The ground beneath their feet pulsed with a strange rhythm, as if the city itself was breathing. Aethrion stretched endlessly in every direction—spiraling towers carved from white stone, glowing veins of light tracing patterns across floating platforms, and bridges suspended over clouds that shimmered like molten glass.
Ariv could barely keep his eyes still. Everything felt too surreal, too far from Dharavanar's dusty streets and the hum of Niravari River.
"This…" Vaishnavi whispered, clutching her shawl tighter against the breeze that smelled faintly of metal and rain, "…this isn't real."
"It's real," Rudraen's voice cut through, calm but edged with command. He walked ahead, his dark cape fluttering as if defying gravity. "And the fact that Kalaraks breached the arrival gate makes it even more real than you want it to be."
The group trailed behind him in silence. Rohit kept throwing glances at the fragments of black shards scattered across the platform—the remains of creatures none of them should have seen. Neel walked slower, his fists buried in his pockets, jaw clenched like he was carrying a secret too heavy to drop.
Finally, Ariv spoke, breaking the weight pressing on all of them.
"Those things… Kalaraks, right? They weren't supposed to be here?"
Rudraen didn't turn. "Not here. Not this deep into Aethrion." His boots clicked softly against the starlit path ahead. "The inner sanctum is supposed to be impenetrable unless someone…" He stopped mid-sentence, his tone flattening. "…never mind. We need to move."
"Wait," Rohit piped up, his voice shaking. "If this is the safest place, and they got in—then where is safe?"
Rudraen glanced over his shoulder, his golden eyes like two molten suns in the dim light.
"Nowhere."
That one word silenced them all.
---
Scene 2: The Starlight Bridge
They approached the edge of the platform, where the city broke into an abyss of swirling light. A bridge of pure energy curved into existence at Rudraen's gesture, stretching like a silver serpent toward the city's heart—a massive, radiant structure suspended in midair.
Vaishnavi's breath hitched. "We're supposed to walk on that?"
"Unless you want to jump," Rudraen said dryly, stepping onto the bridge first. His boots didn't so much as ripple the surface.
Ariv followed next, his gaze flicking down to the endless drop below. His heart didn't race—not the way it should—but his mind burned with questions. Why had Kalaraks appeared at the same time Rudraen came for them? Why did Neel keep avoiding his eyes since the fight? And why did the name Aethrion feel like something he'd heard before—in a dream, or maybe a memory buried deep?
The silence stretched until Vaishnavi spoke, her voice trembling but steady enough to cut through.
"Rudraen… why us? Why are we here?"
He didn't stop walking, but his words drifted back like the cold wind between realms.
"Because none of you are ordinary. And because the Queen herself wants to see you."
---
Scene 3: Questions and Fire
Neel slowed his steps just enough to fall in beside Ariv. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was low, as if afraid the bridge itself might listen.
"You ever wonder," he said, "if the world we grew up in… was just a shadow of this one?"
Ariv gave him a sharp look. "What do you mean?"
Neel's lips curved into something between a smirk and a grimace.
"You'll find out. Maybe sooner than you want."
Before Ariv could press further, a deafening crack split the air behind them. The group whirled around—just in time to see the gate they had left collapse in a storm of black fire. From the rift spilled three more Kalaraks, their forms grotesque and dripping with shadow like melted tar, crescent eyes glowing with hunger.
"Not again," Rohit muttered, stumbling back.
Ariv's fingers curled instinctively—but the locket against his chest pulsed faintly, sealing away the storm inside him. He gritted his teeth, feeling that wall between him and the power that once surged like a heartbeat.
Rudraen stepped forward, his voice cutting through the roar of the collapsing gate.
"Stay behind me."