It had been a long and exhausting day for Snowy. Just like the last few weeks, she had barely gotten any sleep. And with Prisma up so early, it had been even harder for her to hide her constant exhaustion. She had originally planned to catch up on sleep while Prisma was gone throughout the day, but all that fell through when Prisma surprised her with his plans for the day. To think he would choose today out of all days to meet up with dad. The entire morning until the late afternoon, Prisma had spent most of his time at their temporary home, going through preparations for his meeting with Thorn. That obviously left Snowy with no opportunity to sneak in a few hours or even just minutes of sleep. As Prisma set out to meet Thorn she of course tried to come with him. But he had stopped her saying: „I’ll meet up alone with him first. You just wait here and I’ll bring him here in no time.” With those words he had set off to his tower, to meet up with his brother. But did she listen? Of course she didn’t.

She had sneaked off behind Prisma, following to his base at a reasonable distance. I’m really glad that Uncle Prisma used to give me notes on how to follow people. And all those detective novels I read at home helped as well. But when it came to actually following him into the tower, her heart stopped her. The sudden possibility of meeting her father again, made her stop dead in her tracks. I… I’m not ready yet. Instead of walking into the base, she made her way up the cliffs around the tower, simply watching for now. Why… Why am I suddenly so scared? I just wanna meet dad, so why… Even as she tried to calm her heart down as she walked up the cliffs, it just wouldn’t stop beating at unreasonable speeds. She decided to sit down just above the giant hole in the cliff letting ships enter and leave the newly built harbor. As she looked down at the water below her, her mind started racing. Memories she always tried to bury. But without being able to catch up on sleep, it was getting harder to stop them from resurfacing. It was always the same. A single shot, followed by the feeling of losing balance and falling. Then, Prisma trying to tell her that everything would be alright, as she slowly sank into the abyss. And after everything went black, that woman's voice, laughing at her. And then, everything restarts once more. Every time she closed her eyes, the same script over and over. That’s when she realized it. She wasn’t scared of meeting her father again. She was scared of him noticing what she had been trying to hide so desperately. As the thought hit her, she noticed movement below her. Prisma and Thorn had just started making their way to the train station. D- Don’t tell me they noticed me?! To her luck, they didn’t move up the cliff. She watched as they entered the train, leaving her and her thoughts alone once more.

As she waited with her thoughts alone, the cold of the night slowly started settling over her, slowing down her thoughts and clearing her mind. I should be able to easily hide it, right? I mean I’ve been hiding it from uncle without any problems and I know how easily he notices things. Still, she didn’t fully believe herself. But it was the best she could do. But her thoughts got interrupted once more when she noticed movement at the tower once more. Looking down, she saw Prisma had just arrived through the portal. And as he stepped into the tower, he turned around, looking up at her. M-Maybe he’s just looking at the cliffs? I mean there’s no way that he noticed- But that thought instantly got cut off when he gave a quick wave and what looked like a smile from the distance, before heading into his tower. He… He noticed me so easily. But if he’s back, then where is dad? She looked around the water and tower below her but found no trace of Thorn. As she looked down at the moon’s reflection, wondering where he was, her question answered itself when she heard footsteps through the snow slowly approaching her. A familiar rhythm she knew all too well but mixed with clear uncertainty. Her breath hitched, as the footsteps got closer and closer. She couldn’t even turn around, eyes focused on the moon’s reflection. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him slowly sitting down next to her. He took his time carefully sitting down, one of the rare moments where his age actually showed.

