Chapter 5 - A Custodian and Convincing

"What if I am; But What if I am not!!" She remarked with a confused mind. She had no idea of how did the events turned so upside down. Just ten minutes ago she was in her regular tram going to her regular school; and now she was standing on this so-called Northern Ridge. Sophia was confused; on a matter of reaction. She had no clue about how she should react. It was confusing;

Aris paused, turning back to face her with a calm, almost indifferent expression. "Some places aren't meant to be found unless you're brought to them. For now, just follow me"

Sophia's frustration only grew at his cryptic response. "That's not an answer! How do you expect me to just follow you when nothing makes sense? First, you drag me out of my life, then you throw me into this frozen wasteland, and now you expect me to believe that this place just magically exists outside of reality? I'm freezing, I'm lost, and I don't even know why any of this is happening!"

Aris's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of impatience creeping into his expression. "You don't have to understand everything right now," he said firmly. "What you need to do is survive. And standing out here, questioning everything, isn't going to help you with that."

Sophia clenched her fists, her confusion and fear now mixing with a rising anger. "So what, I'm just supposed to follow you blindly? Into that… that place?" She pointed toward the Custodian's Breach, her voice wavering between disbelief and dread.

Aris didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a few more steps toward the Breach before turning to look at her over his shoulder. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes held a cold resolve. "If you want to stay alive, Lady Sagittarius," he said, his voice carrying an unmistakable finality, "you'll follow me. That's your only option."

Sophia felt her breath catch in her throat as the gravity of his words sank in. The wind howled around her, and for a moment, she hesitated, torn between the instinct to run away and the pressing need to survive.

She glanced around, trying to grasp onto anything that made sense, but all she saw was the bleak, unforgiving landscape and the towering black structure that seemed to beckon her toward an unknown fate. Panic surged through her, and she took a shaky step back.

"I don't want to be here," she muttered, more to herself than to Aris. "I didn't ask for any of this."

Aris turned fully toward the Breach again, his pace steady as he walked toward the massive, foreboding structure. He didn't look back this time, simply assuming she would follow. The cold seemed to deepen, seeping into Sophia's bones, and she realized with a sinking feeling that staying behind was not an option.

With a frustrated sigh, she forced her legs to move, stumbling forward through the snow and ice. The wind lashed at her, and the looming structure of the Custodian's Breach grew closer with each step, its dark silhouette towering over her like a specter from a nightmare.

"I don't know what you expect me to find in there," she muttered, the words escaping her lips as a faint, shaky whisper. She tried to steady herself, to push down the fear that was threatening to overtake her, but it was a losing battle. Nothing about this made sense—this place, Aris, the strange transportation, all of it felt like a twisted dream she couldn't wake up from.

Aris, sensing her distress, paused just before the entrance. He turned to her, his expression softening slightly. "You don't have to like it,"

He said, his tone almost gentle, "but you can't ignore it. This is your reality now. And whether you embrace it or not, it's not going away."

Sophia's shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of her as she stood there, shivering. The cold was relentless, the wind biting at her skin, and she felt utterly overwhelmed. She didn't have the strength to argue anymore, and as much as she hated to admit it, a part of her was curious—curious about the truth he claimed she was running from, about the legacy she had tried so hard to ignore.

"Welcome to the place of your so-called myths!" Aris exclaimed, his excitement barely contained. Perhaps, in his mind, he believed he had finally found the key to end the turmoil within his Order once and for all. He pushed forward with determination, using Sophia's wavering presence as a distraction from his own doubts.

"Why are you so thrilled about this?" Sophia nudged him, her voice laced with curiosity.

"Just ensuring you understand the significance of your position in Custodian society," Aris replied with a slight smile.

"So... am I some kind of legend in this society?" Sophia asked, almost impulsively. The question felt out of character for her, as if she had momentarily swapped out her usual guarded demeanor for something more playful. The idea of being noticed and talked about in a positive light by people she hardly knew sparked a strange excitement within her. She began rethinking everything—her situation, her family, and her connection to this society.

"Maybe... it won't be so bad after all," Sophia mused aloud, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

"That change of heart came rather quickly," Aris remarked, smirking as he approached a heavy door. With a swift swipe of his card, he knocked in a precise pattern—two knocks on the sides, one in the middle, and two surrounding the middle in an upward direction.

Sophia watched in silence, her earlier confusion and frustration slowly giving way to an unexpected sense of curiosity.

A slight gust of lukewarm air swept past Sophia, causing her hair to flutter as the massive door slowly creaked open. The ground groaned under the weight of the door as it slid across the stone floor. Through the narrow opening, a shifting blend of black, deep blue, and dark green hues played across the void beyond.

Sophia shivered as a cold, earthy breeze brushed against her shoulders, sending a chill down her spine. She instinctively took a step back, her boots crunching on the snow-covered pavement. Aris, accustomed to the eerie ambiance of the Custodian's Breach, walked confidently into the shadowy void. His figure disappearing into the darkness, swallowed by the inky blackness that seemed to consume everything within the chamber.

Sophia hesitated, uncertainty gnawing at her. She felt the situation pressing down on her—this strange journey, this place steeped in myths she barely understood. As Aris vanished further into the darkness, a wave of panic surged within her, and she called out, "Aris…" Her voice was small, trembling, but it echoed through the void, bouncing off the unseen walls and reverberating back to her.

Aris heard her, but his expression remained unchanged. To him, Sophia's uncertainty and fear were inconsequential. He was focused on his mission, He never expected anyone to answer his calls for help, so he had no intention of responding to hers, even if she was important to his goals.

Sophia stood at the threshold, the cold biting at her exposed skin. She felt isolated, vulnerable, caught between the familiar discomfort of the frozen world outside and the terrifying unknown of the void beyond. But the cold was relentless, and the door behind her felt like it was closing off any chance of retreat.

Summoning what little courage she had left, Sophia forced a shaky smile onto her face, masking her fear. With hesitant steps, she moved closer to the darkened doorway, her heart pounding in her chest. And then, with one final breath, she crossed the threshold, stepping into the void where Aris had gone, unsure of what awaited her beyond the shadows.