The chamber was enormous.
Elias stood just inside the doorway, staring into the vast throne room. The green flames from dozens of hanging lamps flickered along the walls, casting strange shadows that danced across the ancient stone.
The air inside the chamber felt… heavy.
Like the room itself was breathing.
At the center of the hall stood a throne.
It was dark and majestic, forged from black metal that curved into elegant shapes. Despite its beauty, half of the throne had been shattered, as if something incredibly powerful had once struck it with unimaginable force.
Fragments of the broken structure still lay scattered across the floor.
Elias slowly stepped forward.
His footsteps echoed through the empty chamber.
Behind the throne, covering almost the entire wall, was the massive painting he had seen from the corridor.
Now that he stood closer, the details were even more unsettling.
The man in the painting wore a perfectly tailored three-piece suit, its fabric black as midnight yet lined with faint silver patterns that shimmered in the green light.
It looked far too elegant to belong in this ruined temple.
But the most striking part of the painting was the mask.
It covered the man's entire face.
Half of it was black.
Half of it was white.
Where the eyes should have been, strange symbols had been carved into the mask — a **crescent moon** on one side and a **broken sun** on the other.
There was no mouth.
No expression.
Just that eerie, silent mask.
Elias rubbed his arms.
A strange feeling crawled under his skin.
"…This place is seriously messed up," he muttered.
His gaze shifted toward the throne again.
For a moment he hesitated.
Then curiosity won.
He walked toward it slowly.
As he approached, he noticed something else in the chamber.
To the side of the throne stood a dark fountain carved from smooth black stone. Instead of clear water, thick shadowy liquid flowed within it, rippling quietly as if stirred by an unseen wind.
The surface of the liquid reflected the green flames around the room.
But when Elias glanced at the reflection, something strange happened.
For a brief moment…
He thought he saw **someone else** standing behind him.
He turned instantly.
Nothing.
Just the empty chamber.
"…Great," he whispered.
"Now I'm hallucinating too."
He exhaled slowly and turned back toward the throne.
That was when he heard it.
A faint sound.
Like cloth sliding across stone.
Elias's head snapped toward the painting.
At first everything looked the same.
The man still sat in the throne within the painting.
Still wearing the mask.
Still watching silently.
Elias frowned.
"…Okay."
He squinted at the canvas.
"Did you just move?"
The green flames flickered violently.
The shadows in the room stretched across the floor like long fingers.
And then—
The painting changed.
The man inside it slowly lifted his hand.
Elias's breath caught.
"That's… not possible."
Inside the painting, the masked man removed the elegant hat from his head.
His movements were slow.
Deliberate.
Like someone performing on a stage.
Elias felt a cold wave crawl down his spine.
"…Alright," he said nervously.
"This is officially the weirdest nightmare I've ever had."
The man inside the painting tilted his head slightly.
Then his hand reached up toward the mask.
Elias's heartbeat began to pound in his chest.
"Don't tell me you're actually—"
The mask lowered just a little.
Only enough to reveal a pair of eyes.
Golden.
Brilliant.
Not the dull gold of metal or sunlight.
These eyes shone like miniature suns burning in endless darkness.
Elias staggered backward.
Those eyes felt… wrong.
Not evil.
Not angry.
Just impossibly ancient.
As if they had watched entire civilizations rise and fall.
His legs gave out beneath him.
He fell to the cold stone floor.
"I… I get it," Elias muttered weakly.
His voice echoed through the chamber.
"You can stop now."
He looked up at the painting again.
"If you're going to kill me, just do it already."
The golden eyes in the painting seemed to watch him carefully.
For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Then the mask lifted completely.
Elias forgot how to breathe.
The face beneath the mask looked almost unreal.
The man's skin was pale and flawless, like marble carved by a master artist. His hair flowed around his head in strands of phantom-green light, drifting slightly as if touched by invisible wind.
But it was his expression that felt the most unsettling.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't angry.
He simply looked… calm.
Like someone observing an interesting experiment.
Elias slowly pushed himself up from the ground.
"…Who are you?"
Of course, the painting didn't answer.
But the man inside it moved again.
This time he raised his arm.
And pointed.
Elias followed the direction of the finger.
In the far corner of the chamber, half hidden in shadow, stood something he hadn't noticed before.
A coffin.
Black.
Massive.
Ancient symbols were carved across its surface, glowing faintly like dying embers.
Elias stared at it in disbelief.
"…You're kidding me."
He looked back at the painting.
"Seriously? This whole thing is just a giant puzzle?"
The man in the painting remained silent.
Still pointing.
Elias groaned softly and rubbed his face.
"I'm exhausted. I've been trapped in a maze for weeks, chased by laughing walls, and now a magic painting wants me to open a creepy coffin."
He sighed heavily.
"Fantastic."
But despite his complaints…
Curiosity pulled him forward.
He walked slowly toward the coffin.
Each step echoed loudly across the chamber.
The green flames flickered again.
And the dark liquid in the fountain began to ripple more violently.
Elias reached the coffin.
Up close, the symbols carved into the stone looked even stranger.
They twisted and curved like living flames.
He placed his hand on the lid.
It was freezing cold.
For a moment he hesitated.
Something deep inside him whispered that opening this coffin would change everything.
His old life.
His memories.
Even who he was.
"…Whatever," Elias muttered.
"What's the worst that could happen?"
He pushed.
The coffin lid slid open with a deep grinding sound.
Inside—
There was no body.
No treasure.
Only light.
A brilliant white glow burst from the coffin, flooding the chamber like an explosion of stars.
Elias shielded his eyes.
"What the—"
The light surged outward and swallowed him completely.
Pain exploded through his mind.
Images flashed across his thoughts.
A palace made of endless mirrors.
A throne surrounded by laughing masks.
A universe burning in divine fire.
And voices.
So many voices.
All whispering the same name.
**Kael.**
Elias collapsed to the ground.
The light faded.
Darkness returned.
And then everything vanished.
---
Cold wind rushed across Elias's face.
He groaned softly and opened his eyes.
The sky above him was… lavender.
Not blue.
Not black.
Lavender.
Strange clouds drifted slowly across it like pale smoke.
Elias blinked in confusion and pushed himself upright.
Mountains surrounded him on every side.
Their peaks stretched high into the strange colored sky.
He looked down at his hands.
"…Wait."
The clothes on his body were different.
Gone was the ragged hoodie and torn jeans he had been wearing before.
Instead, he wore a perfectly tailored black suit.
The same suit from the painting.
His heart skipped a beat.
"…What the hell?"
Elias quickly stood up and looked around.
The forest nearby was unlike anything he had ever seen.
The trees were tall and twisted, their branches covered in leaves as white as snow.
They shimmered slightly whenever the wind touched them.
"…Okay."
He rubbed his face again.
"I'm definitely not on Earth anymore."
Something caught his attention near his feet.
A book.
Thick.
Old.
Its black cover was decorated with the same crescent moon and broken sun symbol he had seen on the mask.
Elias slowly picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched the cover—
The book opened by itself.
Golden letters began to appear across the pages.
And a strange voice echoed inside his mind.
**WELCOME, HEIR OF THE FIFTH FLAME.**
Elias's eyes widened.
The wind around the mountains suddenly grew stronger.
Far away in the distance…
Something massive moved between the peaks.
Watching.
Waiting.
And for the first time since leaving Earth…
Elias felt a strange, terrifying realization settle into his chest.
Wherever he was now…
It was only the beginning.