Standing in the dappled sunlight of the forest, he saw her—a woman with long, obsidian-black hair cascading down her shoulders. Her eyes, a mesmerizing shade of deep emerald green, sparkled with an otherworldly glow, reflecting the sunlight filtering through the ancient trees.
"Holy smokes," Victor muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on her. "I've seen my fair share of beautiful women, but this..."
Her flowing gown, woven from a fabric that shimmered with a subtle iridescence, mirrored the hues of the surrounding trees. Intricate patterns adorned the edges, resembling delicate vines that intertwined with the fabric.
"Damn," Victor muttered again, his eyes tracing the patterns. "She looks like she's part of the forest."
As Victor drew closer, he couldn't help but notice the woman's striking features. Her face was a canvas of delicate symmetry, with high cheekbones that caught the shadows and accentuated her enigmatic allure.
"I've never seen such a perfect face," Victor thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
The allure of her hourglass figure was undeniable, accentuated by the way the gown clung and cascaded, emphasizing curves that seemed to echo the natural beauty surrounding her.
"She's absolutely stunning," Victor whispered to himself, his eyes wide with admiration.
A gentle breeze swept through the forest, causing the fabric to sway with hypnotic grace, revealing glimpses of a slender neck adorned with a subtle silver pendant.
"That pendant," Victor mused, his curiosity piqued. "Why does it looks rather familiar for some reason?"
With each step that he took, Victor couldn't help but feel that the woman's presence exuded an aura that felt like a guardian of the forest that had witnessed centuries unfold beneath the ancient world.
"She's like a goddess," Victor thought, his gaze trailing her every movement.
As Victor stood before her, he suddenly felt a strange connection between her and him, as if they had known each other for a long time.
"This is weird," Victor thought to himself. "I've never felt anything like this before."
Before he could understand this feeling, the woman turned her gaze toward him as if she had been expecting his arrival.
"Hello and welcome, traveler," she greeted, her voice carrying a gentle tone that resonated in the surreal atmosphere.
"Hello... um, who are you?" Victor responded, caught between caution and curiosity.
