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Hump brushed a thick layer of dust from the gateway console, a small podium where the orb was set into the stone. The dust rose in pale clouds around his hands while Emilia and Bud worked nearby, clearing the rest of the gateway platform. As the grime lifted, the orb began to dimly reflect the drifting lights of the spirits moving lazily through the chamber.
“Captain,” Hump said, stepping back and gesturing for Hadbur to come closer. “It’s best you try it for yourself rather than simply listening to my explanation.”
Hadbur stepped up beside him, his boot scraping across the dusty stone floor. Marcoff and the other altari hovered anxiously nearby, while the rest of the group spread out around the chamber. Celaine remained near the door, keeping watch just in case.
Hump placed his hand against the orb and fed a small trickle of essence into it.
This time, as he focused on the threads he could sense, he felt a rune react to him. He focused his intent on it and felt something spread through the gateway. Essence stirred. The runes along the curved black wall ignited softly, thin lines of pale silver crawling through the stone like they were awakening after a long sleep. Essence hummed in the air.
The spirits reacted immediately. They darted through the air faster, chiming and spinning in excited loops as the gateway awakened.
Shimmer zipped after them enthusiastically, only for Nishari to try joining the chase. Unfortunately, the dragon was far too large now. In her eagerness she nearly barreled into half the room before Dylan caught hold of her horn and pulled her back.
“Easy,” he said, laughing as she squirmed in protest.
The entire process looked very different compared to when Hump had wielded the gateways in the Remnant Realm and Alveron. Back then, the black wall hadn’t revealed anything. Now, the air above the central platform shimmered. Threads of light stretched outward, weaving themselves into a glowing web suspended above the platform. Hundreds of faint lines formed the illusion of a silk strung across the air, with knots marking spots between them.
“Are these all routes?” Hadbur asked, staring up at the display.
Hump nodded. “I think so. I’ve never seen it activated like this before. Now that Loften has restarted the gateway network, it seems everything is coming alive.” Hump focused his mind, envisioning Alveron. One point within the web brightened immediately.
“That’s our home world.” He focused again, this time on Ur. Another point, far away from the first, glowed faintly within the web. “And that’s Ur.”
Hadbur stepped forward, studying the glowing map carefully. After a moment he pointed along a chain of connected strands.
“To reach Ur, we would have to travel between these places.”
“I think so,” Hump said. They would need to pass through eight worlds to return home. “I’ve never done this before, so I can’t say with certainty, but I believe that’s how it works.”
He gestured toward the console.
“It should function much like any artefact you’re used to. Intent combined with fuel. The gateway has its own store of essence, but right now it’s empty. You’ll need to supply it yourself to see the map, and to open the rift we’ll need to restore the essence stones powering the gateway.”
“How long will that take?” Hadbur asked.
“For my party, a few hours per gateway, with some time to rest before opening the rift. That way we arrive ready to fight if we have to. For all of you, perhaps a day or two depending on how hard you push.”
Marcoff frowned. “If it would only take a few days, why don’t you simply take us home?”
“Day’s that we don’t have,” Hump said unapologetically. “This is as far as we go together.”
“We will get you home, Prince,” Hadbur said.
Marcoff still looked dissatisfied. “But why can’t we go directly there? Why must we pass through all these worlds?”
“I barely understand it myself,” Hump said. “My guess is that it requires a lot of energy to anchor any point within the abyss. Shorter jumps may be easier, or perhaps it simply isn’t possible to cross such a great distance in a single leap.” He gave a small shrug. “If you find the Maker along the way, you can ask him. We’ll have a go at creating a rift once it has the essence. Until then, experiment as you wish.”
The fuel source sat at the rear of the platform: a cluster of essence stones linked together in a configuration Hump didn’t fully understand. Fortunately, he didn’t need to. All that mattered was feeding them power until they were at capacity. It took several hours, but by the time they were finished the gateway was ready to go.
Hadbur had a practice run creating a rift. It was a simple process. Hump had managed to do so when he was far weaker than the captain.
Afterwards Acalin took a turn, followed by Karo, Runesmith Tatsi, and finally Princess Urella. Each practised opening and closing a rift, ensuring they had backup options if something went wrong.
Everyone was ready.
***
It didn’t take long to prepare the altari for their departure, though they chose to rest before leaving. After everything they had endured crossing the abyss, no one was eager to rush blindly onward again. While they recovered, the two groups gathered what supplies they could from the surrounding fragment.
There were no animals in this world—none at all. No birds, fish, or even insects. Plants, however, were everywhere. The spirits proved invaluable guides. Curious clusters of them flitted through the vegetation, leading them to patches of fruiting shrubs or thick-stemmed plants. Some glowed faintly with essence, others bore strange shapes and colours unlike anything Hump had seen before.
Naturally, this led to a problem.
“Someone has to try it first,” Emilia said, examining a bulbous purple fruit with suspicion.
Everyone looked at Dylan.
The druid sighed. “I knew this was coming.”
Over the next hour he dutifully sampled a variety of strange fruits, seeds, and leaves while the rest of them watched carefully for signs of poisoning. Fortunately, none appeared. If anything, the food was rich with nature essence, leaving Dylan energised rather than sick.
