Ayla Ereni continued as any hallucination would: without a backward glance and bearing no concern for her surroundings. Maeyune and Reo were silent as they followed her through tunnel after tunnel.

Many of the base's inhabitants had settled down for the night. Maeyune and Reo passed caverns where families slept wall to wall. Soldiers and celestials had returned to the shared sleeping quarters, with only a few awake to oversee the night.

It was a quiet respite from the war. If Maeyune hadn't known any better, she would have assumed that these families were only homeless and not struggling to survive an extraterrestrial attack.

The cave tunnels became less populated the farther they went. By this point, Maeyune suspected they had travelled the length of the underground base and were now walking its border. When they reached the end of an empty passageway, Ayla disappeared into a narrow gap in the wall.

Darkness swam within its depths. It was only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.

Reo stopped in front of it and held out an arm to keep Maeyune from entering.

"What is it?" she said when she saw the surprise on his face.

"I can feel something coming from inside there," he answered, dazed.

He didn't explain. He reached for an oil lamp that hung nearby and slipped it off its hook. Without a word, he led the way into the gap. Maeyune tread close behind. They had lost sight of her mother, and the lamp was all that provided them light.

Deeper and deeper they went, until voices and the sounds of faint laughter broke the silence. Maeyune listened closely to the echoes. The voices sounded like children.

Ahead, they caught the faint glow of light. They emerged from the gap and into a small cavern. It was an area separate from the base—natural and not carved like the man-made spaces they had left behind.

There was no sign of Ayla Ereni. Instead, they found a group of three children drawing into one of the walls. Their dark silhouettes were lit by a small oil lamp at their feet. Their heads spun round as Maeyune and Reo appeared from the narrow gap. Conversation and giggles ended.

Maeyune eyed them. They could not have been any older than eight. "What are you children doing here?" she said.

"Maeyune, look."

She followed Reo's finger to where he pointed. Above the childrens' heads were dozens of shapes and figures painted into the wall. Her breath caught as her eyes scanned the images.

Cave paintings.

One of the children bound to his feet, seizing his oil lamp. He dashed past Maeyune and Reo, and the others chased after him. Their laughter rang through the gap as they returned to the base.

Maeyune knelt where they had been and observed the childish scribbles they'd left behind on the wall. They were odd, disproportionate shapes of people and animals. A few feet above them, the cave paintings appeared far more ancient.

The cavern grew brighter. Maeyune turned to watch as Reo drew fire from his oil lamp. Flames flickered across his fingers, and he cast them into the air above them. They drifted like fire bubbles, bringing light to the room. The illustrations spanned across the entirety of the walls.

"Heavens," Maeyune uttered. "It's beautiful."

She turned as feet by feet, light revealed the rest of the hidden cavern. Ancient markings covered the rock in intricate patterns. Much of the artwork were scenes depicted by paint--whites, reds, yellows and blacks.

"How old do you think they are?" Reo said.

Maeyune leaned close to a depiction of a man on a horse, her eyes noting its simple detail. "Very old," she replied.

Her gaze wandered, tracing every curve and line, until she discovered the large contour of a crescent moon. Beside that sat a familiar, distinct shape--one that had Maeyune gasping aloud.

"What?" Reo said.

She pointed. The shape was of a serpent, with four legs, a long beard, and two horns that curved downward from its temples. There was no mistaking what it was--who it was.

"Shivra," Reo whispered. They scanned the images nearby. "Where's Yunra?"

"Here."

Maeyune stood a few feet off, beckoning for Reo to bring one of his flames. He brought the light closer to the wall, revealing another dragon with antlers above her head. Below the Sun Goddess were a row of people with their hands held toward her in praise.

"The first of man," Maeyune murmured. She noted the lack of humans surrounding the symbol of Shivra, and she recalled the tale the Overlord had told them. "Yunra appeared at the birth of mankind."

