The gate had never been opened.

The gate had never been opened.

Not in a hundred years. Not in five hundred.

A thousand.

Carved into the side of a forgotten canyon, it stood as a warning more than a structure. Massive stone doors sealed with ancient runes no one could read anymore. Whatever language had been used to lock it… had long been lost.

But the message was clear:

Do not open.

For centuries, nothing happened. The wind passed through. The world moved on. People forgot why the gate was even there.

Until the night it changed.

The runes began to glow.

At first, faintly—like dying embers coming back to life. Then brighter. Cracks spread across the surface, and a deep vibration echoed through the canyon.

Something on the other side… was pushing.

The seal broke.

The doors moved.

Slowly.

Heavily.

Like they hadn’t been opened in a very, very long time.

As the gap widened, a strange mix of light and darkness poured out. The air grew cold. Silent.

And for a moment… something stood there.

Watching.

Waiting.

No one saw it clearly. No one stayed long enough to understand what it was.

Because the moment the gate fully opened

it was already gone.

Whatever had been trapped inside for a thousand years…

was no longer there.

And no one knew where it went.