The scent of flowers and grass rolled out of the door as Miles, jaw hanging, stared with wide eyes at the rolling hills of swaying, emerald-green grass that had taken the place of his old room. Wrenching his sight away from the content of the room, he looked at the doorway then at the door itself.

  This is what the Custodial Key does?

  Miles stared back into the wide space ahead. What was this place?

  Sensing the mana seeping out, he deduced it was somehow connected to the Dungeon, but its concentration was barely above the Surface’s level. So there shouldn’t be anything dangerous roaming inside. Turning his attention inwardly toward the key, he sensed it connecting him to this space. And while he wanted to step inside and explore, Miles hadn’t spent decades stuck in the Dungeon to trap himself again.

  Fool me once… something something, he thought as he summoned the key. The old iron key dropping in his outstretched palm, cold and a little heavy, and Miles stared at the door and waited. When a minute went by without the gate closing, he closed the door and watched as it slowly reverted back to its pitiful state. Reopening it then, he found his mundane room.

  He nodded to himself. “Alright. Makes sense so far,” he thought, shutting the door and shoving the key in the wood again, and when it finished changing, he reopened it and found the Custodial room and its rolling hills. Shutting the doors this time, he waited, but the door never reverted back, and reopening it, it still connected him to the mysterious space.

  So the door stays unless I remove the key. But what happens when I remove the key and shut the door from the inside?

  That was going to be something to test at a later time, because with what he knew right now, he wasn’t risking getting locked there. Not unless he had to. But at least he knew that no one could lock him in with the key in his soul.

  As he stepped through the door, he sensed the air shift around him and he immediately looked up at the sunny sky above.

  “This is insane,” he mumbled, glancing back. The door was right there, highlighted with golden light. The air was a little bit humid, but it was breezy and all directions he looked, the horizon stretched, and Miles stood there, dumbstruck.

  “Is this a whole damn Dungeon floor?”

  He could see a forest in the distance ahead, a mountain to the west and between the mountain and himself, he noticed a dark structure.

  Miles frowned. “What is that?”

  Miles was about to jog toward it, wanting to see it from up close, only for the damn thing to suddenly appear right in front of him, nearly making him jump out of his skin. With a curse, he took a step back, eyes scanning the structure. It was a floating circular base of black stone and right next to it, what he could only describe as a stele of matching mineral, with one engraved notch at the top.

  With a hop, Miles stepped into the circle and immediately knew what this was as the question seeped into his mind, asking him if he wanted to activate the circle.

  A Dungeon entrance. And that stele…

  This was huge. And that notch could mean many things. Things he’d endeavor to figure out eventually.

  “But not today,” he said with a smile, hopping off the platform. Willing it to go away, it disappeared and reappeared far into the horizon, and Miles put his hands on his hips, smiling at the space.

  “I could work with this.”

  Over the next half hour or so, Miles just ran around, exploring the woods and noting the many herbs and trees. He found a winding river which was springing out of a natural spring hidden within the forest, and he would have gone further, he just didn’t want to leave the door unattended for long. Then thinking of how the Dungeon gate had behaved, he mentally willed the exit to approach, and he sensed the key resonate in his soul right as the gold-highlighted door popped in front of him.

  “Neat,” he chuckled as he stepped toward the door. He wanted to make sure his presence was well hidden before continuing his exploration, after which he could just hide in here. A week or two would pass quickly, and in any case, he could just get started on some planting.

  Wait, could I affect the soil?

  Glancing below him, he frowned down at the ground, willing it to be tilled, but it only stared back at him and nothing happened.

  Okay, so I don’t have control over everything. That’s fine, he mused. Next, he tried to activate his looping Skill, to see if he could set this place and time as respawning point, but just like outside, it didn’t work.

  Damn. But at least I tried, he thought as he took another step toward the gate. Then he froze.

  As soon as he was one step away from the exit, he sensed something. Miles frowned and slowly, delicately, he extended his aura out in front of him, struggling a little to push it through the magical gateway, but after a some straining, he managed to push his senses out, and he grimaced when he felt the intruders.

  Two of them. Well… shit. What do I do now?

  Their Veil was unimpressive, but they were significantly weaker than he was so they weren’t that easy to sense. Any other day, Miles would have not missed their presences. But between the lackluster mana around and this room being a separate space from the corridor outside, he hadn’t sensed them until the last second. And now, he couldn’t delay for too long or they’d think they were made.

