The first few days of self-discovery, purification, and cleaning resulted in a very tired Ivey falling asleep on numerous occasions at the top of the massive boulders throughout the pond.

Sitting cross-legged in nothing but her shorts and a tank top, Ivey tried to imitate what she thought was the meditation stance. She'd seen it done in movies, and if she remembered correctly, help with her blood and spiritual flow...right? Once in the (or what she presumed to be) correct form, she practiced her breathing techniques—another thing she'd learn.

All of it was a lot harder than she'd thought.

Firstly, her legs cramped up before falling asleep on her. Ivey had to vigorously rub it to more than once, scowling at it like it would make a difference. Secondly, the struggles of keeping both her back and neck straight were real. Ivey had lost track of how many times her shoulders slouched or the way her neck ached only after an hour. An hour!

And these were the least of her worries.

The fact that it never got dark impacted her mood, messed with her senses. Played with her mind.

It was probably how my ancestors designed it.

Even Seymour avoided her. 

Handsome, reliable Seymour, who brought her food every day. 

When she emerged from the depths of the water, hungry, there'd be a blanket filled with food, but he was nowhere to be found. And Ivey would just know that he was nowhere near the vicinity. And, like a beast, she'd circle the blanket sniffing his scent, breathing him, until even the winds carried it away, taunting her with their laughs.

She was all alone in her own little world.

Eventually, as the days faded into more days, Ivey started to lose track of time. Under the sweltering heat, next to the rushing waterfall, Ivey began to focus—or go insane—depending on the time of day.

Slowly, hour by hour, her body grew accustomed to the barrage of noises: the drumming of the waterfall, the slight static of heat from the rays of the sun, including her own breathing and the beating of her heart. Until, eventually, with all of her senses maxed out, her brain shut off.

Afterward, it became easier for Ivey, or perhaps she grew more tolerant. Either way, her hearing became more attuned, her body more resistant, and her mind, empty. 

A big, black void. 

She, who was usually so talkative, stopped talking to just listen and read the planet. All around her, invisible strings existed and twisted, tangling one another, linking energy after energy to form a substance.

Do all Masters feel this way after going into seclusion for some time?

It happened a few hours during the morning. By now, despite losing track of time, Ivey's body recognized the variations between night and day. The nights held less energy and grew quieter with every breath; the days radiated with power, refusing to be soundless for even a second.

Ivey's body appeared to glow with energy during that morning's meditation. Her ears perked, hearing the water ripples across the surface before catching the faint amusement of the wind. It whispered against her skin, brushing against her face and neck before fondling with her hair. And then, just as quickly as it came, it stopped.

Ivey's breathing deepened. Her heart slowed...one second per beat, two seconds... and then three. 

A low, sudden sound of drilling began quietly enough like her heartbeat only to continue increasing in volume. Quickly...louder...painfully boisterous, the drumming increased, in depth and size, until it reached the pitch of a live concert.

Ivey's face darkened, her heart vibrating against her chest. A bead of sweat slid down the side of her forehead.

Continuing anymore and the noise would burst her eardrums. 

Before Ivey could debate her next move, a loud—piercing—explosion resonated. 

Ivey gasped as her entire vision turned white. For a few seconds, the white settled in before beginning to dissolve. Gradually, her view deviating from white to gold. Yellow to red, and then, black, before shadows and colors started to emerge, like a canvas on the wall.

It was an odd sensation. One minute, Ivey had been reflecting on top of the rock, the next minute, she was here—standing on a white sandy beach with nothing but miles of water and sand.

Ivey brought her hand up to test her eyes, just to make sure they really were opened. As if that wasn't enough, she covered one of her eyes and blinked repeated before returning them to her side.

When did I open my eyes? Were they really closed in the first place?

Everything was so...surreal; the smooth, cold sand beneath her toes to the sun's burning radiation beating against her skin. The forest was gone, but the heatwave and mugginess remained.

The current that came her way was actually refreshing, and chilly, sending the strands of her hair waving in the wind. Oddly enough, for such a fierce wind, the body of water in front of her saw no surface waves or ripples. The surface, a frozen shell, despite the hot temperature.

As far as Ivey's eyes could see, not a single movement from the sea. 

