Neo opened his eyes slowly above him was the big purple moon. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose ah---water dripped down on his face. Neo took his hand away, and against the strange purple light above he saw that the water was a translucent black. Neo frowned and sat up, shuttering at how gross the feeling of the cold water running down his neck and back felt.

When he stood he tried to steady himself but against the smooth wall his hand slipped and so did he, face first into the water. Neo stood back up, placing both hands on the wall this time. Beneath one hand was the cool, cold marble wall, and at the tips of his fingers he felt something rough. Neo looked up to see a simple, rough drawing carved into the black marble wall. It depicted a large fishlike creature, with long sharp teeth, a long body and a lure attached to the top of its head.

Slowly Neo traced the drawing with his first and second fingers; memorizing its shape with this simple movement. Under his touch the picture lit up purple and a bit further down the wall another drawing lit up. Then another, and another until they suddenly stopped at the corner. Neo waded out of the water, his steps causing no ripples in the pond. Behind him is reflection stayed where it was, it’s back turned toward him. His shadow however followed, grazing its own hands against pictures.

The next picture showed new beings gathering around the creatures lure, and the one after showed the creature biting down on a being that got close to it. The one after showed the others running away, but the fish pursued and forced them into the maze. At the end was a picture of a few lone survivors, all pointing upward toward a red moon; and at the bottom of that carving was a single word written in a language he had never seen. Neo’s hands shook as he paced up and down the wall reading the story over and over again. But no matter how many times he read the story was still the same and he knew that somewhere in this maze was a god.

After the story, and around the corner was a single purple arrow pointing straight ahead. Neo followed it, and at the end of that hall was a path going left, and one that continued straight. A new arrow pointed left, and so he followed. His shadow hesitated, stretching long around the corners and watching for any sign of life. Up above the moon did not move from its place in the perfect center. It stayed purple, and so did drawings that he found scattered across the maze, each telling a similar story, each of their own simplicity and details. But what joined them all together were the arrows that lead him through the maze, each arrow was drawn in the same rushed style until they just stopped. The glow from the walls faded and out of the corner of his right eye Neo saw a bright red light and when his eyes adjusted he saw a huge eye staring back.

Neo shook his head, a jingling sound reached his ears. As he moved his head an array of rainbow bubbles circled him like a halo. The world around him was like static, and he could feel it’s buzzing inside his stomach. Oh he was so tired. Neo hugged himself, rubbing his hands on his arms as he tried to remember what happened. Okay okay…

…..

…….

……….he couldn’t remember.

Alright so then where was he? Well it was static, that much he knew. He was floating, that much he knew. Neo looked up, down, from side to side and still there was nothing. Slowly he was sinking...sinking and when his feet touched the sand it turned purple and the water was a solid black. When he landed lights appeared in the sand, and those lights floated up up! until they made shapes and it was clear that these lights were spirits. Ancient spirits much older than Neo and so too much more private. Neo didn’t think that he would have ever seen, let alone meet the spirits that now surrounded him.

Their bodies were translucent and so when he looked at them he could see the magic that flowed through them. Slowly one of the elder spirits approached him... the dunkleosteus.

It stared at him, saying nothing, doing nothing; Neo on the other hand bowed in greeting. For a long time he was unable to resist a proper greeting to his elders. Kamala always thought it was silly but well, well….

Neo pushed the thought away and focused on the being in front of him. Still it didn’t say anything, but even without the words Neo could tell that it wanted him to follow, so he did.

Neo walked along the seafloor, and as he did so the the elements of the sea revealed itself to him. Around him corals built their homes, urchins scuttled, everywhere was lively; and for a moment, just a moment Neo forgot that he was lost. That is until the dunkleosteus stopped, when Neo stopped next to it he placed a hand on its side, it didn’t seem to mind. In front of them the sand rose and before their eye it hardened into glass. Suddenly, as if by a film reel a picture showed on half of the glass.

And before the scene even started Neo realized that it was the day that Kamala left him.

It was of Neo and Kamala, standing in the doorway of their home. They held hands, smiling at one another.

“Hurry back for dinner alright?” Kamala’s voice rang out.

Neo’s smiled wided, and he nodded before kissing the palm of Kamala’s hand. They let go of each other and Neo set on his way; as he walked away the other side of the screen filled up, showing each and every town he had passed.

On the other side of the screen Kamala went back inside and tended to their normal activities; washing clothes, making clouds (they were a weather spirit back then afterall), they made dinner too and when it was done they sat down and waited.

Neo on the other hand finally stopped in a town, and when he got there time slowed, as shown by the two(2) sides of the screen. On Neos side the sun didn’t set for a long time, but for Kamala the sun set and rose so many times and so fast that the Neo now, that was watching all this couldn’t keep up.

Eventually after a long long time for Kamala (after centuries), and only a few months for Neo, Kamala packed up their things. They looked tired---and Neo felt their exhaustion and heart ache as he watched.

The images stopped and the glass dissolved back into sand; Neo stared at where the glass had been, and the elder spirit stared at him. Neither moved, neither spoke.