'This is the leader,' I thought.
The whole room was quiet after the earlier statement, but it was the silence that made it sickening. All of us were nervous as we awaited her judgement.
Seconds felt like an hour under the silence, and finally someone said something. Surprisingly it was Serk, who spoke as he knelt on one knee.
"Leader, I, Serk, your humble servant, have brought..." he paused, glanced at us with a threatening stare, and signaled to the guards to put us on our knees.
The floor was cold. Colder than the desert night. It bit through my jeans.
"Ah, yes. I, Serk, have brought the ones which you requested, leader," he said humbly, awaiting the leader's response.
"Well done, Serk. I will make sure you are rewarded. And who's behind them?" the leader responded with an intrigued tone.
When I heard what she said, I didn't immediately know who she was talking about until it finally clicked.
'Timeless, the runaway.'
"Ah, my leader, as you can see, this is the runaway, Timeless," he dragged Timeless forward as he spoke.
I have seen countless things people would do to those who betrayed their cause or cult, mostly in movies. But I know what punishment they would give him would be cruel.
So, I mustered all the courage I had and asked.
"What are you going to do to him?"
Serk had a look of shock, but he quickly regained his composure.
"How dare you speak—"
Serk was about to speak, but was cut off by a simple hand sign.
"It's okay. For your answer, it's going to be nothing serious except, of course, beheading him in the surroundings of countless people," she gave a smile as she replied.
The smile didn't ease the tension at all. If anything, it confirmed that she'd done it before. Many times.
"Girl, I'd like you to give me your name," the leader asked in a friendly tone, quite different from her imposing aura.
"Eh... I am Emily Torzart," I introduced myself.
The room was quiet again. There was no immediate answer until a sound came from the throne.
The leader got up from the throne and began to walk towards us in an unhurried pace. The way she walked was elegance, showcasing her status and power. Each step made no sound. Not on marble. Not on anything.
As she got closer to us, we finally got to see how she looked.
She was as white as snow, her complexion was like the moonlight. That was not what really stunned us. It was her beauty.
Her face was like a flawless statue that was created by the gods. Her hair swayed as she approached us, glowing faintly like the moonlight. Her light blue eyes silently studied us with curiosity, not with threat.
She stopped about four meters away from us and replied;
"I'm Selka. And who might your friends be?"
There was no underlying command in her words, but the way she said it — especially in that friendly tone — sent shivers down my spine.
I flinched slightly and I quickly regained my composure.
'She is more scary than anyone I have seen.'
"Hm... This is Edward Norman, Quinn, Mark Robinson and Peter Schlaw," I introduced each and every one of us.
I stared at the leader, who was named Selka, and couldn't see the hint of curiosity die down.
"Darok, take OUR GUESTS to the room. I will be with you shortly," she said with a chilling smile.
"Yes, my leader," another figure appeared out of nowhere.
'So, this is the famous Darok, the second in command,' I thought as I tried to peer through the blindfold.
Darok had a black blindfold covering his eyes while he wore black attire all through. The cloth over his eyes didn't move. Didn't wrinkle. Like it was painted on. He turned his gaze at us and flashed a smile.
Just looking at the man, I knew whatever room he was taking us to will surely be dangerous.
"And Emily, may I ask, what happened to him?" she asked with a curious gaze, nodding toward Peter's unconscious body.
"Nothing, he just needs some rest, that's all," I gave her an answer as Darok took us to the room.
Before we left the room, I could hear an almost inaudible whisper, "Just as the prediction said, the chosen remains in slumber."
After that, everything just went silent. No one talked as we moved through the corridor. As we walked, my mind was in disarray as I tried to comprehend what she had just said.
'Who is the chosen? Wait, could it be the one she is talking about is Peter? And the prediction, could she have seen more than what we had thought?'
My mind began running several scenarios as I continued to think on it.
'I just have to wait. Piece by piece, all the mysteries will begin to unravel by themselves,' I steeled my mind as we continued walking.
****
"Where am I?"
My voice, although croaked, echoed faintly as I stared at my surroundings.
"What happened to me? This isn't the submarine," I said, awaiting some form of explanation.
There was no answer. There was just silence everywhere, like a void.
With no answer, I focused my mind on where I am. The whole place was dark as night, and strangely I could still see here.
And at the edge of my view was clouds. Yes, clouds. Everywhere was covered by clouds with no solid ground in sight.
"Am I on a mountain?"
As if confirming my claim, a cold breeze began to move, bathing my body in a cold serene way, and the tree beside me began to sway with the leaves rustling.
But I heard no rustling. The leaves moved, but the air was dead.
"Hmm... I guess there is no need to think about it," I dusted my cloth and picked myself up.
I started moving, examining every single thing I could see. Everything was eerily quiet. The breeze and leaves created no sounds.
"Am I in a sanctuary or heaven? No, this can't be heaven," I corrected myself, comparing every piece of information.
Heaven was lively, colorful, and beautiful. But this is a dead contrast. Quiet, dark, and colorless.
As I was thinking, a light that created a contrast in this world shone, blinding my eyes for a few seconds. It took me some minutes to adjust and I stared at the light with curiosity.
At the horizon, floating in the sky, stood an eerily beautiful palace.
"Could that be it?"