Chapter1; veil of the Archane Threshold
The wind hummed a song only the stars remembered. Elira stood at the edge of the forest, heart racing, eyes fixed on the glimmering archway that pulsed with blue light.
The scent of wild lavender and storm-laced air filled her lungs as the ground beneath her trembled, faintly, like the world itself was breathing, she reached out-slowly, cautiously-as whispers echoed from beyond the veil, calling her name in voices she had never heard, yet somehow knew.
Elira's fingers brushed the glowing surface, and a sudden warmth surged through her palm. Symbols-ancient and swirling-lit up beneath her touch, dancing like fireflies before vanishing into her skin. Even the wind held its breath.
She took one step forward. Then another.
The light thickened, wrapping around her like mist. Her heartbeat thundered as the air shifted, and just like that-she was gone.
Not vanished. Just…. Elsewhere.
The sky was darker here.
Twin moons hovered above a silver-streaked sky, and the air crackled with energy. Trees shimmered with glass-like leaves, and a tower loomed in the distance, cloaked in moving shadows. A voice whispered from within her mind, soft but commanding:
"The blood has returned, The keeper has awakened".
Elira stumbled backward, her breath sharp. She didn't know what this place was-but it knew her.
Just as Elisa steadied herself in this strange new realm, she spotted something-a figure standing beneath the crystal trees. Tall. Familiar. wearing the same pendant her mother was buried with.
"Elira", the figure said, stepping into the moonlight.
Her heart stopped. It was her mother.
But her eyes..... they weren't the same. They glowed silver, and her smile was hollow-too perfect. Too still.
"You shouldn't be here yet", she said.
Elira whispered, "You.... died".
Her mother tilted her head. "That version of me did ".
Elira froze. The wind around her stilled, as if the realm itself were holding its breath.
The woman- her mother, or something wearing her face stepped closer.
"Time doesn't work the same here", she softly. "What you saw on earth was only the beginning".
Elira backed away. "If you're not her then what are you?"
The woman's smile widened , but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I'm the memory..... and the warning".
Suddenly, the trees trembled. A low hum vibrated through the ground, and the sky flickered like a broken screen.
"She found you too soon", the woman whispered urgently. "Run, Elira. Before she does".
"Who?!"
But before she could answer, the figure vanished in a flash of white light- and the entire forest began to collapse in on itself.
Elisa turned and run, the echo of her mother's voice still ringing in her ears:
"You were never meant to survive this world".