Her lips barely parted, she smiled gently and replied, "My name is Cybele."
In the split second following the utterance of her name, Victor was suddenly engulfed by an intense, stabbing pain that seemed to sear through his skull like a lightning bolt striking directly into his brain.
"What the heck!? Urghhh!!!!" he groaned, his voice strained as if each word was a struggle to form out of his mouth. Instinctively, his hands clutched his temples in a desperate attempt to ward off the searing agony radiating from the pain.
Determinedly gritting his teeth, he aimed to weather this problem as much as he could. Beads of sweat soon appeared on his forehead, and his vision gradually blurred. Unfamiliar memories soon flickered in his mind like distorted images on an antiquated television screen.
"̴̥͑͋̒͑͘̕͝Ḩ̵͕͍̮̗͚̤̅ͅé̸͖͕̲̪̺̩̖̠̏̓͊̏̋͌̈̆̀̅ý̶̡͔̜̪̣̲̱͖͚͓̄͒̎ͅ ̴̖͓̫̻͇͖͈̱̒̿̇̕ḩ̵̢̫͎̭̯̝̳͕̙̂̇̐̍͐͑͊͂o̷̢̢̪͉͓͉͓̐͆͛̿̽̈n̷̳̤͈̥̯̲̔̈́̅̄̎͛́̄̿̕͜e̷̬̹̝͍̰̣̺̤͕̿y̵̪̤͈̫͕͎̖̏͒͐̇̔,̴̩̑͋͐̕͜͠͝ ̵̻̹̤̥͓͔̋̀̃͂͜r̸̛͎͎̪̰̼̬͖͖̟͛͐̂̓̒̎͋͑ͅe̵̜̙̹̓́̽̓m̴̧̳̙̱̼̎͐̎̉̓̕ĕ̴͔̞̤͓̒̋͌̉͒m̵̦̝͓̽̿̌b̶̲̘̬͌̉̀̑̓ë̴͉̱͇̝̘́ř̵̨̻͇̟͉̖̜̤̐̿̆̐̉̐̽̕ ̵̛͍͇͕̫̼͓̞͉̤̈́̒̂̔́́̃̚ṱ̷̦͖͇̭̹͉̀̈́̊͐͂̔̊̚ͅh̷̡͉͈͚̫̞͕̣̤̔ͅí̵̠̭̻̱͍̈́̇̐̏̒͊́͛̇s̶̛̲̭͍̤̿ͅ?̷̖̀͐̏̈́̋̀̓́͘͠͠ ̶͇͔͑̍̀̅̓̾͋͋͘T̸̞̳͖͉̼̻̩͚̀͑ḫ̸̡̩̺̔̍ĕ̸̡̩̙̠̟̫̞͚́͂ ̷̧̧̗̗͙̝̾́̃͂͌̕̕l̶̨̞̦͓͐̔̔͗̅͊͐̋̎̚͠ắ̴̢̹͈̬ų̵̨̧̡͚̩̤͔͉̰̻͒͒́̅͋̂͌̆̐̄͝g̸̠͔͑̽͗̾̾̒̇̊̚͝h̶͍̜̉͗͋̈́́̿t̵̤̏̒̂̍̕̕͠͝͝͝e̷̢̛̖̦̘̤͔̻̮̲͉̖͑̒̿̑͗͗͋͗͊̏ṛ̶̢̤͂͝,̸̖̘͓̠̱̼̔͘̕͠ ̷̳̈́̔̈́̈́t̴͍̳̉h̴̲̞̗̰͚̘̘̭̙̣̉̓̆͋̈̍è̷͍͚̘̉̅͂̕ ̶̬̙̰͔͎͍̽̆̂͗̈̽͌͘ͅw̶͎̼̙̘͉͚͓͙̺̮̉̉̓̅̓͛ͅȧ̷͓͕̆̀͗̔̋͒̊́͘͘r̵̲̺͓̮̓͂͒͝m̴̨̳͍͖̞̳̺͍͚̈́́͑́̄̒̔͋̔͝ͅt̷͚̼͖̥͎̪̯́ͅh̷͎̯́͗̈̈́̇.̷̛͙͓̣̺̻̜͔̰̜̞̼̅̇̿.̸̧̢̧͙͈̪̘̯̱͖̞͐̍̉̇̌̾̑́̎̂͐.̵̡̗̻̳͉̗͍̼͎̱͛̑̄̍̒̓͝
Echoed an unknown woman's voice, but her identity eluded him.
"Who the hell are you?!" Victor screamed as the pain intensified, a relentless drill boring into his thoughts.
"̵̮͖͕͖̯̞̄Y̴̠͛͛̀̃͠͝ō̸̙̗̬͙̮͖̬̣̞̚̚͜ų̵̫̺͇̫̱̩̺̫̈ ̶̨̫̳̣̻̬̹͑̀̉͜͝ͅp̶͓͈͒̒͋̇̓̃͆ŗ̶̛͓̠̲͉̆́́̈́͠o̷̢͍͈̖̝͕̣̙̮̝̒̒̒̉̏ṁ̸̰̺͎̰́̃̉̓̚ȉ̶̛͓͈̰̖̞͎̄͌̀͋̒̿̊̿s̷̬̦̹̽͗ę̵̨̧̱̮͓̣͈̲̥̏͗͋̍̓̈́͝ͅḑ̷̛̣̼̳͍̪̩̒̀̏̃̑̊̉͛̐ ̶̡̥̻͍͇̜̱͖̱͌̀́͆̇͋̆́w̴̦̜̬̣͎̏̔̀̋͑̚ḙ̷̡̺̮̳̫̣̦̇̃̿̃́͠'̶̡̗̜͙̦̦̻͚̜̯̓̈̈́̏̚͜d̷̨͚͇̦̞͙͙͕̝̓̓̾͘͝͝ ̵̢͇̟̼̬̻̥̍̀̊̆̿̐̌b̵̛̮̫̦̺̍̌́̽̀̊̉͜͝e̷͈̯̎͛̈́̽̚ ̷̨͔̩̪̋͒́͆̏́̀̚͝t̷̡͇͙̖̬̗̋̔̄o̸̥̟̫͓̲̝̐̑̃̈́̄̀̀̇͝g̶͚̈́̇̒̑̅̑ë̶͖̭͇̬͓͕̰̘̎̈́͒̏͘͜ẗ̷̗͓̫͔̺͓̦̥͇́̅͆h̸̟̘̗́̌͂̌͋̿̊̿ę̵̣̰̬͇͚̬̤̹̳̔͑͐͆̚r̶̨̛̞̘͙̖̞͌̓̊̑̅̍̇̅ ̶̢͚̜̊̎̏̆̐͋̚ḟ̵̡̛̛̗̺̯̥͙͇̮̹̠̞̏̏̀̚ơ̵͚̝̣͕͚̍̈́͒͒́̒̚ŗ̷̲̝̝́̕ę̶̢̫̬̼̻̙̎̾̇̏̽̏͛̿̂͘̕v̸̨̅̑e̴̡̡̛̪̥̦͇̜̓͜r̷͍̦̮̓̈̎.̶͉̮͖̈́͜͜͠.̷̡̫̮̰̥̋̌.̸̧̙̞͎̞̀͂̔̌̄͌̓̕"̷͕̫̙̌ͅ ̶̨̜͕͙̟̫̘̣̭̣̒̃͋̒̽͑̓͝͠
The unfamiliar voice persisted. The woman's face blurred into incomprehensible shapes, and disjointed fragments of voices echoed.
