Purple flames lit opposing sides of the chamber; the flickering light washed everything over with a dim violet. A circle of purple runes rotated clockwise around us continuously as we were elevated on a dark hexagonal slate platform. Four sizeable stone statues watched over us from each corner of the room: two held books and the other two held blades. Their heads looked down, almost in sorrow. There was a dull humming with bursts of steam escaping from a singular contraption to my left.

My vision became blurry while taking in my surroundings. I was unsure why, but a flood of emotion washed over me. Memories flooded back to me.

What was that? Seriously — what the hell was that? All I did was freeze up and stand there; how did everything go from peace to hell within minutes? How could I not console Aria in her final moments and instead sob while she comforted me? Is Yaffir, Oswald, Maven — Mum, Dad... and everyone now dead?

I took a moment to compose myself before I stood up. I noticed a weight pulled down on my neck. It appeared I was wearing that same sapphire necklace. Instead of a stormy ocean swirling inside, it was calm now. It glowed faintly, pulsing. I firmly held it in my hand; it was cold like ice. I don't know why, but I thanked the necklace at that moment. It was maybe irrational, but it made me calm.

Aria was still asleep, so I gathered my thoughts to help her through this. It looked like the city of Yandria was turned to rubble. Not just the city but the entire continent. I remembered how far those portals and pillars stretched across the horizon.

The entire thing escalated within, I'd say, half an hour. Those guards that sprinted past me and Aria were probably responding to something; the thief seemed in a rush and acted irrationally. Wait, didn't that thief say something? What was it again? Something like...

> "Why the hell are you two here? That makes zero sense."

That was — strange. Maybe it was someone I knew? I ignored his features, so I was unsure of his appearance, but I doubt I knew him. I didn't know anyone with that much magical prowess. It didn't matter, but at least I tried to keep my memories in order.

The bloodied guard appeared, and by then, people were already running and screaming. The barrier shattered. Then, everything happened immensely quickly. Yaffir went from healthy to dead within minutes. The sky went red, creatures fell from infernal rings, everything was consumed in flame, and rocks of fire crushed me and Aria among the rubble.

I needed to wake up Aria. I really would've preferred to let her sleep, but I needed a second opinion. I quickly crawled over to her, my cloak dragged against the dusty slate underneath me. "Aria, psst — Aria. Wake up." I cooed gently to her, but she wasn't waking up. I gently poked her cheek a few times.

"Mmmpph. Shut up Twel. I'm dead," Aria mumbled while she drooled across the floor.

"No, you're not! Were you even sleeping, dumbass!? Don't do that to me." I grabbed her collar and shook her as she yawned and sat up. Seriously, how could she joke around after such a thing?

"What is going on, Twel? Where are we?" Aria looked around in confusion. She certainly took it better than I did.

"It seemed like we've woken up in some chamber. It wasn't a dream, right? Me, you and everyone died, right?"

Aria stood up and dusted off her skirt. "Yeah— maybe we didn't die after all." She paused and looked over at me. "Did you find a necklace?"

"I woke up with it, and I think it's the same one from before — maybe it saved us." I laughed. Aria's presence comforted me straight away as I stood beside her.

"Either that or this is how the afterlife looks. It looks good on you." she adjusted my necklace and straightened it. "Whelp, ladies first!" Aria gestured forward for me to step off the platform.

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"You're more of a lady than I am." I puffed my cheeks. I cautiously stepped down from the hexagonal platform while Aria followed close behind. There were two small elevated steps up to the platform. A large circle of vibrant purple runes spun around the platform. It was similar to the glyph of protection I placed on my door, except way larger, and it shined more vibrantly than any glyph I've ever seen.

Various slate lines spanned the floor, leading to key points of interest in the room. Behind me were three tables, the central one draped with purple cloth. All three were decorated with various items on top. In front of each statue stood a generator of some sort; small smoke stacks stood on both sides of a large crystal; of the four generators, one seemed to be active, glowing purple, pumping out a clear, hot steam.

