Thief Of Existence

QUĪNQUE

Arian Zhu was losing hope and it wasn't even explainable at this point how deeply worried she was for her existence. Her fiery rebellion idea seemed to be out of the picture now since she had to exist for that to happen. She walked down the dreary hallway quietly and Ylis didn't try to strike a conversation with her. No amount of comfort could console her at this point and the only way to raise her spirits would be getting at least one worthy verdict. She needed at least one of them; she had to know if she had a chance to exist.

They reached another huge door but this time, it was painted in blue and had an emblem of a silver sword. It was different from the other courtroom doors Arian had seen but she was too drained to be amazed by it. She just wanted to get her next trial over with.

While she was in the middle of her depressing thoughts, Ylis slowly put her hands on both of Arian's cheeks then kissed her forehead, which surprised Arian a lot.

As soon as Ylis' lips made contact with her forehead, she could feel a surge of energy through her veins. Something about the forehead kiss changed her body but she wasn't sure what. Arian pushed Ylis away, though it was too late of a reaction.

"What was that, Ylis?!"

"Now, don't be so worked up over it. You need it to get to the next court."

"You mean, I need a kiss? Do I look like someone who needs that?"

"It wasn't just a kiss, Arian. It was a fae's kiss. You'll understand once I open this door."

Ylis was calm and collected over it. It wasn't a huge deal to her. It was one of the protocols for faes and mortals to enter the Third Department. She pulled the door open and Arian stepped back as she saw what was inside.

There was water. It looked like a huge aquarium to her. It was filled with all sorts of corals and marine life. And all of them were alive. There were clownfishes, seahorses, dolphins, and, surprisingly, sharks. Most of all, the water didn't spill out despite the door being wide open. It just stayed there, like a translucent liquid wall.

Arian just watched it in silence and awe. It had been a long time since she went to the sea. The last time she had been near to a body of water was with her father, before his second existence trials. She and her father went to the town lake for a swim and though it wasn't as beautiful and colorful as the marine life she was currently facing, the town lake was lovely in its own way. Its water was clear and clean that Arian's father could see her diving with the fish. In the afternoon, they fished together and grilled them for supper. It was one of the memories that she cherished with her father. It's those kinds of memories that Arian realize that she doesn't want to regret that she remembers him.

At one point, Arian almost drowned but she was immediately saved by her father, which was both a relief and nightmare to her. She grew to have a small fear of water due to the drowning incident. Still, a part of her had always yearned to feel the cold splashes of water against her skin again.

Snapping herself back to reality, she realized that Ylis had already stepped inside the water. She extended her hand and reached out to Arian. For a while, Arian just looked at her hand. She raised her eyes and met Ylis' gentle smiling face. Something about her face soothed Arian's fears of drowning. She hesitantly took Ylis' hand and she was pulled into the water.

Arian held her breath for a long time, panicking as she felt how deep the water was. But Ylis opened her mouth and showed how she was able to breathe. Taking a risk, Arian also opened her mouth. She was shocked to find out that she could breathe also. "How is this possible?" Arian asked, also surprised that she could speak underwater. "It's the wonders of the fae's kiss. It gives a mortal the ability to breathe underwater. I told you so, you need it," Ylis chuckled. Arian smiled then it suddenly vanished. Ylis saw it immediately and held her cheek.