The world beneath the water wasn't cold.
It burned.
Alessia's scream vanished into the liquid light as it dragged her downward.
Her body convulsed, limbs flailing, but the more she struggled, the tighter the current coiled around her like invisible hands.
Flashes of red and white swirled in her vision.. blood, moonlight, and something ancient.
Her chest tightened, she couldn't breathe.
The pressure crushed her ribs until her thoughts began to slip away.
Then, all at once, the pull stopped.
She floated.. suspended in a world of silence.
When she opened her eyes, the pool was gone. In its place stretched an endless sea of silver mist, glowing faintly with traces of crimson veins running through it like roots of light.
Her bare feet touched the surface, and it rippled as though it were alive.
"Where… am I?" Alessia whispered. Her voice echoed in a dozen tones, each one sounding more frightened than the last.
The mist parted.
