I remember...

The two children looked in demoness' eyes and terror came rushing down their spines. They were terrified by her. She merely smiled and gazed down upon them both as she sealed away their fates with her words:

So... Who's next?

Tullos gulped and took one step back. He knew there was no way out, nowhere to run. She had them locked in this underground cage and the fear that formed in their hearts was witness to this.

“Why are you doing this?” asked Kyros, who was the least afraid.

Seductively, tempting, the demoness looked down at his frightened expression. Oh, how delicious it would have been if it wasn't his.

“Why did you have to kill Frederique? Why? He was a good man...” asked Tullos as he gained a bit of courage with Kyros so boldly speaking up to that dangerous entity in front of them.

The demoness smirked this time and her eyes moved back to Frederique's lifeless body. Why did she kill him? Obviously it was because she was a demon, a manifestation of pure evil and darkness, one that feasted upon the fear and pain of others, but for the two children she didn't seem to represent all of that. They still had an innocent heart and couldn't comprehend the true horrors a demon was capable of if set loose upon the world of mortals. They were looking at her with human eyes, believing there was still hope for her when there was none.

Thinking about this she suddenly started to laugh. It was a most frightening laughter because of the mixed horking sounds of the corpse and the painful screech given by her demonic mind whenever she touched the thoughts of mortals.

Well she might not be able to take full pleasure form Kyros' fear, but Tullos' was something else. His fear and pain filled with the innocence of his youth made a remarkable good snack for the demoness.

When she stopped laughing, she was looking up at the ceiling. She was looking at those old destroyed walls as they were still emanating light from an unknown source. Magic or maybe technology, it mattered not to her, but what did matter was the fact that she was left with a strange choice. It was a very simple question with a rather complex answer. It was complex on account of a single presence there which could alter the course of all her plans. The unknown variable named Kyros.

To kill... or not to kill... she said as her thoughts and intentions spread to the mind of the two children.

Tullos and Kyros froze in fear as they knew she was now deciding their fates. They didn't want to die, but they were just children, so how could they free themselves from her terror?

The demoness slowly tilted her head forward and her gaze fell on them once more. She looked at the both of them and she could tell just how frightened they truly were. She could tell just how much they wanted to live and run away from her. How much their desperation and fear was clawing deeply inside of them, pushing them slowly towards insane actions, if they were left loose.

Looking into Kyros' eyes she then said with a soft tone in her voice: To kill... Her gaze then quickly switched to Tullos and she dashed towards the child. A sadistic smile appeared on her lips. She was ready to slice him with her deadly sharp claws.

Kyros saw her intention and target. He had but a split second to make a life changing decision, so he acted without thought and moved in front of Tullos.

“No! Don't!” he shouted at the demoness.

Seeing the claws heading towards him at lightning speed, Kyros closed his eyes. He waited for the painful moment when they would struck and pierce his flesh, thus sending him into a torrent of pain, but... nothing happened.

There was no pain.

Trembling, Kyros opened his eyes and saw the demon's claws just hanging there in midair, a few centimeters (few inches) away from his face. They were sharp like the blades made by the most experienced blacksmith known to man.

“AAA!” Kyros shouted and stumbled back into Tullos. The child stopped his fall as he pushed him back with both hands.

Why?... the demoness asked.

The children blinked surprised and then looked at her. She was shivering. The frightening demoness was actually shivering.

Why do you want me to spare him? You are a slave to him now... a prisoner.... a waste... she said and then growled fiercely as she lifted her head up to look at Kyros. Blood tears had formed in the corners of her eyes. Why? She asked again.

“I don't know...” started to speak Kyros “but... “ he continued “I think we can be friends.”

Friends? Have you gone mad? Or are you just a fool? He will either discard or kill you the very moment you are of no use to him or even as soon as you two have reached safety! Let me kill him now and you will be freed of him Kyros! She warned as she shouted at him, the screech of the demon's words seemed not to affect Kyros or Tullos as it did before. There was no pain this time.

“No!” said Tullos with a confident and determined tone in his voice.

No? You dare lie to me mortal?! She screamed at the boy. Now the screech was heard and it was so powerful that it made both Kyros and Tullos scream from the pain it caused them. It was clear now that the painful screech was caused willingly by the demoness or could be caused willingly by any demon.

