This was it; the sky was falling down on them and there was no way of turning back,

they were all doomed. Everywhere, mothers were grabbing their children, trying to take them to a safe place. Futile thought a young woman standing in the center of the square. Waves were about to wipe out everyone and everything and their scholars were still trying to save the teachings that broth this disaster upon them. How foolish could they be !o many children were going to die, so many innocent lives sacrificed because they would not listen to the warnings, because they refused to see the signs" #nstead of trying so hard to save the cause of the disaster, they should put more effort in making sure that at least some of them would survive this. Wasn$t preserving life and making it easier for everyone, their belief The pain and despair from all around made the blood in her veins free%e. !he could feel the waves coming to crush them; the earth beneath their feet was cracked and instable. This people had to be taken out of here, &'W( )ooking around in a hurry, she could not think of anything allowed by their ethics. !he was still an apprentice, an apprentice with a tendency for the forbidden magics, more powerful than many of the things thought to them in the schools, but an apprentice, still. #f she could only use some of the things she learned in secret, far from the eyes of others, maybe there was still hope for their race" What should I do, oh sacred Moon? She asked herself. What will become of those who do survive this? We broth this upon ourselves for tryin to o beyond the limits of normality surpassin even the remainin lines. !h, please for ive me for thinkin such thin s and for what I may do. *t the docs, ships full of their young ones, scholars and wise, were ready to depart, but it was too late. The waves

were going to crush these lands. !he was supposed to be in one of those ships too, but even if the others didn$t want to admit it, she knew there was no way out. They will all die, and their lands were going too disappeared from this world forever as punishment for not listening. Was there any reason to save such cursed nation !hould she make the supreme sacrifice so that at least a few of them may survive this and learning from their mistake, build a new, brighter nation !he was going to die anyway, so why not try *ll those years learning forbidden ways" she knew will come in handy some day, but +ust didn$t e,pect it to be the end of the world" I"m sorry for breakin the rules yet a ain, but I was never sweet or kind hearted like most of my brothers and sisters. I was never fit to become candidate for Sybil, but I can"t let them die, either. #y ivin up that which is like air to us, I truly hope to ain your for iveness. -athering the last of the strengths of the lands around her, she e,ploded, turning into bright light. *s a being of light and power she could match the gods for a small amount of time, but the cost was eternal death with no turning back" people were looking towards her with different e,pressions. !cholars were looking terrified, understanding what she dared do, children watched in ama%ement the light show, parents seamed hopeful, while wise men and women were calculating the odds of this being helpful to their survival. !he could see the question forming on their faces. won$t it make the gods angrier to see how she defied them so /or a moment everything stopped. The world looked different from this state of being; connections appeared in a different light than normal people perceive. #t was so beautiful, that she almost forgot about the lives she wanted to protect. $rate ods, I never thou ht it possible to consider such a beautiful world more beautiful yet% $ive me stren th before I ive it all back to you but if I would be iven a choice, I"d love to tell them one or two thin s make them

understand that sacrifices are indeed necessary, but not for the thin s they think. !he never believed that stopping the waves from coming or stopping the earth from sinking would be this easy, but there was still something she needed to do before she would fade for eternity, and that was to find a safe place for them. True to her purpose, the young scholar found a safe shore for their survivors to harbor and left herself be drawn back into the hole their lovely home had become. &lease uide their steps, beloved ods, don"t let them be foolish enou h to try chan in the world once more and destroyin everythin yet a ain. 'hey should not let anythin et in the way of true facts, not love, not friendship, not kin nothin . &lease send my last thou hts to them and have them learn from this e(perience so that no more lives may be lost. How will it be her end * true death, that left nothing behind #t was horrific to think about a death with no return, against her nature and of all those she called her kinfolk. They were born energy meant to fulfill whatever purpose they had on this earth, and then return to being energy and come back as someone or something else. #t was their way of life and anything else was too terrifying to even think about. Why was she still conscious Why had she stopped glowing like the sun Why was their homeland untouched by the disaster !he saw it fall apart with her own eyes" didn$t she !he had a form again, a physical body, that could feel like any other body in e,istence. !he was still alive, despite of what she$d done. Was she given a second chance /or what #mpossible as it may seam, she was back home and it was all e,actly the same as before the cataclysm, the only difference being the lack of people on the streets. 0ust when she was about to go out of her mind with questions, a blinding light appeared in front of her, gradually taking the shape of a man with deep blue eyes and long black hair.

1Who are you 2 she asked, unable to take her ga%e away from him. &ever before had she seen someone so imposing, not even the teachers and scholars she respected more than anything else in the world. 1*re you a god 2 1&o,2 the man answered laughing, 1# am someone like you, someone who was given a second chance.2 1What is this place be" can it #t looks like home, but it cannot

13es, this is your home, young one, and # shall give you your wish. your kinfolk will be guided by you on the path you wished for.2 14y kinfolk *re you not one of them as well 2 1&o, # come from a different tribe, doomed long before your own. # found a way to pass back in the other dimension and become human again, but that would take away my memories and as a consequence, all the knowledge # acquired.2 1*nd that is bad, because" 2 1# made this sacrifice to help. #f # lose it all now, it would mean # did it all for naught.2 1/rom where are you 2 15o not e,pect me to say that # am from *lfheim, 6oyllo, 7hlanga, 8a%amanc or *ntillia, but # do have an interesting story to tell. # originally came from )emuria, but # achieved this firm on 4u, little before it disappeared much like your own lands.2 1What caused it # mean, # know we broth this upon ourselves, but what e,actly caused it What is this place 2 1This place is a different dimension; very much similar to the one *lfheim was moved. 9oth 4u and )emuria are here, but you are the only one apart from me that has made it here.2

1#$m not sure if # should be grateful, or get scared.2 1Why scared 3ou$ve been given an unique chance to see the universe like no other mortal can. What is your name, child 2 1:hantea, # am moonlight.2 13es you are, but people will call you Eydis; goddess of good fortune. They will all want to become you from now and you will be there waiting to slap them across their faces when they make new mistakes.2 13ou don$t make a good teacher" what is your name 2 1# am the first moon, child and # am also the sea, # am a lot of things, but the true sound of my name # have forgotten, only the meaning remains.2 1Will it happen to me too 2 1#t may, or it may not" Tell me :hantea, would you help me go and come back Would you help me return to this place if # teach you how 2 !he looked at him for a while. This man with no name could teach her even more than the forbidden scrolls from back home. Taking in account the amount of time that has passes since 4u disappeared from this world, he must have had the chance to learn much more than she could even imagine, from such a unique perspective. There was no doubt he could rival the gods themselves in these circumstances. Why not help him and at the same time help herself With his knowledge she could rebuild her nation right here and give her kinfolk the knowledge they$d starved for so long. 13es,2 she said 1# will help you, and you will help me.2 1-ood,2 he answered. 1*nd so it begins"2 The man stood ga%ing into the hori%on with a satisfied smile across his face. He$s been waiting a long time for a

chance like this. &ow he had the chance to put in practice the things he learned in the centuries spent in this place. !weet little :hantea will make a wonderful student and together they may create a new nation without the fear of reliving the cataclysms that took their homes and loved ones away. :ertainly something to look forward to.