Chapter 2: Eternal Dawn

I hear a faint voice calling my name from afar. The dark hallways devour the echoes until silence filled the room.

On instinct I reached out to my phone and tried to call Aldea, who was outside the school building not too long ago but there was no reception. I hold my phone up trying to get even that shortest line in the reception bar, restarting it, turning it off and on again but to no avail.

Kate's high pitched scream breaks the silence, "President, There's a hand!"

I didn't need her emphasis on the hand that suddenly appeared and is stranded mid air. It appears to somehow have punched a hole into the air. Kate grabs on to me as we move farther away from the hand into the corner of the room. The hand reaches out to us as the hole grew bigger and bigger.

"Kate, watch out!"

I found myself on top of Kate, with the flower vase nearly hitting my head, "Are you okay?"

"Yes mortal, I am fine," a loud but low voice reverberated across the room. The shock somehow got me into an aggressive position with my back against Kate as if trying to protect her.

The strand of light from the hallway is enough to distinguish the features of the two meter man in front of me. His azure armor is reinforced with golden plating. He's holding a ridiculously long scroll on his right hand, that is halfway rolled out, and a bird feather on his left. The monstrous figure moves towards us. I was overwhelmed by his appearance. The man had white hair that glistened under the faint sunlight from the hallway window.

"E... E... Elf!" Kate suddenly shrieked.

The man's petrifying white eyes locked onto mine that i didn't notice his unusually long ears. Thoughts of dying rammed through my mind as i froze.

"Warriors of the strongest race that rule this World, I beseech thee. I, Estes, the Moon Elf King, seek your aid as my world is under siege from an unforeseen enemy. Villages burned to ashes, Cities demolished to the dirt, Chaos runs rampant. Warriors, I beg of you, Come to my world", his voice as low as before. Something started glowing behind him, Covered by his cloak from my visual.

We took an eternity to respond.

"The King Of the Moon Elves? This is definitely some prank by someone, let's just play along for a while," I whispered to Kate.

But before I managed a reply to the self proclaimed King, Kate yelled enthusiastically, "Good day Mr. Elf, I mean King Estes! Wooow, I've never seen an actual elf before. Is it true you don't age? Do you really spend your whole lives in the forest? Neh, Neh. Can you cast a magic spell?"

I got irritated by Kate's behavior and couldn't help myself, "Kate, that is not how you talk to a king! Let alone a person you just met!"

She stopped momentarily, stared at me with cold eyes and Continued on, "Neh Mr. Elf can i touch your..."

"Apologies, my king. My companion has yet to learn the proper etiquette of talking to people," I stopped Kate before she can finish her insulting request.

"What's gotten into me? I know this is a prank set by someone else, " I thought to myself.

The king let's out this charming chuckle that seemed unexpected to me.

"Ahahahaha, Thank goodness. The two of you remind me of Miya. Even her stubbornness is on point! Ahahhaa", the elf continued laughing.

"Anyway, at least now I know I can talk to you without formalities. So how about it Humans? Would you like to help us in saving the Land of Dawn?" the king suddenly changed his tone.

"The land of What now?" Asked Kate. "Anyway can I touch your ear?"

"The Land of Dawn, the world I come from. I teleported here through the moon temple to seek aid from other worlds. And no! You most certainly can not! " Estes slaps Kate's hand while she's trying to reach for his ear.

Thoughts came to my mind. This is definitely not a dream, the sensations are too real. The only explanation for this is me hallucinating. But what if I'm not. I decided to refuse the offer, prioritizing my safety.

"Can we decline? We have tests next week"

"You can, but let me first tell you about the details. First, once you have saved our world, I will grant you one wish each. Be It Gold, Fame, or even immortality. Second, "

"Immortality?", I Cut him off halfway through his explanation. If there's one thing I'd want, that would be immortality. Without listening to the rest of the explanation , I agreed to help him. I am a mortal organism after all, I desire nothing but immortality.

"How about you, beautiful one?" asked King Estes.

"Can I wish for a faster internet connection ?" Kate demanded with puppy eyes.

The king sighed, "Sure, whatever that is."

The scroll he was holding started to glow, He brushed his feather pen writing symbols I can't comprehend.

"Now please, make haste. Every minute we spend here means a day has passed in the land of dawn. Put your hands on this scroll and you shall be teleported with me to the moon temple."

I was reluctant at first but I thought of enjoying this hallucination for a while longer. I placed my hand on top of his scroll and my whole body Started becoming transparent.

"Woow, you are a magician!" Kate was surprised.

"Hurry!"

Kate was about to place her hand on the scroll next to mine but stopped. She is probably reluctant as I am. She'll be abducted to another world without her family knowing. Leaving her friends, her parents, and her games. Of course she'll hesitate.

"Do I get to touch your ear after? teehee,"

"Hurry!", Estes takes her hand and places it on the scroll.

I realised it was not us who were vanishing but the surroundings. I can see the horizon slowly shrinking until it's within hand's reach. I was awestruck by what's happening around me until everything turned black.

"Clark! Don't! Where.... going... Clark! I'm coming...save you," A voice too familiar reached my ears. I can't make up with what he's saying. It's someone I know, someone I really know.

"Aldea! Don't jump into the rift! Only the ones who touched King Estes' scroll can travel there safely. We'll find another way, " A voice I don't recognise followed.

*Baaaaam!!!*