The ice cracked beneath his feet, as his heart did inside his chest. His eyes were blurry from tears, as he began to sink slowly into the water. His body was shivering, yet his mind felt calm and detached, as he tried to process everything that had happened before he chose to investigate the rumors of the lost city of Valor.

The water was cold, colder than anything he had ever felt before as he sank deeper into the depths. His heart felt like it was going to stop beating at any second, yet still he didn’t feel afraid. In the distance, a light pulsed to life, almost like a beacon, calling to him, enticing him to swim towards it. He reached out to grab it, but the light faded away as the darkness surrounded him. A soft melody filled the water as he began to move, propelled forward by an unseen force. The ice and snow were gone, and all he could see was a beautiful beach, surrounded by tall, white cliffs.

The melody grew louder as he sat up, dazed and confused by the sudden change in his surroundings. When he turned his head, he saw a mesmerizing woman with long cerulean hair that shimmered like ocean waves, and eyes as deep and mysterious as the sea itself. It was like looking into a world he’d never known but instantly recognized.

“I could have left you for dead, and nobody would have noticed,” she said softly. There was a lilting cadence to her words, as if they danced on the waves. “Yet the goddess told me to save you. But why?”

Leon swallowed hard, astonishment drowning out his thoughts. “I don’t know. I have no idea where I am.”

“You’re safe,” she assured him. “I’ve brought you to the place you seek—or at least to its entrance. However,” she paused, a flicker of mischief in her gaze. “You must pass the test of the goddess, or she will not let you through.”

“Test?” He questioned, head tilting like a confused puppy. 

“A simple trial,” she replied, the playful smirk still dancing on her lips. “But I can’t give you any details. If you’re a good man, you’ll have nothing to fear.”

“A good man?” The words felt foreign, barely fitting him like a forgotten piece of clothing. “I’ve never seen myself that way. My life… it’s always been shaded in shadows.”

She leaned closer, her gaze steady and curious. “Everyone has a little light inside, even you.”

Her words stirred something inside him, a flutter of hope perhaps, or maybe just the slightest glimmer of who he could be. He felt his cheeks warm under her intensity. “I’m Leon,” he said, finding his voice amidst the chaos.

“Sienna,” she introduced herself, rising gracefully, as if the ocean itself were lifting her. “If you wish to continue, head to the west side of the beach. There, you’ll find an entrance that looks entirely out of place.”

As Sienna stepped toward the water, Leon was entranced. He watched, a mixture of awe and disbelief stealing his breath, as shimmering scales replaced her legs—her transformation was beautiful, mesmerizing, like a piece of art coming to life.

“Thank you for saving me, Sienna,” he said as he stepped closer. She began to sing again—a gentle, haunting tune, soft as the night air, the same melody that had tugged him from the depths of despair.

Closing his eyes, he felt a wave of comfort, something he had never thought was possible again. “I can handle this,” he whispered.

But as he ran past the cliffs, they began to shift, revealing the entrance Sienna had described. A cave lay ahead, but it was more than just a cave. An intricately carved door framed in gold stood tall, yet it had no handle and no lock. 


Curiosity fluttered within him as he traced his fingers along the golden frame. At the very top, inscribed in elegant script, were the words ‘rwy’n derbyn yr her’—the last two words echoing the haunting melody that had lingered in his mind long after Sienna had sung them. It took him a moment to piece it together, but as the meaning unfurled in his thoughts, he whispered, “I accept the challenge.”

As soon as his palm met the cool surface of the door, the ground beneath him trembled, a low growl reverberating through his bones. He froze, feeling the pulse of something ancient as the door creaked open.

With a deep breath, he stepped inside. The air seemed cooler, thicker, almost electric. As he found himself in a vast open field divided by a glimmering stream that sparkled in the sunlight. He stepped forward, heart pounding.

In front of him stood two peculiar creatures, so strange that they felt as if they had leaped straight from a fever dream. The first was covered in thick, sleek, black fur that caught the light in a way that made it shimmer, and it had tails that arched toward the sky, each ending in a tuft of snow-white hair. It stood on all fours, eyes gleaming with a hunger that sent a shiver down Leon’s spine.

The second creature was just as strange. It was short and stout, its pale coat dusted with hints of white and gold. No tail adorned its back, but two wide eyes watched him with an unsettling intensity, framed by two pointed ears atop its head. The creature’s snout was delicately formed, reminiscent of a horse but so much more mystical, especially with the way its wings pressed tightly against its body.

As the door behind him shut with an almost finality, he glanced back, trying not to let fear control his thoughts. Where the door had been, tall grasses sprouted, weaving themselves into the landscape as though the entrance had never existed at all.