A sweet melodic voice met Arisa's ears. The tone was so angelic that it relaxed her, forcing her to keep her eyes shut and fall into a deep slumber.
"Don't sleep."
Arisa opened her eyes, gasping. As she breathed heavily, the first thing she saw was the night sky in between the space the dimly glowing trees allowed her to see. She shakily stood up, examining her surroundings.
"Zen?" she called, her heart skipping.
No response came to her calling as she examined her surroundings. Her gaze only met the many colorful trees illuminating the background with their weak light.
<What am I saying?>
She shook her head, telling herself that the deep voice she had heard was probably her imagination.
The melodic voice kept filling the silence as Arisa turned around to gaze at her surroundings more carefully.
<Where am I?>
Her armored boots squished against the moist soil as she walked, searching for an answer. Looking around, she wondered what kinds of creatures lived in this curious looking forest and how she ended up there. She remembered chatting with Kazuya before she fell asleep as she was too tired from the ongoing trip.
<Am I dreaming?>
She gazed at her hands, clenching and opening them.
<For a dream, it sure feels real.>
A heavy flap of wings made her heart leap a little. When a large shadow slowly covered the bright moonlight, strengthening the light of the colorful forest in the background, Arisa gazed up.
A gasp escaped her lips. Through the space in between the glowing vegetation, Arisa spotted part of the figure of a large creature. As the creature flew away, she realized that it was a dragon.
She stood there, her mouth agape. She'd never seen a dragon of that size before. She had heard that adult dragons were bigger compared to the young ones. But as she had seen King Reiji's dragon form before, she concluded that the dragon that flew by might be the largest dragon in existence.
The dragon completely disappeared from her view. Still staring at the sky, Arisa gulped. She remembered hearing stories around the streets of Aurora City. Stories that told legends of warriors fighting wild dragons. Although she was amazed and inspired by how they ended up surviving those battles, she couldn't imagine regular warriors or even herself, fight a creature of that size.
She sighed and decided to walk further into the forest, hoping to find out where she was.
Time passed as she explored the glowing forest that seemed as though it didn't have a way out. She rubbed her eyes, fighting not to sleep, thanks to the melodic voice filling the silence.
Another minute passed and as Arisa was losing hope to find a way out, her eyes widened upon seeing someone crossing paths with her. The person seemed to be a boy in his early teens; strands of green hair could be seen in his curly dark hair.
She tilted her head, noticing that the boy's dark hand was holding the surface of a creature that walked by his side. The creature looked like a beast that had its upper body covered with a mixture of various kinds of plants and wood. Its wild face and legs seemed to be made of sharp rocks and sand.
As Arisa slowly approached the boy and the beast, she felt small. By examining the creature, Arisa guessed that it could be more than two meters tall. Her heart raced as she noticed that the beast had set its golden eyes on her.
"Are you lost?" asked a quiet voice.
Arisa shifted her gazed to the boy. Her brows arched, noticing that the boy maintained his eyes shut as he focused on her.
"Sort of," replied Arisa. "I woke up in this forest out of nowhere."
"You too?" asked the boy, his tone intrigued.
Arisa tilted her head. "Hm?"
The singing voice kept filling the atmosphere as Arisa gazed at the boy, who still kept his eyes shut.
"My siblings and I were once one," the boy finally said. "Then one day, I woke up in a cold cave all alone."
Arisa's brows raised, wanting to hear more from the boy's story.
"I'm still waiting for someone to free me," he continued.
Arisa frowned; the boy's words confused her. She heard that people who could no longer see light or those who were born this way had a heightened sense of touch, smell, and hearing. Even though the boy couldn't see, Arisa thought that with his other senses being stronger, the boy would realize that he was in a different environment.
"You're already free," she said, bending over a little to look at him. "You're in a forest now."
The boy shook his head; Arisa noticed more strands of green hair in his dark curly hair.
"I'm still trapped," he said. "The funny thing is that millions of beings visit this place every year, yet they don't see me."
Arisa's forehead wrinkled, trying to understand what the boy was trying to tell her.
"You're not far away from the way out," said the boy, breaking the quick silence. "Follow that road."
The boy raised his dark hand, pointing it to his left side. Arisa's brows arched, noticing that the path the boy was indicating had curved-shaped trees.
"You'll see a clock tower. There you'll meet another part of me," continued the boy. "You may find answers there."
For a few seconds, Arisa looked at him, blinking repeatedly.
"Thank you." Arisa nodded lightly.
The boy replied with a smile. As Arisa walked away, she met the large beast's golden eyes. As her heart sped, she quickly walked towards her path.
"Let's go, Gaia," said the boy.
<Gaia?>
Arisa turned around. She saw the boy and the beast walking in the opposite direction; the boy really looked tiny by the beast's side.
<Could it be...> Arisa gazed at the duo as they disappeared deep in the dimly glowing forest.
Arisa gazed over her shoulder for another few seconds before she resumed walking on the path with curled-shaped trees. The melodic voice still kept filling the silence with its song.
Time passed as she tried to find a way out. Suddenly, splashing sounds blended with the melodic voice in the background. Her brows raised and as she followed the sound, she could sense a salty scent in the air.
Amazed that she could sense scents in a dream, Arisa increased her pace and walked through the woods with her heart speeding. This would be her first time seeing the ocean more closely.
It took a few minutes for the glowing vegetation to decrease. When she reached the clearing, her lips curved up at the scenery. The silver moon looked as if it had fallen from the sky; it was so large on the horizon of the sea. A shadow of a single tall building hid a small part of the moonlight.
Arisa noticed a pathway made of multiple pebbles that led to the tall building.
She didn't waste any second and rushed towards the ocean. The calm waves splashed on her armored boots. Before she walked on the pathway of pebbles, curiosity got the better of her and she bent over to immerse her hand in the water; she could hear the bubbles fizzing.
