The soldiers flew on either side, startled as Merindale swung the door to her father's chamber open with a loud kick. 
Her eyes were blazing with fury as she stormed in, her cloak billowed behind her like a tempestuous wind.
"Father," she spat, her voice was a mixture of anger and betrayal. "Why did you do this? Since when did you become a coward?” she huffed. 
“Merindale? ” Xie and Ruby were in their bed. They sat up as she entered. 
“My dear girl…where are you coming from? What happened?” Ruby tried to ask.
“ Don't try to act like you have been doing over the years. I know everything. I saw uncle Lin and what you did to him.”
Ruby opened her mouth but Xie raised a hand. 
“ I acted for your well-being. You cannot fathom the dangers lurking beyond our realm. I know what I did might not have been the best thing to do but that was all I could think of at the moment and as the Wolf King and your father, I am entitled to my decision." He concluded. 
"Enough!" Her fists clenched as she paced before him, the echo of her footsteps reverberated through the room.
Her stance took them by surprise all over again. 
"Do not deceive yourself. This was not for me. You sought power, control…nothing more!You were scared…She was your sister, wasn't she? Aunt Mia? Had she not suffered enough? You let her suffer more all by herself?”
His eyes flickered with a hint of remorse before a steely resolve settled in.
 “You misunderstand, child. The realm's safety is more important and sacrifices… ”
“Sacrifices?Why was aunt Mia, uncle Lin and Akata's life more sacrifice worthy than us? 
No more lies, Father!”
Her voice reverberated, shaking the very foundations of the chamber.
With a swift motion, she drew her new found sword, it's blade shimmered in the dim light. “You've tarnished our name, stained our legacy!”
The Wolf King rose, his presence towering over her. 
“Merindale, put down your weapon. You don't understand the weight of leadership…”
It was at this point that he realized the identity of the sword that she carried. 
“ How do you have that? Where did you find it?”
“ Your mother handed it over to me. With a message. You, father, are an illegitimate child, unworthy of the Wolf Throne… ”
It was Ruby's turn to interfere. She grabbed the sword from her hand and took its possession. She slapped Merindale across her face. 
“ That's a vile woman,Merindale. How dare you believe her and behave like this with your father. You will apologize to him right now. ”
“ I will if he brings Aunt Mia back and apologizes to her, Uncle Lin and Akata. ” Merindale answered unhinged. 
Ruby raised her hand once more but Xie stopped her before she dealt the blow. 
“ There is no way of bringing Mia back… the rules of the Celestial realm… ”
“ The rule of betrayal, you mean!” 
Her voice quivered with emotion, as she mocked him on his face. 
 “I will not stand idly by while you cloak your inaction in false righteousness.”
A tense silence hung in the air, the clash of wills palpable. 
They could hear each other’s heart beating against their rib cages. 
Xie's expression softened, his gaze finally meeting hers with a father's regret. 
“I've failed you, haven't I?”
“You have,” she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes.
“ I am sorry my dear girl. But the realm will not suffer for your whims . I will ensure that.
GUARDS! ”
Xie barked. 
Merindale found herself surrounded by armed guards, ready to drag her to captivity. 
“ Is this all you can do father? ”
She scoffed. 
She turned on her heel but they were quick to get hold of her. 
Merindale could feel her rage building up in her chest. 
As Merindale struggled against the guards' grips, her eyes blazed with defiance. 
“Let me go! I won't be held like captives!” she yelled. 
“Restrain her! She must learn her place!”
“I won't be silenced!”
Her voice carried a haunting melody, vibrating through the stone walls. As her anger intensified, the castle quaked, debris raining down from the ceiling.
Her father's eyes widened in alarm. "Stop this madness, child!"
Merindale fought against the guards with all she had eventually her frustration surged to a boiling point. With a deafening scream, her siren powers erupted uncontrollably
The ground trembled violently, the walls groaned in protest, and with a final, deafening crescendo, the castle collapsed around them, engulfing everything in chaos.
“Merindale, no! Control yourself!”
Xie and Ruby tried to reach out to her. But the deafening scream continued unabated, tearing through the castle until it collapsed, leaving only ruin in its wake.
It was too late.
*******
The Celestial Realm
This was a world outside worlds. 
Beyond what eyes could ever witness or mind could ever comprehend. 
It was a realm where a pantheon of beings, deemed as Gods, resided for eternity.
The flora and fauna of this realm strangely resonated with that of the land where the Tree of Knowledge was rooted in the immortal world. 
The atmosphere glowed with a myriad hue of colors, comprising all the shades available across the spectrum. 
It seemed like an average day in the Celestial world as the Gods floated around in their elemental forms. 
They seemed devoid of any true physical forms,just abstract translucent bodies that glowed. 
The crystalline dew dripped down the leaves that seemed made up of precious metals, mimicking the sound of a chime that rang at a regular interval.
The place knew a serenity that could not be explained. 
The entire realm was colorful but nothing was vivid.There was a subtle glow that cast a foreshadow over it all except for the heart of the floating ball. 
Yes, it was like a spherical floating orb cushioned on top of a layer of golden clouds, as if a baby swaddled between tender sheets. 
A little shimmering apparition, bounced over those clouds, happily. 
Suddenly the serenity of the realm was disrupted with the heavy metallic sound of a gong reverberating through the realm. 
The little ghostly apparition blinked her eyes as she stumbled over and then sat up, while the Gods in the realm began running here and there as if in a state of emergency in full alert. 
*****
Back at the Wolf Kingdom -
Xie and Ruby followed after Merindale, both looked panic stricken 
Merindale turned around, about to dart in the other direction when a Celestial blast sent her and her parents reeling in opposite directions. 
The air was charged up with some strange energy, and tendrils of prismatic light coiled around Merindale, lifting her from the floor. 
A haunting melody along with a radiant vortex of energy materialized right on top of her head. 
Sparkling nets of light cascaded around her cloaking her as if in a cocoon. Radiant and ethereal, they surrounded her with grace, their gentle touch masking an intent to transport her to a distant realm beyond mortal or immortal reach.
Her form faded away from the immortal realm as she was spirited away to a celestial plane beyond comprehension. 
She extended her hand towards her father who scurried after her but her mother seemed dumbfounded, unable to react. 
With a flash of celestial light, she vanished, leaving only a faint echo of a howl lingering there. 
*****
At the Bird Tribe -
Akata was at his tent when he felt a twitch in his heart. 
He dropped the feather he was working with and decided to take a walk. 
He hardly leaped a few miles ahead when he met the same old woman again. 
He looked at her suspiciously but she looked at him, concerned. 
But before they could have a conversation Akata detected another presence. 
There was movement in the bush. And it parted to let out a gigantic wolf. 
The wolf leaped right at Akata's feet. 
Xie transformed back into his immortal form and placed his crown at Akata's feet. 
Akata was startled but he could sense something was terribly wrong. 
“ They have her. They took her to the Celestial world. Save her. Please. You are the only one who can do it. ”
It only took moments to sink in. 
Blasts of memories began filling Akata as if triggered by this sudden shock. 
Everything started coming back to him, from his childhood spent with Merindale, Xie, Ruby, Roe, to his mother being kidnapped right before their eyes to him jumping in the Eternal Fire and finally Merindale rescuing him. 
Akata grabbed his head, unable to bear the pain of all of it rushing in together. 
He let out a howling roar as the waves of the ocean came forward, at his command, drenching the entire forest floor