Chapter 51 – The Thirteenth Gate
The last golden ember drifted into the endless sky before fading into nothingness.
With the Judicator’s disappearance, the battlefield fell into complete silence.
Azrael stood alone where the duel had ended, his fingers gently closing around the mysterious feather. It was impossibly light, yet the moment he touched it, he felt as though he were holding an entire world. Colors flowed across its surface—white, silver, gold, and a darkness deeper than the void—never remaining the same for more than a heartbeat.
He waited for the Celestial Evolution System to identify it.
Nothing happened.
For the first time since awakening the System, it remained completely silent.
Even Astraeus, who always had something to say, spoke only after a long pause.
"Keep it safe."
His tone was unusually serious.
"That feather is older than anything you’ve ever encountered."
Before Azrael could ask another question, the entire Trial Tower began to tremble.
The shattered city dissolved into countless particles of light. Broken buildings, ruined streets, and even the bloodstained arena gradually disappeared, replaced by an endless sea of clouds beneath a sky filled with flowing rivers of starlight.
The surviving participants found themselves standing on a vast white platform suspended above the heavens.
No walls.
No ceiling.
Only infinity.
An ancient voice echoed from every direction.
"The Trial Tower has fulfilled its purpose."
"Candidates... proceed to your final evaluation."
The clouds before them slowly parted.
One colossal gate emerged.
Then another.
Soon, twelve ancient gates stood proudly before the candidates.
Each possessed a unique appearance.
One radiated holy light.
Another burned with crimson flames.
Some resembled living forests, while others appeared to be carved from crystal, obsidian, or silver.
Although different in appearance, they shared one thing in common.
Every gate felt alive.
It was as if twelve ancient beings were silently observing everyone present.
A figure stepped onto a floating platform overlooking the candidates.
Headmaster Orion.
Behind him stood dozens of professors belonging to different races—dragons, spirits, giants, humans, and beings whose true forms couldn’t even be fully perceived.
Orion’s calm gaze swept across the remaining students.
"Congratulations."
"You have survived the Trial Tower."
A few relieved smiles appeared among the candidates.
Then Orion continued.
"But do not misunderstand."
"The Trial Tower was never your entrance into the Academy."
"It was merely your application."
The smiles instantly disappeared.
"The Academy has not accepted any of you... yet."
A ripple of nervous whispers spread through the crowd.
Orion gestured toward the twelve gates.
"These are the Twelve Ancient Gates."
"They do not choose disciples based on talent, cultivation, or bloodline."
"They choose possibility."
"No elder, professor, or even I can influence their judgment."
"If a gate accepts you..."
"...you may remain."
"If none do..."
"...your journey ends here."
Silence followed his words.
No one expected the final test to begin only after surviving everything else.
A young swordsman cautiously stepped forward.
He approached a gate forged from emerald crystal.
Nothing happened.
Several seconds later, another gate covered in endless swords slowly opened instead.
The young man looked surprised before smiling and entering it.
The candidates finally understood.
The gates chose them.
Not the other way around.
One after another, students stepped forward.
Some were welcomed immediately.
Others waited until a different gate responded.
Marcus marched confidently toward a gigantic bronze gate.
"This one definitely belongs to me."
The bronze gate remained completely still.
Marcus frowned.
"Seriously?"
Before he could complain again, a thunderous laugh echoed across the platform.
A massive black gate covered in battle scars slowly opened.
A booming voice emerged from within.
"LOUD ONE."
Marcus blinked.
"You mean me?"
"YES."
A wide grin spread across his face.
"I like your personality."
Without another word, he entered the gate.
Ryan laughed so hard he almost forgot it was his turn.
When he stepped forward, a deep blue gate surrounded by flowing rivers quietly welcomed him.
He looked back toward Azrael and Seraphina.
"Looks like we’ll meet again."
"I’ll hold you to that," Azrael replied.
Ryan disappeared into the blue mist.
Soon...
Only two people remained.
Azrael.
Seraphina.
The twins exchanged a silent glance.
No words were needed.
Seraphina walked forward first.
The instant she reached the center of the platform, three gates trembled simultaneously.
The first shone with brilliant golden light.
The second was carved from pure white crystal surrounded by floating halos.
The third overflowed with emerald life energy.
Gasps echoed among the professors.
"Three Gates..."
Professor Duran whispered in disbelief.
Headmaster Orion remained silent, but the surprise in his eyes was impossible to hide.
In the Academy’s history, only a handful of disciples had ever received multiple invitations.
Seraphina calmly looked at each gate.
Then her gaze settled upon the golden one.
It didn’t simply call to her.
It welcomed her.
As if it had been waiting for her arrival for countless years.
She smiled faintly before walking toward it.
The moment she crossed its threshold, six radiant golden wings unfolded behind her, illuminating the entire platform.
A halo of liquid gold appeared above her head before fading into countless feathers.
Then...
She was gone.
The golden gate slowly closed.
Now only Azrael remained.
Everyone waited.
Nothing happened.
One breath.
Two.
Ten.
The twelve gates stood completely still.
Professor Lyra frowned.
"Why hasn’t any gate chosen him?"
Even Headmaster Orion couldn’t answer.
Something felt...
Wrong.
Or perhaps...
Different.
Without warning, all twelve gates began to close.
One after another, their enormous doors sealed themselves.
The entire sky trembled.
A deafening bell echoed through the heavens.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A crack suddenly appeared far above the twelve gates.
It spread across the sky like shattered glass.
An endless darkness lay beyond it.
Not the darkness of night.
The darkness that existed before light itself.
Every professor instinctively lowered their heads.
Even the twelve ancient gates seemed to acknowledge the presence emerging from beyond.
Slowly...
An enormous thirteenth gate descended from the void.
It dwarfed every other gate.
Its surface constantly shifted between light and darkness, creation and destruction, existence and nothingness.
Ancient runes flowed across it before disappearing as though reality itself couldn’t preserve them.
The Trial Tower’s ancient voice trembled.
"...Impossible..."
"...The Forgotten Path..."
"...has awakened."
A profound silence swept across the heavens.
No one had ever heard of a Thirteenth Gate.
No records mentioned it.
No legends spoke of it.
It should not exist.
Yet there it was.
The impossible gate slowly opened.
There was no brilliant light beyond it.
Only endless white.
Peaceful.
Silent.
Waiting.
The ancient voice spoke one final time.
"Azrael..."
"...enter."
He looked toward the impossible gate.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, it felt familiar.
Not because he had seen it before...
But because some forgotten part of his soul remembered it.
Without fear, he took a single step forward.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the Thirteenth Gate quietly closed behind him.
Across countless realms beyond mortal comprehension, ancient beings opened their eyes.
"The Forgotten Path..."
"It has found an heir."