On that summer night, as the sky adorned itself with countless stars, the scent of Ravaz filled the air. He had been gone for so long this time. Stephanie, though a young woman, still possessed the heart of a child; she breathed in deeply, her longing reaching a state of madness—an addiction. Months had passed since that soul-filling fragrance last visited her. Driven by yearning, she hurried toward the source.
She threw open her bedroom window overlooking the backyard. She felt him there, hidden in the darkness by the wooden fence. Her eyes could not see him, but every fiber of her being knew he was present. She realized the time had come to take a step that would grant her the answer she needed: either to hold on or to move forth.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she inhaled deeply and whispered to herself, "Either madness or reality."
She reached for her cello, sat on the chair facing the window, and looked directly toward the spot where Ravaz stood. Then, she began to play.
The melody started thin and mournful, then swelled into a crescendo, its echoes reflecting the pain of a soul longing for the unknown. She sang words that bled from her depths:
When I saw you,
You awakened something unknown within me.
And still, I am gathering the fragments of myself.
Tell me, O Stranger, who are you?
And where do you belong?
You are the ache in my heart,
And the fire burning in my chest.
Is there room for my pulse to rest in your fatal embrace?
Do you know that I collect broken smiles without hope?
I feel you though I do not know you,
You fill every corner of my tormented soul.
Please, do not promise me illusions.
If I had to choose between eternity and dying in your arms,
I would choose you, every single time.
Stephanie continued chanting the words in her soft voice, clinging to the hope of the impossible.
When she finished, silence smothered the air. She set the cello down gently and stood up slowly. Her heart hammered so violently she thought it might stop, but her courage did not fail her. Leaning out over the windowsill, she peered into the blackness and spoke boldly:
"Well? Did you like my song?"
A deadly silence followed. No answer. But she would not surrender.
"I know you're there. I've always felt you. Your scent... it's the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled."
Silence remained master of the moment. Her tone shifted now; no longer tender or romantic, it turned firm.
"It is now or never. I am talking to you, little shadow of the mulberry tree. I know you are hiding in the corner. You are the one who made me play with sunlight as if I were the greatest sorceress in the universe. Answer me now, or vanish forever."
In a fit of rage and heartbreak, she slammed the window shut. She turned toward her bed and threw herself under the brown covers, huddling into a ball as if embracing her own pain. Her heart overflowed with a chaotic mix of confusion and grief.
"Have I gone mad?" she whispered. Could madness resemble love this closely? To feel this for someone she had only glimpsed once as a shadow from a distant time? These feelings were stronger than any logic.
But what she did not know was that the storm inside her was nothing compared to the war raging within Ravaz. He stood there, stunned. Yes, her song was for me, he thought. And those words... could she truly feel me? Has she loved me in silence as I have loved her?
In that moment, the questions were many and the prohibitions were great. Yet, despite a bitter struggle with every principle and law, he made his decision. He surrendered to his emotions and shattered the forbidden boundaries.
In the blink of an eye, Ravaz vanished from the garden and appeared directly inside Stephanie's room, where she lay sobbing under her covers. He hesitated for a second, but the sound of her weeping broke him. He could not bear it. In a husky, hesitant masculine voice, he filled the room:
"Do not cry... for it pains me."
Stephanie raised her head slowly, looking toward the source of the voice. He was there, standing in the dark corner, as if he had stepped out from the heart of the shadow itself. He was truly there. Right in front of her. She couldn't believe her eyes. She wasn't mad... or perhaps, her madness had simply evolved.
She studied him carefully; his skin glowed like pure light. His eyes were hazel with a golden shimmer, and his hair was bright and golden. The glowing sigils etched into his body illuminated the room with their brilliance. His face appeared entirely human. His clothes were black and loose, yet they could not hide the radiance of his markings.
"Have you been here the whole time?" Stephanie whispered, trembling. "Are you not just a figment of my mind?"
Ravaz smiled warmly and replied softly, "I am real."
"If you are..." Stephanie added, "then come closer. Let me be sure."
Ravaz hesitated. It was evident in his posture; his body seemed to lean forward slightly and then recoil. Stephanie noticed and asked curiously, "What is wrong? Do you not want to approach?"
He answered from a distance, his voice tender yet heavy with pain: "I cannot... It is forbidden."
Stephanie tilted her head. "Can the forbidden not be broken, then?" she asked, her heart suspended between the desire to touch him and the fear of losing him. She added, "I believe I can endure the punishment for breaking the rules... Can you?"
That was what Stephanie thought—for humans, breaking rules is easy. But Ravaz did not belong to her selfish world; he was purer than she had ever imagined.
He did not answer, but he began to walk toward her slowly. With every step, her breath quickened. Her mind could not grasp what was happening. If this is madness or a dream, she thought, let me live every detail of it.