It was strangely hypnotic, yet terrifying at the same time. It was something of a miracle—or magic—and magic had been the only word to describe it all in the last few weeks.

"I've never seen such clear waters before," Ivey spoke, surprising even herself.

She deliberately made her way towards the water, catching sight of a school of fishes of all shapes, sizes, and colors underneath the bright, translucent surface. A few of them were chasing one another over and under rocks while others settled near the top to bask in the sun’s glory.

Ivey almost moved forward to touch the water, to dip her feet into the cold, fresh puddle, feeling it lathering against her legs...but something stopped her. Standing inches away from the sea, alarm bells went off inside her head.

"It's like a siren, luring lost spirits to their doom," the gruff, intense voice spoke beside her.

Startled, choking back a scream, Ivey jumped and nearly lost her footing. She steadied herself by sliding a foot inches across the sand to refrain from falling on her butt before finally focusing on the voice.

Half expecting to see a ghost or a nefarious creature, the towering figure that stood over her was none of those. Instead, other than being quite tall and wide akin to a sumo wrestler, but with muscles, he looked…human. The human was a very bulky old man with gray hair and bushy eyebrows, curving up past the sides of his forehead. Four trails of long thick braided beard hung from his face filled with few lines and wrinkles.

He wore a pair of golden gloves made from fine metal rather than cotton. Even his shoes contained the same intrinsic materials and color. He had on a sleeveless shirt that stopped below the hips and dull, white pants compared to everything else he wore.

Ivey let out a deep breath. He was certainly out of this world because human giants like him didn't exist—if he was even human in the first place. She guesstimated his height to be at a minimum, 7 feet. Ivey had to crane her neck up to look at him.

"What did you say?" Ivey finally asked after recovering her composure.

"Close your eyes."

Ivey did as he directed. Not too long after, a gasp followed.

The skies before her were no longer blue but a haze of orange and red, like fire. Ivey took a couple of steps back as the picture-perfect landscape unfolded to unveil the darkness underneath. The transparent water she saw earlier was now onyx in color. Lifeless fishes drifted back and forth, some had their skin plucked away, with nothing but bones to show.

"What made you stop?" the voice came again.

Ivey almost recognized the voice. Where had she heard it before?

She opened her eyes to take in the chillingly beautiful landscape before her. So vastly different from its opposite. "I could feel the wind, but there were no waves."

There was a long pause.

The gusts picked up. Debris and sand swirled around them—dancing to the tunes of the wind.

"What is our mantra?" The old man's voice rang out, suddenly—the order coming out of nowhere.

It's the same voice I heard in the forest!

"Ivey King, Daughter of Draco King, heir to the Shaman Clan, what is our mantra?" He spoke again when she didn't answer.

His words were like a chant in her head, music in her ears—voices in her heart.

Ivey King. Daughter of Draco King.

Ivey King! Daughter of Draco King!

Hand trembling and body shaking, Ivey shook her head to clear away the entanglement that appeared to have settled there.

Heir to the Shaman Clan. Repeat our mantra.

The words echoed from somewhere deep in her mind…

Repeat our mantra!

Grow the weak; tempter the strong.

And then…silence.

"More," The giant demanded.

View from different angles. Do right by wrong.

"More!" His voice grew. Each sentence, a command, amplifying by the minute...

Listen with your eyes. Hear with your heart—taste with your hands!

…echoing, resounding to the point of suffocating.

"Touch with your ears. Smell with your nose…Perceive with your body," Ivey spoke them this time, unable to keep the words inside any longer.

"MORE!" His roar rocked the ground, shook the heavens.

Rattled her senses.

"THE LIVING STAYS, BUT THE DEAD MUST GO!" She screamed the last bit before her legs hit the ground. She leaned forward on all fours, breathing loud, irregular as if she'd run for miles.

Ivey’s heart raged frantically against her chest, fingers trembling amidst the sand. She clenched them, hoping to stop the trembling, but it only subdued.

He allowed her to catch her breath. "Who am I?"

"Draco," her voice trembled in wonder. 

In fear. 

In remembrance.

Ivey continued, her tone filled with all sorts of unbridled emotions she couldn't even begin to fathom.

"Draco King."