A man with deep black hair with navy blue shimmers in a silk dress knelt and bowed deeply three times to a similarly dressed youth with white hair. The youth's ears are particular long and pointed along with a golden eye on his forehead.
"Disciple Alfius recognizes Master." Said the bowing man.
Alfius? Dad? Where is this? Euri ponders, surprised to see that the youth on the ground is her dad.
The short youth slowly nodded, unmoved, but with a slight feeling of satisfaction in his eyes. With a swish of his sleeve, the youth turned around. The bowing man stood up quickly, and followed the youth, having taken the cue. A few breaths after the two figures disappeared into the fog within the gate, the gate itself began to slide closed. As the two sides merged together, sever clicks could be heard within the gate mechanisms. Finally, a blue light passed from the top to the bottom of the door turning the entryway flush.
Having noticed not much happened after waiting a while, Euri attempted to move forward towards the door to take a look. However, unlike her expectations, she had no corporeal legs within this space, and simply hovered forward. When she reached 2 meters away from the 3 meter tall gate, a familiar golden eye appeared on the gate, this time with a large gear behind it, spinning slowly. An androgynous voice sounded in Euri's mind.
"As fate has dictated, thou has arrived once more. Place thine hands upon the gate. Should thou be qualified, the right to seek thine way will be granted."
Fate? Is this some kind of cult? What did I get myself into? This is just a VR experience, prerecorded! What could possibly happen to me? This is probably a game my dad left me.
Having reassured herself, Euri imagined herself taking a deep breath to calm herself. She held up her semi-transparent right hand and pushed it forward towards the eye. The moment her palms rested upon the cool surface of the gate, the gears around the eye began to accelerate and the vertical pupils of the golden eye opened wide into a perfect circle of darkness.
Euri's gaze locked onto the darkness within the eye, as if drawn, ignoring all else. Within the darkness, images began to flash, instantly turning into motes of blue light one after another and accelerated straight for Euri, merging into her form. From a few to dozens, then hundreds, then innumerable, Euri's vision turned blue from the light of the images. As the lights merged into her, Euri's mind began to feel a pressure on the back of her head, which then spread forward until it reached the front of her head. Unable to handle the pressure, which is slowly turning into a splitting headache, Euri tried to scream. However, no sound came.
Suddenly, she recalled the empty darkness her father called the Mindspace. Euri immediately closed her eyes and focused within herself and attempted to recall the feeling she felt after activating the box. Having firmly grasped that feeling, she opened her eyes once more, this time the scenery of the mysterious gate is gone, replaced by a vast darkness. As if feeling home, the motes of azure light poured out of her form and and gathered beneath her into a large circle, almost a river of sorts swirling around her. The more the light exited her form, the less the pressure on her mind. Soon, the river condensed and the whirlpool beneath her calmed down into a blue fog composed of millions of the motes of light.
As the last light exited her form, Euri was pulled out of her mindspace back to the gate. Looking around her, Euri could see that the gears returned to spinning slowly, and the golden eye once more looked like a vertical slit.
"Felicitations, inheritor." The voice said.
"Inheritor? Does that mean I now possess these so-called qualifications?" Euri asked, glancing nervously at the golden eye. She hesitated, unsure how to address the disembodied voice. "Spirit of the gate—"
A low chuckle echoed in her mind. "You may call me Matriarch." The voice shifted, becoming warmer, more familiar. "Or perhaps," it continued, now speaking in the Galactic common tongue, "this is easier for you."
Euri blinked, realizing the voice had been using the ancient language her father had taught her. A chill ran down her spine.
"Child of my blood, I have given you a great boon. But the full blessing… that will take time."
"Wait," Euri blurted, her earlier anxieties resurfacing. "Matriarch, what's the danger?" She winced inwardly, fearing she'd spoken out of turn. "Forgive my rudeness," she added quickly.
The Matriarch's response was light, almost playful. "There's no need for apologies, child. Though politeness is always appreciated."
A pause, then a hint of something darker in the Matriarch's tone. "Not that such concerns can be fully addressed now. When the time comes, I will assist you. But remember this: should you encounter one called Sharma, seek their favor. It may prove… beneficial."
The world around Euri shimmered, dissolving into the familiar message:
[Exiting Experience]
She felt a strange pull, a sense of being drawn back, and then… nothingness.