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Chapter 3 - Chapter 2: Entity in Gate

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"You have betrayed me—" a girl's voice echoed, her figure faint and indistinct, startling Clara, who had fainted due to the overwhelming pressure from the gate.

"Where am I?" Clara immediately got up and looked around. Darkness and emptiness surrounded her. An unfamiliar wind howled through the air, adding to the eerie and unsettling atmosphere, making Clara shiver slightly.

Despite the bleak surroundings, Clara could feel something was off, as if someone was watching her from the shadows. She concluded that she was not alone here—someone else was present.

Summoning the courage she had left, Clara called out, "Who's there?"

No response came, only the sound of the wind filling the space.

She called out again.

Suddenly, a towering figure emerged from the darkness. Clara couldn't clearly see his face, but his presence was overwhelming, sending shivers down her spine. The figure walked toward her slowly, his gaze piercing, cloaked in a robe that billowed behind him. An intense aura flared around him, seemingly frozen in the air. His left eye, glowing red, was the only feature Clara could make out. His face remained shrouded in thick, impenetrable darkness.

From a distance, the man spoke, "Another guest?" His voice echoed throughout the space, carrying an undeniable sense of menace.

Clara held her breath, her heart pounding faster. But she tried to gather her courage—she could not afford to appear weak, not before the figure in front of her.

"I... I'm Clara, and... Who are you?" she responded, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "I didn't mean to come here."

The man stepped closer, and Clara felt a crushing weight pressing against her soul, as if every step he took thickened the air. She felt like she was floating between reality and a nightmare, yet every inch of this man's presence felt real and incredibly dangerous.

"There's no need to say that. I knew this would happen, and you... are merely victims of this fate." His words carried undeniable power.

Clara bit her lip, trying to grasp the meaning behind his words. But before she could respond, the man spoke again, this time with a softer, yet far more chilling tone.

"An event with no end, destined to occur endlessly, like the locus of a point on a circular path." A faint smirk appeared on his face, still concealed by shadows.

Clara frowned, confused by his cryptic words. Yet, despite the fear gripping her heart, she knew one thing—this being before her was no ordinary person. There was something far greater about him. Who was this man?

"Who are you really?" Clara asked, trying to calm the storm raging inside her.

The man stopped just a few steps away from Clara. His glowing eye studied her intently, as if evaluating every part of her existence.

"Me?" His voice deepened, becoming even more menacing.

Suddenly, he let out a dark, chilling laugh, sending a fresh wave of fear through Clara's body.

"I am Morgath, the guardian of the cosmos bound by this gate. And I am also... the one who will destroy the world I am sworn to protect," he declared with a voice that bore down on Clara like a crushing weight.

—Gulp.

Clara swallowed hard.

Morgath saw the confusion in her eyes and gave a small smile, but there was no comfort in it. Instead, it was laced with danger.

"You have no idea what you're up against, do you?" Morgath took another step toward Clara. "This gate isn't just a portal. It is a passage to a thousand worlds, a doorway to powers beyond your comprehension."

Clara gulped again, anxiety tightening around her chest. "So... you want to destroy my world?"

Morgath did not respond immediately. He raised his hand slightly, and Clara could feel the intense energy swirling around them.

"You are nothing here. Just a pawn in an endless game," he murmured, his words cutting like a blade. "You are not the first to stumble through this gate, and you will not be the last."

Clara fell silent. She felt small, like a single grain of sand in an infinite ocean. But something inside her refused to surrender to fear.

"I don't understand everything you're saying, but I won't let you destroy my world," she finally said, her voice firm despite the lingering fear in her heart.

Morgath smirked again, this time wider, and his deep voice resonated once more.

"There is nothing for you to understand. But we will meet again, Clara. This world—and many others—hold secrets far greater than you can ever imagine," Morgath's voice echoed, sending a chill down Clara's spine.

His steps slowed as he was swallowed by the darkness. Yet, just before disappearing, he paused briefly.

"Remember, no one can defy the will of the universe."

"You... I... we are all part of its game."

