I get lost on the way back and start wandering the halls like a spirit trying to find rest. This time, though, my wandering isn't on purpose. Last time I wanted to explore, this time I'm just lost. I'm sure Adam would be proud.

It doesn't take long until I'm tired of wandering and start looking at every door I pass with wonder.

Should I open this? What about that one? What if someone's behind it and will kill me for it?

In the end, my curiosity wins and I open a door. What I find behind it is definitely not what I was expecting. Well, I can't tell what I was expecting but this was probably not it.

I enter and let the door fall closed behind me. The room is dim and lit only with a few torches lining the walls. There's a set of stairs going down and one going up. I feel like it would be best to take the one going up but my body betrays my mind as I take the first step down.

I take a deep breath and the scent of moss and dirt fills my nose. I mentally kick myself for having chosen to come down but continue on my way nonetheless.

The lower I go the darker it gets. The light of the torches does not suffice but I still can make out a few shapes in the dim light. I go down a few more steps before I reach a door but when I pull on it I find it locked so I keep moving. The stairs take me lower and lower. It takes a few more minutes for me to arrive at a second door. It's locked. I move on.

This process repeats a few more times until I arrive at the top of a set of stairs that have no torches lighting them. They're plunged in darkness and it would be impossible for anyone to continue on. Somehow that makes me want to see what's hidden in its shadows.

I turn around and take on of the torches on the wall next to the last door I saw and grip it firmly in my hand. Then slowly, I start my descent into possibly Hell, literally, because the lower I go, the warmer it gets.

This time it takes longer for me to arrive at another door. I try the door and find it locked. I look around and see that this is the last floor. The lowest it can get. There are no other steps leading down so I turn back to the door with a newfound determination.

I need to open it.

I don't have the key, I can't pick the lock, I can break down the door.

How?

I put my ear to the door and try to listen. I hear voices whispering before footsteps start getting closer to the door. I panic.

The torch in my hand feels even heavier now. Where do I put it? I can't hide with it in my hand.

I hurriedly put it on the torch holder on the wall next to the door and jump under the stairs, hoping they won't notice the torch or look under the stairs.

I hold my breath as the lock ticks and the door opens. Through the crack in the stairs, I see a man and a woman step out. The man keeps moving and going up the stairs, talking on the phone. The woman though stops the moment she steps out the door and looks at the burning torch. I stop breathing.

She stares at it a few moments before shaking her head and taking it from the torch holder. She turns towards the stairs and starts going up slowly as if looking for something. She stops right above me and I think I die for a moment. She sniffs the air a few times, looking around. I gulp and dare take another step back into the shadows.

When she looks down I'm not there and I silently thank Sekuum that I moved.

She frowns and takes a deep breath before continuing up the stairs, trying to catch up with the man.

Soon I'm plunged in darkness as the woman takes the torch with her. I stand up when the footsteps fade away and curse when my head hits the stairs. I wish they had left the torch here.

I take a deep breath and start walking up the stairs in the darkness when I remember something.

They didn't lock the door.

At least I didn't see them do it. The man was too busy talking on the phone and the woman got distracted when she saw the torch.

I turn to the door and try the handle again. The door slowly creaks open. As I step inside into the darkness I hear the door creaking closed behind me but I don't turn around.

I stand still for a moment, waiting for my eyes to get used to the darkness but they don't. I take a step and the sound of my boots hitting the stone floor echo through the hall. I hear a low growl before suddenly everything is bright enough for me to see.

I turn around and stare at the door. There on the side, attached to the wall, is a torch holder with a lit torch in it.

But that wasn't there before.

From the shadows, something growls. I walk towards the torch and notice cages lining up the walls and in the one close to the torch there's a scary creature staring at me with two red eyes. I swallow and take another step towards the torch. I take it in my hand and get closer to the strange creature's cage. It comes closer to the bars and I notice it has wings. They look like big, overgrown lizards with leathery wings jutting out of their backs.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know what it is but I shake my head at that thought. It can't be that. It cannot be a Dragon. Dragons only live in the Sun Walls with the pigeons with perfectly white wings, Angels.

