Ren and Sera navigated a narrow hallway that existed within the Woken Field, the flame lanterns casting shadows on the walls as they walked. The air was thick with the scent of old stone and dust, and the doors that lined the hallway seemed to loom over them like sentinels.
Ren couldn't shake the feeling that they were in a dungeon, hidden away from the rest of the world.
Finally, Sera stopped at a door and pushed it open, revealing a small, Spartan room. A bed stood against one wall, and a small area in the corner served as a makeshift toilet and bathroom. The room looked old, as if it had been used by countless others before him. Ren's eyes scanned the space, taking in the worn furniture and the faint scent of age.
"What is this place?" Ren asked, his voice laced with skepticism.
"It's your dorm, It's an extension in the woken field" Sera replied, her expression unyielding. "Don't look like that. You just entered the Echo, and you'll need a place to rest for tomorrow."
Ren's frown deepened.
"What's happening tomorrow?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"You have Gatebearer training tomorrow," Sera replied, her voice matter-of-fact. "Not with me, though. There'll be a whole lot of people like you there. You'll be taught everything there is to understand about the Echo and how your Gatebearer systems work."
Sera placed her palm on Ren's back and gave him a gentle push, urging him to enter the room. "I'll come get you tomorrow morning, so get some rest," she said, before shutting the door behind her.
Ren stood still for a moment, processing the sudden influx of information. He slowly walked over to the bed and sat down, his eyes scanning the room once more. Despite its age, the bed didn't creak beneath his weight.
He noticed that there were no windows, but a soft, green glow emanated from a floating orb in one corner of the room.
As the weight of his exhaustion began to bear down on him, Ren lay down on the bed, feeling the softness envelop him. He closed his eyes, letting the weariness wash over him.
If he did have training tomorrow, he needed to get as much rest as possible. Maybe then, he'd be able to find something about the Echo that would help him return to the real world.
***
Midway through the night, something stirred in the hallway.
Footsteps echoed softly against the stone walls—light enough not to wake anyone, not even Ren. The sound paused suddenly, as if the presence had stopped directly in front of his door.
Inside, Ren shifted in his sleep. His arm dangled over the bed's edge, his marked palm resting against the cold floorboards, the strange symbol faintly visible even in the dark.
His wooden door, aged and worn, had a narrow crack—just wide enough for an eye.
And through it… something watched.
A single crimson eye, glowing with quiet intensity, peered through the slit. It fixated not on Ren's face, but on the mark etched into his palm. For a long, silent moment, it lingered.
Then the floor creaked faintly. The eye disappeared.
The hallway returned to stillness. Whoever had been standing there was now gone.
***
The door creaked open again.
Sera stepped inside, her boots heavy on the wooden floor. The sudden sound and the force of the door pushing open jolted Ren awake. Still groggy, he sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Get ready," she said with a smirk. "You don't wanna be late, rookie."
Ren groaned, dragging himself upright and muttering something unintelligible. As they walked through the hallway once more, Ren blinked against the haze still clouding his vision. He couldn't tell if it was morning. The structure they were in had no windows—no sunlight, no time.
It was only now, as he truly opened his eyes, that he noticed Sera had changed. Gone was the patchwork armor. Instead, she wore a forest-green robe cinched at the waist, her dark hair tied into a sharp bob. The fabric swayed with each step, adding a softness to her otherwise fierce presence.
Ren felt a strange sensation crawl up his spine—an emotion he couldn't quite place. Was it because she looked… different? More elegant? Or was it that, with his head finally clear, he was noticing her in a way he hadn't before?
Whatever it was, he quickly turned his gaze away from her hips, scolding himself silently.
Focus, idiot.
Sera pushed open another door, and together they stepped into the familiar space of the Woken Field Hall.
It was exactly as it had been the day before—the same cracked flooring, the same wandering merchants he'd traded with, and the same ever-swaying apple tree.
A few faces were missing, but the atmosphere remained unchanged, like time itself was held in stasis here.
Ren's eyes drifted to where Marcus had sat the previous day.
Empty.
He didn't ask.
Without a word, Sera led him forward. Just ahead, she opened a different door—one Ren hadn't noticed before. Beyond it was something new. A space even more surreal, more intricate, of the Woken Field.
Before him stood what looked like an academy ripped right out of Harry Potter. A large, ornate gate blinked each time someone passed through it, as though it were alive. Above, the sky was a luminous neo-blue, and for the first time in a while, Ren felt the warmth of sunlight on his skin.
The walkway leading to the building was lined with vibrant green bushes sprouting flowers, and healthy, lush trees—neither too tall nor too short—offering just enough shade to those who walked beneath them.
"I guess I'll be seeing you after classes," Sera's voice called out from behind. "You have only a week to train, so pay attention to everything here and train well."
"What about you? Why won't you be coming?" Ren asked.
"The gate only allows new Gatebearers to pass through," Sera replied, her voice tinged with a sense of pride. "I've already served my time, so I'm no longer a rookie."
"When you're done, you can find me at the Woken Hall," she paused, then added in a more serious tone, "Remember… don't let anyone know you have a Whispering Stone."
Ren nodded. With that, Sera turned and disappeared through the door she had come from.
He lingered for a moment, taking in the strange and wondrous environment. He watched how others passed through the gate, then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a boy standing to the left side of the courtyard. He looked about the same age as Ren, with short, buzz-cut brown hair and a somewhat slender frame. He wore a long gray coat lined with teal stitching that shimmered faintly in the sunlight, its hem brushing against a pair of fitted black boots. He stood with his hands tucked in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the blinking gate, as if calculating something only he understood. Despite the simplicity of his appearance, something about him gave off an intensity—quiet, but impossible to ignore.