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'Good. This is a perfect opportunity to find the weak spots in the Palace. I'll ask Aya for help. Maybe she knows a way.'
"There's only one way to find out."
I already knew the route from our previous walk, so I didn't get lost on my way down. It was strange for everything to change in mere minutes, yet with the separate flow of time here, it made sense. Or at least, it was something I'd begun to accept.
"Where have you been?"
That familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
I turned, and it unmistakably belonged to Aya. Compared to the last time we met, she had changed.
"You've grown."
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Her expression hardened slightly, just enough for me to notice.
"Wipe that tint off your face."
Before I could respond, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing there with my thoughts and a faint, embarrassed heat on my cheeks.
'Oh Stars, what expression did I make?'
I froze, did I made an awkward face? Since I couldn't see my face, I let it slide and followed her.
"Hey, Lady Elara asked me to meet you."
I lied.
"She said you would be the one to guide me through the palace."
At the mention of Ela's name, she paused.
It's not a lie actually. I was told to hang around and do 'anything' as long as I didn't learn anything magical. Sneaking out of the palace isn't a crime. Not that I know of. For what's worth, that ignorance is my free trial.
After a brief moment, she turned and walked in my direction.
"Let's go then."
She said without hesitation.
We walked side by side, our steps falling into an easy rhythm as we talked about the short time we'd spent apart. The conversation drifted from small things to nothing in particular, and before I realised it, we'd been walking for quite a while.
The palace stretched endlessly around us, familiar yet always shifting, and for a moment I nearly forgot both today's mission and the one I'd set for myself.
"Hey, Aya. Did you ever plan on leaving this place?"
"What?"
I winced.
"Uh, that came out wrong. I didn't mean leaving Elyvra. I meant the palace. You know… going outside. Feeling the world for once."
She slowed slightly, as if the thought had weight to it.
"Oh. That's actually been on my mind. I just… haven't tried it."
I let out a quiet sigh before I could stop myself. The idea of stepping beyond these walls felt distant, almost forbidden, yet the more I stayed here, the more the palace began to feel like a beautifully decorated cage. My body is itching for exploration.
"I know everything is available within the Palace, but it wouldn't hurt to see what's on the other side. I'm really curious."
"Do you know there are one entrance and ninety-nine exits in this Palace?"
"Heh, ninety-nine of them?"
"Yes. The building has nine hundred and ninety-nine floors. We're currently on the tenth, and within each set of one hundred and eleven floors, there are nine randomly placed exit doors."
"We don't have time to inspect all of them. Not when each floor feels like a world of its own."
The scale of it all settled on me again, heavy and suffocating.
The palace wasn't just large—it was immeasurable. Walking from one floor to another would take ages, maybe even years if time here decided to drag its feet.
That was why the portal doors existed. Even the Angels who could fly didn't bother travelling the long way. They stepped through space itself instead.
The number of portals on each floor was unknown, but Aya seemed to know where the nearest ones were. She always did.
She moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had memorised the palace long ago, while I was still trying to grasp just how small I was within it.
"I know a place. Stay quiet and follow me."
Whatever it was, my curiosity won and I followed.
We moved deeper into the palace, taking deliberate turns, slipping through one chamber into another, passing through hidden entrances and narrow exits that folded into each other like a maze designed to confuse intruders.
After a while, I was completely lost. If things went wrong, I'd probably have to cry out for Ela to come and retrieve me.
"You really do know this Palace."
"This is part of the three per cent I know. Keep up."
Aya didn't slow down.
She led the way through more concealed corridors, forgotten rooms, and silent portals that hummed faintly when we passed.
These floors felt deeper than the rest. I was certain that if anyone spotted us here, we'd be sent straight back. But Aya moved with precision, weaving through blind spots and empty passages. Most of our route stayed within tunnels and portal routes, avoiding open halls entirely.
It must have been hours perhaps longer.
"Aren't we there yet?"
I asked, my steps growing heavier. A faint worry crept in.
If time flowed differently on these floors—and I was certain it did—Ela could already be back and wondering where I'd gone.
"Just a little longer."
"You've said that for the twentieth time. I think I'll call for help."
She stopped abruptly and stepped closer until her face was inches from mine.
"H–hey."
I recoiled, stumbling backwards, but before I could fall, she caught me with both arms.
A soft current flowed through me at the contact. The exhaustion I'd been carrying thinned out, my small body feeling lighter, steadier.
