Master Giedon paced down the main road of Tarthaghast towards the palace, carrying a rather large amount of books and papers for him considering his frail, failing body due to old age. It was almost midnight and the normally busy streets were almost deserted with only the occasional guard and solitary drunk passing by.

It was very windy, making it even more difficult for the old scholar to carry the stacks of paper, but his potential discovery was too important for him to worry about gaining a strained back right now. No, in fact, his discovery could be more important than everything he has so far achieved in his life as one of the most respected scholars of Arhamkar, or even any other scholar of his age for that matter. No, he must see the Emperor as fast as possible.

The Palace was visible from just about any point of the city. It was a remarkable piece of architecture lying on the top of the only hill of Tarthaghast, believed to be older than the city itself. In fact, even with todays brilliant engineers Arhamkar possessed, it would be impossible to build such a structure.

And that was because the Palace wasn't really build on top of the hill, but it was carved into the hill. With its marvelous, sixty-feet high walls and massive internal network of rooms, pathways and labyrinths, it was the most well-fortified stronghold on the entire known world.  Thus, the Palace of Tarthaghast, together with the fertile delta of the river Thebia made the city of Tarthaghast - now harboring over a million souls - the epicenter of the known world since the dawn of men.

But it was only in the last 23 years that the the world was unified for the first time in history when Arham the Great, Master Giedon's own student and only 16 at the time, swore revenge for the murder of his own father by a coalition of neighboring factions and took upon the armies of Tarthaghast to conquer the entire known world in just seven years, and in the process carve the Empire of Arkhamkar on the entire map while immortalizing himself in history as the greatest ruler that has ever lived.

As Master Giedon climbed last steps towards the palace’s entrance, he turned around one last time and looked at the clear night sky, he had a nagging feeling that this this day will be remembered in history for a long long time and that for some reason, apart from his discovery, the stars have something to do with it. After a moment, he turned and headed inside the palace. The guards knew him and allowed him to come and go as he pleased since he was the emperor's tutor, adviser and most trusted friend.

He went straight to the emperors sleeping chambers. "Arham, wake up!" he yelled, not caring whether he disturbed the sleep of the most powerful man in the world.After the emperor gave a brief snort as the only reply, he grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.

"Arham, wake up!" he yanked at him. "Damn it Arham, this is too important!"

“What…” The emperor woke, a confused look on his face until he squinted at Giedon, the master’s face barely visible in the dim light of the candles.

"For the love of Aria, Giedon, you have to stop this. All this excitement in the middle of the night, it's getting frustrating" he said, visibly tired . "And when did you get back? Aren't you supposed to be in the ruins you found in northern mountains?"

"Yes," Geidon said, pacing back and forth now. " but I came as fast as I could, because I think I finally understand the symbols written on the door".

“The door?” The emperor frowned. "You mean the gate?"

"Yes, Arham, the gate. I think we can finally open it."

Any hint of a tired look that the emperor may have displayed faded immediately. The Gate of the Gods, as it was called, was a door deep inside one of the chambers of the palace. It was discovered centuries earlier, but any attempt to open it, whether by force or otherwise, always failed. It was build by a strange material that couldn't even be scratched by the hardest metals. Over the years, it was forgotten in the depths beneath the Palace, until Master Geidon heard about it.

The door itself was inscribed with a large number of rows of symbols made up a combination circles and upright lines grouped in eights. In the center, there was a large circle, inside of which were two rows of 16 empty spaces and at the end of each row, there were two symbols, a circle, and a line. Each could be pressed. Pressing each symbol would rotate the spaces so that they displayed either the circle, or the line. After the last symbol was displayed, they reverted back to being empty.

Most scholars thought this was some kind of code, and that the door would open if you put in the right combination, but nobody understood how it worked. They all had different ideas, all were tested over the centuries, none worked. That was, until the ruins in one of the northern mountains was discovered with a large amount of the same symbols inscribed in it's walls. Unlike the symbols inscribed on the door, those had a certain pattern.

"I finally understand the pattern, Arham, it's so unbelievably simple!" said Master Geidon with a look that betrayed the little child inside him.  "You see, most people thought the circle and the line had some kind of opposite meaning, something spiritual. But it's much more simpler, the circles and the lines are numbers."

