The portal closed behind him with a whisper. There was no more light, no more stars. Only a broken cathedral, toppled over in the midst of the Abyss, as if God had cast it away in disgust.
Eidan moved in silence. His footsteps echoed on the black stones, and each echo seemed to bring back forgotten words. "Why did you leave us…?"
The broken stained-glass windows depicted faceless saints. Upside-down crosses, weeping statues.
And in the center of the nave, there was an altar of flesh.
On it lay a man draped in priestly robes, but his face was a skull carved from marble.
A book was chained to his chest.
He bled silently.
The Archive of Ashes pulsed beside him. Its pages turned of their own accord.
> [FRAGMENT REVELATED: CORRUPT PRIEST – "LITURGY OF SIN"]
The chains snapped.
A wave of spiritual pain washed over Eidan, forcing him to his knees. A broken voice rang out through the broken glass:
> "I knelt in faith. I rose in hatred."
The altar dissolved. The Fragment pierced him, and a new cursed prayer was written in his soul.
---
Soon afterward, a second path opened.
A crypt shrouded in crimson mist.
The stairs seemed endless, and the darkness grew thicker with every step.
Finally, he found a silver coffin draped in dead roses.
He opened it.
A beautiful man, with white hair and cold skin, lay within. His eyelids slowly lifted.
Two red eyes stared at him with hunger... and melancholy.
> "You've forgotten what it means to live... and now you want to forget death, too?"
The Vampire smiled. There was no anger in his face. Only a hunger as old as time itself.
> [FRAGMENT REPORTED: VAMPIRE – "BLOOD OF THE ETERNAL"]
A bite. A whisper. A curse accepted.
Eidan collapsed to the ground. His veins burned. The thirst became unbearable.
He wanted to tear the flesh from the world, he wanted to love for eternity, he wanted to never forget anything again.
When he stood up, his eyes shone in the darkness.
He had become something different.
Something that lived even without a beating heart.
---
Now, two new Fragments inhabited him.
Two new voices had joined the chorus.
And as the Archives grew, the real world began to feel the call of what was returning.
The Tower of Babel shook.
And from its lofty heights, those who had betrayed it looked up to the heavens.
A whisper ran through the walls:
> "He's still alive."
Eidan raised his head.
Below him, the Abyss watched him.
Before him, the horizon blazed.
It was time to ascend again.