T
The Gate stood in the middle of a desert. It was fifty feet tall, made of black iron, and it led to nowhere. Walk through it, and you just came out the other side.
But the legends said it was a lock. A lock on a prison for something terrible.
Kael was the Sentinel. He was the 900th of his line. He lived in a small hut at the base of the gate. He sharpened his spear. He watched the horizon. Nothing ever happened.
"It's a myth," he told his dog, Bark (he was not good at names). "I'm guarding a doorframe."
One night, the stars went out. Not all of them. Just the ones directly above the Gate.
The iron began to hum. The air grew cold. A crack appeared in the empty space between the pillars. It glowed violet.
Kael stood up. He grabbed his spear. "Finally."
A hand reached out of the crack. It was pale, with too many fingers. A voice whispered in his mind. "Let us in."
Kael leveled his spear. "No."
"We can give you power. We can give you wealth. We can give you a better name for your dog."
Kael hesitated. "What kind of name?"
"Cerberus. Destroyer of Worlds."
Kael looked at Bark. The dog was chasing a scorpion. "He's more of a 'Fluffy', really."
He thrust the spear into the crack. The tip was coated in salt and silver. The hand recoiled, shrieking.
Kael pushed. He put his shoulder against the nothingness and shoved. "Go back to sleep!" he roared.
The crack sealed. The violet light vanished. The stars returned.
Kael sat down, panting. Bark trotted over and licked his hand.
"Good boy, Fluffy," Kael whispered.
He went back to his hut. It was a boring job. But tonight, he felt like a Sentinel.