Chapter 208 - 203: The Black Gate
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The ancient door stood beneath the broken road, half-buried beneath centuries of stone and dirt.
It was enormous.
At least ten meters high.
Its surface was completely black, but it wasn’t made from ordinary metal or stone. John couldn’t even tell what material it was.
The strange symbol carved into its center seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
The same symbol.
The same circle crossed by three lines.
The symbol of Project Evolve.
Except this door was clearly far older than the organization.
John crouched beside the edge of the broken road.
"How long has this been here?"
Darius slowly approached.
"Longer than the city."
"How can you tell?"
"The stone around it."
He pointed toward the foundation.
"The mining city was built around this structure."
John looked at the ruined buildings around them.
"So they didn’t discover the door."
"No."
Darius swallowed.
"They built the city because of it."
Aerion frowned.
"Why would anyone build a city around something they were afraid to open?"
John stood.
"Maybe they weren’t afraid."
He looked toward the distant mining equipment.
"Maybe they wanted what was inside."
---
Specimen 001 remained several meters away.
It refused to approach the door.
John noticed.
"You’ve seen this before."
The creature’s golden eyes remained fixed on the black surface.
**Yes.**
"When?"
**Before the humans found me.**
John waited.
**I was young.**
The creature lowered its head.
**There were others with me.**
Darius immediately looked up.
"Other creatures?"
**Yes.**
"What happened to them?"
The creature was silent.
Then it answered.
**We were brought here.**
John frowned.
"By who?"
**Humans.**
"People from this city?"
**Not the people who live here now.**
Darius looked at the ancient ruins.
"How old are your memories?"
**I don’t know.**
The creature touched the ground with one claw.
**I remember waking here. I remember the black door. I remember voices.**
"What did they want?"
The creature looked at John.
**They wanted us to open it.**
John’s expression hardened.
"And you didn’t?"
**We couldn’t.**
"Why?"
The creature stared at the symbol.
**Because something on the other side was holding it closed.**
A chill went through John.
Darius looked at the door.
"Something was holding the door closed from the inside?"
The creature nodded.
**Yes.**
Nobody spoke.
John looked at the cracks spreading across the seal.
"Then why is it weakening now?"
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Specimen 001 slowly turned toward him.
**Because someone is opening it.**
---
John examined the area.
Fresh footprints surrounded the excavation site.
There were dozens.
Some were from soldiers.
Others belonged to workers.
Heavy equipment had been brought here recently.
A large drilling machine stood several meters away.
Its metal arm had been broken.
Whatever they had been doing, they had stopped.
Or been forced to stop.
John followed the tracks.
They led toward a tunnel carved into the mountain.
Darius came beside him.
"Do you think that’s where they went?"
"Probably."
Aerion looked toward the tunnel.
"Should we follow?"
John nodded.
"But carefully."
They entered.
---
The tunnel was enormous.
It had clearly been expanded recently.
Fresh tool marks covered the walls.
Several magical lamps had been placed along the path.
Most were still active.
John walked slowly.
"What were they mining?"
Darius examined the walls.
"Not ore."
"Then what?"
Darius touched a strange black crystal embedded in the stone.
"These."
John looked at it.
The crystal was unlike anything he’d seen.
It seemed to contain a faint light.
Darius pulled his hand back.
"It’s absorbing my mana."
John nodded.
"Don’t touch them."
They continued.
After several hundred meters, the tunnel opened into a chamber.
Mining equipment was scattered everywhere.
Several crates had been abandoned.
One was broken open.
Inside were pieces of the same black crystal.
John picked up a small fragment using a cloth.
Darius stared.
"This is probably what Project Evolve wanted."
"Why?"
"Because it’s incredibly dense with magical energy."
John frowned.
"Didn’t you say the creature beneath Ravencross was connected to something like this?"
"Yes."
Darius examined the crystal.
"But this is different."
"How?"
"The energy is stable."
He pointed toward the deeper tunnel.
"Whatever is beneath the gate is probably the source."
John looked toward the darkness.
"And these crystals are the byproduct."
Darius nodded.
"Or something it produces."
John dropped the fragment back into the crate.
"Then we know why they came here."
Aerion looked around.
"Where are they?"
John listened.
Nothing.
