Chapter 1: The World Gate Experiment

The cold iron chains bit into Lyra Valencrest's wrists.

She slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred by the harsh white lights hanging from the ceiling.

This wasn't a prison.

It was a laboratory.

Strange crystal pillars surrounded her, each engraved with ancient runes that pulsed with a faint blue glow. Dozens of scholars in white robes hurried from one magical instrument to another, recording symbols on glowing scrolls.

The air smelled of metal and burning mana.

Lyra frowned.

"...Where am I?"

Her voice echoed through the enormous chamber.

No one answered.

Instead, she noticed that she was standing at the center of a massive magic circle carved into the floor. Hundreds of intricate runes spread outward like the branches of a giant tree, connecting to seven crystal towers positioned around the room.

A familiar voice broke the silence.

"So, you're finally awake."

Lyra looked up.

Standing on a high platform overlooking the chamber was Duke Cassian Vermont, the head of the Imperial Research Institute.

The same man who had testified against her during her trial.

"You..."

Her voice turned cold.

"So it was you."

Cassian smiled.

"You should feel honored, Lady Lyra."

"You are about to make history."

Lyra's chains rattled as she struggled.

"What are you talking about?"

The Duke ignored her question.

He raised a hand.

The scholars immediately stopped working.

"The preparations are complete."

"Begin the experiment."

At his command, the crystal towers blazed with brilliant light.

The magic circle beneath Lyra awakened.

Blue flames spread across every rune.

An overwhelming pressure filled the chamber.

Lyra felt the mana in the air becoming unstable.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She had read about these symbols before.

Impossible...

"...A World Gate?"

Several researchers gasped.

"She recognized it!"

"As expected of Lady Valencrest."

Cassian's smile widened.

"Precisely."

"For generations, the Empire has searched for a way to open the legendary World Gate."

"A bridge connecting countless worlds."

He slowly descended the stairs.

"Our ancestors failed."

"Our greatest scholars failed."

"But then..."

He stopped a few steps away from her.

"...we discovered you."

Lyra glared at him.

"I've never seen this artifact before."

"No."

Cassian shook his head.

"But your blood has."

He held up an ancient crystal tablet.

The symbols engraved upon it matched those beneath Lyra's feet.

"Your family descends from the forgotten Gatekeepers."

"Their bloodline alone can awaken the Gate."

Lyra's eyes widened.

"...That's impossible."

"It was erased from history."

"Exactly."

Cassian smiled.

"And today we shall recover that history."

One of the researchers stepped forward nervously.

"My Lord..."

"The artifact has never been activated."

"We don't know what will happen."

Cassian's expression hardened.

"That is why she is here."

"If the experiment succeeds..."

"The Empire gains limitless knowledge."

"If it fails..."

He glanced at Lyra without emotion.

"We lose only a condemned criminal."

Lyra clenched her fists.

So that was the truth.

She had never been arrested because of treason.

The accusations.

The forged evidence.

The trial.

Everything had been carefully planned.

Not to execute her.

To turn her into a disposable test subject.

She laughed bitterly.

"So all those lies..."

"Were just to bring me here."

Cassian said nothing.

His silence was answer enough.

The chief researcher raised his staff.

"Commencing World Gate synchronization."

The seven crystal towers released beams of light.

They converged above Lyra's head.

The chamber trembled.

Ancient runes ignited one after another.

A deafening hum echoed throughout the laboratory.

The scholars cheered.

"It's working!"

"The Gate is opening!"

The air split apart.

A crack appeared in the empty space before Lyra.

Beyond it...

She saw another sky.

Two moons.

Floating islands.

A dragon soaring through endless clouds.

The vision lasted only a second before disappearing.

The researchers erupted into excited whispers.

"We've done it!"

"The legends were true!"

Cassian's eyes burned with greed.

"Stabilize the portal!"

But something changed.

The runes beneath Lyra suddenly shifted.

Their blue glow became silver.

The crystal towers began to shake violently.

Warning alarms echoed through the chamber.

"Mana overload!"

"The Gate is rejecting the synchronization!"

"No!"

"It's resonating with the subject!"

Everyone stared at Lyra.

Silver light surrounded her body.

The chains binding her wrists shattered into pieces.

"What is happening?"

One researcher looked at the readings in horror.

"The artifact isn't drawing power from her..."

"It's responding to her!"

"The World Gate recognizes Lady Lyra!"

Cassian's confident smile vanished.

"Impossible!"

The crack in space expanded into a massive vortex.

Ancient voices echoed through the laboratory.

A language no one understood.

The walls began collapsing.

Crystal towers exploded one after another.

Scholars fled in panic.

"Run!"

"The laboratory is collapsing!"

Cassian reached toward Lyra.

"Stop the Gate!"

But it was too late.

The silver light completely engulfed her.

Lyra felt herself becoming weightless.

She wasn't falling.

She was being pulled.

The laboratory disappeared.

The screams faded.

Everything became silent.

She drifted through an endless sea of stars.

Countless fragments of forgotten worlds floated around her.

Ruined castles.

Endless oceans.

Burning cities.

Ancient forests.

Then...

Two enormous golden eyes slowly opened within the darkness.

They were ancient.

Powerful.

Lonely.

A deep voice echoed across the void.

"At last..."

"The World Walker has returned."

A brilliant flash swallowed everything.

---

Cold grass brushed against Lyra's fingertips.

She opened her eyes.

Above her stretched a sky unlike any she had ever seen.

Two silver moons shone side by side.

Auroras flowed across the heavens like rivers of light.

The forest around her glowed softly with blue leaves and luminous flowers.

"...Where..."

She slowly sat up.

"...am I?"

A distant roar echoed across the mountains.

The earth trembled.

Several enormous winged shadows crossed the moonlit sky.

Dragons.

Real dragons.

Before Lyra could recover from the shock...

A low growl came from behind her.

She turned slowly.

Dozens of crimson eyes stared at her from the darkness between the trees.

One by one, massive wolf-like beasts stepped into the moonlight.

They had found the outsider.

To Be Continued...

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