He hadn't walked far before the cave became unnaturally dark. It wasn't the slow fading of light he expected; instead, it was as if the world had been plunged into pitch-blackness in an instant. No matter how much he strained his eyes, he could see nothing ahead or behind him.
This was wrong. Light should have reached further in—he wasn't that deep into the cave. He tightened his grip on the sword, its familiar weight comforting in the overwhelming darkness. He was just about to turn around, to retreat and order one of his men to fetch a torch, when a voice echoed through the void.
"So you have come. Good."
The voice was close—too close. The hairs on the back of Alexander's neck stood up as he resisted the immediate urge to thrust his sword in the direction of the sound. His instincts screamed danger, but his mind reminded him of the purpose that had driven him into this cursed place. He wasn't some frightened child lost in the dark. He was Alexander the Great. Fear was for lesser men.
"Show yourself," Alexander demanded, his voice steady despite the sudden chill that crept into his bones.
The man who had spoken earlier stepped forward, materializing out of the darkness as though the shadows themselves had birthed him. There was something otherworldly in the way he moved, a fluid grace that felt unnatural, as if the laws of the physical world barely applied to him.
"You have come far, Alexander," the man said, his voice carrying the weight of ages. "But there is still further to go. The path ahead is not one of armies or conquests."
Alexander narrowed his eyes, the sword still held at the ready between them. "Speak plainly. I've no patience for riddles."
The man smiled, the same infuriating calmness in his expression as before. "Why tell you, when I can just show you. Though I'm afraid you will have to pass through the darkness, no flame will light this path for you, not until the threshold is crossed."
Alexander once again suppressed the urge to behead this man and instead just tightened his hold on his sword as he started walking once more. He couldn't see the other man any longer but felt like he was walking beside him.
It felt easy to walk through the darkness, even if he couldn't even see his own feet. He, for some reason, didn't feel like he was about to walk into something; it was a strange sensation.
Then came the heat. He had naturally expected the inside of such a dark cave to be cooler than the desert outside. Yet each step he took only brought with it greater heat. It wasn't long before the temperature got so high that he was starting to feel like Helios himself might have parked his chariot in here.
The oppressive heat began to seep through Alexander's armor, sweat beading on his forehead and trickling down his back. The air was thick, suffocating, as if the very cave was alive, breathing the heat of a forge upon him.
His hand clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword, his instincts screaming at him to turn back, to leave this unnatural place. But his will was stronger than his discomfort. He was Alexander the Great—he would not be cowed by a mere shift in temperature.
As he moved deeper into the cave, the heat grew more intense, until it felt as though the walls themselves were burning, though he still saw nothing. His breath came in ragged bursts, and his muscles strained under the weight of his armor and the oppressive atmosphere. But the man's voice returned, cutting through the sweltering air like a blade.
"Does it burn, Alexander? Does it feel like the fire of your ambition, the flame that drives you forward no matter the cost? You are close now."
Alexander gritted his teeth. The voice grated on him, a constant reminder that he was not in control of the situation. "Is this more of your riddles? If you have something to show me, then do it already."
Suddenly. The darkness that had consumed them vanished as it had never been there at all. He could see once more, up ahead, there was a light. From the twists and turns of the cave he couldn't see what was giving off the light, but from the heat it sure felt like it might have been the sun itself.
Still, he was the son of Amun, he was a god in mortal flesh, he wouldn't let something like this stop him, and so he glanced at the man beside him, who seemed completely unbothered by the heat. "If this is a trick, then this place shall be your tomb."
To his threat, the man just laughed. "No, my dear Alexander, this place Won't be my tomb, but if you prove to be more foolish than I imagine, it might very well be yours." With those words, the man just started to walk on ahead, and Alexander once more had to keep himself from killing him outright.
Cursing under his breath, he followed along, wanting to see what the gods had hidden in this place; he was starting to think that this cave wasn't normal at all and that it might indeed hold some great secret.
As Alexander turned the final corner, the cave opened up into an expansive chamber, illuminated by a searing, golden light. The sight before him was unlike anything he had ever imagined. At the far end of the chamber stood an enormous figure, towering over everything like a colossus forged by the gods themselves. The figure was a being of pure fire and light, its form both humanoid and divine. It radiated power, heat, and a terrifying sense of authority that made even Alexander's legendary courage falter for a moment.
The figure held in its hand a flaming sword that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of the universe itself. Behind it, glowing in the distance, was an immense gate, shimmering with the purest light Alexander had ever seen. The gateway was framed by golden trees, their branches extending far beyond the threshold, hinting at something even greater beyond.
Alexander instinctively knew what he was looking at. This was not just any gate; it was the entrance to something ancient, sacred, and forbidden. The Garden of Eden. And the fiery figure—this was no ordinary guardian—it was what would once be known as SCP-001, the guardian of Eden, the one who had stood since the beginning of time to keep humanity from re-entering paradise.
For the first time in a long while, Alexander was struck silent, awe filling his heart as the weight of what he had just discovered pressed down on him. This was beyond the power he had ever sought. This was the domain of gods.
The man who had led him here stood at his side now, his voice soft but carrying an air of authority and reverence. "Long ago, I beheld this sight myself, led here by my Lord. I left this cave a changed man, realizing that just being a great king wasn't enough, That I needed to do more, be more."
Alexander tore his gaze away from the glowing gate and the towering figure of the guardian, turning toward the man beside him. There was something in the man's voice, something ancient and knowing, that suddenly made sense in the context of this awe-inspiring sight.
"Who are you?" Alexander asked, his voice quieter now, but still carrying the weight of a conqueror.
The man smiled, a bittersweet expression that seemed to carry centuries of wisdom and regret. "I have worn many titles, many crowns, just like you, Alexander. But the name by which you may know me... is Solomon."
Alexander's eyes widened in recognition. He had heard the stories of King Solomon, the man blessed with unfathomable wisdom, capable of speaking to both angels and demons. A man who had commanded power that rivaled that of any king before or after him. But to stand here, alive and well, after so many centuries—it was impossible.
"You... you're the king of Israel, the master of demons?" Alexander asked, barely able to comprehend what he was hearing.
Solomon nodded. "Yes, I once ruled as you do, sought power as you do. But this—" he gestured toward the guardian and the gate behind him—"is something more, learning that my Lord had left this on earth, that should he every wish for it, the world would be bathed in flames, I felt lost, should I follow my Lord? Should I be a sheep or a shepherd? And so I walked away, away from my kingdom, to become a guardian myself, not of Eden, but of humanity."
[Flashback end]
The first SCP found and contained under the help of Solomon was one of God's angels, and the first SCP contained after Solomon's death was SCP-343, the being that started it all.
A being that had once been happy with being locked up, to leave earth to humanity to ruin or turn into a paradise. The question in Alexander's mind right now, however, was whether or not 343 would make the same choice as he did back then.
Surely, he would be able to notice what had happened, that the world wasn't the same one he once made. Would he be too curious about all that is new to allow himself to be contained? What would he do now?
He was once considered a safe class object, but now Alexander had no choice but to label him as a Keter class just because he had more than enough power to end the world, and they had no way of containing him unless he wanted to be contained.