Keeper of the Lost Cities: Elysian

Chapter 30

Sophie wasn't aware of how long she had been in the infinite room.

She wasn't aware of how long she had been staring into oblivion, wondering if there was something that could soothe her heart.

And make her forget what had happened.

She had half expected him to run back out of the darkness and tell her it was all a prank.

It wasn't...

It wasn't possible.

Keefe couldn't be gone.

As she sat down in a daze, she kept trying to tell herself that it was all fake. A nightmare.

A horrible, horrible dream that she wanted to wake up from.

But the truth, the sickeningly horrible truth, was present in Sophie's mind, no matter how much she didn't want to believe it.

Keefe was gone.

And he was never...

He was never coming back.

A cold, numb feeling accompanied her grief as she stared around her.

The room was a murky gray, unlike the darkness and light that had been present before.

Was she still in Keefe's consciousness? Or did it not exist anymore?

She didn't know where she was.

Sophie ignored the throbbing ache in her chest as she desperately tried to find a grasp on reality and sanity.

She needed coherent thoughts.

She needed to focus on plans. And her goals.

She had to help her friends. Defeat Lady Gisela.

Pick herself up.

No matter how much her grief and misery tormented her and threatened to drag her down.

She stood up. Her legs felt weak.

"It's fine," she whispered as she found balance. "You're just walking."

She began walking aimlessly through the void.

A beam of light appeared in the distance, and something about it felt oddly familiar.

As Sophie stepped closer, she heard crying. But the figure was still too hazy to see.

Then, she recognized the girl with violet eyes.

The scene unfolded around her. This time, not only the figures were visible.

Merida was sitting on a small bed with lavender sheets, concentrating on writing something in her notebook.

She was wearing a simple aquamarine dress. It looked like any other day.

As Sophie stepped closer, she observed the room she was standing in.

A wooden desk stood in one corner. Several books, sheets of parchment, and a small lamp rested on top of it.

The walls were adorned with several paintings depicting celestial objects like stars and galaxies and beautiful landscapes.

Additionally, there was a modest closet that had a graceful pattern with stars and diamonds painted onto it.

As Merida wanted to be a writer, Sophie wasn't surprised to see a tall bookshelf filled with books of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

There was also an easel tucked away into the corner with an empty canvas, which meant that the beautiful paintings on the walls had probably been her art.