  What were he to do with them? Capture them? Bribe them?

  I got enough in storage to make anyone rich up here. So just play nice and see how it goes, he decided as he took a step forward. There was one presence just behind the door, waiting for him to exit. And another on the side of the corridor. Both weren’t even tier-10, so even if they threw everything they had at him, there was nothing they could do to him.

  Frankly, at this point his challenge was about convincing them to not ruin their own lives. Which… could be challenging.

  Deciding to play it by ear, he walked out. Miles’s boots echoed in the corridor, and as he casually reached for the handle to shut the door behind him, a glowing spearhead came from behind the door, stopping barely an inch away from his neck. His eyes looked down at the polished shaft, but before he could say much, he watched, surprised, as the weapon was lowered.

  “Miles?”

  Miles looked up, meeting the young woman’s gaze, and his thoughts stuttered. It had been literal decades since he last saw the inquisitive amber eyes and the freckled button nose, but there was no mistaking her. Not when the voice was so familiar. Memories of spars, arguments, and helping out the Gryffs in the field flashed in his mind, and his face split in a wide grin. “Hi, Thalia.”

  The spear clattered to the ground as the young woman lunged for him, hugging him tightly. Miles hugged her back, and they swayed as they laughed. There was a lot sniffling and chuckling, but when she caught her breath, she punched his shoulder. “Where have you been? Six years? We thought—” her voice caught a little, her smile slipping. “They said you were dead. What happened?”

  Miles sighed, taking a second to pick up the spear she’d dropped. “Well... it’s a little complicated,” he began, handing her the spear. He wasn’t about to bring up the details, but he owed his adoptive sister some answers. “I’ll explain. Eventually. But I’m alive. I was just a little stuck. And then I accidentally ended up exiting out of the Sandgate and had to make the trip,” he explained. He didn’t feel great about his lie near the end, about where he’d exited from, but again, it came back to plausible deniability. On the remote, off-chance that Thalia was singled out and asked under truth-spell if she knew who had come out of the nearby Dungeon gate, she’d be able to pass the test. Plus, it wasn’t as if they weren’t alone.

  Hearing a clatter to his right, Miles turned, only to find a second woman with a hand raised and a spear in the other, which had just knocked down candle. She winced, an apologetic smile on her face. “Sorry!”

  Thalia chuckled, wiping at her eyes as she faced the wall. “Fine. Just don’t disappear again, alright?”

  Miles nodded. “I promise I won’t.”

  “And maybe send a message next if you do?” she added, staring him in the eyes.

  Miles grimaced, nodding. “I’ll explain. I promise.”

  There was a reason he hadn’t of course. But that was a subject for another time. Suffice it to say, people thought he was dead, and sending a message might have tipped them otherwise.

  “So. What’s with the magic door?” asked the red-headed girl.

  Miles look behind at the still exposed doorway leading to the Custodial room. He stared at it for a moment, then sighed. It really was as they said. No plan survived first contact with the enemies.

  I’m really out of it, today, he thought, swinging the door shut.

  ***

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  In the abandoned home of the Gryffs, there weren’t any chairs or a table to sit at, and his old bedroom was too cramped, so all three just stood in front of the unlit hearth. It wasn’t as if they had much time to catch up anyway. Thalia had said they had minutes at most before they'd need to report back, and honestly, Miles was okay with that. He could see that she needed a little time to take this all in. She was keeping up appearances, but he'd already caught her staring at him multiple times, as if she expected him to just fade away, and he noticed how she kept restlessly adjusting her grip on her spear.

  “That gate’s a Skill of mine. Transcendent. Opens a little sanctuary,” he said, improvising a little. He couldn’t lie about the rarity; through his years in the loop, he'd quickly learned that something that opened a door to a pocket dimension could be nothing less than Transcendent.

  Brie’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor, while Thalia was stunned for a moment. She even stopped fidgeting with the spear. "That's... how?" she breathed, the question a mix of disbelief and quiet wonder.

  “It’s a long story. I promise I’ll tell you all about it,” he added. Then turning the conversation toward something more mundane, he asked. “How’s Aunt Seren and Uncle Auren?”

  As soon as he asked the question, he knew he misstepped, and the silence that followed only confirmed it. Thalia smiled, but it was a pained thing. “Mom’s in the city. We live there now. Dad passed a few years back.”

