In the enormous room, Penelope's shout seemed to echo a lot more weakly than she had intended. She realized she was panting, her breaths coming short and fast.

The man in the fancy, glittery robes who had been preparing to speak didn't seem annoyed at her interruption per se, but he gave her a strange look. It was like he couldn't quite understand why she seemed so indignant to have been assaulted in a secondhand store and stolen by whatever weird cult this was. For that's what Penelope decided this must have been, some sort of a strange cult that dealt with making tiny little gray monsters and actual teleportation. A cult that seemed to have a lot more success with actually delivering on some of its fantastical promises than your average cult, but definitely a cult of some kind.

The only one in the room who continued to make the tiniest bit of noise after Penelope's outburst was the neighbor who'd pulled her along by her arm. He was hunched to the side, trying and failing miserably to stifle a laugh.

"Oh, you must be a rabbit! That was too adorable!" He spoke to her in a pseudo hushed tone with one hand shielding his mouth from the stage, as if the whole room of over a hundred people weren't entirely fixated on the two of them and listening to every word.

Penelope shot a glare at him in response, having entirely no idea what that meant but still feeling it was somehow offensive. This only seemed to encourage the peculiar boy and upon seeing her irritated expression he started shaking with even more barely contained laughter, bending over double.

The old man cleared his throat and Penelope shifted her attention towards the stage. Without further ado the apparent leader of this whole congregation began to speak, loud enough for the whole room to hear. His voice sounded ancient, but instead of the frailty of old age it held a depth that drew in Penelope's attention irresistibly.

"It would seem that one of you requires an explanation." He spoke in an amused tone while looking at Penelope before gesturing with arms spread wide towards the whole line-up of teenagers standing before him. "Welcome, hero aspirants, to the Grand Hall of the Zodiacs, ancient guardians of Cygnus and champions of all higher races," his voice boomed. "Long ago these heroes were the pinnacle of power that our races wielded, the peaks of potential reached and exceeded. Warriors who could cleave mountains in twain. Mages who held all the secrets of creation at their fingertips. Rulers whose will dominated even the natural laws of our world. Yet all bringers of justice and glory in their time."

Wait. Penelope's heart began pounding in her chest as she listened to the man speak. This sounds a lot like…

"You stand before us today to offer yourselves as aspirants to become the wielders of fate, heroes of legend, and leaders in your generation. To prove yourselves you will face many challenges within and without, claiming great achievements to prove your worthiness of this honor. Through the guidance of your blessings and your own inner strength, bring glory to your name and to your kind." The man started to raise his hands. In his palms a faint light began to glow. Penelope gasped as the stone stage beneath his feet began to pulse with a faint blue light, resonating with whatever the old man was doing. "May you claim the 40th inheritance of your patrons and bring about a new age of prosperity for our great land. May the Zodiacs bless you."

"May the Zodiacs bless you!" Penelope jolted from her musing as every last member of the hall shouted back the blessing. In that moment the old man clapped his hands together with a great BOOM - far louder than it had any right to be - and all at once the light in the hall was sucked away. Penelope looked around in the darkness, but could only see the pitch black. Even the natural lighting of the windows was completely gone.

Penelope had just started to worry that she'd been spirited off to some other fantastical setting when the stage flickered to life with light. It began faintly, but slowly grew into a great blue blaze. The light ran along the patterns inset into its surface which were now making an audible humming tone. She could even feel a faint breeze coming from it, brushing past her hair. Although the room was still unnaturally dark, Penelope could just make out the floor at her feet and the man standing on the stage was illuminated clearly.

In the otherworldly light the jittering eye on his cloak looked all the more unsettling. Penelope hardly noticed however, her eyes locked onto those of the old man's.

He bent forward and made an ushering gesture towards her. She began to walk forward. It felt like she was in a daydream. Without thinking, she stepped up the stairs onto the stage. Had those stairs been there before? Penelope couldn't concentrate. She felt a bit delirious. The corners of her mouth twitched.

"Be steady, my child." The man spoke much softer now and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. She realized she'd been shaking. Penelope tried to take a few deep, calming breaths, but she found she couldn't quite manage. This couldn't actually be what she thought it was, right? There's no way, right?

The man gave one last encouraging smile, then backed away, leaving Penelope in the center of the glowing blue stage. He started to chant in low muttered tones, bringing up his hands and tracing complex patterns in the air. She strained to make out his words, but every time she thought she heard what he was saying the meaning seemed to slip out of focus. Its effect was undeniable though, as the ever present darkness began to press in from all sides.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

First the floor around the stage faded away, but before too long even the man upon the stage with her was starting to meld with that inky black. As the dark shadows enveloped him even his voice was slowly fading away. Once he had disappeared even his chanting could no longer be heard. Strangely the stone stage and Penelope herself were entirely unaffected by the inky blackness, leaving her completely isolated on an island of blue light within a complete and utter void.

She stood there on that platform for what felt like an eternity, waiting in anticipation. Finally, the darkness began to slowly peel back, but the world it revealed was no longer the great hall she'd just been in. The floor had been replaced by a dark grassy field that stretched as far as she could see. Penelope couldn't tell if the grass' black hue was due to the dimness of the light or was its natural color.

