It was dark, sunless, and eerily quiet.
Somewhere in this godforsaken place, three figures slowly woke up from their deep, dreamless sleep.
"My neck…" Noel sat up in a hurry and touched his neck.
He almost could hear the sound of his neck breaking.
He then looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
The ground below him was hard and cold. It was dark all around him.
Then, he saw two of his friends waking up—Renee and Jake looked confused and disoriented.
"What's this place?"
"We are at the doorsteps of the Dark World."
They heard a voice, and when they turned to the voice, they saw Yuri sitting on the ground, holding her legs close to her chest with a look of sadness in her eyes.
"The Dark World?" Noel frowned and then saw a door in the distance.
The door happened to be the only place that emitted light in this wretched place. It looked like a golden portal with edges made out of dark stone.
