_'To the Four Pillars of the Underworld, this is the underworld advisor writing. Please, make your return to your homelands with haste, and as soon as possible. Catastrophe has arrived. A disastrous outbreak—"_

_..._

"Well, shit, looks like that stupid cat ripped out the bottom half..."

"And it turns out to be the most important information too. Who could've guessed?"

"Wait, but if the clue's ripped, how are we gonna find the treasure for the treasure hunt?"

"Idiot... There is no way in hell this letter that looks like it was writting by a kid with middle-school syndrome was sent out by the school. They probably got the actual clue sheet mixed up with some kid's fanfic project."

It was early morning, but the sun shone brightly in the clear sky, casting long shadows of houses and trees across the concrete pavement. In front of a particularly grandiose, two-storied home, four boys huddled around a mailbox embedded into the grassy front lawn. All four of them wore casual, flowy clothes perfect for the hot, mid-summer weather, but each with their own unique style and aesthetic.

Under the sun, four pairs of eyes scrutinized a yellowed letter—one that had been arduously wrestled from the fangs of a temperamental feline thief.

They were looking for clues in the upper half that had not been torn.

In the midst of this eye-reddening examination process, one of the boys—the tallest, and likely also the sleepiest of bunch—yawned. He had deep eyes bags and messy, brown hair. Having just woken up from a one-hour nap and a sleepless night of gaming, he then proceed to hike all the way to his friend's house, which was, notably, up on a hill.

No doubt, he was tired and ready to head home.

"Hey, guys, since this probably—" His sentence was halted by another, irresistible yawn. "—isn't the real clue, how _are_ we gonna get the real clue? Or are we just not gonna do the treasure hunt?"

He looked like he was really gunning for a unanimous agreement on the latter question, but the boy beside him dangerously narrowed his green eyes.

"No way!" His voice erupted in a sudden rise, and he shook his head vigorously. "Listen, this stupid treasure-hunt thing or whatever is worth a shit-ton of points—

"—points which I could _really, really, really_ use right about now... So we can't quit! Let's just go to the school or something and ask for the real clue."

His emphasis on his rapid-fire 'really's gained him no sympathies from his fellow friends and classmates, and his suggestion to pay a visit to the dreadful hell that was school only earned him groans.

"Dude, _you're_ the only one with summer school, and _you're_ the only one lacking in points _and_ braincells. You roped us into this—we only agreed to be on your 'team' because you said you'd host at your house for all of summer, but you know, there's no obligation to help you if the school mailed the wrong clue."

Another boy with longer, black hair piped up. The ends of his hair curled up on his shoulders and around his neck uncomfortably, so he had a hand occupied at all times to brush them away and tuck them behind his ears. The hot weather and his unruly hair had already made him irritated enough, but the mention of school sealed the deal to abandon ship and jump into a pool instead.

A sigh escaped on the side.

"Hey, can we _not_ stand outside, in the sun, and argue about this stuff? We can always talk inside, you know? Or we could just go to the school, get the clue, solve this hunt, shut this guy's mouth, and be done with it?"

Hiding from the sun under the shade of a local liquid amber tree, a boy slumped against the trunk, his face stippled by vibrant filterings of verdant-green leaves. He had a water bottle in hand, but little time had passed since he left his house and it was already half empty.

He was hot and sticky, covered in thick layers of sweat, and wanted to get the activity done with as soon as possible. Thus, despite being the one who had asked the question, he closed the answer window and gave himself the position of the 'ultimate decider'.

"Actually, scratch that, no one has to say anything—we're going to the school. Let's just finish up quickly so we can all head home and do whatever it is we want to do."

After swiping his hair off his shoulder for the millionth time today, the curly-haired boy voiced his agreement.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go for it. I wanna use this idiot's pool afterwards."

He pointed a thumb to the green-eyed boy beside him, who gritted his teeth in annoyance to the not-so subtle insult but ultimately acquiesced to the plan of action.

On the other hand, the sleepy-eyed boy, as the fourth person, practically had no rights in the decision with three out of four 'yes's. With no other choice, he was simply dragged along by the feet by his friends.

The four teen boys set off moments later with a decision settled on majority rule, making their way down the hill and through the streets of the local neighborhood. Sporadic topics arose in conversation along the way, lightening the mood and abating the maddening effect of the summer heat.

Finally, they arrived at their local high school.

Unfortunately, to their great inconvenience, the current day was a joyous Saturday, and summer school was not in session. The gates were locked shut by thick, steel chains.

At this unwelcoming greeting, the boys could have simply looked at the sun-glazed building and the locked-in shelter and turned away, returning on a more convenient day, but they, in fact, did not do so despite claiming to have braincells.

Refusing to turn away at the first sign of opposition from the natural world and make their long walk under the sun become in vain, three out of four once again decided for the team to venture forth.

And so, the four boys somehow found themselves in the awkward position of vaulting the lofty gates and sneaking onto school property likes rotten thiefs.

Like acrobats and monkeys all the same, they climbed the vertical metal bars that made up the wrought-iron school gates. Reaching the the summit, they easily hopped over onto the campus pavement, successfully bypassing the barrier and encroaching onto the boundaries of school property.

_Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!_

One by one, shoes hit the ground, and the boys found themselves standing before a massive building which caused horrifying images and vivid sensations of pain to resurface from the deep recesses of their memories.

All of them were incapacitated in an instant.

A wave of pain struck their heads, like a marching band of horns and drums had invaded their skulls.

The young boys had their visions turned black, their sense of control fleeing from their grasp until four bodies laid still atop the pavement.

Miraculously enough, as one tragedy struck, another fortune was born.

Simultaneously, in another space of existence, buried deep beneath the knowledge of the mortal realm of humans, the Four Pillars opened their eyes.