Before she could process what was happening, Gwyneth found herself somewhere far from home. Soft blue lights glowed around her in the dead of night, and a soft breeze could be felt. When she smelled the scent of pine trees she instantly knew where she was.

The Forlorn Forest.

"Why have you brought me here?" Gwyneth asked; half annoyed and half bewildered by the natural flora of the forest.

"If I had brought you to somewhere in Aeceria it wouldn't have been anything special, would it? And you just came from Aquariot." Ares kept his eyes on one of the dragonflies flying above them. It was dark blue and occasionally glowed white similar to a firefly. It was one of the many nocturnal insects in the forest.

"Something tells me you picked this place simply because you're friends with the Fae." Gwyneth smirked.

"That may be a small part of it." Ares smirked back. "But I don't have any intention of getting them involved. Rather, I want to take you somewhere. But why not take the scenic route?"

"I doubt you'll let me go otherwise. Lead the way."

Ares led her down a path of more glowing flowers. However, when she looked up she could see a blue haze in the trees.

"What's that?" Gwyneth asked, keeping her gaze on the smoky atmosphere.

"The fog? Night pollen," Ares answered. "Several flowers produce pollen at night that emits a haze. They only grow on trees and it's difficult to see from the ground."

Gwyneth nodded in approval. The forest never ceased to amaze her. While she didn't approve of Ares kidnapping her, she didn't entirely mind the trip.

She just hoped he'd take her back afterwards.

A few short minutes later, they came to a narrow stream. Gwyneth gasped as she watched Ares jump across the lily pads with ease. Surely, they weren't strong enough to hold an entire human's weight?

"What's wrong?" Ares asked noticing her apprehension.

"I don't trust it." She hesitantly backed away. She was sure the stream was shallow enough that she could wade across, but she didn't want to look like a fool if the lily pads caved in beneath her.

"Afraid of a little water, princess?"

"More like I'm afraid you used magic to cross so my failure would be inevitable." Gwyneth crossed her arms.

Ares rolled his eyes. "You have so little faith in me." He hopped across the light green saucers before landing at her side. Taking her hand in his, he jumped back across with her, both landing one foot at a time on each pad.

Gwyneth's legs shook as she reached solid ground. "Never do that again." She glared at Ares.

"We don't have all night to wait for you to face your fear of aquatic herbs." Ares shook his head.

Gwyneth rolled her eyes as she followed him further into the forest.

Eventually, the two came to a clearing. They stood in a perfect circle of grass — too perfect for nature to have created it. It wasn't the perfect symmetry that threw Gwyneth off, but the complete lack of flowers and other plants. It was the only place in the forest that didn't feel truly alive to Gwyneth.

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"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Gwyneth asked, unimpressed.

"Not quite," Ares answered taking a few steps into the clearing. Holding out his hand above the ground, roots began to sprout, and a pink flower began to bloom. The ground shook as the flower grew larger and larger until its bulb was ten times as large as the two. The stem wrapped around the bulb as little leaves sprouted creating platforms.

"W-What is this?" Gwyneth asked, jaw agape.

"Where life ends and begins," Ares answered vaguely before motioning for her to follow.

Curiosity fueled Gwyneth as she followed without hesitation. Strangely enough, the large stem felt like solid ground as well as the leaves. Instead of finding the flower beautiful, something about it made her nauseous. She shook the feeling away and followed Ares to the top of the stem where a single petal had opened allowing them access within.

Inside the flower was a warm yellow light that reflected off the pink petals. They were definitely inside a giant flower, but something about it felt unnatural. Near one of the walls was a staircase that the two used to descend.

On the lower floor, Gwyneth expected to find dirt considering they were descending a flower. Instead, it appeared to be some sort of cave. The lights she had seen in the cave with Thea were also present.

"You said this is where all life ends and begins?" Gwyneth asked.

Ares nodded.

"Why in that order?"

"Why not in that order?" Ares shrugged.

"What are these lights?"

"Remnants of the last incarnation, I suppose. At least, that's what the Fae king told me."

"Last incarnation?" Gwyneth raised an eyebrow, but Ares did not respond. She turned back in the direction she had been looking before and noticed something strange. Large containers big enough to fit a full-grown human; dozens of them.

"What are these...?" Gwyneth asked, uneasiness settling into her stomach.

"They preserve life," Ares answered.

"They can stop someone from dying?"

"In a sense, yes. But it's probably not what you're thinking."

"Explain," Gwyneth demanded.

Ares shook his head. "There's more I want you to see first."

Gwyneth jumped back at the sound of Ares flinging containers around. Four or five of them had been piled up on each other, and they were apparently blocking whatever Ares wanted to show her. Once they were out of the way, light brown vines could be seen protruding from the wall. Gwyneth instantly recognized them as roots. Ares summoned a sword and hacked away at the roots revealing a tiny entrance they would have to squeeze through.

Gwyneth had many common fears like snakes, the dark, being stung by bees... Claustrophobia was unfortunately one of these fears.

"Hold my hand," Gwyneth mumbled low enough that even a Fae wouldn't be able to interpret what she had said.

"What?" Ares asked.

Not wanting to repeat herself, she grabbed Ares' hand in hers and ordered him not to let go. The violet-eyed boy simply shook his head and mentally called her cute.

Once they were on the other side, a warm light enveloped them. She couldn't tell where they were or how large the area was. It was as if they were being swallowed by the light in a space that existed outside of their universe. She wondered how Ares felt about so much light.

"Where are we?" Gwyneth asked.

"Inside Halcyone," Ares answered.

"Inside...?" Gwyneth tilted her head to the side.

"Think of Halcyone as a giant living organism. The light you see around us is essentially Halcyone's lifeforce — it's what holds Halcyone together."

"But Halcyone is dying... That's why Zetheria has lost the elements and Aeceria is destined to crumble."

"Correct. But Earth's sacrifice is not the only thing keeping Halcyone together. See these little lights?" Ares gestured with his free hand to tiny glowing white lights. They almost reminded Gwyneth of dandelions.

"Yes?"

"You have them to thank for Halcyone's stability."

"What are they?" Gwyneth asked, finding beauty in the fragile little lights.

"The souls of the departed destined to cycle for all eternity within Halcyone."

Gwyneth froze and for a moment thought her body had literally frozen from how cold she became. "There... There is no afterlife?" She managed to squeak out.

"There is, but not for them."

She stared at the lights before her wide-eyed and forgot how to breathe.

"Are you okay?" Ares asked panicked as he squeezed her hand he was still holding. When there was no response, he teleported the two out.

Gwyneth couldn't process the change in scenery until she felt a warmth surrounding her. To her surprise, it was Ares hugging her. She awkwardly wiggled out of his grip as he quickly released her. "I don't understand..." she began.

"Are you ready for the truth? All of it?" Ares narrowed his eyes, wondering if she would even be able to handle the truth.

"Yes," she answered determinedly.

"Will you accept the truth from me?"

"Yes. I... I trust you. I trust you to tell me what Thea wouldn't."

Ares smiled. "It all began a thousand years ago..."