Elias opened his eyes to emptiness. Not just the darkness around him but a hollowness that clawed at his chest and filled his mind with a quiet dread. The air was cool and dry, brushing against his skin like unseen fingers. Each breath felt foreign, as if his lungs were awakening from a long, forgotten sleep.
He tried to move. The floor beneath him was hard and cold, stone pressing against his back through the thin fabric of his clothes. His muscles tensed, protesting the unfamiliar motion, and a faint ache ran through his limbs, sharp and insistent. Every movement reminded him how little he remembered, how fragile his sense of self had become.
Around him, figures stirred. One by one, others began to awaken, blinking against the dim light that flickered unevenly across the vast hall. Shadows stretched across walls so high they seemed to vanish into nothingness above. A faint whisper of movement, the scrape of a foot against stone, a quick intake of breath, the hall was alive with sound, yet eerily silent, as if it held its breath.
Elias's gaze fell on a girl a few meters away. Dark hair framed her sharp, alert face. She sat cross-legged, scanning the hall with careful calculation. Her eyes flicked over the other people, resting briefly on him. In that pause, there was a silent acknowledgment of their shared confusion, a recognition of the same hollow uncertainty that clawed at him. Then she looked away, her attention returning to the hall.
A faint murmur of voices arose from a cluster of people near the entrance. Laughter, brittle and nervous, cut through the tension like a fragile thread. Some smiled, some scowled, unsure whether relief or defiance sparked the reaction. The sound only highlighted the strangeness of the hall, the way it seemed to distort perception, like stepping into a space outside of reality.
Elias forced himself upright. Every motion was deliberate, every step a reminder of the unfamiliar body he now inhabited. He tried his name aloud. "Elias." The word felt hollow, a title with no story behind it. It hung in the air, strange and empty, unanswered by anything other than the echo of his own voice.
The girl's gaze returned. She finally spoke, her voice low but steady, cutting through the hall's quiet tension. "We should stay together. No matter what this is, we face it together."
Before he could respond, the air vibrated faintly, a subtle shiver that crawled along the stone beneath their feet. A voice, neither male nor female, neither near nor far, filled the space. It carried weight, authority, and an almost imperceptible malice beneath its calmness.
"Welcome to the Tower of Eons."
The words settled over them like stones in the chest. They were deliberate, precise, impossible to ignore.
"Each floor will test your resolve, your strength, your truths. Choose your steps carefully. Trust is a weapon, and deceit is a shield. Only through trial can you approach the truth you seek."
Elias's chest tightened. Every instinct screamed caution, yet a strange curiosity stirred inside him. He glanced around at the others, taking in faces etched with confusion, fear, or the faint spark of defiance. They were as lost as he was.
The girl stood, brushing dust from her clothes. "We need to move. Standing still is how they separate us."
Elias nodded, rising beside her. Their eyes met, and in that brief moment, unspoken understanding passed between them. Not friendship, not yet. But trust, a fragile first thread in a web they would have to weave together.
Ahead, a faint light appeared, spilling from a spiralling staircase that seemed to ascend endlessly into darkness. Its edges glowed softly, a call and a warning entwined in the same pulse. The others hesitated, unsure who would lead, unsure whether stepping forward was brave or foolish.
Elias took a deep breath. "We go together," he said, his voice stronger than he felt.
Liora's lips curved into a small determined smile. "Together."
As the first step echoed against stone, the Tower waited. Patient, silent, vast beyond comprehension, aware of every movement, every thought, every hesitation. Around them, figures moved, uncertain yet compelled, drawn toward the unknown above.
Each step was heavy, filled with anticipation and trepidation. They did not yet know the trials ahead, nor the truths the Tower would demand. But in that shared silence, in the subtle rhythm of movement and breath, they began to form a bond, however tenuous, that would become their anchor in a world of uncertainty.
The staircase wound upward, shadows flickering like whispers across the walls. Elias's hand brushed lightly against the stone, feeling the cool grooves beneath his fingers. He wondered if the Tower remembered him, if it had always been waiting. The question had no answer, and perhaps that was part of the challenge.
Liora glanced back once, then forward again, her gaze steady. "No matter what," she said softly, "we keep moving."
He nodded. "Always."
And so they stepped into the unknown, unaware of how long the journey would be, unaware of what awaited them, yet connected by a shared decision: to face the Tower not as strangers, but together.
The Tower of Eons stretched above them, patient, infinite, and unyielding. This was only the beginning.