[A/N] Blurple has come to interrupt for a moment with a disclaimer hehehe. I understand that this may piss some people off, knowing another female lead is slim and pale (literally like every other main character), however, I did that to make the story accurate. Please don't be offended by this. Thank you, and enjoy! :)

For once, I awoke peacefully, not from the disturbance of the sunlight, nor from the irritating ringing noise that made me grind my teeth in the morning. Instead, my eyes fluttered open naturally and calmly to a blissful silence.

It felt like a dream.

I slowly at up in my bed, determining if my thoughts were tricking me. As my eyes adjusted to the light in the room, I turned my head to look around. It was unchanged, and how it normally appeared; fairly clean, but worn. My eyes averted to Ryujin and Lisa on their beds talking and whispering to each other, occasionally giggling.

I frowned, before rubbing my eyes and speaking. "Don't we have work today or something?" I asked quietly, and groggily.

Ryujin's head jerked to look at me. "Oh, you're awake," she chuckled standing up from the bed. "We don't have any work today, it's for us to go to church and enjoy the peace away from Ms. Jung," Ryujin smiled tiredly, but I raised a brow.

"Church?" I questioned, my eyes flickering between both of them.

Lisa walked over to stand beside my bed, helping me down from my bunk. She held my arm gently as I stepped down.

"It's a special place where we engage in embracing our culture," Lisa explained. "We'll take you."

I gulped and looked at both of them with worry. If this was religious, or any sort of celebration of Gems, humans would for sure be left out of the mix. We were inferior to their culture---probably because the Gems were afraid we might jump on tables and scream in a foreign tongue while beating our chests like gorillas.

Lisa and Ryujin glanced at each other, the distress in my eyes a dead give away. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Lisa replied quietly. "Don't worry." Her eyes were wide with understanding and comfort, as she gave me a gentle smile.

Ryujin and Lisa smiled, "we'll be outside. Hurry though we need to be there in fifteen minutes."

My respect for those two raised immensely since I met them. They initially seemed to be strange Gems with nothing better to do than pity and befriend a human because of it. Yet, seeing Lisa and Ryujin treat me as their equal made me realize what their true intentions were.

Ryujin gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking out of the room. "I gave you a dress to wear, it should be in the bathroom." She pointed, and my eyes gazed over at the piece of clothing which hung from the door.

"Thanks." I said, my eyes widened surprise. They weren't pitying me, nor were they disgusted. They actually cared, unlike the others. It was so comforting, that I almost didn't realize the space between the Gems and humans anymore.

As I changed into Ryujin's clothes, which surprisingly fit well I gazed at myself in the mirror. It was a simple black dress that made my skin look paler, and displayed my slim figure. I looked up at my face, my dark narrow eyes staring back at me for a moment.

I'd never dressed up before, and I almost appeared...different.

It felt strange, considering I barely ever looked at myself back in my town, but when I did, all that looked back at me was a dirtied creature. Now-as I observed myself---I didn't feel like that at all. The assumptions the Gems had created felt washed off, and I for once saw what I truly was.

I looked away from the mirror as I stepped across the room toward the door, the dress dancing around my knees, unlike the restricting tube I had to wear as a slave.

Once I opened it, Ryujin and Lisa's eyes scanned me with raised brows.

Ryujin smirked. "You look good, I'm not gonna lie."

Lisa nudged her ribcage, earning a groan from Ryujin. I chuckled slightly, watching as Lisa's face flushed red with anger.

Lisa's expression totally contradicted her overall appearance; her cute white dress with yellow flowers, and her hair tied into a loose ponytail with small pearl studs in her ears. I could've sworn she was straight out of a fairytale. Ryujin on the other hand seemed to be a seductress of some sort. She wore a similar black dress to mine but more sophisticated with thin straps, and a lower cut. Her hair was brushed and fixed neatly, as beautiful blue earrings dangled from her ears, bringing out her sapphire hair.

I chuckled at their interaction, especially the blush on Lisa's face. It was adorable, and Ryujin seemed to notice that too as she pinched her cheeks.

"Now, c'mon we have things to do, places to be!" Ryujin said excitedly as she wrapped her arm around Lisa's and led us out of the room into the world outdoors.

A few hours later...

Onavale had its perks.

It may have had shitty people, and dark spots, but from what I saw it was like walking in a dream. The sidewalks were clean, and people walked by you without stealing your things, or being suspicious enough to indicate that they would. Although people gave me strange looks, I ignored it, too enthralled in the beauty Onavale held.

The glittering buildings seemed so much better in person, reminding me of diamonds. There were trees here and there, green and not polluted from garbage. Ryujin and Lisa smiled at my childish behaviour, but I didn't care. I wanted to relish this amazing dream for just a bit longer, before reality crushed me again.

Ryujin and Lisa decided to go along with my excitement, even leading me to the edge of the city, where we overlooked the vast ocean and hills that decorated South Korea, which expanded into the horizon. Wind blew into my black hair, and the ocean breeze smelled fresh and amazing. From this view, it was unlike anything I've ever witnessed.

As we made our way further through the city, we eventually made it to---what I assumed was---the church. Before we stepped inside, a statue of a beautiful woman in long robes stood in the entrance, with flowers resembling seven shades surrounded her. I gasped at the sight, realizing it was the Obsidian Order that she stood upon.

"That's Opal," Lisa said, gazing up at the statue in gratefulness.

"Opal? Is that another Gem?" I questioned, looking up to study the statue's face. She looked just as ethereal as the others, calm and majestic.

"More like the ultimate, since she was our creator." Lisa explained, before the bell on the church began to ring loudly, signifying that we had to go in. I followed behind Lisa and Ryujin, keeping my head down when we stepped in. I knew that if someone found out I was here, it would start a massive commotion, which I didn't want to initiate.

