Hollow footsteps filled the silence of the cave. It’s quiet, too quiet you could hear dewdrops not far away. Auretta was alone, or was she? It didn’t matter as long as she had a torch with her to guide her way through the ruins.

She only had one goal. To find the Revelation Stone.

Spider webs hung over the ceiling of the cave, reminding Auretta to be wary of spiders. The orphanage’s matron always reprimanded her, telling her not to fear them. They’re harmless creatures, they wouldn’t hurt you. The voice rang through her mind. Yet, these creatures disgusted her so much.

She sighed, remembering the stone once again. The matron wouldn’t be a problem if she found her real parents. Auretta would finally get the freedom she wished for.

Her eyes drifted to a six legged creature crawling on the floor towards her, causing her to let out a faint cry. “Get away from me!” she screamed, fleeing further into the cave.

Finally, Auretta reached the end of the cave. Her eyes glinted in delight, catching a glimpse of the cracked and demolished building in front of her. The legend of the underground ruins of Revelation were real. “It’s real!” her voice echoed.

She pulled up her pleated skirts with her left hand, stepping onto the muddy grounds.

Auretta trudged through the mud carefully yet hastily. She was determined to find the stone as soon as possible.

Taking the last steps, her foot finally met the stony grounds, just in front of the ruins.

She walked through the fractured rocks being met with more walls holed in an asymmetrical way. As expected, she would encounter a maze before she could get hold of that stone.

Auretta’s eyes drifted onto a puddle in front of her, not being aware of dripping water from the ceiling above her. A dewdrop dropped onto her torch, putting out the fire. She gasped as her surroundings darkened. A normal dew wouldn’t have done that—of course, this place was magical.

Auretta hated the dark more than anything. Her chest tightened at the thought of walking around through darkness.

She sighed, feeling more dewdrops falling onto her hair. She stepped backwards frowning at the ceiling.

She glanced through the holes she had just passed through—dark and dim now. Auretta took a deep breath, placing her hand on the stony walls for support.

As she felt the rough edges against her fingertips, footsteps began to echo in the ruins. Her eyes drifted to another passageway which can be seen through a hollow of another wall next to her.

There were young men passing through, holding torches. It would be best to avoid them if she didn’t want conflict.

The light of the torches faded in the distance, giving back Auretta’s composure. She stood on her feet, kicking her boots against the floor to regain the comfort of it.

An unexpected shimmering rang through her ears catching Auretta’s attention. She turned her head around forgetting how to breathe.

A firefly—no, fireflies were as big as a thumbnail. This one isn’t—or maybe it is a special kind of firefly. A firefly which can only be found in ruins like this perhaps.

The firefly spun around in large circles, making squeaky sounds.

Auretta couldn’t understand what it was trying to say, but she could understand its motives for doing so. “You want me to follow you?” she asked, reaching her hand out to the firefly.

The firefly landed on her palm hopping happily. Auretta understood that was a yes. A grin formed on Auretta’s face as her orbs reflected the light from the tiny creature. She never communicated with animals before, yet this was a new feeling.

“I’ll follow you then.” she muttered.

The firefly instantly flew around in spirals rapidly. Auretta could tell it was happy.

As the firefly flew in haste, Auretta gasped softly, “Wait—you’re too fast,” it was gone. Her surroundings were completely dark and dim again.

She took a step forward, feeling her skin prickle from her arms up to the crown of her head. She stepped on a muddy puddle. Her dress was soiled now—no, the dress wasn’t important now.

She snapped back into reality stepping foot onto the stony ground again. Auretta pulled the hood of her cloak, catching a glimpse of the firefly again.

If the men ever caught her, they would remember her pale pink hair if she escaped.

The firefly spun again in circles, flying towards Auretta’s sleeves, pulling its hem. A soft laugh escaped Auretta’s lips as she stood still. “Just slow down little fella. You’re too fast.” she muttered.

Letting go of her sleeves, the firefly spun rapidly as if it’s alarming Auretta. “What’s wrong little fella?”

“We’ve been walking around in circles.” said a cocky and husky voice. Light began to be more visible near her—the strangers were on their way here.

The firefly flew hastily at a speed Auretta could catch up to.

Quickly, she moved with her feet, eyes not leaving the sight of the luminous creature.

It led her through an empty tunnel, clearly just the earth’s soil surrounding her. At the end, she halted. She’s met with a cliff, with an underground lagoon below her.

Her heart beat faster searching for the firefly. There it was, on a floating isle right across. Auretta couldn’t fly and she definitely couldn’t jump that far.

The firefly landed on a rock, illuminating brightly, she couldn’t stare at it properly. It was blinding, she squinted her eyes, hovering her hands over her face.

The light died out as beams of light formed a bridge before her.

Auretta gasped in awe, stepping foot onto the bridge.

She crossed carefully, watching her footsteps. She didn’t want to fall into the lagoon—she couldn’t swim.

Finally, she reached the floating isle. “What do you want to show me?” Auretta questioned the firefly floating above her as a small smile formed on her face.

The firefly flew towards an altar of stone, spinning around a stone as lustrous as adamantine and dark as onyx. It must be the truth stone.

Instantly, the firefly disappeared mid-air.

Seeing that the firefly had completely gone, Auretta frowned. She wasn’t able to thank the firefly.

Whatever were the intentions of the creature to have brought her here, she wasn’t willing to lose this opportunity. Auretta ran towards the altar without hesitation, catching a glimpse of the bridge fading quickly behind her.

Her fingers ran through the stone. People always reprimanded her for believing in fairy tales and having a broad imagination. A smirk formed on her face. A stone from legends was now in front of her.

As she was about to grab the stone, a voice, still and calm as the sea roared through her ears. “Don’t grab it—!”

It was too late, Auretta grabbed the stone, turning her head around to see a dark haired young man.

His eyes, blue—the kind of blue which belonged to the dark northern seas, met hers as she felt the floating isle shaking. “What’s going on?!” she panicked, gripping onto the stone. The ground beneath split open without a warning.

A scream escaped Auretta’s lungs as she fell along with the rocks of the isle, diving into the waters.

She felt her chest tightening as her vision grew dim and blurry.

She panicked and fought for air, kicking her feet hastily, hoping she could float towards the shore. She just wanted to meet her parents again.

Auretta couldn’t reach the shore. Her lungs were burning.

No—there has to be a way. She can’t just die after what she had accomplish—there’s so much to do!

The sound of someone diving flowed through her ears. She opened her eyes once again, catching a glimpse of a silhouette of a man hovering above her.