The young man stood in front of the glass window, staring right inside. He walked towards the window. He was walking in the air as if it was ground. Touching the window with his right hand, the young man murmured something and then phased through the window. He casually descended on the floor.

It was completely dark inside the room except for a little lamp kept on a table just a few meters away from the young man. The lamp’s brightness was not enough to light up the entire room. A tape recorder was on the table.

The man looked around but found no furniture in the room other than the table. It seemed like someone put it there deliberately. He walked towards the table, picked up the recorder, and pressed the play button.

“Welcome the Immortal Prince! Welcome to my humble abode. Hahaha. I knew the Order would send someone after me but imagine the surprise I received when my minions told me they sent you, the Immortal Prince. I am honored to be hunted by you. Hahaha! But did you really think I would be stupid enough to let you catch me so easily? I will take my time before I let you find me. Till then, pray for the poor souls whose blood will quench the thirst of my blade. Mwahaha…..”

The man crushed the tape recorder before the recording could finish and slammed his fist on the table. The table broke in half and the lamp fell on the floor. It turned completely dark in the room.

The man then walked towards the glass window and placed his right hand on it. He murmured something and phased right through the window. Standing in the air, he kept both of his hands on the wall of the building.

He closed his eyes. “Gyro!”. He then removed his hands and raised them. The moment this word came out of his mouth, the entire building started rising from the ground. The building was floating in the air. It reached the height of almost ten meters when the man lowered both his hands. The building fell to the ground and collapsed completely. The entire structure got laid in ruins. He did not even bother coming down to the ground, he just flew away.

***

Iris and Stella sat on the chairs in a cabin. Iris was looking at her phone while Stella had her eyes closed. They had been there for almost ten minutes now.

The door was flung open and a man wearing a grey suit rushed in. Hearing the door open, both of them stood up.

“Captain!” both said simultaneously.

“Pardon me, the meeting just ended, and I rushed here as fast as I could. So what is the update?” the man said and sat in his chair.

“We encountered two ghouls. A witch was controlling them,” Iris said.

“A witch… is she, anyone, from our database?” the man asked.

“No sir, I got a sketch artist to draw her face and then checked it through the database. Nothing came up. We believe she is someone the Order has not encountered before.”

“Then she must be from the new coven they were talking about in the meeting,” the man murmured to himself. Iris and Stella could not hear what he said.

“You met the witch?”

“Yes sir, we did. We had to use the defensive rune to get away,” Iris answered.

“Then that means she knows we are onto her. She would have left the place by now. Damn it!” the man cursed.

“Cap…” Stella said. “We saved a girl who had gone inside the building. She said her name was Livia Drach. But she was photokinetic. When I asked her if she was a Lighthunter, she said her mother’s name was Olivia Lighthunter.”

“What!” the man stood up. Iris and Stella stood up, too.

“What did you say? Olivia Lighthunter?” the man's expression was that of complete shock.

Stella nodded. She knew something was wrong. “We believe the witch realized this too, cause Livia had used photokinesis to save herself from the ghoul.”

The man kept quiet. He was about to say something when his brows furrowed. He started sniffing the air.

“What is that weird smell?”

“What smell?” Iris asked. She sniffed too but did not catch any smell. Stella also could smell nothing weird.

The man looked at them. “Did the witch do something suspicious?”

Iris and Stella looked at each other. “Wait, I think I saw her blowing something out of her hand,” Iris said.

“Is something wrong cap?” Stella asked.

“Tracking powder,” the man's expression darkened.

“What!” both ladies exclaimed.

“She used tracking powder on you. This way she can track you all with the weird smell. You guys can’t smell it cause it’s a special powder. Only those who don’t have the powder on their body can smell it.”

Both their faces were full of shock. “Then that means she is going after Livia!” Stella blurted.

“You have her address?” Iris nodded.

“Let’s go then. And where is Roy?”