“Be... because Kyros isn't my slave... he is my friend! Even if for the adults he's my slave, Kyros will always be my friend! I swear it on my life!” said Tullos when he managed to recover from her scream.

Your words are worthless mortal. Your life has no purpose. You two can't be friends... and I'll show you why! She said and then with blood tears in her eyes grabbed Kyros by the collar of his clothes and lifted him up. What came next surprised both of them as the lips of the demoness touched the young boy's lips and a kiss was consumed. However, it was not the skeletal face of the rotten body that did the kissing, but the soft ethereal lips of her other form.

The kiss was beautiful, peaceful, filled with love, something that you would never expect to see from a real demoness like her. However, as beautiful as that kiss was, it actually had another purpose. The demoness used her power and magic to transfer through that kiss the energies and spells needed to destroy some of the seals placed upon Kyros' soul at the moment of his reincarnation in this world. Those seals were the Seals of Memory.

The energy coursed through Kyros' body and despite the fact that the kiss with the blood thirsty demoness felt incredibly good, he also felt how something deep inside of his body was starting to break, to be undone and stir up, trying to free itself. It wasn't painful, but he felt like that energy was his true self and what “Kyros” was now was simply a cage constructed for restraining him in this mortal world.

The energies moved through the child's soul like little spiders on a very complicated web. The spells that entered him through the magical threads created by the demoness were starting, little by little, to find their targets and activate. The “targets” they were searching for were nodes of spiritual energies starting from those in each chakra and up to those that went deeper to the very essence that formed the chakra energies, breaking out of the normal time line and then remodeling them, little by little, into something different at incredible speeds. Still, these energies and spells cast upon Kyros did not reshape his very soul. They only touched the seals and energy blocks placed there upon Kyros' reincarnation in this human body. The same ones that kept his memories, experiences, and any spiritual abilities gained in previous lives locked under lock and key.

The weirdest part for Kyros of this entire process was probably the part in which the kiss felt deliciously good, making him have the same emotions and reactions as someone who was kissing their lover. The second most weirdest part and the one which felt strangely normal was the part in which with his mind's eye he could see the entire process of energy and seal altering which happened inside his body and soul. He saw it in an incredible detail like a perfect observer and the more he looked at it, the more he seemed to realize just how this whole universe seemed to actually work, its very rules and laws that gave it the shape which every being was able to recognize.

When the kiss was over, the demoness pulled back her energies from inside of his soul and in that moment the seals of memory placed upon it were coming undone up to a certain degree and in a specific and exact manner with a mathematical precision.

This would be the moment of Kyros' awakening in his new form. The energies that sprung fourth from his unleashed soul covered his body completely. These energies made strange signs appear on his body, glowing in a radiant white light. The signs and symbols were similar in form to those used by the demoness when she had cast her spells in the previous battle. Their complexity though exceeded those spells and were simply astonishing, not to mention the fact that these symbols were also incredibly small.

Another thing could be seen forming on the boy's body, besides those weird symbols. The moment the spells activated, energies started to flow from his back outwards. The process started with the energies from the Meladhara (Root Chakra) moving like vines with twists and twirls. They met with the energies emanating from the Svadisthana (Sacral Chakra) and then combined, as they move upwards, with the energies of Manipura (Solar Plexus). Here, at the Manipura, the plant like energies that started from the Meladhara turned into a radiant white energy that moved up, reaching the Anahata (Heart Chakra). At this chakra, the white energy split up into two parts: one part moved up to the next two chakras, while the other part moved further back, starting to take the form of wings.

What Tullos and Kyros, with his mind's eye, could see right now was the very process that gave birth to the first angels when they discovered their evolution and part in the Universe. This was how the energies first transcended mortal existence and gave birth to something new, something wonderful. However, the process was far from over.

The energies from the other chakras started to move down, in order to give the wings the balance they now required. The Sahasrara (Crown Chakra) first opened up like a beautiful lotus right on the very tip of Kyros' head. Then the chakra let all those divine energies it received from above to flow down towards the Anja (Third Eye Chakra). It combined with this chakra's energies and then continued lower, towards the Vishuddha (Throat Chakra) where the energies would mix up again, forming a most beautiful golden light. Here, the golden energy split into two parts: one part went down towards the other four chakras, while the other part went out of the body and combined with the white radiant energy from before. This process gave birth to a pair of beautiful wings of shinning white and golden energies.

