Chapter 38 – The Seventh Gate

  The Forbidden Archive loomed behind them as Akari and Tsubaki slipped back into the shadows. The book’s warning echoed in her mind.

  “Beware the Seventh Gate.”

  The words weren’t just ominous—they felt alive, like a command that had sunk into her very soul.

  She needed answers. But first—

  She needed to get out of here.

  Tsubaki crouched on her shoulder, her golden eyes flicking left and right. “The Elders will notice something soon.”

  Akari’s heartbeat was steady, but her hands still tingled. The encounter with Ekyzrael had left a mark. Not physically—but she could feel something watching her.

  Something waiting.

  She didn’t wait to find out what.

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  With a flicker of qi, she stepped into the darkness—

  And disappeared.

  ---

  The Change Begins

  By the time she reached her courtyard, dawn had started to stain the sky.

  But something was wrong.

  The moment she stepped past the threshold, her legs buckled.

  A surge of energy tore through her veins.

  Pain.

  Deep, searing, like her very essence was shifting.

  Tsubaki jumped back. “Akari!”

  She couldn’t answer.

  Her body burned, her qi twisting wildly inside her core.

  > This isn’t normal.

  She had absorbed countless beasts, stolen their strengths, used their powers as her own.

  But this—

  This was different.

  She could feel her qi… changing. Expanding.

  And something else was mixing into it.

  Something dark.

  A whisper brushed against her ear.

  > "You are opening the gate."

  Akari’s breath caught.

  Her vision blurred.

  And then—

  She saw it.

  ---

  A Door of Shadows

  She stood before an ancient door, floating in the darkness of her own mind.

  Carved from obsidian, its surface pulsed like a living thing, etched with symbols she shouldn’t understand—

  But somehow, she did.

  The Seventh Gate.

  It wasn’t just a name.

  It was real.

  And it was inside her.

  Tsubaki’s voice sounded distant. “Akari, wake up!”

  But she couldn’t move.

  Because the door was opening.

  The shadows reached for her—

  And something stepped through.

  ---

  The Thing Beyond the Gate

  It was tall.

  Not a beast. Not a human.

  Something between.

  Its body was shrouded in black mist, tendrils of darkness curling around its limbs. Its eyes—if they were eyes—were deep, endless voids, staring straight through her.

  It smiled.

  > "At last, a vessel worthy of my power."

  A hand reached out.

  And Akari screamed.