Ravaz had been gone for a long time. Stephanie waited for him longingly every day. The days passed without a trace. Summer ended, and autumn arrived with its falling leaves, much like her heart, which withered a little more each day.
Then came winter. The rain poured heavily, playing a melody of nostalgia against the windowpanes. In the kitchen, Stephanie was chopping vegetables with a trembling hand, her eyes fixed on the void. She no longer counted days or months; instead, she memorized every silent throb of yearning.
Suddenly, the room filled with a scent she knew all too well. She thought she was imagining it. She continued chopping, showing no reaction... until his voice echoed in her ear:
"Stephanie..."
She froze in place. The knife slipped from her hand. She didn't turn around... her heart turned first. It was truly him.
Her lips quivered as she took a sharp, broken breath. Suddenly, a glow enveloped her from behind; it didn't touch her, but it submerged her in memories. Stephanie inhaled deeply as the scent saturated the air, like someone who had held their breath for years. Then, in a faint voice, she asked:
"Are you... real?"
He whispered in her ear:
"Would you risk everything... just to be with me for a few more hours?"
She turned slowly. Her tear-filled eyes met his.
"With you... until death."
She closed her eyes trustingly, as if surrendering her soul. He placed a small device on her neck. A faint light emerged, wrapping around her from the outside in, covering every part of her, even her internal structure, to preserve her body and prevent it from collapsing during the transition.
At that moment, the glowing disc on Ravaz's back—a radiant circle from which his intricate sigils extended—began to pulse. A beam of pure, transparent light emanated from within him, surrounding Stephanie with extreme precision. It never touched her. It didn't carry her. But its light submerged her, making her a part of him.
Now, she moved wherever he moved. Her physical density did not disappear; it transformed: from matter to frequency. From weight to vibration. And thus, travel between worlds became possible.
Stephanie woke up on a bed she didn't recognize, in a world beyond imagination. The light there whispered instead of shining. The place felt as if it were born from dreams. Ravaz stood beside her, looking at her like a thirsty soul gazing at a distant spring.
She opened her arms and embraced him, whispering:
"Are you okay? I was so scared for you..."
But a sharp voice suddenly rang from the walls:
"Ravaz, return her. Why did you break the law?"
Stephanie gasped in shock:
"My God... Ravaz, the walls are talking!"
He answered calmly:
"This is my home. It isn't just walls; it is a living entity... a part of me. Every room in it preserves a moment of my life."
She whispered:
"I don't think I understand... Can you make it stop talking?"
He smiled gently and said:
"My home, can you be silent?"
Total silence fell upon the house. He turned to her and said:
"I have silenced it... but I cannot stop it. It is linked to my consciousness. Now... what were you trying to say?"
She stepped closer to him, her cheeks flushing, her voice trembling with shyness:
"Ravaz... do you love me?"
He smiled with wonder, then replied:
"Stephanie... do you know that I cross a distance a human mind cannot comprehend, just to reach you?"
She gazed at him with curious eyes, silently saying: Tell me. I don't care how. Just say it.
He continued:
"I love you more than my body is permitted to. More than words can carry. Your love lives in the deepest point of my light... it pulses with every glow through my sigils."
Stephanie's eyes sparked with joy. She laughed and teased:
"Well, that answer truly made me happy."
She leaned toward him, standing on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear:
"I love you more than you can imagine."
Ravaz shuddered, unable to restrain the brilliance of his sigils. She laughed, saying:
"It seems I've given you too much joy... your sigils are exposing you."
Then, in a soft voice full of curiosity, she asked:
"Ravaz... can we be together as a normal couple?"
He was taken aback, but she quickly added:
"Our compositions are so different. I am material. You are made of the light of Azaveria. Your body is non-physical. How can we be together?"
He smiled:
"It is nearly impossible... and yet, it is somewhat possible."
She looked at him seriously and whispered:
"Ravaz... can you promise me something?"
"What do you want me to promise?"
"Promise me that you will fight the world to be mine alone one day."
He fell silent, thinking of the boundaries, of the fate of Azaveria. But her gaze soon melted his resistance. He kissed her forehead tenderly, like a covenant, and whispered:
"I promise... I will."
Ravaz approached Stephanie, his eyes shining with a strange light like stars before dawn, his voice flowing smoothly as if playing a hidden string in her heart:
"Stephanie... would you like to see something truly magical? I know your passion for mystery and other worlds."
