'Shit. I should have grabbed a flashlight.' Levi says to himself as he uses his phone's flashlight which barely illuminates anything.
He tries to walk as quiet as he can, but ends up kicking some loose rocks as he walks forward.
Just before he started exploring the cave, he had to get a grip on his excitement. He even came up with an idea for finding the portal after closing it again. A simple trick, stacking rocks in a pile by the door. That way he knows the portal will take him back to his apartment.
Then again, he never tested whether or not the portal would take him somewhere else if he put it on a different door or wall. After thinking about this, he decided he'd test this when he gets back home.
Inspecting the cave, he notices how smooth the floor is compared to the rigid walls and ceiling. He concludes that it could be man made, which isn't ideal. He hopes this cave is abandoned, and that he can find his way out despite no markings showing the way to the exit.
'I have to say, this is boring. But what did I expect? Of course other dimensions would be similar to ours.' At least that's what he thought until he saw something red glowing up ahead.
Levi walks closer to the strange light. Something about it feels natural even though nothing from his world could produce a glow like this other from artificial means. Upon closer inspection, the light seems to be coming from some type of crystal.
Levi leans down and picks it off the floor. As he does, he can feels some heat radiating off of it.
From out of nowhere, Levi hears a voice which causes his to quickly stand up to see a person standing in front of him dressed in a red hodded cloak. His face obscured by the hood and the darkness of the cave.
"That crystal holds power of which you can absorb." The man says pointing to the crystal in Levi's hand. "You'll need it soon. Please follow me, we've been waiting for you."
The man turns around and starts to walk away, but turns back when he realizes Levi isn't following him.
"You trust me? Understandable. I promise no harm will come to you. Our God foretold of your arrival. You are to be granted powers beyond your imagination."
"Powers? What do you mean? And who is this god?" Levi asks.
The hooded man sighs. "I was told that the world you come from, humans there don't have what they call magic. That crystal in your hand is from a low level beast. Think of it as a link between worlds. Those without magic need to use them to link up with the world beyond ours."
Levi looks down at the crystal in his hand. He can feel a strange power coming from it. One that wants to enter his body.
The hooded man sensing Levi's hesitation extends his hand out to Levi. "Give me the crystal, and I'll show you. I assure you that it's safe."
Levi hands the crystal over and watches as some of the red light enters the man's body. "You are a careful one. But there's no need to be afraid of this, or me."
The man hands the crystal back to Levi, this time he allows the energy to flow into his body. Levi can feel a surge of power coursing through his body. The world around him fractures like a mirror and shatters into pieces. When it does, a new world appears in front of him, one filled with an endless landscape of fire.
The man is gone, and all Levi could think about is how this place looks like depictions of Hell. Red fire, lava fields, mountains as far as the eye could see. Distant structures litter the landscape. Even though everything looks to be on fire, even the ground itself, Levi barely noticed the heat. That is of course before he took a few steps forward and the heat intensified.
He took a few steps back and the heat started to dwindle. Levi started to think the man tricked him, that is until he remembered his words. 'Link up with the world beyond ours. But what did he mean by this? Either way, i need go get out of here.'
As soon as Levi thought this, the world fractured again and he found himself standing in front of the hooded man in the cave.
"Welcome back." The man says. "Did you enjoy your time in the fractured veil?"
"Fractured veil? What is that?"
"I'll explain it in more detail later. In short, it's how you train your body to become stronger and use more powerful spells. The further you venture inside the veil, the stronger you'll get." With that being said, the man starts walking away gesturing for Levi to follow him. "By the way, you can call me, Sylas."
Levi places the crystal in his pocket and hesitantly follows Sylas, watching him closely. Something about him doesn't seem right, but he did show Levi a whole new world unknown to him. Just thinking about all the new things he could learn from this new place excits him to the core.
However, he also knows that whatever wonders this world can offer him, there's also a counter balance. A world that has magic to grant blessing also has curses. Everything has balance to it, an opposite and equal reaction like all the natural forces.
Sylas leads Levi into a cavern where a few dozen other hooded figures are waiting.
Some of them stand around a pentagram that takes up a decent portion of the cavern, while others are standing near a statue depicting a demonic deity overlooking the pentagram.
The statue is far taller than a normal person. Sculpted from fractured basalt and bound together by tarnished bronze. It's body twisted and asymmetrical. With one side muscular and armored with jagged carapace plates, the other side with veins and tendons exposed like a flayed beast.
It's gaping maw is filled with rows of jagged fangs descending into the endless darkness of its mouth. A hairless head and non existent eyes and nose brings shivers down Levi's spine.
Sensing danger, Levi starts to back away from them. However, just after a few steps, Sylas snaps his fingers and the tunnel closes behind Levi, preventing his escape.
"There is nothing to fear." Sylas says. "Our God, Azhalith, wishes to grant you power."
A hooded woman walks towards Levi and removes her hood. She has long dark hair and blue eyes that almost seem to glow.
"My name is Ashira Nocturne." She says in a soothing voice. "Like Azhalith, we seek knowledge, especially forbidden ones. We believe that nothing should be forbidden, but this world has deemed some truths to never see the light of day."
Levi knowing that he can't escape just plays along. "Sonwhat does this have to do with me?"
"Azhalith has seen your brilliant mind." Ashira says. "He wishes to grant you his blessing of immortality. As such, we will then become your loyal followers."
"And what if I don't share the same goals as you and your god?"
"We would still be your loyal followers. We are willing to change our goals to follow the one chosen by Azhalith. Because that is what he commanded. Only to follow you."
"I don't understand. You'd change your goals and morals? Just because you were told to?" Levi had a hard time believing any of this. Then again, he was in a different world. Their culture may be vastly different from what he's used to. Even on earth, there were thousands of cultures each with their own unique moral and government systems.
"We don't question the will of Azhalith. Now then, let's begin." Sylas says and Levi notices that one of the hooded figures drags an unsuspecting woman in front of the statue. Her cries muffled by a gage in her mouth.
"What are you going to do to her?" Levi shouts.
Ashira walks over to Levi and places a hand on his shoulder. "Do not concern yourself with her. This is for the greater good. Besides, you don't have a choice. Until Azhalith bestows his blessing onto you, you have to comply with everything we do. By force if necessary."
She raises her voice as she speaks the threat. Levi knows he doesn't have a choice. These people can use magic, they could very well force him if they wanted to. Whatever they are planning to do to that girl, there's nothing he can do to save her.