Then—
A faint metallic sound echoed from deeper inside.
Everyone turned.
"Someone’s here."
---
They moved silently.
The tunnel became narrower.
Eventually, they reached another chamber.
There were people inside.
At least twenty.
They wore dark clothing.
Some carried weapons.
Others were working around a large machine.
At the center of the room was a circular excavation.
And standing beside it—
A familiar man.
John’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s impossible."
Darius looked at him.
"What?"
John pointed.
"That’s one of Veyr’s men."
The man had been one of the researchers from the Ravencross facility.
John had seen him before.
He should have been arrested.
Instead, he was here.
Alive.
And working.
The researcher was speaking to another man.
"The seal is weakening."
"How long?"
"Hours."
"Can we accelerate it?"
The researcher shook his head.
"Not safely."
"We don’t need safe."
John’s expression hardened.
The second man grabbed the researcher by the collar.
"You have one job."
The researcher swallowed.
"Yes, sir."
"Open the gate."
John glanced at Darius.
"We have a problem."
Darius nodded.
---
John wanted to attack immediately.
But then he noticed something.
A prisoner.
Several people were being held against the far wall.
John recognized one of them.
A middle-aged man.
His face looked exactly like the description Elena had given.
John whispered:
"Elias."
Darius stared.
"You’re sure?"
"Yes."
John studied the room.
They had finally found him.
But there was another problem.
The machine in the center was connected to the mountain.
Thick cables and magical conduits ran from it toward the direction of the black gate.
If they attacked now, the machine could activate.
John whispered:
"We free Elias first."
Aerion nodded.
"I’ll handle the guards."
"No."
John looked at him.
"Wait for my signal."
Aerion reluctantly agreed.
Darius prepared a spell.
John counted the guards.
Twenty-three.
The researchers were not combatants.
Seven prisoners.
One commander.
And a machine that could potentially destroy everything.
John took a breath.
Then—
The commander suddenly turned.
"Who’s there?"
Everyone froze.
John cursed under his breath.
The commander pointed.
"Intruders!"
The room erupted.
---
Aerion charged.
He slammed into the first guard.
John moved in the opposite direction.
A sword came toward him.
He blocked.
Another attack followed.
John ducked and drove his elbow into the attacker’s stomach.
He spun.
His sword knocked another weapon aside.
Darius released a wave of force that pushed several guards away from the prisoners.
"Get them out!"
John shouted.
Darius ran toward Elias.
The commander stepped into John’s path.
He was different from the others.
He wore heavier armor.
And unlike the guards, his body was covered in magical markings.
John immediately sensed it.
"Enhanced."
The commander smiled.
"You’ve caused us enough trouble."
John raised his sword.
"I could say the same."
The commander attacked.
John blocked.
The impact shook his arm.
Strong.
Very strong.
The commander swung again.
John dodged.
The sword cut into the stone.
John kicked him in the knee.
The man barely moved.
"That’s disappointing."
John punched him.
The commander’s head snapped backward.
He stumbled.
John followed with another strike.
The commander recovered and swung.
John jumped backward.
"You talk too much."
The commander laughed.
"You don’t know what you’re dealing with."
John smiled.
"People keep telling me that."
---
Across the room, Darius reached the prisoners.
"Stay back!"
A guard rushed him.
Elias tackled the guard before Darius could react.
The man hit the ground.
Darius stared.
"You’re Elias."
Elias looked at him.
"You know my name?"
"Your daughter."
Elias froze.
"Elena?"
"She’s alive."
The man’s face changed.
"Where?"
"Bellmere."
Relief crossed his face.
"Thank the gods."
Darius unlocked the restraints.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes."
"What were they doing to you?"
Elias looked toward the machine.
"Trying to make me translate the inscriptions."
Darius frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I was the only one who could read them."
"What did they say?"
Elias looked terrified.
"They’re not instructions."
Darius paused.
"Then what are they?"
"A warning."
---
John heard that.
He immediately looked over.
"What kind of warning?"
Elias shouted across the chamber.
"The door isn’t a prison!"
John’s sword stopped.
"What?"
Elias continued.
"It’s a seal!"
The commander attacked again.
John blocked.
Elias shouted:
"Something isn’t trapped behind it!"