Her eyes fluttered in surprise, as if she had just emerged from a tunnel of wonder. She murmured in awe:
"Ravaz... I haven't asked you before, but now... tell me honestly, where am I? Am I truly... in Azaveria?"
Ravaz smiled, then looked up at the ceiling of his home, which seemed endless, as if merging with cosmic stillness. Suddenly, the ceiling shifted from total transparency to a mirrored clarity, allowing those inside to see out without being seen.
Stephanie tilted her head back slowly, her eyes widening as she watched swarms of luminous creatures fluttering in harmony, like a dance of light woven into the night. The black sky was veiled by them, like trembling lanterns swaying to the rhythm of a celestial silence.
Ravaz watched her childish wonder, that rare marvel lost by those who have forgotten how to be amazed. Then he said quietly:
"Yes, Stephanie... you are now in Azaveria. Azaveria is unlike any world you have known. We are further from Earth than any human mind can grasp... a place they consider beyond the boundaries of reality."
"We are beings of eternal light... and to it, we shall return."
Stephanie smiled with playful affection, trying to soften the staggering truth pressing on her thoughts:
"You don't look entirely made of light... at least not as you describe it. You have soft skin on your face and hands, and the rest of your body is wrapped in a shadowy darkness, decorated with glowing sigils... like suns, but warmer... and more delicate."
Ravaz smiled, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes, then replied:
"What you see is but a superficial illusion... a passing image. But inside... there is nothing but light. No organs, no blood, no veins. In my essence, I am pure light."
She raised her eyebrows in shock and asked:
"How do you stay alive? Don't you eat?"
Ravaz stepped closer, lowered his head slightly, and said:
"We live on energy."
Stephanie replied: "What? Are you electronic devices that need charging?"
Ravaz laughed in amazement:
"What? No, we are not. That energy is absorbed by an elite group of 'Shadows of Light' called 'Energy Beings.' They absorb it from the sun's rays on Earth, then transfer it to the 'Second Generator,' which in turn distributes it to all creatures of Azaveria, according to their dimensions and compositions."
Stephanie asked in bewilderment: "Why Earth?"
Ravaz continued:
"When sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, it is filtered. The secret isn't in the sun itself, but in Earth's sky. That is what makes it absorbable by the Energy Beings. They return to us with that energy, and the Second Generator reshapes it to suit every being in Azaveria."
Stephanie nodded and said:
"I see... the Second Generator, as you call it, is like the heart that pumps blood to every corner."
Ravaz smiled again:
"Almost, yes. But here, the Generator has roots extending to every part of our world. Energy, for us, is what keeps us alive."
Stephanie said: "I think I understand now."
Then she suddenly approached him and asked enthusiastically, reaching her hand toward Ravaz:
"I want to touch that circle on your back."
Ravaz said lovingly: "You can, anytime."
As Stephanie touched it, she said in wonder:
"Ravaz, why does it expand and contract? It's just like eyes reacting to light. And why can't I feel your inside? I thought I would."
Ravaz replied, surprised by her endless questions:
"What you are touching is the center of my sigils. And my sigils are not ordinary; they are more like organs to us. Each has its own function. As for why you can't feel my inside, it's because it is protected by an invisible aura... but it can be felt."
Stephanie said with love and tenderness:
"That warmth... that feeling I get when I touch you, it gives me a lovely shiver... it touches my heart without permission."
Ravaz smiled with shyness and love. But Stephanie continued her little exploration, and when she touched the "Sigils of Fate" at the base of his back, she asked:
"Ravaz... these two sigils seem completely separate. All your other sigils branch upward from that circle... so why do these two branch downward?"
Ravaz answered in his usual calm voice:
"Don't rush... I will tell you. As I told you before, what you call a circle is actually an exit for the spirit of eternal light within me. As for these two, they are the Sigils of Fate: my destined path. The Sigil of Governance... and the Sigil of Lineage. I will be the next ruler of Azaveria... and this one here is for my daughter."
Ravaz paused for a moment, as if opening an old wound. He took a deep breath and said:
"I was supposed to have a Marriage Sigil as well... but that never happened. No wife was ever written into my Marriage Sigil. I was the first in Azaveria to be born without one."
