Beyond the door

It felt like something inside her was properly awakening but at the same time, the mysterious door was rapiy absorbing some of her essence. Feeding on the energy being emitted by the thing in her soul.

She struggled trying to free herself but she was stuck, the onyx door was holding her in place preventing her from escaping before it was done with her.

At her side, the ball of fire watched nonchalantly, it seemed that it wasn't planning to save her anytime soon.

" Ahh!"

A sharp pain tore through her soul, bringing her unbearable pain. Each minute it would pulse again bringing her to her knees in the process. But even in this state she refused to completely kneel before it, biting her lips till they bled only to let out scream after scream, tears spilling from her eyes.

All her brain could process at the moment was the pulsing pain she was feeling, so much so that she didn't notice the grey light that was being emitted from her shoulder.

In her daze, she heard faint sinister whispers being spoken in ancient tongue and yet somehow she could understand what was being said.

" Beware of destiny. Beware of destiny."

' Destiny, why should I be scared of it or could it be a person or maybe the name of an ancient domain?'

A loud blast broke her out of her thoughts, the door violently opened flinging her away like a broken rag doll. She flew across the passageway, rolling to a painful stop but she couldn't feel that pain.

Her body, spirit and mind were numbed, her eyes unfocused, in a daze with her only thought being ' destiny.'

In that state she couldn't feel anything or comprehend what was happening around her. It was even becoming difficult to remember who she was and why she was here. All that mattered was the question on destiny.

Thinking that way, she let her mind sink. Only to be brought back by the feeling of scorching heat all over her body. Her sinking mind instantly woke up causing her to sit up as she regained herself.

Currently, she was in the middle of a raging inferno, she had a good guess where they came from. Rolling frantically on the ground trying to extinguish the flames, she yelled at perpetrator.

" Please stop it! I'm awake! I'm awake you evil ball of flames."

Her words only made the flames rage more intensey, she hurriedly apologized to it. Only then did the flames recede leaving her charred. Inspecting her body, she breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully that she had resistance to fire or else that stupid flame would have barbequed her.

' It should be grateful that my silky skin is still intact or else this wouldn't have ended peacefully.'

Unfortunately, Alexia's clothes weren't fire resistant leaving her in only her birthday suit in an ancient tunnel.

" Well this sounds like such an epic story."

She glared at the little fire ball, only to find it's back turned to her, it was almost as if it was embarrassed to look at her.

Feeling vengeful, she decided to tease it. Crawling towards it, she pulled it into her embrace taking it by surprise. She watched as the flame turned a deeper shade of red, wriggling free as she burst into laughter.

" What a gentleman of a flame you are."

Shaking her head, she brought out a lime dress from her storage bracelet, this dress possessed a high defensive capacity which she would need to fight whatever was on the other side of that door.

Also, it was her only option at the moment. Standing up, she ignored the flame, moving forward, not paying attention to it's indignant expression. If there was anyone that should be complaining about their situation right now, it should be her.

Also, she was a much better partner than that unreliable flame so it should show some gratitude for it's fortune.

Hesitating for a second, she stepped through the door, taking in her new surroundings. The air here was stale and earthy and the temperature had increased drastically. She could feel sweat trickling down her body, something that rarely happens.

Panting slightly, she cautiously advanced, these were deadly uncharted territories, she couldn't afford to let her guard down. Following behind her, the flame was as carefree as possible.

" Of course it is. What here could pose a threat to it?" She grumbled feeling slightly bitter and that disdainful look wasn't helping at all.

Her bitterness was quickly replaced by awe, towering in front of her like a neverending giant, was a collosal castle. Her mouth gaped open as the little flame puffed up it's chest as if saying.

" Look at how splendid my home is, can you ever compare?"

The first question that popped into her head after that was;

" What the heck is a ball of fire doing with such a magnificent castle? The gods are truly partial!"

She said this while moving to the castle with a little resentment in her heart.

" No matter, I'll raid this place to compensate my mental trauma."

The flame unaware of her intentions, proudly followed behind her towards the grand steps of the castle. The whole structure was a ruby red with the obsidian floor and inky sky serving as a stunning contrast.

With each step she took, the feeling of grandeur magnified and the conviction to not leave empty handed grew much more intense.

Studying the grand onyx doors that bore a great resemblance to the previous one, she hesitantly placed her palms on them intending to push them open.

Keeping her eyes closed, the expected pain didn't come leaving her surprised and relieved. Instead like any other normal door, it opened easily to grant her access.

Stepping inside, she saw nothing but opaque swirling shadows. Even if there was anything of value inside the castle, she wouldn't know because her vision was being obstructed by them.

The flame hurried ahead of her, shrugging to herself, she chased after it. Speeding through the halls, she reached a staircase leading down into a lightless void. The pressure from down there was heavy and tyrannical causing her knees to tremble despite the fact that she was a considerable distance from whatever it was that resided below.

The pressure reminded her of the initial feeling she felt when the little flame first appeared but this one was much more ancient. The flame on the other hand was not the least hesitant as it floated downstairs gesturing for her to follow it.

Alexia froze, was it really a good idea to go down there? The darkness seemed much more powerful than the ones she had met so far and the fact that they did not part way for the flame but instead embraced it solidified her suspicions.

At times like this, she really missed her intuition, at least that annoying voice could warn her if this was safe or not. But right now, it was silent leaving her to deal with all these on her own.

" And yet it's meant to guide me."

She inhaled while closing her eyes, trying to relax herself before exhaling and steadying her bearing .Taking small steps down the stairs and into the welcoming embrace of pure darkness.