The Platform

Before Lumian had a chance to fall asleep through Cogitation, his vision suddenly went dark. His consciousness felt as if it was being pulled by an invisible force, plummeting straight into the depths of the earth.

He instinctively resisted for a moment, then experienced a sensation of leaping out of a dark seabed to the surface.

His vision was immediately illuminated by a twilight-like radiance, shining through a giant glass pane divided into countless small squares, bringing limited light to the darkness.

In this dim light, Lumian saw a black steam locomotive with two oil lamps hanging from it, a domed platform, and at the edge of the platform near the steam train stood Madam Magician in her cream-colored dress with gold embroidery and wide-brimmed sun hat.

Beside Madam Magician stood a lady in a simple green dress, with a golden retriever crouching at her feet.