Once Upon His Time... [On Hold]

Chapter Five :: Part One

Chapter Five

Water Flood

Part One

Awakening from a non-peaceful slumber is never exciting. Waking up to find out you're in another realm is even worse.

My eyelids flutter open, and immediately, my hands reach up to rub away the remaining sleep from my eyes. I drop my hands and groan at the beautiful sight before me. Not even beautiful could describe this -- intoxicating and breathtaking. The last realm had been amazing, but that was outdoors. I am now indoors, and the scene is just... astonishing.

I sigh, will I find myself in a whole new place every time I fall asleep? I wonder, still soaking in the beauty.

"Yes, Emerae; you will. I'm quite glad you've figured this out so quickly..." The voice speaks, his deep ring tingling my ears.

I should really find a name for him, I think, and suddenly, the name hits me. Vox! It means 'voice' in latin. I don't know why or how I thought of it, but it suits, considering I have no face to this irritating yet strangely helpful voice.

"Vox... hm, a strange name. It fits -- a strange name for an even more peculiar... thing." I say to the air, knowing he can hear me.

A short silence settles in before it's broken. "I can assure you I am a man, Emerae. No, I am not pretending to be male, and no, I am not a hideous creature." Vox explains to me, light amusement clear in his voice.

I stare blankly ahead of me, how did he know I was thinking that? and then I remember. That's right; he can read minds.

"I am even more glad that you don't have any type of memory loss. You'll be smart for the tasks to come."

I mumble nonsense towards the absurd thing, and wonder. "So, this is like a video game; every time I finish my task, I win the level, and then go to the next level to finish my next task. Instead of just going through a door or something, though, I fall asleep and you transport me to another realm?" My voice echoes higher on my last word, converting my last sentence into a question.

I hear him breathe deeply, as if gasping in surprise, yet not exactly doing so. "You are exactly correct. I am impressed at how quick you're figuring this out. I apologize though, for I had misjudged you at the beginning of this all." Vox explains, his voice a light, firm yet whisper across the open space.

A small smirk begins to form at my lips. Serves him right; he better say sorry, I think.

Another longer silence passes before Vox finally decides to speak, "As a reward, I'll give you a short note of information you will find useful," he doesn't wait for me to reply, only continues after a quick pause. "What you are doing for me, is completing certain tasks -- missions, if you wish. I will send you through the Nine Realms of this book, and in each one, you will defeat something, or complete a difficult assignment given to you. Some will be easy, others will be quite hard; though none too troublesome that you cannot handle. Once you've finished the task, you will fall asleep, whether by force or not. During this time, I will transport your soul to the next realm. You have completed Realm One, which was the Earth Realm. Currently, this is Realm Two. Throughout your journey, I will guide and help you in times of need, but the rest you must do alone." He tells me in one breath, as if he didn't need the air anyway.

Feeling only a bit overwhelmed by the news, I nod to nothing. "I have one question," I say.

He seems to debate on whether or not to answer, before finally saying, "It depends on the question. Ask; if you can know at this time, I'll answer -- if not, then I apologize but I cannot give you the information you seek." He says.