“He went to drop Livia at her home.”

“Call him and ask him to stay there. We will reach shortly.” All three of them rushed out the door.

***

Livia rushed inside her home and locked the door. “Mom! Where are you, mom?” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Getting no response, she realized her mother was not at home. She picked her phone and dialed her mother’s number. The call went through and it got picked up quickly.

“Hey, sweetie! Did you get home? How was your interview?” a sweet voice came from the other end.

“Mom… mom, where are you? Can you please get home as fast as possible?” Livia’s voice was heavy.

“What happened, sweetie? I am just in the driveway, parking the car. Just gimme a sec,” the call got cut.

Livia threw her phone on the couch and sat down. A few seconds later, the door opened and a woman who looked like an older version of Livia walked in holding grocery bags in both hands. Both the mother and daughter were equally beautiful. Their resemblance was uncanny. Even their white hair was of the same shade. The only difference was Livia had light green eyes while her mother Olivia had dark green eyes. Olivia was in her early fifties. She looked younger for someone at her age. She barely looked anything over forty.

Livia rushed to her mother’s embrace and hugged her tightly. Olivia dropped the bags and hugged her back.

“Did something happen, baby? Oh, why are you crying?” Olivia started wiping Livia’s tears.

“Mom… I thought… I thought I would never see you again,” Livia’s tears fell on her mother’s clothes.

“Why would you even say that, my sweetie? Tell me what happened?” Olivia sensed something.

“I went to the job interview, but it was a sham, the whole thing was a sham. A ghoul… I saw a ghoul, and it attacked me… “

“What?! A ghoul? Tell me everything… “Olivia’s face tensed. She had an awful premonition.

“Haha… what a lovely scene. The bond of a mother and daughter. What a lovely thing! Heh!”

Olivia saw a woman in black robes come out of her kitchen. Her kitchen had a door to her backyard. She instantly stood in front of Livia.

“Witch, how dare to enter my home?” Olivia glared at the woman.

“So you are Olivia Lighthunter, the pride of the Lighthunters. Oh, my bad! That was a long time ago. I heard you left your family to raise a child.” the woman said while playing with her hair.

“What has that got to do with you? What do you want?” Olivia was fuming.

“You see… “ the woman started approaching them. “I never had a Lighthunter’s soul in my collection. I was just wondering how it feels to know you have a soul from one of the seven families.” Her face twisted into a sardonic smile.

“And you will never know.” Olivia’s eyes started glowing. “Photokinesis!” She pointed her hands towards the woman. Olivia did not want to give that woman a chance to do anything. A beam of light got projected out of her hands. The beam hit the woman, and she got thrown at the wall behind her. The impact was so strong that the wall caved in.

“Hmph! You do not know what you walked into. You thought we were easy prey, didn’t ya?” Olivia sneered. The woman had fallen to the ground and showed no movements.

Olivia turned to her daughter, “Are you alright Livia?”

“Mom, how did you do that? Don’t tell me you are just like those people. No wonder they kept asking me about Lighthunter.”

“I know you have a lot of questions, Livia. I will tell you everything… “ Olivia suddenly stopped speaking and turned around to look at the woman. The woman had barely gotten up.

“Damn you, Lighthunter! Hypno!” the woman’s eye changed into a grey color and she stared right into Olivia’s eyes.

“No…. “ Olivia's eyes that had just started glowing, lost their brightness. Her head felt heavy. She lost her balance.

“Mom!” Livia cried. She caught Olivia and stopped her from falling. “Mom, what’s wrong? Say something, mom!”

“We will… we will meet again, little Lighthunter. But for now, take good care of your mother… haha…” the woman was severely hurt. She knew if Livia used the same attack, things would get very messy for her. She could barely walk straight. With great difficulty, she left through the way she came in.

Livia had no interest in what the woman said. She did not even look at her for once. All her attention was on her mother, who had fallen down and was not responding.