Though it seemed impossible, once he was close enough for her to see him clearly, she wanted more. She whispered with a gentleness laced with persistence, "Come closer. Can you not bear the consequences?"
Her words were simple, but for him, they were a challenge that exposed a conflict he had never faced so starkly. Ravaz moved closer. His glow filled the room, and the golden symbols on his body shimmered intensely. The light pulsed within those sigils faster than ever before. He felt a strange sensation wash over him—a fatal awe he had never known, even in his world of secrets.
He stood directly before her, while her hazel eyes shone as she carefully examined his extraordinary features. Then, she pointed to the side of the bed and said quietly, "Sit beside me."
He hesitated briefly, then sat next to her. Her gaze drifted between his eyes and the golden patterns spread across his body. Despite the strangeness of it all, Stephanie felt an overwhelming sense of peace, as if everything had finally fallen into place.
She looked at the glowing patterns; they looked like ornaments on his skin, sparkling like magical light. She asked shyly, trying to start a conversation to prove she wasn't dreaming: "What are these? They are beautiful... May I touch them?"
Ravaz nodded and closed his eyes gently, as if his body had been waiting for this touch since the dawn of time. Stephanie felt that these symbols were not mere decoration; they carried ancient, deep secrets—perhaps they were a part of his very soul.
As she ran her fingers softly over the golden engravings, a warmth surged through her. It was a feeling she could not explain. Ravaz, watching her hand move over his body in silence, felt as if her touch had connected with something profound deep within him. He remained still, calm, yet he trembled like a light fading into darkness only to shine again.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was low, but every word carried weight:
"Stephanie... do you not want to know who I am? It might frighten you."
Her eyes watched his delicate red lips as they moved, and she replied:
"Nothing is more frightening than the unknown. But you... you have become known to me. Tell me who you are."
Ravaz's eyes glowed a golden yellow, as if light were dancing within them, seeing nothing but the wonder-filled Stephanie.
"I am Ravaz... Prince of Azaveria."
Stephanie looked at him calmly, then signaled with her eyes for him to continue.
"Azaveria, my world, is entirely different from yours. We do not live on a planet, but in a private universe composed of overlapping, infinite dimensions."
"My God," Stephanie said with shock and excitement in her voice. "Are you from Mars?"
Ravaz smiled warmly, revealing rows of pearl-like teeth. "No, certainly not. By your earthly calculations, Mars is only three light-minutes away. But Azaveria is more than a trillion light-years away... as you count them."
"A trillion what?" Stephanie asked, in utter shock and curiosity. "That's impossible!"
"We do not measure time and speed as you do," Ravaz replied in his usual calm voice. "We balance frequencies and determine coordinates. This allows us to cross such distances in mere minutes... or sometimes, in an instant."
"I don't understand..." Stephanie said, breathless. "Who are you?"
"We are the 'Shadows of Light,'" Ravaz answered. "We are all pure light, originating from Azaveria. It is not just a place to live; it is a living entity itself, choosing the best for its children."
Stephanie listened intently.
"We are the 'Shadows of the Core,'" Ravaz continued. "A race that lives in Azaveria, responsible for every living being within it." He looked at his glowing engravings. "These are not ornaments. They are a reflection of what is inside me."
He pointed to the light flowing through his patterns. "Do you see this light? It feeds my sigils, which serve as my organs. What you see—my skin, my hands, my feet—is merely a shell to define my form."
He gestured again to the dark hue covering his body. "This dark tint that carries the glowing patterns... it is like a translucent shadow. But the essence beneath it is all light. That light carries my unique frequency, and that is how we recognize one another."
"Your words make sense," Stephanie said in disbelief, "but my mind refuses to accept them."
Ravaz stood up.
"What is wrong?" Stephanie asked.
"You see," Ravaz replied, "unlike you, we do not have the right of choice. The best is chosen for us... but my light has chosen you."
Then, his body began to fade slowly.
"Don't go!" Stephanie cried, fear and anxiety gripping her. "I still want to..."
"I will return soon," he interrupted gently.
Then he vanished as if he had never been there. He dissolved into the air, leaving Stephanie in a whirlwind of emotions between happiness and sorrow. She inhaled the scent he left behind, needing to believe that what happened was real. He had been here. She had seen him.
Even in her happiest dreams, she hadn't dared to wish for such a moment. But now, what saddened her most was the question that remained: Would he truly return? And when would their next meeting be?
Deep within the "Womb of Azaveria," Elena was still receiving the truth in total silence. She showed no reaction; she was still unable to control her body, except for her eyes.
The previous vision faded, and a new image began to form before Elena's eyes. But it wasn't entirely different; it was the completion of the sentence: "The meeting was destined."
The image grew clearer and clearer until it was fully revealed... and she discovered a new truth.