Beneath a starless sky, Adam sat on the edge of a forgotten stone tower at the outskirts of **Nimora**, with **Zera** sleeping beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. A cold breeze whispered words in a tongue he couldn't place, and the floating city lights flickered away, as if being swallowed by the shadows of an ancient world.
It had been a few days since they escaped the Mirror Crypt—but time in Nimora was not a straight line. Sometimes it resembled a loop. Other times… a labyrinth.
Adam's mind returned to the last thing he read in his grandmother's notebook:
> *"If you reach the point where the sky begins to bleed, know that you're closer to the answer… but further than ever from survival."*
A soft voice interrupted his thoughts:
— "Thinking about your grandmother?"
— "Yes… and about us."
Zera looked up at him, her eyes quietly glowing:
— "Why us?"
He paused. Then whispered:
— "Because I can't separate being here from being with you."
She let out a light laugh—not mockery, but something closer to longing. Then she leaned in and asked:
— "Will you stay, even if you discover the truth?"
He didn't answer. But he held her hand tightly, as if the answer lived in the touch itself.
---
The next day, they reached a place called the **Veins of Sleep**—a chain of caves that pulsed at night like a living being. **Labobo**, skipping between the rocks, said:
— "This is where it all began… and where something else will end."
At the entrance to the first cave, they found an ancient drawing etched into the wall—a face that resembled Adam, but with one eye and a mouth sewn shut with metal threads. On the opposite wall, a line was carved:
> *"The key is in the sound, not the form."*
Adam tried to speak, to make a sound—but as he did, the ground beneath him trembled, and the cave began to collapse from the back forward.
Zera screamed:
— "Run! Don't stop!"
But Adam didn't run. He stood still, closed his eyes, and spoke words he had never heard before—yet they rose from within him like a forgotten instinct:
— **"Tira El Nova!"**
The cave wall burst open—as if his voice had torn through the veil between two realms.
---
They stepped through the opening—and found a startling sight waiting for them:
A floating holographic image… of Adam's **grandmother**.
But it wasn't the woman he remembered.
She wore a metallic suit of armor, seated on a circular throne, surrounded by orbiting moons.
The image spoke:
— "Welcome, Adam. If you've come this far, it means you've chosen to know everything. But knowledge always comes with a price."
Zera gripped his arm and whispered:
— "Something's approaching… something very old."
Suddenly, a coarse, rusty laugh echoed behind them.
It was the **figure from Adam's dreams**, now emerging from the shadows—eyeless, his voice sharp as shattering glass:
— "At last, you've inherited the family's secrets…
But do you deserve them?"
He raised his hand—and the shadows began to gather.
Adam and Zera stood side by side.
This time, he wasn't afraid.
His hand was glowing with **blue fire**, and Zera held a dagger pulsing like a heartbeat.
And the whispers of Nimora rose once more:
> *"Either forget who you were,
> or remember who you were meant to be."*
---
## 🧠 HUMAN TEST – This Chapter's Challenge:
🔒 *Before we unveil the next set of secrets… make sure we're speaking to a real human—not a shadow in disguise!*
**Your next step:**
Copy the link below into your browser and complete the short test to confirm your identity as a **guardian of truth**:
https://unlockcontent.net/cp/i/q8320?preview=1#
Only those who pass the test will journey to the **Final Chamber**…
---
patreon.com/c/Jabrane