As we stepped inside, my gaze fell upon the vast room with painted windows of the Gems, and a high ceiling. The room was painted with gold decorations, and the iconic seven different colours throughout. My eyes averted to the front of the room, where two marble pillars supported the front section, which held a small brown desk, two pots of flowers on either side, and a cluster of candles.

Another grand painting hung on the front wall, who looked down upon each of us. I frowned when noticing it was of the same woman again.

As Ryujin, Lisa and I sat down, I narrowed my eyes to notice the oil painting that stretched across the whole room. My chin lifted upward, as my eyes narrowed to study the detailed strokes. It was so high I couldn't imagine how anyone could've gotten up there to paint it thousands of years ago. I followed each curve of vine, person and leaf, everything telling a story.

My gaze then flickered to the dark metal leash, held by Emerald as he lounged in a chair green hair glittering, and black eyes staring down at his victim. It showed a human, dirty and full of mud, black hair messy like a dog. Their teeth were bared, and they stood on all fours, eyes wild like an animal.

I looked away and my jaw tightened, before gazing back up at the front. A girl and boy with blinding white hair stood at the front, holding hands gracefully. They bowed to the crowd of people and smiled brightly, before they began to sing and dance. Their voices were like angels---high and soft, yet loud and echoey in the massive room.

Flowers sprouted from the boys' hands as he threw hand crafted flowers into the audience, continuing to maintain his stunning voice. It was incredible to watch, and I felt the emotion in their voices strike at my heart.

That was until I realized they were singing in a different language, and I frowned, struggling to understand them. "What language is this?" I leaned over to Ryujin, who seemed to be focused on the beautiful performance.

"It's Onavalian, a language our ancestors used to speak. It's not spoken other than in church." She whispered, her eyes not leaving the performance.

"What's this song about?" I asked, the foreign yet beautiful language sounding like mumblings to my ears.

"It sings about the Garden of Opalâ, or the Garden where magic and earth met. It's actually in the back of headquarters."

"What happened there?" I questioned with genuine curiosity.

"It was where Opal created the Gems," Ryujin explained, totally enthralled in the stunning performance. "It was the birth of our kind."

My eyebrows lowered. "Did she just summon them with her..." I hesitated, not believing this was real. "Magic?"

"Pretty much." Ryujin shrugged. "She was magical being of some sort, that's why we all have powers."

I frowned, thinking of a random woman from God knows where, and summoning strange human-like things with powers. It didn't add up, nor did it sit well with me. Why Earth? Why did she summon them?

My eyes shifted back to the girl and boy dancing, throwing more flowers into the audience before they ended it and bowed with bright smiles. I sighed and slouched in my seat, convincing myself it wasn't important. When my curiosity peaked, my mind swirled into a never-ending abyss to either solve it, or venture into finding out more. I watched as the performance finished, and the two kids bowed and smiled.

I turned my head to look behind me, from hearing the door to the church open. That's when I saw a head of red hair, and a pair of deep black eyes.

Taehyung.

His gaze met mine instantly, and narrowed-as if questioning my presence. Taehyung stepped back, and leaned against the wall subtly, before lowering his black baseball cap-but his gaze never wavered from mine.

I gulped, before awkwardly looking away from him and back to the front.

***

As the light dimmed, with the sun setting behind a hug of orange and purple, we headed back to headquarters. I sighed in relief thinking back to the many things I saw. "Wow, that was amazing!"

Ryujin chuckled and shrugged, watching Lisa with admiration. The gem danced innocently ahead of us, singing and twirling every now and then. "It's pretty cool I guess, but that's just the good parts. Everything else is either political bullshit, or filled with entitled asswipes."

My face scrunched in discontent. "Don't remind me."

As we walked down further the hallway, the sky had already shifted to an indigo blue colour, reminding me of the ocean. But when I looked ahead, I noticed a small light on the end of the narrow hallway, and my eyes fixed on it.

"You head back to the dorm, I'll catch up with you." I stated.

"You sure?" Ryujin asked with a quirked brow. "Can you manage?"

I nodded, "I'll be fine."

Ryujin nodded, heading back to the dorm.

I turned to face the glowing light again, making my way down the hallway. As I approached it, it grew even brighter, casting its bright light on my form. It had no door handle, or door at all. I gulped, as I gingerly stepped into the light, shutting my eyes from the blinding rays.

I gasped when I opened them, to be in a completely different place. It was a massive garden, with tons of flowers surrounding a fountain in the centre. My gaze trailed up the fountain, when I saw a statue on top.

Opal.

I smiled upon realizing it was the Garden of Opalâ, the various flowers and overly decorated appearance a dead giveaway. From the many places I visited, I noticed the Gems seemed to truly value decor, and flowers way too much.

I didn't seem to mind, as I followed along the stone pathway in front of me, hands grazing the coloured flowers, and tracing the vines and moss on the stone pillars which surrounded the fountain. I eventually circled the whole area, my hand touching all seven of them.

I jumped in fear when my attention slowly came back to reality, and I realized there was a figure sitting on the fountain ledge. Their foot was the only thing in sight, tapping on the ground rhythmically. I stepped toward them cautiously, and my throat dried when noticing their fluffy red hair.

[A/N]

Yeah, uhmm sorry for being so dead for like 8 days. Lmao.

I'm terrible when it comes to social interaction, I suppose that's why when I took the personality test it said 93% introverted 😂

When it comes to the music in the church, I inspired the language from Scottish Gaelic, so look up someone singing in that language and that's what it sounds like :D

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Blurple loves youuuuuuuu