Cybele, witness to the unfolding torment, seemed unperturbed, as if she was already anticipating this occurrence. Calmly, she plucked a leaf from a nearby branch and blew it toward Victor, who lay in agony on the ground.
"That should do it for now," she murmured, witnessing the leaf gradually disintegrating into dust as it approached Victor. Gradually, a light enveloped him, and like a puppet with its strings cut, he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
Cybele tiptoed towards Victor, her footsteps muffled by the fallen leaves. A peculiar glow emanated from his form, a soft, ethereal light that pulsed in sync with his heartbeat. Curiosity piqued, she extended a hand to touch him, but it passed right through.
A chill ran down her spine as she witnessed his body begin to shimmer and distort, caught in a vortex of energy. His form grew translucent, and with a blinding flash, he vanished into thin air, leaving behind a swirling cloud of dust.
"What on Earth?" she muttered, her voice filled with disbelief. She had never encountered such a bizarre phenomenon in her visions. A strange sense of loss washed over her, a pang of sadness she couldn't quite explain. She had only just met him, yet it felt as if they had known each other for ages.
A moment of silence followed as she watched the dust settle. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," she sighed, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Perhaps it's for the best."
A thought occurred to her. "Or maybe not," she mused, her tone contemplative. "Maybe it was just the beginning." She shook her head, dismissing the idea. "No, it's best to let it go."
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Farewell," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "May our paths cross again someday."
- o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o -
Inside a secluded room located in a realm beyond imagination, a woman with a unique appearance sat upon a throne of iridescent obsidian. Her hair was a stark contrast, one side a raven's wing black, the other a pristine white. Her skin, as pale as moonlight, was almost translucent, and her eyes, one a deep, inky black, the other a piercing silver.
Dressed in a flowing midnight blue and silver gown, the fabric seemed to shift and shimmer, reflecting the iridescent light of the obsidian throne. The gown was adorned with intricate silver filigree, and a silver pendant hanging around her neck.
In front of her eyes, a holographic screen flickered to life, displaying the scene in the forest. A wry smile crept across her lips as she watched Victor vanish into thin air.
"Phase one is almost in completion," she murmured, leaning forward, a wry smile playing on her lips. "And thankfully, the situation had resolved itself like the previous one even though I had to intervene a little." She sighed, her voice barely a whisper. "I hope this small change won't alter the future's course."
Her gaze shifted to Cybele, who stood amidst the ancient trees, a serene expression on her face. A soft smile graced her lips.
"My dear Cybele, thank you," she said, her voice filled with gratitude, "you've done well. Your performance was flawless."
She paused, her eyes fixed on Cybele's image. "I just hope you won't notice the slight alterations to the timeline. Or at least, I hope you'll still follow the destined path."
She swiped her hand across the screen swiftly, causing the image to dissolve into nothingness. Rising from her throne, she stretched her limbs and glanced down at the silver pendant hanging around her neck, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I hope everything goes well," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. "For his sake, and for ours."
She traced the intricate silver filigree on the pendant, her fingers lingering on the cool metal before taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. "Now…"
"I guess it's time to prepare a few more things to complete Phase 1 and also for the next phase," she declared, her voice filled with anticipation. As she walked away, her footsteps echoed softly through the silent corridor.
To Be Continued