"Just a little longer."
She repeated, more quietly this time.
Then she dragged me along as we kept moving. A faint glow appeared ahead, growing brighter with each step. The light at the end of the tunnel they say.
"Phew. That took forever."
I wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead.
"We're here."
She reached forward and pulled down what looked like a curtain made of light itself. It parted.
Beyond it was the outside of the palace, the outside world.
A new atmosphere brushed against my skin. Air I had never breathed filled my lungs. It felt vast, open… alive.
"T…this…"
I was at a loss for words.
Before us stretched a dense forest, its tall, elegant trees rising like silent guardians while tiny, vibrant flowers scattered across the ground in bursts of colour.
Every shade seemed richer than the last, blending into a breathtaking display that tightened my chest and left me momentarily breathless.
"Beautiful, right?"
I couldn't answer so simply nodded.
"We have a lot to explore."
We stepped forward together.
Just before crossing fully into the forest, I turned back one last time. The white crystalline palace towered behind us, endlessly tall, distant already, as if it belonged to another world entirely. Then I faced forward again and entered the trees.
Unlike any forest you know, there were no animals, insects, birdsongs, only silence. Pure, undisturbed silence, yet it wasn't empty.
The place felt alive in its own quiet way, trees of impossible shapes, flowers glowing in gentle hues, plants that shimmered faintly as if breathing with us.
With each breath I took, the air tasted new. Sweet and addictive.
Is this paradise?
"In some other worlds, forests like this are usually filled with living beings but this is different. This isn't just an ordinary forest."
"What is it then?"
"You know about the worlds in the Star Realm?" she asked.
"Yeah, but nothing much."
I bent down and reached for an eye-catching red flower growing at the base of a pale tree.
Five droplets of water orbited its petals in a slow, perfect circle, never falling or touching one another. They moved as if guided by an unseen rhythm.
I reached out to plucked it carefully...
"Don't touch anything. We don't know what it is."
She warned, yet her voice wasn't harsh.
"Ok."
I remained crouched, gaze fully locked onto this weird flower specie.
"Nobody knows the entirety of the Star Realm. You know Stars from lower worlds can't set foot here right?"
"Yeah. They must be under protection."
She turned and looked at me.
"I kept my eyes open during the meeting. I saw it."
Without a word, she turned and continued walking.
"Ok. Here's an easy example. A fish in the sea can't live on land. Why?"
"Fishes are aquatic."
"Exactly. Let's use their habitats as Laws. Terrestrial land holds aquatic bodies. Aquatic beings can't ascend higher—why?"
"Because terrestrial contains aquatic?"
"Somewhat correct. A world that contains other worlds has already surpassed them. That's a Law—a script that must be followed."
"So if the laws change, they'd be able to access it, right?"
"Neither wrong nor right. There's natural energy—forces present throughout existence. Higher realms simply hold denser, more potent energy than lower ones.
Think of it this way: Specimen A is an ordinary fish. Specimen B is a fish with heavy resistance. Both live in regular water. Which one survives in boiling water?"
I paused, turning the thought over carefully before answering.
"B. Because it has your so-called 'higher resistance'."
The reply left my mouth steady, but my mind lingered on it. The logic was simple enough, almost too simple, yet there was weight behind it.
"Exactly. Both are aquatic, but B can exist in both layers while A is confined to one. Think of it like this: the boiling water sits above the regular water. It's still water, but the conditions are harsher. Only something with the right resistance can rise into it and survive."
I nodded slowly, still looking at the red flower.
"So the higher the world, the stronger the 'resistance' you need,"
I said.
"Not just strength… but compatibility."
"Exactly."
I looked down at the flower again, though my thoughts were elsewhere.
'Lame explanation.'
I forced a small nod anyway, playing along like the clueless seventy-year-old I was supposed to be. If she only knew.
We continued our little journey until we stopped before a water body. It was breathtaking, sparkling, endless, stretching out as though it had no shore.
It resembled an ocean, yet was clearly something else entirely. Its surface shimmered like scattered galaxies, alive with otherworldly light..
"What's this?"
I asked, then ran forward for a closer look, but she caught my arm and held me back.
"It's dangerous, stay back"
She warned me with a soft yet firm tone, then settled herself on the ground, gesturing for me to sit beside her. I obeyed without hesitation, lowering myself carefully next to her.
"It's a world system."
