Eve chose today to take a break from performing her readings. She wanted to conserve as much of her Aura to use her ability on herself, something thought impossible until she had her ability amplified by the woman Ada, who to Eve's surprise, turned out to be the Lord Ruler's own sister. A revelation that was undoubtedly only known to very few people in New Miami.
Eve opened the drawer of her cabinet and took out a small wood box. Inside it was Ada's gift to Eve after she helped her a few days ago. An ability amplifier serum. Eve grabbed the serum, watching the golden liquid inside glow with lightless brilliance. Liquified Aura. Eve had heard of it, but never seen it until recently. She asked Tally to make sure no one disturbed her for the next hour. The young woman had nodded, leaving Eve alone.
Eve sat on her chair and took a deep breath. Up until recently she had never thought it possible to user her ability on herself. To see her own future. But Lady Ada had shown Eve the true potential of her ability.
"Here goes nothing." Eve injected herself with the serum and immediately felt a well of power surge through her. When she ignited her Aura it felt like a volcanic eruption, power unlike anything she'd felt before filled her being, making her feel invincible. The energy provided by her enhanced Aura made her feel young, at her prime. Then she closed her eyes and focused, looking deep withing her subconscious. It didn't take long before her surroundings disappeared and were replaced by the white hallway with golden doors. She saw the golden doors, but they had no numbers on them. They spread endlessly to her right, her past. To her left, her future, they also spread endlessly, except-
Was that a red door? Eve walked over and sure enough there was a black door, but that wasn't the strangest thing she noticed. Every door after the red one were black. She also noticed that the further down the hallway she saw, the darker the walls became, from light gray to dark gray. She turned to the red door, curious, and reached for it, attempting to open it. It was locked.
"Eve Miller," A deep, monotone voice echoed through the hallway. "To look through that door, then you must first accept Ascension."
Eve looked around, panicking. She found a tall looking man in a black suit, much like a Royal, standing by one of the black doors. "What? Who are you?" Upon closer inspection, she noticed the man had no face, just a set of eyes that glowed yellow. "...what are you?"
"We are Lunam." His voice sounded almost robotic, like an A.I. It was eerie.
"Lunam?" Eve said. "Like the second moon, Lunam? The source of Aura?"
The strange man said nothing.
Eve blinked. "You said if I want to see what's behind that door I have to accept Ascension. What does that mean?"
"We will make you divine."
"Divine? You mean like a god?"
Again, the man said nothing.
"You will turn me into a god?" Eve repeated. "Is that what you mean?" Many speculated that Lunam was a sentient entity, and with it being the source of Aura, it would be a god-like being. It says that it could make Eve divine wouldn't be beyond its possibility. It would answer one of the important questions many have asked: What would happen if someone possessed vastly amongst of Aura and harnessed all of its power?
"Eve Miller," The stranger claiming to be Lunam said again. "Will you accept Ascension?"
What was Eve supposed to say? The red door was clearly important. And if she wanted to know what kind of future memory it held… she had to answer; "... Yes."
"Then the door has been unlocked." The stranger said in his deep, monotone voice. "Eve Miller, we will return to you once your time of Ascension arrives." After having said that, he disappeared. Vanished. Eve heard a clicking noise from the door and felt a strange sensation wash over her, like submerging underwater. The sensation felt both familiar, yet new at the same time. Odd.
She proceeded to open the red door and pass through it. She found herself on her knees, feeling suddenly cold and wet. Rain fell heavly from the night sky.
"You alright Madam?" It was Tally. She was kneeling beside Eve looking concerned.
Another set of strong hand grabbed Eve and helped Tally lift her up. Even though Eve hadn't yet met the man, she recognized him. It was Tally's friend Orion.
"Everything okay, miss Miller?" He asked.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Eve said. Just a little lightheaded is all.
The three were standing on the roof of a building by High Tier. Eve recognized it from the time William had used her own ability on her. Back then she had flashed through multiple moments which she couldn't distinguish whether they were from past or future. Now that she was reminded of it, she also remember that one flash of Lunam looking at her. She had felt something then. A feeling she couldn't describe, much like the one she felt a earlier…
"Maybe we should just go and wait inside." Tally suggested. "The rain is somehow getting worse."
"Is it just me or is the bird glowing?" Orion said. "Or is it.."
Eve followed his gaze and saw it. Like her pre ious vision. A massive golden bird, like a Phoenix, only made from the fires of Aura, was closing its wings on Imperium. Like Orion had mentioned, the Aura bird was glowing, like it was about to-
BOOM!
The explosion caught they all off guard. Every was enveloped in a flash of fiery light. Eve felt excruciating pain for an instant before she was thrown back into the white hallway of her subconscious ability. The red door had disappeared. She took a step backwards, and fell down, sitting on the floor, her back to the wall. Did she just witnessed her death? But if that was the case, then what about the black doors. They continued on into her future. She had assumed that when using her ability on someone whose death was close, she would stop seeing doors.
She stood up slowly and walked to one of the black door. She opened it and stepped through. She found herself in a large room. A round table rested at its center, thirteen chairs around it. Eleven of those were already occupied by people. They all looked at her. Before she could make out their features, she felt a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over. It felt like she had just burned through a large amount of her Aura all at once. And because she needed a large amount of Aura to maintain her amplified power active, her ability diminished. The room vanished and she was back in her home, her Readings Room. She was feeling very tired, like she usually felt after prolong use of her ability. But she couldn't help think about all that she'd just witnessed. The stranger. The red door, her death. Then that large room with the round table.
"Madam Miller!" Tally burst into the room, rushing to Eve's side. "Are you alright?"
Eve groaned weakly, composing herself and fighting through her exhaustion. "How did you…?"
"I donno, I just felt something strange and came in to check on you."
"Something strange?"
"A presence, I donno." Tally rushed over to bring Eve a bottle of water from the small fridge in the room. "Here, drink."
Eve accepted it and thanked the girl. Still… had Tally sensed the stranger claiming to be Lunam? If that had been the case, then what did that mean?
And what was that about Ascension?