They at last saw it: dozens of instances where two dragons were curled into a circle, one chasing the other's tail. The image appeared throughout the cavern, placed within a landscape or above kneeling figures.

"A circle of balance," Maeyune said, gesturing at each circle she found. "Moon and sun. Shield and sword. Both objects in the sky that bring light to the world."

"Shivra was the original god," Reo said. "He was the sole Guardian of Vaius, until Yunra was born to join him. Then, Vaius made all the other dragons—fire, water, wind and land."

He speculated the images of humans who stood beside triangular-shaped huts. They held farming equipment in their hands, while their faces were directed at a dragon in the sky.

"These people knew the gods existed," he said. "They worshipped the moon and sun. It was like the dragons were part of everyday life."

"You can read cave paintings?" Maeyune said.

"It's like reading a children's book, but without the words." He threw her a skewed smile.

"What happened, then? Why did the gods disappear for thousands of years?"

They were each silent as they observed the tales woven in the paintings. Reo stood still for a moment, then waved his hand to spread the reach of his flames. A minute later, his face grew solemn.

"The dragons disappeared," he said quietly, "because humans started fighting each other."

Maeyune went to his side and eyed the images in front of him. These illustrations appeared more refined than the previous ones of men and straw huts. She was certain they had been added to the wall at a different time from a different painter.

Figures suited in armor clashed on a vast battlefield, trampling over their fallen. The ground was awash in red paint. Warriors brandished spears, swords and bows, their faces twisted in rage. Maeyune found several individuals with crowns atop their heads and shouting orders to their troops.

"The gods don't pick sides," Reo said.

"The gods protect the balance of life and death," Maeyune added.

"So what happens when the lives you have to protect start murdering each other?"

"The connection between man and god is severed," she whispered. "The strength of the gods fell weaker, and the dragons became a myth." She lifted her eyes to Shivra and the crescent moon. "And then the Moon God's ancient foe arrived from beyond to wake them again."

They could spend hours losing themselves to the past. But why had her mother led them there in the first place? Was there a clue within these paintings for them to discover?

She turned to Reo again to ask his opinion, but she found him at the center of the cavern, standing as rigid as stone with his eyes closed. The lack of emotion on his face sent a spark of alarm through her.

"Reo?" she started, shifting to stand in front of him. She touched his arm to feel him, to quell the unexplainable fear that sprouted inside her.

His eyes opened. He didn't seem to notice her standing before him. His gaze travelled around the cavern, searching.

"What is it?" she said.

"I don't know," he said. "I can't explain it. It just feels like...home."

She frowned and waited for him to explain. But he said nothing else, only pointed. "Look."

She turned to follow his finger and caught the light that glimmered in the darkness. It was higher above them, and for the first time since they'd discovered the cavern, she finally noticed the narrow ledge that ran along the wall. Just beyond that ledge was a faint glow, unmoving and casting the slightest shimmer. Maeyune had previously mistaken the light to be one of Reo's floating flames.

"What is that?"

"Not sure," he said. He waved his hand, and the puffs of his flames drifted closer to the glimmer, revealing a narrow gap in the wall at the top of the ledge. "I'm going to check it out."

He bound into the air, scaling the wall in a single leap. He landed on the ledge, his small fires gathering around him to light the space.

"What do you see?" Maeyune called up.

Reo knelt, leaned over the ledge and lowered a hand. "Here, jump, and I'll pull you up."

She had a running start, leapt, then used one foot to push herself against the wall to thrust herself higher. Her hand connected with his, and he hauled her to him.

The light emitted from deep inside another gap. This hole was slimmer and required one to move sideways to travel through it. Maeyune could see nothing but light at the far end.

"There's something in there," Reo said.

There was a lack of caution in his face, she realized. Whatever it was, they needed to investigate it.

He levitated the oil lamp from the floor below and gathered the rest of his flames. After exchanging a glance with Maeyune, he carried the lamp in front of him and entered sideways into the gap.

