The descent felt endless.
Each step they took led them deeper into a silence that no longer felt empty—but watchful. The walls of the corridor changed the farther they traveled. Gone were the ancient bricks and weathered stone. In their place came polished obsidian, veined with glowing crimson runes that pulsed like veins under skin.
Lucien led the way, torch in hand, the flame casting flickering shadows across his face. The weight of what they had left behind—the memory of Eira, trapped within the seal—pressed on all of them like an invisible shroud.
Ravien broke the silence. "Why hasn't this place been discovered before?"
Valtherion, walking at the rear, answered without looking. "Because it was never meant to be found. The city was built over it to hide it. The Hollow Heart was only the lid of the coffin."
Lyselle's gaze scanned the runes. "These symbols… they aren't just magical script. They're warnings."
"Yes," Valtherion said. "The Origin Gate was where the gods first experimented with the threads of fate and memory. What lies beyond is not merely dangerous—it is forbidden."
Lucien didn't slow. "If it gives us a way to save her, then it's worth every risk."
They came to a wide chamber, its walls marked with massive murals depicting scenes no historian had ever recorded—celestial beings tearing through veils of reality, shaping the bones of worlds, birthing constructs that bore eerie resemblance to Eira.
Lyselle's breath hitched. "These… they look like her. Or versions of her."
"She was not the first," Valtherion said quietly. "But she may be the last."
The floor began to tremble.
A circular platform rose from the center of the room, covered in glyphs that responded to their presence. As Lucien stepped forward, the central glyph pulsed with brilliant light and a massive gateway rose from the ground—two curved obsidian pillars forming an arch, suspended by chains of starlight. At its center was a liquid-like veil of silver and black, swirling like a storm frozen in time.
"The Origin Gate," Valtherion said, reverent for once. "It connects to the plane of Unwoven Threads—the birthplace of fate."
Lucien approached, eyes narrowing. "Can we use it to rewrite the seal?"
Valtherion nodded. "Perhaps. But the cost… entering the gate is not like traveling through a door. It changes you. Time doesn't flow there. Memory becomes malleable. If you are not careful, you will forget who you are."
Lyselle looked to Lucien. "You've already risked everything—"
"She's worth more than everything," he said, voice unwavering.
The gate began to hum.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the veil—half-formed, flickering. It was her.
Eira.
Or a version of her.
Her body shimmered like a mirage, her eyes glowing silver. She reached out but didn't seem to see them. "Lucien… I remember."
Lucien froze. "Eira? Is that really you?"
Her gaze swept the room without recognition. "The threads… the lives I've lived… it's all unraveling. I'm not strong enough to hold them."
Lyselle whispered, "She's caught between timelines."
Valtherion stepped forward. "If she merges fully with the plane, she'll be lost forever."
"No," Lucien said. "I'll anchor her."
Without waiting, he stepped onto the platform. The glyphs responded instantly, wrapping his form in light.
"Lucien, wait!" Ravien shouted, but it was too late.
The gate pulled him through.
The veil swallowed him in silence.
Within the Origin Gate
He landed on nothing.
There was no floor, no sky, no horizon—just drifting memories. Fractured moments from lives he hadn't lived and some that weren't his.
And at the center of it all… Eira.
She stood alone in a storm of threads, her eyes closed, her body flickering between forms—child, warrior, queen, flame.
Lucien stepped toward her, but each step stretched like a thousand.
"I'm coming," he whispered, though he didn't know if sound worked here.
She opened her eyes.
Her voice echoed directly into his mind. "Why did you follow me?"
"Because I made you a promise."
"I'm not who I was anymore. I'm unraveling. Becoming part of this place."
"I don't care what you've become. I love you."
That stopped her.
A pause—a ripple in the void.
Then her voice, softer. "You remember?"
He reached for her, and though time resisted, his hand found hers. "Always."
A tether formed between them—golden light against the sea of silver.
The threads around them shrieked, rejecting the connection, but Lucien held on. "Come back with me."
"I can't. If I leave, the seal—"
"We'll find another way. I swear to you. Just hold on."
Her form flickered violently.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as the threads tried to separate them. "Fight it, Eira. Stay with me."
She buried her face in his chest. "I'm scared…"
"So am I," he whispered. "But we'll be scared together."
The golden tether tightened—and then snapped.
But not in failure.
In victory.
Back in the chamber
The gate exploded in light, forcing everyone back. Valtherion shielded his eyes as Ravien drew his weapon on instinct.
Then, silence again.
From the smoke and energy, two figures emerged—one dragging the other.
Lucien stumbled through, holding Eira in his arms.
Her body was real. Solid. Her eyes fluttered open.
Lucien collapsed to his knees, laughing and crying at once.
"She's back," he whispered.
Valtherion stared, then looked away. "You fools may have just changed everything."
Lyselle knelt beside them. "Welcome back, Eira."
Eira's voice was hoarse but steady. "I remember… too much."
Lucien held her closer. "You're safe now."
But deep within the Origin Gate—though closed—something watched.
And it had remembered Lucien's defiance.