Warmth filled the cabin, and the dim lights danced upon the wooden walls, as if guarding the serenity of the place. Liora sat in one of the chairs, sipping a cup of tea, while a sense of calm settled in her heart after a long day of mystery and discoveries.
But this silence did not last long. It was interrupted by the soft, hesitant knocks on the door, trembling slightly, as if attempting to pierce the boundary between worlds. The atmosphere shivered quietly, and a look of surprise spread across Liora's face.
"Who could be knocking at this late hour?" she whispered to herself, her heart fluttering with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.
Cautiously, she approached the door and slowly opened her eyes to the world beyond. There stood Roi, calm and composed, as if he had stepped out directly from a painting conjured by pure imagination.
"Roi!" Liora exclaimed in disbelief, unable to believe her eyes.
Roi smiled gently, his voice carrying confidence and tranquility: "Didn't I tell you that I live here… in my own world?"
Liora's astonishment grew, and comprehension eluded her, until beside Roi appeared the white being, standing humble, bowing before him with a reverence Liora's human mind could not grasp.
"My lord… I have come, as you awaited me," said the being in a quiet voice, as if the matter were entirely natural, needing no explanation.
Liora shivered at the surprising scene, stammering: "M… my lord? What is happening here? I… I'm going mad!"
She remained frozen, trying to absorb the surreal absurdity of the moment, yet some of her fear faded in the presence of Roi's calm and the white being's steadfastness.
After a few moments, Roi stepped closer to her and said, "Let us go… take a walk, and breathe in the fresh air."
The three of them—Roi, Liora, and the white being—walked outside the cabin, into an air brimming with a freedom unlike anything Liora had ever known.
After a few steps, they stopped before a massive, luminous tree standing at the center of the clearing, as if guarding secrets that demanded discovery. Its golden leaves shone like pieces of pure light, as though they embodied life itself.
"What… what is this beauty?!" Liora whispered, unable to move her tongue. The tree radiated a hidden energy, a mixture of splendor and awe, as if symbolizing both knowledge and danger at once.
The white being smiled with enigmatic wisdom: "Beneath this tree lies a profound secret."
Liora stepped forward cautiously, her face reflecting curiosity and bewilderment. "What secret?" she asked, as if trying to summon any logical explanation her mind could grasp.
Roi turned to her, his voice calm, blending mystery with reassurance: "The outcasts in this world… each of them exists exactly where they are meant to be. Nothing here is random. Every being, every feeling, every action… has meaning. Each plays its part in the grand balance of my world."
The words settled in Liora's mind. She felt no fear, only a sense of awe mixed with serenity. Here, between the warmth of the golden light and the whispers of this strange world, she realized she was beginning to understand something about this enigmatic universe, and that her presence with Roi was no mere coincidence… but part of a larger painting, crafted by the laws of a world unlike any reality humanity had ever known
End of Chapter Five