No one remembers the moment it began.
Not truly.
There are stories, of course. Whispers passed down from those who survived the First Fracture. They speak of the sky splitting like old glass, of light bleeding through the seams of the world, of a silence so deep it crushed the soul.
And then… the world changed.
They say the earth opened, and something ancient stirred beneath. That towers of stone and shadow rose where no hand had built them. That gateways appearing out of nowhere in cities overnight.
They say reality itself bent, and something stepped through.
They call them Nexuses portals to realms that defy reason. Places where beasts beyond imagining roam, where laws of nature twist and break. They consume the land like a slow fire. And yet, some enter them willingly… chasing whispers of treasure, power, and forgotten truth.
It wasn't long before the Labyrinths followed.
Colossal structures, rising higher than mountains, their floors filled with horrors and riddles. Some lead to nothing. Some lead to death. And a few… lead to more.
No one knows who built them. No one knows if they can be destroyed. The deeper one climbs, the more the world seems to unravel.
But even among all the terror, some still chase the climb.
They have no choice.
Because the Tablets are real.
Stone shards that grant abilities when shattered, gifts from some higher force, or maybe its curse. Each power unique. Each one a mystery. Those who can wield them become more than human… but never without a price.
And beneath it all, there is Ather. The breath of this broken world. Found in all living things and found in crystals within the depths of these structures. Few can sense it. Fewer still can use it.
But those who do are renowned.
There is no salvation. No prophecy. No chosen ones.
Only the ruins of a world that wasn't ready.
And the things that now call it home.