Scattered on the ground was the rubble of what looked like ancient ruins. The shattered remains of old, weathered columns were scattered about; some stumps of pillars still remained upright, although there was only a single column that seemed semi-intact.

Half-buried in the grass was what looked like the remains of a statue, though it was too ancient to fully identify what it was meant to be. Penelope narrowed it down to possibly having once been the statue of a maiden, or quite possibly a lion of some kind. Both seemed like plausible possibilities.

Penelope wondered for a moment if perhaps she was meant to leave the platform and explore this strange place, but there was a feeling of sanctity to the site that she instinctively felt ought not to be disturbed. Instead, she simply waited in place, taking a moment to reflect on all the strange events she'd experienced so far that day and to admire the peacefulness of the utterly still scene around her.

She felt a cool wind brushing her hair up over her shoulder and she could hear the black grass rustle softly in the breeze.

Her patience was rewarded when she spotted motion in the tall grass out of the corner of her eye. It was some sort of small creature that radiated a pink light. At first, Penelope thought she had a hard time making it out because her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and it was too bright, but as it hopped closer she realized that its edges actually were blurry. Stranger yet, the body of the creature was nearly completely transparent, with only its outline glowing with radiant pink energy. Focusing on this outline, she realized that it was a rabbit, or perhaps some sort of hare. Penelope was fairly certain there was a difference between those two animals, although it hardly seemed relevant when considering the mystical creature before her.

At first, it slowly approached from the edges of the shadow and paused several times, seemingly wary of her. Penelope couldn't help but smile and wave at the cute little thing, cooing internally at its shy behavior. Finally, the rabbit seemed to approve of her and began to hop towards her more eagerly.

Not a moment later the rabbit (and Penelope herself) jumped nearly 3 feet in the air as a tremendous roar broke the tranquility of the scene. From out of nowhere a great gray tiger leaped down elegantly in front of the quivering rabbit, growling from deep within its throat. It too was a ghostly outline, though this in no way made it any less intimidating as it circled the poor rabbit.

The rabbit itself acted much more bravely than Penelope had expected it would. It scurried back, but only a few steps before hopping onto the remains of a broken pillar. It turned around and seemed to challenge the massive tiger, which only acted amused at the rabbit's defiance.

As it crouched to pounce, a green blur streaked from the shadows and crashed onto the side of the lion, leaping off of the top of its hide to gracefully land on the other side, closer to Penelope. From this angle, she realized the newcomer was a dog, looking somewhat like a cross between a golden retriever and a shiba. The tiger quickly recovered and growled at the dog before diving at it with a swipe.

The tiger and the dog fought like this for awhile, each one exchanging minor blows while the rabbit ducked and darted about trying to avoid being crushed beneath the two much larger animals' bodies. The dog struck with elegant leaps and acrobatic tackles while the tiger swiped ferociously, roaring in frustration. The fight was interrupted again as yet more animals appeared, streaming from the shadows and joining in to compete amongst one another in a similar fashion.

Penelope spun, trying to keep up with the tide of animals that clopped and stomped and sprinted about her, each one its own unique color. She spotted a horse, jumping and bucking about as a snake slithered along its back. There was a boar that dove at the dog and tiger, heedless of their private squabble and simply charging at whatever it could. Even a golden rooster appeared, leaping from within the stampede with its wings spread while giving wild, indignant clucks.

Finally, as quickly as the chaos had emerged, it abruptly ended. A small blue streak sped through the grass, faster than Penelope could follow. It ignored the other animals and rushed straight at Penelope, diving towards the stage.

The world flashed and Penelope squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she was half expecting to have found herself somewhere else entirely, but she was still in the grassy ruins.

The only difference was that the menagerie of animals was gone, and in their place stood an ethereal woman. She wore a long, dark cloak that obscured her figure and looked rather plain, but the glittering, golden earrings she wore spoke of someone elegant and regal. Her eyes were a sapphire blue and stared at Penelope kindly, though with the impassiveness of someone who has watched an eternity pass before them. Penelope looked back at the woman with bated breath, waiting for her to speak.

The woman's voice was delicate, but powerful, each syllable seeming to gently ripple through Penelope's very soul. "My apologies for the behavior of my kin. It's not often so lively, but I'm afraid everyone was so eager to meet you that they simply couldn't hold back." She gave a faint, quiet smile which faded quickly. "Welcome chosen hero of the Zodiac. I am the Inheritance of the Rat." The woman spoke again in a grand voice, bowing deeply then looking into Penelope's eyes once more.

Penelope gazed at the woman's solemn, earnest expression, and all at once she couldn't hold it back anymore.

Penelope began to laugh. A relieved, genuine, deep laugh from the very depths of her heart. She laughed and laughed until the muscles in her belly started to strain. Wiping a tear from her eye, Penelope looked up into the ageless spirit's face, and this transcendent being seemed startled by Penelope's response. Penelope simply gave her a carefree smile. She was seriously, really, actually a chosen hero.

For the first time in a long time, in these absurd circumstances, she finally felt a glimmer of complete and utter joy.