Neen stared at the glowing key in his hand.
The air around him seemed to shimmer, as if space itself were trembling.
He gripped it tightly, heart pounding.
Later that day…
Neen gathered with his closest friends after school.
There were five of them in total:
Nai — short-tempered but fiercely loyal.
Shion — elegant and cunning, from a rich family.
Rel — talkative and overly confident, but average in ability.
Hana — beautiful, intelligent, and kind—the girl who had once been saved by Neen in their childhood.
And Neen himself—the quiet one, often underestimated.
They all sat beneath the tree at school, just as they always did after class. But this time, Neen held out the mysterious key.
It no longer looked like paper. It had transformed into a golden, intricate object, shimmering with symbols that none of them could read.
"Where'd you get that?" Nai asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It was in an old book," Neen replied. "But something happened. The light… and a feather. It pointed to the sky."
"Feather again?" Hana asked softly. "The same one from before?"
Neen nodded.
That night, curiosity took hold.
They met at the school again, under the cloak of darkness.
Following the light from the key, Neen led them to a forgotten part of campus—an overgrown courtyard surrounded by cracked stone pillars.
At the center stood a large wall of ivy. The moment Neen raised the key toward it, the vines began to shift.
A glowing outline emerged—a door carved into space itself. But only when touched by the key could it be seen.
"This… wasn't here before," Rel whispered, stepping back.
"It's a dimensional lock," said Shion, surprisingly calm. "Whatever's beyond that door… isn't part of this world."
"So?" Nai cracked his knuckles. "Are we going in?"
Neen hesitated. The key pulsed in his hand, warm and alive.
"We don't have to," he said quietly. "We could forget all of this."
But then, Hana stepped forward, placing her hand on his.
"You saw it first, didn't you? That feather. That light. You were chosen."
"So… we go with you."
The others nodded.
And with a deep breath, Neen turned the key in the glowing lock.
A blinding light erupted.
The door opened—not to a hallway or room—but to an endless sky.
Floating islands drifted far above, creatures soared through silver clouds, and the wind carried the scent of magic.
"Welcome," a voice echoed in their minds, though no one spoke it aloud.
"The Island awaits."