Chapter 36: The World Behind the Gate
The countdown had begun.
Eron stood on the upper balcony of the rebuilt Caeloran Command Tower, the wind brushing against his coat, the city's distant lights flickering like stars—each one a survivor, a reminder of what they had almost lost.
Behind him, the Gate remained dormant… but not silent. It hummed. As if breathing.
Eric floated beside him, glowing softly.
> "Once the countdown ends, the Gate will open for seven minutes.
A stable window… into a place that shouldn't exist."
Eron nodded. "We'll be ready."
But deep down, he knew they weren't. No one was ready for what lay beyond logic, flame, and memory.
---
The Team Gathers
In the war chamber below, Lyra, Sira, Kale, Rurik, and two more elite sentinels reviewed maps, simulations, and extrapolated physics models of the Gate's interior logic.
Or rather, what little they had.
Because the world behind the Gate didn't follow rules.
Eric explained:
> "We've theorized it exists in a layered simulation where time, space, and emotion overlap.
A weaponized reality—bending to the dominant will."
Sira raised a brow. "So whoever believes harder… wins?"
> "In crude terms—yes."
Rurik chuckled darkly. "Guess it's good Eron never gave up on anything."
---
Preparations
Each squad member underwent deep-core training. Not just physical or tactical—but cognitive defense enhancement. Mental firewalls, emotional anchors, memory stability routines.
Because beyond the Gate, memories could be rewritten.
Eric warned them:
> "If you see someone from your past…
If they speak to you…
Don't trust them."
Kale muttered, "That's not ominous at all."
---
A Name Surfaces
While scanning the gate's ancient layers, Eric froze.
A name emerged from the code, buried under simulation debris.
> "PROJECT: VELARIUM"
Lyra stepped forward. "What is that?"
> "A Caeloran failsafe.
Long before the Flame was gifted to humans…
The Ancients designed a construct to survive inside the Gate."
> "A guardian. Or a prison. Or both."
Eron clenched his fists. "And we just woke it up?"
Eric: "No.
It woke when it sensed you."
---
13 Days Later
The clock struck zero.
The Gate bloomed open—not with light, but with memory.
Each of them saw something different.
Lyra saw a boy holding her hand before the world burned.
Sira saw herself… as a child, alone in a glass cell.
Rurik saw his brother.
Eron… saw a man in silver robes… with his mother's voice.
But they moved forward.
Into the unknown.