"Come on, push harder!" Roya grunted, her boots slipping against the stone floor as she threw her entire body weight against the heavy silver.
"I'm trying! Ahhhhh!" Sam screamed, his face completely red with exertion as he pressed his armored shoulder into the metal.
CREAAK.
With a heavy, echoing groan, the massive silver doors finally gave way, swinging inward. Roya and Sam stumbled into the room, gasping for breath.
Roya immediately raised her hands, expecting a fight, but as her violet eyes scanned the room, she completely froze. The shock hit her like a physical blow.
It was entirely different from the bloody, claustrophobic nightmare of the Magical Realm outside.
There was no roof. Massive, broken stone pillars jutted out from the floor like the ribs of an ancient beast, their jagged tops reaching toward the open sky.
The crumbling walls were completely consumed by a breathtaking tapestry of vibrant green vines and brilliant red flowers. The air smelled sweet and fresh, and warm, golden sunlight poured directly down, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. There was absolutely no blood in sight.
"Roya..." Sam whispered, his voice trembling as he pointed a shaking finger forward. "Look there."
In the dead center of the room, directly under the brightest beam of sunlight, sat a pristine stone altar. Laying completely motionless on top of it was a seemingly young woman, perhaps around eighteen years old.
As Roya cautiously stepped closer, the details became clearer. The young woman had long, beautiful silver hair that cascaded over the edge of the stone. One of her pale hands hung limply off the side, completely devoid of life.
VRRRRMMMM.
Suddenly, the air itself began to violently vibrate.
The entire room started warping and distorting, the space tearing at the seams like a shattered painting.
The bright sunlight instantly died. A thick, viscous stream of deep red blood began dripping down the sides of the stone altar, rapidly spreading across the floor and climbing the vines and broken pillars until the entire room was bathed in a horrific, suffocating crimson.
A high-pitched ringing pierced Roya's ears. The sheer magical pressure blinded her for a split second, plunging her vision into pure, static white.
When Roya forced her eyes open, the beautiful sanctuary was gone. The room was a bloody nightmare.
The stone altar had vanished entirely. In its place sat a massive, imposing black throne. Sitting upon it, staring down at them, was the silver-haired lady. She wasn't lifeless anymore.
Before Roya and Sam could even stabilize themselves, the shadows in the corners of the room twisted and expanded.
GROWL.
Five massive, black cats—each the size of a grown leopard, sporting vicious, jagged horns—stepped out of the crimson darkness, completely surrounding them.
Roya didn't hesitate. She instantly pulled a tiny silver needle from her pouch. Her dark, vibrant purple Aether flared to life, surging down her arm and completely engulfing the metal.
The Aether extended and sharpened, turning the tiny point into a lethal, glowing Aether needle the exact size and shape of a hunting knife.
Behind her, Sam pressed his back firmly against hers. He gripped his standard-issue longsword with both hands, his armor rattling violently as he trembled. Sweat poured down his pale face.
"Roya..." Sam swallowed hard, his eyes darting between the massive, horned beasts. "We might actually die here."
"Not before I achieve my dreams," Roya replied coldly, a bead of sweat dripping down her own forehead.
The cats charged.
"Here they come!" Sam screamed, blindly swinging his sword.
Roya ducked under a lethal swipe from the first beast. As a second horned leopard lunged directly at her face, her combat instincts took over.
She dropped flat onto her back against the hard stone floor, raising her elongated Aether needle straight up, partially closing her eyes to brace for the impact.
SHINK.
The heavy beast impaled itself directly onto her glowing point.
SPLAT.
Warm, dark blood dripped down onto Roya's face. She shoved the lifeless, heavy carcass to the side and snapped her eyes open.
"Get off me!" Sam yelled frantically. He was completely overwhelmed.
One of the massive cats had its jaws clamped tightly around his sword blade, ripping it from his grip, while two others circled his flanks, preparing for the killing blow.
(No,) Roya thought, her heart hammering against her ribs. She wiped the blood from her partially closed eye, her violet pupil glowing fiercely. (This can't end like this!)
She quickly aimed her needle straight at the leopard pinning Sam's sword. She pulled deep from her core, pouring a massive, dangerous amount of dense Aether directly into the silver tip.
Her entire body lit up with a blinding purple aura. She was putting absolutely everything she had into this shot.
The other two cats leaped into the air, fangs bared, diving straight for Sam's neck.
"SAM! FALL TO THE GROUND! QUICKLY!" Roya screamed.
"WHAT?!" Sam shrieked, but his survival instincts obeyed. He let go of his sword and threw himself flat onto the bloody floor.
Roya released the energy.
BOOM!
The explosion was deafening. A massive blast of pressurized Aether fired from her hand like a localized hurricane.
The concussive shockwave ripped through the throne room, blowing the two leaping cats violently into the far wall and obliterating the beast holding Sam's sword.
The immense recoil threw Roya backward. Her head slammed hard against the stone floor. Consciousness was violently ripped away, plunging her into a heavy, suffocating blackness.
"Roya... you there! Wake up!"
The voice started as a faint whisper, slowly growing louder and more desperate. Roya gasped, jolting upright with a heavy haa, haa, her lungs burning for air.
Her vision was blurry. As it slowly cleared, she saw Sam sitting on his knees in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders, shaking her frantically.
"Wake up! You can't die like this!" Sam cried out.
"Stop shaking me!" Roya winced, swatting his hands away and grabbing her throbbing head. "I am alright. What happened?"
Sam backed off, letting out a massive sigh of relief. "What was that?! I didn't know you could do that! It saved my life! One of them died instantly, and the other two got stunned against the wall, giving me time to finish them off!"
