The moment the silver scroll burned into his skin, the forest was gone.
Je stood on a bridge of black glass stretching into an infinite void. Beneath him, the glass reflected not his face—but a thousand shifting versions of himself, each one wearing different scars, different eyes, different deaths.
The air was thick with words he didn't know yet understood.
> "Sha'Ruth var el'Naeh."
(The First Seed Has Been Claimed.)
Voices without bodies spoke in layers—ancient, unblinking, and heavy as worlds.
> "Orristh ka'vell nor'en draem."
(The Gate Stirs Before Its Time.)
A wind rose, though there was no sky here. In it, Je heard the rattle of chains.
[Warning: Multiple High-Tier Entities Now Aware of User's Existence.]
[Detection Range Expanded: BaraBario, Orphaned Stars, Fractured Courts.]
[Survival Probability: 0.00012%]
The bridge shuddered. Shapes emerged in the dark—some crowned with suns, others with halos made of shattered moons. One was nothing but a floating spine, another a winged figure whose feathers bled shadow.
One of them spoke, and every reflection of Je turned to listen.
> "Do not seek the Void of Death, child… for even we cannot return from there."
A different voice followed, older and slower:
> "But if you must—bring the Key of the Forgotten Gate. Or your soul will be devoured twice."
The bridge cracked. Light—pure and searing—burst through the fracture, swallowing the darkness.
When Je blinked again, he was back in the forest, gasping like he'd been drowning.
His palm still bore the mark of the contract, glowing faintly with the runes of the old tongue.
[New Title Acquired: The Ledger's Chosen]
[Skill Unlocked: Veythra's Whisper — The ability to hear truths not meant for mortals.]
Somewhere, deep in the void, those same voices laughed.