The Duchesses

Chapter 79 : Their Own Journey

Where am I?

The more I look at it again, a sense of deja vu flickers into me. It is where Hera and I fell on the prayer day and the place I talked with Guardian Deity at the birthday banquet.

What am I doing here? Am I already dead?

"It's no use to ask. He won't answer me anyway," I thought, looking around the place.

However, it is different today. Instead of being as large and a tall wall as the sky, there's nothing around. All I can see is the endless underwater part. As the curiosity pique within me, I drag my feet to walk and continue to walk, but there's nothing in sight. I still believe something is stored somewhere in this place to find out myself.

The Guardian Deity never gives me the real reason or why it happens the way it does. Instead, my mind drifts off to why I suddenly ended up in this place. The last time I remembered was when I was participating in Eirene Festival, and someone ambushed us using black powder. Ha, there's no one capable of doing that other than Ares. He must have found out about my ability.

"To think that he did that so quickly is astonishing and pathetic simultaneously. Yet, he never failed to make my skins crawl every time."

What about the other that I left? Are they alright? What about Aurora? No one finds out about her real identity. What if Ares found out about it? How would she survive in that brutal world?

While too engrossed with my thoughts, my foot stepped on some loose sand, causing me to fall forward and swallow by the ground. My body slumped on the earth. I used my elbow and hands to support me to get back on my feet, but what even caused me to be perplexed, it is an underground water tunnel.

Brushing the dirt off my clothes, I take another courage to explore the tunnel again. Not that I have any choice anyway. There's nothing in it besides me, water and the rigid tunnel. So what is the meaning of this?

However, as I walk again, I notice a figure leaning against the rigid tunnel. But I couldn't make out any of the figure's face. My body moves on its own, pushing me to make a move toward the figure. The figure becomes alarmed at my movement, walking away from me. As I was become enchanted by the curiosity of the constitution, I continued to chase after her. I almost lose them due to their fast movement.

That's until I reach the end of the tunnel, blinded by the light, prompting me to cover my eyes with my hands as a reflex. But then, my body falls again, as I feel the force of water hitting me. I calm my nerves as soon as I come down, till I realise something once I get out to the surface. I was diving by the waterfall.

I swim back down to the side, getting away from the waterfall. As I was too engrossed with reaching to the side, it changed when the leaves flew over, dancing in the air vigorously, while some hits my face. My hair also waving from the harsh atmosphere, but something caught my ears when there was a flapping sound in the distance, as I noticed the ground where I sit now looked so shady.

It threw me back when I saw a phoenix emerge from the top, lingering not too far away from my head. Phoenix is the symbol of my family, the Valimos. It looks magnificent and surreal. Its golden colour with slightly orange shines right through, reminding me of the sun in the sky.

However, it then abruptly changes its colour to dark purple, matching my hair colour. It also has the same shade as my purple eyes, looking at me with wonder and tilting its head to the sight. After a while, its claws pierce onto the ground, landing right beside me. The phoenix nudges into my side, slowly putting its head towards me and expecting me to pat it.