Chapter 236: Deep Space

In the mountain ruins, at the lowest level of the facility, stood the circular hall housing the “Ring-shaped Magic Gate.”

Ever since discovering this mysterious ancient magic gate, High Lord Gawain had stationed six soldiers here in shifts to keep watch. As Sir Byron’s team delved deeper into the ancient complex, the ruins had gradually been put to use by Lord Cecil’s forces. The middle levels were being converted into military factories and storage facilities, with many areas wired for the magical network, equipped with enchanted crystal lamps and living quarters. Numerous long-term barracks had been added, so a considerable number of soldiers were permanently stationed within.

Gawain brought along Hetty and Pittman, accompanied by a sea witch whose “Eldritch Knowledge” skill was maxed out in the consumption branch. He also selected a squad of elite soldiers and hurried to the location of the magic gate.

Inside the spacious circular hall, a small group of garrison troops had already gathered. Sir Byron was leading his men, standing alert and closely monitoring the gate’s activity. When Gawain arrived, the middle-aged knight was sternly questioning a soldier—an unusually serious expression on his weathered face that immediately told Gawain the situation was more complicated than he had anticipated.

He strode directly to Byron. “What’s the situation?”

Byron saluted. He had been leading an exploration team searching for an exit in the southern part of the mountain ruins but rushed here immediately upon hearing about the gate’s activation, arriving well before Gawain. “My lord, we still don’t understand how the magic gate suddenly activated. The soldiers on duty here seem to have suffered some kind of mental shock and have very vague memories of what happened.”

Gawain looked up toward the ring-shaped gate—it was indeed active.

The ring, made of some unknown synthetic material, emitted a faint, deep blue magical glow. The runes and magical circuits etched on its surface were clearly charged, and a low hum emanated from the base. In the center of the ring hovered a blurry, trembling apparition, as if two overlapping spaces were merging.

The soldiers stationed here were experienced and disciplined elites. They wouldn’t tamper with anything without orders, nor would they conceal information when reporting. The only explanation was that the gate had truly activated on its own—and that activation caused a mild but disorienting psychic shock to those nearby. Not fatal, but enough to cause confusion.

What had triggered the gate?

Gawain’s first thought went to the automatically opening isolation doors at the ruins’ entrance hall. Similar incidents had occurred during the early days of the frontier settlement, usually caused by surges in magical energy that inadvertently triggered ancient mechanisms. But recently, there had been no reports of such magical fluctuations, and the monitoring satellites hadn’t detected anything unusual…

Wait—there was one special event.

The Alignment of the Stars.

Gawain’s expression grew serious. The only recent event that could explain these anomalies was the “Alignment of the Stars.” Though ordinary people couldn’t perceive its effects on the world, its influence was very real—and seemed connected to the gods.

This ancient facility appeared to have been built to study the “Secrets of the Gods.”

Could it be that the gate wasn’t shut due to damage or energy depletion, but had been waiting all along for the right moment to open?

“Ancestor?” Hetty broke the silence, noticing Gawain’s increasingly grave expression. “What are you thinking?”

“This gate may have activated automatically according to commands preset by the mages of the Age of Starfire,” Gawain said slowly, then looked to Sir Byron. “Has anyone gone through it yet?”

“Not yet,” Byron shook his head. “The situation is too strange. You instructed us that if we encounter anything bizarre or possibly divine in nature, we must not act rashly and preserve the scene until your arrival.”

“Good,” Gawain nodded approvingly, then glanced regretfully at the still-operating gate. “If only Amber were here…”

Amber had been sent to recruit “energetic civilians” and hadn’t returned yet. Though Gawain was confident in the wild half-elf’s escape skills, her absence was inconvenient—right now, he wished he had a reusable Amber-like probe to send through the gate and scout the other side. But there was none.

Still, the gate was active. He couldn’t just stand by.

“Pittman…” Gawain considered briefly, then turned to the elderly druid beside him. “You…”

“My lord, I’m getting on in years!” Pittman’s eyes nearly welled up. “I have an eighty-year-old self to take care of, and—”

Gawain’s vein twitched. “Quiet. I want you to summon a treant to go in.”