This completed the process and in that very moment, when the energies finished forming the wings, they simply dissipated and vanished completely, leaving only the wings and a couple of symbols behind. The demoness smiled and then let Kyros back down on the ground gently. The process was over and she did her part.

“What have you done to him demon?” asked Tullos as he looked surprised and frightened at Kyros' transformation.

I gave him back the light of his mind, the memories of his true self and at the same time I gave you the reason to hate, despise and realize that you will never be friends with the likes of him. said the demoness as she looked down at Tullos. She smirked as she knew that the boy would finally be able to see the truth.

“I... I don't understand...” said Tulos as he looked up confused at the demon after the effects of her voice on his mind finally calmed down. The demoness ignored him though and instead looked over to Kyros.

“I remember now...” said Kyros as he stood up, his wings opened as a beautiful and relaxing energy emanated from them.

Tullos looked at Kyros and at the strange transformation he had suffered. The young boy he once knew as merely his father's slave now carried on his back a pair of angelical wings, while weird symbols decorated his body, magic without a doubt. His eyes were also filled with a radiant light, a perfect white light without a pupil. This transformation was frightening for any normal mortal, but curiously he wasn't afraid of Kyros. Tullos somehow knew deep down inside of himself that he was not the one he should fear. His appearance, although scary at first sight, for him it was not. However, not only his looks were altered, but also the very presence he was emanating as a living being. Just by looking at him Tullos could tell that Kyros now had a more mature air around him. He felt more like a full grown adult in this way, but more so he actually had a similar presence that resembled that of the guardian angels. Tullos couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but he was certain that he had a similar aura and even emanated an aura that certainly was not one of a fellow human being.

“My love, Sky'Akella'Rkash, is is so nice to see you again...” said Kyros with a soft smile on his lips. He looked so gently at the demoness who only a few moments ago brutally killed Frederique.

The confusion on Tullos' face was clear and understandable. He didn't know what had just happened, why or even if this was real or not. If he thought a little better though, Frederique was killed by a demon, Kyros turned into another entity right before his eyes, magic circles filled this entire room no more than a few hours ago, and angels and demons appeared before him. Everything seemed down right impossible and not to mention, Kyros called the brutal and sadistic demon he was so afraid to even look at a few moments ago, his “love”? Only now the child started to wonder if this wasn't actually a dream of sorts.

It's not... said the demoness as her voice scratched away at Tullos' mental walls, sending shivers of pain throughout his entire body. Pain is the way to see... she then said, but this time her words did not hurt him.

“What?” asked confused Tullos.

“As she said... I'm not the same Kyros. I remember...” the boy said as he looked down at his hand. He clenched it into a fist and then expanded his wings, flapping them once. “Sigh, but there is still a lot I don't remember...” he would say as he looked back at the demoness.

I allowed you to see only certain memories of the past, you have yet to remember all, but you will as time will pass and you will need that information... said the demoness with a soft smile on her lips. But she then switched her gaze to Tullos now that you remember I can kill this pathetic mortal that imprisoned me! she said with a with a smirk on her lips as she then reached out her hand towards the child.

“No!” said Kyros, grabbing her hand before she did anything to him. “My love, don't kill him... please.” he asked of her with a soft and sad tone in his voice.

What? He was the one that did those horrible things to us! He... said the demoness, clearly angry with Kyros' decision, however the child was unmoved and looked directly in her eyes. He would not change his mind.

Tullos did no understand what was going on, what his connection with these two was. The demoness seemed bent on the idea that he had done something to them, however he couldn't remember doing or saying anything to anger them in such a way. She was bent on killing him, but Kyros didn't want to do such a thing. He wanted his life spared, so was he an enemy or a friend?

“I don't remember what he did...” said Kyros as he started to speak, keeping a soft tone in his voice “but whatever it is, it is in the past and we need to look towards the future. Neither him or me remember the past to such an extent... only you, for you have lived through it. Whatever happened then Sky, it is over now...” he smiled gently at her.

The demoness looked down as she appeared to be thinking about his words profoundly, but even though they were the truth, she could not accept it. She didn't want to accept. Thus, without any warning, the demoness spread her wings and flew towards Tullos, she grabbed him by the neck and then kissed him just as she did with Kyros earlier, however this time it was going to be a completely different process.

