Darkness swallowed Leon as he plummeted into the earth.
Dust and stone whirled around him like a suffocating veil, and for a moment, the roar of the howler beast above was silenced by the rushing wind and the jarring crunch of debris. Leon twisted midair, arms flailing as instinct took over. He activated the emergency pulse in his boots—one of his few remaining functional gadgets. A blue shimmer ignited briefly under his heels, slowing his descent just enough before he slammed into something hard.
Stone. Cold and unyielding.
Leon rolled over, coughing violently, his lungs fighting the heavy mix of dust and arcane particles in the air. He blinked rapidly, his vision adjusting to the strange ambient glow emanating from crystalline veins embedded in the cavern walls.
He sat up, groaning. The pain in his ribs suggested at least one fracture. Blood leaked down his temple, and his cloak was torn. But he was alive.
The howler's shrieks faded above. No sounds of pursuit followed. Either it hadn't survived the fall, or it wasn't foolish enough to descend into whatever this place was.
Leon rose to his feet, slowly scanning his surroundings.
The chamber was vast—an underground cathedral of otherworldly architecture. Smooth pillars stretched high above, vanishing into darkness. Carvings lined every surface—symbols he didn't recognize yet felt an eerie familiarity with, as if they were whispering directly into his mind.
"Where the hell am I?" Leon muttered, trailing his fingers across a wall etched with glowing runes. The markings pulsed faintly at his touch, as if responding to his presence.
Faint echoes repeated his every movement. The air was dense with energy, not just mana but something older, something primordial. It pressed against his skin and mind like an ancient gaze.
He walked forward, boots crunching over loose dust and scattered bones—some human, others not. Time had long since buried whatever history this place once held. It didn't feel like a ruin. It felt like a crypt that had been sealed away intentionally.
At the chamber's center stood a massive stone dais, cracked but still intact. Hovering above it, suspended in an unseen field, was an object unlike anything Leon had encountered before.
A book.
But not just any book. It pulsed with dark light, its surface deeper than shadow, its cover bound by threads of void. The air bent subtly around it. Symbols floated off its surface, dancing in the air like flakes of fire and ice.
Leon approached cautiously, every step echoing like a warning.
"You're the reason I'm down here, aren't you?" he said aloud, voice wavering. "Some ancient relic buried under the city. Makes perfect sense."
A low thrum resonated in the chamber.
He reached out.
A glyph flared to life beneath his feet. The entire chamber vibrated as more glyphs ignited in succession, casting the space in shifting hues of gold, violet, and obsidian.
A voice, or perhaps a thousand whispers in unison, spoke directly into his soul:
"Wielder of the Fragmented Path. Do you seek Dominion?"
Leon's hand trembled as his fingers brushed the edge of the book. "I've already lost everything. My name, my future... Maybe Dominion is all that's left."
"...Yes."
The chamber exploded with light.
Visions poured into his mind in a torrent of overwhelming clarity. He saw galaxies birthing themselves and collapsing, gods dying in silence, and laws etched into the fabric of reality by entities so vast they eclipsed stars.
He saw himself, too—fractured reflections of what he might become. In one, he stood clad in celestial armor atop a throne of light. In another, he was a harbinger of destruction, black flames wreathing his form.
His chest ignited with pain as a mark burned itself into his skin just over his heart. A glowing symbol—an ouroboros entwined with a crown. The pain was like molten lead, but he did not let go.
Then, silence.
The book—the Primordial Codex—floated to his side, orbiting him gently like a loyal sentinel.
Its presence was comforting, like a heavy cloak in winter.
Information flowed freely now, words forming in his mind:
Dominion Energy Acquired
Access Level: Initiate
Law Affinity: Command (Seed)
Reality Synchronization: 0.04%
Leon staggered, clutching his head. The information was overwhelming. His understanding of physics, of metaphysics, of consciousness itself—was being rewritten.
He breathed heavily, eyes wide. "So this is the Codex..." he murmured. "This is real."
A pulse of acknowledgment thrummed from the book.
"I don't know why you chose me," he said, addressing it like an old spirit. "But I'm not about to waste this chance."
A deep rumble shook the cavern.
Leon looked around, heart racing.
From the far wall, a hidden alcove unsealed itself. Dust and stone slid away to reveal a corridor carved in perfect symmetry, the glowing veins of crystal guiding the way.
The Codex hovered expectantly.
Leon took a breath, flexing his fingers. They sparked faintly with gold energy—the first signs of Dominion taking hold.
"Alright," he said with a smirk. "Let's see what else you're hiding."