Chapter 1: Lysara'elmaris.

Rigel followed the voice even though he didn't know where he was going because of how dark it was. He didn't feel any wind or any noise around him, and the weirdest feeling was the ground he was walking on, it felt so soft and yet so sturdy. When he was deep in his thoughts, an ambient sound could be heard in front of him, and that was when he finally saw something other than darkness.

Rigel found himself inside a cave, but not like any cave because the cave he was in had a high ceiling. The ceiling was as tall as the sky on Earth, and that wasn't the only thing that amazed him but the fact there were two tall structures next to each other, leaving a gap in the middle.

"Keep walking..." The woman's voice was circling Rigel's head. "Your journey is still far ahead..." She pointed out and her voice faded away toward the gap.

Rigel took a few seconds to look back and see where he came from. It was a portal, and the portal was closing in with sparks of flames around it. The moment the portal disappeared he saw a wall and realized there was no way of going back anymore. He then followed the voice to the gap while he kept admiring the cave.

When Rigel stood in front of the gap, he felt a chill once more, but this time it was followed by his legs and hands trembling in fear. He noticed that the two structures that were almost as tall as the ceiling weren't simple structures, they were in fact a gate that was forced open, leaving marks and scratches by someone or something.

"(What kind of thing that could leave such marks on the gate like that? Even the biggest creature that existed on Earth is pale in comparison of those massive scratches...)" Rigel thought to himself.

"Before you enter, look to your left and you will find a way to the top..." The woman's voice was right next to Rigel's left ear. "Go up there and you will find writings. Read it for me..." she added.

Rigel looked to his left and there was some kind of stairs that led to the top that looked like an arch. He went to the top and saw an altar in the middle with a big podium, unchanged by time and it was still in its perfect condition. He walked toward the podium and there was indeed writing as the voice said.

"In the realm of gods, where divinity was the norm, she was the Equinox between light and dark... A presence so godly that even the most revered deities paled in comparison... Her grace transcended even the highest echelons of godhood... Her eyes, like twin pools of infinite wisdom, held the secrets of the cosmos..." Rigel read the words that were carved on the podium. "Her name is L-" When he was about to say the name, suddenly his eyes couldn't read it, his mouth couldn't speak it, and his memory of the name he had just read suddenly disappeared.

Rigel felt sick and unable to breathe, followed by extreme dizziness and hallucinations that brought back all the nightmares of his past.

"Lysara'elmaris..." The woman's voice whispered into Rigel's ear.

Rigel grunted as he struggled to breathe as if he was being choked and drowned in the deepest part of the ocean. He didn't know what to do as he panicked and struggled helplessly until he fell to the ground while holding his neck.

"Say it... say the name..." The woman whispered. "If you want to live, say the name..." she pointed out.

"Lys-ara...El-ma-ris..." Rigel struggled to speak the name but he managed to do it in the end.

The moment Rigel said the name, he felt normal as if nothing had happened. He was glad and glared at the ceiling as he breathed heavily and held his chest where his heart pounded so fast. When he was still shocked by what had just happened earlier, a gentle gust of wind hit his face and it came from the gap.

"Come... the longer you're here it will only make both of us in a difficult situation..." The woman's voice was coming from the gap.

Rigel took a deep breath as he stood up and then hurriedly walked down the arch. He knew deep down he felt comfort after he said the name, and he could remember the name. He then looked at the path ahead of him, a blue mist as if he was looking at the view from underwater. He took a deep breath and stepped his right foot forward and immediately he was transferred into a different place.

Rigel thought the cave was fascinating, but the place he was at now was beyond his imagination. It was a massive cathedral that had been turned into a ruin, but that wasn't all. The cathedral was massive, but Rigel was as small as an ant if he could compare the size of the cathedral and himself. He was like a speck of dust in there, and what was more the cathedral was filled with chains, hanging in the ceiling, walls, and lying on the floor.

"(If I'm this small, then how big is the person who lives in here? Even the tallest skyscraper only fills a fifth of the height of the ceiling)" Rigel thought.

When Rigel was walking around and admiring the colossal cathedral, he heard a loud sound of chains being dragged. It was so loud that his eardrums were about to explode from hearing it. He covered his ears so tightly, and then the friction of the chain that was dragged on the floor was so massive for him that it felt like he was in the middle of a massive earthquake.

The sound of the chain stopped, and when Rigel opened his eyes, he fell to the ground as he lost all his strength because of what he saw in front of him. A black-haired woman in a black dress with chains shackled to her wrists and ankles stood in front of him. He was wondering how big the person who lived in the cathedral was, and the answer was right in front of him. A human standing in front of an ant was what he thought in his head.

Rigel couldn't see the face of the woman because she was so tall, but then suddenly a strong gust of wind with thick dust hit his face. When he got rid of the dust in his eyes, he opened his eyes and saw the woman had become as tall as him. 

He was stunned by her beautiful face, a face that bewitched him and made him unable to look away. Her expression was nothing pitiful even with shackles and chains on her limbs and neck, it was filled with determination for something. Her bright pupilless blue eyes were so beautiful, and they were mesmerizing to look at, he felt like being sucked into her eyes.

"Say it again," The woman said, and her voice was the same voice that Rigel had been hearing.

"Yes?" Rigel asked and he didn't know what the woman meant.

"Say my name," The woman responded as she walked toward Rigel gracefully.

"Lysara'elmaris..." Rigel said quietly and gulped nervously.

The woman smiled and it melted Rigel's heart because the smile made him feel ecstatic. It was beautiful, graceful, and otherworldly like what the writings said about her.