The night in Nimora was unlike any other night. No stars, no moon, not even clear shadows—just a faint, pale blue light emanating from the rocks themselves, as if the very earth was breathing with a pallid glow.
Adam was running.
He was stepping on stones that bled, running over ground that screamed beneath him.
Behind him, Zera was screaming his name, but he did not look back. He could hear the sound, feel the tremor in his heart, but something deep within him was pushing him forward, as if he was fleeing from something deeper than mere danger.
In his chest, the magical locket he had inherited from his grandmother began to pulse with unbearable heat.
He stopped suddenly. Before him... a gateway.
Stone rings floating in the air, forming a perfect circle, with a swirling, pulsating void at its center, throbbing like the heart of a giant creature. This was the "Gate of Inhalation," as described in the ancient journals.
Laboubo whispered, emerging from within his clothes:
"Adam... this is a point of no return."
Adam, with a heavy sigh:
"I know... but if I don't cross, we will all die."
A voice from behind him, non-human yet familiar:
"You do not yet understand, O Heir of Blood."
He turned to find the massive stone creature, *Gralain*, emerging from the depths of the earth. Its eyes were black fire, and its armor was made of shards of ancient souls.
Gralain roared, and the air cracked, the rocks trembling.
It said in a deep voice:
"The Gate of Inhalation opens only with true blood."
Adam looked at it, then at his hand, then at the locket. He understood...
He approached the gate and extended his hand.
Zera tried to stop him, but a flying stone separated her from him.
Adam cut his palm, and a drop of blood fell into the gateway.
A moment of silence.
Then...
A great scream erupted from within the earth, as if the world itself was writhing in agony.
The void within the gate began to swallow the light, the air, everything.
Gralain lunged at him to stop him, but Zera stood in the creature's path, using her fiery dagger... and pierced its right eye.
It screamed, and its massive arm crashed down upon her, burying her beneath its heavy body.
Adam screamed:
"Zera!!"
But before he could move, the pull from the gate reached its peak. Everything twisted, then vanished.
Adam was no longer in Nimora.
---
### Motivational Quote at the End of the Part:
*"In the moment life forces you to choose between pain and destiny, know that the true door opens only for those who bleed with courage."*