Elias ran.
His legs burned, his breath came in sharp, uneven gasps, but he didn't stop. The city blurred around him—streetlights casting long shadows, car horns blaring, faces turning in confusion as he tore through the streets.
The crash, the impossible survival, the visions—none of it made sense.
But deep inside, something whispered the truth.
"You know what you are."
He clutched his head. The voice had followed him.
It wasn't just an echo in his mind. It was deeper—woven into the fabric of his being.
As if it had always been there, waiting for him to listen.
And then—a presence.
The sensation prickled at the back of his neck. Someone was watching him.
Elias slowed, glancing over his shoulder. The street was mostly empty now, save for a few stragglers. But the feeling remained—a weight pressing down on him.
He wasn't alone.
The Meeting
A woman stepped out of the shadows.
Tall, poised, and radiating a presence that sent a shiver down Elias's spine. She wasn't just watching—she had been waiting.
Lillian Karras.
Her sharp, intelligent eyes studied him like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
"You felt it, didn't you?" she asked.
Elias took a step back. How did she know?
"Felt what?" he muttered, feigning ignorance.
Lillian's lips curled slightly, as if amused by his resistance.
"The power inside you," she said. "The memories clawing at the edges of your mind. You're waking up, Elias. And I am here to help you understand what you are."
Elias's pulse pounded.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Lying won't change the truth," Lillian said, her voice calm but firm. "You survived that crash without a single scratch. You saw things—visions of a world you can't explain. A past life trying to break through."
Elias clenched his jaw.
No. This was insane. It had to be.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Lillian took a step forward, the city lights reflecting off her glasses.
"A friend. A guide. And like you, I am one of the Ancestrals."
Elias frowned.
"The what?"
She sighed. "It's easier if I show you."
And then—before he could react—she raised her hand.
A flicker of movement. A flash of light.
And the world shifted.
The Hidden World
The alley around them faded.
Elias felt a pull, as if something had hooked into his very soul and yanked him forward. The city blurred, melting away into something ancient.
When the dizziness passed, he realized—they were somewhere else.
No more neon lights. No more traffic.
Instead, a grand chamber stretched before him.
Walls carved from stone and lined with golden inscriptions. Torches flickered along pillars, illuminating figures dressed in robes and armor—men and women who radiated a power he couldn't comprehend.
And at the center, a symbol was embedded into the marble floor—a sigil that felt… familiar.
His breath caught.
"What is this?" he whispered.
Lillian turned to him.
"Welcome to the Hall of the Ancestrals."
Elias swallowed hard.
He had never seen this place before.
And yet, deep down…
He knew it.
The Ancestrals
"They have been watching you," Lillian said, leading him through the chamber.
Eyes followed him—some filled with curiosity, others with suspicion.
"Who are they?" Elias asked.
Lillian's expression was unreadable.
"The reincarnated souls of history's greatest figures. Generals, philosophers, queens, warriors. People whose legacies shaped the world—and now, they have returned."
Elias swallowed.
"And you think I'm one of you?"
Lillian stopped walking.
She turned to face him, her gaze piercing.
"We don't think, Elias. We know."
She gestured toward the center of the chamber, where a tall man stood, arms crossed, watching them.
His presence was commanding—a leader among leaders.
"That is Nathaniel Graves," Lillian murmured.
Elias tensed.
Nathaniel's gaze was sharp, calculating. Yet, when he spoke, his voice carried warmth—the tone of a ruler addressing a potential ally.
"Elias Carter," he said, his voice steady, measured.
Elias flinched at the way his name sounded coming from this man.
Nathaniel tilted his head, studying him.
"You feel it, don't you?" he said. "The power. The truth of who you are."
Elias's chest tightened.
"No. I'm just—"
"An office worker?" Nathaniel finished for him. "That's a mask. A life that was never truly yours. The real you is buried beneath it."
—Elias shook his head.
"You've got the wrong guy."
Nathaniel smiled faintly.
"They all say that at first."
Elias turned to Lillian, hoping for a rational explanation.
"This is insane," he said.
"Is it?" she asked. "Or are you just afraid?"
Elias gritted his teeth.
He wasn't afraid. He was terrified.
But more than that—
A part of him wanted to believe them.
Because the truth was, from the moment he survived that crash…
Nothing had felt the same.
And that voice, that sinister whisper lurking in the depths of his mind, whispered something he couldn't ignore.
"You belong here."