600 years ago the world was torn apart and split into 5 layers. The Under-world, a place believed by billions to be hell, unleashed by the worlds tearing. Above this lies the Middle-World (new earth), the place in which most humans reside, then above this is the Upper-World, which is viewed again by billions as Heaven. these are the three layers in which most humans will spend their lives whereas, the 4th layer, the Rejustorian Prison Realm, a place in which the worst of humanity is held by the new rulers of earth, and the only ones capable of accessing the 5th layer, the Shadow Veil, the layer which is assumed to hold the answer to a life long question, what happened 600 years ago.

  "HELP ME KAIDEN!" a deep voice cries out within the mind of kaiden huritan, a 16 year old male who lives on the second layer of the earth, the layer in which 99.4% of the 11 and a half billion human population lives within. each layer blocked off from the others by a barrier held up from within the 5th and highest layer of earth. "KAIDEN! THE GATE! FIND IT, YOU NEED TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE!" the voice cries out one last time before getting dragged down what seems like a dark hole, surrounded by a landscape only describable as the darkest depths of hell, flames and magma drip and roar out all around as the mysterious mans scream echo before falling to a silence, broken within kaidens mind as he jolts up, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

  "AH! D-DAM...dammit... why does this keep on goddamn happening every night. every night for the past 3 fucking months, why cant i get a fucking break for one time in my life." a creak yearns from outside his room along the stairs. kaiden looks up nervously "shit did i wake mum up again, dammit she'll kill me if i try telling her i had another one of those dre-" The door handle twists and turns before the door bursts open, a tall well built man standing at the doorway, his shadow breaking through the dim light of the moon reaching down before kaidens floor.

  "boy! what the fuck is up with all this noise? its 3 fucking o'clock in the morning, your mother and i are trying to sleep and we have to listen to you whispering in your sleep then screaming like you've been stabbed?! its every god forsaken night with the bullshit, and i don't wanna hear a fucking peep about this being another one of those dreams about that man!" he slows down a bit, kaiden sitting in silence at his words, not even daring to breathe. "if i hear one more damn utter from you tonight you can go find somewhere else to sleep until you learn to shut the fuck up" kaidens father slams the door and walks away, as quiet as possible, kaiden slips back under his blanket, annoyed but he knows there no point in fighting back, but he mind quickly slips away from that thought, as the only thing he can think about is, what could "the gate" mean, and "the truth of who he is."

  The next morning.

  Kaiden walked down the creaky old wooden stairs in his house, to the kitchen, where his brother Samuel Huritan, his mother Jesse Huritan and father Micheal Huritan sat around the old circular wooden table, eating eggs and toast. "Hey mum" Kaiden picked up his bag off the floor in the corner

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Yes dear?" Jesse's voice was soft spoken, her eyes darting off towards kaiden who was already opening the front door

  "I'm heading out for a little bit, just gonna go for a walk before school, see you in a bit!" Kaiden hurried out the door, running down the streets for around 20 minutes before reaching the front door of an old semi-run down building belonging to an elderly man named Ronald Sumi, 84 years old, he had pieces of history and relics dating back almost 1200 hundreds due to his family being obsessed with keeping history alive, kaiden had the belief that if anyone could give him the answers he needs about what this could mean it would be him. "Hey Ronald you here? Its Kaiden, i just wanna ask you something real quick." silence swirled through the air for a few seconds before a rough, gravely voice spoke up from in another room.

  "Back here Kaiden, make sure you close the door though, I'm tired of you leaving it open, i keep getting some damn raccoons wondering in!" he sounds tired, as if he woke up just a few minutes before that.

  Ronald shuffled out from the back room, rubbing sleep from his eyes as Kaiden stepped inside. The old man's shop smelled like dust, old paper, and something metallic buried deep beneath the floorboards.

  "So," Ronald muttered, lowering himself into his creaking chair, "what's got you running here before sunrise?"

  Kaiden hesitated. His hands were still trembling from the dream. "I... I had it again. The voice. The fire. The man screaming my name. He said something about a gate. And—" Kaiden swallowed hard. "—he sounded like he was dying."

  Ronald's expression changed instantly. The tired annoyance vanished, replaced by something Kaiden had never seen on the old man's face before.

  Fear.

  "Kaiden," Ronald said quietly, "tell me exactly what you saw."

  Kaiden explained everything — the flames, the magma, the dragging darkness, the voice begging him to find the truth. Ronald didn't interrupt once. He just listened, eyes narrowing deeper with every detail.

  When Kaiden finished, the room felt colder.

  Ronald leaned back, exhaling slowly. "I was afraid of this."

  Kaiden blinked. "Afraid of what?"

  Ronald stood, walking to a shelf lined with cracked leather books. He pulled one free — a thick, dust?covered tome with a symbol Kaiden didn't recognise. Setting it on the table, he opened to a page marked with a faded red ribbon.

  "Dreams like yours," Ronald said, tapping the page, "don't come from the Middle?World. They don't come from stress, or fear, or imagination."

  Kaiden felt his heartbeat spike. "Then where do they come from?"

  Ronald looked him dead in the eyes.

  "The Under?World layer."

  Kaiden froze.

  Ronald continued, voice low and steady. "Someone down there is calling you. And if that's true... then your life is about to change in ways you're not ready for."

  Kaiden's breath caught in his throat.

  The Under?World. The place billions believed was hell. The place no human should ever be able to reach.

  "Why me?" Kaiden whispered.

  Ronald closed the book with a heavy thud.

  "That," he said, "is what we need to find out.

  END OF CHAPTER.