“So what are we here for?!” Note yelled as they ran.

  “I’m going to kill Thomas!” Johan yelled back, grinning. Note made a startled noise beside him, glancing back with wide eyes.

  Then he laughed. “Hah! I’ll join that!”

  They turned the corner and together they cut through their enemies, working their way through the street-turned-battlefield.

  The buildings lining the streets were covered in soot and red splashes of blood now as the fighting went on. Around them on every turn were more guards coming straight for them, forgetting their own fights the second they caught sight of Johan and Note.

  Johan stabbed into a guard and flung him to the ground when suddenly a large shadow passed over them. He looked up and his eyes widened in wonder.

  “Woah-” That was so cool! Johan stared as the giant slowly stepped over them until the large foot came down and the ground shook with the force.

  Johan came back at the sound of a wet inhale. He whipped around in alarm, only to come face to face with a paling guard.

  “Pay attention!” Note yelled, ripping his sword free and the guard sneaking up on Johan fell to the ground between them.

  Johan laughed but listened, quickly disarming the next guard that attacked.

  “Johan, can you hear me?”

  Johan yelled in surprise, barely ducking as a sword swung right at him.

  “Johan?” Greed repeated, voice loud and clear as it filled Johan’s head.

  “Yeah! I can hear you!” He shouted, trying to drown out the sounds of the battle around him.

  “Thomas is at the palace. Work your way there as soon as possible.”

  His palace? Thomas was there?

  Johan’s head snapped towards the big tree looming in the distance, shielding the palace from view. His face twisted in annoyance and he shook his head. There was no point in dwelling on that thought! He turned to Note. “We need to get to the palace!”

  Note met his eyes and nodded, a glint in his eyes as immediately started to plow a path. They quickly made it into the next street, this one almost empty.

  “Wait. Do you hear that?” Note asked in alarm, stopping Johan with an arm on his chest.

  Johan paused, eyes quickly running over the street as he listened. Nothing.

  “No?” He said, and that’s when he heard it.

  BANG

  Before he knew what happened, they were standing meters away and dust filled the air. Johan stood in a low crouch, ribbons tight in his fists and slowly wrapping back around his arms as he pushed Note an extra step back for good measure, and straightened up.

  The wall they were just running by was now a gaping crater and Johan hesitantly glanced back at Note as the dust cleared, their eyes meeting with a similar mix of concern and shock at the sight. Then Johan turned back. The kid was still standing there in the big hole, panting heavily, his fists clenching and unclenching as he stared ahead.

  Johan followed his eyes across the street to see an unmoving guard laying in a mound of broken debris, halfway through the wall of another building.

  The kid breathed heavily and pushed his sleeves up as if in victory, but he didn’t move closer to the fallen guard.

  Johan frowned, did the kid do that? He couldn’t be more than 10 at most, what was he doing on the battlefield?

  The kid didn’t take his eyes off the guard for a long time, chest heaving with every breath, then finally he swallowed and looked around. That’s when he noticed Johan and Note. He jumped in surprise before falling back into a fighting stance, hands in front of him.

  “Go away or I’ll punch you just like I did with that guy!” The boy yelled and Johan might have fallen for the act if it wasn’t for the quivering lip.

  Johan opened his mouth but nothing came out. Was he supposed to…do something? He looked to Note who was frowning deeply in concern.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Suddenly another voice spoke up. “Is it safe yet, Bennet?”

  “Get back!” The kid yelled, not taking his eyes off of Johan.

  A girl ducked her head past the opening in the wall. She had long, deep red hair, a wilted flower holding one side behind her ear. At the sight of them her blue eyes widened and her face turned into one of fear.

  She yelped and ducked back in but then, after a short moment, her head slowly peeked around the corner again, watching at them with big, curious eyes.

  “You are the king!” Johan stared at the girl in horror. King?! Her fear was completely gone now and she tried stepping out from behind the boy but was quickly pushed back.

  “I read about you in the history books,” She contined silently, hugging a stuffed bunny tightly in her arms. “But…Bennet, they can help us.”

  “Shh, Mia.” The first kid hissed over his shoulder, still not taking his eyes off of them. Then he yelled. “Go away now!”

  “But…Mr. King.” The angry man came to our house and - and then everyone went home! I also want to go home.. but Bennet said..” She paused and fickled with the foot of the bunny. Then she shook her head violently and yelled. “And we’re running away!”

