The blue seam opened across the sinkhole wall after the dead wolf released its last breath, though the light shook instead of holding still.
Hajin studied that tremor while Juna kept one hand beneath his arm, since his legs had stopped respecting private instructions several minutes ago.
The gate surface folded inward, then pushed back out with a wet ripple that made the hairs along Juna's ears rise.
"That doesn't look welcoming," Hajin said as he wiped fresh blood from his upper lip. "We should enter before the shaking light changes its mind about us."
Juna shifted his weight against her shoulder while both silver eyes narrowed. "You have mistaken poor balance for courage again, Master, so walk when the next step comes."
He placed one boot into the light, then the world caught both of them with enough force to strip every sound from his head.
Cold grass struck his knees outside the boundary fence, where daylight reached him without the red haze that had filled the false gate.
