Chapter 2 - The Realm of Xenon

CELESTINA VILLARAMA’s POV

It continued, "I've been waiting for you, and I know that you wouldn’t believe me. You won't believe anyone, but I have been watching you for a long time."

I kept on attempting to speak, but no words came out of my mouth. The only thing that I was capable of doing was to think as I listen to this person blabbering.

"But you will believe me now. I've waited a couple of years for this moment to come." The stranger stared directly into my eyes. Then, it reached out a glowing hand and placed it in my chest. I gasped at the shock of electricity that ran along the hand, making me shiver. "I can't say when I'll be able to visit you again. So please forgive me, I wish for your safety and a magnificent life. Though, it would be best for the both of us to forget each other."

Before I knew it, the stranger vanished into the darkness. He was replaced by a shining portal that emitted an aura that contained the same color as the sky, as if it was the pathway for me to go to heaven. Even if I didn’t want to cross over the portal, it was as if there’s some sort of gravitational force which was pulling me in.

A few seconds later, I couldn’t see anything anymore. None of my senses were working, I couldn’t even hear any sound nor feel anything touching me. As I stood there wondering what the heck just happened, the same voice spoke once more, whispering into my ears.

"Welcome to the Realm of Xenon!"

The Realm of Xenon, huh… That's a rather interesting name.

Everything around me turned white, I covered my eyes with one of my palms to block the light. Even if it felt warm and welcoming.

I turned my head and noticed I was surrounded by people, they didn't seem to notice me though. They had all different shapes and colors of hair. I didn't recognize most of them at all, as if it was the first time that I have ever seen them in my entire life. I felt confused at first, but then I realized I hadn't moved at all since I came here. The only thing I saw were these people, each one of them had significant appearances. Some had sharp teeth, others looked soft like a puppy, most of them wore clothes that resembled mine. They were chatting with each other like they knew each other quite well.

"Where is this place? Where am I?" I asked in a loud voice but no one answered me.

I walked through the crowd, trying to find my way. I ended up near a fountain where a beautiful lady dressed in a black robe with gold accessories, a white cloak and black leggings, with long, flowing red hair and pale lips stood in front of a tall building made of stone bricks. As she watched me, she smiled.

When I walked up to her, she nodded and motioned for me to follow her. When we arrived in front of the door of what seemed to be a castle that belonged to the royalties, it opened and she entered.

Inside the castle I was greeted by rows of silver chairs facing a stage that faced me. There, sitting on one of them was a boy wearing red clothes with black stripes. He was staring directly at me, and somehow it felt as if we met before, although I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen him before. He looked familiar.

Did I know him from somewhere? He also seemed lost at what to say. After a few seconds, he simply stood up and walked slowly over towards me. "Your face is unexpectedly identical to someone…"

I froze, unsure if I wanted to hear his answer. "Who are you pertaining to?"

He hesitated for a second, but still, he continued, "your parents." His words rang clear in my mind. His expression showed his sadness, as if he was reliving memories that we have left forgotten long ago.

Suddenly, I was taken aback by the fact that I don’t even recall having anyone to call as mom or dad. It sent an aching sensation to my heart as the veins on my brain somehow pumped.

"Do you remember them?"

I didn't answer. I had no idea who he was referring to, if I did, I definitely wouldn't have ignored him.

When both of us no longer spoke, the woman who guided me in earlier intervened. “It seems like there’s still a connection between the two of you,” she said with a cheeky smile.

My eyes winced, wondering what they know about me.

The suspicious woman held her golden necklace as tight as she could before showing it to me. “This is the symbol of our realm. I’m the only one who has this version, but I am giving this to you until the day comes wherein you would be in need of my presence,” she explained. Just as she said, she removed her necklace and gave it to me, which I unconsciously wore without any rebuttals.

The golden necklace was somehow heavy for me to hold, but it felt like it wasn’t there at all when I wore it.

“Before anything else, I would like to tell you that I am the creator of the Realm of Xenon and also the Moon Goddess, Sarina. I’ll be more than willing to teach you the basic knowledge about this realm,” Sarina introduced herself as she bowed in front of me while holding onto both sides of her black robe.

To be honest, I don’t feel good about this. It seems to me like I was just born today, I don’t even have any memories of what happened yesterday or from a year ago. My mind’s all fuzzy as if I have just woken up from a deep slumber.

“I also want to tell you in advance that you should be careful. The ‘people’ that you see aren’t really humans. Most of them are what you call werewolves, ferocious beasts that wouldn’t give you any mercy once you get on their nerves,” Sarina warned me and from that point onwards, I knew that I really was in huge trouble.