Morrigan looked at the starry river and took a deep breath. It was time for her to do the ritual. She removed her boots and her jacket, leaving only her black and red dress. Carefully, she stepped towards the water, when Galandir spoke up.

  "Maybe you should take off the ring and pendant as well. If this place is as sensitive to magic as Azrael says, then you should be careful. Those two items have plenty of magic in them."

  Morrigan looked down at the ring and pendant. Her father's gift already felt like part of her, while the ring felt like part of her ancestry. She was reluctant to take either of them off. But what he said made absolute sense — especially when no more than two people could come down here. The river itself must be extremely sensitive and it already had to live through whatever that nasty orb had done to it.

  She slowly took off the pendant and the ring, cradling them in her palm for a while. Then she turned towards Galandir and extended them towards him, "Take care of these. They are really important to me."

  "Of course. Who do you take me for?" he nodded and smiled, carefully taking both pieces of jewelry. "Although if the Demon King suddenly decides to contact you, I am not answering that."

  Morrigan chuckled imagining the scenario and how her father would likely instantly teleport right into this chasm if instead of her answering it were Galandir.

  "Wish me luck," she took a deep breath, looking at the shimmering river.

  "Good luck, and don't worry. If something happens, I'll be right here," he said reassuringly, and Morrigan nodded. Ever so slowly she dipped her toe into the water. It felt cool and somewhat tingly, almost like carbonated water. She proceeded to lower her leg into the water, taking one step after another into the water.

  As she got deeper into the river, the tingly feeling got stronger—now it almost felt like she was inside a cool jacuzzi. She shuddered from the feeling and glanced at Galandir who was waiting on the shore. When he noticed her looking, the boy quickly erased the worried expression and smiled at her.

  Heh, he acts brave and cool but it appears he's more worried than I am. I bet Galandir's just trying to make me feel better. It's good that I came with him rather than Azrael.

  Morrigan smiled back at him, gathered her courage and continued walking. The water reached her stomach, then her shoulders until finally it was all the way to her chin. The tingle around her now felt almost as if she was surrounded in a blanket of star magic. She did not know how she drew that comparison but it was just how it felt like. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her head underneath.

  She finally submerged.

  Took her long enough.

  This one is quite nervous.

  Morrigan nearly rose above the surface again, barely managing to contain herself from the shock. Where were these voices coming from?

  We come from here.

  And there.

  And everywhere.

  Open your eyes.

  She shook her head. It felt wrong to open her eyes in this place. The liquid was pushing against her whole body, buzzing like a swarm of bees.

  Open your eyes, little queen.

  Open them.

  You must see.

  See what you saved.

  She paused for a moment, thinking over the words of the voices until Morrigan finally gathered her courage and slowly opened her eyes. Much to her surprise, the liquid did not tingle her eyes. Instead, she gazed into the world of stars. Billion, no, trillions of them were shining, shimmering and swirling around her. It was like she was floating in space.

  What is this?!

  Thousands of little, bell-like giggles responded to her thought and the stars converged, forming an impromptu galaxy with her at the center.

  This is the beginning.

  And the end.

  The past.

  The present.

  And the future.

  Morrigan furrowed her eyebrows at this.

  That makes no sense.

  The voices around her giggled again.

  It may not make sense to you.

  But it is the truth.

  You do not need to accept it.

  For it to be so.

  The stars expanded outwards, spreading all around Morrigan and forming several smaller galaxies. She watched the beautiful sight in awe and then remembered that she needed to breathe.

  Do not leave yet.

  You may breathe here.

  But do not leave.

  The statement didn't make sense, but then again, nothing seemed to make sense here, so Morrigan breathed in. Much to her surprise, water did not rush inside her. Inside the air sort felt tingly as it passed through her nose into her lungs and then out again.

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  "What am I supposed to do here?" she asked the voices.

  You must become one with this world.

  One of us.

  One of everyone.

  "H-How do I do that?" Morrigan asked, deciding that there was no point in questioning the logic of this place. Outer space where you can breathe and talk within a river had no logical explanation. It was just magic.

  You stay with us.

  You become us.

  Become part of the world.

  "So I just have to stay here?" she asked.

  That's right.

  You must.

  It is your duty.

  "How long?"

  Until we are one.

  Until you are all.

  Until all is you.

  Morrigan furrowed her eyebrows again. It made no sense. So she accepted that she might have to remain here for a while and decided to enjoy the beautiful sight around her, watching how the stars converged and split apart again. It was almost like a dance where stars were the main dancers and galaxies they formed were the various dances.

  She did not know how long she watched the stars, the time didn't seem to make sense in this place either. But after some time the voices spoke again.

  The little king wishes to come after you.

  He believes you are drowning.

  He must not come.

  "Wait, father is here?"

  No. Not the Demon King.

  The King of Light.

  King of Skies.

