‘One of these doors has to lead to the heart… or at least a path connected to it,’ he contemplated, eyeing the doors along the golden walls as he sat on the bridge, his legs crossed and his grip tight on the dagger.

He toyed with the dagger, lost in thought, his damp pants clinging to his skin and his hair slightly wet and frizzled.

‘But what if they all lead to nowhere… maybe even a trap or ambush,’ Doubt slowly crept in.

‘And what if Vulgar never meant… or kept his word?’ His gaze shifted to the dagger as he loosened his grip and held it in his open palm.

‘Why did he give me this dagger? Was it because he felt sorry for me? But… he wants me dead… doesn’t he?’

He gazed upon the number on his left palm, ‘47’. Before looking up at the bright blue sky, which he wasn’t accustomed to as it was back in his home, a sight reserved for the nobles, and it was called “Day”. When the powerful light of the sun cleared all shadows, forcing the hollows to return the light they took, creating this beautiful, bright blue canvas of cleansed darkness.

His expression became sombre as the thought of the legend returned to him. When the sun grew tired, the shadows and hollows returned to sink the world of nobles into darkness, into night. But for the ruined, the shadows and hollows never left; they once had moonlight to create their day, but now the light wasn’t strong enough to frighten them, so his world was forever night.

Fallen’s gaze fell to his blade once again as Vulgar’s words echoed in his mind: “My heart is the source of all the hollows...”

He gripped the dagger tightly as the memories resurfaced.

The fact that Vulgar’s tone was laced with such pride whilst admitting to being the reason he and his people suffered made his blood boil, but at the same time, it made him wonder:

‘What is Vulgar?’

‘And what did he mean by ‘He is a flesh of the Curse’? What is the Curse? And his kin? Why did they divide humans? Why did they divide the Sun and Moon?’

‘WHY?’

Fallen slowly got to his feet and looked into the beautiful, yet lurking, azure waters surrounding the golden bridge before his expression slowly darkened.

‘Whatever Vulgar and his people are… I don’t care… but they messed with mine!’ His gaze snapped to the small, plain-looking golden door directly facing him and the path onto the bridge as he continued, stepping forward. ‘Whatever you are, Vulgar…’

The intricate carvings of giant-like humans treading mountains glinted from the light reflected from the ethereal waters as he continued walking, the chains of his dagger clanking, his face determined.

‘Whatever you are… you’ll not stop me from saving people… from getting back our light from your hollows.’

‘My people will conquer your hollows… I know they will.’ He jumped onto the platform circling the azure waters, which were shaped to resemble lily pads, and took a few more steps before stopping and standing before the door, his body filling with a new, strange, yet thrilling and determined rush.

‘I will make them a path… just like my moon did for me.’