((They say there is a place hidden deep within the folds of the Earth — a cave untouched by time, unseen by any mortal eye. Some call it a myth, a dream whispered through centuries. Others call it Seraphynia.))

((Those who claim to have heard the tale speak of an entrance veiled by mist and moonlight, found only to those who were never meant to find it. Beyond its threshold lies not darkness, but a radiant world — a paradise untouched by decay or sorrow. It is said that within this cavern lies an endless expanse, a living utopia bathed in golden light, where rivers hum melodies and skies shimmer with impossible color.))

((But the most extraordinary truth about Seraphynia is not its beauty, nor its impossible serenity… It is its people.))

((Within its world dwell countless women — of every kind, every species, every legend forgotten by time. Elves of eternal grace, mermaids of luminous song, spirits woven from starlight, and mortals blessed with immortal form. They live in harmony, bound together by eternal youth and everlasting love.))

((No one there has ever aged. No one there has ever died. For they were blessed long ago, by a being who once walked among them — the First and Only Man.))

((The stories say he appeared from the mortal world, drawn into the cave by destiny itself. His arrival filled Seraphynia with joy beyond imagining. He ruled with kindness, loved with boundless heart, and united the eternal sisters in peace. To them, he was a god — their king, their savior, their beloved.))

((Yet, even immortality could not hold him forever. When he fell ill, the heavens within the cave dimmed. With his final breath, he bestowed upon every woman his divine gift — eternal beauty, eternal youth, eternal life — and promised to return again.))

((Then, in a flash of golden light, he vanished. Now, ages beyond counting have passed within the endless paradise. The women of Seraphynia still wait. They laugh, they sing, they love — but deep in their hearts, they ache for the one thing their world has never known again.))

((A man.))

((For the cave’s blessing is also its curse. None who enter may ever leave. Those who step inside are forever bound to its light. And so they wait — radiant, immortal, and yearning — for the day another man should stumble upon Seraphynia’s hidden mouth and awaken their long-forgotten dream.))

((And when the world’s veil finally parts and the lost paradise is found again... the gates of eternity will close once more.))

At the farthest edge of Seraphynia, where the eternal light met silence, knelt Azaleira Kynareth, Seraphynia's only prophet and acting leader. Her veil of black and gold pooled around her, her bare feet pressed to the soluble rock before a wall made of radiant energy that no one could exit out of, only enter. It was named— The Threshold of God.

No one else in Seraphynia but she was permitted here. It was the gate between worlds, the place where their divine king had once entered… and where he promised to return.

Her head was bowed, hands clasped in quiet prayer.

“Beloved one… if your light still lingers beyond this veil, let it find its way home…”

Her voice faded into stillness. Only the soft hum of the Threshold replied. Azaleira had prayed here countless times across unending ages, her faith as steady as the stars.

Then, the silence broke.

The marble beneath her knees quivered. From the heart of the barrier, a faint glow began to bloom — gentle at first, then brightening until it filled the cavern with living gold. The air shimmered with warmth; the scent of rain touched her senses.

Azaleira lifted her gaze, her hazel eyes catching the light. The runes carved in the floor ignited, swirling in patterns of divine fire.

“...It cannot be,”

Rising slowly, she stepped forward, the glow of her ruby amulet answering the pulse from beyond. The Threshold flared once more, reaching outward, light bending toward her like a hand long lost to time.