Opening my eyes, I once again found myself in an unknown place, but this time it was greatly different from the last.
I could see, not by the help of my ethyr, but my eyes – my real eyes.
'What is going on?'
I was surrounded by darkness, but this wasn't the absence of light; the darkness moved and shifted unnaturally, as though it were alive.
The ground – if you could even call it that – beneath my feet was both solid and liquid.
My every step sent ripples through the endless darkness despite it feeling solid.
After walking for what felt like hours, I came across an unexpected object. Its golden frame a sharp contrast to the oppressive darkness looming around it, and in its center, the reflection of a figure.
'A mirror?'
I moved closer as I pressed my fingers across its intricate design – carvings of wings and the sun.
It had been a long time since I had seen colour, and even longer since I had seen such extraordinary craftsmanship.
Beautiful.
That was the first thought someone would have if they laid their eyes on it.
Shifting my attention from the frame, I finally noticed my reflection in the center of the mirror.
I stared at the reflection; a small boy bore his gaze onto me, his sky-blue eyes – a pit of emptiness – never leaving mine as his golden, silky hair fell from his shoulders.
I was looking at myself, a sight I thought I would never see – even with ethyr at a 100% capacity, I could not see myself – after the day I lost my eyesight.
[To think you don't even know what you look like.] A voice rang out from behind me.
Surprised, I immediately turned to the source of the sudden sound.
My eyes landed on the figure of a dark silhouette; her face a replica of my own with only her black hair and red eyes differentiating her from me.
[That's quite sad. But don't worry I will fix that.] She continued, her voice laced with mock empathy.
I opened my mouth to speak but she immediately snapped her fingers, and in an instant, my long golden silky hair turned matte black and my once sky-blue eyes turned crimson red.
[Ah~. Much better now.] She spoke, her tone filled with satisfaction as a faint smile crept upon her face.
I opened my mouth to ask what was going on but was interrupted once again.
[Don't you think this is a better look for you. Mmm~. I think it suits your face well, and I also hated that sickening golden hair.]
"What are you – "
[Yes. Yes. I'm sure you are wondering what's going on, but don't worry. I will explain later, for now all you need to know is that your body and mind are currently going through changes, an update you could say, and this is just the waiting screen.]
I opened my mouth to speak but then –
CRACK
The sound of cracking glass echoed through the dark space.
[It seems this is the end of our short meeting, but don't worry we will meet again soon.]
CRACK
[Ah. Before I forget, no matter what happens, do what the kidnappers say, don't resist, and don't use your ethyr past 50% Lu –]
SHATTER
The dark space around me shattered, breaking into millions of pieces before the mysterious figure could finish her last words.
Leaving only a flash of white light where darkness once reigned.
Waking up once again, I found myself lying on a familiar cold hard ground.
The air around me was filled with the stench of something rotting.
Turning myself around, I pushed myself off the floor and stood on my feet.
"Oh, so you're alive child." a familiar voice called out from my side, drawing my attention towards the speaker. It was the man from that night.
I didn't turn, but instead listened as the man's metallic footsteps approached me.
TIP
TAP
Stopping at my side, he spoke, "You really can't see?", his tone laced with skepticism.
With a swift motion, the man moved his hand, placing it on my head. I didn't move or react; instead, I kept listening for what he was doing.
"Hmm", he hummed contemplatively.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke again, "Very well. At least you have a strong ethyr, it will be useful."
Grabbing my hand, he started to pull me out of the room I was locked in.
"Where are you taking me?", I asked, my voice coming out weaker than I would have wanted.
The man didn't respond, and after a few seconds of walking in silence, we finally stopped.
The sound of gears turning followed by a – WHOOSH – indicated that a door had slid open.
Walking a few steps through it, my nostrils were assaulted by the smell of rotting bodies.
I felt sick to the stomach as my legs lost all strength; making me fall to my knees as I started to vomit violently.
"Right. This must be a new experience for you.", said the man in front of me.
His cold demeanor was unfazed by the sheer multitude of death around us.
"You monsters.", I muttered in between the constant hurling.
All around me were hundreds of rooms; rooms filled with decaying bodies of children – I could feel them all using my ethyr.
They all had died clutching their chests; some bodies showed signs of being burnt from the inside, their bodies now piles of molten flesh, whilst others had their heads missing – as though they had been exploded off.
It was a sickening display that brought a flood of unwanted memories into my head and the man in front of me didn't seem to care at all.
"Don't worry, you will get used to it.", the man said.
WHOOSH
The sound of doors opening from a distance followed by rushed footsteps drew my attention.
"Hey Ghost! What do you think you are doing?", an old croaky voice laced with frustration rang out from the end of the corridor.
Turning my focus towards the direction of the approaching figure, I sensed the silhouette of a middle-aged man, his speed increasing rapidly as he walked closer to us.
The man in front of me – Ghost – didn't respond but instead watched as the angry figure approached us.
"The Emperor warned you about breaking protocols.", said the middle-aged man before stopping next to Ghost.
" And besides the boy is probably dea –" the man continued but his voice trailed off as he landed his eyes on my small body that was being covered by the tall frame of Ghost's body.
The man let out a slight chuckle at the sight of me.
"I told you he is a survivor.", said Ghost.
The strange man remained silent for a moment before bursting into a hysterical laughter, "It seems you were right."