The carriage door opened with a quiet click, and Matthew stepped inside, his expression firm as always. "Let's not waste time," he began, his tone crisp. "When you pass through the gate, there are three things you might experience."
He raised a finger. "One—you might feel absolutely nothing. No weight, no sense of your body. Like your existence itself was momentarily skipped."
A second finger joined the first. "Two—it might hit you like a gut punch. A rush of nausea, like you're going to vomit... though you probably won't. It passes fast, but it's unpleasant."
Then a third. "And three—if you can, shield your body with aura or mana. Even if only a little. It won't stop the sensation completely, but it'll dull the edge. Prevent that itchy, crawling feeling under your skin."
Aidan nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. "So basically, it's either numbness, nausea, or existential dread. Wonderful."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "Do we get to vote on which one we prefer?"
Matthew couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, and a flicker of amusement passed through his eyes. After a moment of thought, he said, "For you both, I'd choose all of the above if I could."
He said it with a faint grin, just for a second—but then his expression hardened.
"Jokes aside," Matthew continued, voice steely, "don't try to act clever. Don't fight the pull. You're not strong enough yet to resist it, and I don't want to deal with any foolish nonsense because someone thought they were the exception."
His gaze swept between Aidan and Zane. "I know you're smart enough to understand what I mean," he added, his tone cooling. "So I won't waste time lingering."
With that, Matthew turned and exited the carriage just as swiftly as he had entered—his presence fading, but the weight of his words lingering behind.
Zane let out a slow breath. "Seems like even teleportation has its price," he muttered, leaning back slightly.
Aidan gave a dry chuckle. "Everything does. Nothing moves you forward without taking something first. But honestly?" He leaned back, arms loosely crossed. "I'd still take this deal any day over the regular way. I don't even want to think about how long it would've taken to reach our destination without teleportation. Probably the festival would've even ended."
Zane smirked. "True."
Their laughter echoed softly within the carriage, a brief but welcome contrast to the tension in the air. They bantered easily—sometimes teasing each other with mock insults, other times drifting into quiet gossip about rankers or rumours from the estate.
It was a journey filled with laughter and fleeting joy—blissfully unaware of the shadows looming just beyond the horizon. They didn't know it yet, but true dread was waiting for them. The kind that scars deeper than wounds and lingers far longer than fear.
Soon, the center of the gate shimmered with a faint black hue, rippling like disturbed water. A low hum began to rise in the air, steady and deep.
Outside, Rankers stood in formation around the massive structure, channeling their aura into the runes carved into its surface. The sound of effort drifted on the wind—short, controlled breaths, the occasional grunt, and the muffled crackle of raw energy snapping against stone.
For a moment, even the light seemed to bend in front of the gate. Shadows warped unnaturally, elongating and twisting along the ground as if unsure of their place. The runes along the arch pulsed with a dark glow, their rhythm syncing with the beating hearts of those nearby.
The gate groaned—a heavy, resonant sound like stone grinding against time itself.
Aidan and Zane both stared at the process, their jaws slack as the gate shimmered with power. Neither of them had ever seen anything like it before.
For Zane, there had never been a world outside the slums or the Wilson estate. Everything beyond that had always felt distant—stories told by passing soldiers or glimpses caught from high windows. But this... this was real. Monumental.
For Aidan, Earth had never known anything remotely close to this. Even if he wanted to act unfazed, the truth was, this sight gripped something deep in him—a mixture of awe and unfamiliarity that refused to let go. No matter how many stories a person read or watched, seeing it for oneself was certainly different.
Still, he remained more composed than Zane, his expression calm as his eyes traced the curving arches and runes that glowed with black colour.
Zane leaned closer to the window, whispering, "This doesn't even feel real…"
Aidan didn't respond immediately. He simply watched as the gate pulsed, its hum vibrating faintly through the carriage floor.
He finally murmured, "It's real. And it's only the beginning." Aidan clenched his fist as he looked forward toward the gate with firm resolution.
The carriage slowly moved forward, entering the gate's shimmering arch and being swallowed by a swirling haze that enveloped everyone inside.
Aidan felt a strange, weightless sensation—like floating in the endless void of the cosmos. It was eerily similar to the feeling he had experienced during his rebirth. But this time, it was different. There was a distinct sense of a predetermined path, as if an invisible thread was guiding him forward. Despite the emptiness around him, he could still feel the faint connection to his body, still anchored inside the carriage.
Zane, however, felt something else entirely.
Two opposing forces tugged at him, like invisible anchors pulling in opposite directions. His consciousness blurred under the pressure, heavy and disorienting. For a First Rank being, he shouldn't have felt such intense strain—yet here he was, struggling to keep his senses intact.
Just when he thought he was going to be pulled by the greater force, a sharper tug snapped him back. A voice cut through the haze—calm, firm, unmistakably Matthew's.
"Didn't I say not to resist the pull?"
Matthew's eyes locked onto Zane with a piercing gaze. "Explain," he said sharply, his voice leaving no room for evasion.
Zane inhaled deeply, drawing in ambient mana to steady himself. His limbs still trembled slightly, but his breathing evened out. He didn't speak right away, focusing instead on assessing the strange pull he had just experienced.
From the side, Aidan watched with concern, his brows knit. He reached into the carriage's side compartment and passed Zane a bottle of water. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
Zane shook his head, unscrewing the cap but not drinking. "I… don't know."
Matthew studied him for a moment longer. His intense gaze gradually softened into a frown, though the tension in his jaw remained.
"I see," he said at last. "We'll talk about this when we're back home." With that, he turned and stepped out of the carriage, his expression still shadowed by concern.
Outside, Matthew's eyes lingered on the carriage, his thoughts unreadable. After a long pause, he muttered under his breath, "To think… Zane would be chosen by them."
He exhaled sharply, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. Now wasn't the time. He had enough to worry about for now. Until they arrived—no matter how many times they used teleportation—Zane wouldn't be pulled again.