The gate stood silent.
It was larger than anything they had seen so far. Ancient stone stretched high into the sky, covered in glowing symbols that moved slowly like they were breathing.
Luna stared at it.
"This is it…" she whispered.
Ron didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on the symbols.
Kenta took a small step back.
"I don't like this," he said quietly. "This doesn't feel like a normal door."
Prince Kai stepped forward.
"It is not a door," he said.
The wind shifted.
White petals rose gently from the ground.
Black petals followed.
Both colors mixed together, circling slowly in front of the gate.
Luna's chest tightened.
"It feels… like it's watching us," she said.
Kai nodded.
"It is."
A silence fell.
Then the gate began to open.
Slowly.
No sound.
Just a deep pressure in the air.
The light inside was not bright.
It was soft.
Almost empty.
Ron stepped forward first.
"No turning back," he said quietly.
Luna followed.
Then Kenta.
Kai entered last.
The moment all four crossed the gate…
everything disappeared.
Luna blinked.
The cold wind was gone.
The strange sky was gone.
The petals were gone.
She was standing in her room.
Her own room.
Sunlight came through the window.
Her camera sat on the desk.
Her bed was exactly the same.
Everything was normal.
Luna froze.
"No…"
Her heart started beating faster.
"This… this is…"
She walked slowly to the desk.
Touched the camera.
It was real.
She picked it up.
The screen lit up.
Photos.
Normal photos.
The park.
The bench.
Nothing strange.
Nothing glowing.
Her hands trembled.
"Was it….....a dream?"
Her door opened.
"Luna?"
Her mother stood there.
Smiling.
"Breakfast is ready."
Luna stared at her.
Her throat felt dry.
"Mom…?"
Her mother tilted her head.
"Why are you standing like that?"
Luna stepped closer.
"You… you're okay?"
Her mother laughed softly.
"Of course I am. What happened to you?"
Luna's mind spun.
"But I… I went to the park… and then…"
Her mother frowned.
"You didn't go anywhere yesterday. You came home early and slept, why are you so confused?"
Luna froze.
"No… that's not right…"
Her mother walked closer.
Placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You've been tired lately. Maybe you just had a strange dream."
A dream.
The word echoed in Luna's mind.
Dream.
Was it?
Her chest felt heavy.
"But it felt real…" she whispered.
Her mother smiled gently.
"Sometimes dreams feel real too!"
Luna looked around again.
Everything was perfect.
Safe.
Warm.
Normal.
No danger.
No whispers.
No fear.
She walked to the window.
Outside, the street looked peaceful.
Children playing.
People walking.
The wind moved softly.
No petals.
No strange sky.
Just her world.
Her real world.
Luna's hands slowly relaxed.
Maybe…
Maybe it really was a dream.
Her mother's voice came again.
"Come eat before it gets cold."
Luna turned.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then she nodded.
"Yeah… coming."
Meanwhile…
Ron stood in the park.
The same park.
Sunlight covered the grass.
The sky was clear.
The old bench stood in front of him.
Unchanged.
His breath caught.
"No way…"
He stepped forward slowly.
The wind was soft.
Warm.
Peaceful.
No strange feeling.
No danger.
"Ron."
He froze.
That voice.
He turned.
Ruby stood behind him.
Holding a small white flower.
Just like before.
Just like that day.
His heart stopped.
"…Ruby?"
She smiled.
The same smile.
Warm.
Gentle.
"You came back," she said.
Ron couldn't move.
His mind went blank.
"You… you're…"
"Alive?" she finished softly.
Ron's eyes shook.
"I… I thought…"
Ruby walked closer.
"I was gone?"
He swallowed.
His chest tightened.
"I… I couldn't…"
She stepped right in front of him.
Her eyes calm.
"You're here now."
Her hand reached out.
Ron stared at it.
"You came back for me, right?"
His fingers trembled.
"I… I don't know…"
Ruby smiled again.
"It's okay. You don't have to think so much."
Her voice was soft.
Comforting.
Like nothing bad had ever happened.
"Stay," she said quietly.
The word hit him.
Stay.
No pain.
No guilt.
No loss.
Just… this.
His mind whispered.
This is what you wanted.
To fix everything.
To go back.
To not lose her.
Ron's hand slowly moved forward.
Almost touching hers.
Somewhere else…
Kenta stood alone.
Darkness around him.
No sky.
No ground.
Just empty space.
"What… what is this…?"
His voice echoed strangely.