“Oh.”

Pittman pulled a magically enchanted seed from his pocket and murmured a brief incantation. Tossing the seed to the ground, it immediately sprouted at an astonishing speed. Magical energy formed a temporary body, and soon a one-meter-tall elemental treant appeared before them.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the unremarkable treant waddled awkwardly toward the massive ring device in the hall’s center. In a ripple of light and shadow, it vanished into the blurry apparition within the ring.

The moment the treant disappeared, Pittman let out a surprised “Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” Hetty asked anxiously.

“My mental link with the summoned creature was severed,” Pittman said with a strange expression. “Just for a moment.”

“The other side of the gate might be some kind of phase space or the Shadow Realm,” Gawain said without much surprise. “Mages of the ancient Kingdom of Gondor often used such spatial techniques to store important secrets. Phase spaces and the Shadow Realm are the most reliable safes.”

“No… it’s not that kind of severance,” Pittman’s face grew serious. “Even in the Shadow Realm, a druid’s connection to their summon isn’t completely cut off. Even if direct control is lost, I should still sense its presence. But now, I’ve lost all perception of the treant, as if it vanished from this world entirely…”

The hall grew tense. But Pittman quickly added, “We can wait a bit longer. I gave the treant a command: if the mental link is completely lost, it will return the way it came after three minutes—unless it’s destroyed.”

Gawain nodded and turned back to stare intently at the magic gate.

Seconds ticked by with no movement from the gate. Just as Gawain began to think the treant wouldn’t return, the blurry light in the gate’s center flickered.

The unassuming treant stumbled out of the gate, its awkward, comical gait betraying its confusion. But soon, it reestablished the mental connection with Pittman and hurried back to its summoner.

“No damage,” Pittman quickly checked the treant and reported to Gawain. “Magical energy leakage is within normal limits. The space beyond the gate appears safe and structurally stable.”

“So, we can go in and investigate,” Gawain exhaled. “Looks like the technology of the ancient Kingdom of Gondor is still reliable. Hetty, Tyr, you two come with me. Byron, Pittman, you stay here and guard.”

After giving orders, Gawain selected another group of capable soldiers and led them toward the quietly humming ancient magic gate in the hall’s center.

Passing through the hazy light in the gate’s center, Gawain felt none of the intense dizziness he had expected. This thousand-year-old magic gate operated more smoothly than he imagined. It was like walking through a cool mist; after a brief blur, the scene before him had changed.

A vast rectangular hall stretched out before the exploration team.

Constructed from an unknown synthetic material, the hall was filled with massive devices of unclear purpose. Wide walkways and research platforms were scattered between the machines. What astonished Gawain most was that the place was not shrouded in darkness—despite being sealed for possibly a millennium, some residual power remained! Several lighting fixtures on the ceiling still functioned, casting a faint yellowish glow over the space.

Not only the lights, but some of the large devices were still running. Their magical runes shimmered faintly, and a low hum occasionally emanated from them.

“This is… incredible,” Hetty said in awe. “These things are still operational?”

Gawain gripped his longsword tightly. Since the Deep Blue Mana Well explosion, all complex magical devices from the ancient Kingdom of Gondor had ceased functioning. Even those preserved intact couldn’t be activated. Only simple devices like the magic gate, with low energy demands, still worked. Yet here, these clearly complex and precise machines were still running. It was deeply strange.

“Everyone stay alert,” he warned the team. “These magical devices are active. We can’t rule out ancient automated defenses being triggered. Hetty, keep an eye on the magical energy flow. Report any sudden changes immediately.”

“Yes,” Hetty tightened her grip on her staff, frowning as she glanced around the sealed hall. “Ancestor… is this hall still part of our primary material world?”

“Hard to say,” Gawain replied. “But it’s definitely not the Shadow Realm. The question is whether the environment outside this hall is the same as inside.”

(End of chapter)