The sounds of their clothing scraping against rock disturbed the silence. Reo said nothing as they shimmied through. Maeyune followed suit, focusing on their quiet breaths and their rustling movements. They maneuvered through uneven spaces, dodged sharp edges as best they could.

The light at the end grew brighter as they inched their way toward it. Reo passed through the gap, and Maeyune joined him at his side.

They found themselves in another cavern where stalactites hung ominously low from the ceiling. Here, the cave floor was covered in sand and scattered formations of rock columns. At the very center of it all was a small pond of water, and beneath the water's clear surface was the source of the light.

Maeyune and Reo approached it, their eyes enthralled by the sight.

Coils of emeralds and jades swam within the shallow pond. Maeyune's breath caught when she realized what it was she beheld.

"Vaius," she whispered. "It's Vaius."

Reo crouched at the edge and dipped his fingers into the water. Maeyune stared in amazement as emerald tendrils swept toward his hand, like languid eels reaching out to touch him. They swirled around his fingers, and he made a swish with his hand as if to play with them.

Maeyune knelt beside him and submerged her own hand into the water. Nothing happened. Then, Reo laid his free hand over her arm. A jade sheen emanated from the water, traveling across his body from one hand to the other--and into her arm. Maeyune felt the twinge of energy that entered her veins. She gasped aloud.

"It was never about Vaius," Reo said slowly. "It was about you."

In the moment when their eyes connected, they saw the answer reflected in the other. They finally understood.

Maeyune recalled the shapes from the cave paintings of two dragons curled into a circle. One was always a balance to the other, a continuous cycle that had withstood the test of time and mankind.

Yes, the sun was the greater force. But the moon was its counterweight. Each had its disadvantages, but the other always found a way to compensate.

She understood now.

"I think this is what my mother was trying to show us," Maeyune said quietly. "The moon takes its light from the sun. Everything that gives Shivra strength comes from the sun. The moon was what he used to convert sunlight into his power. But what if I don't need the moon? What if I just need...you?"

Reo nodded. "You can absorb my powers."

"When we were outside on the grass, you said my eyes were silver. Do you remember?"

"Yes." He smiled, slow and tantalizing. "How can I forget what happened?"

"You gave me some of your own energy," she said. She made a swish of her hand in the water but knew that nothing would happen. The green light remained around Reo's fingers, hanging onto him as if it belonged there. "But now, you don't need the sun."

Enthusiasm shone in his eyes. "Because I'm half-planet," he said. "So, if I channel Vaius through me to you, I can help you get your powers back?"

She felt the violent burst of hope inside her. "I think it's a great possibility."

He nodded again. "Alright. It's worth a shot."

Without waiting for her to reply, Reo removed his shirt, tossed it aside, and with pants still fastened, slid into the pond. He stood waist-deep, tested his footing, before he turned and held out a hand to her. She stared at it, uncertain, but her arm moved for her. Her hand slid into his, and he firmly grasped her fingers as she joined him in the water.

Reo had been doubtful before, but now, he brimmed with confidence--even more so than she. He led them toward the center, deeper to where the light shone its brightest. He moved with ease, drawing them closer toward the unknown.

"If this doesn't work," she said, "Vaius will be weaker. There will not be much time left."

"I know," he said. "That's why I think it'll work."

Reo's solid tone was reassurance enough.

When they reached the center, they glanced down at the cluster of serpentine emeralds that grazed past their legs. They clung to her like tentacles, but all she felt was warmth.

Reo faced her and held both of her hands in his. Beneath his skin, she could see the veins in his hands and arms begin to glow the color of jade. Vibrant greens came to life inside him, emanating through his flesh and giving his skin a translucent look. He appeared mystical and eerily exotic.

Slowly, the colors moved to his fingers, then to her hands and down her wrists, until they coated the length of her arms. It soothed the tension in her muscles, and her body began to relent to its embrace.

This was Vaius's energy, and Reo would be her bridge.

(Continued in Part 2)