The skies darkened early.
Not from clouds, but from something older, quieter—like the realm itself holding its breath.
Raizen stood on the deck of a floating void platform, gliding silently through the sky toward the Red Sun Peaks. Beside him, only Kael remained. The rest of the legion had been dispersed across distant regions, hidden beneath seals, shadows, and illusions. Their movements would confuse tracking attempts. That was the point.
They were ghosts now.
"You're sure no one followed us?" Raizen asked, arms crossed.
Kael nodded. "Three immortals tried. All lost us before the first mountain."
Raizen didn't look impressed. "Then they were either too weak… or acting."
Kael paused. "You think they let us go?"
"I think too many eyes are pretending to blink."
Kael stayed silent.
Raizen reached into his inner robe and pulled out the cracked stone again—the one that revealed the Gate's message. The strange gold shard inside hadn't stopped pulsing. Its energy wasn't dangerous. Just constant. Like a heartbeat.
"What even is this Gate?" Raizen muttered.
Kael replied quietly, "Legends say there were once 'forbidden doors' left behind by creators. Realms behind realms. Most were sealed. Some… erased."
"Why?"
"Because they weren't meant to be understood by mortals. Or even gods."
Raizen stared ahead, into the mist now forming across the Red Sun Peaks.
"So of course, someone left a note telling me to walk right in."
Kael smiled faintly. "Maybe that's exactly why you were chosen."
Raizen didn't answer.
The platform slowed as the mountains came into view. Massive peaks stained with streaks of crimson ore, glowing even under moonlight. Thunder rumbled across the higher altitudes, despite the cloudless sky.
This wasn't just terrain.
This was an ancient border.
The moment they crossed over, Raizen felt it.
The air hated him.
It wasn't pressure. It wasn't an aura.
It was awareness.
As if something deep beneath the mountain range had opened one eye. Just one.
And it already knew he didn't belong.
Kael drew his blade instinctively, but Raizen raised a hand. "No."
He closed his eyes for a second.
Then whispered, "Don't resist."
Void energy wrapped around both of them like ink in water—dispersing their presence, even from the soil.
The air… stopped fighting them.
Kael's eyes widened slightly. "You calmed it?"
"No. I just told it I wasn't food."
A pause.
Then Raizen smirked. "Let's keep walking."
---
Meanwhile… elsewhere.
Inside a palace far above the clouds, twelve cloaked figures knelt before a shimmering mirror of starlight. The mirror pulsed once, revealing a shadowy image: a young man stepping into the Red Sun Peaks.
"He's entered the threshold," one voice rasped.
Another hissed, "Should we interfere?"
"No," a third said. "Let him walk. The Gate rejects the unchosen. It will deal with him."
The mirror flickered—and Raizen's figure turned, as if looking directly at them.
The mirror shattered.
Silence fell.
The first figure slowly stood.
"…This child is not bound by the script."
---
Back in the mountains, Raizen stopped for a moment, tilting his head.
Kael raised a brow. "Something wrong?"
Raizen looked amused. "Not sure. But I think I just photobombed someone's divine surveillance."
Kael stared.
Raizen shrugged. "Let's keep moving."