The air hummed with tension. Ethan’s fingers hovered over his daggers, his heart pounding like a war drum. The Gate of the Forgotten loomed before them, its remaining chains trembling, resisting the force that tried to shatter them from within. One chain had already broken and the second was cracking, pulsing with dark energy. Only one remained untouched… for now. And in his mind’s eye, Ethan saw what came next. The chains would fail. The thing inside would wake up. And the world—the entire world—would never be the same. A Choice No One Wants to Make Kara’s grip tightened around her sword. “Tell me we’re not seriously considering opening that thing.” Gareth shook his head. “No. But we need to decide what we’re doing before it happens on its own.” Leah’s voice was uneven. “If we leave now, we might still have time to warn the Guild—” Ethan clenched his fists. “We don’t have time.” His mark burned, an undeniable truth searing into his bones. The gate was already failing. They could either act now… or deal with what came next. And something told him—if they let this thing loose, even an army wouldn’t be able to stop it.

  A low, grinding noise echoed through the ruins. The second chain cracked. Then—shattered. A pulse of raw energy blasted outward, shaking the entire city. Kara staggered. “Shit—” Leah’s light magic flared, forming a barrier just in time to block a wave of unnatural force. Gareth braced himself, his spear planted firmly in the ground. Ethan’s vision blurred. The whispers turned into a roar. “Come, little predator.” “Witness what was taken from us.” Something on the other side was awake now. And it knew he was here.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Ethan staggered forward, barely aware of the others shouting his name. The gate pulled at him, his mark pulsing in sync with the sigils along its surface. He saw flashes of another time of figures in black robes, performing ancient rites and a city standing at the edge of oblivion, swallowed in darkness. A war that ended with a desperate act—a final sealing. And in the center of it all— A towering, shifting figure, wrapped in chains of light and shadow. Something that was never meant to be seen again. Something that was about to return. A New Presence Arrives Then—a voice broke through the madness. But it wasn’t the Master. And it wasn’t the thing behind the gate. It was human. “Step away from the seal.” Ethan’s body froze. A presence unlike anything he had ever felt descended upon the ruins— Heavy. Commanding. Unshakable. And then— From the shadows beyond the chamber, they appeared. A team of five figures, clad in high-grade enchanted armor, their weapons glowing with raw power. They weren’t normal adventurers. They weren’t even A-Rank. They were S-Rank. The strongest of the strong. And they had come for the gate.