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Night in Carcosa arrived without echo. Across every corner of the world, the six chosen souls felt the same pull, as if an invisible thread drew them to a single point between reality and dream.
Jonathan Blake moored his ship to a black wooden dock that emerged from nowhere, in the midst of a swirling sea of deep purple. Salty mist coiled like a serpent, veiling a circular archway floating above the waves. Above the gate, five open eyes pulsed slowly, and in their center, the faint slit of a sixth eye blinked invitingly.
"This is... Carcosa," he murmured, his voice drowned by the roar of the waves. He stepped forward, every droplet falling from his clothes turning into glowing purple specks on the ship's deck.
Ayaka Murakami arrived at the peak of Mount Nagano, before the ruins of an old temple now veiled in purple snow. Spiraling pillars of light pierced the missing roof, forming a circle in the sky. At the center, the same circular gate pulsed, waiting. She touched the scroll bearing the summoning hymn, then sang the final verse with a soft yet resolute voice. The note shattered the silence; snow fluttered down like jeweled flakes.
Soraya El-Mansour stood in the Moroccan desert, before a swirl of purple sand linked to the sea vortex in Maine. The silk-wrapped wooden doll trembled in her grasp. Carefully, she placed it onto the sand, then stepped back. The swirl devoured the doll in a blink. In its center, a gate emerged: a black ring with five eyes on its rim and a purple slit at the core.
Wulan Adiningrum ascended the stone steps of the Pageralas shrine, now bathed in purple light. Every drop of blood from the offering evaporated into a thin violet mist. At the summit, she called the names of Jonathan, Ayaka, Soraya, Mirek, and Thiago but her voice was drowned by rumbling whispers in the air. A gate manifested above the black stone, rejecting and accepting the light of the sixth eye pulsing within her heart.
Mirek Varga walked through a timeworn corridor within Castle Vešnica. The cracked stone walls emitted the same purple glow. At the end of the hallway, an old iron door was shut. As his hand touched the handle, the gates across sea, desert, mountain, shrine, and cave opened simultaneously. He took a long breath and pushed the door into a darkness tinged with violet, with five eyes watching from the shadows.
Thiago Costa stood at the mouth of the Juruá cave. Warm steam mixed with purple mist veiled the five-eye symbol on the stone wall. With a conch trumpet in hand, he blew a single low note that echoed down to the earth's core. The echo split the cave wall; beyond it, a glowing void and circular gate awaited.
The Meeting at the Threshold
At each location, the six individuals stared at the same gate identical in shape and depth, despite being thousands of kilometers apart. They knew: only one of them must step through first, and the others would follow in shadow, bound by soul resonance.
Moments passed. The heart of the world pounded loud. Cosmic winds blew from the rift, carrying ancient whispers:
"Enter, and witness what lies beyond meaning. The Sixth Eye awaits."
Jonathan lifted his left foot, stepping onto the sea's swirl. Ayaka raised her voice, shattering frozen snow. Soraya let the sands swallow her arm. Wulan let her final drop of blood fall. Mirek pushed the iron door. Thiago stepped into the void cave.
They stepped in unison and with one collective breath, the gates closed behind them.
The world resumed its beat. Waves crashed, snow fell, sand settled, the shrine quieted, the door trembled, the cave wheezed. Yet in the in-between space, the six souls were now trapped together, facing violet darkness and five eyes staring from all directions and one eye within their own hearts.
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