Hiding, disguising, distancing myself to people, although I had never really had any experience conversing with them except for my mentor Umbran Vespercaelum—this was my life after some unknown mercenaries came and destroyed our hidden abode. I am Caerulius Lunarune, an orphan and an engelgeist summoner who grew up under the tutelage of Umbran who was also my foster father. Engelgeist Summoners were people who could call upon Engelgeists or mystic spirits to aid and protect them.

To be able to summon an engelgeist though, I had to undergo laborious training before the stern eyes of Umbran who was also a master of this craft. And that was not all of it. Since Umbran was a devotee of the Temple of the Moon, I also had to learn worshiping rites for his deity. It was tedious but I had no other options. Umbran, for me, had two faces; a lecturing master in the daytime and a responsible father figure when dinner time comes, making sure I was doing well.

***

Our life in the temple hidden behind the mountain, near a cliff overlooking the vast ocean, was simple and serene. Not until the cold-blooded strangers came targeting me. Umbran risked his life so I could escape.

“Child, heed my advice and worry not of my safety.” He looked at me intently before glancing at the approaching hooded villains behind him. “Now, go! Don’t let them catch you. Go!”

That was my last conversation with Umbran. After that, I was forced to go down the mountain and tried blending in with the people of the bustling town of Galgoras. I had grown wary of the people I met on the streets. I was not accustomed to speaking to strangers, anyway. Later, while I continuously escaped my stalkers, I was able to summon two additional engelgeists. Since then, I had three engelgeists on my command.

I also met a girl, five years younger than me, named Papiliona. She was also hunted by those hooded rouges. It was from her that I learned that our pursuers were minions of the cultic organization Infirias Magistratum. She used to be their prisoner but was able to escape through the help of her parents who remained there as captives. According to her, we were being targeted because we had “deity essence” and were able to summon multiple engelgeists. It baffled me at first. It was true that most of the summoners could only summon one engelgeist. The reason behind was we were the reincarnation of the “fallen deities”. And the cultic leader, Necrologeas Mortem, aimed to absorb all the “deity essence” in the world.

***

“How can these hooligans locate our whereabouts all the time?” My mind was busy figuring it out while running away with Papiliona from the cultic minions. We always tried our hardest to hide ourselves but they seemed to have a way of finding us.

“Let’s try losing them into one of these alleys,” Papiliona, running before me, smirked while glancing behind us.

“Now, let’s take another turn to the left.” We slowed down a bit to make a quick pivot on our foot and change direction.

Papiliona was ahead of me so she disappeared first entering the alley. Suddenly, I heard her shriek so I hurried and found her in the grasps of our pursuers. “Let her go!” I halted on my heels and materialized my stylus with a jewel nib in my hand, a magical item Umbran gave me as a congratulatory gift for successfully summoning my first engelgeist. Without any words, I drew a magic pattern in the air before me. “Howl with dignity, Lykosfang!”

The magic pattern formed a portal where a huge armored wolf-like beast pounced out toward our pursuers with its claws ready. Our stalkers stepped backward. My engelgeist clawed at them mercilessly, careful not to hurt Papiliona, though. All the enemies suppressing Papiliona were down and agonizing from the injury they obtained. Then they all fled in terror. “And the full moon beast has paved my path. Good work, Lykosfang.”

***

After we had that encounter with the minions of Infirias Magistratum, we continued doing our errands like it was just a normal occurrence in our life. I continued looking for Umbran hoping that he was also able to escape from that unfortunate night. Papiliona also went on searching for her lost older brother so they could rescue their parents together. Our stalkers still tried their best to capture us but often ended up in vain.

But our luck did not last that long. On the evening of the full moon, we decided to take a stroll along the beach on the west of Galgoras to rest our weary minds. However, the quiet breeze told me that something was off. Indeed, a gang of our stalkers surrounded us. We were able to knock them down but a mysterious figure appeared possessing an ominous aura.

When I glanced at Papiliona, her face was ashen and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She gulped twice. “N-Necrologeas Mortem,…”

After hearing that name, a seething anger suddenly boiled inside me. That vicious person was the reason why my life became chaotic. When I could not contain my accumulating hatred anymore, using my mystic stylus, I drew a magic pattern. “Howl with dignity, Lykosfang!”

My wolfish engelgeist rushed to launch an attack at Necrologeas. But an unexpected knightly being in platinum armor appeared repelling Lykosfang with its huge shield. A vile, mocking grin cracked on Necrologeas’ bony face. “You did well, Gilgantrium.” he clapped. He looked at me and Papiliona with his squinty eyes, a brow raised. “Look who we have here. The fleeing goddess of dreams,” he eyed Papiliona. “And the long lost god of the moon.” he shifted his gaze at me.

“You’ll pay for what you did to Umbran!” I started scribbling magic runes in the air. “Houel vru Livied Lapithe: Enigma of the Blue Moon!” The runes merged with Lykosfang. The spell enhanced my engelgeist’s skills. It started moving agilely while rushing toward Necrologeas. But the villain was quick to respond using Gilgantrium. This time, the knightly engelgeist used its sword to counter Lykosfang’s assaults— blade against claws.

“Descend from the realm of dreams, Phaenedinia!” Papiliona recovered her senses and made her move. “Sleep Paralysis!” Phaenedinia, an engelgeist with butterfly features, moved gracefully into the air showering glimmering dusts onto Gilgantrium making it lose its strength. Lykosfang finally landed a successful, fatal hit, disintegrating Gilgantrium.

