The letters along the far wall lit one by one, like a servant recognizing a command. Stone grinding against stone, dust rained from the ceiling.
The kneeling golems didn't move, but their heads tilted slightly toward the door as it began to part
A line of pure white split the darkness. Cold air poured through.
Theo raised an arm to shield his face. Frost rushed in with the wind, carrying with it a smell of iron.
Alain's breath fogged. "What's…going on?"
The light widened. The two halves of the gate pulled apart. Beyond, the world was a sky of gray, snow mixing with black dust. The wind howled through the opening, like it was trying to tell them something.
Kai'el stirred weakly on the ground, his eyes fluttering. "Cold… it's so cold…"
Alain ran over to Kai'el, checking his condition. The black veins that had stopped an hour ago started to grow again.
He tightened his grip on Kai'el's cloak and lifted him again. "We keep moving."
Theo hesitated, but nodded.
Together they stepped toward the light. After a few stone steps, the floor trembled beneath their boots. The last few feet of stone ended abruptly at the threshold.
And then, nothing.
The mountain didn't slope downward or crumble away. It simply ended.
Alain froze, staring into the scene ahead. The wind whipped past him, tearing at his cloak, dragging flecks of snow along his face.
The world beyond the gate was something out of a fantasy. A single, clean slice split the mountain from head to heart.
Across the chasm, they could see the other half of the world. The corridor they had just walked through continued on the far side, bisected perfectly.
The same kneeling golems mirrored their counterparts here, heads bowed toward an invisible center. Runes glimmered faintly on the opposing wall, their reflections flickering across the gap like ghosts.
Theo stepped to the edge, peering down. "You've got to be kidding me…"
The chasm fell endlessly, disappearing into red haze and molten light. Rivers of magma pulsed far below like veins under translucent skin, illuminating the torn interior of the mountain.
For an instant, the mists parted—and he saw it.
A crater. Smooth and circular. The stone around it charred and blackened beyond recognition.
Alain felt the breath leave his chest. "That's the impact," he whispered.
Theo turned. "Impact of what?"
Alain didn't answer. He didn't need to. The image was already there in his mind.
The mural's mid-panel, a spear of light splitting heaven and earth.
He stood at the edge, staring into the wound carved through the mountain. The mountain had not broken or eroded—it had been cleaved.
The cut was so clean it defied nature, edges smoothed like molten glass, surfaces still glowing faintly as if the stone remembered the moment it was divided.
Theo swallowed hard. "How the hell do we cross that?"
Alain didn't answer. His eyes followed a faint shape that jutted out from the stone ledge ahead, two thick ropes vanished into the white fog.
They stepped closer. A bridge emerged from the shadows.
It was nothing more than a narrow span of rotting wooden slats tied together by rope, hanging across the abyss. Half the planks were warped, some split in half, others missing entirely.
The ropes creaked with every gust of wind, swaying gently as though the whole thing were breathing
Theo gave a low whistle. "You've got to be kidding me."
Alain crouched near the edge and tested one of the ropes. It groaned but held. "It'll take us across," he said.
"Or it'll take us down."
Alain glanced back at Kai'el, who remained unconscious but breathing shallowly. The black veins along his neck had darkened again, pulsing faintly beneath the skin. There was no time to look for another way.
He shifted Kai'el's weight on his back and placed a foot on the first plank. It flexed with a sickening creak. The sound echoed into the chasm and never returned.
Theo hesitated behind him. "This thing's barely holding itself together."
"It just needs to hold a little longer," Alain said, his voice steady.
He stepped forward. The ropes shuddered under his weight, the whole bridge swinging in a slow, nauseating rhythm.
Every plank groaned like a dying thing. Some bowed, some cracked, some simply fell into the dark. Alain's breath came in shallow bursts, his hands gripping the ropes until his knuckles turned white.
Theo followed a few paces behind, one hand clutching the line, his eyes fixed on the opposite side.
"You know," he muttered, "if this snaps, I'm haunting you."
