Father returned to the ground floor, presumably having finished whatever he was working on. Mom put away all unnecessary things, and Mana went to her room to change. It was comical seeing her pull Mom along.

”Get ready, son. It’s time to visit your vision.”

I nodded. The familiarly unfamiliar stairs greeted me as I made way to my room.

The whiteboard, the bed, and those bookshelves. If I remember correctly, I had a camera lying somewhere around here. This can be done later.

I opened the locker, racked my brain on what I should wear for a bit, and went with a classic white shirt and pants. I found the camera in the container inside the locker. Taking a final look at my appearance, I departed from my room.

Mom and Dad were outside waiting for me. Come to think of it, I haven’t looked at the outside yet, now have I? Wonder if I will remember anything when I do.

We lived in the countryside. To be precise, it was a valley.

Towering hills surrounded this town, rivers flowing in between. Houses were scattered all around the place; some for residence, some for the market. Electrical poles lay on either side of the asphalt road; this village gave off a sense of blend between the past and present. The houses weren’t that tall, 2 or 3 floors at most. Only some — presumably rent apartments — went above 5 floors. I could see some large buildings in between, however, 3 of them to be exact. One lay adorned with a large, red Plus. It was probably the hospital. The other was a big metal block with windows; Mana termed it a supermarket/supplies storage. The last one had a 5-floor building with a U-shaped pattern. A playground lay in front of it, and a gymnasium to the side. It was a school.

These buildings — no matter their size — could not compare to the towering spike of white and golden that lay in the center of this valley. Shaped like a palace, yet adorned with three spires. One lay in the center, the other two at the side. The center was the largest, with a clock and an upside-down cross on top. The other two lay similarly adorned with gold and held two figures up in their peak. One was a sharp and handsome man, with hair that reached his shoulder. He was dressed in an elegant white robe, and held his body low; kneeling. He looked to be in contemplation with his eyes closed, almost as if wishing for something. The other figure was a teen girl; barely crossing into adolescence. She lay adorned with a flowy, frilly white and black dress. She stood looking up at the sky, eyes closed and tears streaming down her face. Her hair — raven black — lay below her shoulders. Her hand lay left loosely to the sides. Almost as if she had given up. And also as if she had declared a conviction. She was not smiling. And that in itself was enough to permeate sadness.

We made our way to the cathedral; this gigantic palace of white and gold. You could even see some small hints of black.

The road to it was not long, the cathedral lay in the dead center of this valley. The doors felt as if they were made for giants, enough for everyone to keep quiet as they passed through them. We steadily took our steps, and soon enough, we stood in front of the stairs leading to the entrance. Once again, marveling at the sheer size of this gigantic monument, we started climbing the stairs.

We were not the only ones on it, for children of varying ages — presumably having completed their prayers — were seen hopping down the stairs. Enjoying the process. Some elderly also slowly made their way up this behemoth. Some came down, and some went up; this set of stairs was a journey.

Just under a minute of climbing, and the doors were upon us. They were absolutely massive up close, almost as if built for giants.

”No matter how many times I see it, it’s still majestic. Eon, you ready?” My mom asked. I nodded in reply, spellbound by the pitch-black interior.

Yes, everything beyond the doors was somehow invisible. Blocked in shadows for me. The doors being half open may have contributed to that, but with them being this humongous, I would assume more light was let in. Whatever.

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Mom and Dad went in, and Mana followed. Mana abruptly stopped right at the doors as if hitting a brick wall, before nearly falling to the ground. Then she did some dance moves (pretty sure she was just trying to regain her balance, but did not want to embarrass herself) and slowly found her footing on the other side of the door. Mom and Dad looked up in amusement.

”Well? Hurry up!” Dad said, waving his hand.

So I did. I stepped in… and I didn’t.

”…”

Uhhhh…

”Eon?”

I tried to go through the gates once more.

”…”

Once more.

”…”

I swear I’m going to ram through this if I keep getting stopped at this point.

Once, more. I tried to step inside. My feet refused to pass through the doors. It felt as if I was trying to go through a soft air cushion. The only thing is, this soft air cushion was as dense as a black hole. A hyperbole yes, but I had no other thoughts for this situation.

Only questions.

”Umm, Eon? Are you okay? You keep on lifting your leg up and down.” My mom asked worriedly. Dad wasn’t smiling. As for Mana? She had that signature blank… no. Irritated? She had an agitated look on her face.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Steps resounded from the inside. Someone was making their way to us.

One last time, I tried to pass through. I was met with some obstruction, but nothing as strong as before. I almost got through.

”HALT!”

Almost.

”Outsiders are not allowed here.” The silhouette spoke, his voice booming with authority.

Alas, even my momentary pause could not stop inertia from doing its work. I still made my way through. Immediately, the hall brightened and the towering, curved roof glazed my vision. Was this an optical illusion? I could not for the life of me make heads or tails of this space.

Back to the silhouette. The light revealed it to be an elder, nearing his 90s, yet he stood tall. His hair — white, and frankly, not much remained on his head — was long, giving him a polished look. He had a beard to support it too. Dress in white robes and sandals, with hands behind his back, he displayed a shocked expression. Probably due to my intruding. Was I intruding though?

”How in the goddess’s name…!” He exclaimed.

”Umm, excuse me elder, but is there anything wrong with my son?” My Dad respectfully asked him. Mom looked worried, continuously glancing between me and the elder. Lemme guess, this never happened before as well? Heh.

The elder rubbed and squinted his eyes for a bit, then took a good look at each of my family member’s faces. He stayed a little longer on Mana’s, then immediately snapped back to me.

”Excuse me, I must have been hallucinating. I owe everyone an apology.” He bowed his head slightly. My parents kept on trying to persuade him and whatnot, and soon he receded from his stance.

I could not keep my curiosity contained any longer. So I looked back towards this room. Though I suppose calling this place a “room” was an understatement. This interior; it broke physics. There was no way in hell the outer walls could support a room of this magnitude.

”A wonda of the world. Or an unexplained mystery. That’s what everyone calls this place brothar.” Mana said while standing by my side, lost in the visions of this place.

A room of height taller than the mountains, and space nearly 1/4th of the valley. Reflections of the walls lay below the ground — near the corners of this place, almost as if to tell of a place beyond this room. No that was incorrect. The reflections were an exact replica of these golden, soaring walls and ceilings. It did not even leave out the massive gears that rotated on the walls. The ground immediately beneath our feet was reflective and had a water-like texture. It may have been water itself, for it splashed and rippled with movement, each and every motion felt by our bodies. Yet, it somehow did not make our clothes wet. A huge upside-down cross once again hung from the center of the ceiling.

What drew my attention the most, however, was the wall that lay at the end of this massive hall. 4 gears, one massive, and 3 smaller ones revolved in sync. The largest and the smaller one lay in the middle of the 2 other gears. That was not the highlight though. It was the statue of the little girl in front of those gears, slumping down. She had her right hand raised into the sky, passing through the space beside the two middle gears, and the other lay extended just below the largest gear. The girl looked eerily similar to the statue of the little girl outside. Her hands were stiff, yet the rest of the body was slumped. Almost, as if she had given up, as if she had accepted her fate, almost... Heh. Almost as if she had accepted being controlled.

I could not help but let out a small snicker at this scene. Why I wonder? Why? Why was I smil—

”I still don’t understand this.” Mana hissed under her breath. Her eyes, now ice cold, stared down at that statue.

Her current expression was startling, to say the least. Normally a curious visage. It was now replaced by a mask of rage and indifference, nay. It was of pure, chilling coldness.

Why? I struggled to wrap my head around it.