  “They didn’t go home!” Bennet insisted loudly, making the girl flinch. “They died!”

  Well, that didn’t sound good. Johan shared a worried look with Note.

  “Are you…from the orphanage?” Johan asked hesitantly.

  The orphanage was one of the oldest systems in Heaven. It wasn’t unusual for children to become deities, but when it happened, they were then seen as adults in both human and immortal eyes. Though they were still children, they couldn’t take care of themselves. Most of the time another deity would take them in, whether it was because of friendship with the previous owner of their title, or because they could see the child becoming useful. The orphanage existed to house the remaining few.

  When Johan was younger there were only three other child deities in the city and only one lived in the orphanage.

  “No!” The boy yelled, then gritted his teeth when the girl nodded confirmingly behind him.

  Note tok a calming breath, and put on a smile. He slowly walked over to the kids, appearing harmless, and kneeled down, reaching out. He gently put a hand on the girl’s head. His face grew soft as he carefully tok the dead flower from her hair and lifted it up in front of her. She looked on anxiously and jumped back a tiny step as black smoke encased it, whirled around, then disappeared, her eyes turning round in wonder as she looked at the now alive flower.

  “Mia, was it?” Note smiled comfortingly at her and put the flower back in her hair. “Unfortunately Mr. King is busy saving the city, but I will help you.”

  Note looked apologetically back over his shoulder. “Johan, I’m sorry but..”

  “I understand.” Johan said softly. Note always had a soft spot for children. “Go.”

  “You don’t need me to win.” Note said confidently and grabbed one child in each hand. “I love you.”

  Johan's eyes widened. And then he was alone.

  He huffed a short laugh.

  “Johan!” He jolted as Greed yelled his name. “Now is not the time!”

  “Don’t worry so much!” Johan laughed back but started running towards the palace anyways.

  “Thomas isn’t going to go down easily. Don’t lower your guard now.” Greed scolded but Johan easily ignored him.

  “What are his powers again? You mentioned it back in the workshop.” Johan asked Greed. He couldn’t remember it- He had had other things on his mind at the time.

  “Well, I don’t know.” A strange voice echoed in his ears.

  Johan froze mid-step, breath caught in his throat.

  Thomas.

  He whirled around only to find- nobody. He looked around the empty street, heart pounding loudly in his ears. He was sure he just heard…

  “Did you hear that?!” He demanded. The following silence told him all he needed to know. Johan could hear Greed inhale anxiously.

  “Johan, you have to be very careful not to fall for his-”

  A shiver went down his spine. Someone was standing behind him.

  He turned slowly, feeling every tense muscle in his body telling him to run, get away, don’t turn towards him-

  “Why, it’s insanity.” Thomas grinned down at him, only a hair’s breadth away.

  “-hallucinations.” Greed finished, ignorant of what was going on. “He brings forth illusions and hallucinations until the mind is irreparably damaged. Insane, you could say. His powers are over delusion-.”

  Johan stared up with wide eyes, not listening. Despite how close they were he couldn’t feel Thomas breathing. Slowly took a step to the side but the man’s eyes didn’t follow him, instead they stared into the same space Johan just left.

  Carefully he took a step forward and waved an arm. It went right through the illusion and it disappeared like smoke.

  “If you can see him that means you’re getting close, keep going.” Greed’s voice continued and Johan turned to look ahead. He was almost back at the palace now.

  Close. He was close.

  He took a calming breath. Wow, that was so creepy.

  He clenched his fists tightly around his ribbons and felt for the quiet buzz of powers under his skin-

  And ran for the palace.

  “Johan~” A voice sang, first faintly, like a gust of wind, then louder, closer. It kept repeating his name. “Come, come~ Past the tree~”

  “He plays with your fear.” Greed’s explanation carried on.

  “Oh.” Johan mumbled numbly to himself. “That’s so creepy.”

  He kept running, leaving even the distant sounds of fighting far behind him. The closer he got, the quieter it became. Not a soul dared step this close to the palace and it was eerily silent as he made his way through the last street with only the sound of his shoes hitting the pavement and the occasional wind blowing through broken windows and empty buildings.

  He slowed down as he entered the last alley, and stepped out on the other side.

  The weeping tree loomed in the distance.