"Another long night at the office, i really hope this project is over soon. Everyone is acting so weird and fidgety lately - its giving me the creeps." I thought. So on edge. A few months ago, the CEO had made an impromptu visit, called a closed door meeting, then disappeared soon after. Since that meeting, management has been slave-driving the staff, and inciting mandatory doubles. A few people have already quit, but management doesn't seem to notice. I've thought about leaving as well, but the pay is incredible, and working a hybrid job really is convenient. Not to mention, renting an apartment in Coastal Florida; I think I signed away my firstborn child for this place.. Probably shouldn't test fate. I sigh and glance up from my desk. The morning sun is peaking over the horizon, illuminating the gentle waves that lap the shoreline, and the first cries of the gulls carry with the breeze. I open the window, relishing the salty brine scent lingering in the air, mixed with the citrus of the orchards up the way. It's peaceful, quiet, and perfect. The clock reads 6:03- it really is time for sleep. I wonder what it is that has everyone so freaked out? We have a meeting tomorrow, maybe they will share what's going on. With one last glance outside, I turn away and begin saving the new project files, attempting to ascertain some form of sense and organization. Difficult, when you're only given pieces of a puzzle to work with, no clear goals, and an NDA disclosure tighter than.. well you know. I have to admit, I'm becoming quite enthralled. The strange conversations in hushed tones, the odd team composition, and the simulator. Why the simulator? The work that they have me doing seems normal enough; I was tasked with designing a communications system between a video game and a digital twin simulator. For what purpose though? What type of game has real, integrated simulation data, and what does it do? These questions whiz through my brain on repeat, attempting to find some logical explanation for the madness, unfortunately no luck.
"Tomorrow I'm going to find out, whether they want to admit it or not." I think out loud. "I need to know the purpose if they want the best results possible."
"Those who seek to pierce the veil of truth must first walk the trail of discovery. Only then shall the veil reveal itself. Beware the journey hence, for the forces at play hide their malicious intent, and the greed shall threaten to consume many." I jolted to my senses as that thought seemed to manifest itself into my head. What was that? Suddenly I become painfully aware that I am not in my bed. At first I struggled to catch up with that realization, then suddenly I was screaming in terror as I desperately searched for something to grab onto. I was free-falling! In space? Frantically I flounder about to no avail, until after a few moments I realized that I was fine. No struggles to breathe, no cold.
"So this is a dream, or I somehow managed to astral project myself into space. How horrifying." I collect myself and ridiculously pat myself down, checking for injury. "Deep breaths, all good. This place is too real though, could this really just be a terrifying dream?" I ponder. Have I been thinking about space lately? I don't think so, but maybe. Perhaps I was working on a related project but regardless, I have other things to concern myself with at the moment. I seem to have the ability to move around, so I decide to begin walking in a random direction. There doesn't seem to be anything here besides distant stars, which is definitely a little disconcerting. With nothing around me, I quickly lose track of time, all the while considering the possibilities of what this place is, and whether I am dreaming this or not. On one side, something this vivid and seemingly tangible defies the logic of dreaming. I've never felt something like this. On the other hand, well how could this place actually exist? So many questions, but no way to test anything. How ridiculous.
Some time later, I notice that the path that I am waking begins to slope downward, and the distant light that I had assumed to be a star began to define itself into a massive gateway that looked to be made from a star. The gate seemed alive, writhing with internal intensity, a mini star shaped by intent. I am absolutely stunned at what I am looking at, even if it is just my imagination. As I approach the gate, I am forced to avert my gaze for fear of blindness. The air around the gate seemed cooler, and I reached out to touch it when a slender hand shot out from the side and stopped me, gripping my wrist painfully. I cry out in a mixture of surprise and pain, whirling to face my attacker.
"I would not suggest touching him." A soft yet firm voice, seemingly in my head. Telepathy? This can't be real. Suddenly, the vice-like grip disappears, replaced by a gentle push on the back.
"This way."
I am pushed through the gateway, and I gasp in awe as an entire world seemed to spread out before me, layered geometries, colors I had never seen before, and a strange warping effect that seemed to allow solid objects to twist themselves into new shapes. I am speechless and stunned. The grass seemed alive, shifting its shape as if blown by wind, and the trees, I think, were nothing like I had ever seen before. They were massive, towering like mountains over the crystalline blue lake. The bark moved, linking and un-linking in an impenetrable armor. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the bark wasn't even wood, but some type of dark stone or hardened mineral. They remind me of a living stalactite. My attention turned to the blue lake, and I finally asked my strange captor a question.
"What is this place, and is it real?" A snort, then a few soft chuckles.
"This answer you must discover for yourself, as I am unable to answer in a way that you will understand. I can tell you this however; to find the answers, you must first find the veil- and how to pierce it. Only then will you begin to understand the truth."
My captor grew silent after that, and continued to guide me from behind. The more I saw the more my stomach dropped. Could this place actually exist? It definitely felt real, at least in the sense that things made sense.. a little bit. There was a sun in the sky, I could feel the temperature cool when we walked through the shade. The ground beneath me was solid, but I could see the imprints my boots left behind. I saw a weird fish flash past in the lake, and I almost asked what it was called, when I realized I didn't know my captors name either.
"May I ask your name?" I asked, and I felt a slight pause in her stride before she finally responded.
"Cera." It was short, quick, and very quiet. I almost didn't catch it.
"A pleasure to meet you Cera." I say. "My name is Aristo, but you can call me Aro if you want." I smiled, and stopped. Cera also stopped, but I felt her stiffen behind me.
"Keep moving!" She hissed. "We don't have time for this right now. We need to make it to the citadel. Hurry!" Another push in my back, and we were off again.
The path that we were following led up the side of a rolling hill, which was much steeper than it had seemed from a distance. It had been at least 2 hours of walking by my estimate, and we had done so in complete silence. At one point I had demanded privacy so that I could find a spot to relieve myself, and after a bit of arguing, she had obliged. I had found a spot not far off the path, surrounded by berry bushes that smelled delightful. Blackberries I thought. They smelled so good that I almost picked a few, but decided against it for fear of poison. Finishing up, I stole a glance through the berry bush to try to see what my captor looked like. To my surprise I didn't see her. Instead, fear spiked through me. My blood turned cold and I nearly passed out as a wave of panic bashed me to my knees. I look around wildly, too terrified to utter a sound. Where I had left Cera was some sort of monstrosity. It was humanoid, but much taller and built like a tree. It had a long, whip-like tail with a bobble on the end like a rattle snake. The spine had three rows of quills protruding at least 6 inches, and to top it off, it had wings. Leathery, thin, and connected from shoulder, to wrist, to hip. The wings folded neatly under the arms while walking, and had thin bones as support. The worst part was the eyes. The irises were a milky gray, encased in a clear crystal like diamond. They protruded from their skulls, giving them at least 180 degree vision, and didn't have eyelids.
This thing seemed to be searching for something, and I had a terrible intuition that it was us. This must have been why Cera told me we needed to hurry. To avoid that.
Out of nowhere a hand clamped over my mouth and a hood over my head. I tried to fight, but it was no use. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, everything went black.