The portal's light enveloped them, and in the blink of an eye, Erevan and Sylara found themselves standing on a floating island, suspended in an endless green sky. A warm breeze carried the scent of something sweet and ancient, like the air itself remembered forgotten dreams.
Beneath their feet, the land pulsed with life, covered in bioluminescent moss that flickered with their movements. Above them, massive creatures soared—serpentine beings with feathered wings, their bodies leaving behind trails of golden mist.
"This place is… alive," Sylara whispered, her fingers grazing the glowing moss. "I can feel it breathing."
Erevan's hand moved instinctively to the hilt of his sword. "And watching." His immortal senses, sharpened over countless lifetimes, felt the weight of unseen eyes.
A voice, neither male nor female, echoed through the air.
"You are not of this cycle. Why have you come?"
From the sky, a figure descended—tall, luminous, and shifting like a mirage. Its eyes held the wisdom of ages, its presence pressing against reality itself.
Sylara met its gaze, unafraid. "We are travelers. We go where the winds of fate take us."
"Fate does not touch you. You walk beyond time's grasp."
Erevan exchanged a glance with Sylara. They had met gods, kings, and horrors that defied reason, but this being… it felt different.
"You do not belong here. And yet… the Weave has allowed your passage." The entity tilted its head. "Perhaps there is a reason."
The land trembled beneath them, and suddenly, visions flooded their minds—ancient wars, celestial tears falling from the heavens, a city hidden beyond the fabric of space.
Then, a single name whispered through the void.
"Vaelith."
Sylara gasped, gripping Erevan's arm. "That name… I know it."
Erevan's eyes darkened. "So do I."
For the first time in millennia, something from their past had caught up to them.
Something they thought they had left behind.The world pulsed around them, the very air thick with unseen power. Erevan and Sylara stood firm, their immortal souls resonating with something ancient buried within this realm.
The luminous being studied them, then gestured toward the horizon. "Come," it said. "You must see what has been waiting."
The island beneath their feet shifted, floating effortlessly through the sky as if obeying the entity's will. Other islands drifted around them, each carrying entire ecosystems—forests of crystalline trees, rivers that twisted into the air before vanishing into the clouds, cities suspended by invisible forces.
Sylara watched, enchanted. "This place… it defies natural order. It's like a world between worlds."
The entity nodded. "You stand within the Shattered Veil, where time does not flow as it should. Long ago, it was a bridge between the higher realms and the mortal lands. But something broke it."
Erevan's grip tightened on his sword. "Vaelith."
The name seemed to ripple through the air, distorting reality itself.
The being hesitated before continuing. "Vaelith was once a beacon of knowledge, a city where mortals and divine beings met as equals. But its ambitions grew too vast. It sought to reach beyond existence, beyond eternity itself. And in doing so, it tore the fabric of creation."
Sylara's fingers traced the edges of a memory buried deep in her soul. "We were here before," she murmured. "We saw it fall."
Erevan's eyes darkened. "And we left it to burn."
The floating island came to a halt. Before them, rising from the mist, stood the ruins of a city—Vaelith.
It was impossibly vast, its towers cracked but still standing, its streets covered in golden dust that glowed faintly under the emerald sky. Statues of forgotten deities loomed over shattered bridges, and archways led to roads that seemed to spiral into infinity.
Sylara shivered. "It still breathes."
"Yes," the entity agreed. "And it has not forgotten you."
A gust of wind howled through the ruins, carrying voices—whispers of the past, of lost souls calling their names.
Then, from the depths of the broken city, something stirred.
A presence.
A hunger.
And it was waiting for them.