“I can be fickle, yet strong. Attained, yet used, Desired, yet shunned. What am I?”
Pausing, he impatiently read through the riddle. Shifting through memories, he knew if he answered wrong the consequences would be dire. Roque fought against him, his feeble attacks laughable, as he sank him deeper in the folds of his ability. As that darkness tightened around him, drowning them both, the answer became clear, and Roque faded into nothing.
Smiling, Adair whispered, “I am the truth.” The words disappeared at his deep voice, melting and dripping away any shield, laying the book bare before him. The light disappeared, the essence that had drawn him forward whisked away with the gold pillars in a cloud of sparkling mist. Adair. Excitement trickled into his stomach. Adair. Reaching toward it, his hand shook.
The voices cooed, wrapping around him, comforting yet still foreign. The world vanished behind him, and he barely breathed as he picked it up. The front cover flipped open, the pages flailing wildly in an unseen wind. Smoke stirred in only the spine seeping out of the pages. Pooling at his feet, it circled him. Breathing heavily, he watched as down his forearms and onto the back of his hand, his veins and skin were drenched in the same smoke, one trailing toward the other, a cosmic pull. Uncontrollable and undeniable. They collided, and the world exploded. Shards of smoke flattened and crystalized into pools of black shimmering mirrors that made up his surroundings, as he freefell through space and time. Capturing broken glances, his reflection showed him in his true body, his jacket wildly flapping, his unkept hair. Choking back his screams as he fought gravity, plummeting faster, his eyes burning from the wind. Deeper and deeper he fell, his hands grappling for anything to hold onto. To stop. Faster and faster he was pulled, the mirrors intensifying around him. Distorted flashes of him splayed in them, his wide eyes, his open mouth silently choking on his scream. But then in the darkness, twisting, those pale faces, and sickening smiles reflected at him, so fast he barely thought he saw them correctly. But all around him, captured in the flawless surfaces, those creatures that haunted his waking moments followed him down into the darkness.
Gritting his teeth together, he pressed his eyes closed, tears seeping from his lids as he plummeted. The wind howled all around him and sharp giggles tainted them, making a sick orchestra climbing and crashing around him. Always, they played just for him. His breath wheezed out of him, his eyes flying open. Underneath him, the light curled around his body, weaving together likes vines, cradling him. Choking on his panic, a maniac laugh bubbled from his lips. Patting his body down, he was in one piece. Beneath him, the light started to pulse once more, a soft and comforting heat flooding through him. On shaky legs, he stood slowly, and the light unfurled before his eyes. A beautiful and an intricate staircase formed, leading him forward, into the unknown of this place.
Magic hung heavy in the air. He paused, looking up into the darkness. Back to where he had come from. Straightening his jacket and popping his collar up, he breathed deeply, wrenching his gaze forward. To where a world of mystery and enchantment sparked to life before him. The staircase had solidified, its curving rails inlaid with a deep green hue, the staircase itself having bled out any color, turning it into a shimmering black. Embers floated around him, silver instead of fiery tones. They lazily spun through the air, creating the illusion of a starry sky, each constellation blinking into existence. His steps echoed as he walked, slow and unsure.
“Adair Stratton. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.” The voice was smooth and commanding and filled with promise.
“Who’s there?” His voice was surprising steady, and he was thankful for that. Internally, he was quaking, the shards of his old self and life ripping away and fading. Reaching the bottom, his boot hit the cool floor, and a hissing filled his senses. Twisting, particle by particle, the stairs dissolved, floating up and becoming one with the shadows around him. Swallowing hard, he forced his body to move forward.
“It is not so much who, but what.” The voice shook through the marrow of his bones, steady and resilient.
His voice was cool. “I’ve had enough of riddles for one day, thanks. Where am I?”
His question echoed, bouncing off walls unseen to him. Instead of answering, before him the ground tilted and he slipped down. Finding his balance, he steadied himself, his eyes adjusting to the pristine light emitting from the pool before him. The surface was so still, it looked like glass. Below the water, crystals made up the bottom of the pool, their defined edges emitting a dazzling display of colors. Greens, golds, blues, reds all sparkled up at him as he lowered himself onto his knees before its edge. He was enraptured.
The voice echoed. “Come closer to find your truth.”
Complying, he leaned forward, blinking down at his reflection. Then the water churned, plunging him into darkness as the crystals winked out. His breath came fast, and he couldn’t rip himself away. Before him in the swirling waters a world formed that he didn’t recognize. Flames consumed everything, whisking away the capital, the Academy. Everything he had ever known was gone.
“Sometimes, Adair Stratton, we find ourselves at a crossroads, unsure of which direction to take. I see your heart and the fracture through it. Of the fear, and hate, and desire. The world is spinning out of control, and it is time to find your purpose. Look closer.”
The scene changed, the ashes clearing, he blanched as he realized he was looking at himself as a man. A city made up of stone and light bustled around him as people passed him radiating kindness and respect bowing their
