Merindale's eyelids fluttered, battling the weight of slumber, as her mind groggily began to piece together the fragmented memories.
Her thoughts spiraled in a dizzying whirlwind, voices echoing in her mind.
 "Where... am I” She murmured as she gradually awakened, her senses swimming hazily. 
She tried to touch her head because it hurt badly. But her hands weighed down with the weight of the shackles that seemed to be made with light. 
Merindale tugged at them realizing that she was a captive. 
But with every tug, those fragile looking shackles became heavier by the seconds. 
Merindale immediately gave up because she understood that she was making it worse. 
Her predatory senses kicked in and her eyes began to search for a way out. 
It took some time for her to adjust her gaze to the overwhelming light condition in the Celestial Realm. She shifted her weight and tried to sit up but she could only position herself on her knees. Her body felt exceptionally lightweight. 
She could almost see through herself. As if she was an apparition , as if she was dead. 
Merindale gasped in horror. 
“ Am I… dead. ”
She looked frantically everywhere. 
It was at this point that her eyes fell on the person hanging a little further away from her. 
Merindale looked closely. 
Her face could not be seen because of her hair that fell over them. Merindale tried peeking at her. She even tried calling her,
“ Hey… can you hear me ma'am. Excuse me. ”
But there was no response. 
“ Psst… psst… ma'am… purr… huuut…taatt taatt. '' She made all sorts of noise to try and draw her attention but she hung like a rag, swaying in the wind. Merindale was about to pout in her frustration. 
It was at this point that a rough gust of heavenly wind blew the hair away from the woman's face. 
Merindale gasped with her mouth open wide, 
“ Aunt Mia! ”
And then she yelled in excitement, 
“ AUNT MIAAAAA! ” Exhaling all the wind out of her lungs. 
***
The four of them went deeper inside the Celestial World, a place where no immortal had ever set foot. 
Akata trailed the elusive apparition through the winding passages of the Celestial realm as the rest of them followed him closely behind. As they navigated the turns Xie grew skeptical by the moments. 
As they reached another turn Akata suddenly stopped. 
“ Careful, “ He spread it arms protectively to stop them from stepping forward. 
 His keen senses had detected a faint distortion in the air and the apparition guiding them had vanished as well. 
Akata closed his eyes, summoning strength from his core revealing a hidden Mirage Abyss right in front of them.It was a deceptive chasm that seemed real but was just an illusion.
Akata only took a few seconds to assess swiftly summoning a bridge of shimmering light.It was his fox light that he used to teleport,however it was eaker to mold it in the Celestial Realm. He dispelled the illusion without much effort with it, providing a safe passage for themselves.They crossed over the illusory chasm unharmed.
And miraculously the apparition reappeared. 
“ Let's go! ”
Xie, Boshu and Roe exchanged worried gazes but they had no say in front of Akata's enthusiasm. 
They took another sharp bend but as soon as they did so, they collided with a wall or a door… but it was invisible. 
“ Akata. We must stop following that thing. It is taking us from one danger to another. We must think straight and not merely with our hearts. Come to your senses boy. ”
When Xie was busy repremanding Akata's decision Roe traced a starry pattern on the wall with which they had collided. 
She ran her fingers over the patterns that started smflowing like liquid. 
“ Shifting constellations… ” Boshu remarked as they gazed at the liquid, gradually inking the air. 
“ I do not have a good feeling about this. This is the language of the Celestial Gods.No immortal can comprehend it's meaning until a Celestial God willingly helps one to understand it. ”
Xie had his hands over his head. 
Akata flet a subtle nudge at his hand. 
He looked down. 
The little apparition was touching his index finger but she hid behind him, from the rest. 
Akata looked around. The elders were too busy with the words that appeared on thin air. 
Then suddenly he found himself capable of reading what that appeared before them. 
“ In realms above and worlds below, I embrace the light with shadows bend. ”
Everyone turned their heads in slow motion towards Akata as he read it aloud. 
“ You can read this? ” Roe asked very puzzled. 
“ Impossible, ” Xie exclaimed. 
Boshu was just too stunned to speak. 
Akata did not answer them. 
He saw walked forwards and 
“... an eternal dance between light and shadow…an endless cycle,” he murmured as he walked without paying his elders any attention. 
His touch illuminated the invisible wall and everybody could see that it was a door. 
A hidden door had materialized, marked by celestial patterns, unlocking the passage forward. 
Akata seemed lost in his thoughts as he rearranged the celestial symbols to form a continuous loop.
He did that for a few times till he was completely satisfied with his anwer and then he stepped back. 
The door resonated with a faint hum, and the symbols illuminated, aligning harmoniously.And then the door creaked open with a loud noise. 
“ Merindale…” Xie gasped as soon as the door was ajar. 
In front of them was a vast stretch of land of neverending green and Merindale's body lay over it. Motionless and still. 
Right beside her was Mia. She was also in the exact same condition. 
“ Mia… ”
“ Mother… ”
Roe and Akata went towards Mia as Xie and Boshu knelt down before Merindale. 
They frantically began checking their beloveds. 
Their bodies had no injury marks but they were not able to find any pulse point. 
Xie pressed his ears over Merindale's nose, she wasn't breathing. And neither was Mia. Roe repeatedly placed her two fingers over her nose and neck but she found no movement… nothing. 
