The path beyond the threshold led him to a place unlike any other known plane.
There were no towers, no rooms, no paths. Only eyes.
Thousands. Everywhere.
On the rocks, in the black sky, even beneath his feet. They did not move. They did not flash. They watched. Silently. Waiting.
> [Unmapped Area: Deep Archive - Rare Fragments Sector]
[Warning: Sensory Interference Active]
Eidan advanced. His footsteps seemed to have no echo. The ground changed shape every time he looked away: one moment it was smooth stone, then pulsating flesh, then glass.
In the midst of that nothingness, he saw the only real object: an ivory pedestal. Above it, a small, dark sphere, crisscrossed by pulsating red veins.
> [Rare Fragment Discovered: "Eye of Syrahn – The Word of the Deep"]
[Requires direct contact for absorption]
Eidan hesitated.
He felt something. As if he were being watched from within.
"Who are you?" he murmured.
The voices responded.
Not one. Not a hundred. Thousands.
> "WE. SEE. EVERYTHING."
> "WE WANT TO FORGET."
> "BUT WE CANNOT."
Eidan held out his hand.
As soon as he touched the fragment, reality shattered.
---
🌌 Vision: The Parasite of Truth
He was blind.
But he saw.
Eidan was Syrahn. An impossible creature, half oracle, half error. He saw beyond flesh, beyond time. Every lie burned within him. Every unspoken truth screamed in his ears.
He was alone, forced to live among those who lied with every breath.
Children lied to play. Fathers lied to protect. Priests lied… to control.
And Syrahn? She saw everything. Everything.
Until the day she tore out her eyes, hoping for silence. But her sight remained.
The only thing she couldn't see… was her own demise.
---
⛓️ Return to Reality
Eidan collapsed to the ground, trembling.
Blood dripped from his eyes.
> [Successfully Absorbed Fragment]
[Ability Obtained: "Glance of Naked Truth"]
> Effect: Reveals the true nature of anyone she observes for more than 5 seconds. Invalidates deceptions, illusions, lies… but also reveals what should not be known.
> Consequences: Any use can cause hallucinations, dissociative seizures, or a temporary disconnection from reality.
---
🧠 Inner Conflict
Eidan stood up.
But something… had changed.
He looked at his hand. And for a moment, it no longer felt like his. There was something beneath the skin. A shadow. A whisper.
Then he looked up and saw a face reflected in the black wall.
His own.
But… he was smiling.
"It's not possible…"
> "Anything is possible when you see too much."
"He's still talking…" he murmured.
> "Not me. You."
He clutched his head. He breathed deeply.
He had to leave.
He had to go back to the Tower.
A new door opened before him, made of liquid glass.
> [Level Unlocked: Floor 2 – The Garden of Inverted Faces]
Eidan stared at him for a long moment. Then he crossed the threshold.
With the Eye of Syrahn in his blood.
And something foreign in his mind.