  The news was like a little punch in the gut. Miles was well acquainted with deaths by now, but it never got easier. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said after a moment. Letting out a sigh, he straightened up. “I hope you’ll come visit Aunt Seren. I’d love to see her,” he added, a smile on his lips. And when Thalia gave him a questioning look, he rubbed the back of his neck. “So you know how I came out of the Sandgate? With what you told me about what happened at the Dungeon gate today, I feel like now might not be the day to show up at the city. I’d rather wait here for a couple days until things mellow out.”

  Brie nodded along, a gesture Thalia mimicked a beat later.

  “Fair. But maybe we could vouch for you?” offered Brie with a shrug. She was like a foot shorter than Thalia, but somehow it was as if she had double the energy and sensing her core, Miles was almost sure she was a Seeker. As for Thalia, a Vanguard, most likely. And right now, she was shaking her head at her friend’s suggestion.

  “We’re two juniors, and I have a feeling that any scan or ID they’d ask of you will get you into trouble. It’d be better to wait,” she confirmed.

  “Yeah… you’re probably right,” said Brie, stretching her hands above her head. “I think it’s time, Thals? No offense, but we definitely should get moving or we’ll draw too much attention. We’re a bit late already.”

  Thalia nodded. “She’s right. Can you wait for me outside, Brie? I’ll join you in a second.”

  The guardswoman gave Thalia a mock salute, fluidly tapping a fist on her chest before she turned and head out, and as soon as she was out, Miles pushed his aura out and shaping it, he created the largest bubble he could manage to isolate the space and muffle the sounds around him and Thalia, which made the young woman tense up.

  “Sorry. I’m not very good with projecting my aura just yet,” he spoke quickly. Eyes meeting hers, he asked. “Is she trustworthy?”

  It wasn’t that important to know. He just wanted to be ready. He wasn’t going to live a paranoid life, keeping secrets and waiting for strangers to stab in the back at any moment. He just wanted to know what he was dealing with. And if stuff went wrong, he’d adapt and improvise.

  Thalia gave him a shaky nod. She swallowed, and Miles resolved to really focus on making his aura less threatening. Especially to those significantly weaker than he was. “I trust her with my life,” she said, and Miles dispelled his aura, and Thalia’s shoulder immediately relaxed. She was nearly panting, and she gave him a little smile as she readjusted her grip on her spear. “You’re gonna have to teach me that. Deal?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, giving her another hug. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. I’ll make it up to you. Say hi to Aunt Seren, okay? And come back soon. We’ll have lunch or something. I’ll be right here, okay?”

  “Okay,” Thalia said as took a step back, eyes twinkling, and she nodded. “I will,” she added, turning away. Then pausing, she looked back to him. “You’re the one who broke out of the gate today, right?”

  The question came so suddenly and so unexpectedly that his mind lagged for half a second, but that was enough to for Thalia’s eyes to go wide.

  “Nope,” Miles said, face neutral as he held her gaze. “You could submit me to a truth-spell and it’ll prove it. That’s all you gotta know for now,” he added, and while he barely suppressed the corners of his lips from twitching, he hoped she caught what he was communicating.

  Thalia narrowed her eyes, nodding as she opened the door, still smiling. “Got it. Don’t go disappearing again, okay? I’ll come by—”

  A loud crash filled the air, and Thalia whirled for half a second before she turned back. “Stay here,” she said, then ran out.

  Miles frowned, inching slowly toward the door and peered out.

  What happened?

  ***

  Thalia’s POV

  Thalia rushed out in the afternoon sun and instantly saw the cloud of dust across the street. She held her spear forward scanning the surroundings as she called out before her eyes turned back to the debris, stomach twisting. “Brie? Brie!”

  Please don’t be in there, she prayed, and when she saw the dust covered red-hair peek through the clouds of dust, her heart dropped and she cursed under her breath.

  “Why are you behind on your patrol, trainee?”

  Thalia whirled, and it was as if a wall had dropped on her spear, knocking it painfully out of her grip and nearly breaking her fingers from the impact. Before she realized what had happened, she found herself looking up at the sky right before her back hit the ground. The wind was knocked out of her chest, but she could still see the shadowy figure above.

  Black leathers. Hood. A Shadow?

  The man kneeled next to her head, a glimmering dagger in his gloved hand. “So? Why were you two breaking protocol? What is this, a side-job or do you two know something about what happened today? Because today’s not the day to fuck around with side hustles. Not with how hard the hornet’s nest got kicked.”