I get closer to the cage and shake my head again. It can't be. It's a Dragon.

I take a step back and look at the rest of the room. It's full of cages, special cages and in every single one is a creature. No, not just any creature; Dragons.

I feel my back hit the closed door as I step back. Every single pair of eyes in the room is on me. Some are red, some blue, orange, yellow and many other colors I didn't even know could be an eye color. What am I saying? I'd never even seen a Dragon before this.

After a while, I finally find the courage to start walking and search the rest of the room. The room seems to never end. On each side of it, there are cages and each of those houses a Dragon. I'm not an expert in Dragons but I can tell you that these ones are not mature. They're still young and small. I don't even think they're mature enough to breathe fire.

So why are they here?

After a lot of stares from the dragons, I finally arrive at the end of the room. There's one cage placed in the middle. It seems even more resistant to anything than the ones that hold the Dragons. As I get closer to it I see something, another creature, hunching over in the middle, head under its wing.

This one is not a Dragon though. Because as the light reflects on top of it I see that it has feathers. Dragons don't have feathers.

As if noticing that I'm there it raises its head and looks at me. It has two bright violet eyes that seem like they can stare into my soul. I step closer.

It stands to its full height and I come to a stop. This bird is as large as the Dragons, bigger than a bird would normally be, much bigger. I step closer. Its beautiful red, yellow and blue feathers shine brighter under the light of the torch the closer I get.

I come to a stop in front of the cage and the bird stands to its full height. I have to crane my head back in order to look at its eyes. It stares at me but I don't back down.

I notice the bird staring behind me before I hear the voice. "It's magnificent, is it not?" I don't have to turn around to know who it is.

"God."

He frowns. "Don't call me that." I raise an eyebrow. "I have a name you know!"

I sigh. "What are you doing here Sekuum?"

He smiles. "I know you have a tendency to get in trouble but can I really not leave you alone for a day?"

I scowl at him before turning to the bird. "What is it?" I nod at the bird.

Sekuum steps beside me and puts a hand on the bird's beak. They're almost the same height. "It's a Phoenix."

I frown. "But didn't Phoenixes go extinct? And aren't they supposed to be made of fire?"

Sekuum chuckles at this. "There was only ever one Phoenix. No, it never went extinct and no it's not always on fire."

I wait for him to explain but he doesn't say anything, he just keeps petting the bird, Phoenix.

"Then what happened?"

The god frowns. "Have you never heard of the legend of the Phoenix?"

I shake my head.

"Well, it's not exactly a legend, as you can see." He runs his fingers through the soft feathers of the mythical creature. "The Phoenix has a life span of about 500 years. When it feels like it's going to die, it makes a nest of cinnamon and burns itself to ashes in it. Then from the ashes, a new Phoenix is born and so on and so forth."

I frown in confusion. "Is it real though?"

Sekuum nods. "It is. This one," he pats the bird's head, "is no older than 92. It's still a baby."

I look at the bird in wonder. "Then why is it here, in a cage, under the biggest city in Imperium?"

Sekuum turns to me. "What do you think?"

I look at the bird behind the bars. A special cage made of a special material that will not melt under the burning heat of the Phoenix setting itself on fire.

I look at it in the eye. Its bright violet eyes stare right back. The fire within it still burns; I can clearly see it through its eyes.

"What do I do? How can I set it free?"

The god purses his lips. "You can't, not now at least. But you can listen to what it has to say."

"How?"

"Listen."

I frown and turn to Sekuum to ask how but he's not there. He just vanished into thin air.

I turn to look at the huge bird. I silently ask what it wants to tell me and it sets itself on fire.

I take a step back and shield my eyes. The amount of light and warmth coming from it could only be equal to what the sun would feel like so close up.

