The Gateway Unlocked [Chapter 125]

"Yea, I understand what you mean. You guys are like family to me, too."

I pat his back as the woman sighs.

"Let's get on with it."

Nevereth starts walking towards me as Azeroth takes a step back, rubbing his eyes. Nevereth shakes my hand, smiling. He speaks, but I hear two different things at the same time. One in the real world, and one in my head.

"Well, looks like I'll get to see her again. Thank you, for bringing me back so I can see her again."

"When she gives you the barrier, I'll grab her. Whatever is out there, she's scared of it."

I feel a little energy trail into my hand, Nevereth falling to one knee. I clench my fist and nod. She walks over and extends her hand, a faint white glow surrounding it. I grab her hand, the glow transferring to me. Suddenly I feel a massive weight on my shoulders, all the air seemingly sucked from my lungs. Slight cracks form in the sky above us.

"Any second it'll balance out."

She says with a smile while looking up and extending her hand. Ayvex starts appearing beside her, unconscious. Suddenly the sky starts breaking apart, her expression turning to concern. I drop to my knees, unable to breathe. She starts to move towards me, but Nevereth grabs her ankles.

"What do you have to be afraid of?"

She starts fully panicking. Trying to force herself passed Nevereth and to me, she summons a ball of white light to her hand. As she points her palm towards me, Azeroth teleports beside her and grabs her wrist. The light vanishes and she looks to him, surprised.

"Zero could negate magic, by how I understand it. And that looked like magic. Unluckily, for you, it seems he championed me."

"CHAMPION DOESN'T CARRY OVER AFTER DEATH! AND I SHOULD HAVE SUPERIOR VERSIONS OF YOUR ABILITIES!"

She screams, desperately trying to pull away from Nevereth and Azeroth, who are both holding on for dear life. She screams again.

"Don't allow this! Don't let them in!!"

The sky shatters, whatever stars that were above now completely gone. Without hesitation, she rips her own arm off and pushes Azeroth away while he holds it. She then breaks her own leg off at the femur and pushes herself away. As she heals, she flaps her wings and starts flying away, towards the edge of the floating land mass. A crack and loud pop are heard above a few seconds later. I feel my vision going blurry as a few people appear in front of me. I hear one of them start talking.

"Where is Everia?"

Azeroth's voice responds.

"That's the name of the planet? Were you looking for us?"

"Wow, she was narcissistic enough to name a planet after herself."

Almost like a blink, I black out then jolt awake in a strange bed. It is far comfier than anything else I've ever randomly woken up in. I look around, seeing a large tent around me. I kick my feet off the bed and stand up seeing my hand is no longer glowing white. As I walk outside, A man hangs down in front of me.

"Holy shit, you woke up fast. Only unconscious for thirty minutes, I had literally just got you into bed."

I jump back lightly, surprised by his sudden appearance. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, a completely normal looking man. What's not normal is how he's walking on thin air while also upside down. From beside the tent, I hear another voice pipe up.

"Rigiri, stop being so childish. We're here on business, and now that their deity has awoken, we must talk."

I quickly look over to see a man with messy short blonde hair, and a suit looking at me. He extends his hand, and without thinking, I shake it. While shaking his hand, I notice he has formal white gloves on.

"I'm sorry, did you say deity?"

"Yes, are you not the one who maintained the barrier so Everia could not leave? It was a phenomenal plan, to deprive her of combat so she would be weakened enough when you dropped the barrier."

I shake my head.

"No, that's not how it is. I'm surprised you didn't speak to Nevereth, he could've told you what really happened."

"You mean the demon? He is still here, we just have him, the young woman, and the young man with black wings in a tent by themselves."

I quickly speak up.

"Take me to them!"

In the blink of an eye, we appear in a different tent. I look to the blonde man, speaking out of shock.

"But-but, you, we...we didn't touch, how did you teleport us?"

Nevereth chuckles. I quickly look over to see him sitting in the corner next to a still resting Ayvex.

"These are the guys that mother was afraid of. Those horrible monsters, the beasts outside the barrier? No, she feared them."

Azeroth quickly stands up and rushes over to me.

"Thank the maker, err, is there a maker? This whole journey has me questioning whether or not there even is a maker."

The blonde man speaks up.

"Maker is a strange term. Do you mean, a god? There are many lesser gods, but I do believe there is an all-powerful god at the center of it. But that's not the discussion I currently wish to have. I wish to talk about Everia."

Over the next hour, Nevereth spills everything he has come to know about his mother, Everia. Including who his siblings' parents are, the motive she claimed to fight for, and the many lies she had told. As Nevereth finishes, the man nods. He scratches the back of his head then speaks up.

"All right, let's cut through the lies. Everia didn't give birth to any of you, she created you. It's a skill Archangels, Archdemons, and Archdevils all possess. You said she mentioned her life in war? Did she mention she was one of the reasons that war even happened? Most likely not, that would make her seem less trustworthy. She was thrown out of the Holy Council after the war, due to her persistence to continue creating beings for a war that was already over. When she wanted to continue fighting, The Holy Council came after her."

I quickly speak up.

"So, are you a part of this Holy Council?"

"No, but before they could capture her, she trapped herself inside a pocket dimension. After thousands of years, they contacted us. Which, we started paying attention to this pocket dimension for only a few years. Then suddenly, it opened. So, we came in."

Nevereth interjects.

"Alright, but exactly who are you guys?"

"We are a dimensional group of people who specialize in hunting, killing, or detaining dangerous beings. We also have a medical division, tracking division, and a few others. But to serious matters. When we found you, you had the barrier in your hand. It seemed as though you couldn't control it, so I took it from you."

The strange man says, gently pulling off his glove, revealing the glowing white symbol of the barrier.

"We strive to protect life and maintain order. And even though you were all created by Everia, a criminal who needs to be executed, you have a right to life. If the barrier remains down for too long, this world will be ripped apart as you're pulled through the gateway out of here. So, to keep this world alive, someone must maintain the barrier. Can you handle it?"