The moment Noah stepped forward, the air changed.
The obsidian gate loomed over him, its ancient runes pulsing like a heartbeat. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, the symbols flared—reacting to his presence.
The Guardian remained motionless behind him. She had given him a choice, but now she watched. Not with concern. Not with fear.
But with expectation.
Noah inhaled slowly.
This wasn't just a door. It was a seal.
Something had been locked away behind it.
And now, it was waiting.
Noah reached out. His fingers brushed against the cold surface of the gate. The instant he made contact, the symbols flared to life.
A pulse of energy shot through his arm—not an attack, but a test.
The world around him dimmed. His vision blurred.
Then—
Darkness.
He was no longer in the ruins.
The walls, the Guardian, the chamber—gone.
Instead, he stood in a space that stretched forever.
A vast, endless sky, swirling with shifting stars. A place where time did not exist.
And in front of him, suspended in the void—
A second gate.
Not obsidian. Not stone.
But something wrong.
Its surface was twisted, shifting between forms, as if reality itself was rejecting its presence.
It was not meant to exist.
Yet it did.
And it knew he was there.
A low whisper curled around him. Not words. Not thoughts.
Something older. Something beyond understanding.
The gate reacted to him.
And Noah understood.
This was the true gate.
The one that should never be opened.
And yet—
He felt drawn to it.
The whisper shifted. It was no longer just a sound. It was speaking.
Noah felt the meaning, even if he couldn't comprehend the words.
"You are not one of them."
His breath hitched. One of who?
The whisper continued.
"And yet… you are marked."
Noah didn't speak. His body remained frozen, but his mind raced.
He had felt this presence before. When he had touched the sigil. When he had shattered the final enemy in the trial.
This thing—it had been watching.
He took a slow breath, forcing himself to respond.
"What is this place?"
The whisper laughed.
Not a sound of amusement.
A sound of knowing.
"You already know."
Noah clenched his fists. His instincts screamed at him to leave, to wake up, to reject whatever was happening.
But his curiosity was stronger.
His fate had already changed the moment he stepped into the sigil.
There was no going back.
So he did the only thing that made sense.
He stepped forward.
The moment he moved, the gate reacted violently.
The air shattered. A deep, thrumming force tore through the void, pulling him forward—not with gravity, but with intent.
The whisper's tone shifted.
"Ah… you do not fear."
Noah gritted his teeth. "Should I?"
"No."
The whisper was closer now, curling around him like smoke.
"Not yet."
The instant the last word echoed, the mark on the gate changed.
A new symbol appeared. Not ancient runes. Not shifting text.
But something simpler.
Something he could read.
His own name.
NOAH.
His chest tightened. His name shouldn't be here. He had no history. No past. No records.
But the gate knew him.
Because he had already been here before.
A sudden force yanked him backward.
The void shattered. The swirling stars faded. The second gate disappeared.
And Noah found himself back in the ruins—on his knees, gasping for breath.
The Guardian was standing over him. Her silver eyes were sharp, her expression the closest thing to concern she had shown yet.
"You saw it."
Noah swallowed hard, his entire body trembling. The air was cold.
He forced himself to speak. "That wasn't just a door."
The Guardian's lips pressed into a thin line.
"No."
Noah looked up at her. "What was it?"
She exhaled slowly.
Then, for the first time, she gave him the truth.
"The Gate of the Unseen."
His breath caught. The name itself felt heavy.
The Guardian continued.
"It is not a door that leads somewhere. It is a door that should not exist."
Noah's heartbeat pounded.
"Then why is my name on it?"
A pause.
A long pause.
Then—
"Because you were never supposed to exist, either."
The words sent a chill down his spine.
He had suspected something was wrong from the moment he woke up in the forest. But this—this was something else.
No past. No memories. No identity.
And now—a gate with his name carved into it.
Noah forced himself to his feet. His body still felt the echoes of whatever had happened inside that vision. The sigil, the whispers, the door…
He was connected to it.
And that meant he needed to find out why.
His gaze locked onto the Guardian. "Tell me everything."
She studied him for a long moment. Then, finally—
She nodded.
"Then listen carefully, Noah."
"Your existence is not an accident."
"And the ones who sealed that gate… are already searching for you."