  The Shadow’s voice was matter-of-fact, though there was an undercurrent of annoyance under it.

  Thalia, teeth gritted, was about to respond when the man silenced her by raising his index finger to his invisible lips while his dagger poked her right under her jaw. “Before you waste both of our times, don’t lie. I know when I’m being lied to. Last chance before you join your little friend over there. Then I’ll be dragging both of you to HQ so our new trainees can work on their… interrogation technique. So. Spit it. And I might look past this and let you two go.”

  Thalia couldn’t see the man’s face. It was either a Skill or an enchantment, but it didn’t matter. The truth was not an option, and she wasn’t beating this man. But she suspected she knew who could.

  “Help?” she called out, trying to make herself audible but not loud enough to attract the attention of more watchers.

  The Shadow stilled, then his head tilted. “What do—”

  The familiar aura fell down on both of them and this time, it was much heavier than what she had experienced indoors. It was… as if a pissed off giant was pressing on her with a foot, daring her to even take a breath in his presence. Thalia found herself unable to even think straight as terror squeezed her heart, but through the corner of her eyes, she saw a hand grip and wrench the Shadow back by the neck, almost as if she was seeing it through someone else’s eyes.

  Then as suddenly as it came, the terrifying presence left, and through the door to her old home, she saw blue magic surrounding the frozen body of the Shadow as Miles retreated back inside. A beat later, Miles shoved the encased Shadow through a fold in the air, his hand disappearing for a second before it came back out with a little green vial which he tossed toward her.

  “Give it to your friend,” he whispered-shouted as she scrambled up so the vial wouldn’t hit the ground. Her hands were too shaky to catch it, and it did hit the ground, but it was fine. “Only a little! If you want to stay here, you’re welcome. Otherwise get back to the city quick, okay? I’ll come to check on you tomorrow. Go!”

  With the vial in hand, she ran toward the collapsed house just as she was told, face pale and not not even knowing what was happening anymore. She only knew that she needed a nap.

  Just what happened to him down there?

  ***

  From behind the cracked door, Miles watched as Thalia and Brie scrambled away and out of the abandoned village. Just a sip had been enough to fix Brie’s broken arm and thankfully, she was high-tier enough to survive the collapsed home. Though they were going to need a good excuse to explain the blood and dust in which she was covered.

  Once he saw them disappear in the distance, Miles shut the door and sighed out in relief. In his vault, the Shadow was asleep. He’d been tempted to outright eliminate him, but… well, in stasis, he was just as unable to do harm as he would be if he were dead. Considering he was below tier-20, he wasn’t that heavy to carry.

  Probably in the early tier-10s. I doubt he’s even tier-15, considering the laughable resistance he managed to put up, he thought. Still, this complicated things a little.

  “Now they’ll really know someone’s around. And they might be able to narrow down my location, so I better move,” he thought out loud. “Unless…”

  Unless he could speak some sense into the Shadow. Miles frowned, tilting his head as he considered it.

  Hmmm. The keyphrase Quinn gave me could work. And I do need one of ‘em…

  Miles hummed as he headed back to his room. He’d think about it. For now though, in case someone came around sniffing, he had to hide the door. Somehow. So it was time to risk a few more tests. For example, what would happen if he removed the key while he was still inside the Custodial room? That had been a little too concerning of a test earlier, but with this location having been found, it was time to take a few little risks. If he could fully hide his presence here, he’d worry a bit less about staying.

  There’s that to test. And I should have had Thalia try to force the door open. Test if anyone could just open it or if it’s just me.

  Well, he missed the opportunity for that second one, but if he came to an agreement with the Shadow, he could have him test it.

  Making his way back to his room, he summoned the key and pushed it into the door again, and when the door changed, he stepped in. Turning to face the entrance, he took a deep breath. “Come on, don’t screw me over,” he warned the key as he summoned it, then he shut the door behind him. Face scrunched, he watched as the gold highlights faced away and as the door turned back to its original shape, but while he expected it to completely disappear, it didn’t. It just hovered there, like a ghost of a door through which his hand moved unimpeded. Stepping around it, he examined it, then summoning the key, he pushed into the ghostly apparition, and the door regained its shape and consistency. Pushing the handle out, it opened into the corridor again. And Miles smiled.

  “Neat. Now I just gotta figure out what happens if the door gets destroyed. But this’ll do for now.”