>>Amber

"Hello," The pale lips that had a hint of pinkish hue parted and a sublime voice made its way to us, sending shivers down my spine.

Hael and I looked up, both of us shocked to see what we were seeing

"I haven't had visitors since forever." Her voice was celestial, her long platinum hair was spread around the grounds forming circular patterns

This woman who was in front of us, this giant woman who lay there on her stomach had her face in front of us.

She was huge, her skin was pale, almost the color of her white dress that extended down her knees, but one could notice a subtle hint of color in her skin.

"It's rare for humans to make it this far," Each time she spoke, I felt my skin stand up. We couldn't look at her eyes though. A pair of hands covered her eyes. Just like how one covers them with their fingers, but these hands were a separate part of her body and there was no thumb. They extended outwards, the wrists barely there that morphed to form butterfly wings. A silverish blue hue could be seen in those wings that looked alive on their own.

Since the miasma clouds had been removed from the place, we could see her clearly. Hael and I barely reached up till her nose.

It was only after a while did I notice that her 'normal' arms were on either side of Hael and I, tied to the ground

Or maybe I should say sewn to the ground, with what exactly? I couldn't tell. The edges of her limbs had clear vines looking things that stitched her arms to the ground. It was a long seam that started from her wrist and extended to her elbows

And not only her arms, her thighs and her legs were stitched too, the seam there extended to her ankles.

We noticed a big stitch on either sides of her waist

"What brings you here?" She asked

"Didn't you call me here?" I frowned at her, "You were the one who was singing," I was skeptical, "No?"

Her lips curled up into a sly smile, "I did," She chuckled, but it was like hearing the echoes of her laughter mixed with something sublime.

Now that I was looking at her and my brain had started working again, there were a number of things racing through my head

"Yes," She answered

"Why?" I asked

"I felt a dangerous presence." She gave out a closed mouth chuckle, "I merely tried to connect with who it was."

I gulped, "Dangerous?"

Hael kept quiet while she and I talked. He was silently observing.

"You were the one killing my babies." She said, "I could feel them trying to fight back yet something was blocking them." Her face came closer to me startling the shit out me, "It was you,"

The fingers covering where her eyes should be moved, two fingers up, two fingers down, and formed a V as they opened the space in between to show her pitch black eyes.

I felt my breath hitch

They were hollow black, yet there were white sparkles in them, like seeing the brightest stars in the sky.

"Your babies?" I wanted to move yet I couldn't seem to, I was scared, "Those monsters are your babies?"

"Well, I made them," She talked calmly, her head moving as she spoke, "So of course they are my babies."

Well, if she is referring to the bonewraiths, that means I am dangerous to them.

"Why did you make them?" No, that was the wrong question, "Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to spread the miasma throughout the world?"

"Why?" She tilted her head slightly, "So that I can be free." She tilted her head the other way, "These stitches won't come off on their own."

"And the miasma will help you take them off?" I had many questions, "Can't someone take them off for you?"

She chuckled once again, "Why don't you try?" She asked and I turned my head to look at her arms

I was actually thinking of trying and I took a step to walk towards her arm when Hael finally spoke, stopping me in my path

"There's no use," He said and I turned around to look at him.

"Why?"

"These stitches are made from the very core of the planet itself," He answered as he looked at the woman, "I'm right, aren't I?"

She seemed delighted, "Yes," The fingers closed, shutting her eyes, "And I can't be free till the miasma takes over everything-"

"And eventually rots the core itself." Hael completed her sentence.

OH MY GOD

Why the hell did this happen?!? Why would someone tie this woman here?

"You are the source of all the miasma that's killing the world," I looked at her in shock, "What you created is going to annihilate all life!"

"So?" She asked nonchalantly,

"So?" I was shocked into awe, "Why would you do that?"

"Because I want to be free," She said

"There has to be another way to free you." I said

"You think I didn't try?" She asked, "I tried every possible thing. But the magic put on me is too strong."

