The sun had already begun its descent when Kael finally finished hauling the last of the coal from the nearby village. His hands ached from the weight of the heavy sacks, and the cool evening air did little to calm his fatigue. For years, he had lived the life of a farmer—simple, unremarkable, and unnoticed. The world around him might have been embroiled in an ancient war, but to Kael, it was nothing more than a distant storm, far removed from his small, quiet life.
Yet, even in the comfort of routine, Kael couldn't escape the whispers of conflict. Every morning, he would hear the rumors of battles fought between the realms of Light and Shadow, the sounds of distant clashes of magic and steel echoing from faraway lands. He had never cared for the politics of it all. To him, it was enough to wake up, work the fields, and make sure his family had enough to eat. That was all that mattered.
But today was different. As Kael made his way home, his thoughts wandered not to the war or the food he would prepare for dinner, but to the strange unease that had gripped his heart all morning. The air felt thicker than usual, as if something was watching him from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
He shook off the feeling as best he could, adjusting the weight of the sacks on his shoulders, but the feeling remained. Something wasn't right.
It wasn't long before the unease took a tangible form. The world around him began to blur, the familiar dirt path twisting and shifting like the very fabric of reality was warping. His vision faltered, and a dizzying sensation overtook him. The weight of the sacks grew unbearable, and his legs wobbled beneath him.
And then, everything went black.
Kael woke with a sharp gasp, the ground cold beneath him. He blinked, struggling to make sense of the disorienting scene before him. He was no longer in the familiar fields of his village. The landscape around him was alien—unnatural. Two massive gates stood before him, one gleaming with brilliant light, the other consumed by an impenetrable darkness. The contrast between the two was jarring, as if they were the embodiment of opposing forces—Light and Shadow.
Kael tried to move, but his body felt heavy, his limbs unresponsive. A strange sensation washed over him, as if the very air around him was charged with an unseen power. He struggled to stand, his eyes fixed on the gates, but before he could make sense of what was happening, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Hello, fellow mortal," it said, its tone neither warm nor cold, but somehow deeply unsettling. "You are currently in the Resurrection Chamber."
A shiver ran down Kael's spine, his heart racing in his chest. He tried to speak, but no words came. Instead, he took a hesitant step forward, his gaze shifting from one gate to the other. The gate of light radiated warmth, its brilliance almost too much to bear, while the gate of shadow was dark, cold, and oppressive, as if the very air around it had a life of its own.
The voice continued, though it seemed to be both in his mind and around him, filling the space with its presence. "You have been chosen, Kael. The path you walk now will shape the fate of this world. The question is not whether you will rise, but what you will become."
The words echoed in Kael's mind, but he couldn't comprehend their meaning. Chosen? Path? Fate? What was this place? And why was he here?
As if sensing his confusion, the voice spoke again. "You are weak. A mere mortal, much like the others of your kind. But there is power within you, Kael—power that lies dormant, waiting to be awakened. Will you accept it? Will you rise from your limitations?"
Kael stumbled back, his heart racing as panic began to claw at him. This couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening. He was just a farmer, a simple man with no magic, no strength—just a life of hard work and quiet moments.
And yet, the gates stood before him. The voice reverberated in his skull, and a strange warmth began to build within him, like a spark igniting deep within his chest.
Suddenly, the gate of shadow seemed to pulse with energy, and Kael felt a strange pull toward it. The light seemed to push him away, its brilliance too overwhelming. The darkness, on the other hand, called to him like a whisper in the wind. There was something inviting about it, something familiar in its cold embrace.
Before he could stop himself, Kael took a step toward the shadowed gate. The moment his foot touched the ground, a surge of power coursed through him, his body jerking with the intensity of the force. He gasped, the world spinning around him as the air thickened, shadows swirling and wrapping around him like tendrils of smoke.
He looked up, and in that moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
Kael had crossed a threshold. His journey had begun.