The night was darker than usual. Thick clouds choked the moonlight, and the air was filled with something strange… something like heavy silence, as if the world itself had stopped breathing.
Adam sat near the window of the room Zera had given him in her temporary home amid the ruins of **Old Nimora**. He hadn't slept in three nights, and the strange mark on his shoulder—left by the last creature—still glowed at times, especially when he drew near to the truth… or danger.
Zera, now closer to him than anyone else, entered the room quietly. He felt her presence before she spoke, as if an invisible thread bound their souls. She wore a light gray robe, her silver hair dancing with the breeze, and her gaze held something of warmth… and worry.
She whispered,
"Adam… have you noticed? Everyone who entered this world… never came out the same."
He looked at her without answering. He simply pointed to his shoulder, where the tattoo began to throb like a tiny heart.
"It won't disappear…" he said slowly.
"Sometimes, it whispers to me. Like a voice deep inside, telling me things I still don't understand."
Zera moved closer and sat beside him. She placed her hand over the mark, touching it lightly with her fingertips. But instead of cooling, it grew warmer suddenly, and for a brief moment, a black aura of light surrounded them. Just a second… but it was enough.
Adam saw a flash of a vision:
A woman who resembled his grandmother—but wasn't her—wearing a mask.
A glass door suspended in the void, behind it a version of himself… smiling a strange smile.
And a voice… a voice that said:
**"You may choose… to be the grandson, or to know the truth."**
He awoke breathing heavily, and found Zera staring at him in fear.
She said,
"What you saw… I saw it too. I… I don't know who you are anymore, Adam."
He smiled sadly, and said,
"Neither do I."
---
That night, Zera opened a wooden box she had hidden from everyone. It looked ancient, etched with symbols similar to those on Adam's body. Inside, there was an old photograph of a woman who resembled his grandmother—but with a strange seal on her neck.
Zera said,
"I found this photo in an underground tomb years ago. I was told she was the Guardian of the First Gate… a link to the parallel world that created this nightmare. Her name was *Mimara*."
"Mimara…" Adam repeated the name slowly.
"And they say…" Zera continued as she came closer,
"Those who carry her blood… can either destroy this world or rebuild it."
A thick silence fell between them. Then Zera whispered:
"What if your grandmother didn't just raise you… but created you?"
Adam fell silent for a long moment. His heart pounded like the drums of an ancient war.
---
Outside, in one of the foggy alleys, a figure was watching them. A tall, faceless man wearing an old hat and holding a pocket watch… the same watch the grandmother had given Adam on his first night in Nimora.
He opened it and said:
> "The time is near, grandson of Mimara… or perhaps, heir of truth."
---
**And for the curious reader who made it this far, a moment of reflection:**
Is what we're living real?
Is Adam truly the grandson… or the son of Nimora?
And is Zera hiding more than she reveals?
**Before you go further, prove you're not one of the shadows…**
🔍 Copy this link: https://unlockcontent.net/cp/i/q8320?preview=1#
📥 Paste it in your browser
✅ Prove you're human, not shadow\...
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**Quote of this Chapter:**
*"Truth is not revealed… it chooses to be seen."*
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