The moment we crossed through the rift, the world changed completely.
The snow was gone, replaced by warm air that smelled of honey and rain. The sky above was deep black, dotted with millions of stars that seemed close enough to touch – and every few seconds, one would break free from the sky and fall to the ground, where it would dissolve into a shower of golden sparkles. The ground beneath our feet was covered in grass that glowed with soft blue light, and in the distance, a forest of trees made entirely of clear crystal stretched toward the horizon, their branches catching the starlight and scattering it into rainbows.
"Wao," I breathed, my camera shaking slightly as I tried to capture everything at once. "Minna… you have to see this."
Hana jumped off my shoulder and padded forward, her paws leaving tiny glowing prints in the grass. She sniffed at a patch of glowing flowers that looked like tiny galaxies, then purred and rubbed her face against one of them.
"The creatures here are gentle," Aiko said, walking beside me as we made our way toward the crystal forest. "Most of them are made of starlight – you'll see them soon, if we're lucky."
Sure enough, as we got closer to the trees, small shapes started to emerge from between the crystal trunks. They looked like foxes, but their fur was made of swirling constellations, and their tails trailed sparks behind them as they moved. One of them stopped in front of us, tilting its head curiously before letting out a sound like wind chimes.
Hana hissed softly at first, then padded forward and touched noses with the fox. The star-fox let out another chime-like sound, then turned and started walking deeper into the forest, looking back as if to invite us to follow.
"We should go," Aiko said, her eyes wide with wonder. "I've read about these creatures, but I've never seen one up close. They're supposed to lead Pathfinders to places of power."
We followed the star-fox through the crystal forest, the trees above us refracting starlight into every color imaginable. The ground sloped downward, and soon we came to a river that flowed with liquid silver – when stars fell into it, they dissolved into ripples that spread across the surface like waves of light.
I knelt down beside the river and dipped my hand in. The water was warm, and when I pulled my hand out, tiny stars clung to my skin, glowing softly. "This is incredible," I said to the camera. "Every part of this place feels alive. Like it's breathing."
As I spoke, my viewer count crossed 50,000. A donation popped up – ¥500,000 from an anonymous user with a note: "We've been waiting for someone to show the world what's out here. Keep going."
The star-fox led us to a clearing in the center of the forest, where a single crystal tree stood taller than all the rest. Its trunk was etched with the same symbols I'd seen on the spire in the first realm – part circuit board, part ancient writing. As we approached, the tree began to glow, and the symbols lit up one by one.
"The Collective has been trying to decode these symbols for years," Aiko said, pulling out her tablet to take photos. "They think they're maps – showing all the realms and how they're connected."
I reached out and touched the trunk. The symbols pulsed under my fingers, and this time, I didn't just feel the meaning – I saw it. Images flooded my mind: thousands of worlds connected by glowing pathways, rifts opening and closing like doors, creatures traveling between realms with ease. I saw the Void Syndicate too – dark shapes moving through the pathways, taking what they wanted and leaving destruction behind.
"The Syndicate is coming here," I said, pulling my hand back sharply. "They know about this realm. They're on their way right now."
Aiko's face darkened. "How do you know?"
"I saw it," I said, my head spinning from the images. "They're tracking us – they followed us from Tokyo."
Before she could respond, we heard a sound from the edge of the clearing – the crack of a branch breaking under heavy boots. A group of men in black uniforms emerged from the trees, their faces covered by masks. In the lead was the man I'd seen on the train.
"Pathfinders," he said, his voice cold. "Thank you for leading us to the gateway. The Syndicate will be very pleased to have control of this realm."