Arham looked confused. Despite being a man who in his entire life has dealt with armies, strategies, tactics and politicians, he was a very well educated and intelligent when it came to mathematics and how the world worked, thanks to the teachings Master Giedon when he was a young boy and after the war.

But he didn't understand how those two symbols could be numbers. "How do you mean numbers?" He asked. "How can you write meaning on those walls with numbers? And with only two of them?"

"It's very simple Arham, the lines are ones, and the circles are... well, how do I put it so that you will understand, they are the number none, empty."

The Emperor was lost. "None? How is that a number?" He asked with a skeptical look on his face.

"Yes, none" answered Giedon confidently. "You see, that pattern we found in the ruins, they are numbers, from one to - by my last account - three hundred twenty and four. But I couldn't get my head around what the pattern meant before I read about how those eastern Nu'uk tribes used numbers."

The Arhamkarian system, and all other systems of the different civilized cultures before the conquests used a complex system of symbols and letters to write down numbers, it was a system that required a lot of time if you had to add, subtract and especially multiply or divide large numbers. Only the most educated and rich could afford to learn it. However, the southern desert tribes of Nu'uk used a different method.

"Instead of using all sorts of complicated manners to do calculations and write down numbers, the Nu'uk use this simple system where they use the empty number, which I now call null, as a... how should I say, a sort of placeholder!" said Giedon cheerfully.

"A place holder? What is that?" asked the emperor, looking even more confused.

"Arham, it's such a simple idea, yet is so revolutionary, it will change the world, trust me. I know it will be hard for you to get your head around it, the idea is so subtle, no wonder we didn't come up with it, we always think in such a complicated manner, our ideas are always so complex, we never thought we should think simpler, like the Nu'uk do!" answered the old Master, his eyes were clearly unfocused, trying to imagine how much mathematics will advance because of this simple idea.

"Anyway, I will teach you how it works, but right now I want to go to the door and confirm my theory" he said, focusing his eyes at the emperor. Arham simply nodded. He has trusted Master Giedon all his life, he always knew when he was right just by looking at his eyes, and this was no different.

A short while later, they both were standing deep into the palace, before the Gate of the Gods. The Emperor and Master Giedon were surrounded by guards and servants, just in case. While the Master was arranging his stacks of papers on the floor, Arham looked at the door. Will it really finally open? He thought. Is this really happening? Since he first looked upon the door as a boy, when his late father brought him here, he imagined all sorts of things behind it. From treasures, to powers, to knowledge, to gods as most others for some reason did.

"Good." said the Master, finally done arranging everything he needed. "Now Arham, I want you to know one thing" He started pointing at the rows of symbols. "Those are numbers, but not just any numbers, they have a specific pattern. It took me a while to understand, but just before was about to leave the ruins, it finally hit me" pointing at his right side of the head with his finger.

"The Nu'uk, like us, use different symbols for ten numbers, probably because of we have ten fingers, then we begin repeating those numbers. But the the Nu'uk, when they reach the number ten, they use this place holder, null. They add another when they reach one hundred, and another at one thousand etc. It's always at the number that is ten times bigger than the last one" he said, waving his hands.

"I still don't understand" Arham said.

"I know." answered Giedon. "My point is that I had to think differently when it came to those numbers in the walls. I thought, since there are only two numbers, null and one, what if you place the place holder after two numbers, then the number that is twice as big, four, then twice as big again, eight and so on" he said, still waving his hands even more in the empty air.

"It took me so long to get my head around it, but when it finally dawned on me, It was so simple. I confirmed it on the walls in the ruins and that was it. I think I was never happier in my life" said Giedon, with a visibly gleeful face.

"I don't understand, why put it that way?" asked Arham while scratching his head.

"It the most simple method of writing down numbers there is, that's why" answered the Master.

"Ah..." said Arham, pretending to understand.  "Then, I assume, you went on to convert those numbers here on this door?" he asked.

"Of course." answered Giedon. "There are seven rows of eight groups of symbols in the wall, and they are not just any numbers, but a specific set of numbers" said Giedon, while retrieving one of the documents from the floor.

