Complete and utter silence. A silence so quiet it forced one to be conscious of it.

This silence was only made prominent – noticeable – due to one reason, being a high-pitched drone that sounded constantly. It was more apt to be called a frequency as compared to any sort of sound, as it didn't resemble anything on earth.

These were the two 'noises' that Cyril immediately noticed upon coming to his senses.

Among these two noises was the intense sound of breathing that came about as he sucked in deep lungful's of air. His arms instinctively flailed around, seemingly out of desperation.

Although he was disoriented, the middle-aged man could almost instinctively tell that his breathing seemed out of place. It was as if it didn't belong, echoing throughout his surroundings and into the still atmosphere which was devoid of any sound, save for the constant drone.

Realizing this, he quickly calmed his mind, forcefully regaining control of both his limbs and his breathing. After doing so, the man rubbed his bleary eyes as he continued taking deep, shaky breaths.

"What the… I swear I was… drowning…"

The words were spoken through clenched teeth. Holding his hands in front of himself for inspection, Cyril couldn't help but notice their trembling.

The fear of death still gripped his heart, along with an intense pain in his lungs and an aching in his limbs.

All three were remnants of his last memories, being of him tied up as he sank to the bottom of the river, a heavy rock attached directly to his bound legs. The pain was a cold and deep one, from the river's water as it filled his lungs. The aching was likely from his intense movements which he couldn't perform due to his bound limbs.

"What… what happened? Was I saved?"

The thought only came about shortly as he quickly noticed a discrepancy in his appearance.

As he inspected his hands which were held out in front of him, he couldn't help but notice his legs, also in front of him. But the most curious part was that they were upright, rooted firmly to the floor.

Upon becoming aware that fact, the feeling in his lower body quickly came back to him, reminding him that he was standing. His thoughts had been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed the situation.

"H-huh? Standing?" Gently lifting his legs up and down, he confirmed that he wasn't imagining things. "Did I faint standing up? How is that possible?"

A frown came over his face as he realized the oddity. Confounded, he looked up.

What greeted him was a sight so grand it imprinted itself on his memories.

Directly in front of him stood a gate, one so large it seemed to have been made for giants. Its size was ridiculous, at first glance seeming well over a hundred meters tall. But Cyril, situated around twenty meters in front of the gate, couldn't quite be sure.

What he could be sure of was that it was massive, and that it loomed directly over him. The very top of it couldn't be seen as it was shrouded in a pitch black darkness.

The gate was quite opulent, its edges encased in gold while its center seemed to be made of a red velvet. Gargantuan dazzling jewels of white, blue, and red were slotted periodically into its interior, lining all the way up into the darkness. Hanging on the double gate were two golden handles in the form of rings.

The sight was like nothing he had ever seen before, surpassing his wildest dreams.

While he couldn't see the ceiling, Cyril could see that the two ends of the doors were connected to black walls, which stretched outwards and behind him.

The scene boggled his mind, throwing his thoughts into disarray. While his eyes could comprehend the sight, his mind could not. Instead of being awed he was slightly terrified.

How could a gate possibly be so large? What was with those strange jewels? Where was he?

Such thoughts continuously ran through his head. Astonished, he subconsciously stepped backwards only to bump into a rather soft surface behind him.

"!" Startled, he quickly swiveled around.

What he had bumped into was a person, slightly shorter than he was. The figure stumbled back slightly, but soon seemed to absentmindedly find its way back to its original position behind him.

This was not the only person behind Cyril though.

Behind that person was another person, and another, and then a countless amount of them. They stood in a line that trailed a long way into the distance, but he could faintly see where the line split off into two different ends, both leading left and right.

Thought he couldn't quite see where those lines went, as his vision was obscured by the thick black walls.

"A… hallway?" The quiet murmur slipped from his mouth as he tried to understand what he was looking at.

And indeed, he seemed to be standing in a long, long hallway which split off at two ends, leading who knows where.

The ceiling above was an indistinguishable black, and the walls – while apparent – were black as well, but the man was strangely able to see quite clearly. It was as if he had night vision, or perhaps the gate was emitting a subtle light for him to see.

Whatever it was, it enabled him to understand that he was standing directly in front of the line which seemingly lead to the gate. He could tell that it was the front because all of the figures in the line were facing the same way.

The light also enabled him to see the line behind him, but the sight made him question his vision.

While many of the figures were in similar size to the one behind him, many of them drastically differed. While Cyril's eyesight wasn't good enough to make out their distinct features, he could tell that their height differed greatly.

Rather, greatly seemed to be an exaggeration. Some of the figures were twice his height, while others twice that height. Some were even larger than that, far larger. In their midst he could faintly make out some short figures, but they were mostly blocked off by the larger figures.

The figures also had strange features attached to them. Some of them had scales that were entirely aqua-blue, while others had feathers. Many of them didn't even seem to be humanoid, and he even spotted a large mushroom with legs.

"…Huh?"

While he couldn't make out their features directly though, he could vividly make out the features of the one right behind him. 

"An… elf?"