The skies shimmered with anticipation.
Rin stood at the border fortress, his pale white eyes narrowed at the dark horizon. Word had spread: the Great Gate was stirring. It had been three months since the last activation. Now, it would open for one week.
But unlike the minor gates scattered across the region, this one was different.
This one was ancient. Vast. Unstable.
Even the other countries treated it with caution. Along with the royals east guild the royal south guild will enter as well.
The original Rin had never been to a gate, and neither had he. Rin's knowledge was limited, and now, he was expected to step into a world that had once killed him.
He didn't know what would lie beyond. Monsters? Humans? Something worse?
Forget helping Earth… he wouldn't even survive if something truly powerful came through.
So, he made a decision: stay back. Watch. Learn.
This gate wasn't one for hotheaded bravery. It was for calculation.
And he wasn't the only one who knew that.
Thousands of soldiers and guild members moved in organized ranks. The main guild,his uncle's elite force,took position at the heart of the operation. Surrounding them were smaller guilds from the outer cities, assigned to satellite gates nearby. Rin saw their banners rise against the twilight: crimson wolves, storm serpents, obsidian thorns. Each had their own legends, their own heroes.
But none matched the central guild.
Rin's guild.
At the very center of it all stood the massive obsidian gate, twice as tall as any fortress wall, etched with runes that pulsed like veins. It seemed to breathe, like a sleeping beast on the verge of waking.
As if the world itself held its breath.
Then came the real sign of importance,the Guild Master himself.
Rin's uncle.
Tall, regal, with long horns and eyes like cold steel, the man exuded effortless authority. He didn't need to shout. His mere presence silenced the entire valley.
He passed Rin without so much as a glance.
Of course. The change in Rin's attitude hadn't gone unnoticed, but the Guild Master didn't concern himself with trivial details. Not yet.
"All forces hold position," the commander's voice rang out. "Gate reactivation in one hour."
Rin exhaled slowly. In one hour, his world could shift again. He wasn't ready.
But maybe that didn't matter.
Because ready or not… the gate would open.
After one hour,The gate opened like a wound in the sky, its swirling core dark and bottomless. The air trembled, space itself seemed to cry out, and a blinding pulse of light engulfed them all.
The next moment, Rin was falling.
His stomach churned, his vision spun, and then,impact.
He hit the ground hard, his body rolling through thick dirt and damp moss. Groaning, he sat up and looked around. The environment had changed completely. No longer the dusty hills of the border, but now a forest of towering, twisted trees, their bark black like obsidian and their leaves glowing faintly blue. The sky above was a dull gray-red, like dried blood smeared across the horizon.
They had entered another world,he has been separated from the others, they said this rarely happens.
"System," Rin muttered. "Status?"
> [Life Support: Stable]
[Location: Unknown. Dimensional coordinates unstable.]
The device implanted behind his ear blinked softly. A dot pulsed on his HUD, pointing southeast. It was a locator,standard issue for all guild members, meant to help scattered teams regroup after the gate's chaotic teleportation, they were ready for all possibilities.
Rin took a breath and began moving silently.