Blackness.

You float in an empty void. Nothing moves except for your eyes.

A voice suddenly speaks into your mind. It feels like it comes from inside you.

"Hello, Nova Nix'arith."

Tiny pinpricks of light suddenly appear, like tiny stars in the night sky, before shooting away from you into the emptiness.

A barrage of specks flies away from you in increasingly many streams of white light. It is almost as if you are traveling so incredibly fast, but you feel no motion.

The deluge continues for a few heartbeats, steadily increasing, then suddenly, the void is replaced by light.

Pure, unbroken, white light.

It stretches endlessly into what seems like infinity without end. Like the core of a star.

In the middle of this infinite space stands a pale throne. Constructed of a twisting, off-white, unknown material that snakes up and around itself in tall bone-like swirls, spines, and patterns.

Upon the throne sits a creature.

The creature is pale and appears to be malnourished. In the creases of its irregular bones are black patches that stir and move like pools of ink. Its arms are long and thin. On its head sit a multitude of angular horns that make a bony fan. Each horn is sharp and points straight up toward the heavens. Its face is horrible. Above a grinning, toothy mouth is a blank, white face with no eyes, nose, or ears. An empty face.

Its legs are crossed and its long, bony arms are calmy resting on the armrests of its terrible throne.

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Panic begins to rise in your chest, but you are frozen, unable to move.

The Creature continues to gaze at your floating form. Your skin crawls under its intense, eyeless stare.

"I feel as though you are ignoring me..." it says. The Creature's disturbing grin never twitching or moving. "Oh, yes I apologize..."

You suddenly drop out of your invisible bonds onto an invisible floor on hands and knees. Kneeling at the same level as the throne.

"Please forgive me, I am unused to being in the company of people."

You gasp for a breath, but find you don't feel like you need to breathe.

"You should be honored, Nova Nix'arith, for I came to you." He says, his voice is sharp and hard, like broken glass cutting through the air, and his tone is condescending, almost like he is talking to a child

Suddenly you are standing before the throne. There was no feeling of movement, just destination.

His smile slightly increases, and he looks down at you with his blank, white face.

Your body shakes with fear, and yet, you cannot tear yourself away from his awful gaze.

"You should be honored, that I, an Aarkiel of my caliber, have come to you!" He says.

Fear pierces you, you were in the presence of an Aarkiel! And one with intelligence...

He seems to read your mind, "Oh please! You wound me, Nova! An Aarkiel with Intelligence... " He trails off. "Speak!"

You feel like a plug has been pulled, but you refrain from speaking.

His smile widens, and he chuckles darkly, "Oh dear. That's quite rude... Well then, let us begin again, shall we? My name is Tyrr'olni'nel'mul," he says. His voice echoes oddly throughout the empty space. "You, Nova, have a very interesting Allegorical Signature."

"A what?" you whisper.

"Oh, finally! You speak!" He exclaims.

"What do you mean 'I have a very interesting Allegorical Signature'? What does that mean?!" You cry. "How did I get here?

Tyrr'olni'nel'mul laughs loudly and stands from his Throne. "Your soul, Nova, is incredibly similar to a... close friend of mine."

You blink.

He continues without explaining further. "I forcefully created a bind point. I moved my domain through Travel Space, close enough to the physical universe in order to pull your consciousness through." He grins wide. "I offer you a deal. Give me access to your soul, your Allegory, and you will receive a Token. Or, I could send you back, out of my domain, back out of Travel Space, and I won't aid you in the approaching storm." He states ominously, still smiling. "The choice is yours, Nova."