The Forbidden Door

Kaito’s lungs burned as he sprinted through the palace corridors, his footsteps echoing sharply against the cold stone floor. He didn’t dare look back — not after what he had just seen. His heart pounded, each beat louder than the next, until, finally, his legs slowed.

When he came to his senses, he realized something was wrong.

The hallway ahead looked nothing like the palace he knew.

The grand walls lined with golden carvings had faded into cracked stone, covered with layers of dust and creeping vines. Torn banners hung from the ceilings like ghosts of forgotten wars. Even the air felt different here — heavier, colder, carrying the faint scent of rust and age.

He swallowed hard, eyes darting left and right.

No guards. No demons. No sound. Just the hollow whistle of wind through the cracks.

Kaito (thinking): “What the heckkkk!!! Now I’ve lost my way? Ugh... today’s really not my day. But… where is everyone? Isn’t this part of the palace too? Then why does it look like some kind of ruin? It feels… abandoned… like no one’s been here for centuries…”

His voice faded into the silence. The stillness was so thick it made his skin crawl.

Kaito took a cautious step forward, then another. The wooden planks creaked beneath his feet as if warning him to turn back. But curiosity — and a strange pull he couldn’t explain — pushed him deeper inside.

And then he felt it.

A faint ripple of energy brushing against his arm.

It was cold, yet burning.

Gentle, yet suffocating.

He froze.

Kaito: “That feeling again… what is this aura…?”

The air around him started to hum faintly, as though something ancient had awakened. Following the invisible pull, Kaito walked deeper into the forgotten passage until he reached a door unlike any he had ever seen.

It was massive — taller than any wall, darker than shadow itself. Strange symbols glowed faintly along its surface, pulsing rhythmically, as if alive. The air crackled with tension. Even without touching it, Kaito could feel its power — ancient, mysterious, and dangerous.

Kaito (whispering): “What is this place…? And why does it feel like the door is… calling to me?”

His hand trembled as he reached out.

The moment his fingers brushed the surface—

BOOM.

A wave of energy burst out, sucking the air from the room. The world spun violently, colors twisting into streaks of red and black. Kaito’s scream was swallowed by the light as his body was pulled into another realm.

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t in the palace anymore.

He stood in the center of a vast, crumbling chamber.

The walls were covered in glowing runes, their crimson light pulsing like heartbeats. The floor was cracked, bones scattered like forgotten memories. In the middle of the room stood a colossal red stone, hovering just above the ground — its light bright yet eerie, alive yet silent.

The glow painted Kaito’s face in red, his reflection trembling on its surface.

Kaito (in awe): “What… is this place? And what kind of stone is that…?”

He took one hesitant step closer, feeling the air grow thicker, heavier with every inch. His heartbeat synced with the pulse of the stone. Without thinking, his hand moved toward it.

And then—

The stone’s light exploded, releasing a storm of crimson fog that swallowed Kaito whole. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. The fog coiled around him like a living serpent, dragging him down, deeper and deeper— until his body felt weightless.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a strange, endless space filled with swirling red mist. The ground beneath him rippled like liquid, and faint whispers echoed from every direction — whispers that called his name.

Kaito stood frozen, realizing he had stepped into something far beyond his understanding.

✨ What do you think will happen to Kaito now? 😯

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