The gate loomed above Kaelen like the skeleton of a god. Every inch of it pulsed faintly, as though it were alive, its rhythm steady and slow—thump… thump… thump. With each beat, Kaelen felt the air around him shift, resonating deep in his chest as if his own heart were syncing with the sound.
The colossus stopped before the gate, its massive helm tilting upward. For the first time, it did not move to attack. Instead, it raised its blade and struck the ground. The impact sent a low, rolling wave through the black surface beneath them.
From within the gate, a voice answered—not a whisper like the Abyss, but a low, endless tone that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Who comes to the First Heartbeat?"
Kaelen's knees threatened to buckle. This presence was… ancient. Older than the Abyss, older than the Veil itself. The Abyss inside him hissed like oil hitting fire. Leave. This is not ours.
He swallowed hard. "Kaelen Veyr… Keeper of the Abyss."
A silence followed, then the tone deepened. "Not yet."
The gate split down the center, revealing a narrow passage of flowing red light. Shapes flickered within—moments from lives Kaelen didn't recognize. He saw warriors crowned in shadow, cities burning under black skies, and a single figure robed in gold standing against an ocean of darkness.
The Abyss screamed in his mind. Walk away!
But something in Kaelen's chest—something other—pulled him forward. His hand touched the glowing threshold, and warmth surged up his arm. For an instant, he felt weightless, infinite. Then—
A blinding surge of light consumed him. His body dissolved, his thoughts unraveling, until only a single truth remained:
He was not the first Keeper. And the one before him… was still here.
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