Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana.

Note: This is a short spin-off to Shakugan no Shana: Eternal Destiny. Please review.

Prologue: History of the Brothers

Many ages ago, before the Snake of the Festival had been sealed away through the combined efforts of Alastor and an army of Flame Haze, there was another Crimson God, one who held absolute power over the elements of the Earth.

Her name was Gaia, but her full title was the Hand of Eden.

Out of all the other Crimson Gods, she was the only one to bear children, and three of them at that. They were all born on the same day, and each commanded one element.

Ziz was the most persistent and stubborn. He was also the most impatient and unpredictable. These characteristics mirrored his element: wind. He had wings many times larger than his own body, and with these wings, the Crimson Lord was not only swift, but a single flap could create a strong hurricane.

There was also Leviathan. Like his element, water, he was the most capable of adapting to any situation. He was also manipulative and clever.

Then there was Behemoth. Out of all his brothers, he was the toughest and most patient. He was also the most peace-loving, but his ambitions were dwarfed by those of his kin.

When it came to pass that their mother Gaia initiated her plan to bring peace to the world by altering the very landscape of the Earth, she was confronted by the Flame of Heaven Alastor and the Snake of the Festival, who had forged a temporary alliance with each other.

After a long battle that could have very well ended the world, Gaia was defeated and stripped of her power before being sealed in another dimension. A dimension the Snake of the Festival had created for just that occasion.

However, before she had gone to battle, she planted an Unrestricted Method in each of her children that, when broken through death, would grant the power and immortality of a Crimson God to whoever remained of the three.

And so, after her fall, Leviathan and Ziz battled against each other in order to be the successor of their mother. But Behemoth was not like them. Instead of taking the offensive against them, he decided to only defend himself or avoid conflict altogether. And eventually, he retreated to the Crimson Realm.

After a while, Leviathan and Ziz realized that their brother had fled from their contest, and in doing so, would be most likely to be the winner. So they called a truce, and decided to hunt him down first before settling things with each other once and for all.

Shortly before the second fall of the Snake of the Festival, Ziz had allied himself with Bal Masque and fought against the Flame Haze of his brother, Behemoth, who had promised to surrender his life if the said Flame Haze was defeated.

However, in a battle that raged above the rooftops of a parallel copy of Misaki City and ended on the ground, Ziz was the one that was destroyed, and the Flame Haze, Khamsin Nbh'w, who appeared to be nothing more than a young, dark-skinned child, emerged as the victor.

Not long after that, Khamsin met the daughter of his other brother, Leviathan. She had acted as a spy for her father against the Snake of the Festival to make sure that the Crimson God would not ruin his plans. Her name was Lorelei, the Caressing Melody, who had the appearance of a blue-skinned sea nymph with long red hair. Although, when she masqueraded as a human, only her hair was consistent.

Now, after so many years of avoiding battle, Behemoth had no other choice but to settle things with his other brother, Leviathan, or the elements of the world would suffer imbalance.

Accompanying him and his Flame Haze on their quest were Lorelei, who would take them to her father for their final duel, and Leanan-sidhe, the Spiral Organ, whose true form was that of a young girl with short lavender hair. She had always been searching for a means to restore something very precious to her, and may have found the answer in the journey that lied ahead.

As they boarded a bus that would take them outside Misaki City, Shana, Yuji, Hecate and the rest of their comrades saw them off. They would see them again, if all went well. But Khamsin could not help but feel a little worried, even if he did not show it.

Somehow, Leanan-sidhe knew how he felt and put her hand on his. "I have never entrusted myself to anyone so much before," she said. "But I have faith in you."