Then light appeared.
And suddenly…
He was in his classroom.
Students around him.
Laughing.
Talking.
Normal.
Kenta blinked.
"Wait… what?"
Someone behind him laughed.
"Bro, you messed it up again!"
Another voice.
"Of course he did. It's Kenta."
Laughter spread.
Kenta's smile faded.
"What…?"
He looked around.
Familiar faces.
But their expressions were wrong.
Mocking.
Sharp.
"You always ruin things," one said.
"You're parents are wasting their hard earned labour money on you!" another added.
Kenta stepped back.
"Stop joking… guys…"
But no one laughed kindly.
They just kept staring.
Judging.
"You slow everyone down."
"You're useless."
The words hit hard.
Too real.
Kenta's chest tightened.
"No… that's not…"
But the voices continued.
Louder.
Stronger.
Like they were coming from inside him.
"You're weak."
"You can't do anything right."
"You don't belong."
Kenta covered his ears.
"Shut up…"
The classroom darkened.
The faces distorted.
Their smiles stretched unnaturally.
"SHUT UP!" he shouted.
But the voices didn't stop.
They never stopped.
Back with Luna…
She sat at the table.
Eating quietly.
Her mother talked about normal things.
School.
Neighbors.
Daily life.
Everything felt… right.
Safe.
But something was wrong.
A small feeling in her chest.
Like something was missing.
She looked at her hands.
Why do I feel like I forgot something?
Her mother noticed.
"What's wrong?"
Luna shook her head.
"Nothing… just thinking."
Her mother smiled.
"You think too much."
Luna forced a small smile.
"Yeah… maybe."
After breakfast, she went back to her room.
Sat on her bed.
Looked at her camera.
She turned it on again.
Scrolled through photos.
Park.
Sky.
Bench.
Bench.
Bench.
So many photos of the same bench.
"Why did I take so many…?" she whispered.
Her finger stopped on one photo.
The last one.
The night before.
It looked normal.
But…
For a split second…
She felt something.
A strange memory.
Wind.
Light.
Fear.
"Luna…"
She froze.
That voice.
Soft.
Faint.
Not from the room.
From inside her head.
"Luna…"
Her breath became uneven.
"Who…?"
The wind outside suddenly moved stronger.
Sky turned dark grey.
The curtain fluttered.
Her heart started racing.
Something wasn't right.
This wasn't just a dream.
She stepped back.
"This isn't real," she whispered.
The room stayed the same.
Too quiet.
Then a voice came.
From inside her head.
"Stay."
Luna froze.
It was her own voice.
"You were happy here."
Her hands trembled.
"No…"
"You don't need them."
The words felt heavy.
For a moment, she almost believed it.
Then the camera flickered.
Ron.
Kenta.
Kai.
Fading.
Her eyes widened.
"I forgot them…"
The voice turned cold.
"You chose to."
Luna shook her head.
"I didn't."
"If you go back, you lose everything."
Silence.
Her heart pounded.
Then she spoke.
"If this was real, I wouldn't feel empty."
The voice stopped.
The room felt wrong.
Like it was watching her.
"Then stay empty."
Luna's eyes sharpened.
Her chest hurt.For a moment… she wanted to stay.
"No!"
Her voice was steady.
"I would rather feel pain than live a lie."
The voice screamed inside her head.
The world twisted.
Luna closed her eyes.
"I'm going back."
Everything went dark.
Then light.
She opened her eyes.
Back.
.
Back in the park…
Ron's fingers were inches away from Ruby's hand.
She smiled gently.
"Stay," she repeated.
His mind was breaking.
Everything felt right.
Everything felt fixed.
No pain.
No loss.
But…
Something inside him resisted.
A small voice.
Quiet.
But firm.
This is not real.
Ron's hand stopped.
Ruby's smile faded slightly.
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
His eyes shook.
"Because…"
His voice trembled.
"You… wouldn't say that."
Ruby tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
Ron stepped back slowly.
"You didn't ask me to stay," he said.
"You told me to move forward, don't you!"
Silence.
The air shifted.
Ruby's expression changed.
Her eyes darkened.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Ron clenched his fists.
"You're not her."
The world around them cracked.
The sunlight flickered.
The bench distorted.
Ruby's form began to break apart.
But her voice remained.
"Ron… don't leave again…"
His chest hurt.
But he stood firm.
"I'm not leaving," he said quietly.
"I'm moving forward.."
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 11 PART 2.