The girl who descended from the rooftop looked like she had fallen straight out of a gothic fantasy drama.
Long black hair shimmered with a purple sheen. A raven-feather cloak wrapped around her shoulders. Her pale violet eyes glowed with an intensity that made Jace's soul try to hide somewhere behind his spleen. She held a staff shaped like a twisted branch, topped with a glowing orb that pulsed like a heartbeat.
And she pointed that staff directly at him.
"Human," she said with cold authority. "Release Lyra. Immediately."
Jace threw up his hands. "I— I didn't capture her! She popped out of my toaster!"
Lyra floated between them, waving her arms. "Astra, wait! He's my new bonded human! You can't vaporize him!"
Astra's eyes narrowed. "Bonded… to him?"
Jace felt strangely offended. "What's wrong with me?"
Akira patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Buddy… you look like the tutorial-level protagonist. She's judging the stats she sees."
Astra lowered her staff slightly but didn't stop glaring. "Lyra, you cannot simply bond yourself to a human without permission from the Aether Council."
"Technically I didn't bond myself," Lyra argued. "He bought my toaster. That counts."
"No, it does not."
"Yes it does!"
"You are impossible."
"Thank you!"
While they argued like sisters with a millennium of unresolved trauma, Akira leaned close to Jace.
"So," she whispered, "which one is she? Another toaster spirit?"
"No," Lyra said, overhearing immediately. "She's Astra, Spirit of Judgment. She decides the fate of lost souls. Very prestigious. Very gloomy."
Astra sniffed. "I do not 'gloom.' I simply carry myself with dignity."
Lyra whispered loudly, "She also cries during sad commercials."
Astra turned beet red. "YOU PROMISED NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT—"
Before she could finish threatening emotional homicide, the ground trembled.
A ripple of dark energy slithered down the alley.
A vulgar, raspy voice gurgled:
"Foooooound… yoooouuu…"
Jace froze. "Oh COME ON. Another one?!"
Astra's staff brightened instantly. "This aura… a Corrupted Shade. It followed me."
Lyra paled. "Oh. Not good. Not good at all."
Akira cracked her knuckles, delighted. "Finally, a warm-up."
Jace backed away as shadows spilled like liquid down the alley walls, converging into a monstrous silhouette. A humanoid shape formed, skin stretched thin, eyes hollow, mouth yawning unnaturally wide.
It stared at Astra.
"Spiriiit… of Judgmeeeeent…"
Astra lifted her chin proudly. "I see even corruption remembers who enforces the law."
Jace tugged her cloak. "HE seems to want to eat you."
"That is the downside of being important."
The Shade lunged.
Astra extended her palm. "Stay behind me."
A barrier of violet light burst outward, stopping the Shade mid-strike. It hissed and clawed, its nails scraping against the shield like knives on glass.
Lyra floated to Astra's side, nervous. "Uh… Astra? Not to pressure you, but this one looks… very murder-y."
Astra exhaled slowly. "Yes. I may need assistance."
Akira cracked her neck. "Say no more."
She shot forward, spinning into a flaming heel kick that struck the Shade's head. The creature staggered, shrieking.
Lyra lit up with bright blue aura. "Jace! Activation phrase!"
"No— I can't—"
"JUST SAY IT!"
Jace winced and screamed: "Let's get this bread!!"
Lyra exploded into action, firing a beam of aetheric blue light that tore through the Shade's torso.
The monster dissolved into dust, scattering like blown ash.
Silence returned.
Astra lowered her shield.
Akira fist-pumped. "Teamwork!"
Lyra floated proudly. "Also bread."
Astra looked at Jace again. This time, her expression softened just a hint.
"You," she said. "Human. Jace Nakamura."
"You know my name?"
"I read your soul."
"Oh. Um… creepy but convenient?"
Astra stepped closer, studying him with the intensity of someone appraising a priceless artifact—or a defective one.
"Your fate," she murmured, "is… strange. Fractured. Chaotic. Your path intersects with all seven Aether Spirits."
"What does that mean?" Jace asked.
Astra hesitated.
Lyra answered for her.
"It means you're stuck with us!" she chirped.
Akira slapped Jace's back. "Congrats, Jace. You're now the cosmic magnet for supernatural girls."
Astra crossed her arms. "This is a disaster."
Lyra nodded enthusiastically. "Yup!"
Jace held his head. "Wait— so more girls like you are coming?"
A gust of wind swept the alley, and Astra's cloak fluttered dramatically.
"Yes," she said with dread."The strongest of the seven. The most unpredictable. And the most dangerous."
Jace swallowed. "Who?"
Astra turned her gaze to the moon.
Lyra whispered, "Her name is Seraphina."
Akira raised a brow. "And what's her deal?"
Lyra's voice dropped to a terrified hush.
"She's the Spirit of Destruction."
Jace screamed internally.