I slowly open my eyes and take the step that might take me to my doom. I raise a hand and bring it closer to the Phoenix. It doesn't move, it just keeps watching me with bright eyes. Every single feather on its body burns and radiates so much energy that might throw you across the universe if the bird wanted.

It doesn't bow its head as I stand on my toes to be able to reach its head. I use the cage to help myself not to fall down and my palm rests on the blazing bird's forehead as I stare into its unblinking eyes.

One moment I'm in front of a caged Phoenix in the basement of the palace in the capital of Imperium and the next everything fades away into black.

I open my eyes and find myself in front of a wall. A tall wall, one that lets nothing pass, not even air; made of bricks that can never be broken through; a material that is fatal to Angels, the only material that can kill anything from which even the air steers clear of.

Above the wall, the sun shines brightly. Clouds suddenly start covering the sun and a high-pitched cry sounds in the distance. Fire burns the sky and a new sun rises; its light even brighter than the old one.

Another high-pitched cry sounds, this time high above the wall. The creature of fire flies down towards the wall and with another cry, caves through the material. The bricks shatter to a million pieces as the wall breaks down.

No part of the wall stands when the creature of fire finds its way to the other side. The only thing left of it is the dust that rises as every single brick shatters and falls to the ground.

I close my eyes and cover my face with my arms to shield myself from the dust. When I don't feel the banging of the bricks hit the ground anymore I open my eyes and I find myself in a different place.

I'm in a city; one that I don't recognize. Many of the buildings have collapsed to the ground but the people start coming out and starting to gather around. That's when I notice I'm standing on top of something; a balcony, in a palace. I put my hands on the cold stone railings and stare down at the people. Only they're not people.

Each one of them flutters their wings as they step out of the dust; white wings, gold wings, light wings. Not a spec of darkness between them. Above them, the creature of fire flies in circles as it replaces the sun, currently hidden behind clouds.

The Angels step closer to the palace and look up at me with wide eyes.

I look to my side and notice that I'm not alone. A person stands there; an angel, with black wings, feathers which were once as white as the ones from the Angels below, burnt completely; a Fallen Angel.

That's when I notice my own wings; the same as the creature of fire's wings; burning as bright as the sun.

And so the light and the dark stand above every creature in Kosmos, ruling over every single one; a Fallen and a Phoenix; a creature of the darkness and a creature of light.

The person turns to look at me but everything fades away into gold before I can recognize them.

I gasp in a breath as I take a step back. The torch in my left hand feels heavier than ever. The Phoenix stares at me from behind the bars, ever silent, contrary to what it showed me, with its high-pitched cry breaking through the air.

I stumble a few feet back but before I can fall arms grab my waist, steadying me on my feet. I turn around faster than I have ever moved and stare at the person who helped me to my feet.

Adam stares at me with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing here?" He takes a step towards me and I take one back.

"I-I g-got lost," I stutter as I feel my back hit the bars of the Phoenix's cage.

Adam frowns and takes few more steps forward and I swing the torch on pure instinct but he grabs it in his hand. The fire doesn't burn him but something happens.

As I stand there with the end of the torch digging into my stomach and him holding the other end, not bothered by the burning fire, I see a hue of gold and a hue of silver fighting in his dark blue eyes. It might only be the shadows the small source of light is causing but I can't help it, I keep staring, transfixed.

Finally, after a while, the gold hue wins and Adam frowns down at his hand holding the torch, the side where the flame burns. He lets go and stares at his hand, I do too. There's not even a single sign of him being burnt by the fire.

I look at him in question and he does the same. After all the time I spent with him I finally see a hint of emotion in his eyes, instead of the silver blankness. But I don't like what I see because his eyes are filled with confusion. I don't think the confusion is because of the fact that his hand isn't burnt either and his next words are a proof to that.

"Who are you?"

That was... yeah. I have no idea. There you have it though!

Tell me what you think about it! It'd make my day.

-Sam