Some say life is short, so live it to the fullest. But, does anyone really know how long life truly ever is? With war, sickness, murder, can one actually measure the length a person lives in a single lifespan? How about that of a civilization that could easily be lost due to similar reasoning? If a civilization was so advanced, why would it crumble at the feet of its creators? 

These were all valuable questions asked, but for which there were no answers. 

Dust and rubble trickled from up above, the already cracked ceiling of the ivory colored room strained under the weight of dirt and stone that rested atop it. The walls were sturdy, floor still looking as if the tiles had only been placed yesterday, even the mirrors that lined the walls of the overly illuminated room were in pretty decent condition. One or two of the mirrors may have had some hairline cracks within the reflective sheen of their glass, but it didn't hinder one's ability to see the image that stared back at them. 

Lowering his gaze from the crying ceiling, Nakiea let his mossy green eyes fall upon the mirror in front of him. He wasn't entirely certain how he had found the hidden underground room, but he did know it had called to him at some point, leading him to its location. Even if it wasn't the room itself, something had called to him, something or someone reaching out and pleading for something he could not figure out. From the first day he stepped into the ivory room, it had been void of any inhabitants aside from himself and the mirrors, but it still felt as if someone else was there with him. 

To Nakiea, the mirrors were all there was and had ever been, nothing more.

Until now.

As Nakiea stared into the mirror ahead of him as he did whenever he found his way down there, it was only now occurring to the dark haired brunette that something was moving within it. The image was distorted by the light refracting upon its surface and his own reflection that stared back at him, but he was absolutely certain something was there. Nakiea had to continuously tilt his head side to side, occasionally squinting his eyes and moving from where he was tanding to see even a little more of the darkened image. 

Taking a step closer, Nakiea could see a world of pure darkness stretching out before his eyes. A world that looked the complete opposite, yet the same as his own. A strange wind was blowing within the image, the movement of the barren trees being the only thing to tell him of the telltale wind. Buildings sat in ruin, shadowed only by the debris resting around the base of what remained. The very scene practically taking the young man's breath away, never having seen or heard of such a violent and dark world existing on any plane of existence. 

Though, his own world was far from perfect and falling apart, it was nothing compared to the darkness he was witnessing within the mirror. 

Nakiea's heart raced within his chest, his left hand reaching out on its own accord towards the glass of the mirror. His fingers stopping just a single breath away as shadows moved across the pane. He wanted to help the world he saw within, but to him, traveling to the unknown city in the mirror was impossible and may just be nothing more than a figment of his imagination. 

The young man glanced over his shoulder, searching for the people who had created the shadows in front of him. However, his mossy green orbs never found a single person lurking behind him, leaving Nakiea to remain alone in his quizzical musings. If no one was there, that had to have meant the shadows were coming from the mirror itself, from somewhere within. 

Like a curious cat, Nakiea turned back to the mirror he had been standing in front of for a time he'd lost track of and closed the gap resting between his fingers and the glass pane. 

As if zapped by a static charge, Nakiea pulled his hand back and cradled it close to his chest with the other. It wasn't so much that it hurt than it did surprising him. He hadn't expected such a reaction from a simple pane of glass. He didn't believe there was even an electrical charge within the hidden ruins either, which made the whole thing even more strange. 

After examining his fingers, making sure that he didn't actually hurt himself in any way after the shock, Nakiea turned his attention back to the mirror. However, a strange phenomenon was occurring right before his eyes, one even more strange than a simple zap to his fingertips. 

There before his eyes, what used to be a solid pane of glass, now looked like the rippling waters of a lake captured within its frame. The very sight had stopped any movement he would have made, but it never distilled the very curiosity that raced through his soul. The mirror intrigued him more now than it ever had since he first stumbled upon the enchanting room. In fact, he wanted to know more about it, but had no idea who or what to even ask in order to gain any answers. 

Like a moth attracted to a flame, Nakiea once more reached his hand out and trailed his fingers across the rippling glass. Again, like it had before, the pane left a tingling electrical sensation upon the tips of his fingers while the glass looked like someone had disturbed a small body of water. The entire prospect of all that was happening mezmerised Nakiea. It entranced him, making him want far more than the transmorphing glass that currently made up the mirror in front of him. 

Taking a step forward, Nakiea pressed his entire hand into the distorted image, the tingle becoming more of an electric shock dancing across his skin the more he pushed. 

Slowly inhaling, the tingle turned icy cold within seconds as he stepped through the rippling pane. His body easily becoming enveloped by the unknown substance making up the glass. It was like a winter rain washing over his body, fluidly moving him through the unknown reaches of a void in space and sending him to wherever he was to go. However, Nakiea hadn't anticipated what would be on the other side. 

And, that first step was a doozy. 

Nakiea slowly emerged on the other of the mirror like child being cut from its mother's womb. His eyes found the darkened world that had once been distorted from the other side of the pane, which he had witnessed in the ivory ruins. The warmth within the air covered his chilled skin while his feet fought to find some form of solid ground beneath them. Only, there was no solid ground to be found and his mind failed to comprehend that two seconds too late. 

Tumbling forward the moment his footing decided to catch hold of the air, Nakiea crashed to the ground in a rather unceremonious heep. His body slammed down hard with a thud he was more than certain could be heard by anyone around and further. A pained groan escaped from deep within him as he attempted to move his body and reorient himself enough to make out where he had landed and if there was somewhere he could go for safety. However, he was finding it rather difficult to do so since he landed hard on some foreign object upon the ground. An object that seemed to be attempting to move as well and trying to wiggle from from underneath him. 

Nakiea's eyes quickly shot open when the sound of coughing and the fight to gain a single breath quickly reached his ears. His heart rate quickened and a gasp escaped from his lips faster than the wind could blow, all the while, his body froze in place and halted all movement. In a moment of panic and fear, his body remained splayed out across whatever he had fallen on. His mind figuring that, if he remained still and on top of whoever was beneath him, they wouldn't move and he would remain safe until help arrived. . . if help arrived. 

"Hey. . . Will you get off of me. . . I can't. . . breath." 

Choking back another gasp, Nakiea's head turned in the direction the voice had come from.  His mossy green eyes locking with pained and irritated midnight black ones, wide from the sudden shock overtaking him. 

He had fallen on someone, not something.