  "King of Light? Are you referring to Galandir? He must be worried that remained in here for too long," she said, looking worriedly up to where the shore was. But a strong pull stopped her from turning her head.

  You must not leave.

  You must stay.

  He cannot come.

  "But I need to reassure him that I am fine."

  You must not leave.

  If you leave you cannot become us.

  You cannot become all.

  All cannot become you.

  "Gods, you sure are insistent. Can I at least send a fireball as a signal?"

  You must not use magic.

  The world will break.

  Everyone will break.

  "But if Galandir cannot come, then I have to tell him somehow that I am fine."

  There was silence for a moment as if the stars were contemplating what to do. The bell-like giggles appeared again.

  You are connected.

  Speak to him.

  Tell him to not come.

  "Connected? How?"

  Connected through magic.

  Connected through the mind.

  Connected through the heart.

  Morrigan sighed at the cryptic messages and imagined that she was talking to Galandir. Perhaps she could send him a telepathic message or something that the stars could take to him.

  Do not come. I am fine. Do not come. I am fine. I shall return soon.

  She thought this over and over and imagined sending this message to Galandir. After a while the stars converged around Morrigan, making her the center of a large galaxy again.

  Very good.

  The little king understood.

  He shall wait.

  We shall all wait.

  Morrigan nodded and waited. She had no idea what she was waiting for, but the stars just kept dancing around her. She didn't know how long she waited and watched. She didn't feel thirst, nor hunger, nor tiredness. But she did feel something. Like somehow her being was getting fuller. More complete. Stronger even. After what felt like an eternity and also a few moments at the same time, the stars chimed with delight.

  You are ready now.

  You are all.

  And all is you.

  The strength is now within you, Queen of the Underworld.

  Queen of the Underworld.

  Queen of the Underworld.

  Morrigan felt herself being lifted up, higher and higher, as the stars kept chanting 'Queen of the Underworld'. Initially, she felt light as a feather, but then she passed through some sort of barrier and her body became as heavy as lead. She could barely lift her hand.

  "Morrigan, are you alright?" she heard Galandir's worried voice and felt herself being lifted up. For some reason, she barely had the strength to even open her eyes.

  "I-I'm fine. I just feel so tired," she muttered, resting her head on her chest.

  "I thought you died down there. I was going to go after you, but then I heard you speak into my mind. Telling me not to come," he muttered in a hurry.

  "Oh, so it did work," she smiled with satisfaction. "That's kind of cool."

  "Cool? Do you have any idea how worried I was? And you just tell me not to come!" the elf growled at her in annoyance.

  "Sorry. But I had to wait. It had to be done. To become one. To become all," she muttered.

  "What are you even saying?" He raised his eyebrow.

  "I think I spent too much time down there. I'm starting to talk like them," Morrigan shook her head trying to break out of the trance-like state. Hunger and thirst slowly took over her body. "Can we go back up? I'm hungry."

  "I got some food here. Your servants were kind enough to pack some along with your painting supplies," Galandir said and put Morrigan down. She rummaged through the bag and gave her a sandwich and a half-empty water bottle. "Sorry, there isn't more. But I kind of got hungry too."

  "That's alright. How long was I there?" she asked, taking a big bite out of the sandwich.

  "It's hard to tell time down here, but I suspect it was at least a day," he replied.

  "A whole day?!" she nearly choked on the food.

  "Yeah. Why do you think I was so worried?" he grumbled and pinched her cheek.

  "Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't tell how much time passed down there at all. It feels like an eternity and a second at the same time."

  "What even was down there?"

  "Stars. Millions and billions of them. And they spoke to me," she said, taking an eager sip of water.

  "They spoke?"

  "Yeah. It was so weird. They said many weird things," she said and then paused, looking over the elven boy. The stars had called Galandir the King of Light but why? Could it be that her elven friend was descended from some Overworld royalty?

  "What weird things?" He raised his eyebrow.

  "Uh… It's hard to explain. And largely it made no sense. Let's just get out of here," Morrigan said, stuffing the last bits of the sandwich in her mouth.

  "Don't mind if we do," Galandir nodded, tying the painting supply bag to the rope and pulling on it. After about half a minute, somebody began pulling it upwards. "Oh, and let me return these. I am happy to announce that the Demon King did not call."

  The elf returned Morrigan's jewelry to her and she quickly put them on. "Thank you for keeping these safe.

  "Of course." He nodded, materialized his wings and took Morrigan into his arms again. "Now, let's get out of here."

  But he didn't take flight right away, instead pausing and looking back at the river.

  "What's wrong?" Morrigan asked.

  "I thought I heard someone say 'Your time will come'," he said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "You know what—never mind that. I'm tired of these mind messages."

  He flapped his wings and flew up upwards. Morrigan looked down at the shimmering river wondering if what her friend had heard was a message from the stars. But what does it mean?

  Why can't they just tell things straight? Always with the riddles.