Stephanie, who was listening intently, wanted to know more about Ravaz. Everything she saw and heard amazed her, but what piqued her curiosity most were the "Sigils of Fate."
She asked with visible astonishment:
"Ravaz, what are you saying? I thought marriage, the number of children, even choosing a career... were all matters of personal choice."
Ravaz replied:
"We do not choose as you do. We are born from the womb of Azaveria. Azaveria chooses what suits each individual through perfect harmony. Our roles and professions are also chosen by Azaveria according to the energy structure of each 'Shadow of Light'."
He continued, pointing lovingly to the "Sigil of Lineage":
"As for children, isn't it wonderful to see your offspring every day, to feel their presence inside you?"
He paused briefly, then added:
"They told me it's a girl. I wonder what she will be like. Based on the clarity of the sigil, I think she will be strong."
Stephanie looked down in embarrassment and thought to herself: Since there is no wife yet... could I be the mother of his daughter?
She whispered from the depths of her heart: "I truly hope so."
Ravaz noticed her silence and asked: "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly go quiet?"
Stephanie startled, afraid for a moment that he might have heard her inner voice. "Nothing. I was just thinking... do humans know you exist?"
He shook his head, saying:
"Only a very few humans on Earth know of us. One or two individuals in specific positions. They are the ones we trade with. Some look for precious stones and rare items, others want advanced technologies, and a few ask for things simpler than you can imagine."
He continued: "In return, they allow us to roam as we please to collect sunlight. However, no one knows who we truly are or where we came from. With a bit of disguise, the skin you see stretches to cover the entire body, and thus we look exactly like humans. We only appear in arranged meetings. Most of the time, we move through hidden flashes of light."
Stephanie looked at him in awe:
"But I... I saw you when I was a child. I saw beings like you... three-dimensional shadows moving."
Ravaz nodded:
"Yes, there is a rare group of children under the age of eight who can perceive us in our true forms. Despite our disguise, their minds translate the image into moving silhouettes. You were one of them."
Stephanie responded with excitement and emotion:
"Yes! I remember that day so well. I can't describe what I felt, but I was happy."
Ravaz interrupted her:
"I felt it too. It was as if I found a missing part of my soul. I don't know how I dared to wave to you... and when you smiled, I lost all control."
Stephanie laughed and teased him:
"I know. My charm has been irresistible since childhood."
He smiled at her and said: "Is there anything else you'd like to ask? I can see you have a question."
Stephanie said, blushing:
"Yes, I do. You told me once that you cannot lie, no matter how hard you try."
Ravaz nodded curiously: "That is true. What's on your mind?"
She looked at him and asked softly, in a voice barely audible:
"Have you ever loved anyone before me? And... will we have a future together?"
He looked at her for a long time and said:
"No, I have never loved anyone before you, and I never will. As for the future... I don't know. The future is always in flux; it depends on choices. But I truly hope we have a future."
He smiled clearly, then asked in a softer, more serious tone:
"You know... the suit protecting you won't last long here, especially at this time. Would you like to see something truly magical before it's too late?"
Stephanie looked at him in confusion, then looked at herself and raised her hands:
"What suit are you talking about? I'm just wearing my normal clothes."
Ravaz burst out laughing, clearly amused by her lack of realization. Waving his hands as if explaining something obvious, he said:
"Oh, Stephanie... do you really think your human body could survive the energy of Azaveria without protection? Your veins would have ruptured in moments. The suit is soft as light; you can't feel it."
He placed his hand gently on her neck and asked:
"Tell me... didn't you feel something strange around your neck?"
Stephanie smiled and touched her neck curiously, laughing:
"Actually, yes. It felt like something was stuck there, but I didn't pay it any mind. I thought maybe it was a watermelon seed or something."
Ravaz exploded with laughter, almost losing his balance. He stepped back, saying:
"A watermelon seed? By the Eternal Light, you truly have a vivid imagination. And dead skin too!"
"Stop laughing! That's annoying!" she shouted, chasing him and trying to hit him while he ran away, laughing hysterically.
"Oh no, the rebellious Stephanie is loose! Save Azaveria!"
Stephanie hadn't paid much attention to the details of the house at first, as if she were still catching her breath from everything she had just experienced. But bit by bit, as she followed Ravaz, the place began to reveal its unique soul...