The palace loomed like a forgotten legend—its towering frame swallowed by ivy and silence. Worn stone told stories no tongue remembered. But at its heart, embedded within the wall like an eye staring back at time itself, stood the gate.
It wasn't built for ordinary people.
Twice their height, carved entirely from obsidian-gray stone, it bore no lock, no handle—only a great circular sigil in the center, made of three concentric rings. Faint engravings—like stars trapped mid-spin—glowed faintly across the surface, pulsing with a rhythm older than language.
Yui's breath caught in her throat. "It doesn't look like it opens."
"It will," Ethan murmured. "Just not with force."
He stepped forward, running his fingers along the symbols. The three stone rings shimmered ever so slightly, and he felt the faintest give—they could rotate.
"It's a puzzle," Aiko said, flipping open the weathered book. Her eyes scanned the worn pages. "The rings align to form the symbol of equilibrium. It's in here."
Liam crouched nearby, studying the mechanism. "So... a magic combination lock on the gate of destiny. Great."
Aiko and Ethan began to turn the discs, each ring shifting with a soft grind of ancient stone. The outer ring caught slightly, and dust broke loose from the crevices like breath escaping from a long-forgotten mouth.
"Not that one," Aiko said quickly. "Look—this pattern matches the astral constellation on page forty-two. Rotate the center ring twice left."
Click.
A low tremor rumbled through the stone beneath their feet.
They all froze.
Then— Click. Click. The circles aligned.
And the gate began to open.
It didn't swing—it parted, stone folding back like giant doors pulled by invisible threads. Air rushed out from the dark within, dry and ancient. Light spilled inward from above, stretching into a long corridor bathed in shadow and gold.
And standing at its end... were figures.
Four of them. Tall. Silent. Dressed in deep indigo robes trimmed with silver thread, their faces veiled but eyes sharp—fixed. Still as statues, but somehow, impossibly, alive with energy.
Their very presence shifted the air.
Everyone froze.
Liam took a shaky step back. "Okay. Uh. Did we just unlock a cursed fashion show?"
Yui didn't laugh. "Those are not models."
"No, yeah, of course. I was just... testing the air for sarcasm. Clearly it's not safe."
Ethan's voice came quiet. "Guardians."
One stepped forward. His voice was calm, like water flowing over stone. "You opened the gate. You read the book. You chose to see."
None of the team replied. The silence between them wasn't fear—it was awe.
"You stand at the threshold of what was never meant to be found," the guardian continued. "This place holds more than memory. It holds judgment. Power that does not choose lightly."
Liam leaned in toward Yui. "I'm just saying, next time we see a locked door, maybe we don't open it?"
Yui, deadpan: "Next time, we leave you outside."
The guardian raised his hand slightly. "Your path from here is no longer yours alone."
And then... the palace welcomed them in.