The monoliths were very old, probably ancient, and they held memories, or better still, records. Records of great battles, wars, and conflict, of people…well, aliens, since they weren't from Earth.
Each one of the monoliths carried a fragment of history on its own, suggesting that there was, or there still is, in fact, life on this planet. Not just the terrifying beasts they had come across, but actual people who could give them the answers to the what, where, how, and why they were here.
Each time Erin made contact with these monoliths, a hot, stinging wave of visions would hit her.
Erin had seen this a few minutes ago when she made contact, and even as her body lay on the bare ground, drained and barely breathing, these second visions played like an annoying ad she couldn't seem to skip.
It was strange, considering she had been disconnected from the monolith for a while now, yet these visions still flashed across her mind.
She had been there a lot longer than she had originally planned, a lot longer than the last time. This time, there was no Jayden to yank her back.
Images of places—locations to be precise displaced in her head in stark detail, including the ones she had already been to. She saw flashes of the cave. More images played behind her firmly shut eyelids: images of the ruins, the bunkers, the monoliths themselves.
Erin was unconscious, yes, but she was very much conscious in her head. It all kept coming to her like a bad dream that just wouldn't go away.
Suddenly, the flashes ceased, for almost a second, then switched up to something else, something more stable and continuous—like a cable TV from the '90s. Before it faded, there was nothing. Just silence.
Erin's mind suddenly drifted once again, away from her body this time, to another place.
She stood in an empty white space. Just nothing but endless white. No sign of an exit. No sign of anything, really. Erin, opening her eyes, knew she was in a dream of some sort. But weren't dreams supposed to be about memories, fears, or familiar places? Where was this then?
'Well, at least my mind isn't being bombarded with someone else's memories or whatever. Not that this place looks fun or anything…'
She wondered as she glanced around. Suddenly, a wave of fresh air hit her in the face. Her eyelids fluttered in reaction to the cold but comforting feeling.
When she opened her eyes again, a door was right in front of her. It didn't look ominous, but it certainly raised questions and caused a bit of freaking out.
She slowly walked toward it, taking each step with precision. Life in the wasteland had taught her not to let her guard down. She didn't know what was on the other side of the door, and playing it safe was her only bet.
Reaching the door, Erin placed her hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, she was about to twist it when—
"Leaving so soon?"
The sudden voice slicing through the silence was a shocking experience. Erin turned around quickly to see who it was.
Dressed in a long white silk dress was a lady. Her long silver hair, cascading all the way down her back, gleamed under the bright lights. Her flawless skin and striking image caught Erin's full attention, and she stared at her like she was looking at a goddess.
The lady raised a brow. "Is there something on my face?" She glanced down at her dress. "Or is it my dress?"
"Who are you? Where is this?" Erin asked, snapping out of her daze. She hated staring or being dazed. She was used to people being dazed by her, not the other way around.
"Straight to the point, I see. That's what I love about you, Erin." The lady in white said with a smile, a smile that stretched too wide, unnaturally so.
"Uh… how do you know my name?" Erin asked.
"What are you talking about? I'm you," the lady in white answered, still smiling like everything made sense.
"Okay, cool. Where is this?" Erin asked casually. Not bothered by what she just said. Nothing seemed to surprise her anymore. Like she'd seen it all.
"Well, this…" The lady gestured around them. "…is your space. It's where you come whenever you drain your Riftlight Energy, which I suggest you stop draining. Your body can only handle so much before it shuts down completely." She warned.
"Shut down… as in death?" Erin asked, arching a brow.
"Yes, death," the lady replied sharply, "death as in goodbye Erin, forever in our hearts." She sounded almost perplexed by her own bluntness, realizing her tone was a bit harsh, so she softened it quickly.
"By the way, I was messing around. I'm not you. Think of me as an AI, think of this place as your personal space. A space you enter whenever you are on the brink of death. Any question you have about yourself and your abilities, I will answer to my best abilities. Damn I'm good with words."
"Okay, cool," Erin said, cutting straight to the chase. "What is Riftlight?" she asked curiously.
"It's your power."
"Well, what is it?"
"It's your ability."
Erin's face turned into a frown, her patience wearing thin. "What happened to us? How and why are we here?" Erin asked.
"Like I said, you're here because your body is drained. Me, nothing happened to me, I'm just here chillin'."
Erin was obviously asking about what happened to them at the library, but the lady just wanted to toy with her.
Frustration started boiling over Erin's face as she snapped. "What the hell is your problem, dammit?! You said you have answers to my goddamned questions, and here you are messing around with me!" Her chest heaved as she poured her words out.
"Seems like you're the one with problems."
Erin wanted to retort, but she held herself back, calming down and forcing herself to rephrase the question. "Why did we end up here, on this… planet?" she emphasised on the last part.
"Well, that is because you, Erin, are one of The Marked Ones. And so were your parents. How you came here wasn't an accident… Whatever I tell you now, you won't remember it, because once you wake up, your memory resets. I think you know what I mean by reset..."