Kaas never thought a city this large could ever exist! It had been overwhelming when they stumbled out of the portal into a busy street. The noise was unbearable, with the ungodly sounds of those metal monsters honking and roaring like demonic Earth geese.

And the sun. He'd forgotten how much its rays burned his skin, even from beneath the coating of Ludd's blood.

"Kaas…" A moan of agony from one of the twins. For Kaas, he remembered that the searing was only temporary. They would eventually acclimate. But for the young ones, this was all new. Their mind must be burning as hot as the sun, trying to comprehend the world around them.

He'd had time to recover enough strength to walk in that ethereal green corridor. Kaas now stood tall, ready to lead his soldier through this unknown world.

"Come," said Kaas as he pushed his way through the crowd of small humans. He usually stood at least a head taller than some of the larger humans. These, though, barely came up to his chest.

As he walked through the throng, Kaas could hear the humans speak some sort of language. He couldn't understand a word, but it was apparent that they were wondering what had run into them. It made an easy trail for his soldiers to follow.

He walked on; his fists clenched in pain as the sun beat down upon his neck. Until he spotted a small gap between two buildings. The shadowy crevice beckoned him like an oasis in a desert.

"Almost there, this way." He pushed to his right. As he did so, he heard another gasp from behind. Kaas turned to see one of the humans appear to grab thin air. He didn't know whose arm the human held, but fearing retaliation from one of the others, Kaas placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Let go, human. Or know my fury." Kaas felt the blood on his face flake off, which exposed his skin to the light.

The man looked questioningly at the source of the voice, then saw the fragments of Kaas's face and eyes floating in the air. His face twisted in terror.

"A-Akuma…"

His hand fell away as he backed off and disappeared into the crowd.

Kaas grunted. Akuma? It probably meant monster, which suited him just fine.

Kaas replaced the human's hand with his own. As his fingers closed around the thin forearm, he could tell that the human had grabbed Ludd.

He dragged Ludd behind him and forged on without incident. They finally made it to the dark gap. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the cool shade soothe his skin.

Behind him, Kaas could hear the others sigh. He turned to look at the others scratching off the flakes of Ludd's dried blood.

He looked to Ludd himself, who was doubled over in relief.

Ludd smiled, exposing the slight gap in his front teeth. "Thanks, Kaas. I didn't think I could have broken his grip myself."

Kaas smirked. "I was more worried that the others would destroy that human. I didn't need a man exploding out of nowhere. Would've drawn unwanted attention." He paused as he looked at Ludd, watching as the boy scratched at his arms. "But I'm glad you're unharmed."

Ludd looked at him like he was crazy. "Unharmed? My body feels like it's on fire! I think my skin's blistering," said Ludd as his arms became more exposed. "What is this pain?"

"The sun," said Kaas. "Enemy to those who live without its light. It may hurt now, but you'll get used to it. You're going to have to."

"…?" Alén's eyes were wide with concern.

"I don't know how long we'll be here for. The Hidaar came to this place for a purpose, and we won't leave until we find it." There was no way back at this point. They would need to regain the Hidaar's blood to return home. "We need to be careful on this world. Remember, Hidaar Darris frequents this place. Any unwanted attention would alert him to our presence."

"Right," said Tykus, taking his place beside Kaas. "I think the first order of business is to find a better hiding place than this. Do you agree, Kaas?"

"I do. We need to stay together and out of sight. And to not get distracted!" he added, glaring at the twins. As Aaska dug through a bin, Naaro's jaw was working on chewing something.

"Naaro! Spit that out right now!"

"That's Aaska," said the other, pulling something out and sniffing it. "I'm Naaro."

"I don't care if you're the Hidaar himself! No soldier of mine is going to be rummaging around in human garbage! It's undignified!"

"Is that what this is?" said Aaska with a massive swallow. "Humans must not care what they throw away because it tastes more like food than anything."

"You didn't know what you were eating?" said Tykus.

Aaska shrugged, "Can't know until you try it. Here." Naaro held out a hand for Tykus to look. It seemed to be the bone of an animal.

"Humans are so wasteful," said Tykus taking the proffered bone, popping it in his mouth, and chewing crunchily. "Why would they throw away such a delicacy?"

Ludd joined the others around the bin, "What else is in there?"