They both sat there in silence for what felt like hours but were probably more around a minute. „Hey… little Snowflake.” That was enough for her. That familiar nickname he often called her, combined with the awkwardness of clearly not knowing how it would be best to start. As she turned towards him, she met his eyes. He looked tired. Even more than back then. But there was also that glimmer of relief and hope combined with somewhat glassy eyes clearly holding back tears he wasn’t ready to spill yet. „Prisma told me about your voice.” He took a long breath. „He also told me that you’ve been through something else. Something you clearly tried hiding from him.” Her eyes went wide. H- He noticed?! He just didn’t say anything? Seeing her shocked expression, Thorn took that as conformation to continue. „You know how he is. Too observant for his own good. He just thought… it might be best to not push you to say anything.” Of course he did. Both of you are always so considerate. She thought, before finally pulling her notebook out to write. „He’s mister detective after all. He easily notices these things.” It still felt weird to her to communicate like this. But what other choice did she have? „Yeah, mister Detective. Although I feel like he doesn’t often life up to that title.” He made a small laugh that at least helped a little with the situation. Still, he still had to ask the question both of them were clearly dreading.

„Snowy… what happened after you…died? What did Imtre do to you?” There it was. The question she didn’t want to answer. The fuel of all her nightmares. Her mind was about to spiral again, when she felt his hand carefully on her shoulder, grounding her in the moment. His voice was gentle and caring. „You don’t have to force yourself, alright? I don’t want you to think you owe anyone an answer. Not even me.” She took a few slow and heavy breaths, calming her mind down. N- No, I owe this to him. He should know the truth. I need to tell someone. Without even thinking more about it, she started writing in her notebook. The writing was rough and fast, sometimes starting a word only to stop and rewrite it or simply take another second. Thorn took his time, reading everything she wrote. „After I died, I woke up in this… weird white void. That woman was there and she… looked at me… smiled at me. Like she was happy that I died. Then she just left and… the nightmare started. She made me relive my death. Over and over again.” As she kept writing, tears slowly started flowing from her eyes, soaking the page and ink. „Sometimes, she would stop it. G-Giving me hope that it was over. Only to start again. It just kept going. I think it went on for… No, I don’t actually know how long it went on for. I just know I was so relieved when I woke up and uncle Prisma was there…” She didn’t manage to write another word, her pen falling out of her hand as she stopped holding back all the feelings she had hidden since waking up again. That’s when she felt herself getting pulled into a deep hug by her father. She grabbed his shirt, burying her face in it, as she cried all the tears until there were no more left. When she recovered enough, she slowly pushed herself away again to look at him. All she was met with was his gentle smile, looking at her, as his hand went through her hair in gentle motions. „Welcome home Snowy.”

Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of the Imaginary realm an old soul finally completed its goal. As reality started shattering like glass, he stepped out of the cage that had been holding him for far too long. „Finally, it’s time to leave these useless shackles behind.” Looking around his new surroundings, he found himself in another white void. But this time, there was a weird blue crystal, just floating in the distance. As he approached it, he noticed it’s delicate craftsmanship. It was a marquise cut of such magnificence as he had never seen before. When he touched to see if the cuts were truly as perfect as they looked, a holographic screen popped up in front of it. He stumbled back clearly taken aback by the sudden appearance, before reading the text it displayed. „Welcome to the…” Before he could read any further, he heard footsteps behind him, boots clicking against the floor. „I don’t remember stationing anyone here.” A cold female voice echoed through the void. Turning around, he was met by a woman in what looked to be a white military uniform. Her pink hair flowing gracefully behind her, azure tips barely noticeable. He knew exactly who she was and that he had to be very careful with his next few words. „Oh, my lady did you truly forget me? I can assure you, that you were the one stationing me here.” He was lying through his teeth, but he just needed her to accept his presence. She gave him one disapproving look, before simply walking past him. „Fine, maybe I did.” But her tone clearly told a different story. „Doesn’t matter anyway, as long as you make yourself useful right now.” Just being glad that she didn’t instantly kill him, he took her up on the offer. „Of course. How may I be of assistance to you right now?” „Make yourself useful and access all information related to Emanators and those close to them. And give me an actual name to call you.” He quickly walked over to the crystal. „O- Of course my lady. Everything you need. And please, call me… the Archivist. Welcome to the Archive, Miss Imtre.”

H- Hey… I can’t see further than this. Please, take this key, brave soul. You’ll know when to use it.

ElysianSecrets