The blackness ahead of them seemed to stretch on endlessly, a void that swallowed every bit of light and warmth. Kai felt the pull of it—the relentless tug on his very soul, as though the wall of darkness wasn’t just an obstacle, but a living, breathing entity that was aware of his presence. Mara stood beside him, her face a mask of determination, though her body was taut with fear. They both knew that crossing this threshold meant surrendering to the unknown, but it was the only choice left.

Kai glanced at her. Her eyes were fixed on the swirling abyss, and for a moment, he saw something in her expression—a flicker of doubt, a whisper of hesitation. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the same unwavering resolve that had kept her by his side throughout their journey.

“We’re doing this,” Mara said, her voice steady despite the chaos around them. “No turning back now.”

Kai nodded. There was no other way forward. The platform had taken on a life of its own, and the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds were now irreparably blurred. They had to face whatever lay on the other side of that wall—or risk losing everything.

Without another word, they stepped forward, hand in hand. As soon as their feet crossed the threshold, the world around them seemed to warp. The air turned cold, and the ground beneath them felt unstable, as though it was made of nothing but fractured pixels. The blackness enveloped them completely, and for a moment, they were suspended in an eerie silence.

Then, the world erupted.

A burst of light exploded in front of them, and suddenly, they found themselves standing in a vast, endless expanse—an infinite void that stretched far beyond the horizon. The ground beneath their feet was a grid of shimmering blue lines, like the surface of some alien machine, and overhead, the sky flickered like a malfunctioning screen. It was as if they had entered the heart of the platform itself, a place where the very fabric of reality bent and twisted.

“Mara…” Kai whispered, his voice barely audible in the strange stillness. “What is this place?”

“This…” Mara’s voice faltered for the briefest moment before she steadied herself. “This is it. The core. The place where the platform’s power is born.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “But… we’re not in the platform anymore. This isn’t just some virtual world. This is real. This is… a part of the platform’s essence.”

Mara nodded, her face pale with realization. “It’s more than just a digital entity. The platform is a bridge—between worlds, between the digital and the physical. It’s… it’s alive.”

A low hum vibrated through the air, and a ripple of energy passed across the horizon. The grid beneath their feet flickered, and in the distance, strange shapes began to materialize—massive structures that seemed to grow out of the void itself. They looked like fragments of old, decaying technology, ancient machines that had long since been abandoned by time. And yet, there was something undeniably familiar about them.

“I’ve seen this before…” Kai murmured, his heart racing as a memory resurfaced. “In the codes, in the files I decrypted. These structures… they’re linked to something ancient. Something older than the platform itself.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Mara turned to him, her eyes wide with understanding. “You think… the platform didn’t create this place? It was here before it even existed?”

Kai nodded. “I think we’re standing in the remnants of something far older—something that’s been dormant, waiting to be awakened. The platform… it’s not just a tool. It’s a key. A key to unlocking this world.”

A sudden crash echoed through the expanse, and they turned to see a massive shape emerging from the shadows. It was like a great, twisted beast made of jagged code and broken fragments of data. Its eyes—if they could even be called eyes—glowed with an eerie, unnatural light, and its body seemed to shift and change with every movement, as though it were made of shifting code, unable to hold a form for long.

Kai and Mara took a step back, their breath catching in their throats. The creature didn’t speak, but there was something in its presence that was unmistakably threatening. It was the embodiment of the platform’s power—an ancient force that had been unleashed, a guardian of this hidden world that Kai had stumbled into.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Mara whispered, her voice trembling. “We need to leave. Now.”

But before they could even think of turning back, the creature lunged forward, its massive body breaking apart into a swarm of smaller fragments, each one moving toward them with terrifying speed. Kai barely had time to react before the first fragment hit him, a wave of intense energy crashing through his body. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he felt as though he were being pulled apart, disassembled into nothingness.

“Mara!” he screamed, but the words were swallowed by the chaos around him.

In that moment, Kai felt the full weight of the platform’s power. It wasn’t just a digital construct—it was a force of nature, a manifestation of an ancient energy that had been hidden away for centuries. And now, it was awake.

He fought against the pull, struggling to stay grounded in the face of the overwhelming power. He had no idea how long they could hold on, how much longer they could survive in this place. But then, through the haze of his fading consciousness, he heard Mara’s voice—faint, but clear.

“Kai… you have to fight. You have to remember…”

“Remember?” Kai echoed, his mind a blur of pain and confusion. “What am I supposed to remember?”

“The key,” Mara’s voice grew stronger, more insistent. “The code—the secret buried within the platform. You were the one who found it. You have the power to control it.”

Control it.

Kai’s heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, it clicked. He wasn’t just a participant in this world. He had created it. He had uncovered the hidden code—the forgotten technology that powered the platform. And now, it was time to wield it.

Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, Kai reached deep inside himself, pulling the fragments of code from his mind. He felt the power of the platform surge within him, the ancient energy flowing through his veins like a torrent. With a single thought, he began to reshape the world around him, bending the rules of the platform to his will.

The creature roared in fury as Kai’s power grew, its form distorting and breaking apart as it tried to resist. But Kai was stronger now. He had control.

With a final, deafening roar, the creature shattered, its pieces disintegrating into nothingness. The grid beneath their feet stabilized, and the dark void around them began to recede, replaced by a shimmering light.

“We did it…” Mara whispered, her voice filled with awe. “You did it.”

Kai collapsed to his knees, exhausted, but triumphant. The battle wasn’t over yet, but for the first time, he felt like he had a chance to win. The platform—this ancient, mysterious force—was no longer a force of destruction. It was something he could control. Something he could use.

But as the light faded and the expanse around them began to settle, Kai knew that this was just the beginning. The true power of the platform had yet to be revealed, and there were still forces at play—forces that wanted to harness that power for their own dark purposes.

“We’re not done yet,” Kai said, his voice low and steady. “We need to find out who—or what—is really behind this.”

Mara nodded, her expression grim. “And we will. Together.”

With that, they turned to face the unknown, ready to confront whatever lay ahead