After the grueling battle with the creature of the depths, the green meadow was no longer a place of rest; it had transformed into a theater of anticipation, charged with anxiety. The comrades marched for hours under a sun that had begun to lean toward sunset, following the Blue Bird as it flew at a low altitude, as if guiding them toward a specific destination.
Ortinus led the group, his eyes never leaving the horizon, while Nikos leaned slightly on his son Darius's shoulder, despite his attempts to display his usual strength.
Picos (Panting while wiping sweat with his spoon): "Is there no end to these plains? We've walked far enough to reach the edge of the world! My feet are starting to feel like they belong to the earth more than they belong to me."
Nirar (Looking at his shattered device): "Stop grumbling, Picos. We are moving toward a region where magnetic concentration is increasing. There is something ahead of us, something that does not belong to this nature."
Meron (Pointing toward a high green hill): "Look! There... in the middle of that hill. Is that... a door?"
Everyone stopped in astonishment. In the heart of the green hill, protruding from the grass as if it had sprouted from it, stood an ancient stone door. It was decorated with strange engravings resembling stars, yet they glowed with a calm, golden light. There was no building behind the door—just a door standing alone in the middle of the void.
Romulius (Advancing cautiously): "A door in the middle of nowhere? This does not bode well. In the world of medicine, we call this a 'foreign body in the wrong place'."
Ortinus: "This isn't just a door... it's a gateway."
As the comrades debated opening the door, a sudden silence fell over the plain behind them. The birds stopped chirping, and the warm breezes turned into a cold wind carrying the scent of decay.
Nikos (Quickly drawing his sword): "Get ready! We are not alone!"
The comrades turned, only to be stunned by the sight. From behind the distant hills and from the cracks in the ground left by the tremor, hundreds of black creatures began to emerge. It wasn't a single monster this time; it was an army of liquid monstrosities, crawling toward them like a sea of black tar.
Darius (In panic): "There are hundreds! Thousands! We can't fight this many!"
Picos: "Ortinus! Open that cursed door now! I don't want to become a light snack for these sticky creatures!"
Nirar (Trying to push the door): "It's locked with an energy seal! Ortinus, use the feather!"
The black monstrosities began to quicken their pace, emitting synchronized metallic shrieks that rattled the comrades' nerves. The Blue Bird tried to distract them with strikes from its wings, but their numbers exceeded its ability to decide the matter quickly.
Meron (Beheading one of the monstrosities that drew near): "Hurry, Ortinus! They're closing in on us!"
Ortinus placed the Blue Feather into a small notch in the center of the stone door. Suddenly, an overwhelming golden light erupted, and the door began to open very slowly, emitting a creak that suggested it hadn't been opened for centuries.
Romulius: "It's open! Everyone get in!"
Nikos: "Picos, Darius, get in first! Nirar, Meron, cover the entrance!"
The monstrosities were only a few meters away, their black claws almost touching their bodies. The comrades rushed one by one into the gateway, which from the outside looked as if it led to the other side of the hill, but as soon as they crossed, they disappeared in a flash of light.
Ortinus (Pulling Meron inside): "Come on, Meron! The bird will follow us!"
Meron and Ortinus leaped in at the last moment before the stone door slammed shut behind them, leaving the army of monstrosities to crash against the solid stone outside with angry screams.
The comrades fell onto a cold, polished floor. They were no longer in the green plain; instead, they found themselves inside a very long corridor, its walls encrusted with radiant crystals, with a strange light appearing at the end.
Nirar (Looking up in awe): "Look at the ceiling... these maps... they are maps of the stars and of a very ancient land."
Romulius: "We escaped the monstrosities, but it seems we have entered a more mysterious place."
Ortinus (Looking at the door whose features had vanished from the inside): "It seems we are entering a world entirely different from the outside."
Silence filled the long corridor as the echoes of their footsteps resonated slowly, heading toward the light at the end of the passage.