The Hidden World of Nitea [2 | The Other Realms Series]

Chapter Two

The bedroom crumbled around them as a new environment unfolded before them. Velvet carpets rolled over smooth marble; all the furnishings vanished into thin air; and dark red wallpaper crept over the plain walls. Stella opened her palm. White light flowed from her hand and illuminated the dim room. They happened to be in a small antechamber of some sort. On one of the walls was a door with a small doorknob, and opposite it was a spiral staircase that snaked towards the ceiling.

"Where are we?"

"In a room hidden inside an old library," he answered her. "We're not yet in the portal, though. It's located in the next chamber."

He snatched Louis from the air and led his two friends towards the door. On the other side of the door was a much smaller room. Eddie let Jon and Stella enter ahead of him before he closed the door behind them. There was nothing inside—there were no windows, furniture, or even lamps anywhere in the chamber. Unlike the gate to Otrâlmondé, there was no clear way to cross to Nitea. Jon opened his mouth to speak.

"Before you guys say anything," Eddie said, silencing Jon, "the portal to Nitea is quite unique. If you look closely at the walls you'll notice there's a word written all over it. That's the password to open the portal."

Jon and Stella leaned closer to the walls.

"Defluo," Stella uttered.

The door they had just passed through had vanished, sealing them inside the room. Jon sprinted across the room and rapped the wall.

"The door's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, that's normal. It'll come back once the portal's closed."

Just as Eddie finished his sentence, a white speck lit up in the center of the floor. It expanded, eating away at the floor.

"Hang tight," Eddie warned.

Before Jon or Stella could react, the floor had completely faded beneath them.

Yellowish-white light surrounded them on all sides as the trio fell through the portal. Below them, they saw no end. There was no solid ground in sight. Stella and Jon were both screaming—whether from excitement or fear, Eddie did not know. After a moment, their descent slowed, and slowed, and slowed. They came to a halt for a split second before a strong force pushed them upward. The air around them became denser, almost to the point of suffocation, before vanishing altogether. Dark blue engulfed them, drowning away the white light, and the next thing they knew they were immersed in a liquid. Water.

They were underwater. They wasted no time and began swimming towards the surface. Jon easily ripped through the water, surfacing in a couple of seconds. Stella summoned a sphere shield around herself and propelled herself upwards, surfacing shortly after Jon. Eddie was far behind them, with nothing to rely on but his limbs. He hummed a tune as he swam, bubbles escaping his nostrils.

Eddie sucked in air as soon as his head popped above the water. He scanned his surroundings. Jon and Stella were treading just a few meters away from him. From their wide eyes and open mouths, he could tell that they were rather disoriented.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," he urged them.

The three of them swam towards the edge of the pond and climbed out of it. Jon looked down on himself and immediately patted his clothes.

"Wait... I'm dry."

"Oh yeah, that's normal. Water from pond portals don't leave you wet," Eddie explained.

Flash. A woman suddenly appeared in front of the trio. Her thin figure towered over them—even Eddie, the tallest of the three, was two heads shorter than her. She wore a white laboratory coat and a pair of dark, close-fitting trousers. Her onyx black hair was tied into a neat bun, and a pair of metal-rimmed glasses were worn over her small, stone-grey eyes. She glanced at Eddie.