'What? Where am I?'
This was the first thought that came to his head. He was on his way home from class and was expecting to have been woken up by the train announcement system when he got to his stop but he was not on the train when he opened his eyes. Instead, he was in a, uh..., what would he call it?
Many people were around him in the endless snow field that stretched out before him. All of them, including him were on their knees, and ahead of them, there was a hill that prevented further viewing. The moment he noticed that he started to feel. The coldness of the surrounding area was intense, tearing through every fiber of his being. He craned his head downwards and saw the new outfit that he had on him.
Old hessian fabric that was dirty and reeked of time. What happened to his new Nike that he had decided to gift himself for Christmas? 'What is this? A prank?'
That was not the matter of most importance at the moment. What was more worrisome was that both his wrists were shackled together. Why was he in shackles? It was not just him, every other person around him was in shackles and hessian. They all looked like...slaves.
'What? Are we being trafficked? Is this some kind of government experiment?' He knew he had watched too many movies but as a human, it was always nice to believe in something.
The following moment he raised his head and saw black figures at the top of the hill ahead. They were not there before and he who wanted to run before could do nothing but just stay still. He felt like that would have been the worst decision he ever made, plus, he realized that there were also shackles on his legs.
The black figures came closer and when they were close enough he saw that they were all men in armor, medieval style.
'What is going on here?' He wondered.
Just then, he heard a loud feminine voice, that gave him a lonesome feeling. It felt like it was coming from within his head.
[Welcome Seekers! It is time for the prologue! Get ready]
'Inheritors? Prologue? What is going on?'
[Seeker, what is your name?]
'My name, my name, wait, what's my name?' He thought 'I-I can't remember'
[Good. Here is your evaluation]
The voice suddenly went quiet and then fiery texts appeared before him.
ᚐᚄᚅᚋ: ᚇᚑᚄᚆᚑᚅᚏᚐᚄᚈᚆᚓ
ᚉᚄᚅᚓᚐᚂ: ᚇᚒᚄᚅᚓ
ᚑᚄᚇᚆᚏᚓᚐᚉᚆᚈ: ᚅᚔᚑᚅ
'What is this?' Just like anyone else he was unable to read it.
[Prologue will begin soon: Snow Queen's Epiphany]
"What the hell is this?! I was on my way to work and I opened my eyes to see this nonsense! Is this some kind of joke?! Whatever this is I demand an answer right now!"
He was in the front row and the voice came from his left. It was a woman's. As he shifted his gaze to see the source of the voice he saw something twinkle in the sky and an arrow descended next. It moved very quickly, like lightning, and struck her temple with enough power to pin her head to the ground, and her rich crimson blood decorated the white snow in scarlet embroidery. His heart jumped, and he wanted to scream, but seeing as the other people did not look fazed, he just kept his mouth shut and turned back to the fiery texts before him.
The voice came again:
[A Seeker has returned to the light. Her spirit shall forever be remembered]
"So, are you a Seeker too?" A deep masculine voice said beside him.
Looking to the right he noticed the man that knelt beside him. From his perspective, this man was tall and sturdy. His face looked like it was sculpted by a legendary artisan. His jawline was sharp and pronounced, his eyes were a piercing shade of blue that held unyielding determination framed by thick, well-defined brows.
He had full, well-defined lips that would have seemed very inviting if it were not for the cracks caused by the freezing environment. Everything was then complimented by warm beige skin. This man was nothing short of mesmerizing. No, it was something more. Alluring, maybe?
Despite the clear suffering that was written all over him the man was still looking so attractive. He could not begin to fathom how he would look if he was properly taken care of.
"W-what?"
"Don't mind me. I was just muttering to myself"
That was what anyone would have thought since the man did not raise his head once. But he was not just anyone, he had also seen the message and heard the voice.
"W-wait. I heard what you said, what's going on here? Why are we in shackles?"
"So you are a Seeker, great"
"W-what's a Seeker?"
"Unfortunately, I can't talk right now but if you make it past the prologue, come find me. Then we can talk" The man said "Put your head down, we've got company"
He was suddenly reminded that soldiers were approaching them and put his head low in response to the warning. He whispered to the man asking one last question of importance.
"How do I pass this 'prologue'?" He said.
The man sighed before answering "It's simple. Just survive"
"Wait survive what?"
"I don't know, but we'll see"
'So he's just making assumptions' He thought. At this point, the approaching soldiers were already right in front of them. 'But, what exactly is this prologue? And how does this guy even know he will survive?'
The soldiers who were all clad in black armor started to readjust their positions and the men on the two lines right in front of him all turned to face each other before creating space.
A woman walked down the hill, taking slow strides with her eyes locked on him. He only took a glance but in that short moment, their eyes met. He had to say she was very beautiful.
She was tall and slender, probably around his height and age, with blue eyes that matched her face. She had long white hair that was packed all the way to the back, leaving two braids to fall in front of her face. She had an air of confidence around her and her charisma was off the charts. Everything about her, from the the look in her eyes to the sway of her hips spoke of confidence, authority, and charisma. It was as if she was on top of the world.
She wore a blue gown with white embroidery that added to her allure.
As soon as she came down from the hill she went to him first and held his chin to raise his head up.
"Wow, we have a very cute one here," She said.
He could have rolled over if he did not control himself. Even her voice was beyond charming. It sounded like angels singing a lullaby. Suddenly he felt some pressure in the lower half of his body but this pressure, it was good pressure.
"Elise, we do not have a lot of time left. Stop wooing slaves and start the ritual" A voice said and an old man appeared from behind her, like he had just walked out of her back.
He was wearing a bald, with a long white beard, a black hooded cloak, and his right hand stuck out of holding a crooked staff which had a transparent red ball at the top held by a hollow in it.
"Aah!, let me have some fun at the least old man," She said and turned to the old man.
"Do you wish to see your sister again or not?"
Elise murmured something and turned back to face him. With a haughty grin, she said to him:
"Don't worry. I'll see you again..."
She raised both of her hands and they started to glow with white light which engulfed him the next moment. As the cocoon of energy was woven around him he suddenly felt extremely drowsy and before the deep sleep took him away he heard her say:
"...If you survive, that is"
[Seeker, the prologue has commenced! May the light be with you]