Too Beautiful.

Baang!

My head slammed into the cold wall, a sharp burst of pain lancing through my skull. A hazy, fragmented glow danced in the corners of my vision, dissolving into rivulets of chaotic colors.

The endless darkness crept closer, finding its way into my mind like an unwelcomed guest.

I stumbled, disoriented, my surroundings a swirling, incomprehensible blur. Shards of fragmented images flashed before me- chaotic, disjointed scenes I couldn't piece together.

I thought I saw it for a moment- a faint, illusory circle spinning above me.

Then,

Crash!

My body betrayed me.

With a dull thud, I collapsed onto the ground. Darkness shifted and swirled around me, shadows flickering like dancers on the walls

And then-,

Stillness.

***

.

.

.

.

I groaned, the sound a raw echo in the stifling quiet.

Forcing my aching body upright, I cradled my pounding head. Pain lanced through my temples, and I instinctively rubbed at the dull ache, trying to push through the haze clouding my thoughts.

It couldn't have been long. Just a few minutes perhaps.

But,

"Huff-huh-."

Frustration boiled within me.

I swallowed the curses threatening to escape my lips and glanced at the wall before me- the stained window to be more precise.

The inscription in Amaera had been clear: "pass through the wall." The added symbol- a musical notation- had seemed irrelevant.

So it's safe to assume that, I had chosen the wrong wall...

The realization stung, and worse, the room stretched endlessly, its walls multiplying in the oppressive darkness. Any of them could conceal the passage.

Despair pressed down on me, but I forced it aside, muttering under my breath.

"...How bad can my luck possibly get?"

A bitter laugh escaped me as I resolved to continue looking.

Tok-

Tok-

One by one.

I tested the walls.

Tok-

My palm pressed against the cold surfaces,

Soon,

My fists slammed into them,

BAAANG!

My voice drowned by the stifling silence that surrounded me.

The air was a suffocating mixture of chlorine and iron- a scent too thick to ignore.

Tok-

Shadows lingered at the edges of my vision, moving as though alive.

Tok-

My legs ached and my breathing grew shallow.

"Huff-Hah-Huff."

The walls stretched endlessly, an unbroken line swallowed by the oppressive darkness.

"How long..." I whispered, my voice trembling.

There was no clues, no signs. My earlier confidence faltered, giving way to exasperation.

Hours passed- or perhaps, what felt like hours.

Frustration clawed at my mind as I tugged at my hair, a sharp cry escaping my lips.

My movenengs were frantic, my thoughts spinning.

And then-,

Something shifted.

I stumbled,

My legs moving in an odd, rythmic pattern. The realization struck me line lightning.

The music notation.

It hadn't been meaningless.

Tok-

Tok-

The steps- fluid, and unforced- felt eeriely familiar. A memory stirred: it was the melody I had once played for Garren.

My breath hitched in my throat for a second there.

And,

Tok-

I followed the rhythm.

The ground trembling faintly beneath me. My breath caught as, with one final step, I reached a walk inscribed with a single word in Amaera language:

"Marsiac."

I pressed my hand to it.

And then,

Ba-dump!

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

The wall shuddered, then split apart with a smooth, mechanical precision.

The darkness beyond was thick, oppressive- a stifling quiet that seemed to devour light and sound.

Swallowing my unease,

"Hum."

I stepped forward.

The wall behind me sealed shut, leaving me trapped in an endless abyss.

Whoosh!

A cold sensation brushed against my skin, like unseen hands pulling at me.

Tok-

My steps faltered, fear threatening to pull me under its jurisdiction.

The silence was alive- dene and watchful like a predator stalking its prey.

But,

Tok-

I pressed on.

Tok-

Gradually,

Tok-

The darkness receded, giving way to faint outlines of a massive, imposing door.

"This is it." I whispered, my voice trembling.

The culmination of my efforts- the answers I had sought- lay beyond that door.

Badump!

I reached for it, fingers brushing against its cold surface.

And then-,

Creak!

The door creaked open, revealing a chamber thick with dust that swirled in sense, choking clouds.

I coughed,

"Kha-Kgha."

My heart hammering in my chest.

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Forcing myself forward, I stepped into the room, leaving the door ajar behind me- a precaution, just in case.

Cautiously,

Tok-

I approached the center of the room, where a faint glow emanated from a small box.

Shudder-

My hands trembled as I lifted the lid. Inside lay an intricately crafted necklace, its beauty impossible to describe.

Tears welled in my eyes.

This was it.

The key to my last- the means to defeat the Amaraith - and perhaps, something more.

I felt a odd familiarity with the necklace, one which I couldn't really place my hands on- on what it entails.

The more I tried to remember, the more it slipped from the tip of my fingers, floating into the endless darkness beyond.

Nevertheless, I didn't allow myself to get depressed because of that. I knew well to appreciate every single moment I got in this cursed, and wretched land.

And now...,

I had the necklace.

I finally have the first thing that has a connection to my past. It was but a single step to finding more about my past.

But for now, It was more than enough.

And for the first time in what felt like eternity, a faint smile tugged at my lips.

And then-,

Slowly, and carefully, I placed the necklace around my neck.

Slow and carefully, I wore the most beautiful thing I had seen in what felt like... ages. Careful and cautiously, as though I was holding onto my most prized item, I wore the only clue I had to my past.