Prologue: The Price of High Pay

Evadne Ren shivered as she gripped her spear tightly. She sighed, having lost count of the number of times she had scanned this place today. Even though the air wasn't particularly cold, she slipped her fingers beneath her collar, finding the fabric under her armor damp and slick with sweat. The walls were lined with numerous wires and machinery, all feeding into the room behind her. The only way inside was a single, narrow path bordered by pitch-black darkness on either side. She had tried many times to see what lay beyond that darkness, but she had failed every time.

She sighed again. How much longer was she supposed to stand here aimlessly? She wasn’t even told what she was guarding. It was only natural, of course; the most boring and tiring duties were always handed down to the newbies. Not that she could complain. At the very least, the isolation allowed her to gather her thoughts in private. Her superiors were simply too stubborn and difficult to communicate with anyway. She turned to examine the door, which was as still as ever. She wondered why they even called it a door since it just looked like a private safe, albeit its giant size. The immense power radiating from behind the door was so intense that her head and eyes started to ache after only a short while. She knew if she got too close to it, she’d turn into dust from the immense energy. She knew this since she had watched it happen to one of her foolish colleagues who was trying to prove how brave he was.

She turned her back to the door just as a tall man entered the room. His long, beautiful white hair shimmered as he walked—or rather, floated—inside. She couldn't tell which, mostly because she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from his face. His features were so impossibly perfect that she couldn't understand how she was even breathing the same air as him. His pearly white eyes met hers, and he offered a warm smile. Blushing, she quickly lowered her gaze to her feet.

“Good work, thank you again for taking on this arduous task.” his voice rang in the loud silence. “I hope you’ll be continuing with it, I’ll ask them to raise your pay more.”

“O-Oh no, thank you, my lord,” she struggled to speak with her parched throat, “but it’s already very high, I don’t even know what to do with all that money!”

“Oh dear, then please do take care of yourself, I wouldn’t know who else would be brave enough to take on such a demanding post.” He stepped past her, stopping right in front of the massive door. Evadne’s thoughts drifted back to his striking beauty, but this time, it only made her miss her husband, who bore an uncanny resemblance to him. It had been a long time since she had last seen him, and she would probably never see him again.

The man approached the door and ran his hand over it. Then his lips curled into an eerie smile that sent shivers up her spine. No, she decided. Her husband was definitely better than him.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and the whole room shook. The door shuddered slightly. Evadne brandished her spear and was in full battle mode when he held out his hand, silently signaling her to stop. The door shuddered again, as if it was being torn down from the inside.

He laughed. “You can sense it, can’t you?” He wasn’t talking to her; he was talking to the door. There was a loud thud in response. He grinned. “That has returned. And after you went to all that painstaking trouble to stop things from happening… in the end, it was all for nothing!” Suddenly, his laughter cut short. He snapped his face upward, standing completely still as if listening to a distant whisper. He gave a single, slow nod, then turned back to the door, his grin returning.

The door shuddered again, far more forcefully this time. Klaxons began to blare. Evadne feared the threshold wouldn’t hold, but surprisingly, the massive structure stood firm. However, the power radiating from behind it spiked so drastically that the air began to sting her skin. She backed away. Nothing was more important than her own life.

“Don’t worry, we won’t do anything for now. But this time, you won’t be there to stop it.” He turned and smiled at Evadne. “Fear not, the door won’t break, it’ll settle down in a while. Sorry for the trouble. I hope you continue to do your job like you always have.”

Evadne swallowed hard and nodded just as the door thundered again. The man turned and departed exactly as he had arrived—silently and quickly. Or floated. Evadne still hadn’t decided which.

Left alone in the blaring alarms, she turned back to the shuddering door. Don’t worry, the door won’t break, it’ll settle down in a while.

Evadne didn’t believe that. To her, it looked as if it had already been rendered useless.