Chapter 6 Morning Beyond the Second Gate

Chapter 6 Morning beyond the second gate.

Morning came without birdsong.

Nya noticed that first.

She opened her eyes to pale gray light spilling across the stone village, the sky above washed thin and colorless. The air felt heavy, as if the world itself were holding its breath.

No birds… no insects either.

That alone made her uneasy.

Owl was already awake, dismantling the alarm rune he’d set during the night. Kenji stood near the second stone gate, arms crossed, staring at it like an opponent that hadn’t yet moved.

Nya sat up and rubbed her eyes.

I didn’t have any nightmares… The realization surprised her.

She looked down.

The stone doll rested beside her, untouched.

Cathy.

Kenji noticed her stirring. “You good to walk?”

Nya hesitated… then nodded. “Yes.”

Her voice was steadier than she expected.

They gathered what little gear they had and approached the second gate together.

Up close, it was different from the first.

The stone was darker. Smoother. The tiger-and-moon symbol was carved deeper here, the crescent moon cracked straight down the middle.

Owl frowned. “This gate isn’t an entrance,” he said. “It’s a seal.”

Nya’s chest tightened.

A seal… holding what?

Kenji placed his hand on the stone. “Whatever it was meant to keep out… it failed.”

With a low groan, the gate slowly opened.

Cold air rushed through.

On the other side lay a vast stone road stretching into the distance, flanked by towering statues - tigers frozen mid-roar, their eyes hollow and dark.

Nya’s breath caught.

They look like they’re watching us.

The ground beyond was scorched black in places, etched with deep claw marks that hadn’t been made by wolves.

Owl crouched and touched one. “These marks… they’re old. But not ancient.”

Kenji stepped forward. “Stay sharp.”

They crossed the threshold.

The moment Nya passed through, she felt it.

A pressure in her chest.

Not pain.

beast sense

She flinched and grabbed at her tunic.

Something knows I’m here.

The air shimmered.

The statues’ eyes began to glow faintly - one by one - like embers coming back to life.

Nya froze.

oh noo

Her breath stuttered.

please move !!

She forced her foot forward.

Nothing happened.

The glow faded.

Owl stared at her, surprised. “…Did you feel that?”

Nya nodded.

Kenji glanced back at the gate behind them.

It was closing.

Stone ground against stone as the path back slowly sealed itself away.

“Looks like there is no way out,” Kenji said flatly.

Nya turned toward the road ahead.

Fear still coiled in her chest - but beneath it was something new.

If I freeze again… I’ll die.

She tightened her grip around the stone doll in her pouch.

But if I move… I might survive.

Far ahead, beyond the statues, something shifted in the fog.

A low, distant growl rolled across the stone road.

Not a wolf.

Not anything she recognized.

Kenji drew his sword.

Owl raised his staff.

Nya swallowed - and stepped forward.

For the first time since the blood-soaked night of her past, she did not stop moving.

The growl echoed again.

Closer this time.

From the fog ahead, something emerged - low to the ground, its silhouette warped and uneven. It moved like a wolf, but its body was wrong. Stone-like plates jutted from its flesh, cracked and glowing faintly with the same pale light as the statues.

Owl sucked in a breath. “Kenji… that’s not a normal beast.”

Kenji nodded. “Guardian construct. Or what’s left of one.”

The creature snarled and charged.

“Stay behind me!” Kenji barked.

He stepped forward, blade flashing, meeting the beast head-on. Sparks flew as steel struck stone - but the creature barely slowed.

Owl raised his staff. “Flame Bind - !”

The spell half-formed before the creature twisted unnaturally and slammed its tail into Owl, sending him skidding across the stone road.

“Owl!” Nya cried.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

He’s hurt.

Kenji was locked in close combat, pushed back by sheer force.

For a moment - just a moment - everything inside her screamed to freeze.

Blood. Fire. Screaming.

No.

Her nails dug into her palms.

Move.

Nya reached into her pouch with shaking hands.

The stone doll brushed against her fingers.

Cathy…

Her ears rang.

If I do nothing, someone else will fall.

She inhaled sharply - and raised her voice.

“O-Owl!” she shouted. “Its joints - look at the cracks!”

Both Kenji and Owl snapped their attention toward the creature.

The guardian lunged again at Kenji, overextending its right leg. For a split second, the glowing fissures along its knee widened.

Kenji grinned. “Good eye.”

Owl forced himself upright, leaning on his staff. “Then let’s test that Theory.”

Nya’s legs were still trembling.

That’s not enough. I can do more.

She closed her eyes.

I’m scared. But I’m here.

A warmth stirred in her chest - faint, unstable, but real.

She didn’t know spells. She didn’t have a weapon.

But she had her voice.

“Kenji - NOW!” she cried.

Kenji moved the instant she spoke, slashing low.

Owl slammed his staff into the ground. “Fire Pulse!”

A wave of flame surged forward - not at the creature’s body, but at its leg.

The cracked joint glowed white.

With a thunderous crack, the stone limb shattered.

The guardian collapsed, roaring as its core flickered wildly.

Kenji leapt high and drove his blade straight down.

The light died.

Silence followed.

Nya stood there, breathing hard, her entire body shaking.

I did it.

She hadn’t killed it. She hadn’t cast a spell.

Cracks raced across its stone body as the light at its core flickered - then went out.

Silence swallowed the road.

Nya’s breath came out in ragged gasps. Her ears rang, her legs barely holding her upright.

I didn’t freeze… I really didn’t freeze.

The realization hit harder than the fight itself.

Her vision blurred.

The world tilted -

And then, everything went still.

Not quiet.

Still.

The fog froze mid-drift. The embers in the broken guardian hung suspended in the air.

Kenji and Owl were motionless.

N-no…?

Nya’s heart pounded.

Did I pass out?

A soft light bloomed before her.

She heard a high pitch voice saying thank you for defeating the construct. sounds like a young girl voice?

Nya thought was that cathy ?

then everything turned to normal

Owl looked at her, stunned… then smiled. “That call saved me.”

Kenji sheathed his sword and glanced back at her. “…You moved.”

Nya’s eyes burned with tears.

I didn’t freeze.

Her knees finally gave up, and she dropped to one knee - but she was smiling.

Fear still lived in her chest. but she did it

The stone road stretched onward, silent once more.

Fragments of the shattered guardian lay scattered across the path, slowly losing their glow. Owl moved ahead, examining the remains, muttering to himself about mana flow and fractured cores.

Nya stood still, hands clenched at her sides.

Kenji wiped his blade clean and slid it back into its sheath.

Then he turned - not toward the road ahead, but toward Nya.

She stiffened instinctively.

Did I do something wrong?

He studied her for a long moment, his sharp eyes unreadable.

“…You held your ground,” he said.

The words were simple. Flat.

But they hit harder than any shout.

Nya blinked. “I - I was scared the whole time.”

Kenji nodded once. “So are the ones who survive.”

She swallowed.

He reached into his belt pouch and pulled something out - a thin leather cord, worn smooth with age. Attached to it was a small metal token, scratched and dull.

He held it out to her.

“This was mine,” he said. “Back when I stopped running.”

Nya stared at it.

“What… is it?”

“Adventurer’s mark,” Kenji replied. “Not an official one. The real guilds don’t give them out.”

He paused.

“But warriors do.”

Owl looked up sharply but said nothing.

Kenji tied the cord around Nya’s wrist himself, firm but careful.

“You don’t get this for winning,” he continued. “You get it for acting when freezing would’ve been easier.”

His hand fell away.

“From today on,” he said, turning back toward the road, “I won’t treat you like someone I have to drag home.”