"They are the numbers two, three, five, seven, ten and one, ten and three, ten and seven and so one. I think you have a pretty clear idea what those numbers are Arham. And there are only fifty and six numbers that can be written down using this system. Eight times seven"

The Emperor nodded. He knew full well about the prime numbers. Those were the numbers that could be divided only by themselves to yield an integer. He never really understood why they are so special for Giedon.

"And how will that help us?" he asked.

"I think that those numbers will not help us at all Arham. I thought long and hard about it, I don't see a connection between those numbers and the two spaces inside the circle. Then I remembered. The circle! You see, the circle has in itself a special number too. I think you remember that one too Arham."

"Yes yes, "he answered. " another one of those special numbers of yours. You spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out the exact fraction. How did that go?"

Of course, he was talking about the ratio between the diameter and the perimeter of a circle.

"Arham, don't you see?" Giedon pointed at the circle around the spaces. "Two rows, inside a circle."

He looked at it for a few moments, then he made the connection. "Oh, you mean, the first row for the integer part of that number, and the second one for the fraction?"

"Exactly!" answered Giedon with a tone that made everyone in the chamber a bit uncomfortable. Most didn't understand what the Emperor and the Master were talking about, but they sure understood that they're getting close to something.

"To put it short Arham, the top number is simple, it's three, but the bottom part was the harder part, and after a long time of calculating, I've narrowed it down to one hundred combinations, converted into the doors system." he said, while holding a letter with a lot of rows written in it. "We just have to try all of them now."

And so they did.

After some time, Master Giedon was still pressing different combinations. Most had laid down on the floor. The crowd was visibly more relaxed. Most thought it was futile and this would not lead to anything, as did all previous attempts by Master Giedon. Somehow, the Emperor started to have the same feeling after each second passed.

"You know, Arham," said Giedon, while pressing line line circle on the bottom rows. " whoever build this door, " he continued pressing, line line line this time. " they knew full well that humans would be able to open it only when there was a sufficiently advanced civilization to understand what all this means." Circle, line, circle.

The emperor thought for a moment. "You mean, we have to be ready for it".

"Exactly." Circle, line, line.

"And I think that whoever build the ruins in the mountains, they knew about this door, but I don't know if they ever opened it, or why they wrote the rows of numbers on the walls." said Giedon while pressing the last two numbers, line line, and getting ready for the next combination.

"Who knows Giedon, may-" Suddenly, the symbols started glowing. Both the Emperor and Giedon jerked back. Everyone stood up, there was a very empty silence on the chamber for a brief moment. Then the door started parting. Some panicked, others started praying, most just stood dumbfounded. The Emperor and Master Giedon just stood there in silence, looking at each other and the darkness that was unfolding in front of them. When the doors stopped, the crowd was greeted by a massive dark space beyond the door, and the smell of centuries or even millennia of trapped air.

"Fire!" Yelled Arham. After a few brief moments, several guards came forward with torches. "Let's go" he said, while taking one of the torches, and leading. Master Giedon did the same. At first, they were very cautious, you never know what can come out of the darkness. Most of the people with them were superstitious folk, they were visibly afraid. After a while it was apparent that the room was empty, except a small pole in the middle of the room holding a round structure on top at chest level.

"Well, this is disappointing" said the emperor who broke the silence, while looking at the walls. There appeared to be lines coming from the pole in the center, going to the walls and coming together at the top of the ceiling which was shaped like a dome.

Giedon was studying the round, ball shaped structure at the top of the pole. In the top, there was a shape that was strikingly similar the buttons on the door, but without a symbol. Curiosity got hold of him and he pressed it.

Suddenly, light appeared to travel from the structure towards the floor, along the lines on the ground, leading to the walls, and coming together at the ceiling. Then a crystal that was previously not visible started blinking a deep red where the lines met. A large murmur started coming from the crowd, and again some panicked while others started praying to the gods.

"Silence!" Yelled the Emperor. The crowd grew still, but nothing happened. They waited for a while, then started searching the room again and again for other buttons or clues, pressed the button at the top of the pole again, but nothing happened. Both the Emperor and and Giedon started growing disappointed again. They searched and searched the room for  answers, anything out of the ordinary. They found nothing. And the crystal at the top of the ceiling kept blinking with that deep red light.

