The hallway was silent as Auren followed Yuna through a corridor lined with glowing digital panels and smooth obsidian floors. The scent of sea salt mixed with sterile air freshener filled his lungs as they entered a lavish sitting room.
"Wait here," Yuna said softly. "I'll go talk to my father."
Auren nodded, silently watching her disappear down another corridor. The room was elegant, modern, and disturbingly quiet. The stillness only amplified the storm inside his mind. Nothing about this world made sense anymore—and yet, something about it called to him.
A few minutes passed before the sliding door hissed open.
Footsteps echoed lightly on the floor. A man entered—tall, sharply dressed, his presence radiating power and precision.
"So," the man spoke, his voice crisp and laced with curiosity. "This is Auren."
Auren turned to face him. There was something eerily familiar about the way he stood—calm, calculating, yet strangely welcoming.
Kazehaya tenjin.
With a slight wave of his hand, Kazehaya gestured, and the attendants in the room silently bowed and exited. The door sealed shut behind them.
"Or should I say… Zo Auren?"
Auren stiffened, eyes narrowing. "How do you know that name?"
Kazehaya chuckled, stepping closer, the light catching the silver threads in his suit. "You think you're the only Gatewalker, boy? Your grandfather… he raised me like his own. Taught me everything I know about the Neo World. He showed me how to enter it."
Auren's jaw clenched. "You knew him?"
Kazehaya gave a nostalgic nod. "Better than most. He was a visionary. A guardian. And when I saw the monstrous portal open near the shore and that slime beast emerge, I knew the path had been reopened. And I knew who had opened it."
He pointed directly at Auren.
"You. The Chosen One."
Auren blinked. "How do you know all this? Who told you?"
"I just know," Kazehaya said with a glimmer in his eye. "Your transformation—it didn't go unnoticed. Your energy signature changed. I've tracked anomalies like that before."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"You've stepped into something ancient, Auren. You are now bound to something beyond realms."
Auren swallowed. "Then what am I now?"
Kazehaya raised his hand, projecting a hologram mid-air. It showed shifting silhouettes—Gatewalkers of the past. Then another image appeared—a masked group with glowing eyes and shadows twisting around them.
"There is a group," Kazehaya said. "Operating within the Neo World. They hunt Gatewalkers. Erasing every trace of them. They wield powers that don't follow any logic. They call themselves the Abyss Choir."
Auren took a slow breath. "And they can cross over?"
Kazehaya nodded. "Through Neo Portals. Just like the one that brought the slime monster here. They are coming, Auren."
A beat of silence followed. Kazehaya turned and pressed a button on the wall.
A small black invitation card emerged from a drawer.
"Here," he said, handing it over. "An invitation to Namsu University. No tuition. No questions. You saved my daughter. That alone earns you our respect. But... I believe Namsu holds secrets—secrets meant for you."
Auren hesitated, fingers brushing the edge of the card.
"I… I'll come," he said finally, unsure of his own voice.
Kazehaya gave a small smile. "Good. Then I'll see you soon."
He turned away, disappearing through the door without another word.
The silence in the room settled again—heavy and electric.
Later, outside...
Yuna met him in the garden , the sea breeze brushing against her loose hair.
"So?" she asked. "Are you coming to our university?"
Auren nodded slightly. "Yeah. I think I am."
She grinned. "Great. Did he tell you he's the chairman of Namsu?"
Auren raised an eyebrow. "Wait… what?"
Yuna laughed. "Surprise."
As the tension faded, she added, "Want to grab something to eat? There's a place nearby."
Auren smiled faintly. "Yeah. Let's go."
They were seated in a cozy, dimly-lit restaurant built into the side of a cliff. The waves crashed below as they ate in comfortable silence. But then, as Auren reached into his pocket to dab sweat with a handkerchief, something fell to the floor.
The black card.
The one signed with Ravel's name.
He reached to pick it up, but just as his fingers touched it—his eyes caught movement in the reflection of the glass.
A shadow.
Flickering near the door.
He stood abruptly.
Yuna looked up. "Everything okay?"
"I'll be back in two minutes," he said, voice tight.
She nodded, a little concerned. "Alright."
Auren stepped outside, following the trail of the flickering shadow through an alley, past abandoned shops, until it stopped—at a broken archway leading to an open space near the cliff edge.
There, standing calmly beneath the moonlight, was the old man.
The one who had spoken to him before.
His cloak swayed with the wind, eyes hidden behind shadow.
"You again," Auren muttered. "What do you want?"
The old man said nothing, simply turned and pointed.
A glowing portal spun slowly a few meters away—unstable, dark energy spiraling around its edges.
"What is that?" Auren asked.
"A breach," the old man replied. "It must be closed."
Auren took a step forward. "What happens if I don't?"
"The portal remains open. Monsters will continue to pour through. They corrupt. They feed. They destroy."
Auren looked at the swirling vortex. "And if I close it?"
"You'll gain a Rate Power," the old man said. "Something your body adapts from the residual energy—a new trait, ability, or strength. But only if you succeed."
Auren hesitated, then turned back toward the man. "Who… are you?"
The old man smiled faintly. Then he said, his voice echoing with something timeless:
{ "I am the riddle that ends civilizations… the whisper that awakens gods."}
Before Auren could respond, the old man stepped backward and vanished into the air.
Only the portal remained—pulsing, breathing, calling.
Auren looked at it, his heart pounding. He reached toward the hilt of his Neo Blade, feeling the energy hum against his palm.
One step forward.
Then another.
He stood before it—eyes burning with the fire of a hundred questions.
And without a word...
He stepped into the light.
---
To Be Continued.....