The young boy was surprised by the demoness' action. He had no time to react and before he even knew it, he felt her energies and spells slip through her lips and into his body. The process felt like burning oil was being poured down his throat, hurting him, and making him want to scream. He couldn't though, he was trapped in her dangerous claws. Those energies and that feeling that filled his entire body was something hot, powerful, insatiable.

“No! Don't do it Sky!”

Only now did Tullos hear Kyros' shout. He tried to stop her but it was in vain. He was too late, but still, it was strange. Why did it take so long for his words to finally reach him?

The answer to this question was simple. As the energies started to pour into Tullos, pulling him apart and threatening to rip him to shreds or burn him to a crisp, they reacted with the reincarnation seals inside of his soul and as a result of their unravel, Tullos' soul was literally pulled outside of the normal flow of time. This allowed for those seals to be eventually broken and those memories of long forgotten pasts started to flow back into him. Although not all of his lives were remembered, a decent amount was brought back and pushed into his skull. Knowledge, skills, people, places, all of them flooded back into him at the same time from where they were locked up in all of those past lives of his and so, just like it happened with Kyros, little by little these energies were starting to turn his body and soul into his real self.

The process wasn't going too smoothly though. The demoness was showing visible signs of being in pain, her energies were a bit turbulent, but not to the point where they would cause harm to this ritual, but enough for Kyros to see that she was reacting to his emotions.

“It hurts, doesn't it?” asked Kyros as he placed a hand over his heart. “To see me in pain because of what you are doing... Please Sky... let Tullos go.” he begged her as his heart reached out to her, tears forming in his eyes and the energies rustled around them.

I can't... I'll show him... and you... then I'll kill him, even if you make me suffer like this my love...she said, speaking directly to his mind, but in her ethereal form she was shedding tears of blood.

“Sky! It doesn't need to be like this!” he shouted at her, trying to reach past that barrier of time, but she didn't flinch. “Sky! I beg of you! At least do it for me! Please!” begged Kyros as he dropped down to his knees to show his desire to save the life of his potential enemy, but he didn't care about that in the slightest. A long time ago Tullos might have had the right to imprison his beloved demoness and take his life, but not now. Now they were just children that had done nothing wrong yet. A new path could be laid in front of them, one unbound by a terrible past.

“Sky... my love, please.”

Kyros' words and emotions begged the demoness to let Tullos live and each moment she refused to do so brought sadness, pain and fear to Kyros. These emotions were then reflected in Sky's own heart. Dark blood tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she was getting closer and closer to the point where Tullos' transformation would come to an end.

As the energies around them started to settle down, Sky moved back, releasing Tullos from her poisonous kiss. The young boy fell unconscious on the ground, but even like that he could still feel the effects of those energies. They were burning him. He could feel the pain, but his body would remain unaffected.

“AAA!” Tullos suddenly screamed from the bottom of his lungs as the demoness stumbled back.

“Tullos!” shouted Kyros as he jumped up and ran over to him.

“It hurts.... It burns!” said Tullos as he held his shoulders. He was feeling every fiber in his body as if it was being burned and at the same time filled with the magical energies of the ancient flames. HE was starting to recover some of his ancient powers.

“AAARGH!” the boy screamed again as he looked up at the ceiling.

His body was tense and in that very moment when he looked up, Tullos would feel as a wave of magical energy simply exploded from deep inside of his body and then was released all around him. Just as he felt it, the energy actually formed in real life and around him a burning aura was formed. The energy inside of it was so hot that it simply burned everything that it touched, except its creator, Tullos.

Kyros felt that it would be very dangerous if he stayed there so he jumped back and covered himself with his wings just in the nick of time, while the demoness simply cast another protection spell, this time a conjured magical shield. The sphere around Tullos expanded until it actually covered most of the room.

“Tullos?! Are you alright?!” shouted Kyros at him, trying to see what was happening to him. No reply would come to his words.

The air around the young boy was very hot and the body remains of Frederique were now burning up.

Suddenly, the burning aura vanished and Tullos dropped on his palms and knees, breathing heavy and trembling from every joint in his body. Luckily Kyros was there in case anything happened to him.

“I...” said Tullos...” remember...” and then he looked up at Kyros right in the eyes, revealing a scary transformation.

Tullos now had red dragon eyes...

“I remember when I killed you Kyros...” said Tullos.