Aiden hesitated.
Not out of fear.
But because the Akashic Insight in his soul… screamed.
It couldn't see beyond this threshold.
It couldn't comprehend it.
That had never happened before.
Even in the moments when his eyes bled, when forbidden symbols etched themselves into his vision—there was always something.
Here? Nothing. Just void.
As if this place wasn't merely forgotten by reality…
…but denied.
He stepped in.
No flash.
No transition.
Just darkness swallowing light.
Then—
Stairs.
Thousands of them. Carved from obsidian glass that reflected not his body, but his soul—shifting with each step.
With every level he climbed, voices rose.
They spoke in forgotten tongues.
But the meaning seeped in, like ink through skin.
"What is your name?"
Aiden paused. Looked up.
There was nothing but stairs.
"Why does that matter?" he asked aloud.
Silence answered.
And he kept climbing.
The second floor.
It wasn't a floor at all.
It was a memory.
His.
But… wrong.
