Chapter Text
"Every journey begins with a single step."
- Maya Angelou
"This place is new." Comes the voice of a woman. She is five-foot six-inch tall. Her appearance seems to be around 20's, a little tanned skin, she wears a cloak that is colored dark blue, covering her clothes behind it, the cloak also has sprinkled with lots of dirt, same goes with her noticeable wizard hat, where she gets it is a mystery that only she knew, said hat is wide enough that it can covers half of her face above. But if you look closely, the Wanderer has light brown eyes. And there's a scar below her left chin. Her hair is long brown which she puts on a low ponytail style. She also has a brown sling bag to her right side. And it seems she has something behind her with her cloak burging behind.
And right now, she is inside of some kind of cave, and the place where she is right now, is really dark.
"Another discovery from my long wandering. Better add this to my journal." She said as continuing to walk as she reached for her sling bag, rummaging through her things and pulled out a book, "Let's see... Ah, here's the last part where I left it... Odd though, is it me or this place seems to get darker as I walk?" The Wanderer said as she pulled out a flashlight, which only dimly lit the place.
More steps though, or she will be in trouble when a seemingly bottomless pit greets in front of her. "Whoa! That's a close call. Man, hoooo. Ok, how deep is this?" The Wanderer looks left and right, and picks a pebble and throws it. She receives satisfaction when she hears a faint sound below. "Hm, it seems it's not bottomless as it seems. Now, decisions, decisions... Should I go down and continue? Or should I turn away and come back again if I feel good enough for it..? Hmmmmm...... Nah, screw it! Wonders below there, here I come!" She declared, as she put her hand in the bag and pulled out a rope. She ties this to a closest giant stone and makes sure it is sturdy enough for her to use as she goes down.
A little while...
"Just as I thought... It's much darker here." She spoke as she carefully walked around. The flashlight she used seems to be useless now and trusts her instinct instead. For now, all she needs to do is to find and follow any kind of light in this place, it may give her a solid ground of this... weird cave. "Ohhh... I hope I find a lost civilization, or a treasure that has not been found! More to add in my journal! Or I might find a creature no one knows yet!" The Wanderer rambles as she continues to walk inside.
Later...
"Argh! I've been walking around and found nothing! Sigh, maybe I should head back." The Wanderer dejectedly said and about to turn around, when something caught the corner of her eye.
That something is a light.
Light! She thought, If there's a light, then something is down here! The Wanderer sprint and hurriedly follow the light, fearing that it might disappear in seconds. And when she discovers the source of it, she can't help but to mesmerize.
"Whoa." The only word she uttered as she spotted a butterfly, but this butterfly, is glowing cyan, the source of the light she's looking for. "Hi there little guy. What are you doing here, all alone? And why are you glowing?" She spoke gently trying to reach for the butterfly, but it fluttered away from her, "Wait! Hey, wait for me!" The Wanderer follows the butterfly. Is this butterfly giving me directions? I hope so.
As she ran, the Wanderer didn't notice the change of surroundings and the colors seemed to be drained as she moved onwards.
When she stops to catch her breath, that's when she discovers something. As she looked up, she was greeted with the first time she steps into this cave that is something different, a door that is somewhat bigger than her, the door itself is dark colored, now she remembered that it is onyx. It has a silver handle, the same color has been decorated in some parts of it, the question of if this is real silver can't be told. And the most notable thing is a symbol of butterfly itching in its frame. And the symbol is glowing.
The Wanderer, amazed, pulls out her journal and writes down, "As I follow a glowing butterfly, here I find a door that is colored onyx as same as its surrounding, and a glowing symbol of butterfly itched in its frame. As I check closer, it seems this has been here quite a while, as dust can be seen here and there. What mystery is behind the door I wonder?" She spoke and put her book back and contemplated it for a while. "Now, I need to think this through, I might end up in a not so good place." But her thirst to know what's behind the door rings in her mind, and it makes her settle.
Turning the handle, she tries to open the door, which earns some little effort as the door grinds as she pushes. Yup, definitely been here for a long time I guess. When she is finally inside, the Wanderer is greeted with total darkness, the only difference is there's a white detailing. Where am I? What is this place?
As she steps in, that's when she notices the change. What's going on? The Wanderer thought as she looked at herself, and only sees a black and white color as if her eyes were not able to distinguish the colors down here anymore. Thankfully, she can still see her own colors, but other than that, nothing, only the colors of black and white. Can a world like this could exist? Stupid question. You're already here.
"I've been waiting for you. My lost child."
The wanderer jumped and looked around, looking for the source of the sound. "Who's there!?"
The place shook and a wall appeared in front of the wanderer. A voice that the Wanderer can't explain surely as it's a mix of high-pitched feminine that growls like a deep-voiced man. And in the wall, is a face of a half man with a beard on its right side, while a woman appears on its left side.
"What?" The Wanderer softly spoke but there is something she thought behind, betraying her action. Excuse me, but can't you see I'm not a child?
"I am Ego Rex. I administer rules." The voices continued. It's a good thing they have a name. The Wanderer thought, settled with pronouncing them. It's a surprise for the Wanderer that except from her initial reaction, she felt calm about it, aside from the disturbing presence she felt in front of the structure. "What you will find here with me… is you, yourself." Ego Rex spoke in a voice that is distracting, and if the Wanderer can be blunt, eerie.
"Allow me to teach you. The ways of this place." The voice continues waiting for her answer. It's not usual for the Wanderer to find a guide in her journey, so this is a pleasant phase for her.
"Alright, Ego Rex. I appreciate your help and guidance for this place." Said the Wanderer as the wall shook the moment her words went, and the half face split in a grinding sound of stone, disappearing from where the Wanderer faced before. As she walked in, their voices faintly echoed inside her mind. As if they never left.
"Shed your daily life. Your life of searching. Here, you shall contemplate. Here, you shall learn."
Contemplating huh? I guess that can't be avoided. Someday something like this would pop up. The Wanderer thought as she continued her path in this hall.
"Listen to the whispers. Collect EGO. Walk these halls. Face Es when you are ready." said Ego Rex and their presence disappeared. After all of that, for the first time when all of this happened, the Wanderer took out a deep breath she didn't know she held.
Alright, deep breaths. Now, final decision; should I go back to exit or should I continue? I mean, they didn't mention anything about 'You can't return' or something like that. Should I go..? The Wanderer learned in her journey that heading on without a plan can get you into trouble. But, this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity thing, and the presence of mystics here intrigued her, begging her to be discovered. There is another reason, but she can't put her thoughts in it. Maybe whatever Ego Rex meant here caught her interest.
Wait, didn't they mention someone? What's the name again? Is? S? No, I think it's… Es! That's right, it's Es. Are they another same thing as Ego Rex? The Wanderer thought as she continued to walk. As she did so she heard the whispers of the structure mention, What am I? She repeated, interested in the words.
If the Wanderer looks up, she will find that those whispers have a shape of bubble like dialogue. One of them said, "What am I?"