Necrologeas clicked his tongue. “Freeze the time, Chronosthalia!” He pointed at Papiliona with his face red in vexation. A magic circle appeared and a female humanoid with gears and cogs showed up. We heard a loud ringing of a clock and suddenly Papiliona was petrified.

I could not let her be in that condition. “Bring forth the literary of moonlight, Mantalis!” I scribbled another magic pattern. My second engelgeist that could use dispelling scripts and warding spells emerged. Using its quill pen, it made a dispelling rune in the air hitting Chronosthalia and she vanished. Then Mantalis unrolled the scroll of dispelling script around Papiliona bringing her back to normal.

But the sly Necrologeas summoned another engelgeist to bombard us with freezing arrows. “That’s it, Arctoflexius! Be sure to hit your targets.” He pointed at our direction laughing like a demon. And he was not contented. “Enter the spotlight, Cantumbella! Liven up the show.” He snapped his fingers. Another maiden humanoid appeared strumming its harp. The tune enhanced the archer engelgeist’s accuracy.

“Mantalis, Wards of the Hidden Moon!”

Mantalis spread its talismans around us forming a protective dome. But the barrage of arrows did not cease. I had to do something. Suddenly, I felt some exhaustion and my knees faltered.

“Caerulius!” Papiliona rushed to me. “You must dispel Lykosfang for now. Summoning multiple engelgeists at the same time will drain you.”

But it was too late. Lykosfang had been badly injured by the arrows and vanished. Only Mantalis was left to protect us. I darted Necrologeas a piercing stare. He had already summoned four engelgeists but he was still not exhausted. I noticed one thing among his engelgeists, though. Their eyes were,… blank… and… dead.

“Those engelgeists were not originally his. He stole them from other summorners by absorbing their deity essence.”

And an idea sparked in my mind. I mustered my strength to summon my last engelgeist. “Sing the songs of tides, Mermelodia!”

My third engelgeist, which resembled a merfolk, appeared singing an aria. Mermelodia’s purifying song removed the impurities from Necrologeas’ engelgeists and they all escaped his spell. Furious of what I did, he summoned his last engelgeist. It was a hulking barbarian having chains wrapped around its bulky physique.

Papiliona gasped. “That’s Necrologeas’ true engelgeist, Filargyriath.”

Judging from her reaction and the malefic appearance of Filargyriath, I could tell how dire our situation was. But it was no time to lose courage. “You should call on Nubey and escape this place. I’ll hold him back until you are at a safe distance.”

Papiliona looked into my eyes intently. “You’re right,” She nodded tightly. “Comfort the sleepless, Nubey!” She snapped her fingers. “But you’re coming too.” She suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me to mount the huge dozing sheep with cloud-like wool.

“Wha-... Wait!”

In a blink of an eye, we were fleeing the beach riding her Nubey but were blocked.

“And where do you think you’re going, ha?”

It was no use running away. We had to face our demise. I summoned Lykosfang once more and tried to parry Filargyriath’s attacks. Lykosfang fired a magic beam from its mouth but Filargyriath flicked it away with a swing of its chain. And things even became worse when exhaustion struck me and Lykosfang was dispelled involuntarily. I was to receive the next strike of Filargyriath. But my breathing stopped when I saw Papiliona in front of me taking the hit. She was thrown away like a petty thing. I rushed to her. I fell on my knees and held her in my arms. My hands were shaking. “Why? Why did you take it for me?” My voice was cracking.

Papiliona smiled wanly, tears were flowing. She struggled to lift her hand and touched my cheek. “Caerulius, p-please,…” she whispered and coughed. “P-Promise me to con-continue searching for my b-brother in my place. T-Then, g-go,…” She coughed again. “...save m—“ Her glossy eyes slowly closed and her hand dropped coldly on her side.

I screamed in misery while Necrologeas’ amused laughter was echoing behind me. I failed to save Umbran. I also failed to save Papiliona, though I tried. Filargyriath’s chains caught me and I was swung in every direction; smashed on every hard surface. My vision could only see a dark void. My skin was bruised, bones were cracked, blood was gushing on my head, but my misery numbed my senses. I was ready to die.

***

A voice echoed in my mind warming my soul. It was Papiliona’s. Then a tiny flicker appeared in the distance. I urged my mind to approach it. As I neared it, Lykosfang, Mantalis, and Mermelodia started appearing. They were willing to lend me their strength once more. They glowed, almost blinding me. When I opened my eyes, I was clad in clothing suitable for a deity. I subconsciously advanced to the top potential of the deity essence, the "deity soul equip" state.

I gained an upper hand against Necrologeas. Using Lykosfangs strength, I shattered Filargyriath’s chains. With Mantalis’ barrier spell, I built a cage around it preventing its escape. It rammed its fists on the barrier to break it but failed. Necrologeas’ smug smile slowly turned into a gape.

Finally, I used Mermelodia’s purifying magic. “Lullaby in the Moonlight!” I aimed my palm at Filargyriath and shot a beam of destructive light melting its existence. Oddly, at the same time, it backfired at Necrologeas. He slowly withered, turning into dust as his agonizing scream was carried by the wind into the vast ocean.

THE END