"Ugh…" Kaas massaged the bride of his nose. He felt Alén pat his shoulder. "What happened to finding a better hiding place?"

Tykus stiffened and dropped whatever he had been about to eat back into the trash. "Oh, right… It was their fault." He pointed at their twins. "They distracted me."

The twins began to chatter in protest.

"I. Don't. Care. Whose fault it is. We're going out to search! And no more nonsense, or we'll sit here in silence until you decide you want to act like proper Ahngreel.  Do you hear me?!"

"To be fair, waiting would probably be better," said Ludd, "there's not much to be done with the sun."

 Kaas rolled his eyes, "Oh, we're going out there. You'll get used to it. Being uncomfortable builds character. You want to get stronger? This is how you do it."

And with that, there was no more argument.

At Kaas's command, Ludd recovered them, and they set out back into the sun's burning rays. He heard hisses of pain and grunts from the others as they ventured forth.

 Kaas didn't. He refused to react even as his skin felt like it peeled from his flesh with every step. Eventually, however, the sounds of pain ceased as their skin acclimated to the harsh light. 

Or maybe their relief was due to the sun disappearing from the sky. The throng of people seemed to thin, which gave them enough space to stand in place and stare up at the sky as it began to change from blue to orange, then to black with all manner of colors in between. The world grew dark around them so that the eyes of the honking monsters glowed brighter than theirs.

He heard more sounds from his soldiers, this time not of pain but of awe.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Sohuad's sky never changed except for the occasional change in patterns as the countless souls traveled to their eternal destination.

"I think I see a tiny light—" Aaska pointed up with a finger. Naaro nodded and pointed as well. "—it's right there."

The others tried to look but couldn't find the light they were talking about. To them, it was a black void. Yet they all kept staring.

"It makes you wonder," said Kaas, "what else this world has to offer."

Too much, it turned out.

For the next few sun cycles, they wandered the city unseen and completely lost. Nothing about this city made sense to any of them. Ludd had even tried to drum up a map. But even then, none could properly navigate it. All the paths looked the same, and there were no discernable landmarks.

Kaas and the others hopped from crude shelter to crude shelter; alleyways and underground tunnels filled with snake-like monsters that welcomed willing humans into its many maws. However, many escaped, and none were frightened. It seemed like a symbiotic relationship more than anything. The human world was strange.

They tried to collect material to learn more, but it was in a language none could recognize. Not even the alphabet was familiar.

Even with their utter confusion, the system of the city became evident. The monsters above ground also carried people, though only one or two humans at a time. Tykus had tried to commandeer one of these beasts when they stumbled upon one slumbering so that it, too, would transport them. But the beast had remained asleep even as Kaas placed a hand on its cold, metallic body.

"Oh, great beast. I, Kaas, command you to grant us transport."

The monster was silent.

"Look, Kaas," said Ludd, "Right beneath its reflective ear, there's some sort of flap."

Kaas looked and saw that when Ludd said was true. Perhaps this was the secret to taming the beast? He reached out, dug his fingers beneath it, and pulled with a gentleness unbefitting of an Ahngreel. The beast came to life as it honked in protest. Repeatedly and without end.

"Tykus, it's trying to call for its human. Kill it!"

Tykus obeyed and caved its metal body in with his fists, instantly silencing the beast.

"Well," said Ludd, "So much for that."

They fled before any humans could discover their dead creature.

These metal monsters seemed rather docile to the humans. They might even be servants as they even let people walk in their path when the strange lights that hung above them changed color. The twins were especially delighted at this discovery, spending much too long standing unseen in the beasts' path. They were almost stampeded by the lot when the light changed color. It was only due to Alén and Tykus's quick reflexes that the two remained unharmed.

The twins were rather fond of wandering, despite Kaas's orders. And it took all their efforts not to go digging through more random bins.

Everyone acclimated to the sun to the point that it no longer hurt to be in its light. A few even began to enjoy its warmth. On more than one occasion, Kaas saw Alén's outline leaning against a building, face up turned and eyes closed, just basking in the light. He couldn't know for sure, as she remained mostly invisible, but he felt she was smiling. Kaas was glad to see it. He had led them to this chaotic new life, so any moment of contentment was appreciated.

Though after many days of wandering in confusion, luck finally found them. The group was crossing the street—holding hands in case the twins tried to walk off again—when a cry rang out. It was Ludd shouting at the top of his voice.

