Of Course It’s a Wall. Why Would It Be a Door?

They moved slowly through the damp corridor that led to the old subway station, the air thick with moisture and the faint scent of rot.

"Follow me," Kael said, glancing back at the others with a half-nod.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Finn asked, his torchlight flickering across the walls, revealing vines, cracked tiles, and shadows too dark to be natural.

"No," Kael admitted. "But we don't have a choice, do we?"

Riven gave a short nod, and Silas let out a low growl that sounded more like agreement than annoyance.

Kael exhaled. He hadn't wanted to drag them into this. He barely wanted to be here himself.

But he couldn't do this alone, not anymore. He needed allies—even if they didn't fully understand what they were getting into.

The four of them stepped out of the corridor and into the decaying station.

It was like stepping into a ruin swallowed by nature. The cracked concrete floor was half-submerged in muddy water.

Plants crawled across the walls and wrapped around rusted benches and broken turnstiles. Moss blanketed everything.

Creeping vines dangled from the shattered ceiling. The place looked like it had been abandoned for decades—like the apocalypse hadn't just happened, but had settled in and made itself at home.

"Damn…" Riven whispered, scanning the water with wide eyes. "There's enough of it to last a year."

"That's the first thing you notice?" Kael muttered, eyebrows raised.

"Don't growl at me like a pissed-off alley cat," Riven shot back, unfazed.

Kael narrowed his eyes. He didn't reply. He was still trying to figure her out. Trusting her hadn't been easy, but she was still here. That had to count for something.

They stood in silence for a moment. The only sound was the slow drip of water and the occasional distant creak of metal.

"So…" Kael broke the silence, "can we go find the damn door now?"

"Lead the way, sword boy," Riven said, grinning.

"Don't call me that," Kael growled under his breath.

She only smiled wider and pointed toward a rusted sign hanging crooked on the far wall. "That should be the direction."

Kael opened his system panel and watched a faint mini-map flicker into view.

'How far is the Gate?' he asked.

[Approximately 120 meters from the current location.]

He nodded. "Not far. Let's move."

They crossed the flooded station carefully. The deeper they went, the worse the floor got—mud sucked at their boots, and every few steps someone nearly slipped.

Kael struggled to keep his balance while carrying the oversized sword strapped to his back. It felt heavier than usual.

After he tripped for the third time, Silas caught his arm and steadied him.

"Watch it, kid. Don't faceplant before the endgame."

"I'm trying!" Kael snapped and pushed ahead, trying to move faster just to escape the mud.

Finally, they reached the location marked on the map as the Gate.

[You have arrived at the Third Gate.]

"Finally." Kael wiped the sweat from his brow. "That took way too long."

"Tell me about it," Finn panted, hands on his knees.

"So… this is it?" Silas muttered, tilting his head. "It's just a wall."

Kael frowned and took a step forward.

It didn't look like a gate. Not even close. Just a massive slab of concrete embedded into the far wall.

Moss and vines had grown over it so thickly that it blended into the rest of the station like a natural part of the jungle.

There was no symbol. No glow. No doorframe.

"I think this is the entrance," Kael said slowly, stepping closer.

"Looks like a dead end to me," Silas muttered, tapping the wall. "You sure?"

Kael rolled his eyes. "Let me try something before you start punching concrete."

He placed his hand against the wall.

'Alright, system. Your turn.'

[Decrypting manual input... Initiating sequence...]

[…]

[Code #213 recognized. Manual override engaged.]

Cracks snaked across the concrete. A low rumble shook the ground.

CREEEEEK!

The wall began to crumble inward, chunks of stone collapsing into dust. Everyone staggered back, coughing and waving away the thick cloud.

"Are—cough—you some kind of magician?" Finn asked between wheezes.

Kael grinned. "Yeah. Super magician from another world. You caught me."

"That's cringy," Riven said, brushing dust off her coat.

Riven's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Seriously, though—how'd you do that?"

Kael pressed a finger to his lips. "Secret."

"Keep your lame secrets," she muttered, folding her arms.

He looked away to hide his smirk and stared into the swirling dust.

Beyond the broken wall, there was only darkness—but the air felt... different. He couldn't explain it. Heavy, like stepping into a room full of ghosts.

"So this is the entrance," Riven whispered, squinting.

"Yeah," Kael said. "This is it. The Third Gate."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Silas stepped forward without hesitation.

"Wait! We don't know what's—" Kael started, but Silas had already disappeared into the dust.

Kael sighed. "I swear, if I catch that musclehead, I'm gonna break his nose."

"We don't have time to waste anyway," he muttered, stepping toward the gate.

He turned to Riven. "We have to go now."

"Can't we wait till after breakfast?" Finn joked weakly.

"NO!" Kael and Riven snapped at the same time.

Finn flinched. "Jeez. I was just kidding."

Kael sighed again. "Let's just go through this goddamn door."

The four of them stepped into the dust, their outlines swallowed one by one.

The air inside was choking. Kael held his breath and narrowed his eyes, using his sleeve to cover his mouth.

Each step felt heavier, like walking into a pressure chamber. The dust thinned slowly until he could see again.

What lay beyond the gate wasn't what he expected.

It wasn't a dungeon. It wasn't a cave. It wasn't even a room.

It was... a field.

A vast, open field of dead grass and crumbled stone ruins under a sky that shouldn't exist underground.

There was no ceiling—only a stormy sky swirling with violet clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and unnatural light pulsed on the horizon.

Kael stopped walking. His breath caught in his throat.

He staggered back a step.

"No way…"

Riven caught up behind him. "What is it? Why'd you stop?"

"This…" Kael whispered. "I've seen this place."

She blinked. "What?"

"In my dreams. I told you. This is the place I kept dreaming about."

He wasn't lying.

This exact field—the broken stones, the distant mountain-shaped silhouette, the pulsing violet light—it had haunted his sleep for weeks. Maybe longer.

But it had always felt like just a dream.

Now he was standing in it.

The field of the Third Gate.

The place that held the answers.

Maybe even the truth of who he was.