“Mom, please! Say something, mom.”

Olivia slowly raised her hand and caressed Livia’s face. “Sweetie, I am sorry, I… I don’t know when will I see you again… but… but just know that whatever I did… was to keep you safe… someone will tell you the truth… I am sorry for hiding everything from you… and no matter what someone says… your father… he was… he was a great man. You are strong sweetie… you are very strong… never forget this… “

“Mom, why are you saying things like this? Nothing will happen to you… I am calling an ambulance… please stay awake mom, please.” Livia quickly picked up her mother’s phone and dialed 911.

Olivia’s hand fell. Her eyes closed now. Her breathing eased up. It was as if she had fallen into a deep slumber.

***

A car was speeding towards Livia’s home. The car reached her driveway and four people got out.

“This is the house?” the man in the grey suit asked.

“Yes, let’s go in quickly,” Iris said.

Roy had reached the building where his captain’s office was situated when he received Iris’s call. Before he could start his car, he saw the three coming out of the building. So the four of them came together.

They were about to step in the front door when they heard the siren of an ambulance coming their way.

“I think we are late,” the man said. Iris, Stella, and Roy’s faces fell. “Let’s go inside.” He did not even bother knocking and simply barged in.

They saw Livia holding a woman who resembled her, in her arms.

“Aunt… “the man said sorrowfully.

Iris and Roy, who heard this, looked at each other with surprise.

Livia saw four people coming inside and thought paramedics have arrived. But seeing Iris and team with a man she did not recognize, standing at her door, surprised her.

“You guys… what are you doing here?”

The man squatted down and held Olivia’s hand. He then closed his eyes.

“Hey what are you doing?” Livia was about to jerk the man’s hand away when Iris held her hand.

“Don’t worry Livia, this is our captain,” Iris assured her.

“But… “ Livia wanted to say something, but stopped herself. She suddenly recalled the strange things these people did and thought they might be able to help her mother.

The man opened his eyes. He was still holding Olivia’s hand.

“She is safe. There’s no danger to her life…”

“Oh, thank god.” Livia felt delighted.

“But, the matter is much more difficult than it looks like,” the man said.

“What’s wrong Captain?” Stella asked. Everyone gazed at the man. Livia, who just had a ray of hope, felt helpless again.

“Hypnokinesis.” The man only uttered a single word, but the faces of Iris, Stella, and Roy fell. Livia was still clueless, but she did not interrupt.

“No way, hypnokinesis is one the rarest. What are the chances the witch we encountered is a hypnokinetic.” Roy blurted. Iris and Stella thought the same, too.

“I have seen the effects of hypnokinesis before, and aunt… I mean, her mother has the same effects. She has gone into a deep sleep and there is no way of waking her.”

“What!” Livia yelled. Before she could speak any further, she saw paramedics entering her house.

“Make way, please.” Every one of them made way for the paramedic. A paramedic checked Olivia’s pulse.

“Pulse is normal. Need a stretcher. Don’t worry, things gonna be alright.” He assured them.

The ambulance drove Olivia to a nearby hospital. Livia wanted to go in the ambulance, but Iris asked her to go with them in their car. The car followed the ambulance to the hospital.

“Can someone explain to me what is this hypnokinesis?” Livia asked.

Iris sat in the middle of the back seat with Livia on her left side and Stella on the right. She waited for her captain to respond. The man slightly nodded. Iris understood.

“Have you heard about telekinesis?” Iris looked at Livia and asked.

“The ability to move things with the power of the mind,” Livia replied.

“Yes! In the same sense, hypnokinesis is the ability to manipulate sleep. A person who knows hypnokinesis is called a hypnokinetic. They have the power to put anyone to sleep, more like a coma, with no way of walking up.”

“That’s why you said there’s no way of waking my mom, right?” Livia asked the man.

“Yes.”

She had already realized that some people in this world had superpowers. She had seen her mother project light beams out of her hands. So there was no point in pondering whether all this was real.

