The underground cavern trembled.
Raze stood at the threshold of an ancient archway embedded in the stone wall. Glowing runes pulsed like veins of fire across its weathered surface. The air around it shimmered with unnatural heat, yet the sensation across Raze's skin was chilling.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him, Alira adjusted the grip on her curved blade, her eyes scanning the runes. "This isn't a dungeon gate," she murmured. "It's something… older. More dangerous."
Raze nodded slowly. "It's a Gate of Shadows. My system just confirmed it."
"Gate of what?" demanded Kellen, stepping forward, spear in hand. "That sounds like a place where people go to die."
"Not just people," Raze said quietly. "Legends say these gates connect to fractured dimensions. Realities twisted by forgotten gods—where time, memory, and death don't work the way they should."
The group went silent.
Even Juno, who usually had a sarcastic quip ready, kept his mouth shut. The tension in the cavern thickened.
Alira stepped closer to the runes. "If this is what your system says… then this could be the source of the recent monster outbreaks. The distortion. Everything."
Raze didn't respond. He was already scanning the gate with his HUD. Arcane sigils scrolled across his vision.
> [Quest Updated: Enter the Gate of Shadows]
Objective: Discover the source of the dimensional rift.
Warning: Irreversible. Entry may disconnect user from system for an unknown duration.
Recommended Level: Unknown.
Party Option: Enabled.
He exhaled sharply.
His power had grown since the massacre in Hollowpine. Since he unlocked [Sovereign's Descent], he could crush most elite hunters without effort. And yet this gate made even him hesitate.
"What's the plan?" Alira asked softly.
"We go in," Raze replied. "Together."
"No scouts? No sending a drone?" Kellen asked.
"There's no point. Anything sent in doesn't come back. This is one of those 'you enter or you don't' situations."
Juno clicked his tongue. "Suicidal, just the way I like it."
Raze stepped forward, his hand outstretched. As his fingers touched the glowing runes, the entire gate surged with light—dark purple and silver, twisting like smoke caught in fire.
The center of the archway shimmered, and with a sudden sucking noise, it collapsed into a swirling vortex.
"Everyone ready?" Raze asked.
Alira nodded. Kellen tightened his grip on the spear. Juno grinned.
Without waiting, Raze stepped through.
— — —
The world beyond the gate was… wrong.
Raze stumbled as gravity itself shifted. The sky above him pulsed like an open wound—deep red clouds boiling and turning inside out. Floating islands hovered in midair, upside down. Rivers flowed through the air like writhing serpents, glowing faintly.
It was like stepping into the nightmare of a dying god.
He stood on a narrow path suspended above nothing. As his companions emerged behind him, the gate behind them crumbled into ash.
"No way back," Juno muttered.
Kellen dropped into a ready stance, eyes wide. "This place… it's alive."
He wasn't wrong.
Raze could feel it. A consciousness. Watching. Whispering.
> [New Zone Discovered: The Twisted Veil]
Warning: You are being observed. Remain on the path. Do not stray. Do not listen to the voices.
"The system's going nuts," Raze said, scanning the HUD. "We're being watched."
A low growl echoed from beyond the path.
Alira drew her blade in a single, fluid motion. "Incoming."
Shapes emerged from the red mist—hunched, misshapen creatures, their limbs too long, heads twisted like melted wax. Their eyes glowed with eerie hunger.
"Voidspawn," Raze growled. "Here they come."
There were at least ten of them.
Kellen charged forward with a roar, spear lancing through the first creature's skull. Alira vanished in a blur, her blade flashing in elegant, deadly arcs.
Raze activated [Shadow Step], reappearing behind a Voidspawn just as it raised its claws. One clean slash from his spectral blade split it in half. Black blood sizzled as it hit the path.
"Don't let them drag you off the road!" he shouted. "If you fall—"
A scream cut through the air.
One of the Voidspawn had grabbed Juno, pulling him toward the mist. Raze moved instantly, using [Sovereign's Pulse] to blast the creature back. He grabbed Juno by the arm and yanked him to safety.
"You okay?"
Juno panted. "I owe you one."
More Voidspawn emerged. Dozens.
Alira reappeared beside Raze. "They're endless. This isn't a battle. It's a test."
Raze's mind raced. He could feel the truth in her words. This was a trial. A place meant to judge intruders. To measure their will.
"Form up!" he ordered. "Keep moving forward! Don't stop!"
The four of them moved like one—cutting, slashing, dodging, surviving.
Step by step, they made their way down the floating path.
Then, without warning, the Voidspawn stopped.
They vanished—melted into the mist.
A new presence filled the air. Heavy. Crushing.
Ahead of them stood a tall figure in obsidian armor, its face hidden behind a mirrored mask. A massive scythe hung across its back, and wings of black fire spread wide behind it.
> [Entity Identified: Gatekeeper of the Twisted Veil – Rank: Unknown]
Warning: Immediate threat. Engage with caution.
"I don't like that look," Kellen muttered.
The Gatekeeper spoke, its voice like falling ash.
"Only those who have faced death and spat in its eye may pass. Prove yourselves."
Then it drew its scythe.
Raze narrowed his eyes.
"So be it."
He stepped forward, eyes burning with determination. His blade gleamed with dark light as he activated [Void Resonance].
"No more hiding. Let's show them what we are."