By the ti the chosen six assembled at the portal, the sky above had deepened into a rich indigo, the last traces of sunset fading behind the jagged silhouette of the camp walls. The air carried that tense stillness before a mission—an almost tangible pressure that settled on shoulders and tightened in the chest.
The reinforced barrier Alia had placed earlier still pulsed faintly, its golden light washing over the faces of those present. It was a steady, reassuring glow, a reminder that they were not stepping into the unknown entirely unprotected. Yet for Mia, standing at the head of the group, it also felt like a silent clock ticking down.
The Saintess stepped forward, her usual warmth replaced by the sharp clarity of command. "Before you go, I’ll add one more layer," she said, her voice even but carrying a weight that demanded attention. "The barrier I placed earlier will dissolve, but I’m replacing it with a mobile shield. It will follow you through for the first few monts—long enough to absorb any imdiate attack."
Her hands moved in a practiced, fluid motion, the air humming with holy energy as she summoned her magic once again. The do of gold and silver light swelled over the portal, shimring like molten glass. Every ripple of that radiance carried an almost physical warmth, even from several paces away. Slowly, the do compressed, stretching inward until it beca a thin, translucent veil clinging to the surface of the portal.
"Stay close together when you pass through," Alia instructed, her tone leaving no room for error. "The shield will only hold for ten seconds on the other side. Make them count."
Mia’s expression didn’t waver. She stepped forward, setting her stance with the quiet certainty of soone who had done this before—and knew what it ant to walk into enemy territory without knowing what waited on the other side. Hiro moved just behind her, his hands loose at his sides but his eyes sharp, tracking every detail. Zion adjusted his glasses, the faintest frown creasing his brow as he murmured to himself about formation order and line-of-sight coverage.
Lisa’s hand briefly rested on the hilt of her blade, her gaze fixed on the faint shimr of the barrier as if trying to see through it. Sylvia exhaled slowly, checking the fit of her gauntlets one last ti, while Misha’s calm eyes stayed locked on Mia, ready to move the mont she did.
Alia gave a final nod. "Go."
The golden sparks of the old barrier scattered like embers on a breeze, dissolving into the night air. The only thing between them and the other side now was the veil of the Saintess’s newly forged shield.
Mia didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, and the group followed in tight formation.
Crossing the portal was like plunging into freezing water. A shiver rippled through each of them, a prickling that started at the skin and sank deep into the bones. The light around them warped unnaturally, stretching and bending like molten glass being pulled in slow motion, before snapping back into sharp clarity.
And then—they were inside.
The first impression was scale. They stood in the shadowed corner of an imnse, circular hall whose sheer size pressed against the edges of their vision. The ceiling rose impossibly high, vanishing into shadow above, its weight supported by colossal black stone walls. Those walls were smooth yet etched with thin crimson lines, each one pulsing faintly as if blood flowed beneath the surface.
Around them, tier upon tier of seating circled the vast open floor, arranged in perfect symtry like the tiers of an arena. The space was silent—so silent it felt wrong, as though sound itself was reluctant to intrude here. The air carried a faint tallic tang, a mixture of steel, oil, and sothing else they couldn’t quite na.
Hiro’s gaze swept across the space. "A training ground... or an arena," he murmured, keeping his voice low.
"Could be military operations," Zion replied, eyes darting over the crimson markings. "But the layout doesn’t feel like just a barracks. It’s... ceremonial, sohow."
They remained in the shadowed corner, instinct urging them to keep low and still. No movent, no guards. No sign of recent activity.
Lisa crouched, fingertips brushing the cold stone floor. "No fresh prints here," she whispered. "Either this place hasn’t been used in a while... or it’s cleaned regularly."
"Let’s not wait to find out which," Mia said softly. Her gaze swept the massive room, mapping routes and angles. "We move."
Four imnse archways broke the curve of the wall, each positioned at equal intervals. The nearest one was perhaps thirty ters from their corner—a short distance, but across open ground with no cover.
Sylvia’s eyes t Mia’s. "Are we taking the risk?"
Mia studied the floor between them and the archway. Open space was dangerous, but lingering here wasn’t safer. She made her decision with a slight nod. "We go. Fast and quiet."
They slipped from the shadows, moving in near-perfect synchrony. Boots touched stone with barely a whisper. Every step seed louder than it should have been, each heartbeat drawn out as the vast emptiness of the hall seed to amplify their presence. But no alarm sounded. No voice called out.
They reached the archway in less than half a minute and pressed against the cold stone wall, pausing to listen. Beyond it, a long corridor stretched ahead, its ceiling lower than the hall’s but still high enough to dwarf a man. The walls here were lined with banners of deep scarlet, each painted with strange, curling symbols in black. The designs were alien to their eyes—half-letter, half-creature, their aning hidden behind unfamiliar shapes.
Zion studied them briefly, his voice barely above a breath. "If this is their military staging ground... we’re deeper than we thought."
Mia didn’t answer. Her focus was forward, her mind already weighing possibilities—how far this corridor might go, what lay at the end, and whether they could reach it without being seen. The portal they’d just co through could be their shortcut to the enemy’s base camp. Or it could be a trap designed to lure intruders in and swallow them whole.
Either way, they were already inside. And now, they had to decide how far they were willing to go to find their answers.
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