The gate that stood before Cain and Alita was unlike any they had seen before.
It towered high above them, vast and ancient, carved from crystalline layers that shimmered like frozen lightning. Through its translucent surface, they could glimpse the world beyond — an extensive and desolate desert, glowing under a sunless horizon. The sight alone was enough to confirm what they already sensed: this was the end of the First Ring.
Unlike the gates they had passed before, this one was far more complex. Dozens of glowing nexus points pulsed within its structure, not one but thirty-three in total, each radiating its own unstable pattern of energy. The circuits were misaligned — fragmented frequencies that had to be repaired and harmonized before the gate could respond.
