Alex stood in the doorway of the chamber, looking down the dark corridor ahead. The faint hum of the Nexus Core pulsed behind him, casting eerie shadows on the walls. He adjusted the straps of his bag, feeling the reassuring weight of his laptop within.
"Void Gate," he whispered, his voice barely above a murmur, as though repeating the word would be enough to unlock the gates. The name was enough to raise the hairs at the back of his neck, but he didn't have a choice.
The corridor stretched further and narrower in front of him. The air grew colder still, and walls seemed to enclose him now, metallic and damp and slimy to touch. Whispers echoed faintly around him: indistinguishable but hauntingly persistent.
Alex's flashlight flickered, steadied. He gripped it tightly, his pulse quickening. "Don't you dare fail me now," he muttered to the device.
As he turned the corner, he came face to face with a massive steel door. The surface was etched with intricate symbols that glowed faintly in the dark. This one didn't have a keypad or handle. Just a smooth, impenetrable surface.
The laptop in his bag vibrated. Alex pulled it out, its screen illuminating the dim space around him. A new prompt appeared:
> "Synchronizing with Nexus Core. Stand by."
The symbols on the door started to shift, their glow intensifying as they rearranged themselves. Alex instinctively stepped back, his heart pounding. The symbols formed a circular pattern, and with a loud hiss, the door slid open, revealing a massive chamber beyond.
It was a space Alex had never seen before. Towering pillars lined the walls, each one covered in glowing runes that pulsed rhythmically. And then there was this massive thing at the center of the room—a circular platform surrounded by coils of energy that crackled and sparked.
The Void Gate.
Alex walked slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the cavernous space. There was a kind of static in the air that was making his skin prickle. The surface of the platform was smooth, as black as obsidian, and it hummed with a low vibration that felt like it came from his bones.
The laptop chimed in again.
> "Void Gate activation protocol detected. Proceed to interface."
Alex looked around to spot a console near the base of the platform. He approached it, his fingers hovering over the controls. The interface was something he had never seen before; the symbols and patterns were alien, almost alive.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered, plugging the laptop into the console.
The screen flickered to life, showing lines of code and diagrams he couldn't even begin to decipher. The runes on the pillars pulsed faster, and the hum of the platform grew louder. Alex's hands trembled as he navigated the prompts, his instincts guiding him more than his understanding.
> "Warning: Rift energy levels unstable. Protocol override required."
"Override?" Alex frowned. He scrolled through the options, his frustration mounting. "What override?"
The whispers that had plagued him earlier returned, louder and more insistent. They seemed to come from every direction, making it impossible to focus.
"Shut up!" Alex shouted, slamming his fist against the console.
The whispers were silenced instantly by a deep, resonant voice that seemed to come from within the walls themselves.
> "You think to challenge the Rift?"
Alex locked up. "Who.what are you?"
> "I am the Gatekeeper," the voice declared. "The Rift is not yours to master.
The platform began to glow, its surface rippling like liquid. A figure emerged from the light—a towering, humanoid form made of swirling energy. Its eyes burned with an otherworldly intensity, and its presence filled the room with an overwhelming sense of power.
"You must leave," the Gatekeeper intoned. "The Rift is not for mortals to command."
Alex stepped back, but his instincts were screaming at him to get up and run, yet he was holding his ground. "I don't want to command it—I want to stop it. The Rift is dangerous. If it opens, it'll destroy everything."
The Gatekeeper cocked its head, looking at him. "You wish to close the Rift?
"Yes," Alex said firmly, holding onto the laptop. "I've seen what it can do. I can't let it happen again."
The figure's form flickered, its edges blurring. "The Rift cannot be closed. It is a doorway to worlds beyond your understanding."
"Then I'll find a way," Alex insisted. "There has to be something—some protocol, some fail-safe."
The Gatekeeper's eyes narrowed. "Your determination is admirable, but your ignorance will be your undoing."
The platform pulsed, and a wave of energy surged outward. Alex shielded his face, bracing against the force. When he looked up, the Gatekeeper was gone, and the console was active once more.
The laptop displayed a single line of text:
> "Final protocol initiated. Stabilization required."
Alex's mind was a whirl as he pattered frantically at the console. His energy input around the platform increased, arcs of lightning shooting between the pillars.
"Come on, come on," he muttered, his fingers dancing across the keys.
The console let out a loud beep and presented a new prompt:
> "Energy stabilization at 45%. Manual calibration required."
Manual calibration?" Alex looked around and his eyes found a number of levers and dials along the walls.
Time wasn't something they could afford to waste. Alex ran to the nearest panel and began setting the controls. The tone of the hum changed, and it sounded more balanced now.
"Just a little more," Alex said, gasping for breath.
The pillars began to pulse together as their lights concentrated on the platform. One last chime of the laptop rang out:
> "Stabilization complete. Protocol locked."
Alex let his body thud onto the floor, its exertion having gotten the best of him. The platform held quiet, with only a dull shimmer of light from it now.
But this was merely the start of the Rift for now.