Vol 1 Prologue (1/2)

LEVEL 1 : A Whisper, an Aria, a Prayer, an Awakening

Chapter 0

“Awaken”

It was as if he could hear so to him, and the boy opened his eyes

It was dark Nighttiht A flame—above his head A flame had been lit A candle Not just one candle, but a series of s the wall that seemed to stretch on forever Where was this?

It was hard to breathe for soh It wasn’t a wall really, it was rock, and, like what one would expect fro on rocks, his back and bottom were sore Maybe he was in a cave? It sure felt like it A cave? Why was he in a cave?

The candles had been placed fairly high above him, but if he stood up and stretched out his hands, he probably would have been able to reach theh that he could only see an ar beneath his feet

He could sense other presences there with him If he listened carefully, he could hear the faint sound of breathing Other people? What would he do if it were so else? He didn’t know but it would be terrible But in a way, the sound seemed to be that of other people

“Is there someone else here?” he called out, tentatively and a bit fearfully

“Yeah” The reply came immediately A male voice

“I’m here,” another voice, female, answered

“Um,” another male voice said in response

“I thought so,” someone else said

“How many are here?”

“Why don’t you try counting?”

“More importantly, where’s here?”

“Who knows…”

“Does no one here know?”

“What the hell is this?”

He was confused What was this? Why was he here? Why? How long had he been here already?

The boy clutched tightly at his chest as if he were trying to tear so had he been here, as he here? When he thought about it, it see the answer, but it would quickly vanish before he could catch hold of it He didn’t know It irritated hi

“Can’t just sit here forever,” someone said A male voice, husky and low

He could hear the sound of pebbles being ground underfoot It seemed like the speaker had stood up

“Where are you going?” a female voice asked

“Going to try following the candles down this wall,” he replied, completely matter-of-factly

Wasn’t the guy afraid? Why wasn’t hetwo candles’ distance aas quite tall He could see a little of the ht His hair wasn’t black—it was silver

“I’irls stated

“I guess I’ too,” another person said A male’s voice

“H-hold on! Then so will I!” Another boy said

“There’s also a path the opposite way,” sohly pitched, but probably a guy “No candles though”

“If you want to go that way, no one’s stopping you,” the silver haired boy said dis on

It seeuy If so, the boy should too He had no desire to be left behind alone and hurriedly got to his feet He walked along stiffly, one hand feeling along the stone wall The ground wasn’t sh it was still relatively easy to traverse

There were people in front of and behind hih, he was guessing that everyone was rather young Even if it’s just a person or two, ht

Someone he knew? An acquaintance? A friend? Odd No one came to mind No, that wasn’t it More accurately, it was as if the faces connected with the words ‘acquaintance’ or ‘friend’ were just about to surface in his rab hold of them He didn’t know It wasn’t just his friends, but even his family It didn’t feel as if the memories were lost to him It felt more as if they slipped his mind when he should have been able to remember them

“…Maybe it’s better just to not think about it,” the boy said to no one in particular

A reply cairl’s voice “Not think about what?”

“No, nothing Nothing really It’s…”

Nothing? Really? Was it really nothing? What was “it”?

The boy shook his head At so They needed to keep walking It was better not to think about anything He got the feeling that the et

The row of candles continued When they would end, he did not kno far had they walked? Probably a good distance Maybe not far at all He couldn’t tell He had lost all sense of time and extent

“There’s soht A lamp?”

“It’s gated,” Silver-Hair said, to which someone else replied, “Maybe it’s the way out!”

Instantly the boy’s feet felt lighter Even though he couldn’t see anything, he had a feeling they were going the right way Everyone’s pace quickened and soon enough they could see it Brighter than any candle, it was a lantern hanging off the wall The light it gave off was illuate

Silver-Hair placed a hand on it and gave it a hard shake On top of his hair color, he was dressed like soonna open it,” Silver-Hair stated, and when he gave it a yank, it opened with a creak

“Whoa!” several people cried at once

“Can we get out frouy Her attire was rather flashy, gaudy even

Silver-Hair took a few steps forward through the gate “Stairs We can go up”

The stairs led into a narrow,corridor that further led to another stone staircase There were no candles, but light was filtering in from somewhere above Everyone formed a line and ascended one step at a tiate, but this tie

Silver-Hair banged on it several tiate!” he bellowed He sounded quite angry

The Gaudy-Girl behind his “Is anyone there?! Open the gate!”

“Hey! Open the gate!” The person behind them, a boy with short, messy hair, shouted as well

So happened shortly after Silver-Hair took his hand off the gate and backed away slightly It looked like someone had come Gaudy-Girl and Messy-Hair had also fallen silent The sound of tu into place could be heard, and the door opened

“Get out,” soed to the ate

The stairs led into a room built with stone There were no s, but la with the stairs that had led up here, there was another set of stairs that went to another floor The room itself had an overall primitive appearance and s out of the present day and age The ely as well And by strangely, itthe entirety of theThey were made of metal and… Was that actually… armor?