414 Inner Gate
We ended up taking a long break. The last boss was just insane. I never thought such a thing would pop out, not in a dungeon where it was level based. Such a boss should be illegal, but somehow I got some kind of protagonist luck and ended up summoning Atollie. Not that I am complaining because the way I look at it, we would have died otherwise. There were no resets and no save points to load back into. Once we die, we are dead.
I was really out of options for that boss. It was completely made of metal, with no way of getting close to it to see if there was a weak point. So without Atollie, we would have been in a bind until one of us slipped and was hit by the lasers that shattered over a hundred layers of my barrier in an instant. To be honest, I would prefer to fight Azengrade head on than to fight such a monster again.
Now, if I was even remotely close to it in level, then that would be another story. I would definitely make some sort of plan that would kill it, but this time…. I could only let out a sigh. “I need to be stronger….”
“You will get there,” Adel said softly as she snuggled up next to me. Sophie was already asleep in my lap. Sei and Sally were both a few feet away, passed out on the ground. Atollie stood at my side as stiff as a statue.
I turned my gaze down to Adel, who now had her eyes closed, and smiled. I tucked in a lock of her hair behind her ear before turning my attention to Atollie. “Atollie, you can sit, you know. You may be here because of me, but I will not treat you some sort of slave.”
“Master is very kind,” Atollie replied with a smile. She sat down on her knees and placed her sword at her side. It was as if she was ready to jump up and attack at any time. I guess in time, she will slowly begin to relax.
I guess I fell asleep at some point. I know this because I am no longer in the dungeon. I am currently standing in a field by myself. In front of me is a large door. It has many different carvings on it of monsters or animals that I have never seen before. It does not look evil in any way, but kind of gives off a holy feeling. Why it is here, I do not know. I only know that I am in the middle of this field that seems endless, with nothing around me but the door itself.
I slowly walked forward to the door and placed my hand on it. It is cool to the touch, and for some reason, I feel like whatever is on the other side is calling me. But no matter how hard I push on the door, it will not open. I can only stand here staring at it. Where this door leads to, I do not know.
“Faith!” A voice enters my ears. I slowly wake up to Adel and Sophie looking at me with worried gazes.
“Is something wrong?” I do not feel like anything is wrong, but the way they are looking at me is making me feel something is off.
“Your body was fading in and out….” Adel suddenly said, causing me to look down at myself. There was nothing wrong with me from what I could see, but if they say this, then it is probably true. Did this have something to do with my dream? Was it because of that door?
“Strange…” I furrowed my brow and stood up. I looked around and saw everyone, including Atollie staring at me strangely. “I do not feel anything off, so maybe something to do with the dungeon?”
“Master, a moment, please,” Atollie called out to me. I nodded and walked to the side with her, away from the others. “Master, your body did flicker in and out a few times. By chance, did you dream of a door?”
My eyes opened wide as I turned and looked at her and nodded. She let out a sigh and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Do not touch the door in your dreams. I am sorry. This is my fault. I should have warned you. You and I are connected in a different way than a normal summon. We are soul bound. My soul is now part of you as yours is part of mine. It is something the higher-ups did to bind me to this world when I was called. They would not have done this if you did not have the mana to support me. I guess it was them giving me my wish. But because of this, you are now connected to my inner gate. That inner gate is dangerous for a mortal to touch as it will suck your very existence into it. Until you form your own inner gate, you can not touch the gate in your dreams, do you understand?”
“I do, but what is an inner gate?” I was confused on this point. I know it is dangerous for the current me to touch but what was an inner gate, to begin with?
“An inner gate forms when you are about to break your mortal body and become a higher being. You, people, call us gods. But in truth, we are nothing more than people who have lived a very long time and gained power one way or another or were born in the higher realms that are not easily accessed. Nowadays, it is rare for anyone to come from the mortal world. I myself was born in the higher realms. But only those who are born there are born with an inner gate. But for mortals to gain one, you must become powerful enough to form one. I do not know the exact process, but I am sure one day when you reach that point, you will know. I can not tell you any more than this, but please, if you ever dream of the gate again, walk away from it.” Atollie’s expression was serious, but I was still confused. Why was her inner gate calling me?
“Atollie, should your inner gate have been calling me? It felt like something on the other side of your gate was calling me.” I asked. I had to know if this was a common thing or not.
“Calling you?” Atollie gave me a puzzled expression. “I have not even been able to open my inner gate since I was born. I am still not powerful enough, so for something to be calling you from the other side…. I do not know. I never heard of such a thing before.”
“You haven’t opened it?” I was surprised. With how powerful Atollie was, I would think she could open it.
“I am just a lowly guard. While my title may sound amazing to you, we are only a bit higher in status than the commoners of the realm. And our job does now allow us to get many chances to free ourselves from our post.” Atollie saying that she was not that strong made me feel like I was an ant. She was so powerful! But I guess that is true for the world I live in, but for hers, she was on the weaker side of things. But her title does sound grand, so I am surprised by this.
“At least now you do not need to worry about seeing the same old sights anymore. Is it just your world’s military that is stuck in such jobs?” I asked curiously. I had not been able to talk with Atollie yet like this, so this was good to get to know her better.
“Mmmm… Our jobs are decided based on our aptitude. While it can get better and we can become more powerful over time, mine was very poor to start with, so I was lucky that after a few million years, I started to grow in strength after many years of hard work. But then I was stuck with the post guarding the gate, but now I am here with you. If my guess is not wrong, someone took pity on me and allowed me to come to this world.” Atollie’s explanation was kind of confusing, but I guess I will understand in time.
“Faith, what is going on?” Adel called out to us. I looked at Atollie, who shook her head. “Only I can tell you about this. It is not to be spoken about as it is not something a mortal should know. You can know because of our connection.”
I nodded and turned to Adel: “It’s nothing. I know what happened, and no worries, it will not happen again.” At least, I think. Hopefully…. But I will not say this to them. I do not want them worrying more than they already are.