, to celebrate Harvest Day.

There’s nothing different, the maidens were like always, chatting and joking along, or how close they can get to jokes, and there’s also the occasional questions thrown at Kai. If only he wasn’t so sharp, he wouldn’t notice the different tension that’s drifting along them. Even though the maidens are all very good at hiding and controlling their emotions, Kai has spent almost all of his life with them. Of course, he would know if something’s different.

The tea party they had comes to an end several hours later, the tea still warm even though it had been hours and the cookies still fresh. That’s part of the magic of Elysium.

After Kai was once again left alone in the garden, Hana the caretaker took a seat beside him, picking up a cookie from its plate.

“You’re feeling uneasy,” she munched on her cookie.

Kai just sighed.

“Go and talk to your mother, Jongin, there’s something she wants to tell you.”

Kai took a cookie, staring at it as if willing the cookie to bore a hole from his intense staring.

“I don’t know… you think she’s going to tell me what’s going on? Maybe I should just go back to one of the world and check up a bit of the condition there. I’ve been here for a month now,” Kai finally devoured the cookie.

“Are you seriously doubting me right now?” Hana raised an eyebrow.

Kai chuckled. True, he might be stupid for doubting Hana. She has been living in Elysium as a caretaker since before Kai was even born. She has been living there since even the Goddessess started to live there. Kai believed she used to be a human, before God granted her the title of the Elysium’s caretaker. She was the wisest human of her time, and when she died several millennium ago protecting her country, Virgilia happened to be a bit troubled with handling Elysium all on her own. All in all, she was the second life form that came to Elysium after Virgilia.

Even here, after she has been granted eternal life, she’s still as wise as when she was still alive, if not wiser.

“Well, I guess it has been long since we’ve had a mother-and-son conversation,” Kai took a buttermilk cookie, after that proceeding to stand up.

“Meet you later, auntie.”

Hana made a face at the word, and with that Jongin took his leave.

What greeted Jongin after he materialized was a wooden door. The door was beautifully carved with patterns of flowers and butterflies, giving off a shimmery aura about it. No doubt, her mother is just behind that door.

Kai knocked twice, before cracking the door open and stepping inside.His mother immediately greeted him, as she sat by the fireplace.

“Hello, mother,” Kai walked towards a lone couch in front of where his mother is seating.

The soft material of the couch feels just like home. And maybe Jongin is home. He is back to his mother’s cottage, where he was born and raised when he was small. Kai adjusted his body, sitting comfortably on the warm couch.

“Ah, yes, it’s a good thing that you come, Jongin. I’ve been expecting you,” Eva gives off a tight-lipped smile. It’s not like she can help it, she has a cold personality. Although that fact can be crossed sometimes if it has something to do with her son.

“Something you want to tell me?”

“Yes, quite so.”

Kai waited for his mother to continue. For some tranquil minutes they sat there, the crackling of fire in the fireplace the only sound that can be heard.

“Jongin, for the past few weeks… I believe that the worlds have been going through their own… complications,” her mother was staring straight at him.

“What do you mean?” Kai straightened himself, trying to grasp what her mother had just said.

“What I mean is,” his mother paused. For a second she looks as if she was contemplating on whether to tell Kai the matter or not.

“I think it’s time for you to meet and assemble the others. It’s time for you to really undergo your fate as the link between the worlds.”

Kai was stunned for a bit. It’s not rare for his mother to be so straight-forward, she was not called The Heartless for nothing. Still, it took moments for the words to sink in.

“W-who?” He stuttered, still not quite believing what his mother had told him.

For more than a decade Kai had always waited for this moment. He had always waited for the moment when he’s going to finally meet those that shares the same gift as his. The Gift of The Tree of Life. Now that this moment came, it seems too surreal to be true.

“You know who I mean, Jongin. I thought you have been waiting for this since long ago,” her mother teased. Of course, being a Goddess and all (and his mother), she would know everything about him. For Eva, Kai is like an open book that laid itself in front of her. No one knows a child better than his own mother.

“Before you go though, check the kitchen. I baked your favorite Tarte Tatin.”

Kai is very eager to go visit Luhan once more, but Tarte Tatin? He can never resist that. So minutes later, Kai found himself enjoying a slice of the delicious apple cake by the fireplace.

Luhan had expected Kai’s arrival.

That cousin of his arrived with a very big smile and an eagerness that he somehow had expected too. If Kai was a puppy, he would be wagging his tail excitedly right now. Except that he’s not, so Luhan won’t be seeing any wagging of the tail.

