The valley was alive.
Crystal trees swayed gently as melodies drifted through the air. Streams of silver light flowed between the floating islands, and the bridges shimmered with renewed life.
For the first time in ages...
There was hope.
The Trial of Trust had ended without bloodshed.
Commander Vaelor had acknowledged Adrian as the Bridgekeeper.
The first Travelers had answered the call.
The future finally seemed to be moving forward.
But Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that it had all happened too easily.
He stood alone on a crystal cliff overlooking the valley.
The mark on his wrist glowed softly beneath the evening sky.
"Something's bothering you."
Adrian turned.
Elyan approached quietly, his silver cloak fluttering in the breeze.
Adrian sighed.
"I keep thinking about that figure beyond the crimson horizon."
"The one we never saw clearly."
Elyan nodded.
"So am I."
"You recognized something."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Elyan spoke.
"I recognized the feeling."
Adrian smiled weakly.
"That answer is becoming popular."
Elyan laughed softly.
"It is the only honest one I have."
The two stood in silence.
Far below, the first Travelers were gathering with Mira, listening eagerly as she explained the history of the bridges.
Some came from Earth.
Some from Elyan's world.
A few, surprisingly, had even crossed from the realm of the Endless.
They spoke different languages.
Carried different beliefs.
Yet somehow...
They were already sharing stories.
The bridges were doing exactly what they had been built to do.
Adrian watched them.
"I don't think they even realize they're making history."
"They don't have to," Elyan replied.
"Sometimes history is made by ordinary people simply choosing to meet."
Adrian nodded thoughtfully.
Maybe that was the real purpose of the bridges all along.
Not heroes.
Not legends.
People.
---
A sudden tremor rippled across the valley.
Not violent.
Deep.
The crystal beneath Adrian's feet hummed.
Every bridge answered at once.
Silver light shot upward into the sky.
The melodies stopped.
Orion appeared almost instantly.
His expression was serious.
"Did you feel that?"
Elyan nodded.
"It came from the crimson horizon."
Caelis arrived moments later.
His golden eyes were fixed on the distant red glow.
"It has opened."
Adrian looked toward the horizon.
The crimson light had changed.
Instead of a distant glow...
It had become a towering gateway stretching into the heavens.
Its edges were formed from crimson crystal.
Ancient symbols blazed across its surface.
The gate dwarfed mountains.
It was unlike anything the bridges had created.
Mira stared in disbelief.
"That isn't a bridge."
"No," Orion whispered.
"It came before the bridges."
Silence fell.
Adrian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Orion took a slow breath.
"Our bridges connect worlds."
He pointed toward the enormous crimson structure.
"That..."
"...created them."
---
The valley erupted into whispers.
Even Vaelor seemed unsettled.
"The Gate of Origins..."
He spoke the name as though it belonged in a forgotten prayer.
Caelis slowly nodded.
"I never believed it still existed."
Adrian looked from one ancient being to another.
"Okay."
"I've officially reached the point where everyone knows what's happening except me."
To his surprise, Vaelor almost smiled again.
"The Gate of Origins is older than every civilization."
Elyan continued.
"Older than the Firstborn."
Mira added quietly,
"Older than memory itself."
Adrian stared at the impossible gate.
"So..."
"Who built it?"
Silence.
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
---
Without warning—
The mark on Adrian's wrist blazed.
A beam of silver light shot toward the crimson gate.
The gate answered.
A crimson beam returned.
The two lights met high above the valley.
Where they touched...
A single symbol formed.
None of the Keepers recognized it.
Not even Orion.
The bridge spoke.
Its voice echoed across every connected world.
"Origin acknowledged."
Another pause.
"Heir recognized."
Adrian's heart skipped a beat.
"Heir?"
He looked around.
"Who's the heir?"
No one answered.
The mark on his wrist grew warmer.
Then—
A voice entered his mind.
Gentle.
Ancient.
Different from the bridge.
"Come home."
Adrian froze.
He knew that voice.
It was the same one that had spoken to him beyond the crimson horizon.
The same one that had called him Bridgekeeper.
The connection faded.
Adrian looked toward the Gate of Origins.
"It wants me."
Elyan's face grew pale.
"No..."
"What?"
"The gate doesn't call strangers."
"It only calls..."
He stopped.
Adrian stepped closer.
"It only calls what?"
Elyan looked directly into Adrian's eyes.
"...its own blood."
The valley fell silent.
Even the wind stopped.
Adrian stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"You said no one knew who built it."
"We don't."
"Then how can you know that?"
Elyan's voice was barely a whisper.
"Because the last time the gate opened..."
He looked toward the crimson light.
"...it called someone exactly the same way."
Orion closed his eyes.
"And they never returned."
Far beyond the valley...
The Gate of Origins slowly opened another fraction.
From within came not darkness...
Not light...
But the outline of an ancient city suspended in crimson skies.
A city no surviving world had ever recorded.
A city waiting for its heir.
And somewhere inside...
Someone was waiting for Adrian.