"Like a Nest?"
She nodded, her eyes glued to the ocean.
"Yes. Many of our kind are living down there."
"Doesn't this mean Lady Elara has abandoned them?"
She shook her head.
"No, us being out here is the same thing. We're always under her radar."
"And here I thought we sneaked out with our efforts."
I murmured, slightly relaxed Ela knows we're out here. She smiled a bit, the silence growing between us.
"Hey, Aya, can you teach me how to use Art?"
I asked, despite there's low probability that she'll turn me down.
"I can't teach you because I've only got one Mega Arts in my store. Besides, Lady Elara forbids."
I knew it so I wasn't surprised.
"But, I'll teach you a simple trick."
She added.
"Trick?"
"Yeah. A super rare one only a few, very very few Stars can achieve."
My interest was piqued.
Really, I, a newborn, can learn something not every Star can do. It's too good to be true so there's no way I'm backing down. It's a 'trick' not an 'Art' so it won't be a problem.
"And you think, a newborn like me can learn it?"
"You have the potential, I can see it."
It'll be worth trying out so I'll give it a try.
"Teach me."
"Close your eyes and tell me what you see."
"The back of my eyelids…"
Though I can't actually see it.
"No source of light, so it's just… dark."
I felt the emptiness pressing gently, as if the darkness itself were listening. Even in the stillness, there was a strange weight, a quiet presence that made the dark feel almost… alive.
"Clear your mind. Don't think of anything else."
Clear my mind? That's easier said than done.
The moment she said it, thoughts swarmed in like flies to a flame, fragments of memory, unfinished questions, even the sound of my own pulse drumming in my ears. The harder I pushed them away, the more stubbornly they clawed back in.
I drew a breath, and tried again. The blackness before me was suffocating, as if the darkness itself pressed against my face.
What should I even think of, I don't know. I have nothing to think about but I'll prevent any thoughts from racing in my head. I took a deep breath and blurred everything else but I still couldn't see it.
"What am I supposed to see?"
"Energy doesn't have a specific colour. But the one in Elyvra is pink. So your goal here is to spot the pinkish motes."
Pink motes, just motes. It sounded so simple, yet nothing came. I searched, but the void remained absolute. I couldn't see anything but nothing.
I forced myself harder, staring into the black as though I could bore a hole through it by sheer will. My eyes trembled behind their lids. The strain made my jaw ache, the silence roared until it became unbearable.
'Why isn't it working? Am I broken? What if I'm not chosen after all?'
The doubts dug in deeper than the darkness itself.
Minutes dragged like hours. This stubborn void is mocking me. Every attempt felt like drowning in tar, I pulled harder, yet I sank deeper. Then her voice reached me again, calm but unshakable
"This is an extraordinary feat so these two steps aren't all there is. If you're one of the chosen ones which you are, it'll present itself to you."
'Chosen' that word landed softly but carried weight. I clung to it, even as despair gnawed at me.
Still, I saw nothing. I was seconds away from surrender, from opening my eyes and admitting defeat when something stirred.
White sparks ignited behind my eyelids and I opened my eyes. My eyes were opened yet I couldn't see anything but that very mocking void.
Then... at the edges of the void, I saw a faint and fragile glow in the darkness. A flicker of pink, so soft I thought it was imagined. Then another, and another. Little motes, glowing, rising, dancing like breath made visible and in no time, the void was glowing pink.
"I can see...."
'Good job, Antares.'
A voice rang out deep within my mind.
'I've been waiting for this moment long before your recreation to finally let go.'
It wasn't Aya's or anyone else's, but mine. But I am sure it hadn't come from my mouth.
The pink motes vanished, snuffed out as though they had never been. In their place spilt an endless darkness so absolute it swallowed even the memory of light.
It wasn't the black behind closed eyelids; it was darker than that. A darkness that bled into me. And yet, I could see not with eyes or any senses, but with something deeper, something I wasn't supposed to use.
The paradox gnawed at my senses: the nothingness revealed everything, though nothing was present to see. I turned, compelled by an unseen weight.
Atop a hill, if it could even be called that, sat a throne. Both carved from the same abyss, forged of shadow and absence. Not stone for the hill, nor metal for the throne, but a creation wrought from the void itself, as if the darkness had willingly taken shape to rest upon itself.
And on that throne was someone. A wrong figure yet familiar silhouette was watching me.
To be continued...