The First Step

Kaelen, confused by the girl's word, can only responded by thanking her

'Uh.. excuse me, does she not know the concept of personal space?'

"Seraphina?" The woman called the girl's name in a puzzled tone as she approached her 

Suddenly, a familliar voice rang in the room:

"Hoho, and what do we have here..?"

A figure emerged from the ground behind Kaelen, he quickly turned around to reveal that it was Master Cronos in a different attire than before. The old man wore a robe similar to the woman's, but with a slightly different motif and in the color grey. He was also holding what appeared to be a staff in his right hand, topped with a glowing crystal that shone brightly. After Master Cronos confirmed Kaelen's presence, he glanced around the room until his gaze met the woman's, which caused him to flinch slightly.

"Tch, so you came after all, old geezer. I was beginning to think you'd just leave this poor child all alone," the woman said in an annoyed tone.

'Huh.. why do i sense some kind of bad blood between them?' Judging from the woman's reaction upon hearing the old man's name earlier, and his reaction when he saw her just now, it's no surprise to think that there's some kind of history between them. However, Kaelen, who's too afraid to ask, could only stay quiet. 

"Oh my, if it isn't madam Nyx, it is good to see you too.. well don't mind us, we were just about to leave"

As Master Cronos tried to approach Kaelen, a black wall suddenly appeared between them, startling Kaelen slightly.

'Ugh! What's with all these jumpscares that keep happening to me?' Kaelen thought, as he looked at Madam Nyx with her hand reached out – It's safe to assume that the wall that appeared was caused by her.

"Not so fast old geezer, you still owe me an explanation from our previous talk"

Master Cronos let out a heavy sigh

"Six day from now, we will meet at the usual place Nyx, you have my word" 

Hearing Master Cronos respond, Madam Nyx face turned even more displeased

"You always say that, Alaric. How do I know I can trust you again, especially since—"

"Nyx!"

Master Cronos suddenly interrupted Madam Nyx with a raised tone.

Startled, Madam Nyx looked at Master Cronos stern expression and fell silent immediately.

Kaelen, who was clueless about their conversation, still hesitated to ask either of them. He preferred not to get caught in the crossfire and instead turned his gaze to the girl who was still crouching in front of him. As he looked at her face again, he couldn't help but feel conscious of her appearance. It was rare for him to encounter someone so beautiful, mainly because he usually didn't pay much attention to his surroundings or interact with others.

Hesitant at first, he then asked the girl:

"Do you know what they're talking about?"

The girl remained silent for a while before she eventually shook her head. Soon after, she stood up, lifted the huge creature she had dropped earlier, and began to walk until her path crossed with Master Cronos. When he saw her approaching, Master Cronos bowed his head in a courteous manner:

"It's good to see you again Princess Seraphina, i see that your hunt went well"

Seraphina lingered for a moment, she then simply nodded to Master Cronos before walking to the door that led outside the room. She carried the creature with her slender hand, not uttering a single word until her figure disappeared from their sight.

Madam Nyx sighed and followed Seraphina's step soon after, right before she leaves the room, she looked back to Master Cronos:

"Six day Alaric, do not forget"

Master Cronos responded to her by casually waving his hand until she also disappeared from their sight, not long after, the wall that stood near him slowly disintegrated to the ground. He then procced to approached Kaelen.

"Well then, shall we also go?"

***

The woman and the girl are seen walking down a large hallway in the sanctuary.

After Madam Nyx caught up with Seraphina, she gave the girl a concerned look.

"It's not often you take an interest in someone, Seraphina. Care to explain what happened back there?"

Seraphina just kept on walking for a moment until she suddenly stopped in place, She looked at Madam Nyx with a stoic expression

"Master, i felt a link with him"

Madam Nyx's eyes widened in surprise; she did not expected that response from the girl

"I see.." 

Without pursuing the topic any further, Madam Nyx continue to walked down the hallway, with Seraphina soon following after her.

'Interesting...' Madam Nyx mumbled.

***

After what seemed like a long walk inside the sanctuary, Kaelen and Master Cronos finally approached the exit. Kaelen managed to looked back at the path they just walked through, the interior of the sanctuary was not only pleasing to the eye due to its stunning design but also because of its layout that was constantly shifting. Master Cronos explained that the reason for this is to anticipate the possibility of an intruder breaking into the sanctuary. Luckily for them, Master Cronos had already memorized the layout of the sanctuary like the back of his hand.

With every passing second Kaelen spent in this world, he encountered more and more inexplicable sights. He slowly accepted the fact that he really did come to a parallel world – not that he had any doubts from the beginning. Of course he hasn't forgot his main objective for coming here: which is to solve the mystery of his mother curse with the help of Master Cronos.

He then arrived in front of a massive chained gate, which looked impossible to be opened by a person. Master Cronos slowly approached the gate, he then touched the tip of his staff to its base. Suddenly, a massive light shone along the outline of the gate, causing it to slowly open outward.

What greets Kaelen sight is a magnificent view of a forest. The forest stretched endlessly before them, a vast expanse of towering trees that seemed to reach for the heavens. The canopy was thick and dense, with leaves in shades of dark green and shadowy hues, casting a perpetual twilight over the forest floor. The blackened soil beneath their feet was rich and mysterious, its darkness was contrasting sharply with the occasional glint of ethereal light that filtered through the dense foliage. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth. But strangely enough, it was uncharacteristically quiet for a forest this vast. Usually, when you think of forests, you imagine wildlife inhabiting them, yet Kaelen didn't hear or see any signs of life in the forest in front of them.

As the gate of the sanctuary behind them slowly closed, Master Cronos nonchalantly walked into the depth of the forest. Worried that he'll be left behind, Kaelen quickly rushed to his side

"Hey, where are we going old man?"

As they walked, Master Cronos looked at Kaelen with a solemn face

"To your first step in becoming a Seeker"