"Centuries, perhaps millennia. An elaborate system designed so that only when we were advanced enough, we would be able to open it. And this is all there is?" The old cried. Everyone stared at him, thinking he might go mad.

But a few moments later, the lights started glowing brighter and brighter until the entire room was fully illuminated. Real panic broke out this time, most servants started fleeing the room, the guards held their spears as if at any moment, they would be required to attack somebody or something but their discipline held. Both Arham and Giedon tried to remain calm.

Then, a bright human-shaped figure made entirely out of light appeared in the middle of the room, startling everyone. It made everybody's blood shiver, mesmerized. The figure appeared to look like a woman, a woman made of light... a spirit? A Goddess perhaps? Nobody had ever seen something like this before. One of the guards panicked and started charging. He thrust his spear, but it went straight through the figure and into the empty air. It never moved.

That’s when the figure looked at the guard, dismissing his attempt and then moved her head around, regarding everyone for a few moments before she started walking in slow, weightless steps. Most went down on the floor, afraid to meet her gaze, praying. The master looked at her like an insect looking at a bright light, dozens of thoughts racing within his mind. Who was she?

"Who... who are you?" The emperor said at the same time as the master thought the words. The figure didn't respond, she still walked around the room, looking at the people at her feet who are having the most intense experience in their lives.

Clearing his throat, Arham yelled with a more serious tone "I am Arham the Great, Conqueror of the known world and Emperor of Arhamkar, I demand to know who you are!"

She grew still. That appeared to catch her attention as he looked at him, and started walking towards Arham. The Emperor took two or three steps back before she was standing right in front of him.

"A proud one, aren’t you?" she said. Arham couldn’t even muster a breath. “Enjoy it for a little while more, for your world is about to end.”

And in an instant, she vanished.

The whole room grew entirely dark, with only a glimmer of torch-light coming from outside. Complete silence reigned within, appearing to stretch for an eternity. No one said anything, no one dared, or even knew what to say. But within their minds, they all shared a deep sense of dread, most of all the old master who also felt a crushing sense of responsibility.

"Arham.” He finally broke the silence. “What have I done?”

***

A few hours after dawn, the Emperor and Master Giedon were standing on one of the balconies of the palace, overlooking most of the city and the harbor. Sleeping was impossible, and the rumors have started growing about what happened inside, as expected.

"What do you think she meant by that?" Asked the emperor. Emperor of a doomed world? Did that really just happen? Or was it just a dream? He didn't know what to think.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know Arham, but I sincerely hope she didn't mean it literally." answered Giedon.  He also didn't know what to think, except that perhaps this would explain his finding during the last two decades after Arham unified all the lands and allowed him to travel freely and have the privilege to study whatever he wanted.

Master Giedon has always had this theory that man predated known history by a long time. There were numerous ruins scattered throughout Arhamkar that appeared to have strange writings, languages that made no sense. And they all appeared to be grouped in cycles. Symbols and structures of similar shape growing more and more complex until they all stopped abruptly past a certain point where nature eroded them. Then, after some time, another set of architectural and cultural style would replace it until it too vanished. There definitely was a pattern.

Now, he suspected that there were empires long before the dawn of man. Perhaps history went on a similar path as it did in his time, where kingdoms and empires grew, discovered the door and finally cracked its mystery. What happened after that, he didn’t want to know. But he feared the worst.

Master Giedon and the Emperor spent most of the day talking to each other, trying to make sense of the experience, they never noticed the small flash of light appearing in the sky above them.

At least not until a jet of streaming white light spouted out of the heavens and hit the harbor of the city. The entire city ground to a halt, looking at the stream of light coming from the sky. It pulsed, then it grew so bright, it almost blinded everyone and forced them cover the eyes. When the light finally dimmed and then completely disappeared, they were greeted by a sight that defied common sense.

There was a woman, a naked, five-hundred feet tall woman, standing on the harbor.

She blinked rapidly for a few moments, her eyes adjusting to her surroundings before she moved her head and regarded the city below her, a faint smile forming on the corner of her lips.

Then, she took a step.