Was it a dream or a reality?
It was a question that crossed their minds, but whatever the answer was, they all found themselves captivated by its beauty.
The floor, stretching infinitely, was made out of water, or what seemed like transparent water until Rebecca stepped on it and realised that it was actually glass. And when out of curiosity, she took off her shoes and touched the floor with her bare feet, she found it comfortingly cool.
Her mouth dropped open in amazement at the sudden surge of Nature's Aura that her body automatically started refining, and she felt a refreshing feeling wash all over her senses.
The Aura Inside this world was already purer than it was on Gaia, but inside the Palace, it was even more dense and potent.
She then curiously looked at the white walls that were pulsating with living and ever-changing Golden Runes, and the colossal dark wooden doors, dozens of them, as far as she could see, set several metres away from each other in an orderly manner, with intricate designs that were littered with Runes as well.
And then her eyes returned to the floor again and she smiled as her reflection appeared on it out of nowhere.
The other girls were more hooked by the ceiling, which seemed to stretch infinitely just like the floor, and it was a night sky, littered with stars as if they were looking at outer space from up close. It was the starlight that was illuminating this infinite Hall, adding to its already unreal beauty by reflecting off the floor.
They all heard the sudden sound of the Wind Chimes as soon as Keith stepped inside the Hall, and Rebecca, who was looking at the floor was stunned at what suddenly appeared next to her own reflection.
She saw a sight that enchanted her, made her heart skip and beat, and even made her forget to breathe.
It was the reflection of her husband, and on his back were his wings, which were emanating the sound that they were hearing.
And then there were his eyes, those haunting Amethyst eyes that met hers.
Rebecca felt like she was falling in love with him all over again, and for a moment, she even wondered if he was real.
But soon the reflection faded away, and she involuntarily objected to its disappearance before raising her eyes and looking at her husband's back, who was walking further inside the Hall.
It seemed rather desolate without his wings.
"No..."
The girls broke out of the trance that they had fallen into after hearing the divinely hypnotising sound of the Wind Chimes, and they curiously turned to look at Rebecca, who suddenly rushed after Keith, losing her balance on the way, and she swayed, tripping over.
However, she never reached the floor as she was grabbed by her husband in his arms, and his beautiful Amethyst eyes, which seemed to hold the entire cosmos within them, met hers.
Rebecca looked at him in a trance, her fair cheeks blooming in an adorable blush, and the mistiness in her eyes was evidence of her chaotic heart and irresistible feelings for him that suddenly raged through her.
"Keith..."
"Mortals are not meant to see the Divine, My Love." He gently said to her, answering her unvoiced question, and against her will, a tear slipped out of her eyes. It was not a tear of sadness or happiness, but just a result of her shaken state. "I know I am beautiful, but stop crying." He chuckled, and it brought a smile to her face, and the next second, she giggled.
However, weakness soon crept in and she closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest, inhaling the scent that she loved the most in her life.
"I am tired..." She whispered before she suddenly dozed off.
"What happened to her?" Amelia, who was now standing over them with the others, asked.
"She just saw a glimpse of the Truth, way ahead of its Time." He replied and then stood up, carrying his blonde wife in his arms. "I will take her to my room. You can take your time and explore the Palace."
"How do you even explore this place?" Kiara raised a genuine question, and all of them looked at him for the answer, making him smile.
"I told you, this is a Living Palace." He said and turned to look deeper into the Infinite Hall. "This Place is an Infinite Loop. Do you see the doors on the walls? The Runes on them will respond to you. All you have to do is think about where you want to go. You can speak to the Palace in your mind or out loud."
Keith showed them how it was done as he started walking deeper into the Hall and finally spoke.
"Show me the way to my room." He voiced out where he wanted to go, and immediately a door on the left wall lit up, and as soon as he came close enough, it opened, revealing a rippling wall of water that they could not see past.
The girls were curious, but when Iseul stepped forward and placed her hand on the rippling curtain, she found out it was not water. And against her expectation, her hand did not sink into it as it met something solid, like a wall.
"I can choose to revoke permissions and forbid anyone from entering certain places in the Palace." Keith smiled, and suddenly Iseul felt her hand sink into the rippling curtain. "All of you are allowed to visit almost all the places in the Palace, but there are certain places you can not go inside."
"And they are?"
"You don't need to know about them yet." Keith smiled at Kiara, making her pout.
"You will find similar Doors and these Space Curtains inside every Hallway, and you can use them to come here in the Infinite Hall and take the door to the place you want to go to. Certain doors in the Hallways even give you direct access to other Wings," He informed them. "They will save you time. However, you don't have to use them if you don't want to, and once you enter any door from the Infinite Hall, you can explore the Palace normally, but do remember that this Palace is very big."
"Can someone break into this place?" Amelia asked as she looked at the Runes on the wall, failing to understand them.
"No." Keith shook his head. "No one can access any part of the Palace if they don't have my permission. Anyone who tries to force their way in will be teleported away, and if they are reckless enough, the Space will shred them. Therefore, don't try to break into places you are not allowed to enter." He playfully smiled at the blue-eyed girl, who grinned at him.
"As if you would let the Palace harm us."
"Well, you will only be Teleported away if you try to break in. After all, this is your home. It won't harm you." He nodded, and she giggled. "The Central Section is where my Room is, and now, I am going to get some sleep."
"Wait!" Kiara stopped him when he was about to enter the Space Curtain.
"Yes?"
"How does Time work here?" She asked.
"Ten Days inside Aerzar will equal a day on Gaia. Take your time." He knew why she was asking it. Marianne, Zoey and the Twins were waiting for them at the Mourntale Estate. It had already been days, and they could not stay here for long. "You can leave this world whenever you want. There is a door inside this Entrance Hall that will teleport you out of Aerzaar. However, you won't be able to come back inside on your own."
"Okay." They all nodded their heads in understanding and watched him leave them to their devices as he disappeared into the Space Curtain.
The door immediately closed behind him, and the girls shared glances before they decided to look around this Entrance Hall first.
It was only after they decided to travel further inside the Hall that they realised why Keith had called it an Infinite Loop. No matter how far they walked, the Hall just did not seem to end.
Eventually, they got bored and tired, and just when they sighed that they would have to travel back to the entrance, suddenly a door to their right started shining.
They all walked over to it and entered the Space Curtain, only to find themselves coming out of the first door on the right of the main entrance.
"That's convenient." Amelia was quite impressed, and everyone nodded to her.
"So, where should we go first?" The little Miss of the Demiliore asked, and Minami thoughtfully looked at the ceiling and smiled.
"Show us the best place we can start exploring the Palace from." She said, and they all heard a light hum and saw a door on the left light up.
"Now this is convenient!" Kiara giggled as she grabbed Minami's hand and happily walked over to the door, followed by the rest.
At another place, Keith had arrived inside his Chambers, and for a moment he could not help but be stunned at its beauty even though every inch of the Palace was already in his mind.
It was massive, to say the least, but it was also a room befitting a Monarch.
He quite liked its grandeur and luxury, but he was already feeling a little drowsy so he decided to appreciate it later.
Walking over to the massive round bed, he gently held Rebecca in the air as he took off her clothes.
He settled her into the bed, under the heavenly soft sheets, and then took off his clothes as well, joining her, and falling asleep next to her, holding her in his arms.