Elena was pulled into a place unlike any other. This time, she was certain there was no coming back.
She could no longer feel her body. There was no ground beneath her feet, no sky above her head. There was only a world of pure, featureless white-no shadows, no beginning, and no end. The white light was painfully bright, impossible to discern, as if it were a living entity swallowing everything in its path.
Her right hand moved on its own-an involuntary twitch. Her index finger reached out toward the void. The light rippled like a stone falling into still water. Golden circles shimmered and expanded, surging toward her as if responding to a hidden call. A soft, serene melody rose, announcing a momentous event.
Luminous particles, like shards of light, drifted into her body and sank deep within. They settled in her lower back, forming a third tattoo. The ancient patterns interlaced, glowing softly with a warm light and a unique magic.
This time, after retrieving the third mark-The Mark of Creation-Elena could not regain control of her body. She was startled; the last two times, she had regained command instantly. What is happening now?
Suddenly, she ascended, soaring upward at a staggering speed. A transparent bubble enveloped her-soft as water, yet as strong as an invisible shield. She remained connected to the ground by something resembling a cord, completely sealed within. There was no sound, no air-only a deathly silence.
Inside her mind, she screamed in terror, her voice echoing through her being:
"Zill... what's happening?"
"Zill, where are you?"
No answer. Only silence. Elena continued to scream, her mind pleading in despair: "Please... don't leave me alone..." But it was in vain; no voice replied.
Suddenly, something moved outside the bubble. It was barely visible due to its extreme speed, and then it appeared: a book floating before her. Its brown cover resembled the bark of an ancient tree, its golden engravings shimmering as the silence deepened around it. At first, there were no clear letters-only pulsing golden patterns like sunlight.
With every pulse, the book began to "speak." It wasn't an audible voice, but a resonance directly in her mind, or perhaps she was receiving vibrations and translating them. The book spoke with a calm, deep voice, as if the wisdom of all universes were gathered into one:
"Elena of the Prophecy, the Long-Awaited One."
Elena could not speak, but every thought she formed was heard by the book. Terrified and trembling, she asked: "Where am I? Who are you?"
The Book of Truth replied:
"You are now inside the Womb of Azaveria. You shall be born anew in 45 days."
Elena gasped. "Born anew? How can I be born anew?"
The book answered: "Do not be hasty. I will answer all your questions. You shall not leave this place until you have every answer regarding who you truly are. Let us begin from the beginning. I am the Book of All Truths. I speak only in facts. I do not narrate; I reveal. I will make you live the past, not merely hear it."
The book paused for a moment, then continued gently: "Though you were born of a human womb, the Sacred Light can only be planted within you by Azaveria. Everyone here was born of her womb. And now... it must be born within you."
Though Elena's mind could barely process this, she asked again: "Where is Zill? Where am I? I want to go back to my mother and Ryo!"
The Book of Truth replied calmly: "Elena, Zill was never separate from you."
Still motionless within the Womb of Azaveria, she tried to understand. The book continued: "You never lost her because she was never a separate person. She has always been a part of you. She is the part of you that belongs to Azaveria, sealed within you by your father so that Tibar would not find you. But now... the time for your true birth has come."
Overwhelmed by confusion, she asked: "Who am I? I don't recognize myself anymore."
The book replied with reassuring stillness: "Who you are may seem like a simple question, but its answer is deeper than you imagine. To answer it... I must show you what happened from the very beginning."