The cleansing process had allowed Diana to enjoy a little bit of relaxing time, and she had enjoyed it more than intended to. Some of the pain and worries she carried with her dissipated amongst the aromas that surrounded her. She marveled at how petals created a barrier around her body and how pure the water was. It gave her a feeling of peace and serenity. She also watched as the waters slowly got darker and liquid started seeping out of her skin.

"Your body is purifying," The silent maid behind her spoke when she saw her throwing a questioning look. "Don't you feel lighter?" She did, she felt like a child. She felt as if she could just sprout wings out and fly any second now.

The bath itself took half an hour to finish and by the end, the once pure water had turned to a dark shade of brown. The other half an hour was spent preparing her with clothes. She wore a simple white dress with no accessories and her hair was braided down her back. Two ladies with long modest dresses burned a few incense sticks and kept chanting mantras as they circled around her, and she suddenly started to feel wary.

Her mom, who had been watching over the whole process, had a passive look on her face. Her expression told her nothing, and she didn't know if she had ever seen her mother look blank like that.

"You need to understand Diana," She whispered to her as they walked slowly toward a single antique door. It looked so out of place and Diana didn't know if she ever noticed it or seen it before.

Just from where did it come from?

"You cannot speak in there," Her mom had her hands on her shoulders. She couldn't see her face as her mom was standing behind her. "You have to carefully listen and remember that he can only accept as much of your mind as you give to him." Was Diana imagining or did it feel like her mother was hinting onto something?

She felt her mother's hand suddenly let go and saw the doors in front of her open. "Miss, please move along, and never look back." A maid bowed her head and instructed. Just what was she getting herself into?

She never knew about any of this before and it hit her how much her family was hiding from her.

It was a scary thought to think of, especially if she was trying to fight the unknown.

She had done as instructed and moved along. The door had led to a tunnel that was dimly lit with candles on each side. It was too old and rusty to be anything made from this century and she felt as if she had just traveled into another world. After walking for a while, she realized that the tunnel connected the house to the main ritual circle where spiritual events and prayers were usually conducted privately between the members of the main branch of the Gray family - if the paintings that hung from the wall were any indications. She felt like she had a memory of reading something similar about this.

She could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked in the front, and she felt her heart for the first time, calm down. She didn't know what was happening but each step she took brought her comfort and safety. It felt as if she was embraced by love and clarity.

She didn't notice the incense that was lit up, the smoke around her that engulfed her body, mind and slowly started to seep in, and a mist started to seep out, similar but totally different from what happened in the bath. By that moment, she no longer could hear any sound, not from herself or others, and the long tunnel got blurrier as her vision started turning black.

When she woke up again, she found herself on the ground. Her bones ached with pain and the floor underneath her was cold and hard. She pushed herself onto her elbows and then hands as she tried sitting up.

That was when she finally noticed that she was in a hall - The Ritual Circle. A red lotus, that was drawn on the ground underneath her, circled around her. It was so vibrant to the point where she felt that her eyes were playing tricks on her and the lotus was burning. Above her, a chandelier made of gold and sparkled with blaze was swaying left and right by an unknown breeze, but it made no sound.

She remembered seeing a photo of the hall - the body's owner did - but not really the actual thing because even though she was the daughter of the head, she didn't contribute anything to the family yet.

As she inspected the engraved walls, with unknown gods and beings, with her eyes, she started hearing the sound of water dripping in the background. The sound was slow and calm, but there was no apparent source around her.

She stood up steadily and walked slowly around the hall. She saw there was no door or windows, only a circular dome. But in the photo she saw, there were supposed to be three doors each led to a different 'dimension'.

That meant she either wasn't in the same hall she thought she was in, or someone was playing with her mind.

"You are a bright one, my dear." She heard a voice behind her. Looking back was her first instinct but her body was frozen in place and her limbs remained useless. "Don't be impatient now. You should slowly accept your fate." She heard a chuckle. "Oh but your fate... How messy," then she was able to move.

She turned and stopped when she saw who was in front of her. An elder was wearing a red cloak, the same person she saw in the picture her dad had shown her - Bone.

His cloak hood and bandages covered most of his face, so she couldn't tell a lot about him, other than his tall stature. Then his smile. It was so sinister and mischievous. It looked too big and fake to be an actual genuine smile, and it only made chills run through her body.

She had trusted her dad before, but the last few words Elliot had told her made her unsure of what to do.

Observe for now. She told herself.

"You aura and scent are totally different than before." He moved closer. She noticed he had a limp. "You aren't letting me see much, tsk tsk," he said. "So serious, so foolish." He sounded as if he was telling a joke and laughing at it at the same time. "Show me more." He opened his arms and she suddenly felt her body relax and her heart actually stop for a second. Before she could freak out, she was on the floor, lying unmoving and saw a ball of shadow pushing itself away from her chest and flying above her, toward Bone.

"There you are." he caressed the ball. "So mysterious." He dipped one of his fingers inside the strange cloud and made a circular motion.

And then the pain started.

She had let out a scream. She didn't feel the pain in her bones, but rather in her head. It was as if someone was pulling her nerves away and then letting them go, playing with them as if they were just strings of an instrument. Her head rang with enormous pain, and she could barely open her eyes to look at anything around her.

"Oh no my dear, you should be more willing." He put his whole fist inside the cloud and she felt her mind crash. Her throat was so sore from screaming but she couldn't stop the pain from coming. She was thrashing on the ground, trying to find any way to make the pain any lesser.

"Please, please, please," She begged. "Stop it please." Her head was held between her hands as she hugged herself in.

"Your mother had warned you not to speak, but there you go breaking the rules… again." She didn't know what he did but she suddenly felt that she wasn't where she thought she was. She lost herself for a second. She felt exactly the same as she had when she died previous times.

Was she dying?

"There it is. I finally found it." And with that, she felt the pressure and pain suddenly removed from her body. She found herself panting on the ground, with her dress clinging to her body from sweat.

Her heart was beating so fast she could hear almost nothing but it. She turned to look at the man.

He was holding a coin in his hand, "Look at your fate," He said. "How messy."