~~~ Recap from previous chapter ~~~

"Well, is there a key inside?" Rania seconded.

​​

The sprites looked but there were none. They flipped the covers and everything but couldn't find any.

Rania took the book and faced it backwards. She checked if the vines were covering something, but there was none as well. Then she thought of a weird idea.

"What if…." Then, reaching out her hands, she touched the black onyx gem and to her surprise, her hands went through!

Rania felt her hand entering a body of water. She continued reaching out until her elbows were inside, though she couldn't see what exactly it was she's reaching out to.

Until finally, something cold and felt like metal touched her fingers.

She quickly took it and pulled it out of the large gem.

And there it was…..a black key made of translucent glass with drops of golden dusts inside.

And at its handle was a symbol of an hourglass….

Confused, they didn't know what the key was for. There were no more doors except the one they went from.

Unless…..

~~~ End of Recap ~~~

Tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck…

The sound of gears rolling could be heard.

Everyone quickly looked around to see where the noise was coming from.

But there was nothing to see. Everywhere was pitch black.

With a sudden jolt, they all looked at their feet.

It was the platform they were standing on!

Click! Clack! …. Tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck…

The sound continued to echo in the silent room.

Suddenly, the platform started to move slowly and downward like an ancient elevator.

The sprites held on to each other as they followed the platform down. Their cute little faces were masked with tension. Rania was nervous too, but she remained calm despite the unknown situation. The two men remained stoic and expressionless.

Downwards, the ancient elevator went, following the deep abyss below. As they travelled deeper into the abyss, they felt their skins shiver. Just a few seconds after, they were now experiencing a heavy weight on their shoulders, as if something heavy fell on them, except there was nothing but air all around. A few more minutes passed by and finally, a glimpse of light could be seen from afar which Luna pointed out for everyone to see.

After the long minutes in darkness, a blinding light welcomed them below. Coming from a really dark place, their eyes had to adjust to the brightness. Once fully recovered, they finally saw the place that they landed to.

Rania and the sprites marvelled at the beauty of the place.

There were thousands or millions of lights floating around like stars in the skies. A lovely aurora brightened up the place with its alternating colors - one moment it was emerald green, then pinkish, slowly turned to a lavender, and on and on it changed its colors. The clouds were made of golden dusts and smoke, and there were planet-like things that could be seen from afar, too. It was like walking on clear glass in the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Ducis stepped forward, turned, and faced Elliot and Rania. He placed his right arm across his chest and bowed. "Welcome to 'Anguis Solum', my…. dwelling place".

Rania and Elliot were startled.

"Your….dwelling place? Don't you reside in the Forbidden Chamber?"

"I do. And this is part of the chamber".

"Care to explain why you never mentioned this place to me?"

With dejection on his face, Ducis answered, "I….I'm sorry".

"Yeah, yeah, it's not time yet." Elliot brushed it off and turned sideways to look around. "So, what's the deal with this place?"

"This….. is a space where time does not exist," Ducis answered while his mind wandered elsewhere…. As if remembering some distant yet painful memory.

"...and?"

With a sudden burst of determination, Ducis' dejected face turned serious and benevolent. His golden eyes burned and illuminated with passion. With a loud and majestic voice he spoke,

"I am the Guardian of Time and Space, NOX DUCIS".

Everyone gasped in astonishment.

"I am the 'First Gate',

And only by 'Me' shall anyone traverse

The depths of Space.

I am the 'Key',

That holds the secrets of Time.

And I am the Guardian of Fate.

In me lies 'Truth' and 'Wisdom'.

Many shall seek 'Me',

But only the pure shall find 'Me".

Then, he gestured his hands in the air and suddenly twelve humongous doors appeared before them!

They were all scattered throughout the place and looked entirely different from one another. Some were made of rough stones, some with marbles, another with crystals, and flowers. The others were burning in flames, or bathed in water.

The key in Rania's hands glowed bright and shooted a beam of black light with golden dust to the door in front of it. The door made of black crystals slowly began to open.

"A…..black hole?" Rania crossed her arms and rubbed her chin. "Is it like the ones other Magi uses to warp somewhere?"

"Yes and no," Ducis nodded, then shook his head. "That is not a normal black hole that brings you to different places in the universe. Instead, it will bring you to other 'realms' or 'dimension', whatever you want to call it.

Shivering, Luna butted in, "A-a-are we supposed to go inside there? I-isn't it dangerous?"

The other sprites nodded with her.

Ducis sighed. "If you're that scared, it's better for you not to come".

"B-b-but….Rania…," a teary-eyed sprite reasoned out.

"W-we mm-must protect her!"

"Y-yeah!"

The sprites tried to gather their courage.

Rania walked towards the sprites, "No, you don't need to protect me. Ducis is right, I think it would be best if you stayed in the chamber instead". Then, with a hint of hesitation in her eyes, "As for me…. I….,"

" - We will protect you," Elliot assured her. "You managed to get the key from the book. And this dragon said something about 'only the pure shall find him'...so…."

Rania appreciated his words and smiled happily. "... - You need me?"

Elliot nodded. "Could be, not sure since the dragon's not talking much except for puzzle words".

Ducis chuckled. "I'm sorry. But yes, I advise that the other sprites leave this one out. It is not best for you to come. You have low tolerance to concentrated magic so - "

" - NO! We WILL come!, " Luna exclaimed. Her face flushed red in anger. "We will protect Rania!"

"YEAH!!!!" the other sprites chorused.

"Sigh….you really are one annoying midget," Ducis' sarcastic tone finally returned.

"We will stick to Rania no matter what!"

And stick they did.

"We don't trust that you'll protect her properly!"

"Yeah!"

"And Elliot might try to sleep with her again."

"Uhm! That's a big no - no!"

"And you dragon is a heartless one, so you might abandon her!"

"Yeah, you only care about Elliot, you disgusting parent!"

Ducis' murderous aura was triggered. "WHAT did you just saaaayyy?"

"Kyaaaaaa!"

All the sprites ran and scattered about.

Rania chuckled while watching them.

Elliot watched too but he didn't find it entertaining. Looking at Rania, he noticed something. A worry, behind her smiles.

"Are you alright?"

Rania turned to face him. "Huh?"

"Mmm...nothing".

A few moments later, Ducis' and the sprites' argument ended and they all prepared themselves to enter the black hole.

"Remember to always be alert and careful at all times," Ducis warned everyone.

They all nodded in agreement.

And off, they all jumped into the black hole.

But just as Rania jumped inside….

She heard a voice….

a whisper so soft.....

that she was unable to make out the words it said.