Humans turned their heads in their direction, but Ludd made no more noise as Kaas assumed one of the others covered his mouth with an invisible hand.

Kaas crept close. "What is it?" he whispered, "Do you want us to be caught again?"

Whoever had their hold on Ludd let go as Kaas heard him inhale. Then Ludd said, "Look up and behind you. It's him!"

"Him" could only mean one person. And sure enough, when Kaas turned and looked up, he saw the broad shoulders and silver hair of the Hidaar atop a grey brick of a building. The roof was fenced, so it was tricky to see, but he was unmistakable.

At last! They had found him!

Kaas crept closer, eyes locked on the Hidaar. He was too far up to hear, but maybe there would be some sign of the Hidaar's purpose. Then another figure approached the fence. This one far smaller than the Hidaar.

He squinted. The sun no longer burned his skin, but it was still hard to see in its lights. And his eyes refused to adjust. He shaded his eyes with his hand, but it proved pointless as his invisible hand did nothing to block the light.

This person was small, perhaps a human child… a girl…with… brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Yes, he was sure of it. But why was the Hidaar with a human child? Was it his? Humans were rather fond of their offspring.

Then the Hidaar drew Kaas's eyes as his usual silver hair darkened, and his skin became the color of mud.

So, there you are, human. He was as Kaas remembered. No matter how much he changed or his power, the Hidaar was just a human. And who still fraternized with other humans. His eyes shifted back to the girl. From what Kaas could see, she was rather ordinary, though she looked much different than the people who walked the streets. He could make out that her eyes were blue. A color that no one here seemed to have.

That aside, she was just a human child. But Hidaar seemed interested in her. And that was enough for Kaas. He had found his target.

At some point, the Hidaar's appearance reverted back to purple skin and silver hair, and then he vanished from the rooftop, leaving the girl alone. Kaas was tempted to climb the wall of the grey building to reach her—it would be an easy climb—but he decided against it lest the Hidaar still lingered unseen.

It would be best to follow her girl a safe distance before snatching her. So, on his order, they sat in the shade of the building and waited for the girl to leave.

They did not have to wait long. Soon a flock of people began to filter out of the building, including the girl. He could tell it was her. Those blue eyes were unmistakable. She walked with another girl, this one with neat black hair and a red on her head.

"That doesn't make any sense!" said the blue-eyed girl with an annoyed expression.

"Maybe not to a common foreigner," said the other, "but here in Japan, performing our duties reflects on not just ourselves but our family name."

Kaas's eyes narrowed. Japan? That must be the name of this land. It was nice to finally know what this place was called. His eyes followed the girls as they walked past, both engrossed in their argument.

He watched for a good opportunity to follow the blue-eyed girl; for when she parted ways with the other. However, the blue-eyed girl turned on her heel and ran back into the school. The other girl walked off with her nose in the air and a sour aura.

Tch. Kaas let his frustration pass. They would have another opportunity. And sure enough, the blue-eyed girl reemerged. Only this time with a larger gaggle of companions. They were chatting away, completely unaware that Kaas was behind them.

 Then as Kaas was about to creep forward, a large group of people walked past his vision. One of the humans knocked into him. And while Kaas was not staggered, he instinctively looked down at the person for a second.

That was all it took. As Kaas looked back up, his eyes searching desperately for his target, he could not see where the girl had walked.

He was tempted to grab the human who had walked into him by the throat. But he didn't. Kaas let the human look around, confused, then walked away. He must not draw attention to himself even if it took all he had.

"Did you see where she went?!" he asked through gritted teeth.

There were noises of dissent. That girl also had luck on her side.

"She'll be back. I know it."

"I'm sure she will," said Tykus, "What a strange girl."

Kaas nodded, "Something about her seemed off."

"Something? You mean, you didn't notice?" came Ludd's voice from his left.

He looked in Ludd's direction, "That her eyes don't match the rest? Yes, I noticed. The other girl called her a foreigner. She must be a stranger to this land."

"Exactly," said Ludd, "we heard the other girl call her a foreigner."

And then Kaas realized what Ludd meant. They had understood them. They were speaking the language of Ahngreel. But how?

Kaas's eyes turned to where the blue-eyed girl had vanished from sight. He was starting to understand why the Hidaar was so interested in this girl.