Long before you were born there were things called countries. Great stretches of land divided by borders. There were capitals filled with towers and lights. At least, that’s what the old stories say.

For a while, the world worked…then people wanted more.

Governments began turning against one another. Planes crossed borders and soldiers were sent into lands that didn’t belong to them. Cities that had never known war watched the sky fill with smoke.

At first, nobody understood why? Why were countries suddenly attacking? Why did it feel like the whole world had decided that peace was no longer worth having?

Someone discovered something buried beneath the ruins of an ancient country.

They called it The Dominion.

A power that, whoever possesses The Dominion would have the power to rule without limits, according to the writings found inside an underground cave.

People went mad for it.

For a decade, the world tore itself apart. Cities burned and millions of people vanished beneath the weight of a war that had started over something most of them had never even seen. The old world collapsed until there was nothing left to hold it together.

Thirty years later, nobody uses words like country anymore. What’s left of humanity lives in scattered little towns. People trade, grow, and build what they can.

Nobody dares to make something bigger anymore. Bigger means trouble. Bigger means The Severance. Nobody really knows who they are. Some say they come at night and dress like regular people, hiding in plain sight. But everyone knows one thing: if you dream too big… The Severance will come for you.

Jason says their leader is the reason. He says the man was powerful long before the world fell. Powerful enough that he understood something most people didn't. People are easier to control when they're alone. Keeping them scattered and afraid keeps them from becoming something bigger than themselves.

But there are stories. Stories that people whisper around fires when they think nobody is listening.

Stories about the Six Keys. Nobody knows what the keys truly unlock.

Some say they're the pieces of an ancient machine capable of bringing back the lost cities. Others insist the whole thing is nothing more than a story invented by desperate people who needed something to believe in. But there are others (the ones that whisper a little quieter) that say the Six Keys don't just unlock something.

They unlock The Dominion. And whoever gathers all six will have the power to change the world or destroy what's left of it.

You only know about the keys because you're looking for them. You and Jason.

He’s obsessed with finding the keys—says they’re the only way to end the fighting. The wild thing is, he already has one. He wears it under his shirt on a chain. He showed you once. It’s small, made of this dark metal that glows when the light hits it just right.

Five keys remain. And you’re closer than you’ve ever been.

You’ve been walking the flats for two days straight. It was one of your longest trips and Jason barely said a word the whole time. Just kept checking behind you both, like he knew something was coming.

Jason’s whole body tensed when he spotted it — this low shape, sticking out of the dirt like the top of a roof.

“There,” he said, the first word in hours.

And then he froze.

You turned to ask what was wrong, but that’s when you saw them. People, far off, too fast to be strangers. Jason grabbed your arm before you could say anything. “Go.”

You barely had time to breathe before he pulled me forward, shoving the metal hatch built into the ground, and slipped inside just as the wind howled around you both.

The moment we got deeper into the ruins, it started to glow.

Not with lights, exactly — the walls glowed. Faint lines tracing up from the floor, pale blue, humming like they were breathing. The air felt different down there too, not stale. Alive. Like this place wasn’t abandoned.

“Jason…” you said, your voice small. “What is this place?”

He didn’t answer. He just kept moving fast, like he already knew.