The door creaked open slowly, as if waking from a long sleep. A soft red light spilled out from the other side, glowing like the embers of a dying fire. The air felt warmer now, but not in a comforting way. It was the kind of warmth that made your skin itch and your heart beat a little too fast.
Cassian stepped beside Elara.
"You sure?" he asked, his voice low.
"No," Elara said. "But I'm going anyway."
Together, they stepped through the doorway.
What they saw made both of them stop.
It wasn't a hallway.It wasn't a room.
It was a cave.
The ceiling stretched high above them, covered in glowing symbols. Spirals, eyes, claws, and strange words in old languages. The floor was stone, cracked, and uneven. Bones were scattered in some corners- small ones, animal maybe, but it was hard to tell.
A slow wind moved through the space.There were no windows. No doors. But the air still moved.Like the cave was breathing.
At the center of the space stood something strange — a stone pillar, smooth and black like polished coal. On top of it sat a small object wrapped in cloth.
Elara walked toward it.
Cassian didn't move. "Wait. Don't touch it."
She turned to him. "You think I shouldn't?"
"I think the last time you touched something from this book," he said, "you ended up marked."
She looked down at her wrist. The spiral was faintly glowing again.
Still… she stepped closer.
The cloth was soft. Almost too soft. Like skin.
She gently pulled it aside.
Underneath was… a ring.
Black. Thin. Cold even in her warm hand.
Inside the band, words were carved in tiny letters:
"One voice opens. Two voices wake."
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
Cassian stared at it. "I don't know. But I don't like it."
Suddenly, whispers filled the cave.
Not from the ring.Not from the book.From the walls.
They didn't make sense. Half words. Half cries.
And somewhere in the noise, a soft song hummed again:
"Rings of red… shadows speak…"
Elara turned to run, but the floor cracked beneath her.
She screamed as she fell- not down, but through.
She landed hard on cold stone. Somewhere else.
Her flashlight was gone. Her breath came out fast and hot.
"Elara!" Cassian's voice echoed from above- far, far above.
"I'm okay!" she yelled back. "I think!"
She stood up slowly, her knees shaking.
This room was smaller. Round. The walls were smooth, not stone — but glass. And behind that glass… something moved.
Shapes.
Not people. Not fully.
Twisted shadows with long arms and glowing marks. Their faces were hidden, but their hands reached toward her- as if the glass was the only thing stopping them.
Elara backed away.
Then she saw the writing on the floor.
Carved into the stone, glowing faint red:
"You have opened the first gate.""The next will not be as kind."
Above her, Cassian called out again. "Hold on! I'm coming down!"
But Elara was already staring at the glass.One of the shadows had pressed its hand flat against the surface, right across from her.
On its palm, burned into the skin, was the same spiral she wore.
And underneath it…
Her name.