The four stood at the edge of the slope, looking at the distant gate. The golden light emanating from it filled the valley with a warm radiance, contrasting starkly with the coldness of the cave they had just emerged from. No one spoke for minutes. They only looked. They contemplated. They tried to understand what their eyes were seeing.

  Then Clarissa moved.

  She stepped forward, and looked at the gate with her dark eyes. There was something in her expression, a mix of surprise and understanding, as if she was seeing something familiar but could not believe it was here.

  She said in a low voice: "It's from Jane's technique."

  Everyone turned to her. San raised an eyebrow. Shin slowly turned his head, his sad eyes focusing on her words. Elena stopped watching the road and looked at Clarissa with curiosity.

  San asked: "What do you mean?"

  Clarissa pointed to the gate, to that golden light flowing from it like a waterfall. She said: "Remember when Jane received us in front of the academy? Those white circles she made? That transmitted her voice to every one of us? And through which we entered this place?"

  Shin slowly nodded his head. Elena also nodded. San only continued looking at her, waiting for more.

  Clarissa continued: "Her technique depends on making circular gates. White gates. They transport whoever crosses them... or whatever crosses them. I saw her use them many times when I was with my father on his official visits. She used to transport soldiers, supplies, even messages. Everything."

  She was silent for a moment, then she looked at the gate again. At the golden light. At that massive white circle in the middle of the opposite wall.

  San said: "So, it's a transportation gate. It transports us from here to there. To where?"

  Clarissa shrugged her shoulders: "I don't know. But I know one thing: Jane does not make gates for no reason. Every gate has a specific destination. And every destination has a reason."

  Shin stepped forward. His sword was still in his hand, stained with the blood of those whose heads he had cut off. He looked at the gate, then at his companions, then said in a hoarse voice: "Do we have another choice?"

  No one answered.

  No one needed to answer.

  San looked at the forest behind them. At that dense forest that still emitted screams of death from time to time. At the sky where monster shadows still flew. At the vast walls surrounding them from every side. Then he looked at the gate. At the golden light. At the only hope in front of them.

  He said: "No. We have no choice."

  They began descending into the valley.

  The path was difficult. The slope was very steep, and the rocks were slippery from moisture and moss. Their feet slipped many times, and they almost fell more than once. But they continued. Step by step. Meter by meter.

  The valley was wide. Larger than it seemed from above. The lake in its middle was also larger, and its water was strangely clear, reflecting the blue sky like a perfect mirror. Around the lake, the old ruined buildings were scattered like the bones of a giant animal that died long ago. Broken columns, eroded walls, headless statues. A complete city from another time, waiting for someone to discover its secrets.

  But they did not stop to explore it.

  The gate was their goal. Only the gate.

  When they reached the bottom of the valley, the feeling of time changed. The atmosphere here was different. Warmer. More vibrant. Flowers were growing among the ruins, and butterflies were flying everywhere. The place was frighteningly beautiful, like those dreams where you know inside yourself that you will wake up from them soon.

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  They reached the gate after an hour of walking.

  Up close, it was more magnificent than they had imagined. A massive white circle, its diameter no less than fifty meters, floating in the middle of the white wall as if it was a hole in reality itself. The golden light flowed from inside it like water, filling the place with warmth and hope. But it was not blinding. It could be looked at without pain. One could stand before it and feel that everything would be alright.

  San stepped forward. He placed his hand inside the light.

  He felt something strange. Not cold, not heat. Just a feeling of lightness, as if his body had lost its weight for a moment. He quickly pulled his hand back. He looked at his fingers. They hadn't changed. Nothing had happened.

  He said: "The same thing. Like Jane's circle when entering. Only slight coldness."

  He looked at his companions. Clarissa was watching him with interest. Shin was holding his sword tightly, ready for anything. Elena was looking at the gate with wide eyes, like a child seeing something beautiful for the first time.

  San said: "We enter together. Together. If we are separated, we meet on the other side. No one strays. Understood?"

  Everyone nodded.

  He took a deep breath. Then he entered.

  ---

  The golden light surrounded him from everywhere. For a moment, he saw nothing. Only that golden color filling the void, filling his eyes, filling his head. He felt lightness again, but this time it was stronger. He felt as if he was floating, as if he was flying, as if he was not a body but just an idea traveling through space.

  Then everything ended.

  He opened his eyes.

  He was standing on a mountain peak.

