Chapter 23 – The Gate Forgotten by Heaven
The old city alley was silent. The scent of iron, garbage, and blood mingled in the air.
Enver stood before a man in a dark suit. The man extorted orphans and sold their organs for forbidden rituals. Enver's card slowly rose.
"Purificazione."
But as the card touched the man's body, the soul that emerged was no ordinary one. Its form resembled a winged serpent, with eyes glowing green. It spoke with a human voice:
"Morren… she rejected Maxcen. But you, her child, will bring the storm."
Enver did not answer. But he marked that name once more—Morren. The mother Elhara had spoken of. One of his cards suddenly cracked.
---
He drove his car beyond the city limits. Barren land. A sky without stars. Elhara's directions had brought him here: to a ruin of stone, shaped into a circular gate.
The ten curly-edged cards within Enver began to react. One by one, they emerged and spun above the gate, emitting black-blue light.
A blood symbol formed upon the gate's surface. But the gate did not open fully.
Enver stared at it.
Voices rose from the air. Not human, not astral beings. Spirits that had never lived and never died. They spoke only two names:
"Morren… Wirly…"
---
In the Council Hall, five Hellseer Council members—who had once fought Enver—now sat upon their stone seats.
Dorvas touched a wound that had yet to heal. Kavdrin gripped his scale, now fractured.
"We are losing our strength… not from an attack. But from imbalance," murmured Saelmir.
Ysera bowed her head. "Enver is not just a Hellseer. He… is something we cannot yet classify."
"We must speak with the eldest council," said Elhara, emerging from the shadows. "For if he is the key… then we have cast out the only door."
---
Before the gate, Enver sat cross-legged. He drew a card from the pocket of his robe. The card began to glow—and speak.
"I was once a priest. But I failed. You saved me. And I am willing to be part of your strength."
The voice fell silent for a moment, then continued:
"These cards are formed from souls not yet at peace. Some human, some astral. Those who choose to aid you will depart to their place once their task is done."
Enver nodded. He spoke little today.
---
The sky darkened. The gate revealed symbols of glowing red and blue. The symbols pulsed slowly—in rhythm with his breath.
Then, a voice arose within his mind:
"If you wish to open the truth… do not bring only wounds. Bring a choice."
---
Enver closed his eyes. In the darkness, he saw the shadow of a woman. Her hair was dark. Her gaze was deep. She did not speak. But she waited.
Her name… was Morren.
And the world was not yet ready to hear her truth.