John pushed the commander back.
"Then what’s behind it?"
Elias looked toward the machine.
"It’s trapped **underneath** it!"
The entire chamber went silent.
John’s eyes widened.
"What?"
Elias pointed toward the excavation.
"The door isn’t keeping something inside."
He swallowed.
"It’s keeping something from coming up."
Then the mountain shook.
Everyone froze.
A deep vibration passed through the chamber.
**Thump.**
The same heartbeat.
But this time—
It was much stronger.
The black crystals embedded in the walls began glowing.
The machine activated by itself.
The commander stared.
"No..."
Darius looked at Elias.
"What did they do?"
Elias shook his head.
"They drilled too deep."
Another heartbeat.
**THUMP.**
The floor cracked.
The guards began backing away.
The commander shouted:
"Shut the machine down!"
The researchers rushed toward the controls.
Nothing happened.
Then the entire mountain shook.
A section of the ceiling collapsed.
John grabbed Elias and pulled him away.
"Darius!"
"I’m trying!"
"Forget the machine!"
John pointed toward the exit.
"We’re leaving!"
But Specimen 001 suddenly roared.
It was staring at the excavation.
**It’s awake.**
John looked down.
Something was moving beneath the floor.
Not the creature from Ravencross.
Something far larger.
A crack appeared through the center of the chamber.
Darkness spread across the stone.
Then a voice rose from beneath them.
Not through their minds.
This time, it came through the mountain itself.
**You have come again.**
Specimen 001 froze.
John stared at it.
"Who is it talking to?"
The creature didn’t answer.
The voice came again.
**The last child has returned.**
Everyone looked at Specimen 001.
Then at John.
John’s expression changed.
"Last child?"
The voice continued.
**And the traveler stands beside you.**
John’s blood ran cold.
Elias stared at him.
"You heard it too?"
John nodded.
"You know what it means?"
Elias shook his head.
"No."
The mountain trembled again.
The black gate in the distance began to crack.
Not outward.
Inward.
Something was pulling it open from the other side.
John looked at the collapsing chamber.
"Everyone out!"
They ran.
The guards abandoned their weapons.
The researchers fled.
Even the commander was running.
Nobody cared about Project Evolve anymore.
Nobody cared about the experiment.
They were all trying to survive.
John reached the tunnel.
Then he looked back.
The black gate was opening.
Only a few centimeters.
But enough.
A strange golden light shone through the gap.
John couldn’t explain why.
But he felt something familiar coming from the other side.
Not hostile.
Not friendly.
Familiar.
As if some part of him recognized it.
Then the voice whispered one final sentence.
**Traveler, you are late.**
The gate slammed shut.
The mountain stopped shaking.
Silence returned.
John stood frozen.
Lythriel wasn’t there.
The others were safe.
Elias was alive.
But John couldn’t stop thinking about those words.
*You are late.*
Late for what?
And why had the thing beneath the mountain called him a traveler?
John looked at Specimen 001.
The creature was staring back.
For once, it looked just as confused as he was.
**I do not understand.**
John slowly lowered his sword.
"Neither do I."
Darius approached.
"Then we need answers."
John nodded.
But before they could leave, Elias spoke.
"There is one place that might have them."
John turned.
"Where?"
Elias looked toward the deepest part of the ruined city.
"The old archive."
Darius frowned.
"I thought it was destroyed."
"Most of it was."
Elias’s expression became serious.
"But the original records were moved before the city was abandoned."
"Where?"
Elias pointed toward the mountain.
"Below the old temple."
John sighed.
"Of course it’s underground."
Elias gave him a tired look.
"You’ll get used to it."
John laughed despite himself.
Maybe.
But as they left the tunnel, he looked back one last time.
The black gate was silent.
For now.
Whatever was beneath it had not awakened completely.
And John had a feeling that was not an accident.
Someone—or something—had recognized him.
The question was no longer simply what Project Evolve wanted.
It was why ancient ruins across the world seemed connected to him.
And why every answer seemed to lead deeper underground.
The next destination was the old temple.
And somewhere beneath it were the original records of the people who had first discovered the black gate.
Maybe those records would finally explain the truth.
Or perhaps—
They would reveal something John wasn’t ready to learn.
---
100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter