Prologue — The Day of Ashes
[Nine Years Earlier]
In a world that seemed far too peaceful…
Deep within a forest, far from the great cities, stood a small orphanage isolated from humanity itself.
Trees surrounded it from every direction, as though nature was trying to hide it from the rest of the world.
There, four children lived.
The twins—
Noor and Lucian.
A constantly complaining girl named
Jenica.
And the fourth…
Was the most mysterious boy among them all.
Dastan.
He did not even know his real name.
The owner of the orphanage had found him one night near the edge of the forest, covered in blood and wounds, having completely lost his memory.
He remembered nothing of his family.
Nothing of his homeland.
Not even who he truly was.
And so…
The old man gave him the name “Dastan.”
[The Orphanage]
The owner of the orphanage was a strange man.
The children simply called him “Grandpa.”
An old man with weary eyes… yet within them lingered something far deeper than mere age.
Almost every night, he would sit beside the wooden fireplace and tell bizarre stories.
Stories about other worlds.
About gates connecting dimensions.
About monsters wandering between the stars.
And warriors who crossed worlds as if they were ordinary roads.
But the children…
Never truly took his words seriously.
Jenica was always the first to complain:
— “Grandpa’s back with his crazy stories again…”
While Lucian would laugh lightly.
As for Noor…
She listened with genuine interest.
And every time the old man finished a story, she would ask him with a radiant smile:
— “Did you really see those worlds yourself?”
Only then…
Would Grandpa smile.
A sorrowful smile.
Before answering:
— “Far more than you can imagine, little one.”
[Their Ninth Birthday]
That morning…
The four of them turned nine years old.
And for the first time in a long while, the orphanage was filled with laughter.
Noor went into the forest with the other children to gather flowers in celebration of Lucian’s birthday.
He was only eleven months younger than her, yet she always insisted on teasing him by saying:
— “I’m the older sister, so you should respect me.”
And Lucian would always answer:
— “You’re not even a year older than me. Stop acting like an old woman.”
Which would make Noor burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Jenica…
Complained endlessly because everyone had left her alone to clean the tables.
While Dastan silently helped her, as always.
It was an ordinary day.
Peaceful.
Warm.
And perhaps…
That was exactly why its ending became so terrifying.
[3:17 PM]
The sky trembled.
Everyone froze.
Then…
The heavens literally split apart.
Gigantic black gates appeared above the world, as though reality itself had been torn open.
Silence consumed everything for a single second.
Before hell began.
Creatures descended from the gates.
Beings that looked nothing like humans.
Twisted bodies.
Glowing eyes.
And voices that made the blood freeze inside one’s veins.
Fire devoured the forest.
Screams filled the air.
And everything…
Collapsed within minutes.
[Minutes Later — Inside the Orphanage]
Grandpa opened a massive door hidden beneath the orphanage floor.
A door he had never allowed any child to see before.
— “Get inside! Quickly!”
He grabbed Lucian, Jenica, and Dastan, pushing them downward.
The basement was dark and freezing cold.
Jenica screamed in fear:
— “What’s happening?! Where’s Noor and the others?!”
But Grandpa did not answer immediately.
He stared at them for a long moment.
Far too long.
As though he were saying goodbye.
Then, for the first time ever, he spoke with a trembling voice:
— “No matter what you hear… do not come out.”
And he shut the door.
Then ran outside…
To save the remaining children.
[Five Minutes Later]
The silence was worse than the screams.
The three children sat inside the basement trembling.
The sounds of explosions echoed from outside.
And the monsters…
Were getting closer and closer.
Jenica began crying.
Lucian stared at the door without moving.
While Dastan stood in complete silence, his fists clenched tightly.
Five minutes passed…
Yet it felt like an entire lifetime.
Then Lucian finally spoke:
— “We have to go out.”
Jenica immediately screamed:
— “Are you insane?!”
But Lucian slowly grabbed the doorknob.
His hands were shaking.
Then he opened it.
[The Day of Ashes]
The smell was the first thing that struck them.
The smell of blood.
Burning.
And ash.
The three stepped outside slowly…
Then froze.
The orphanage had been completely destroyed.
The trees were burning.
The ground was drenched in blood.
And at the center of the courtyard…
Grandpa lay motionless.
Lucian’s eyes widened.
As for Jenica…
She collapsed to her knees instantly.
But that was not the worst part.
The bodies.
The children’s corpses were scattered everywhere.
Torn apart.
Crushed.
As though something monstrous had played with them mercilessly.
Jenica covered her mouth as her body shook violently.
Meanwhile, Lucian began to cry.
Not the cry of a child…
But the collapse of a human whose entire world had shattered.
— “This is my fault…”
His words came out broken.
— “If I hadn’t asked for the celebration… if they hadn’t gone out to gather flowers…”
As for Dastan…
He stood silently.
Yet the grief within his eyes was heavier than any tears.
[Burying the Children]
It took them long hours.
With their tiny hands, they gathered the remains.
Burying the children one by one.
Until they finally finished.
Thirty-two graves.
The three stood silently before them.
But suddenly…
Dastan frowned.
— “Wait.”
Lucian slowly raised his head.
Dastan spoke:
— “There were thirty-six children in the orphanage.”
Jenica nodded.
— “Including the three of us…”
Lucian’s eyes widened instantly.
— “There should be thirty-three bodies.”
Silence fell.
Then Jenica whispered fearfully:
— “Noor…?”
The three looked around once more.
But found nothing.
Noor’s body…
Was nowhere to be seen.
[The Forbidden Basement]
They returned to the basement once again.
But this time…
They truly searched.
Behind the old walls, they discovered boxes filled with drawings, journals, and ancient weapons.
And the truth was there.
Grandpa…
Had not been a senile old man.
He had once been a warrior.
A man who traveled between worlds.
Who fought monsters.
Who witnessed things beyond human imagination.
They found drawings of him beside a beautiful woman and a little girl.
His wife and daughter.
But the journals revealed the painful truth.
The monsters had killed them before his eyes.
And he had been unable to save them.
That was why…
He created the orphanage.
To protect other children from suffering the same fate.
Lucian sat reading the journals silently.
Then slowly closed them.
And raised his head.
His eyes were different now.
— “Noor is still alive.”
Dastan looked at him.
— “How do you know?”
Lucian clenched his fist tightly.
— “Because I’m going to find her.”
[Nine Years Later]
Years passed.
The three children grew older.
But that day…
Never left them.
They trained.
Fought.
Searched everywhere for a way to cross between worlds.
Until…
At the age of eighteen.
They finally succeeded.
The three stood before a gigantic black gate swirling with unknown energy.
Even the air itself trembled around it.
Jenica slowly stepped forward.
— “If we enter… we may never return.”
Dastan turned toward Lucian.
— “Are you ready?”
Lucian stared at the gate for a long moment.
Then calmly said:
— “Since the Day of Ashes… we never had a path back to begin with.”
And he stepped forward.
Toward another world.
And toward the truth that would change everything.