His deep voice echoed through the castle.
"Who are you, alien?"
A shiver ran down my spine.
How could one person's voice be so intimidating?
"Ki ló ń ṣe bọ́bò yìí ṣá?" I muttered.
"Who are you calling an alien?" I shot back. "I'm a chef from Nigeria!"
"I don't even know how I got here. I was in my kitchen resting after cooking when I found a strange book. I picked it up, and the next thing I knew, I was here."
I folded my arms.
"Can you explain that?"
The fear and confusion I had been holding back finally spilled over.
"I've been dragged to a place I've never seen before, and the first thing you do is call me an alien."
I frowned.
"So if anyone should be answering questions, it should be you."
Before he could reply—
Bang!
Bang!
The deafening sound echoed through the castle.
"Ki ló dùn ní sí?" I yelped.
Before I knew it, my body reacted on its own.
I grabbed the nearest thing.
Unfortunately…
The nearest thing was the Duke.
I froze.
"…Cliché," I muttered under my breath. "And you're actually doing it, Adeola."
It wasn't romantic.
It was pure survival instinct.
The Duke stiffened, clearly caught off guard.
Without a word, he gently but firmly removed my hands from his sleeve.
Before either of us could say anything else, glowing runes lit up across the castle walls.
A deep bell echoed through the halls.
Moments later, the doors burst open.
A guard rushed in, breathing heavily.
"Your Grace! The Ancient Barrier has detected an outsider."
Silence filled the room.
The Duke slowly turned his gaze toward me.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"So…"
"…you really are an alien."
"Gbenu dake jo. I am not an alien. I am a human from Nigeria. I have said this more than ten times—are you even listening?"
I threw my hands up in frustration.
The Duke's expression didn't change.
"There is no country called Nigeria here," he said calmly.
"What?" I froze.
Before I could respond, the guard stepped forward.
"What do we do about her? If the Ancient Barrier keeps reacting like this, we must take measurements."
"Eh?" I turned sharply. "Omo, are you people hearing yourselves? You're making decisions about me like I'm not standing right here!"
The Duke raised a hand.
"Take her to the archives," he ordered.
I blinked.
"The what?"
"The place that will help us understand how you got here."
I exhaled sharply but followed, because honestly, what choice did I have?
—-
Inside the archives, I was led into a circular chamber filled with ancient symbols carved into stone.
"Stand in the center," the guard instructed.
I hesitated.
"This better not be some sacrifice thing, because I'm not interested."
No one answered me.
Of course.
I stepped into the middle.
Immediately, a light burst from beneath my feet—soft at first, then rising slowly until it surrounded me completely.
"Wow…" escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
Despite everything, a part of me was amazed.
So this is real.
Magic. Another world. All of it.
A soft beeping sound echoed through the room.
A floating image appeared—an old book.
The Duke stepped closer, his eyes narrowing.
"The book," I whispered.
"In Norweisian," he said quietly, "we call it a Gate Record. It chooses who enters… and rarely allows them to leave."
My excitement disappeared instantly.
"…rarely?" I repeated, my voice smaller now.
For the first time since arriving here…
I felt truly trapped.
Silence filled the room.
The Duke spoke quietly.
"I believed this to be a myth. When my father told me this story, like everyone else, it felt like nothing more than a bedtime tale."
His gaze stayed on the glowing projection.
"Now I am experiencing it in reality."
I blinked.
"So you're telling me I got dragged into a myth?"
I scoffed.
"How does that even make sense? According to this story, the book chooses people for specific reasons."
I shook my head.
"What rubbish reasons are those? I'm just a normal girl from Lagos. Why would some stupid book pick me?"
The light around me flickered.
The Duke's expression sharpened.
"You are not random," he said firmly. "You were drawn here because the book knows you."
The guard stepped forward, uneasy.
"The readings are unstable, Your Grace. What do we do?"
The Duke didn't even look at him.
"I thought it was just my imagination," he continued slowly. "People from other worlds were never meant to exist."
He paused.
Then he turned fully toward me.
"My name," he said, "is Kael… Kael Rubian."