I no longer knew where I was.
I woke upon a strange, cold ground—nothing like the soil of Nerax, nor the stone floors of the school. Something about this place made the air feel heavier… and the silence louder than any scream.
Slowly, I sat up.
Everything around me felt unreal, as though I had stepped into a distorted dream. The sky above was not truly a sky—only a glowing green mist, swirling and boiling as if it were alive.
Massive twisting walls rose and sank around me.
And in the center…
A mirror.
It stood alone in the middle of a stone courtyard, as though it had been waiting for me.
I stood up, touching my hand instinctively.
The Mark was still there.
It glowed softly, almost breathing with me. My heart beat in rhythm with it—half fear, half curiosity.
I stepped closer to the mirror.
But I did not see my face.
Instead, the mirror showed a city burning.
Red… like the mouth of hell.
Somewhere in the distance, faint cries echoed through the flames.
Before I could even think—
Something reached out from inside the glass…
And pulled me in.
I fell into the very city I had just seen.
Fire devoured everything. People ran through the streets in panic.
Yet no one saw me.
Not a single person looked my way.
It was as if I were a ghost, watching a scene that had already been written.
I looked toward the sky.
Something dark was there.
A colossal being with wings of shadow… and eyes burning like twin stars.
And somehow, in a way I could not explain…
I knew it was searching for me.
"This is not the past," a voice said behind me.
"It is a possibility of the future."
I turned quickly.
The masked man stood upon a burning tower, his voice calm—as if he already knew everything.
"Who are you?!" I shouted.
But he vanished just as suddenly as he had appeared.
The city began to melt away again, dissolving into fire and ash.
And once more—
I was pulled out of the mirror.
I crashed back onto the same cold ground.
The Mark still burned faintly.
My hands trembled.
Who am I?
And why me?
Why is all of this happening to me?
I never wanted anything.
I was simply living.
Was that my mistake?
Then a massive stone gate appeared before me.
It was enormous—blue like the ocean at night.
As I approached, it slowly opened on its own.
Behind it stretched a staircase descending into darkness.
Did I have another choice?
I didn't know.
But I began walking down.
The staircase never seemed to end.
And there were whispers.
At first, I thought they were only in my head.
Then they began speaking my name.
"Vail… Vail…"
Then they spoke of the Mark.
"The Forgotten… the Forgotten…"
Suddenly a new voice emerged from the walls.
A feminine voice, soft and fluid like water.
"Because you were empty… and only emptiness can carry what the world has not yet understood."
I stopped.
"Who's there? Who are you?!"
The voice replied:
"I am the shadow of the Mark… the first to carry it… before it was forgotten."
I didn't understand anything.
But I kept descending.
Until I finally arrived.
A vast circular chamber.
At its center floated a sphere of pure energy.
Around it were seven stone hearts, each carved with a symbol.
But one of them alone was dark.
Forgotten.
I stepped closer, unable to stop myself.
When I touched the energy—
A vision consumed me.
I saw a child… crying.
Sidra placed the baby gently before a door in the middle of the night.
A masked man stood nearby, watching.
Several other men spoke in low voices.
"Let him grow alone."
"The Mark will awaken him when the time comes."
The vision shattered, pulling me back.
I gasped for air as if I had been drowning.
Was I truly chosen?
Was I born for this?
Did Sidra… know?
I fell to my knees.
Nothing felt real.
And I didn't want to be part of this.
Yet…
I didn't run.
A small girl appeared before me.
Silver hair.
Eyes the color of violet dusk.
She looked as if she had stepped out of an ancient dream.
"My name is Telyn," she said.
"I am the guide of the Mark."
I couldn't speak.
I simply stared at her.
"You stand in the heart of the labyrinth," she continued.
"Every bearer of a Mark must pass through it."
"But no one before you has survived the madness of the Forgotten Mark."
"Why me?" I asked.
"Because you are the only one who never sought anything."
I looked at the first gate… then back at her.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you will remain here."
"Forever."
I stood in silence for a moment.
Then I took a breath.
"Then let's begin."
The labyrinth seemed to smile with quiet mockery.
I thought I was ready.
But I quickly realized nothing could prepare you for what was coming.
I followed Telyn in silence.
Her footsteps were so light it felt as though she never touched the ground.
We stopped before a massive gate.
A symbol resembling an eye was carved across its surface.
It trembled slightly… almost like breathing.
"This is the first door," she said.
"The Echo of Identity."
She gestured toward the Mark on my hand.
"Until you understand who you are… the door will not open."
I approached it.
Nothing happened.
But I felt something strange.
The door was asking me a question—not with sound, but with a feeling that struck directly at my heart.
Who are you?
"I am Vail."
Who is Vail?
"A boy from Nerax… no father, no mother…"
That is what you were.
Not what you are.
I stepped back.
Telyn looked at me calmly.
"You cannot lie to the door."
"Nor to yourself."
My thoughts began to spiral.
What if I was something else entirely?
What if I was only a trick of fate?
Was I merely the bearer of the Mark?
Or something created for it?
Voices began to rise within me.
Sidra's voice:
"You are my son, Vail… my whole world."
The masked man's voice:
"You were chosen… from the very beginning."
Then another voice—one I did not recognize.
"You are a forgotten shadow… with no origin."
I shouted:
"I am not a shadow!"
"I am… I am just… Vail!"
"Even if I am nothing… I decide who I become!"
The door trembled.
Slowly, light spread across its surface.
Then it opened.
Behind it…
There was nothing.
Only another mirror.
This time, it reflected my face.
I stepped closer.
I saw myself clearly.
But behind me…
A shadow was smiling.
Telyn whispered:
"Identity is not what you see."
"It is what you accept."
I reached out my hand—
And stepped through the mirror.
I found myself inside a white room with no walls.
Everything floated in the air—books, pens, loose pages from a volume titled "Those Who Were Lost."
Was I walking?
Or floating?
I couldn't tell.
Then a man appeared before me.
"I am The Ink."
Yes.
The mysterious author himself.
He stood with his back to me, writing upon a wall of light.
Without turning, he said:
"Welcome, Vail."
"This was only the first door."
"Six remain."
"Who are you?" I asked.
He smiled.
But I still could not see his face.
"I am the one who recorded the story."
"And now… the one who will write it has arrived."
Then he vanished.
Leaving me alone once more.
But this time…
Something inside me had changed.
For the first time…