One Explanation Later--

We were sitting outside the house on some chairs Svilran brought out. We also had a small table out with some watermelons on it, and Svilran had just finished explaining the situation regarding the Hero Hub to the newcomer. Interestingly, I had watched in real-time how Svilran slowly disarmed and calmed the Imaginal--it must have been that aura she had aiding her. The difference was just that stark. It seemed like the aura was working before--the Imaginal was just so freaked out it didn't look like it had taken effect.

The charred-black Imaginal held their head in one hand. "I... died after all... Damn it..."

"But now you have a second chance to be a Hero!" Svilran said, unwilling to see the Imaginal so sad. "You can help people!"

"If I agree, right?" the Imaginal asked.

"Yes," I said.

The Imaginal looked at their charred hands as Svilran worked up the courage to continue the conversation. "Say... are you okay? You seem like you're injured... Is this actually injury?"

The Imaginal looked at Svilran before nodding. "I was burned by magma. That's probably what did me in..." The Imaginal turned to me. "You said you watched me through some apparatus... Could I please see it? Could I see my corpse?"

Svilran and I exchanged looks, and we nodded.

"Thank you... If I see it... It'll help," the Imaginal said.

 

At the <Observatory>--

"So, right over here," I said, pointing the Imaginal's gaze to one of the screens.

"Fainn," Svilran whispered. "You weren't able to look at the other worlds?"

"You screamed, Svilran. I didn't get the chance," I whispered back.

The Imaginal walked closer to the screen. It didn't seem that the Imaginal nor Svilran had noticed the state of the Imaginal's corpse just yet.

"Did... Did you not see a child?"

A child? Does you mean the punk?

Before I could answer, the Imaginal spoke.

"He would have been young and with blond hair. He also had feathery wings on his back."

"I didn't," Svilran said, her brows knit.

"I didn't see the one you described, but I did see some white-haired kid."

The Imaginal abruptly looked at me while Svilran questioned me. "Really, Fainn?"

"Yeah, he was pretty creepy... If you look at that corpse--"

The Imaginal walked right up to me. "That boy--the white-haired one--what did he do?"

"Uhh," I said, a little shocked by how close they got. "Yeah, I was about to say that he came upon your corpse and ripped off an arm and your head."

Did their eyes go wide? It felt like they did. They turned their attention back to the screen and muttered, "Bastard..."

Svilran looked at me, green in the face and sweating. She must have finally noticed the state of the corpse. I looked over at the Imaginal and saw them feeling their rocky-looking throat.

"Forgive me for asking, but is there anything you can tell us?" Svilran asked. "We pulled you out from this place, but we don't know the situation before then."

"You didn't just pull me out..." they whispered.

"Pardon me?" I asked.

They looked at me, and for the first time, I noticed their pale pink eyes. "You saved me. You've given me another shot..."

With one screen still fixed on the corpse, we sat in front of the telescope. Svilran, her nerves hitting new levels, tried to investigate the world as well as she could while the Imaginal told us their story.

According to them, they had found a child--one that had fallen from a ball of light that was traveling across the sky one night. The child wasn't very talkative, but the Imaginal learned the child was being pursued by something. The Imaginal decided they would help the child, and together, the two traveled in the direction the ball had flown off in. Many days later, the pursuer--the punk--found them, and the battle that ultimately got the Imaginal killed ensued...

There were a few elements that caught our attention, though.

"Svilran... That child--the white-haired creep... What do you think?"

Svilran looked at me with a grim look on her face, having stopped searching the world a few moments before.

"The Neo-Demon? I think... it would be careless of us to not assume the worst."

The Imaginal alternated looking at the two of us, confused about the topic.

"I saw that kid opening a portal too... It's just... could it really be that easy? Did we find something that got out of Earth, or is this an Imaginal Realm-native Imaginal?"

Svilran was solemn. "Earth didn't just hold back malicious energy. There were sincerely the evilest and most corrupting of entities imprisoned behind it... But as we once discussed, the Imaginal Realms are not without evil forces. A Neo-Demon could just be a naturally occurring Imaginal... We don't have information to say either way... Maybe if I saw him, my instincts would say something..."

"And as for the other boy, are we on the same page about what he could be?"

"An angel, you mean?" Svilran asked.

I nodded.

"The question is, is the angel an Earthbound entity or an Imaginal? Historically, angels have been manifestations of good and were born to help keep the prison-system that was Earth, running. That nature would have been inherited by some of the Imaginal Realm's beings, which would explain a negative relationship between Imaginal natives... Regardless, them being chased is concerning."

"Okay. Stop," said the Imaginal. "You two seem to be drawing a distinction and identifying two different categories. I'm a little freaked out by your terminology too. What is Earth, and what is an Imaginal? The child also referred to me as an Imaginal."

"Huh," I said. "I took it for granted that every Imaginal would know they were an Imaginal."

Svilran shook her head slowly. "No, for that... they would need to understand the nature of the Imaginal Realm. That would be a tall order, even for me... But if someone else is calling them an Imaginal..."

"They know a lot more than the average person, at the very least." As my mind was getting tied in knots, I looked at the Imaginal. "You are a type of being We--people from outside the Imaginal Realm--call an Imaginal. You are an Imaginal because you lived in a world that existed within the Imaginal Realm."

"I see..." the Imaginal replied. "Then, if this Neo-Demon was using the term, then he must be from outside the Realm, just like you two. Am I correct?"

Svilran let out a sigh and waved her hand. "You are most likely correct. I don't want to confirm anything, but this is looking a little dire... If the Neo-Demon does have a strong relationship to Earth, then..." Svilran shook her head. "I don't think it's good that it's out there, hunting down angel-like beings. If this is something that was locked up in Earth, or even if it was something that is being influenced by something Earthbound, then it is a giant threat."

"May I ask why it's a threat?" the Imaginal asked.

"Because these are the things we are raising Heroes to help combat," Svilran replied. "Because of their origins and time on Earth, they are also disproportionately strong compared to the average Imaginal. It's just... a fundamental difference. Things from the physical realm--erm, our realm--just have more weight to them.  They could wipe out an indigenous population of a low-level Imaginal world easily."

"Like an invasive species after entering a new habitat," I muttered. "We'd be the conservationists in that case..."

"Hmm..." The Imaginal tapped their finger against their lap as they looked at the screen. "I do think they're from your Realm. The boy, he said things like 'So, that was an Imaginal's power.' I don't believe someone from these Realms would speak in that way."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," I said.

"I..." Svilran said as she gripped her skirt. "I'm leaning in that direction too, but let's keep our minds open in case there are more sinister machinations afoot... Demons can be tricky. I can only imagine what a Neo-Demon could be capable of." Svilran shot the Imaginal an uneasy glance. "Already, this is more than I expected."

"Fair enough," I said. "I don't want to be caught unaware because I got biased to one answer."

The Imaginal, with arms crossed, leaned back in their chair. "I've decided. I'm joining your Hub."