"You talked about the elders of this place, and you're mentioning me as one of them? Are you joking?" Leon said, staring at Zoe with an unreadable expression.
Zoe met his gaze with an assessing look, then turned back to the imposing door. She sighed, in a soft exhale that seemed to carry the weight of unspoken rules.
She lifted her gaze to the center, where names were boldly inscribed on the door's surface in metallic script.
Her finger rose and pointed to a name written separately on the right.
"Here," she said, then shifted her body slightly toward Leon, her back to the door.
"That's the reason you're now part of those capable of entering through this door."
Leon took slow steps forward. His eyes widened as they focused, reading the name in his mind.
'Andrew Storm. Dad?'
'Dad was just a painter. How come his name is on this door?' thoughts screamed in his head in a chaotic tone.
He tore his gaze from the etched name and looked at Zoe.
