(Viewpoint: Roum)
The golden light fades around us, replaced by an almost too-clean whiteness.
I blinked several times.
The new circle deposited us in a long corridor, transparent on the sides, suspended above the void. Beneath our feet, the city continued to stretch out like a dream that was hardly real.
Ela still hasn't let go of my hand.
"Don't look down like that, you'll get dizzy," she said, gently pulling me away. "I'm not going to leave you today."
I nod my head but my stomach is still churning.
I can still hear, in a corner of my memory, a small, sharp click, tic tack, as if that sound had been imprinted in my bones.
I couldn't do anything.
I didn't even know how to react.
Ela pulls me out of my thoughts:
– Roum? Are you okay?
— Yes. I… I'm fine.
ELA frowned, unconvinced.
— So I've been talking to myself this whole time? We'll talk about it later. Come on. Look.
It sticks to the transparent wall.
I lean over in turn.
The dome looks even larger from here.
It's like a second heaven beneath the real one.
Suspended platforms, floating gardens, luminous rails winding around buildings like serpents of light, and above all the impression of walking on clouds gave a different feeling and emotion to this view.
A whisper escapes me.
— It's… magnificent and unreal.
— Yes, said Ela. And now it's our home.
"At our place."
I don't know whether to smile or tremble.
Chetan suddenly appeared behind us, annoyed as always.
— Are you going to stand there admiring the view for two hours? Move, you're blocking the way.
He bumped into me and walked away towards the tunnel exit.
Ela grimaced behind her back.
I hold back a smile.
But something worries me.
— Where is Asmara?
ELA stares at me.
"She must be with the others," Ela said softly. "And besides, who cares today? You just have to think about nothing else and we'll do the sightseeing."
"Okay," I murmured.
I grit my teeth.
A little disappointed.
I don't know why.
Ela gently taps me on the chest with her fist.
— Hey. Stay with me, okay? Let's go for the next viewing.
—..... Okay, nonchalantly
We arrive in a gigantic room, made of black glass and silver.
A red line cuts the room in two.
In the background, a group of people were sitting, all dressed in white, staring at the ceiling.
Among them, two familiar figures: Draven and Chetan.
They arrived sitting side by side, silent, lying down and staring at the ceiling.
Ela pulled me towards her.
"I thought he was going to 'train'," she murmured.
I step forward, my throat dry.
– Is that forbidden?
She pulled me
"The screening is about to begin," she said calmly.
I was pulled to the back of the room; everything was black, so black that I couldn't see myself anymore.
To the point where he was returning
But I'm holding on.
A beep sounded in the room.
And an announcement rang out:
— start of the projection lying on the floor for a more immersive experience.
Small bright spots appear
As if it were born from the light.
The ground cools against my skin.
A pinkish light brightens, the darkness and a light floral breeze envelop us.
Ela looks at me over her shoulder, raises an eyebrow.
— How are you finding the experience?
I don't have time to reply.
The voice burst forth again:
– Today we are going to see the Northern Lights
Suddenly, the atmosphere turns icy.
And a cascade of colors poured throughout the space.
She enters silently, as if the sky were pouring down like rain but in greenish and yellow pallets, like the small black cotton balls of dust that often fall into the pit.
I raised my hands to grab some.
You're cheating on me.
— she disappears.
Ela grabs my arm.
— It's not real, you can't touch them
— It seems so true.
I've never seen anything like it.
Ela throws herself at the joke.
And for the first time, I see her ready to force herself to smile.
Then the room brightened, the people around stood up, and everyone headed towards the second seating area.
Ela was the first to get up and held out her hand to help me
- THANKS-
They are holding me by the shoulder.
— What are you doing here? It was Chetan. Frowning brows.
Ela glared at him… then approached and kicked him away.
I sense she's worried. Maybe even more than that.
Chetan turns towards me.
— get out of here.
Then he cleaned his shoulder
She walked behind him and kicked him again.
– and what about you then, or should I tell Alpha 1?
I feel my breathing catch.
I still feel guilty.
And each step awakens this strange sensation.
It felt like a thread was pulling from behind my sides.
She stopped and pulled me from my thoughts.
— Roum, let's go, sir thinks everything belongs to him.
I remain silent.
She tilts her head.
— Goodbye, Your Excellency.
The door opens.
A warm breath passes through me.
She pulled me without pausing towards a round and gigantic room.
At the bottom of the sphere
A single armchair in the center.
Straps and a packed room.
Lights snaked along the walls and a single one was projected onto the armchair.
I instinctively step back.
- What is this… ?
"The beginning," ELA said simply.
She puts her hand on my shoulder.
— This is a scene of torture.
My throat tightens.
- For what… ?
Her hand slides slowly.
— I'm kidding, it's a magic show, a very old form of entertainment…
She leans forward slightly.
Her eyes met mine.
— You'll see, he even cuts people in half.
An electric shock runs through my limbs.
I don't know if I should run away.
Or if I get scammed again.
The door closes behind us.
And I remain frozen there, unable to breathe, unable to understand, while Ela gestures for me to applaud.
— It's about to begin.
I swallow.
Just one step.
Then another one.
A figure approached the armchair.
The room held its breath.
And I'm holding back a scream of horror.