  The air was different here. Cold, pure, carrying the scent of snow and freedom. The sun was bright in the sky, emitting golden light. The sky was clear blue, with no clouds, no monsters flying, no screams of death. Only calm. Only peace.

  He looked around. He was on a wide circular platform, paved with pure white stone. Behind him, the gate he had come out of was still there, a white circle floating in the air. In front of him, there was a long staircase descending to the bottom of the mountain, disappearing among the clouds.

  But the most important thing was what surrounded him.

  Far, far away, he could see white walls. The same walls that had surrounded them in the valley. But now they were smaller, farther, as if they were the borders of another world. Above them, there was an infinite sky, blue, vast, free.

  He felt something approaching him. He quickly turned.

  It was Elena.

  She emerged from the gate like a ghost emerging from light. She swayed for a moment, then steadied her feet on the ground. She looked around, then looked at him. She smiled a slight smile.

  Clarissa followed them. She was more composed, emerging as if she did this every day. She looked at the platform, at the staircase, at the distant walls, and said in a calm voice: "The mountain peak. The mountain that surrounds the city. We were below the whole time."

  Then Shin came out.

  He was the last of them. He emerged with his sword still in his hand, his eyes glaring in every direction, searching for danger. But there was no danger. Only them. Only this peaceful place. Only this new beginning.

  The four stood on the mountain peak, looking at the world around them.

  San took a deep breath. The cold air filled his lungs, returned something of life to him. He looked at his companions. At Clarissa who was contemplating the distant walls with her calm eyes. At Shin who had begun to loosen his grip on his sword for the first time in hours. At Elena who was looking at him, waiting for what he would say.

  He looked at the long staircase leading downwards.

  He said: "Let's go."

  And they began descending.

  The staircase was long, longer than they expected. The steps numbered in the thousands, descending in gentle curves between the white rocks. From time to time, they passed by small platforms, stone benches, dry fountains with no water. The place was ancient, abandoned, but it was beautiful. Peaceful.

  And then they saw something they did not expect. A building resembling the academy. It was...

  From above, it looked like a small city. Lofty white buildings, wide squares, high towers touching the clouds. It was surrounded by white walls, but they were not those massive walls surrounding the entire city. They were internal walls, protecting what was inside.

  Clarissa was uncomfortable. San looked at her. Her face was different. Less rigid, less defensive. More... human.

  He said: "Are you alright?"

  She looked at him. For a moment, it seemed she would say something. But she only nodded her head. Then she continued descending.

  Shin stepped forward to stand beside San. His face still bore traces of that story he had told, but his eyes were clearer now. He said in a low voice: "Thank you."

  San looked at him: "For what?"

  Shin said: "For what you said. About leadership. About my decision. You were right. I sometimes act... without thinking. I will try to be better."

  San said nothing. He only nodded. Then he looked at Elena who was waiting for them a few steps away.

  He said: "Come on. We don't want to get lost on our first day."

  They descended the last steps.

  They reached the academy gate.

  It was a massive gate of carved black wood, decorated with drawings of battles and heroes. It was open, and on its sides stood two guards wearing shiny white armor. The guards looked at them, then gestured for them to enter without a single word.

  They entered.

  The inner courtyard was wide, filled with new students. Hundreds, nay thousands of young men and women, gathering in groups, talking, laughing, exchanging stories about their journey here. Some bore wounds, some were crying, some were just silent, looking at everything with tired eyes.

  San turned to his companions. He looked at each one of them. At Shin who was holding his sword cautiously. At Clarissa who was watching everyone with her calm eyes. At Elena who was standing beside him, waiting for what he would say.

  He said: "We will stay together. Always. No matter what happens. Understood?"

  Everyone nodded.

  He looked at the crowded courtyard, at the unknown future waiting for them, at the coming tests that might kill some of them, and might make the others stronger.

  He said: "So then... let everything begin."

  And he smiled.

  It was not a happy smile. It was not a confident smile. It was the smile of a man who knew the path ahead was difficult, but he also knew he was not alone. And that this might be enough.

  For the first time since arriving in this world, San felt that he had found his place. Not a home, not a shelter, but a place. Among these three. Among companions he did not choose, but had begun to accept. Among people who might not understand him, but were ready to follow him.

  In the crowded courtyard, among thousands of new students, the four stood together, waiting for what was to come.

  The sky was clear blue.

  The sun was warm.

  And the future was completely unknown