610 Place

He was breathing fast, his eyes wide, and it was apparent that he had rushed over at a dead run. His gaze was alert and filled with worry as he flashed his gaze around, taking in the situation.

"Where's the queen?" he asked in urgent tone. "What happened?!"

"She's… we don't know. But she has already confined herself inside the cavern for four days now." One of the witches answered hesitantly and before they could even ask him where was Lilith, the man had already disappeared.

The witches were speechless. They had felt a dangerous air coming from the man ever since the first time that they have met him. When they were first brought to meet Zeres in the forest and he was introduced to them, the witches all have one thought in their heads, Zeres was not as scary as they thought. They knew he was an immortal, like the dreaded half-vampire immortal, Alexander. The witches were scared at first because they thought he might be someone evil who would enslave the witches like what Alexander did to the vampires, a long time ago.

However, when they met him, they were surprised because the man seemed to have a heart and intentions that were as pure as snow. He was kind and the air around him never scared them. His pure white garments and his silver hair and eyes were as clear as his soul – this was what they all thought on the first impression. So his appearance that moment stunned everyone.

He was no longer clad in his pure white robes. He was dressed in black garments and he had his long silver hair tied behind him. That was the very first time they saw him wearing clothes that wasn't white. They didn't know if it was because of his clothes but at that moment, they all felt something different in him.

…

Zeres didn't waste another moment and dashed in to enter the cavern. His body was tensed as he entered the magical and ancient cavern. When the entrance closed behind him, he halted. The cavern still remained the same – even after all the thousands of years that has passed.

Some memories came rushing back to him and his expression turned a few shades darker. He shook his head – hoping that with the actions, he would be able to shake off that old recollections that came back to haunt him – and took a deep breath. There were no sounds inside the cavern, the silence was almost deafening.

He began to worry as he silently made his way further into the inside of the cavern. His expression was wretched because he could remember himself doing this exact same thing in the past. As he walked deeper into the depths, he felt like there was a doubled image of himself going through the same motions as he did in the past.

She looked like the moon goddess herself, slowly diffusing her glow about her. Zeres just stood there, staring at her for a long while, looking as though he was fighting something overpowering deep within himself. He had closed his eyes as well, and after a seemingly eternal moment, he opened his eyes and the turmoil in them were gone, as if they were never there in the first place. His lean frame relaxed.

"Alicia." he called out and as though she was awakened from a dream, Alicia's body jolted, and her eyelids fluttered open.

She blinked for a while, trying to dispel the haze from her mind, and when she realized that a man was standing before her, her eyes widened. Abruptly, she stood. Her gaze narrowing at the sight of Zeres.

"Zeres. What are you doing here?!" she glanced behind him as if to see if he had company. Alicia didn't know that Zeres could enter the cavern. She had thought he might have the capabilities but since he's not a queen, she thought he never knew about the chant that could open the secret place.

"A girl came to fetch me. The witches are worried about you." he ignored her question and approached her.

"Stop right there." Alicia's tone was an order. "Don't come closer, Zeres."

But Zeres didn't listen to her, causing Alicia to narrow her eyes at him. He stopped just a couple of steps short of being directly in her face. His eyes fell on her hair. Her pure silver hair was now highlighted with shades of greyish color.

When Zeres lifted his hand to touch them, Alicia slapped his hand away. "Why are you here? You were so eager to leave, why did you come back?"

Zeres looked away. "You're in danger, Alicia." He said in an almost inaudible voice.

There was a long stretch of silence before Alicia could respond. "You know what's happening to me."

"Yes."

"Then… can you tell me what's going on? Is my reign over because you're here?"

Zeres turned his back from her and ran his fingers through his hair. "Your reign won't end here, Alicia. You know that queens' reigns will last as long as their lifetimes." He said.

"Then why am I losing my powers this early? Could it be that you were so hellbent on leaving because you already knew that this would happen? Is your presence really the reason why? There shouldn't be two silver haired witches living at the same time. Could it be that…"

Zeres almost flinched but thankfully, he managed not to show any reaction. "No. That's not it, Alicia." He turned and faced her. "You are right; my existence here would bring about the weakening of your powers, but it's not the same as the weakening previous dying queens had undergone. You're not dying, you're simply losing power. And there is a way you can regain it all back."

Alicia's gaze on Zeres was odd and Zeres knew she was doubting his words.

"I knew this would happen and that's why I insisted on leaving to go on a journey and find that place that could bring your power back." He continued anyway.

"Place?"

"Yes. There are caverns all around this world that are similar as this place. You stayed here because you thought this place could replenish your power, right? Normally, this place is the haven of queens because this place empowers you. But since my arrival, I have drained all the powers from this place that were meant to be yours. It was never my intention to take it from you, but somehow it all just got transferred to me, even when I am not doing anything."

"So you're saying you're going to look for crystal caverns that could bring back my lost powers?"

"Yes."

Alicia pressed her temples as she smiled in disbelief and confusion.

"I know it doesn't make sense to you right now. But you'll believe me once we get there and you'll get your powers back."