Year 217 After the Era of Ruin

  19th Day of the Month of Ashes,

  The world collapsed in an instant.

  Kael’s body reacted before his mind could even comprehend what he was seeing. His primal instincts screamed danger, and without thinking, he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding an attack that should have cut him down.

  The creature moved.

  Its body had no defined shape. Sometimes humanoid, sometimes an amorphous mass of shifting shadows.

  But its intent was clear.

  It wanted to kill.

  — “Run!” he shouted.

  Darius was the first to react. He grabbed Lysara’s arm and pulled her at full speed toward the corridor they had come from. Kael, however, hesitated a fraction too long, his gaze locked onto those white, empty eyes.

  Then it attacked.

  An arm—or something resembling one—shot toward him. Kael dove to the ground, feeling a supernatural cold graze his back. Pain exploded through his muscles as he crashed onto the metal floor, but he ignored it and sprang to his feet.

  The thing followed. Silently.

  It made no sound as it moved, as if it wasn’t truly touching the ground.

  Kael sprinted through the corridor, his heart pounding violently. This wasn’t a fight he could win.

  But the real question was… could they escape?

  The corridor stretched endlessly, but there were too many forks. Too many broken doors leading to ruined complexes. One wrong turn, and they would be lost in this nightmare.

  The metal walls were covered in indecipherable engravings, symbols eroded by time. Some doors bore deep claw marks, as if something had tried to escape from within. Even the air itself felt heavy, thick with an invisible presence.

  Darius cursed under his breath.

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  — “What the hell is that thing?!”

  — “Not the time to think! Just run!”

  Lysara glanced back for a fraction of a second… and her face froze.

  — “It’s catching up…”

  Kael forced himself not to look. He didn’t want to see what was hunting them in the darkness.

  But the sound…

  That sliding sound.

  Like the thing was floating inches above the ground.

  A cold shiver ran down his spine.

  Then, they saw it.

  A way out?

  At the end of the corridor, a massive metal door stood before them. Unlike the others, this one seemed intact.

  Kael pushed himself harder.

  Darius and Lysara were already there, desperately trying to pull or push it open… but nothing.

  — “Damn it, it’s stuck!” Darius shouted.

  Kael reached them at full speed and, without thinking, slammed his weight against it. Nothing.

  The creature was closing in.

  Kael could feel it behind him.

  — “Move aside!” he ordered.

  He drew his sword and wedged it into the gap between the doors. A shrill creak echoed as he forced with all his strength.

  A shift. Almost imperceptible.

  Then, the door gave way.

  Darius and Lysara rushed inside. Kael turned back one last time…

  And he saw it.

  Right there.

  Just a few steps away.

  Its white eyes locked onto him.

  Its face was blurred. Impossible to describe. As if reality itself refused to imprint its image onto Kael’s mind.

  A whisper echoed in his head.

  Not a human word.

  Something ancient. Archaic.

  Then, Kael stepped through the door.

  And everything vanished.

  They fell.

  Literally.

  The floor collapsed beneath their feet, and the world spun into chaos.

  Kael barely had time to process what was happening before gravity dragged him into the unknown.

  The wind howled in his ears.

  Then, impact.

  His back slammed against something hard. His breath was knocked out of him. His body rolled down a rocky slope, crashing through debris and rubble.

  Finally… he stopped.

  Silence.

  Kael opened his eyes.

  A black sky stretched above him. A sky without stars.

  All around him, collapsed structures.

  The ground was no longer metal but a smooth, black stone, icy to the touch. It felt unnatural. Something about its texture was… artificial.

  Then, in the distance…

  A city.

  A massive, abandoned city.

  But it wasn’t like any city he had ever seen.

  It was too perfect. Too symmetrical.

  Towering buildings with no windows. No signs of life.

  Roads drawn in precise, flawless lines… but devoid of soul.

  Kael felt his chest tighten.

  Where had they fallen?

  Behind him, Lysara and Darius were groggily getting to their feet.

  Then… a voice.

  A metallic voice, resonating through the ruins.

  — “Access detected. Reactivation protocol initiated.”

  Kael froze.

  Beneath his feet, the ground trembled.

  Then, lights flickered on throughout the dead city.