Chapter 150 149: My parent, My sister & My friend

Chapter 150 149: My parent, My sister & My friend
The fall felt endless.

Seraphine Emberlain and Damien Drakaris tumbled through the rift like stars torn from the sky.

Wind roared around them.

Colors twisted violently: silver, blue, emerald, white, spiraling through the void as the portal carried them between worlds.

Every nerve in Damien's body burned. It felt as if something inside him was being pulled apart and rebuilt at the same time.

His vision blurred. Light shattered across his eyes. Then-

Everything stopped.

Their bodies hit the ground with a dull thud. For several seconds neither of them moved. The world around them was quiet.

Too quiet.

Damien gasped for air, his hands pressing into the cold, damp soil beneath him. He slowly pushed himself up. His head was spinning. He expected glowing skies. Floating mountains. Magic humming in the air the way it did in Aetherborn. But instead-

He saw trees. Plain trees. Tall, rough-barked trunks stretching upward into a gray sky. No glowing leaves. No magical currents. Just wind rustling through branches.

The air smelled like rain and earth. Simple. Natural. Almost... empty.

Damien blinked slowly.

"This is... the human world?" he whispered. His voice carried a mix of disbelief and confusion.

Seraphine brushed dirt off her clothes as she stood. "Yes." She smiled slightly. "Welcome to Earth."

Damien stood up beside her, looking around again. He frowned. "There's no magic."

Seraphine paused. "That's not entirely true."

She quietly reached inward, feeling the familiar pull of the AetherCurrent. A small glow flickered across her fingertips.

Her eyes widened slightly. "My magic is still here." 

She hadn't expected that.

When her mother had once come to the human world, her powers had weakened significantly.

But Seraphine was half human.

Maybe that was why the magic remained.

She let the glow fade and looked at Damien. "Well," she said lightly, "that's good news."

Damien looked around again. "This place feels... strange."

Seraphine laughed softly. "You'll get used to it." She glanced around the forest. "We should probably find a road."

They had landed in the middle of a thick wooded area. Tall trees surrounded them on every side.

Seraphine began walking confidently through the forest, pushing aside branches as Damien followed behind her.

After several minutes of walking, they reached the edge of the woods.

A road stretched ahead of them.

And it was loud. 

Cars rushed past in both directions, engines humming and tires gliding over the pavement. Bright lights flashed. Horns occasionally sounded.

Damien froze.

His eyes widened.

"What... are those?"

He pointed at the vehicles racing down the road.

Seraphine tried not to laugh. "Those are cars."

Damien watched one zoom past. "They're carrying people."

"Yes."

"But... how?"

He looked genuinely baffled. "Is it some kind of magical spell?"

Seraphine shook her head. "No magic." She smiled. "Humans built them."

Damien stared at her. "You're telling me humans created machines that move this fast... without magic?"

"Exactly."

He watched another car pass. "That's... terrifying."

Seraphine laughed. "You'll get used to it."

She stepped toward the side of the road and raised her hand.

A yellow taxi slowed and pulled over.

The driver rolled down the window. "Where to?"

Seraphine opened the door and gestured for Damien to get in.

He climbed inside cautiously, still looking around at everything like a confused tourist.

Seraphine gave the driver the address of her uncle's house.

The taxi pulled away from the curb and joined the moving traffic.

Damien pressed his face slightly toward the window.

The city rushed by outside. Buildings. Streetlights. People walking. More cars.

His mind struggled to process it all.

"This world moves very fast," he murmured.

Seraphine smiled. "You have no idea."

After about twenty minutes, the taxi stopped in front of a large house.

The driver turned around. "That'll be thirty dollars."

Seraphine blinked.

Right.

Money.

She reached into her bag where she had stuff in it, including gold and diamonds she had taken from Aetherborn, it had no value there and was only used for decoration. She pulled out a piece of gold. She handed it to the driver confidently. 

"This should cover it."

The man stared at the gold piece. Then he looked back at her. "What is this?"

"Gold."

The driver frowned. "Lady, I asked for money."

Seraphine frowned too. "But this is real gold."

He snorted. "Yeah right."

He handed it back. "I don't want fake jewelry. I want cash."

Seraphine sighed. "It's not fake. This gold could change your life."

The driver crossed his arms. "Look, if you don't have money, just say that." His voice grew sharper. "Otherwise I'm calling the police."