With those final words, Morgath retreated into the void, leaving Clara standing alone in the abyss. The howling wind grew stronger, and in the blink of an eye, his presence vanished, swallowed by the encroaching darkness.

Clara took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Who was Morgath really? And what role did he play in all this? Her mind swirled with questions, but one thing was certain—there was no turning back now. Her journey had only just begun, and this enigmatic figure, Morgath, would undoubtedly be a major part of her fate.

After Morgath disappeared, the silence around Clara deepened. The darkness that surrounded her offered no clues as to which direction she should take. Confusion swelled within her. But before she could step away from where she stood, something strange happened.

Suddenly, Clara's vision shifted dramatically.

In an instant, she was no longer in the dark, unfamiliar realm. Instead, her world seemed to shatter into fragments of reality, spinning around her. Each fragment revealed a different world, as if an endless sequence of dimensions was flashing before her eyes.

First, she saw a vast desert stretching endlessly under a sky with two suns—one glowing red, the other purple. In the distance, colossal fiery creatures clashed upon the scorched battlefield, their movements shaking the very earth.

Then, in another blink, Clara found herself in a breathtaking floating city. Towering palaces with golden domes shimmered under a bright blue sky, and the air was filled with the melodies of ancient instruments. But something was wrong—the buildings seemed fractured by time, some crumbling as if remnants of a war unseen.

Before she could process what was happening, her surroundings shifted again.

Now, she stood in the heart of a massive forest filled with trees taller than any castle she had ever seen. The wind rustled gently, and around her, strange creatures—fairies and glowing forest spirits—danced in the moonlight, casting a soft, ethereal glow.

Clara was speechless. Each of these worlds seemed to exist for mere moments before vanishing from her sight, replaced by another. She saw mountains floating in the sky, a crystal-clear ocean beneath a crimson-red sky, and even a grand palace surrounded by thousands of black-winged beings she did not recognize.

"What is all this?" Clara whispered, her hoarse voice barely audible amidst the overwhelming chaos. "Are these… the worlds connected to the Gate of a Thousand World?"

The visions continued to spin, growing faster and faster until her head began to reel. The worlds flashed in and out of existence before her eyes, as if reality itself had lost control. Clara felt weightless, as though she were being swept away by an invisible current, tossed around by the endless possibilities surrounding her.

Then, suddenly, everything stopped.

Clara found herself back inside the old, dusty library—the place where it had all begun. A soft breeze drifted through the aged bookshelves, carrying the scent of timeworn pages. A strange feeling settled over her—it was as if she had just glimpsed countless different worlds in mere moments, only to be pulled back to where she started.

"What… is happening?" Clara muttered, still unable to make sense of what she had just experienced. She checked herself as if searching for any sign of change. Yet, her body remained the same. The library looked unchanged as well.

But her mind was restless.

The image of Morgath, the spinning worlds, the unfamiliar creatures—it all swirled in her thoughts. What did it all mean? Why was she taken through these realms only to return here? And most importantly, who truly was Morgath? Why had he let her go so easily? What had he meant by his game?

Clara took a deep breath, trying to organize the flood of questions in her mind. The gate stood sealed shut once again, as if it had never been opened. Yet, Clara was certain—what she had seen and experienced was no illusion. She had unlocked something far greater than what an ordinary mind could comprehend.

"This gate… it opens more than just a path to one world," Clara murmured to herself. "It… it connects everything. But why me?"

That question continued to haunt her thoughts. Clara knew she couldn't walk away from this without answers. Morgath surely knew more than he had let on, and the worlds she had glimpsed were just the beginning of something far greater. But how could she find the answers she sought? What should her next step be?

With a heart weighed down by uncertainty and lingering fear, Clara slowly stepped out of the library. The sky outside had begun to lighten, signaling the end of the night. Yet, for Clara, this night was only the beginning—the beginning of her search for the truth behind the Gate of a Thousand Worlds, and her own role in all of this.

"I… I have to do something." Clara gazed at the library's high ceiling, determination flashing in her eyes. "If Morgath's words hold a question tied to me, then I must find the answer," she declared with unwavering resolve.

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