I walked up to the tables first as they grabbed my interest. I saw two books, one open and the other bound. The open book was still being written; most pages were blank, and a dry quill sat near it. I checked the cover and back, but it had no title. The text inside was a language I didn't understand, and the letters were high, spikey, and densely packed. The bound book had a title on the front in big letters, but it was in that same strange mystical alphabet, and I couldn't decipher it.

"Do you understand this, Aria?" I pointed to the books. Aria looked over my shoulder with a smug face.

"What do you think?" She sarcastically giggled. My sister turned on her heel and headed off towards the other side of the room.

Jeez — I only asked.

I tried to open the bound book, but it didn't budge, not even half an inch. This magic also reminded me of my glyph of protection — but, to be fair, it was my only day-to-day reference point for magic. It may have had an arcane lock on it if that was the case. I picked up the book and slid it under my arm. I scanned the table for any other objects to snatch. Large orbs sat on the tables on either side of me, but they looked too heavy, so I opted out of carrying them. An angular, rusted metal key was under the book, so I picked that up and slipped it into my pocket.

I walked up to the statue, which had a large plaque underneath with the same lettering. It looked like each statue could be a real person with a name. Too bad it was unreadable. I saw a large door and beckoned Aria over; she was on the opposite side of the chamber, examining an opposing statue.

"I hope we aren't trapped. I don't spot any food, and I'm dying to eat," Aria said from across the room.

"Same! Come over here Aria. Let's check out what's inside here," I replied as I opened the door. Aria walked around the edge of the room over to me.

Inside the room was a shattered crystal of some kind. Shards of glass were in a circular formation in the center of the room. The room had shown its age compared to the main chamber; there were giant cobwebs in the corners of the room, and when I opened the door, we coughed as a cloud of white dust flooded out. Two purple burning flames inside kept the room easily lit up among the fog. The tiles on the floor were cracked, and the ceiling had partially collapsed. Strange.

"Seems pretty empty. You stealing stuff already Twel?" Aria pointed down at the book I was carrying.

"Maybe it can be opened. If you had to lock it closed, It probably contains something important or private. At worst, we could sell it." I shrugged.

I turned away and walked to the second door in the main chamber. Aria followed behind me. I might as well let the dust settle. I wasn't the biggest fan of spiders, to say the least. I saw a keyhole in the center of the slate door and pulled out my pocketed key. I slid in the key.

It fit!

I gave it a turn, and the door cracked open; inside was a dark hallway. The smell changed from a stagnant smell to fresh air. A small light could be seen at the end of the hallway, but it was too dark to see anything else. On either side of the door was a sconce that burned a bright amethyst. Aria went ahead and picked up one of the torches from the wall and used it to illuminate the hallway.

"Let's take turns. you go first this time." I nodded and gestured forward.

Aria giggled, "Fine." she walked forward as two large wooden doors were revealed both to the left and right of us. She creaked them open, revealing a bedroom to our left and right. The rooms were barren, with only a double bed in each room, no furniture, just a large platform of slate.

At the end of the hallway, the wall was heavily cracked open, and I could see light flooding in and heard the sound of birds and trees. I gave the wall a kick, nothing.

"Stand back Twel," Aria instructed and gave the wall a hearty kick. Bash — with that wall began to collapse. Bash — a hole had opened up that could easily be crawled through now. I looked over to Aria with an awkward smile. Working with potions all day doesn't give you strong leg muscles, I guess.

"Your turn." Aria gestured to the hole.

"Hah, funny." I rolled my eyes and got on all fours. I pushed my book before me as I maneuvered through the gap. The bricks above me scraped across my back, and the dirt on the floor stained my knees and hands.

Eventually, after crawling out, I stood up and looked around; we were in a forest of some kind, and behind us, a clay cliff face. The dense forest trees were vivid, and birds chittered. It was the peak of summer, and the sun welcomed us, sitting high in the sky. I took a deep breath and turned around to give Aria a hand.

Where were we? Why were we here?