Chapter 1 - Beneath the Sacred Lake
I remember making a promise to a friend.
I remember asking my sister to promise me something.
I remember writing letters for the people I loved.
I remember...
...dying.
Everything around me was soaked.
Cold...
Yet strangely warm at the same time.
Why?
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Above me stretched a clear blue sky and trees staring at me from above.
Then...
Faces.
People?
Where am I?
“Ary hslwnvm hapekfbakk?”
Huh?
“Are you okay?” a girl asked.
“Can you hear me?”
“Do you understand me?”
I slowly pushed myself upright.
My clothes clung heavily to my body, soaked from head to toe.
Four pairs of eyes watched me with undisguised concern.
“I’m okay.”
Even my own voice sounded unfamiliar.
“Who are you?”
The four exchanged puzzled glances before one of the boys finally spoke.
“We thought you were going to die!”
“Do you know I almost drowned trying to save you?” he said, still catching his breath.
“I...”
“...Drowned?”
The word echoed inside my head.
Drowned...?
“Where did you find me?”
Before I realized it, I had reached out and grabbed his hand.
His hand was cold.
Just as soaked as mine.
“I...”
“We...”
His words caught in his throat.
He simply stared at our joined hands as though his mind had completely stopped working.
I frowned.
“What’s wrong with him?”
The other three burst into laughter.
“Don’t mind him,” the cheerful girl said between giggles.
“He’s never held a girl’s hand before.”
She stepped closer and knelt in front of me until we were at eye level. Gently, she eased my hand away from his before giving him a playful nudge.
“There. Better?”
The boy stumbled back, his ears turning bright red.
“I’m Mina,” she said, smiling warmly as she took my hand in hers.
“We found you submerged in the lake.”
“We honestly thought we were too late.”
Concern lingered in her eyes as she studied my face.
“You’re not from around here... are you?”
I slowly shook my head.
“I’m Calista,” the gentle-looking girl beside her introduced herself with a soft smile.
“We’ve never seen you before.”
“Hey, Adrien!” the other boy called out with a grin.
“She only grabbed your hand! Mina holds your hand all the time. Get yourself together!”
So...
The flustered one is Adrien.
“She’s not a girl.”
“...She’s a gorilla.”
Splash!
A ball of water smacked Adrien square in the face.
He sputtered as water dripped from his hair.
Mina lowered her hand with an innocent smile.
“I heard that.”
The twins burst into laughter.
Adrien wiped the water from his face with a sigh.
“...See?”
“I told you.”
Water...?
I blinked.
Where did that come from?
Calista let out a quiet laugh.
“And that’s my brother, Calumn.”
She looked back at me.
“So...”
“What’s your name?”
Mina nodded expectantly.
“I’m...”
A sharp pain shot through my head.
A brilliant flash of light swallowed my vision.
For a moment...
Countless memories poured into me.
I clutched my head.
It felt as though my mind would split apart.
What...?
What are these?
Places I’d never seen.
A magnificent estate.
Long hallways lined with portraits.
A garden swaying beneath the wind.
A training ground.
Books stacked higher than I could reach.
Magic.
A little girl laughing.
A woman crying.
Gentle hands brushing through silver hair.
The memories felt real.
So painfully real.
Yet every face was blurred.
Every voice was distant.
Every name dissolved before I could hold on to it.
Then...
Two words echoed through the silence.
Victoria.
Vaelith.
Why...
Why do those names feel so familiar?
My head...
It hurts.
A woman’s gentle voice drifted through the darkness.
“That is your name now.”
My breathing caught.
What are you talking about?
“So live this new life...”
Who are you?
The voice carried a warmth unlike anything I had ever known.
“My dear child...”
As those words faded...
So did the pain.
Then, everything went black.