“ Noooooooo! ”
Xie hit the grass with both his hands and fell on the ground defeated. 
This was definitely not something for which they had prepared.
***
“ They are not dead… yet! ”
They heard a voice out of nowhere. 
Akata immediately took a defensive posture, trying to shield the rest of them. 
“ Who speaks? Show yourself! ” Akata demanded. 
It seemed like the air in front of them split open and a glimmering structure of light floated towards them, as the split closed back again. 
“ I am a messenger-God, ” He declared. 
Roe grabbed Akata's hand and pulled him behind her. 
“ It is indeed impressive that you, immortals, could make it this far, ” his tone was laced with mockery. 
“ What did you do to my mother and Merindale? Give them back. Right now. ”
Akata yanked his hand out of Roe's grip and miraculously pulled out two swords from thin air, made of light. Not his fox light but the light that emanated from the Celestial creature who referred to himself as a messenger-God. 
Akata pointed the top of his blade directly at what would be his throat. 
To his surprise the God broke into a loud chuckle. 
“ Impressive… impressive indeed, ” but then with a smooth move he dismantled Akata's swords, flipping him on the ground, not once but twice. 
“ Aku… ” Roe rushed towards him with concern, “ Are you alright my boy? ”
“ You see, we were not wrong when we deemed this creature a threat. He dares to challenge a God in his own realm but he forgot, we are Celestial beings… we know no beginning, nor do we know any end… However, it is a very concerning matter if an immortal yields such devastating powers. ”
Before the last word dropped out of the mouth of the messenger, Akata charged at him, head on, “You murderers… You dare to lecture me after killing my mother and Merindale? I lost my entire family because of you. I lost my all, my childhood and my youth. ”
Akata swept the God for a few miles, unleashing one blow after another on his chest. 
His uncles and aunt ran after him but he was too fast for them to catch him. 
The God's eyes turned red with fury, as crimson smoke flared around him. 
“ You low life… You dare to touch my heavenly silk. ” He glared at him, adjusting his clothes. 
A huge fire was building up behind him and the heat could be felt all over the region. 
It was the hottest fire they had seen in years. Almost matching the intensity of the Eternal Flames. He pulled the fires in his hand as if it was made of string. He spun it into a flaring ball and then directed it at Akata. 
Akata effectively dodged it but alas, dodging wasn't going to solve the problem. 
The fire chased him like a rabid dog. Akata ran and flipped but it was undeterred in his pursuit. 
The others stared in horror as the God smirked in his arrogance. 
Suddenly Akata stopped. 
“ Enough running! ” Akata murmured under his breath as he turned around to face the blazing ball of fire, coming towards him at full speed. 
“ What did you just say? ” The messenger-God looked terribly confused. 
Akata had his eyes closed as the sky around him thundered and roared. The temperature dropped to a chilly level and the heat from the blazing ball now seemed comfortable enough for them to bask in. 
It was Akata's turn to smirk. 
When he opened his eyes, one could see the entire ocean splashing in them. 
Even Roe stepped back, looking absolutely terrified at his new avatar. 
Akata pulled the blazing ball in his embrace. 
It melted and vanished, gradually evaporating. 
“ That wasn't so bad… ” Akata took slow but dangerous steps towards the messenger-God. 
“ Now tell me, where are the rest of them hiding? I need to get even with them. They took everything away from me. It's my turn to take it back from them. ”
Akata grabbed the God by his vest and then dragged him by his neck. 
“ You will pay dearly for this ignorant fool. You can never reach the Gods except by their own free will. Let go of me. ”
Akata kept dragging him foward, breaking into a sprint before disappearing beyond the horizon. 
“ Akuuuu…No.Ghat foolish boy! What do we do now? ”
Roe fell on the ground with her hands above her head as Boshu and Xie ran beside her. 
***
At the Inner Core in the Celestial Realm
“ It is exactly how we had suspected it. His powers are fueled by his emotions and they know no limit. ”
Said one God. 
“ And now he is headed towards us. Should we just end him, getting rid of this matter? ” Asked another. 
“ Don't forget, we are in charge of maintaining balance. Not after personal vengeance. To end a life or not, does not depend on us. It's predestined. We only follow what we has already been inked in the course of the heavens and the realms. ”
The wisest amongst them spoke. 
“ So I guess, it's up to me now to teach this little brat his lesson! '' the one that looked like the youngest amongst all of them stood up as if 
preparing himself for Akata's arrival. 
The air in front of him parted as Akata walked in with the messenger-God. 
Before he could speak a single word, the youngest looking God blasted him with his Energy Rays and then tied him up with chains of light. It looked exactly like the ones with which Merindale and Mia was tied up. 
Akata felt a sudden piercing pain inside his chest and then he saw his body drop under him, as he floated up above in the air. 
Akata tried to tug at his chains, only to tighten their grip. 
He watched helplessly around. 
“ Do you now see your mistake arrogant immortal? Your powers are nothing in front of us. All your whimpering and show off…Do they have any more impact,now that your body is detached?”
Akata was filled with that sudden shock of the moment but the question made him reclaim his place. 
He turned towards the God who was asking the question and laughed. 
“ Why have you been pestering me and plaguing my life if my powers meant nothing? Why could you not let me live my life if I was that meaningless? ”