My master delivered earth-shattering news with the utmost nonchalance.

  “Are you serious?” I exclaimed, eyes wide. “I thought the workings of teleportation gates were a state secret!”

  “Oh, they are,” he chuckled. “I just happened to pull the right strings. You never know when knowledge like this might come in handy.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You bribed an imperial official to get the secret, didn’t you?”

  “Come now, who do you take me for?” He waved me away dismissively. “I didn’t bribe anyone. I simply called in a few favors.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So? How do we activate it?”

  “It’s quite simple,” he explained. “Once you understand how they work, the rest will come just as smoothly.

  “A registered gate simply transports whoever steps through it to another Zekyon formation it has been synchronized with,” he continued. “Once, the guards stationed at the gates carried a certain number of crystals. Any idea what they were for?”

  I thought about it for a moment, letting my gaze wander over the glowing gate’s frame.

  “The most logical use would be to have fragments of various Zekyon crystals on hand to synchronize the gate with a destination on the spot,” I replied.

  “Correct,” Baryon confirmed with a snap of his fingers. “We’re halfway there. Now, what does that tell us?”

  “That once you find an unregistered gate, all you need is a Zekyon outcrop to synchronize it with, and you’ve got yourself a registered gate?” I guessed.

  “Almost,” Baryon corrected. “Not just any outcrop will do, but of course you couldn’t possibly know all of that. Still, you got the idea.

  “Once you learn the synchronization procedure, registering an unregistered gate isn’t all that difficult.”

  I gave him a flat look. “You hid a Zekyon crystal somewhere at home, didn’t you?”

  “I may have,” he admitted, suddenly submissive. “But I haven’t completed the synchronization yet. I wanted to make sure I had your permission first.”

  “And you’re really asking?” I yelped.

  He raised his hands. “Look, I didn’t want to commit an imperial offense without you knowing about it. I’ll finish the synchronization tomorrow.”

  “Why not do it now?” I asked impatiently.

  “Better not to,” Baryon shook his head. “The Zekyon crystal I have isn’t as pure as a teleportation gate would normally require.

  “We’ll be lucky if we can use it just this once.”

  Some of my excitement deflated, but I tried not to let it show. I nodded reluctantly.

  “But hey, on the bright side, if we were to find a purer crystal, we could always attempt the synchronization some other time,” Baryon offered, trying to lift my spirits.

  I forced a small smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “For now, we should get some rest,” he suggested.

  “After all, tomorrow is going to be a long day for you.”

  * * *

  Morning arrived quickly, and the unregistered gate loomed in its crevice like a boss at the end of a dangerous dungeon.

  “Are you ready?” Baryon asked.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  He was holding a small Zekyon crystal in his hands. It couldn’t be longer than a foot, and the only thing that truly set it apart from the larger Zekyon formations of the gate was its cut.

  The gate itself was raw, untouched, showing no signs of having ever been shaped by human hands. Baryon’s crystal, on the other hand, had been finely polished; except for a missing tip, it was completely intact, free of cracks.

  “Never been more ready,” I said, excitedly rubbing my hands together.

  “Then step aside,” he instructed as he approached the gate. He pressed the flat end of his crystal against the Zekyon block embedded in the cavern wall.

  Then, he began to mutter words in a language I didn’t recognize. The intonation sounded similar to Ancient Elvish, but the words were nothing alike; it looked more ancient.

  As Baryon’s incantation continued, the crystal in his hand began to glow with a faint green light, completely different from the deep blue radiance of the gate. Slowly, as he chanted, the two colors began to blend, shifting until both pulsed with the same shade of blue.

  “We’d better hurry,” he said, visibly paler. “I don’t know how long it will remain stable.”

  “So… we just step through?” I asked.

  “Not quite,” he said, leaning heavily on his staff. “We need to channel mana into it before crossing.”

  “Can I do it?” I offered, eager to test myself.

  “I’d appreciate it,” he said, wearing a weary smile. “I’ll loosen your seal a little. Just keep channeling mana until… well, you’ll know when to stop.”

  Then, after a brief pause, he added sarcastically, “Try not to blow us up.”

  I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on the crystal. As mana stirred inside me and coursed my limbs, I directed the familiar tingling sensation toward my palm, giving it a gentle push outwards.

  I barely had to force it out. The Zekyon crystal seemed to draw mana from me on its own, as if understanding my intentions. After a bit shy of thirty seconds of continuous pouring, the air within the archway of crystals began to ripple.

  The distortions thickened and spread, until air itself started glowing violet.

  I guess that means it’s ready, I thought, pulling my hand away.

  I turned to Baryon, who gave me a weak nod before extending a hand toward me.

  On his other hand, he still clutched the Zekyon crystal. His staff had disappeared.

  “Whatever you do, don’t let go,” he warned. “If anything goes wrong, last thing we need is to end up in two different places.”

  We stepped into the gate together, pressing in close to make sure we’d both be warped.

  The constant shimmering of the violet air made my stomach churn.

  For several seconds, nothing happened.

  Did I do something wrong? I thought, glancing at Baryon.

  His eyes were shut tight, the skin around them growing pale. His lips moved silently, as if counting down. Then, when he mouthed “zero,” the world vanished from beneath my feet.

  For a moment, it felt like I was falling into the nothingness of a dark pit.

  In that vast abyss of darkness my body was yanked in dozens of directions at once, each pull so violent I feared I’d be torn apart.

  This tug-of-war came to an end only when a distant light flickered in the void. Then a pull—stronger than all the others—dragged me toward it.

  The light at the end of the tunnel, I thought with a faint, delirious chuckle.

  As the glow became blindingly intense, the journey suddenly ended. It lasted only an instant, but to me it felt like I’d been wandering blindly in the darkness for ages.

  We appeared in a corner of my family’s library, a familiar spot. I used to hide here all the time when playing hide-and-seek with Lelya.

  As soon as my feet touched the ground, I released Baryon’s hand; only after cursing something under his breath did he begin to open his eyes.

  “That—that was horrible,” I groaned.

  I rubbed my face hard, pressing my palms against my eyes until my vision went completely white.

  Then, after a deep breath, I tried to take a step forward, and immediately felt less real. It felt like I had been completely disconnected from reality and then forcibly knitted together into my intended position.

  “I assure you, the experience doesn’t get any better over time,” Baryon muttered bitterly.

  Before I could respond, the creaking of the wooden floor announced the hurried approach of someone nearby.

  “How exactly did you get in here?” Father blurted, clearly, and understandably, startled.

  I froze. Oh. Right.

  I turned to him with an awkward smile.

  “Surprise!” I said cheerfully. “Did you miss me?”