Lucile

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a boundless white space with no indication of any kind of life.

Just like the black space from before, but this time white.

I tried to stand up, but I couldn't move any of the muscles in my body.

I was in a state of sleep paralysis, I was conscious but couldn't move. 

An unknown amount of time passed, giving me the opportunity to think about my strange dream.

It felt like a dream, but I was sure that it wasn't. the reason you ask? Well, I could clearly feel the tiny diamond at the center of my brain.

it was a very strange feeling, I couldn't see it or even physically feel it, but I knew that it was there. 

I could even see it if I concentrated hard enough.

I closed my eyes and sent my mind toward the tiny glowing diamond at the center of the darkness. 

As if feeling my presence, the tiny diamond moved a little and started glowing brighter and brighter and then it suddenly disappeared for a second before reappearing and expanding.

As it was expanding in size, a gentle gravitational force tugged me toward the tiny diamond which now was the size of a fist. 

At first, I panicked but as soon as I was about to open my eyes and get out of that space, a soothing feeling took over me and prevented me from getting out.

When I finally reached the diamond, it was as big as a fully grown adult. 

I carefully reached my left hand to touch it and as soon as my index finger made contact with it, the whole scenery changed.

Without needing anyone to explain it to me, I knew that I was inside the diamond's space. 

All around me was covered with tightly packed walls made of the same material as the diamond. 

The space was so tight that I couldn't even raise my both arms at the same time. 

When I looked down, I saw my feet touching the water. It was crystal clear and see-through and covered the whole space's floor and from the looks of it, it didn't have a depth of more than a couple of centimeters. 

The strange part was that I wasn't standing in the water, but rather on it. 

I bent down a little to touch the water. just as I touched it, I felt my body being released from the paralysis. 

I opened my eyes and sat down, looking around for clues on what to do from there on.

As I was examining my surroundings, the white space in front of me moved and an outline of a normal-sized door appeared on it before it slid to the side, revealing a man standing on the other side.

The man was relatively tall, with blond hair and green eyes. Wearing a dirty white lab coat. 

If it wasn't for a clearly exhausted and annoyed look on his face, he could have been considered handsome. 

"took you long enough," the man said with an annoyed tone and turned to leave, "come, we don't have all day."

"where are we going?" I stood in my place without moving, a little scared of the man who looked like a mad scientist.

Seeing me not moving, the man turned around and looked into my eyes for a few seconds before saying, "Don't worry, I don't bite. If I wanted to I could have killed you anytime, so just follow me." he then turned again and started walking, seeming like he didn't care if I followed or not.

I looked around another time, seeing no other option but to follow him, I decided to take a leap of faith and follow him. 

When I moved past the sliding door, the space seemed to become totally different from what I could see from inside the room.

I took a step back into the room and it shifted back to the black and blank space it used to be and as soon as I exited the room again, it turned out into a relatively narrow hallway with doors on both ways.

The room I was in, was placed at the end of the hallway, and when its door closed, it completely disappeared into nothingness, as if it wasn't there from the beginning. 

I looked around for a bit at the other doors that looked like the doors of the psychiatric hospital rooms with a small square window in the center and decided to follow the man who was about ten meters in front of me.

I ran to him and asked, "Who are you? where are we?" 

"I'm Lucile and this is one of my ….. well you could call it prisons." The man named Lucile answered. 

"prison? Prison for who?" I asked back.

"not who, what." Lucile answered before turning and looking at me with an amused smile and muttered to himself, "This should be fun."

I instantly got a bad feeling.

"This is where I hold my test subjects." 

I looked through some of the small windows on the doors but beside a white space, I could see nothing. 

"but there is nothing in there." 

Lucile looked at me with amusement and with a speed far from my comprehension, touched my forehead with his right index finger and I felt a small zap inside my head. 

"nobody can see them without my permission." He explained and looked at me as if waiting for me to look back into the rooms. 

I moved closer to the door to my right and looked into the room but saw nothing so I got even closer to the point where my forehead was touched against the metallic door. 

"I still see nothin…. Aaaaw, what is that?" I shouted and jumped back, hitting the door on the opposite wall with my back.

Behind the door in front of me, a huge eye was looking back at me. 

When I say huge eye, I don't mean like a huge animal's eye or like a dragon's eye in the movies.

The "thing" was an eye itself. 

It was an eyeball. 

A huge, purple, moist, grouse eyeball. 

"that is what is called a 'mirage eye', it's a rare level 5 monster. They are pretty hard to catch actually and I managed to catch a level 5 one. Don't you think I'm amazing?" Lucile explained with a proud look on his face. 

"tha… that is a monster… hehehe…. I'm still sleeping…." I muttered, trying to convince myself of what I knew was not the fact.

SLAP

Hearing me, Lucile slapped me across the face without mercy, saying, "You are not sleeping, the sooner you get over it, the sooner I can get rid of you. so, get over it." 

I looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing how to respond, and just nodded, fearing that he might slap me a second time.

"Good, now let's go. Uriel is waiting for you and she doesn't like it when I make others run late. As if it's my fault that I'm such a fun person to be around with…" Lucile started blowing into his own trumpet and turned to lead the way but as soon as he turned, two majestic white wings spread out of his back. 

"wha…. What are those….?" I fell back on my bottom, pointing at the pair of wings. 

As if annoyed at the wings, Lucile looked back at them, "That's enough Silia, don't mess with the boy. I have work to do…." Then as if getting an answer from the wings, he stopped and then continued again, "Yeah yeah, I know you just wanted to say hi. Now go back, you have plenty of time to play with him, but not now." 

After convincing the wings to go back to where they came from (his back), Lucile looked at me, not waiting for more questions, "No, I'm not an angel. No, we are not all named like angles, Lucile is just my title. and no, you don't get your own wings. now let's go, urile will answer your questions." 

He turned and left without a second glance. 

I looked at him for a few seconds and got up, following him through the maze-like hallways. 

As I step out of the building, my eyes are met with a breathtaking view of the place before me. thirteen towering buildings, arranged in a U shape, surround an open courtyard. Each building had its own unique shape and size, making it a veritable feast for the eyes.

The buildings were made of rich, dark, and gold stones that seemed to have an almost ethereal quality in the light. You could see intricate carvings etched into the walls, depicting images of mythical creatures, symbols, and patterns. The roofs of the buildings were steep and pointed, giving them a regal and imposing presence.

In the center of the courtyard was a fountain, where water cascaded down from a statue of a majestic creature that seemed larger than life. The water glittered in the sun, creating a dazzling, shimmering effect that was both calming and mesmerizing. The sound of the water seemed to fill the air, creating a peaceful atmosphere that was hard to describe.

As I looked out at the scene before me, I couldn't help but feel like I'd stumbled upon something amazing and unique. The combination of the grand buildings, the elaborate carvings, and the peaceful fountain all created a feeling of wonder and awe.

I lost myself in the scenery before me for a few seconds, forgetting all my confusion and fears.

I had just left the sixth building from the right side of the U shape.

"We are going there." Lucile casually pointed to the largest and the most magnificent building which was located at the furthest part of the U, "Your father almost claimed that building for himself you know… oops, I think I'm in trouble."