Decades passed in an instant. Time halted, yet continued to flow. Each day passed, only to be repeated. Throughout it all, she slept.

Delicate eyelashes lined her closed eyes. Midnight black hair spilled down to the floor below, disheveled into an unruly heap. Her pale skin gave her the appearance of an ethereal beauty. Her figure was still. Only the subtle rise and fall of her chest proved that she was alive.

Countless chains bound her from head to toe. Even if she woke, her situation would remain unchanged. As she slept, time lost its meaning.

Dust caked the room. Forgotten by time, forgotten by history, she was bound in the dark room for eternity.

The end came in an instant. A massive power surged. Chains shattered into a million pieces. A brilliant white flash seared the world.

Just as quickly as the end came, it vanished. The room was restored and the former darkness returned. The chains hummed faintly as they held the bound woman.

Even when the world ended, the woman continued to sleep.

A single set of footprints marred the otherwise dusty room. It was only yesterday that the owner of the footprints entered the room and yet, almost a year had passed. It was only yesterday that the chained witch spoke to the youth and yet, the woman had slept for the past year.

A promise was made.

A spell was activated.

A wish was granted.

This trade was the reason for the woman's deep sleep. One person entered the room and one person left the room. Unbeknownst to anyone, the witch escaped eternity.

It was a few days, or a few years later, that the boy returned to the room where the woman slept. The sleeping woman was the only one with whom he could share his secret. His hand traced the woman's cheek as he spoke to her in a warm tone. Throughout the entire narration, the woman did not stir. Unconcerned, the boy left and peace returned to the room.

The end came in a searing white flash and yet, the woman continued to sleep.

It was not long before the boy came again. A trace of guilt crossed the boy's eyes, not for the promise made but at the costs of such an exchange. In his desperation, he had tricked the other. Only now had he begun to realize the consequences of his actions. Full of determination, the boy left the room and promised to make things right.

Years passed and the boy returned to the room several times. Each time, only the woman's sleeping face greeted him. Occasionally the boy came to vent his frustrations. Other times, he spoke of his glowing success. With a warm heart, he spoke about how he fulfilled the wish. Determination and guilt pushed him forward.

Decades passed and the boy's visits became less frequent. Even when he showed up, he was usually not alone. Men in power suits or woman in cloaks, one of the two groups came with him but never did they show up together. The people he brought with him analyzed the sleeping woman and the chains that bound her. The groups even managed to free her from the chains. Yet, all his visits ended the same way. The boy left with a frown on his face and growing desperation in his eyes.

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The end came in a searing white flash and the woman continued to sleep.

Decades had passed and the boy's appearance had not aged one bit. That was not unsurprising though. After all, it was only yesterday that they exchanged a promise.

The boy came in with unusual visitors after a long period of silence. One was a man in a power suit and the other was a woman with a cloak and staff. The boy had a confident grin on his face as he introduced the two to the sleeping girl. Tomorrow would be the end of it, promised the boy. Over a century had passed since they first exchanged their promise and yet, not even a year had passed. Tremors shook the room that day and the chains that bound the woman hummed loudly.

The end came in a searing white flash and the woman continued to sleep.

The boy showed up the next day with utter exhaustion and defeat on his face. Carefully laid plans were brought to ruin and the boy finally realized the truth. He had exchanged one kind of endless eternity for another. As he watched the woman continue to sleep, he wept at the consequences of his actions.

Years later, he showed up with a frail girl who shared the same family resemblance as him. Her legs were a bit unsteady, as if they were recovering from a long period of inactivity.  Step by step, the boy narrated the events of that day. He told her about the promise that was made and the wish that was granted. He laid out the trick he played and the cost of his action. The girl quivered as she listened to him.

When he finally finished, the girl rushed to the sleeping woman and hugged her. Each teardrop that fell from her face stabbed the boy in the heart as he regretted his actions. The accusatory remarks he braced himself for did not appear. He expected rage, hatred, and shouting. Instead, he received sorrow, pity, and sobbing. The event brought him a measure of comfort and peace that he did not expect to find.

In his heart, he knew he should have brought the girl sooner. As time went on, his fear grew bigger and bigger. He feared rejection from the one he came to love. The boy resolved to try harder.

Yet the tides of time washed away both his happiness and resolve. The end came in a searing white flash and the woman continued to sleep.

The boy's visits became infrequent. His expression became strained and bags lined his eyes. Time after time, the boy tried to fulfill the promise and yet, the outcome remained the same. The end came in a searing white flash and the woman continued to sleep.

Not even a day after exchanging a promise with the sleeping woman, the boy showed up with a silver dagger. Desperation filled his eyes. Half hysterically, he told the sleeping woman that the promise was impossible to fulfill. Taking the dagger, he plunged it into the woman's chest. Blood poured into the ground and the woman bound by chains dropped into an eternal slumber. Excited, the boy took the still bloody dagger and plunged it into his own chest. At last, the boy thought, at last I can rest.

Even then, the end came in a searing white light and the woman continued to sleep.

The next day, the boy rushed into the dark room. His disappointment staggered him as he saw the woman continue to sleep while bound in chains. His mind reeled and he failed to catch himself before he hit the ground. Suddenly, the boy laughed maniacally with tears streamed down his face. The light in the depths of his pupils vanished and his outburst came to an abrupt end. That day, the boy left the sleeping woman in the dark room and never came back.

Decades passed in an instant. Time halted, yet continued to flow. Each day passed, only to be repeated. The boy no longer visited the sleeping woman.

It was only yesterday that they exchanged a promise and yet, hundreds of years had passed. The chains hummed as they held aloft the sleeping woman in the dark room.

It was only for an instant, but it lasted an eternity.

Delicate eyelashes lifted as a pair of golden eyes opened to see the world.

The sleeping woman... woke up.