The following day, it was time to say goodbye.
Hump clasped Acalin’s forearm in a firm grip.
“I’m pleased to have met you,” Acalin said.
“Me too,” Hump replied. “A few months ago I would never have imagined meeting an entirely different race of people. Now that the gateways are open, our worlds are bound to cross paths again.”
Acalin nodded. “I believe they will.”
“I would like to visit your world,” Karo said, the wiry altari stepping forward with a curious smile.
“I’ll show you around if you ever make it there,” Hump said.
“I would like that.”
Unfortunately, not everyone shared the same warmth.
Prince Marcoff stepped forward last, his expression as stiff as ever.
“I will not say it was a pleasure, Wizard Humphrey,” Marcoff said. “But I do believe I am alive because of you. For that reason, I would prefer we do not part on terrible terms.” He inclined his head slightly. “You have my gratitude, though not my friendship.”
Hump snorted. “I don’t know what to say to that. You’re irritating, Marcoff, but I’ve met worse nobles I suppose. It could have been worse.”
Marcoff considered that for a moment before nodding. “I can accept that.” He straightened his cloak and looked Hump in the eye. “If you do return to Urandel, I will tell my people the truth—that you freed the Maker, and that you are a friend of the altari.”
***
The rift opened like any other gateway—a jagged tear in the fabric of the world, its edges rippling with unstable essence.
One by one the altari stepped through.
Watching them go felt like a weight lifting from Hump’s shoulders. He liked Acalin and the others well enough, but escorting them through the abyss would have slowed his party considerably. Their journey ahead was already dangerous enough without adding more lives to protect.
With that responsibility finally gone, they could focus entirely on what lay ahead.
Hump had deliberately avoided revealing the Path to Heaven to the altari. They knew some of their purpose, but the less that information got around, the better.
When the last of them vanished through the rift, Hump maintained the essence supply for a couple of minutes to ensure the altari didn’t need to retreat, then finally let it close. With them gone, he closed his eyes and envisioned the Path to Heaven.
For a moment he waited. Then he frowned.
Nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?” Emilia asked.
“That’s his confused face,” Celaine said.
“I’m definitely confused,” Hump admitted. “I assumed that now the Path to Heaven is open, it would appear in the gateway like the others. Yet I’m not finding it.”
“Could it be that the Path to Heaven isn’t the destination?” Emilia suggested. “It’s a pathway.”
“You could try thinking of Heaven instead,” Dylan said.
Hump nodded and did as she suggested. He focused on the idea of Heaven itself—the realm where the gods supposedly dwelled. He tried to grasp that distant sense of divinity the same way he had envisioned other worlds, but no matter how hard he tried, the map didn’t light up like it did for other locations.
The glowing web above the platform remained unchanged.
“I don’t understand,” Hump said. “I could feel the thread before, but it’s just… not represented by the gateway. Maybe there isn’t a route.”
Bud let out a long, tired sigh. “Let me try.”
Hump raised an eyebrow. “You have an idea? Magical artifacts isn’t usually where you offer ideas.”
“Just let me try something.”
The knight stepped forward and placed a hand upon the orb. Frostfire flickered inside the crystal as he closed his eyes.
The chamber fell silent. Hump watched carefully. He had no idea what Bud could do differently, but anything was worth a try.
Seconds passed.
Still nothing.
Then suddenly a new point of light appeared within the web.
Hump’s eyes widened and he turned to Bud. “What did you do?”
A single tear slid down the knight’s cheek. His eyes were still closed, sadness etched deeply into his face. He looked pale and so defeated that Hump’s stomach dropped.
“You couldn’t find Heaven because you don’t know what it feels like to believe in it,” Bud said quietly. “You’ve never known the true touch of the gods or understood what it means to have faith in them. But I do. Things may have changed, but I remembered that feeling to the very core of my being.” He hesitated, searching for the words. “It’s strange… knowing Heaven and the gods are before me yet not wanting to go.” He gestured toward the glowing web above them. “But there it is. Our destination.”
Everyone looked up. A new thread now stretched through the map. Between them and that distant point were thirteen glowing connections.
Hump clasped his friend’s shoulder. “Good work, Bud.”
“Thirteen,” Emilia said grimly. “That can’t be good.”
“It seems fitting,” Bud said. “We go to stop the thirteenth god’s return.”
“How long do you think it will take?” Celaine asked. “If the other gateways require as much power as this one?”
Hump studied the glowing chain.
“If we hurry, maybe three days,” he said. “If we take our time and rest properly between each stop, perhaps triple that.”
“I think we should aim somewhere in between,” Emilia said. “We need to hurry, but I find it hard to believe none of the gateways will be guarded along the way. Demons and gods know what else will have been drawn to these structures, just like the spirits were. We need to be in fighting strength.”
“Agreed,” Hump said. “For now we’ll recharge the essence stones, return to full strength, and then activate the gateway.”
He pointed to the glowing point at the beginning of the route.
“The first stop.” He paused, squinting at the faint glow. “Wherever in the hells that is.”
Bud gave a humourless smile. “Hells seems apt.”