White mist drifted slowly between the giant trees as the massive figure finally stepped completely out from the shadows of the forest.
Raka and his friends stood frozen.
The creature stood more than five meters tall. Its body was made of ancient, moss-covered stone. Glowing blue cracks ran across its entire form, like streams of energy flowing through the rock.
The creature's eyes shone brightly.
And on its chest was a symbol exactly like the one on the Sky Gate map.
A circle with a hundred small lines.
Dimas swallowed hard.
"I hope it's friendly."
Nara didn't take her eyes off the creature.
"I hope you're right."
Meanwhile, the Mist Wolves that had been surrounding them began slowly backing away.
Some of them even fled.
That only made the atmosphere more tense.
A creature capable of frightening an entire pack of Mist Wolves was clearly no ordinary beast.
Bima gripped his sword tightly.
"Don't attack."
"Huh?" Dimas asked.
"If that's a gate guardian, attacking it would be a bad idea."
Raka nodded in agreement.
They remained exactly where they were.
The stone creature continued walking toward them.
BOOM...
BOOM...
BOOM...
Every step made the ground tremble.
Strangely, however, it showed no sign of wanting to attack.
When it was only a few meters away, the creature stopped.
Then it slowly lowered its head.
As if it were examining something.
Or someone.
Its glowing blue eyes fixed directly on Raka.
Raka's heart began pounding faster.
"What is it looking at?" Alya whispered.
No one knew.
The creature then raised one of its hands.
The movement nearly made Dimas step forward and attack.
But before anyone could act, the sun pendant hanging around Raka's neck suddenly emitted a golden light.
"Huh?!"
Everyone was startled.
The pendant shone brighter and brighter.
Its light merged with the blue radiance emanating from the stone creature's body.
For several seconds, the entire area around them filled with light so intense that it was difficult to see anything.
Then a voice rang out.
Not through their ears.
It spoke directly inside their minds.
"THE HEIR HAS ARRIVED."
Dimas immediately leaped backward.
"I heard something!"
"Me too!" Nara cried.
Raka clutched his head.
The voice was impossibly clear.
And impossibly old.
"HEIR OF MAHESA PRATAMA."
Raka's eyes widened.
The creature knew his grandfather.
Or at least, it knew who he was.
"Do you... know my grandfather?" Raka asked cautiously.
The stone creature did not move its mouth.
Yet the same voice echoed through their minds again.
"MAHESA WAS AN EXPLORER WHO ONCE REACHED THE FIRST SKY GATE."
Silence immediately descended over the group.
Alya froze.
Bima looked stunned.
Even Dimas, who was usually so laid-back, couldn't say a word.
Raka's grandfather had truly discovered a Sky Gate.
The legend was more than just a story after all.
The creature then raised its hand toward the east.
The mist ahead of them slowly parted.
As if an invisible force were opening a path.
Beyond the mist lay an ancient stone path that hadn't been visible before.
It stretched deep into the forest.
Toward the faint blue light shimmering in the distance.
"It's showing us the way," Alya said.
Bima nodded.
"I think so."
The stone creature spoke again.
"THE GATE AWAITS."
"BUT THE TRIAL MUST BE PASSED."
Raka stepped forward.
"What trial?"
Several seconds passed.
Then the creature answered.
"THE TRIAL OF COURAGE."
As soon as the voice faded, the light in the creature's body slowly dimmed.
Then it turned around.
And began walking back into the mist.
BOOM...
BOOM...
BOOM...
Before long, the giant figure vanished completely.
Leaving silence behind.
For a while, no one spoke.
They were still trying to process what had just happened.
Dimas was the first to break the silence.
"All right."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I've got a few questions."
"Everyone does," Nara replied.
"First, how can a rock talk?"
"No idea."
"Second, why does that rock know Raka's grandfather?"
"No idea."
"Third, what does it mean by the trial of courage?"
"We don't know either."
Dimas let out a long sigh.
"I hate not knowing things."
Alya chuckled softly.
"For a mysterious adventure, that's pretty normal."
Although the tension remained, Alya's comment eased it a little.
Raka then looked at the ancient stone path stretching out before them.
It looked incredibly old.
Moss covered parts of it.
But there was no doubt that the path had been deliberately built.
"I think we should follow this path," Raka said.
Bima nodded.
"Agreed."
They began walking.
The deeper they ventured into the forest, the stranger their surroundings became.
The mist grew thinner.
Yet the trees grew even larger.
Some of the trunks were more than ten meters in diameter.
Their roots spread in every direction like natural walls.
They also began finding ancient ruins.
Collapsed stone pillars.
Statues damaged and worn away by time.
And strange symbols carved into the rocks.
Alya kept recording everything in a small notebook.
"This place must be incredibly old."
"How old?" Dimas asked.
"Maybe thousands of years."
Dimas stopped walking immediately.
"Thousands of years?"
"Yeah."
"And we're walking through ruins that have been here for thousands of years?"
"That's right."
Dimas looked around.
"Amazing."
For the first time since entering the forest, his face showed genuine awe.
Toward evening, they finally arrived at an open area.
They all fell silent.
A massive stone gate stood in the center of the clearing.
It stood nearly twenty meters tall.
Ancient carvings glowing blue covered its surface.
The energy pouring from the gate made the air around it tremble.
This was the source of the light they'd been seeing all along.
The First Sky Gate.
Raka felt his heart pounding violently.
They had found it.
But before they could approach, the sound of applause came from behind them.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
They all turned around.
And their expressions instantly grew tense.
A man wearing a silver mask stood atop one of the stone ruins.
He was the leader of the Eternal Shadow who had attacked the village.
Dozens of other masked members stood behind him.
They had apparently been following Raka's group the entire time.
The silver-masked man smiled behind his mask.
"Well done."
Raka clenched his fists.
"You."
"Thank you for showing us the way to the First Sky Gate."
Raka's heart seemed to drop.
They had been used as guides.
And now their enemies stood directly in front of the Sky Gate.
Meanwhile, the sun slowly sank behind the ancient trees of Aruna Mist Forest.
A major battle now seemed impossible to avoid.
To be continued in Chapter 8 – Silver Dragon River