‘I heard that witch woman say the word hypno before mom fell to the ground.’ She recalled.

“Wait, I remember you calling her as aunt. What was that about?” Livia stared at the man and asked. The man looked at her through the rear-view mirror. He smiled at her. “My name is Lucas Lighthunter. I am your mother’s nephew. I am your cousin, Livia.”

“No way… but mom never told me about any nephews of her. In fact, I know nothing about her family.”

“Well, as far as I know, she did that to protect you. Sometimes I tell myself too, how good it would have been if I did not know what I know. I am sure most of us feel the same,” Lucas said. “The knowledge we have comes with a price, and the price is our peace.”

“My mom, before losing consciousness, told me that someone will tell me the truth and that she hid things from me. I want to know. I want to know everything.” Livia said decisively.

“Are you sure?” Lucas asked.

“If it means having the knowledge you people have, and increasing my chances of waking my mom, then I am pretty sure.” Livia asserted.

Lucas did not speak further. He was thinking about something. “She is photokinetic.” Iris interrupted his thoughts and reminded him. It seemed like when Stella told him they met a photokinetic girl, he completely ignored that and only focused on the name Olivia Lighthunter. Lucas was momentarily taken aback. “Great, that’s great. Now it’s easier for me.” Lucas’s face was radiant.

“I am what now?” Livia was confused.

“Photokinesis is the ability to manipulate and generate light. You used it against that ghoul which was going to attack you. That's why it got thrown away from you.” Iris explained.

“Ability to manipulate and generate light… I saw mom projecting a light beam from her hands at the witch woman. Is that what photokinesis is?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what photokinesis is. Every Lighthunter is a born photokinetic. I am a photokinetic too.” Lucas said.

Livia looked at her hands, “I can generate light… “she said in a soft voice. “Only Lighthunters can do this or others, too?”

“It’s extremely rare for someone outside of our family to have this ability and it’s also rare for someone of our family to not be born with this ability,” Lucas replied.

“We have reached,” Roy interjected. The car parked outside a hospital. Everyone got out.

***

Iris and Stella took care of all the paperwork while Lucas and Livia talked to the doctor in charge. Dr. John White was their attending doctor. He had beads of sweat while looking at the report of Olivia Lighthunter.

‘No existing medical condition, no past traumas. How the heck does a healthy person fall in a coma?’ He thought to himself. “Miss Livia, are you sure your mother did not have a head trauma recently? Maybe she taught it was no big deal and did not tell you about it.”

Livia smiled wryly. She knew what was wrong with her mother, but she couldn’t think of a way to explain it to the doctor. “I am sure, sir. She definitely did not injure her head recently.”

“This… then let me do some more tests. Don’t worry, your mother is not in any danger.” Dr. John took his leave.

“This is absurd. The doctor is just wasting his time. He won’t find anything.” Lucas scoffed. “We have our doctors who are well versed in such things. They can keep aunt healthy until we find a cure.”

Hearing Lucas address her mother as aunt made Livia feel as if she was no longer alone. It was her first time meeting him, but she felt very familiar with him as if she can trust him and, for the time being, depend on him. ‘Maybe it’s because I know he is my cousin.’ She thought.

“Let me make a call. I will get her shifted to our hospital.” Lucas said.

“You have your own hospital? I thought you said you have doctors.” Livia was surprised. Lucas laughed. “You will see.” Smiling, he left to make the call.

Livia entered her mother’s room. Olivia was laying on the bed peacefully. She went and sat beside her. Caressing her head, Livia said, “I know you had your reasons to hide things from me, mom. You just wanted to protect me. I saw how Iris, Stella, and Roy protected me from the witch. I can only imagine the dangers they face every day. But now, just trust me, mom, I will wake you up at any cost. Your sweetie will be strong. As strong as you were.” She kissed her forehead and held her hands.