The transformation + Natura Humana Quest (ENG)

To... see it again? She asked herself. Sacred froze in place. She had recently been there, walking around the palace on two feet, and on all fours. For her it had been like going to sleep and waking up the next morning. But when she regained consciousness, there was no one left. Everyone's soul had gone, but hers had remained anchored in the waters.

After spending yesterday talking to these esks about the past, finally, she had begun to assimilate, to believe that she would never see that place again in all its glory, as she had known it.

And now, this esk was offering her the chance to see it again. Who was it? Why did he have so much power? Had he brought her back to life, had he awakened her, only to torture her? She wanted to scream at him, but at the same time, yes. Yes. She did want to see it again. Even if it was one last time. Before she went any further.

Sacred looked him straight in the eyes, and very firmly asked, "Can you?"

The imposing esk nodded, and the atmosphere, in one way or another, began to change. Through the windows Sacred could watch the sunsets and dawns occur at full speed, a thousand sets of lights fading away in the blink of an eye. And after many moons, finally, it stopped. It seemed to be early morning and the throne room was beginning to be filled with a timid morning light.

"We have arrived." He announced.

The first rays of the sun caressed Sacred. A light from thousands of suns back in time. The throne room was, as she remembered it, bathed in gold and marble. The smell of incense soothed their spirits, and the feeling that the palace was beginning to awaken intoxicated their souls.

The five stood waiting, admiring how the writing on the walls was now painted in red, blue, and green. They admired the treasures covered in silk that those same walls contained. Admiring the movement of the servants back and forth at different times of the day. Admiring the sound of the ancient language being spoken.

The three little ones didn't seem to dare to touch anything from this other time, they didn't seem to want to get lost in another timeline. Sacred knew that if she went too far into this past she would stay there forever. Would she want to? The taller esk standing next to her interrupted her thoughts:

"That may be another journey if you wish. But this time... This time you can take one last walk, before returning to the present."

Sacred nodded, ready to walk one last time under the roof of that palace before returning to a time when it will lack all the life and energy it has now.

"By the way... Who are you?"

After a pause, a name that she recognized was given to her: "X."

Sacred stood there without looking back at him. He couldn't believe he was talking to one of the First... Now all the power he had shown made sense...

"Go."

That one word got her out of her little shock, and she started walking. She visited all the rooms again, this time with people doing their jobs, talking, resting. Her lady was no longer there, it was now her son who was being advised by the wise men. The heir was well-behaved and had inherited his mother's intelligence. Her past companions prepared other clothes and perfumes for her later. Sacred was satisfied. She hoped that her mistress's bloodline would not have to suffer too much from the decline. She thought of finding her descendants and protecting them, but that would not make her grow up, she had already chosen the lake, those waters, the temple,  the garden, the lake in which everything bathed, and to tell everyone who wanted to know what that was in a more golden time. She nodded in agreement and headed for the lake. She entered the garden full of life, full of blue water lilies, full of goldfish. She bathed in the crystal-clear waters, impregnated with the sweet and intoxicating aroma of all the flora. It was the humans who built that incredible place, filled it with knowledge and beliefs. They gave life to the stones, to the nature, in order to tell a story. To talk about their achievements, about their mistakes, about their victories. About their way of life. About their greatness. Sacred would never forget them.

X came to her, entering the lake, while the three little ones watched them from the ground. "Amazing these humans, aren't they? Yet here you are again, back in the embrace of the waters..." He paused. "I'm glad I got it right with you. I wondered if I should have waited until you came to step into the temple to transform you, but your personality would have been so different, so helpless and so anchored to the temple that you had lost that you would have been someone very different... But it is clear that this is your element, and I am glad that you still have admiration and respect for humans. That's what allowed me to transform you even though you weren't in my element... He turned to look at the entrance to the palace. He kept showing his wheat stalks and his glass droplets, probably because of the proximity of the lake to the palace and because they were undoubtedly a part of the building. "Never forget them, please. I want to know more about how they thought, how they felt... This civilization was very big, it never stopped creating. Please tell me more when I visit again... And now, let's go back to the throne room, we must go back... Remember the walls full of color and inscriptions. They are the most valuable thing they have left us."