A gust slammed into them. The bridge swayed violently, the ropes shrieking against their posts. Alain bent low, shielding Kai'el with his body.
Alain dared a glance ahead. The far side of the mountain looked impossibly distant—just a narrow slit of gray stone framed by mist.
Between here and there stretched a gulf so wide it made the air itself seem thinner. The other half of the mountain floated like a separate world, unreachable, its frozen ledges glinting faintly under the storm light.
I'm sure whoever made this made sure it holds right? RIGHT?
He pressed forward. The ropes burned cold against his palms, every plank another protest beneath his boots. His breath came ragged, but he didn't slow.
Theo's voice carried over the wind. "You seeing that? It's farther than it looked!"
Alain didn't even reply, only one thought ran through his head.
Please hold. Please hold. Pleaseee holddd.
Another gust hit, harder than before. The bridge lurched sideways, ropes screaming. For a heartbeat, his stomach dropped as gravity tilted beneath him—sky above, ground nowhere.
Kai'el stirred weakly against his back. Alain felt the movement and steadied his grip, whispering,
"Hang on, we're almost there."
But the words were for himself more than for Kai'el.
Another gust tore through the ravine. The bridge pitched hard to the side, ropes whining against their anchors.
Then came a sound Alain would never forget. A sharp, dry snap.
The right-hand rope jerked violently. A spray of frayed fibers whipped past his face, stinging his cheek.
Theo froze. "What was that?"
"Doesn't matter, RUN!" Alain snapped.
He shifted Kai'el's weight higher on his back and broke into a run. The planks screamed beneath his boots, splintering, tearing free. Theo hesitated only for a breath before following, his footfalls thundering behind him.
Each board they crossed gave out the instant it left their weight, falling away in a rain of wood and dust.
The far side still looked impossibly far.
The second rope began to fray, fibers snapping one by one like the ticking of a clock.
Theo cursed. "It's going—"
"I know!" Alain shouted back, breath burning his lungs.
Kai'el's body felt heavier with every step, his limp arm dragging behind. The ropes above them sagged, the bridge twisting. One plank tilted sharply, and Theo stumbled, slamming into the side rail. His foot slipped through a gap in the boards, dangling over the void.
"Climb!" Alain barked, bracing his legs against the last beam still holding. The rope tore at his palms, the friction burning through the fabric.
Theo clawed upward, boots scraping splinters off the last few intact boards. Alain pulled with everything left in him, the muscles in his back screaming.
The final plank cracked.
With a hoarse shout, Alain threw his weight backwards, dragging Theo over the edge. The two of them tumbled onto the far ledge just as the bridge tore away completely, vanishing into the fog below.
The echo of the collapse rolled through the chasm, a deep, hollow groan that sounded almost alive.
Theo lay sprawled on his back, gasping. "You're insane."
Alain pushed himself up slowly, the world spinning. His hands bled where the rope had burned through his gloves.
He looked back—what little remained of the bridge was already gone. Only the frayed ends of rope swung loosely in the wind, tapping against the cliff like a dying heartbeat.
Alain exhaled through his teeth. "We made it."
The words felt hollow in his throat, but he said them anyway.
But they could not rest just yet.
The far corridor stretched ahead, narrow and silent, the air thick with dust and the fading echo of the collapse. Alain adjusted Kai'el's weight, feeling how light he had become. Each step forward stirred the ash clinging to their boots.
Theo groaned behind him. "If the next door tries to kill us, I'm done."
Alain didn't answer. His focus was on the shallow breaths against his shoulder. Then came a weak cough. Another followed, sharper, until blood flecked Kai'el's lips.
Alain stopped cold. "Hey…stay with me now."
No response. The black veins along the boy's neck had spread further, pulsing faintly beneath the skin.
Theo's voice dropped. "It's getting worse."
Alain tightened his grip, jaw set. "Then we move faster."
The wind howled once more through the broken mountain, carrying with it the echo of something unseen…
Waiting.