"Who would do that to you!?" I asked, "And why!?!?"

"Hmmm," She looked into another direction, towards her feet. Hael and I followed her gaze. There was something there, far away, hidden in the miasma clouds, "I'd say the man I loved the most did it." She looked back at us, "But I don't blame him." She smiled, "As to why he did this? I would say my love was far too pure to doubt the world as they lied to his face."

"Lied?"

"They lied so much," Her smile faded and she even looked angry, "Cunning little things." But then she smiled again, "But they could never make me hate him."

...

"You still love him? After he did this to you?" I was awe-struck, "Why?"

"Why? It's simply because I love him too much, I could never hate him."

Hael kept his eyes on her, "You,"

"Yes?"

"You are Persephone, aren't you?" The moment Hael asked that question, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, "Valenor was the man you loved." I turned my face to look at him in horror

"Persephone?" I whispered

"I had a strange feeling when I read the biography. And I can't help but ask." He answered.

Her smile widened, "Yes," Her voice reverberated ethereally, "I am Persephone." She looked back at her feet again, "And that is Valenor, my love."

?!?!?!

What?!?!

"Valenor?" I said, "King Valenor? The founder of our Kingdom, Aurelia?"

"Oh? You're from Aurelia?" She seemed pleased to hear that.

King Valenor is here?! I turned my head to look at Hael, "What?" But Hael kept his eyes on whatever was hidden in the miasma

"King Valenor disappeared." He whispered, "He must have come here, right to the place where he confined the woman he loved."

Goosebumps

I felt my skin stand up.

My God, he really didn't get over her.

The letter he wrote to Varian came back to me. And it started making some sense, though not all.

"Valenor," Persephone called out to him, "Come love, we have guests after so many years, come," She called him lovingly.

"P..e...nnnn," A ghastly voice made its way to us.

It scared me and I immediately stepped closer to Hael. My eyes on the miasma clouds as I went and grabbed his arm in fear

"Pe...n..nnnn,"

"Yes love, come," The giant woman called and then we saw movement, someone was making its way towards us, but the walking didn't look normal. It looked like he was having trouble, as if one of his leg was broken or something.

Hael and I watched the figure emerge from the darkness but the movement it stepped out of the miasma, I felt my eyes immediately sting with tears

"P...en"

Pen?

Is he calling out to Persephone?

I glanced at her and then looked back at the figure.

!!!

But what stepped out looked nothing like a human.

The figure has an unsettling, almost alien appearance with smooth, pale skin that gleams with an unnatural whiteness. The head is elongated and devoid of any typical human features, save for the eyes and mouth. The eyes are particularly haunting, with dark, hollow sockets where rainbow-like orbs are embedded, exuding an otherworldly vibe. The mouth is wide and twisted. The neck is elongated, with dark, jagged marks running down it, contrasting sharply against the pale skin.

His body was a grotesque figure cloaked in a tattered, hooded robe that obscured most of its body. The robe was an off-white, almost beige color, and it draped loosely over the figure, giving it an ethereal, ghostly presence. His arms were unsettlingly elongated and sinewy, with the skin appearing raw, almost as if it had been peeled back to reveal the underlying muscle. The arms seemed unnaturally long, with multiple hands branching off from the main arm like some sort of grotesque tree, each hand ending in sharp, claw-like fingers. The hands were twisted and contorted, adding to the eerie and unnatural appearance. We couldn't see the legs or his feet, they were covered by the robe that dragged along.

I couldn't control it

A tear made its way down my cheek and I gripped Hael's arm even more strongly.

"Come," Persephone called her, "These people are from your kingdom."

He tried to turn his head towards us but the movement looked so robotic it made my heart hurt.

"P..e...n," He tried to give us a smile but couldn't utter any other words.

I placed my hand over my mouth while I tightly pursed my lips to stop myself from crying.

To think that this was the great man who created a whole kingdom.

Another tear rolled down my cheek and I bit my lower lip in frustration.

Yet still, my heart shattered for him.