The Doom Cave.
For several long moments, neither Lilith nor Atheline spoke. They simply stood at the edge of the barren landscape, comparing it to everything they had witnessed throughout the sanctuary.
The contrast was almost impossible to comprehend.
Only a few hundred meters behind them, the hidden world flourished with abundant life. Ancient trees stretched proudly toward the heavens, flowers bloomed in endless colors, and rich Aether flowed peacefully through every corner of the forest.
The lush grass stopped abruptly, replaced by cracked gray earth that seemed to have forgotten what it meant to grow.
The magnificent trees of the sanctuary no longer crossed this invisible boundary. Instead, twisted trunks stood frozen in unnatural shapes, their branches reaching toward the cave as though they had desperately tried to escape before finally turning to stone.
Even the breeze that had accompanied them throughout their journey had vanished.
Atheline slowly looked around.
"This isn’t natural."
Lilith nodded.
"No."
She crouched near the invisible border separating the living forest from the dead land. One hand brushed against the soil; the ground was cold. It possessed a lifeless chill that seemed to seep directly into her fingertips.
She closed her eyes. Dark Aether quietly flowed from her palm into the ground.
A few moments later she withdrew her hand.
"...Nothing."
Atheline looked at her.
"Nothing?"
"It isn’t absorbing Aether." She frowned. " Or rejecting it either. It simply..."
She searched for the right words.
"...doesn’t respond."
That troubled her more than open hostility would have. Everything living reacted to Aether; even ordinary stone possessed traces of it.
This ground felt completely empty, almost... As though something had drained it long ago.
The little fox whimpered softly. Unlike earlier, she refused to cross the invisible boundary.
Her ears flattened against her head as she cautiously stepped backward until she stood safely within the healthy forest once again.
Atheline smiled reassuringly before kneeling beside her.
"You stay here."
The fox immediately agreed. Curling itself beneath the roots of an ancient tree, she continued staring nervously toward the mountain.
Lilith quietly observed the scene.
"I don’t think we’ll convince her otherwise."
"Nor should we." Atheline stood. "Animals often notice danger before people do."
Together they walked forward. The further they advanced into the barren landscape, the colder the air became, almost spiritually.
The rich Aether surrounding the sanctuary gradually faded until even breathing felt different. It reminded Atheline of entering abandoned battlefields where countless lives had been lost but far stronger.
After nearly ten minutes, they reached the base of the mountain itself. The entrance to the cave towered before them.
It was enormous. Large enough for a dragon to walk through without lowering its head. Jagged black stone framed the opening like broken teeth.
There was only pure darkness inside, and even sunlight seemed reluctant to enter.
Lilith narrowed her eyes.
"Interesting."
Atheline glanced toward her.
"What is it?"
"The shadows." She pointed toward the entrance. "They aren’t behaving naturally."
He focused his perception. After several seconds, he noticed it as well. The sunlight reached the edge of the cave, then simply... Stopped. The light itself appeared unwilling to continue.
Atheline slowly removed his bow from his storage. His instincts had been warning him ever since they left the forest.
Wind Aether quietly circulated through his body. The gentle currents spread outward, slipping across the barren landscape.
They entered the cave without difficulty. He closed his eyes as he listened and felt. The first several dozen meters were empty.
His perception stretched farther up to three hundred, then... The wind vanished.
His eyes opened immediately.
"It disappeared."
Lilith turned toward him.
"A barrier?"
He slowly shook his head.
"I don’t know. It simply... ceased existing."
She looked thoughtfully toward the darkness.
"The same thing happened to my shadows."
Atheline blinked.
"You tried already?"
"The moment we arrived." She smiled faintly. "You weren’t the only one investigating."
Her shadows had flowed silently along the cave walls while he examined the surroundings. Like his wind... They had simply disappeared. Neither of them understood how.
Curiosity outweighed caution. Together they approached the entrance. The temperature dropped another few degrees. A faint breeze drifted outward from the cave’s depths, and it carried no scent.
Lilith placed one hand against the stone wall. The black rock appeared ordinary enough, yet... Tiny veins of dark crimson crystal spread through it like frozen blood.
She traced one carefully.
"...These weren’t formed naturally."
Atheline examined another section.
"I agree, the crystal grew after the stone."
He gently tapped one with a knuckle. A dull metallic sound echoed through the entrance. The crystal remained untouched, stronger than ordinary rock.
Several minutes passed as they slowly examined the cave mouth. Eventually Atheline stopped before a section of smooth stone near the entrance.
"This."
Lilith walked over. Unlike the surrounding walls, this area was unusually flat, almost polished. She brushed away centuries of dust.
Something emerged beneath. A lot of carvings; countless thin lines covered the stone. Time had worn most of them away, but fragments remained. There were circles, stars, and strange flowing symbols.
Atheline crouched beside her.
"It resembles a Circle."
Lilith nodded.
"A very ancient one."
She carefully followed one of the surviving lines with her finger.
"It wasn’t carved to seal something but was..." She frowned. "...redirecting something."
He looked up.
"The Veil."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"I think you’re right."
The realization settled between them.
Perhaps... None of it had existed merely to hide the fairies. Perhaps it had also been built to keep travelers away from this place.
Neither ruler attempted to activate the ancient circle. Too much had been destroyed and too many pieces were missing.
Instead, they carefully memorized every surviving symbol. Atheline even sketched several sections into a small notebook carried within his travel pack.
"If we encounter similar circles elsewhere..." He quietly said. "...we might recognize them."
Lilith nodded in agreement.
As the afternoon slowly wore on, they finally stood directly before the cave entrance. The darkness stretched endlessly ahead.