When she took another step towards the darkness, all her surroundings suddenly brightened up. The hall showed white marble walls and pillars with golden linings. The hall looked empty except for the blood red carpet in the middle. But nevertheless, the hall was shining like a cove of treasures in a hidden kingdom. And as she walked, she saw at the end of the hall, a high platform similar to a throne of a king.
And someone was sitting in that throne with an imposing and regal aura. Only, his face was shrouded in darkness. But it can be seen that that 'someone' is male with long silver hair that forms a pool of white beneath his feet. He wore an inner robe of plain black silk that shines with his every movement and an outer robe of deep red with intricate designs lined with black and gold.
By the sides of this man were multiple Reapers, their black clothing a great contrast towards the room. And nearest to the King was a Reaper that carried a tray of strange looking fruits.
Looking at those fruits, Inna remembered her hunger and she looked down towards her hands which still has the blue shiny butterfly.
"Kneel."
A melodious deep voice echoed throughout the whole room. Although monotonous, it was Inna's first time hearing a voice so mesmerizing, melodious, lovely, light, and deep all in one. It made others want to keep hearing it forever.
As soon as the command was said, Inna's knees buckled. She fell towards the floor heavily, yet she didn't feel pain. But apparently, that didn't stop her from instinctively flinching.
Everyone seemed to notice her flinch.
Especially the man on the throne.
Because when he saw it, his posture became rigid.
Suddenly, without any time for Inna to recover from her fright, she heard the doors slam loudly. So loud, it sounded like a bomb exploding.
She let out a small scream and instinctively opened her palms to cover her ears.
The butterfly escaped from her hands and immediately darted away from her. It fluttered its wings and went towards the man on the throne. When it reached him, it hovered near the man's face and kept flying in circles.
When Inna saw it, she hurriedly screamed.
"NO! MY FOOOOOD!"
Everyone was startled by her outburst, due to many reasons. Especially the one carrying the tray. He was about to go near the king to offer the fruits. But her outburst made him lose balance and the fruits that were carefully stacked, fell in every direction. It rolled down the platforms and reached the hall's carpet.
Inna was still staring at the butterfly until it landed on the man's forehead.
In a split second, the darkness in the man's face was cleared and his stunned and confused expression was shown before it was once again shrouded in darkness.
The Reapers gasped and immediately knelt and bowed towards him.
Inna also saw the brief second he showed his face. And that second was enough for the memory to be burned in her mind.
He had an ethereal, immortal beauty that can surpass any actor, model, or anyone in the world. In fact, he's so beautiful that she had a hard time convincing herself that what she saw was real. He had piercing violet eyes that looked mysterious, grim, and powerful. He held a gaze that looked towards the world like it was nothing to him. His forehead had three diamond red marks that kind of forms a peculiar flower. It was, in all reality, the most perfect face she had ever seen. All features were like it was sculpted by God after laboring for centuries. And she was thankful that she actually was able to see it even for just a split second.
Inna was left mesmerized by the face she saw while everyone kept kneeling. The man was preoccupied with the butterfly like he was trying to decipher something. He probably didn't notice the attention he was getting. Or maybe he was just ignoring them.
She felt something bump towards her knee and she finally snapped out of her trance. Looking down, she saw a purple fruit with a black bottom. It was the size of her fist and looked absolutely juicy, like an overgrown grape.
Her hunger resurfaced again and without any second thought, she placed the whole thing in her mouth.