Roya glanced to the side. The massive, horned leopards lay completely motionless in pools of dark blood.
Then, her mind snapped back to the real threat. "Wait. The silver-haired girl!"
They both whipped their heads toward the massive black throne.
It was completely empty.
Before either of them could speak, a cold, weightless hand gently touched both of their shoulders from behind.
"I am sorry about this," a soft, echoing voice whispered.
Roya froze. The world around her instantly dissolved into absolute, blinding white.
Roya slowly opened her eyes.
"What... where am I?"
She was standing on a massive, incredibly luxurious palace balcony. The architecture was stunning, draped in pristine white marble and gold trimmings that gleamed under a warm morning sun.
She took a step forward to lean against the marble railing, but she stumbled. Her hands passed completely through the solid stone.
Panic flared in her chest. She looked down at her hands. She could see them, but they were faintly translucent.
"WE ARE DEAD, AREN'T WE?!" Sam's hysterical shriek echoed right beside her. He was floating an inch off the ground, flailing his ghostly arms through a solid marble pillar in absolute panic. "I KNEW IT! I'M A GHOST! MY MOTHER WARNED ME ABOUT CREEPY CASTLES!"
"Shut up, Sam!" Roya snapped, though her own heart was racing. "Look around. We can't be dead. This place... it looks like a memory."
"Roya..."
A voice, layered with a strange, harmonic vibration, echoed directly into her mind.
"What?! Who is this? Where am I?" Roya demanded, turning in circles on the empty balcony.
"I do not have the ability to answer your questions," the voice faded in and out, sounding incredibly distant and tired. "But just focus on what you are seeing... I hope it will answer your questions."
The voice faded completely into silence.
"Wait! See what?!" Roya yelled.
WAAAAH! WAAAAH!
The sharp, piercing sound of a baby crying suddenly erupted from the room behind the balcony.
The heavy glass doors burst open. Dozens of frantic maids and armored guards ran out onto the balcony.
"Watch out!" Sam screamed, covering his face.
A maid ran straight through Sam's chest, not even breaking her stride. Sam patted his torso frantically, completely unharmed but deeply traumatized.
"Quickly! Madam needs assistance!" a guard yelled down to the courtyard, a massive grin on his face. "A daughter has been born! Inform the Lord!"
Roya stood still, watching the joyous chaos unfold around her. The sheer happiness of the people in the palace was overwhelming. It was a stark contrast to the bloody, horrific realm they had just fought through.
"A daughter..." Roya muttered.
VRRRRMMMM.
The space around them vibrated violently, the scene blurring and shifting.
When the distortion stopped, the luxurious balcony was gone. Roya and Sam were floating above a dusty, sun-baked training ground. Even though Roya couldn't feel the heat, the visual glare of the high noon sun was intense.
"Woah," Sam blinked, looking around at the knights practicing in the background.
"Did we just teleport? Wait... Roya, look at their faces ."
Roya squinted. Sam was right. The knights swinging swords in the background had completely blurry, indistinguishable faces.
It was like looking at a painting where the artist had given up halfway through.
"It's a memory," Roya analyzed quietly. "The person showing us this only remembers what was important to them at this exact moment."
In the center of the dirt ring, two figures were crystal clear.
A tiny, seven-year-old girl with bright silver hair was panting heavily, holding a wooden practice sword. Standing opposite her was a boy twice her size, leaning casually on his own wooden blade.
"Master, you are too good," the little silver-haired girl smiled, wiping dirt from her cheek.
The boy laughed, a warm, genuine sound.
"Haha! Don't worry, my Lady! Not many seven-year-olds can withstand five seconds with me!"
Roya watched the little girl's bright, innocent smile. (She was just a normal, happy kid,) Roya thought, a strange sadness twisting in her chest. (Who is she? And how is she connected to the Crimson Realm?)
VRRRRMMMM.
The space vibrated again. The sunny training ground dissolved.
Roya and Sam were back on the palace balcony, but the pristine white marble now looked slightly worn. The sky was painted in the deep, melancholic oranges and purples of twilight.
"We jumped forward again," Sam noted, his earlier panic settling into a quiet awe.
The silver-haired girl was older now, seemingly around fourteen years old. She was sitting on a marble bench, a deeply profound sadness shadowing her beautiful features.
Kneeling on the ground directly in front of her was a young knight. He wasn't looking at her; his head was bowed, and he was holding a single, brilliant red flower out toward her.
Roya instantly recognized the vibrant color of the petals. It was the exact same type of red flower that currently overgrew the broken pillars in the throne room.
"My Lady," the knight said, his voice thick with emotion. "You know I have to go. If I don't... how will I ever become strong enough to protect you?"
The girl reached out, her hand trembling slightly as she took the red flower. "Sir Kael," she asked, her voice fragile, "is there really no other way?"
"Also, you should be happy!" the knight forced a weak, encouraging smile, trying to lift her spirits.
"You just manifested the Star Eyes three days ago! You are the youngest human in history to achieve that. Hell, you are the only person I know who has ever achieved that!"
As the girl hesitantly held the red flower, a sudden evening wind swept across the balcony.
The breeze caught her silver hair, blowing it out of her face as she turned her head, looking directly toward the spot where Roya was floating.
For the first time, Roya saw her face perfectly. She was stunningly beautiful, but it was her eyes that completely paralyzed Roya's breath.
Her pupils weren't normal.
They were glowing, radiant, and shaped exactly like brilliant, four-pointed stars shining in the night sky.