Seraphine looked genuinely frustrated now. "I'm telling you it's real-"

The front door of the house suddenly opened. A woman stepped outside. She looked toward the taxi curiously. Then she froze.

Her eyes widened. "Seraphine?"

Seraphine turned and instantly her face lit up.

"Juna!"

She jumped out of the taxi and ran toward the woman. Juna gasped in shock as Seraphine threw her arms around her.

Juna stared at Seraphine as if she were looking at a ghost.

Her hands trembled slightly.

"What happened to you?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Where have you been? It's been years, Sera... years. You just disappeared. What happened?"

Seraphine hugged her even tighter. "I'll tell you everything," she said gently. I missed you so much."

Then she noticed Damien standing awkwardly beside the taxi. "And who is this?"

But first, Juna quickly turned to the taxi driver. She pulled out some money from her apron pocket and handed it to him.

"Here. Take it."

The driver grabbed the cash and drove away without another word.

How about Uncle, his wife... and Calista. How are they?" Seraphine asked.

Juna scoffed quietly. "They're fine," she said. "When you first disappeared, they reported you missing to the police. They searched for a while."

Seraphine stayed silent, waiting.

"But after months passed and nothing came up," Juna continued bitterly, "the police suggested going public. You know... television, news reports, asking people if anyone had seen you."

"And?" Seraphine asked quietly.

Juna shook her head. "Your aunt and uncle refused. They said maybe you had run off with a boy or something. They said they couldn't keep wasting time looking for you."

Seraphine's expression didn't change, but something inside her seemed to close.

"So... they stopped looking."

The room fell silent.

Seraphine let out a small breath. "Where are they now?"

"Vacation," Juna replied. "Family vacation. They left about a month ago. They should be back by the end of the month."

She hesitated.

"Do you want to see them?"

Seraphine shook her head slowly.

"No. There's no need. It seems they moved on just fine without me."

Her voice remained calm, but the quiet ache beneath it was impossible to miss.

"I only wanted to make sure everything was okay. And it seems the only person who truly cared... was you."

Juna's eyes softened. "I never stopped looking for you," she said firmly. "Not once."

Seraphine smiled at that. "At least someone missed me."

Juna leaned forward eagerly. "But tell me the truth. What really happened to you?"

Seraphine laughed softly. "Do you remember that day I told you I got a strange letter at school? The one inviting me to an academy?"

Juna frowned slightly, trying to remember, "Yes..."

"They told me to open a door that night," Seraphine continued. "And when I did... it took me somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Juna repeated.

"To a magical academy."

Seraphine then told her everything. About Aetherborn Academy. About magic. About vampires, werewolves, dragons, and incubi. About the powers she had discovered within herself.

Juna listened in stunned silence, her eyes growing wider with every word.

"That's impossible," she whispered finally.

Seraphine smiled faintly.

"Watch."

With a simple flick of her fingers, golden light swirled around Juna.

Before Juna could react, her feet slowly lifted off the ground.

"AH!" she gasped.

Seraphine laughed and floated herself upward, her long hair drifting around her like silver silk.

Juna stared in complete shock. "You're flying!"

Seraphine gently lowered them both back to the floor.

Juna covered her mouth. "Dragons... vampires... magic..." she muttered. "All of it is real?"

Seraphine nodded. "There's an entire world hidden beside this one."

Juna sat down slowly, overwhelmed. "I can't believe this..."

Then suddenly she threw her arms around Seraphine. "But I'm just happy you're back."

Seraphine hugged her tightly.

After a moment, she stepped back and placed a small pouch into Juna's hands.

Juna opened it and gasped. Inside were glittering gold coins and sparkling diamonds.

"Sera... this is-"

"Enough to change your life," Seraphine said softly.

"You don't have to stay here anymore. You don't have to work as a housemaid."

Juna looked up, stunned.

"Sell them. You'll have millions. Live the life you always deserved."

Tears filled Juna's eyes.

"Sera..."

"You were everything to me," Seraphine continued gently. "My parent. M
y sister. My friend. The only person who ever cared about me."

Juna hugged her again, crying this time.

Then she pulled back with a mischievous smile.

"So..." she said. "That handsome boy who came with you."

Seraphine blinked. "Damien?"

Juna grinned. "Yes, Damien. Are you two dating?"

Seraphine laughed. "No."

But the small smile on her face made Juna raise an eyebrow.

"Not yet," Juna teased.