The Gathering of the Veil

The world around Elias twisted like ink dissolving in water. His consciousness stretched and recoiled, as if slipping through unseen cracks in reality. When his vision cleared, he found himself no longer in the dimly lit chamber beneath the city.

Instead, he stood in a vast, formless expanse where the sky was an ocean of swirling darkness, pierced by flickering, colorless stars. The ground beneath him was not stone, nor earth—it was something in between, shifting under his weight yet holding firm.

Ahead, looming in the nothingness, was a structure unlike anything he had ever seen. It was an altar of obsidian and brass, carved with symbols that twisted when he tried to focus on them. Suspended above it, held by unseen chains, was a single, massive lantern. Its light flickered erratically, casting distorted shadows across the void.

A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"You have stepped beyond the veil."

Elias turned sharply, his senses on edge. Figures were appearing at the edges of the altar's glow, their outlines wavering like mirages. Hooded, faceless, unknown. Yet, he could feel them. Their presence seeped into his skin like whispers from forgotten dreams.

A chair materialized behind him, sculpted from a strange, dark metal. It bore engravings he could not decipher, yet something deep within him recognized their significance. An invitation.

He hesitated, then slowly took his seat.

The hooded figures did the same. One among them, seated at the far end of the altar, leaned forward. Unlike the others, a silver insignia shimmered on their cloak—a symbol Elias did not yet understand.

"You seek understanding," the figure said, their voice both distant and near. "You seek the path forward."

Elias exhaled slowly. "And if I do?"

A soft chuckle. "Then you have already begun your descent."

The lantern above flickered violently. Elias felt something shift in the space between them, a force pressing upon his thoughts. The air itself seemed to hum with unseen energy.

Another voice spoke, from another corner of the gathering. "A fragment of knowledge must be earned. We do not give freely."

A cold shiver ran down Elias's spine. He had expected no less.

The silver-marked figure gestured, and a scroll appeared before him, hovering just above the altar's surface.

"Your first offering."

Elias reached out. The moment his fingers brushed the parchment, a sensation like plunging into freezing water overtook him. Visions flashed before his eyes—images he could barely comprehend.

A city drowning in shadows. A key turning in an unseen lock. A hand stretching toward an eclipsed sun.

Then, he was back. The altar, the figures, the lantern—all exactly as they had been.

Elias tightened his grip on the scroll.

"Where does this lead?" he asked.

The silver-marked figure's smile was unseen, but somehow, Elias could feel it.

"That is for you to discover."

To Be Continued…