Twilight

Twilight is the dimension that Kalin hails from, ok? Got it memorized? The realm acts as a parallel to the world that exists, specifically one in which fantasy and reality coexist peacefully with one another. Here, both magic and advanced technology are implemented in everything from transportation, to medicine, to military. Although this dimension shares many of the Earth's qualities, it (as it's name suggests) is constantly bathed in an unnatural mix of light and darkness.

Here, beings of opposite dimensions are unable to see one another's true forms under normal circumstances.The people only see their dimensional parallels as shadows.Only a small number of people can reach Twilight on their own, and even fewer can actually stay here, as the energy it is made from is often fatal to someone who is not from the place (and there are very few beings who are...). If one is exposed to twilight energy for an extended period of time, however, they can eventually grow resistant to the conditions of this dimension.

Return
Stepping through the portal, Kalin appeared standing atop a giant clock tower, as the light of the realm faded his color. Staring out at the sun as it began to rise.

Rose:Is this really necessary?

''Hmm,well lets think about that. Were you really about to kill Kado? because it seemed like you were about to kill him.''

''I...I don't know. It's happening again, isn't it?''

" I'm not sure if it's happening again. But I don't intend to take that chance.

If it is happening, You might be better of-

"No. We can fix this. No need to resort to that.

''We both know that the seal on your arm was only a temporary fix. Sooner or later, the real me is gonna get out and people are going to get hurt. I don't want that to be you.''

"If the time comes, and there are no other options, I will do what I have to. But as long as there is another way, we will find another way. Do you understand?

''Yeah. So what now? It won't be easy to find him, even in the same dimension...''

As Rose speaks, there is a flash on the horizon. A giant castle appears, floating above the  ocean.

With a reluctant grin upon his face, Kalin says," I believe he's expecting us..."

Do you think the others are there?

"More than likely." He said as he jumped off the clocktower, sprouting wings as he flew towards the structure." But what's a family reunion without the entire family?"

Castle in Twilight
As Kalin approached the castle gates, Color began to return to the world, as a red blur rushed past him. reaching out at the figure, Kalin managed to grab hold of some clothing, accidentally exposing a portion of the individual's rear.

"Hey let go of me! Letgoletgoletgo! You perv!

Rose: Why weren't you ever this forward with me, Kal?

Letting go of the girl with a small feeling of embarassment, Kalin says "Hey, Antoinette. I see you still like buzzing around the front gate."

Adjusting her clothing, Antoinette turned towards Kalin, flipping him off and sticking out her tongue as she did so. "And always the definition of maturity."

"(blows raspberry) What do you want? The last time, you said you couldnt stand it here."

"WITH YOU. Couldnt stand it here with you. Its no good if you dont get the quote right (laughs)."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. He's waiting for you upstairs." Antoinette says as she flies off once again.

Landing in front of the gate, Kalin awaited the doors opening. Suddenly there came a rumbling sound from the gate's other side as a giant deformed creature burst through it,  forcing Kalin to jump back. Just as it appeared that the creature was going to attack, it dissolved in a dark mist, revealing a figure standing behind it.

Nigrum: *points his sword at Kalin* Who are you and why has Antoinette left her post?

"Ah, Nigrum...how are you?...Nope, can't do it. Rose!" Kalin said as he changed forms, Rose now standing before the massive figure.

Rose:(to Kalin)''wimp. (To Nigrum)''"Hi Master Nigrum! You remember me, right?"

Nigrum *coldy* Yes...

Rose: You always were a little...distant with others. But it's nice to know you remember me. I thought I might have to knock on your head a bit to jog your memory. But as to why we're here, we just wanted to say hello to everyone.

Ghost in the Machine?
Within a market square - across the entirety of the square, in fact, the temperature suddenly, and without warning, dropped sharply - almost to freezing point - before returning to normal. In the wake of the temperature drop, some shadows were being cast by objects, seemingly with no source of light to cause them.

As Kalin and Scarlet arrived in the marketplace, they could immediately see the reason why the king had ordered them here. Using a highly advanced sensor, Scarlet begins to analyse various areas, hoping to find the source of the strange occurrences.

"Oh boy. I just love an exorcism at the end of my day," Kalin said, creating a small fireball in his left hand to keep warm. "Why couldn't this thing haunt the hot springs, or a cozy bed?"

Her discomfort in the cold overridden by her scientific curiosity, Scarlet continues to analyse the square."For all we know, this "ghost" is nothing more than a legend cooked up by the townsfolk. These occurrences can easily be attributed to disturbances in the flow of Ethernano in the area."

"Well, you are right about that, doc. Ethernano could do this if it's flow was disturbed. But that begs the question: Who, or what, caused the disturbance? If you ask me, something is here. I may not be able to see it, or feel it, but I know that it's here."

"If only your sense for things beyond sight could give us a definitive conclusion to our question. Nevertheless, it is my ongoing responsibility to ever remain the skeptic in matters such as these..."

Curiously enough, the "thing" causing the disturbance seemed to blanket the entire marketplace. Strange energy patterns could be detect across the entire market square, with higher energy spikes coinciding with more anomalies. There was, however, a pattern - it seemed to gravitate near certain individuals, often many simultanaeously, and eventually one such anomaly appeared around Kalin and Scarlet, in the form of a seemingly brighter area - with the highest energy spike so far.

"Amazing! The levels of ethernano being generated are nearly off the charts!" Scarlet said, her scanner picking up readings coming from all directions.

"Generating? You mean there is something giving off magical energy? Like a lodestone?"

"That appears to be accurate. Perhaps your ghost theory may not be far off... however, the creature we would be dealing with in that case would have a very low energy reading on their own, too low for my scanner to detect."

"I think I can handle that issue. Just let me know the moment another spike occurs." Deciding to take a chance, Kalin whispered, "Hello there. If there is anything out here that can understand me, I promise, we mean no harm to you. You have my word that we only wish to help."

A rather uncomfortable pause followed, with the fluctuations continuing, then suddenly stopping almost entirely without warning, now appearing as simply higher-than-usual levels of energy. There was a large energy spike - invisible to the naked eye, but not to the scanner - directly in front of Kalin. If any could see it, it would be as if a brilliant flame had appeared mid-air - though without heat.

"Umm, Kalin?" Scarlet said, a worried look on her face as she stares at this new anomaly, her scanner nearing the point of malfunction.

"Yeah, I see it." Kalin said, a smile on his face as he started at the flames. Turning to Scarlet, he says," Would you like to see it too?"

Suddenly, the market disappeared altogether, leaving Kalin, Scarlet, and the flame in what appeared to be a white room of some sort. Turning back to the creature, Kalin said, "If you want, you can take a solid form here. You can walk, talk, snarl, roar, or whatever you usually do."

The flames coalesced, a brilliant white "skeleton" forming within them, and in the span of a mere three seconds, a facsmile of a humanoid "skeleton" wreathed in blue flames appeared before the two - with the largest energy spike yet, and it seemed to remain that way, primarily concentrated in the glowing white "bones" - though it wasn't bright enough to cause injury or blindness, nor did the flames seem to burn - in fact, they seemed to be quite cool.

"Would you look at that. Nice to meet you...?

A voice seemed to echo throughout the area, not originating from a single point, but rather from all around at once, sounding almost like metal scraping against metal. The 'head' of the apparition flared up, as a single word rung out: "Exaron."

"Exaron. That's a nice name.(to Scarlet) Can you confirm it's species?"

"Umm...no, I can't. It seems that it's an energy being of some form, but any record of a creature such as this must have been lost long ago."

"Ok, then. (To Exaron) Can you tell us what you are, Exaron? We've never seen a being quite like you before."