She shivered a little as her hand submerged in the cold water. For a few seconds, she played with the water, remembering that this was the second time she was seeing the ocean. The first time was through the window when she passed by Oceana on her trip to the Forbidden Lands.
As her hand caught a rough item, she grabbed it. She smiled when she saw that it was a seashell. Memories of Kazuya's father bringing many seashells from his trip flashed in her mind. She remembered that he wanted to show her how the ocean sounded.
After a few minutes of seeing the wonders of the sea, Arisa stood up and walked on the road of pebbles, on her way to meet the being that would give her answers.
Walking on the path for a few minutes, Arisa's heartbeat increased its rate, pumping anxiousness. Even though she knew she was walking on a solid road, she felt as if she was walking on water and would sink at any moment.
She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nervousness. The melodic voice in the background grew louder and louder as she strolled forward. Another minute passed before she noticed a creature in a delicate dress, sitting in the middle of the road and singing gracefully.
As she approached the area, Arisa noticed that the creature's skin had a mixture of colors between white, marine green and blue. Its long golden hair cascaded to most of its back. The more Arisa approached the creature, the more she felt as if a strong force was pulling her down.
Silence fell.
"There is so much hatred in this world, don't you think so?" asked the creature. Arisa noticed scaly pointy ears as the creature tilted its head.
Arisa didn't answer the creature's question, gazing at it curiously.
"I'm seen as a goddess in the world where I'm trapped in," continued the creature, giggling. "If I were one, I would definitely be the goddess of destruction."
Arisa's brows touched. "Why?"
The sound of the waves filled the silence as the creature turned around to look at her. Arisa's eyes widened as she noticed a blue gem stuck on the creature's forehead. She could see strange pale writings covering part of its forehead like tattoos.
"Because mortals deserve to be destroyed," said the creature, its tone calm. "They are useless creatures who spend most of their lives hurting each other. They don't deserve to be protected."
"T-that's not true," said Arisa, shaking her head. "Our world may be imperfect, but there are many kindhearted beings out there."
Arisa's heart froze as her gaze met the creature's icy blue eyes.
"But hatred seems to be stronger than kindness around the worlds," said the creature, slowly standing up. "It's better to destroy them and save those small kindhearted mortals from being hurt."
A droplet of water rolled down Arisa's forehead. It didn't take another second for another raindrop to stream on her shoulder. Arisa frowned and gazed at the sky as more raindrops fell. Her eyes widened, noticing that there was no single cloud floating on the starry sky.
"You have been hurt before," said the creature as the rain intensified. "You should understand how painful it is to live with that wound."
As the rain bathed her, sorrow spread in Arisa's veins as memories flooded in her mind. She remembered the time she found out her grandparents lied about her parents. Although she understood their reason and she had forgiven them, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel sad.
The pain within her increased even more as she remembered the revelation of Libra's and Leo's identity. She fought not to cry as feelings of her shattered heart resurfaced upon remembering that day.
Cold arms wrapped around her.
"It's better to destroy everything," the creature's melodic voice filled Arisa's ears. "At least no one will feel that pain anymore. Right?"
Arisa didn't say anything as heaviness struck her eyelids. As the calming song relaxed her, Arisa finally closed her eyes.
"Don't sleep."
Arisa opened her eyes. Her heart hammered as she found herself underwater. She glanced around in search of the owner of that familiar deep voice but didn't find anyone swimming nearby.
The melody in the background stopped.
"So much hatred," said a voice in the background. "All shall be destroyed!"
Arisa touched her head, feeling as though something was crushing her. A short second later, she felt as if every part of her body was being squashed. Her lungs started to burn in need of oxygen.
A small hand curled around her wrist, pulling her away from the water. Reaching the surface, Arisa coughed and breathed heavily, allowing fresh air to travel into her lungs.
The water bathed her as she slowly crawled to the path made of various pebbles, heaviness pulling her body.
"Maybe I went too far introducing Salacia like this," said a soft voice.
Arisa's forehead wrinkled and she looked by her right side. She saw a creature with long dark hair, sitting a few steps away from her.
A growl broke the few seconds of silence. When a large shadow covered their area, Arisa gazed up.
Her heart pounded against her chest as she saw the large dragon she had seen in the forest. Under the moonlight, Arisa noticed that the dragon's scales were of a scarlet color.
"Another being has been chosen to fulfill what the others had started," said the soft voice again."We will be able to retrieve all the Elements this time?"
Arisa gazed back at the girl sitting not far from her.
"W-who," said Arisa, her tone quiet. "Who are you?"
The creature turned around and under the bright moon, Arisa could see its features. Sharp ears barely peeked from its long dark hair. Its lips formed a warm smile across its silvery-blue face.
The creature tilted its head. "I am your partner for this quest."
"Partner?" repeated Arisa.
The creature slowly stood up and walked towards her. From its appearance, Arisa thought that it looked like a girl in her early teens.
"I hope you will find enough partners for our quest."
As the creature gazed at her, Arisa noticed that its curious looking eyes were white with a thin ringlet of marine green enriching their color.
Arisa gasped. "You are—"
"Unfortunately we don't have much time to talk," the creature said, interrupting her. "You're about to wake up."
Arisa gazed at the creature and touched her head as dizziness attacked her.
"But," continued the creature, "remember what you saw and heard if you want to find them."
Before Arisa could say anything, everything around her blacked out.
Arisa opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She rubbed her eyes as chirping sounds filled the silence.
As she tried to understand what kind of bizarre dream she just had, she noticed that something was glowing dimly under her shirt. She grabbed the item and examined it.
The silvery-blue orb shone weakly with the marine green spiral brightening even more.
"Eklipta," she said.