The Portal (Chapter One): City of Souls
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The Portal
Selim was an ordinary young man living in a small village, working in an old bookstore he inherited from his grandfather. One day, he found a strange book covered in dust. It had no name, just a circular symbol resembling an eye. Selim opened the book... and found a sentence written in a strange handwriting: "Every human carries a soul inside them... but there is a city where souls are sold." Selim laughed and said: "Must be a myth." But when he touched the last page... the ground suddenly shook beneath him, and he felt as if the air was pulling him in. He opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place. A massive city... but people there don't buy food or clothes with money. Instead, with years of their lives. He heard a man calling out in the market: "An apple for a day of your life!" "A small house for three years!" Selim approached one of the guards and asked: "What is this place?" The guard smiled a cold smile and said: "Welcome to the City of Souls... the place where people pay with their lives." Then he looked at him and said a sentence that froze his heart: "And since you entered the city... you only have 30 days left of your life." Selim froze in his place... because he hadn't bought anything yet... and yet his life was already decreasing.
At the far edge of the old village, there was a small house surrounded by trees on all sides.
People in the village would pass by it quickly, as if they didn't want to get near it.
That house was where a young man named Selim lived.
Selim wasn't different from the rest of the village youth, but he possessed something a bit strange...
A love for books.
While his friends spent their time in cafes or playing in the streets, Selim spent most of his day inside an old bookstore left to him by his grandfather before his passing.
The bookstore was filled with old books, some torn, and some whose language no one even knew anymore.
And Selim loved this place more than any other.
On a quiet evening, as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains, Selim sat behind the large wooden desk, flipping through an old book.
He sighed and said to himself:
"All these books... and nothing new."
He got up from his seat and began opening the old drawers of the desk.
His grandfather always used to tell him:
"This bookstore holds more secrets than you can imagine."
But Selim never believed these words.
He opened the first drawer...
Nothing.
He opened the second...
Some old papers.
But when he opened the third drawer...
He stopped.
There was a small black book, covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been opened in many years.
He pulled it out slowly and wiped the dust off it.
He noticed something strange...
There was no title on the cover.
Just a circular symbol resembling an eye in the middle of the cover.
Selim whispered:
"What is this...?"
He sat on the chair and opened the book.
But the surprise was that all the pages were blank.
He turned the first page...
The second...
The tenth...
All blank.
Selim laughed and said:
"My grandfather must have been writing in it and didn't finish."
Then he closed the book.
But when he placed his hand on the last page...
Words suddenly appeared.
Selim quickly backed away in fear.
The words were appearing slowly... as if someone were writing them right now.
The sentence read:
"Every human lives with their lifespan... but there is a city where people live with their souls."
Selim's eyes widened.
He leaned closer and read the sentence again.
And suddenly, another sentence appeared beneath it:
"If you want to know the truth... touch the last page."
Selim swallowed hard.
He said to himself:
"Must be a trick."
But curiosity was stronger.
He slowly reached out... and touched the page.
In that very moment...
The lights in the bookstore suddenly went out.
The ground began to shake beneath him.
Books fell from the shelves.
Selim shouted:
"What's happening?!"
Then he felt something strange...
As if the air was wrapping around him and pulling him in.
He shut his eyes tightly.
And suddenly...
Everything calmed down.
He opened his eyes slowly.
But the bookstore... had disappeared.
Instead, he was standing in a massive city.
Tall buildings made of black stone.
Streets filled with people.
But the clothes they were wearing were strange... resembling the attire of ancient times.
Selim stood astounded.
"Where am I...?"
He started walking among the people.
He noticed something even stranger...
There was a large market.
But the vendors weren't stating prices in money.
He heard one of them shouting:
"An apple for a day of your life!"
And another said:
"An iron sword for a month of your life!"
Selim suddenly stopped.
He said to himself:
"A day of your life?!"
He approached a vendor and asked him:
"Excuse me, what are you saying?"
The man looked at him in astonishment.
And said:
"You're new here, right?"
Selim said:
"Yes... I don't understand anything."
The man laughed and said:
"You are in the City of Souls."
Then he pointed to a small pendant around his neck.
It contained a small glowing stone.
And said:
"This counts the days left in your life."
Selim quickly looked down at his own neck.
And suddenly...
He found the exact same pendant around his neck.
The stone was glowing with a faint blue light.
But the number inside it made his heart stop.
30
Selim said in a trembling voice:
"What does this number mean?"
The man smiled a strange smile and said:
"That's the number of days left in your life."
Selim took a step back.
"What?!"
The man said calmly:
"Everyone who enters the city... starts with a counter."
"And if the counter runs out..."
He paused for a moment.
Then he said in a low voice:
"Their soul turns into energy that the city uses."
Selim felt his blood freeze in his veins.
Then he said:
"So... how do I get out of here?"
The man looked at him for a long moment.
Then he said a sentence that made his heart drop to his feet:
"No one has ever left the City of Souls before."
And at that moment...
He heard the sound of loud drums beating throughout the whole city.
And people started looking up at the sky in fear.
Selim asked quickly:
"What is that sound?"
The man said in a trembling voice:
"That's the announcement of the Hunt..."
"Which begins every month."
And before Selim could ask more...
Soldiers in black uniforms appeared at the end of the street.
And they were shouting:
"Those whose lives are less than 30 days... gather immediately!"
The man looked at Selim's pendant...
Then said slowly:
"I think... they mean you."