“What brings you here?” Luhan asked, pretending that he doesn’t know anything about his cousin’s eagerness.

“Oh, you know, just giving my beloved cousin a visit.”

Luhan snorted, rolling his eyes at the same time.

“As if. What do you want?”

“Aww come on, don’t be so mean,” Kai entered his room, that big smile still evident on his face.

“I’m just wondering if you still have that magical orbs of yours… oh silly me of course you still have it right? You always have it! Pfft…”

Luhan just stared at his cousin’s antics, that twinkle in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by him. Kai has always been the most excited one when it comes to the others. Not that he minds, since he actually can understand why so. Since they were kids, between Luhan, Tao and Kai, only Kai doesn’t know a thing about the others. Luhan, with his ability of a clairvoyance, has been able to sense and see the others through his glass sightings. Tao, on the other hand, is The Guardian of Time. Obviously he plays with time, and must have gained some sightings from the future too. Eitherway, even if Tao is curious about the others, he doesn’t show it.

“Come,” Luhan walked out of his bedroom, towards the corridor. He didn’t wait for Kai to follow him and just goes straight to the living room. Kai is going to follow him anyway, eagerly.

Once they reached the living room, Luhan stood by the coffee table, a clear glass in the shape of a ball standing on it, calm and unmoving.

“I can’t believe I’m finally seeing this,” Kai remarked.

“Just… Don’t be too excited,” Luhan grimaced at his own words. How could Kai not be excited? That’s so stupid of him.

Without any further ado, Luhan closed his eyes, concentrating hard.  When he opened his eyes again, the light in the room seemed to have dimmed a little, casting their shadows darker. Then Luhan lifted his palm, the glass lifting together with it, floating in the same height as his arm.

The pressure around the room then changed for a millisecond, before pictures started taking shape through the glass. Slowly, one by one, pictures of people started to appear. At first there can be seen Luhan, Kai and Tao, the three of them standing with some distance between them. And then, other people started to appear. They filled in the space between the three of them, until finally a total of nine new faces appear, constructing a line of twelve people.

Luhan can feel some sort of a feeling washing through him as he looked at the reflection. Like a feeling of peace and contentment. Looking at it calms him, like how it always does whenever he looks at it in the past.

He doesn’t even know any of them, except for his two cousins, but somehow he has a feeling that he can trust them. That they are all his family and close friends. It feels like they share a special bond between them, even before meeting in person. Luhan was always sure that when the time comes and they got to meet, they will all get along. They will become a family.

Luhan spared a glance at his cousin, who has not uttered a single word after Luhan summoned the reflection. Kai looked shocked, his eyes were wide open and his full lips are slightly parted. If Luhan doesn’t know him he’s going to deem that Kai is shocked. But in truth he isn’t. Kai is amazed. He’s trying to take it all in, trying to swallow the entirety of the reflection that he’s looking at. He wants to look at it forever.

He knows the feeling, since that’s what he felt when he first saw the picture too. Except that he knows he can summon the reflection again and again whenever he wants to, but not so with Kai. Who knows when Luhan will show this reflection to Kai again?

“You’ll meet them soon, don’t gape top much,” Luhan finally stated with a calming voice.

“I know… It’s just…”

“Magnificent? It washed you with those feelings of contentment,” Luhan guessed.

“It makes me feel whole… like gaining a part of me that was lost,” Kai finally looked at him.

Luhan smiled, dismissing the reflection and putting the ball down onto the coffee table again.

“You do know that that’s only their reflections do you? We haven’t even met them yet.”

“I know,” Kai gulped, at that moment Luhan can feel the uncertainty starting to build up inside of his cousin.

“Will I be able to collect them all? W-will they even agree to come?” Kai asked.

“Honestly?” Luhan asked back.

“I don’t know, Jongin, there might be some conflicts while trying to get them all here, but I do know that we’re going to be a family. We’re going to get along with each other. I’m sure,” he added.

Kai plopped himself down onto the sofa, looking dumbstruck.

“You do know that you can’t collect them now do you? We have to wait for Queen Virgilia’s official words to do so,” Luhan sat beside his cousin.

“Yeah, I know.”

Luhan knew that aunt Eva must have told him that earlier. It just doesn’t hurt to make sure. He can’t have this cousin of him getting too worked up and act recklessly. With the worlds in their current state of massacre, acting reckless is the least thing they want to do.

“I need to go,” Kai stated all of a sudden, gaining Luhan’s attention.

“Where?” Luhan asked.

“To him.”

And Kai dissipated in a puff of black shadow, leaving Luhan alone with his own thoughts.