Days passed.
Then weeks.
Then months.
Yet nothing changed.
Aiona still sat alone at the edge of the palace, staring at the countless worlds below.
The sadness in her heart only grew stronger.
She smiled when her family was around.
She laughed when they spoke to her.
But when she was alone.
The smile disappeared.
One day, while watching the flow of time, Aiona saw something strange.
Far below, in one of the many worlds she watched over, a little bird was trapped inside a cage.
The bird pushed against the bars again and again.
It flapped its wings.
It struggled.
It refused to give up.
Aiona quietly watched.
Hours passed.
The bird continued trying.
Then suddenly...
The cage door opened.
The bird flew into the sky.
Free.
Aiona could not explain why.
But at that moment, her chest felt heavy.
She stood up.
For the first time in many years, she spoke honestly to herself.
"I want to be free."
The words left her mouth like a whisper.
The moment she said them, she felt something change inside her.
Not power.
Not energy.
Something else.
A decision.
For years she had hidden her feelings.
For years she had obeyed every rule.
For years she had stayed where others wanted her to stay.
But now.
She wanted more.
Not because she hated her family.
Not because she wanted to hurt anyone.
She simply wanted to discover who she truly was.
That night she left the palace.
Not forever.
Just for a walk.
At least that was what she told herself.
She walked farther than she ever had before.
Past the silver gardens.
Past the rivers of light.
Past the endless halls of the palace.
Eventually she reached a place she had never visited.
An old platform floating in empty space.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
The moment she stepped onto it, the symbols began to glow.
Aiona froze.
The platform had been silent for countless ages.
Yet now it was responding to her.
Slowly, a voice echoed through the darkness.
A voice so old that even time seemed young beside it.
"At last..."
Aiona's eyes widened.
"Who said that?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Then the symbols glowed brighter.
A vision appeared before her.
She saw countless stars.
Countless worlds.
Countless lives.
Then she saw something impossible.
A mountain.
A giant mountain hidden above the clouds.
It stood deep inside a forest overflowing with magical energy.
The mountain looked lonely.
Forgotten.
Ancient.
And standing at its highest point was a shadow.
A person.
She could not see the face.
She could not see the body clearly.
But she could feel something.
Power.
A power beyond anything she had ever sensed.
Even from this distant vision, the figure felt impossible to understand.
The vision vanished.
The platform became silent once more.
Aiona stood there breathing heavily.
"What was that?"
For the first time in countless years...
The sadness in her heart disappeared.
In its place was curiosity.
Excitement.
Hope.
She had finally found something unknown.
Something beyond her understanding.
A small smile appeared on her face.
A real smile.
Not the fake smile she showed everyone else.
Far away, hidden beyond sight, someone seemed to be watching.
And somewhere deep within the endless flow of destiny...
The first thread connecting Aiona to The Hidden Creator had begun to move.
But neither of them knew it yet.
And above the silent worlds, a mysterious voice whispered one final sentence.
"Your journey is about to begin."