The village of Eldren Hollow sleeps uneasily beneath a sky smeared with thick clouds. Rain drums lightly on the rooftops, a rhythmic reminder of the storm gathering both outside and within Kael's heart.
Kael lies awake on his narrow cot, eyes fixed on the ceiling's cracked beams. The Mark of the Hidden throbs faintly on his palm, a steady pulse like a heartbeat no one else can hear.
The house creaks. Somewhere, far down the hall, the door at the end stirs again.
He rises, each movement a careful dance in the dark, and walks toward it, drawn by the same whisper that has haunted him since the fire. The air grows colder as he approaches, thick with something ancient and watching.
He reaches out, fingers trembling, and presses his palm to the carved wood.
A shock races through him—not pain, but a flood of images.
A fiery blaze. A child's scream swallowed by darkness. Faces twisted in fear and grief. Then… a hand reaching from the shadows, desperate, clawing.
Kael gasps and pulls away, heart pounding in a storm of confusion and fear.
"Kael!" Lyra's voice cuts through the silence. She stands in the doorway, cloak drawn tight, eyes sharp in the dim light.
"You shouldn't be here alone," she says, stepping forward. "The door doesn't just hold secrets—it holds dangers."
He looks at her, searching for answers in the flicker of her steady gaze.
"What's really behind it?" he demands.
Lyra's lips press into a thin line. "A darkness older than time. It's not just a prison—it's a wound in the world, leaking shadows that corrupt and consume."
Kael swallows, feeling the weight of her words settle in his chest.
"But why me? Why now?"
"Because the seal is breaking," she replies. "And the shadow you saw—the one that escaped during the fire—that's only the beginning."
She reaches into her cloak and pulls out a small vial filled with swirling silver mist.
"This is essence from the veil—the thin boundary between our world and the darkness. It will help you see beyond what's real."
Kael takes the vial, its chill biting through his fingers. He uncorks it, hesitating only a moment before inhaling the mist.
His vision blurs, colors shifting and warping. Shapes emerge from the shadows—ghostly figures flickering at the edges of the room. The door itself seems to pulse with life, veins of light crawling beneath its surface.
He sees the past and future entwined—a tapestry of moments tied to that door.
Then, a figure steps forward—a tall man cloaked in darkness, face hidden beneath a hood.
"Who is that?" Kael whispers.
Lyra's voice is grave. "The Keeper of the Gate. He guards the passage but has grown corrupted by the darkness. He will test you."
Kael's breath catches. Tests. Challenges. The path ahead was darker than he imagined.
He sinks to the floor, gripping the vial tightly.
"Where do I start?" he asks.
Lyra kneels beside him. "You begin by learning to control the power inside you—the Mark of the Hidden. Only then can you stand against the shadow."
Outside, thunder rumbles, a distant roar promising a storm to come.
Kael knows his life has changed forever.
And the door at the end of the hall waits, silent but alive.