To stop the fighting, Noax brought them to the edge of the Valley.
There stood the Gate of Rules. It was made of white bone. A giant blade hung over the entrance.
"Beyond this gate lies the Great World," Noax said. "But the gate only opens for those who follow the Laws."
"I make my own laws!" Brave Sun roared.
He charged the gate. He punched the white bone.
CLANG.
The gate did not move. The vibration shattered the bones in Brave Sun's hand.
"Strength is useless against the Law," Noax said.
Starry Wisdom stepped forward. She examined the gate. She saw the mechanism. She saw that the blade dropped every ten seconds.
"I will time it," she whispered.
She waited. Drop. Lift. She ran.
She made it through.
Brave Sun was left behind, nursing his broken hand. He watched his sister walk into the Great World.
"She left me," Brave Sun whispered.
The Mantle of Strength on his shoulders grew heavier. It turned dark. Strength without Wisdom becomes Brutality.
Brave Sun did not solve the gate. He dug under it. He tore the earth apart with his bare hands until he crawled under the wall like a beast.
When he emerged, he was covered in dirt. He hated the gate. He hated the rules. And he hated his sister.