The glow spread.
At first, it was faint- no more than a trembling shimmer crawling along the grooves of the stone door. Then the pendant answered.
The small, unremarkable stone key floating before Jin Huang pulsed once… twice… and then rang out with a low, ancient hum that seemed to vibrate directly through bone. The fog recoiled, peeling back in slow spirals as if something from behind the door had taken a breath.
The door responded to the pendant's hum, and seemed to come to life for the very first time.
Lines that had been dormant for who knew how long flared to life, one after another, forming a vast, interlocking pattern that dwarfed the glow Hei Shisan's golden card had evoked from it.
The scent that had driven Jin Huang forward surged again, this time richer, deeper and layered with something indescribably old. He leaned closer, eyes unfocused, palm pressed flat against the stone.
Behind him, Shen Wuyou stiffened.
Hei Shisan, meanwhile, stared. For a long, silent moment, the fifth-year senior did nothing. No jokes. No laughter. No easy grin. Then he sucked in a slow breath, only then noticing the image of a glowing flame in Jin Huang's palm
"Surely it can't be... " he said incredulously. "A... Stamp of Approval? Don't tell me this kid has an even greater backing than my own."
Hearing this, Shen Wuyou glanced back at Hei Shisan before refocusing on Jin Huang and the stone key. It rotated lazily in the air, slots along its edge aligning with grooves that had never been visible before. With a soft click, it ceased all movement and vibration- even the humming came to an abrupt end.
Then, there was a sound that could only have been the sound of someone clearing their throat. With each reverberation of that harrumph, the key would release a wave of vibration and light.
"Ahem! Ahem, ahem! Testing, 1, 2. Testing, testing. We good to go?"
Hei Shisan and Shen Wuyou, flabbergasted, could only look ahead in confusion and awe. Jin Huang was back to his usual self by now, and saw clearly what was going on.
The voice coming from the key spoke again.
"Okay so, judging by the fluctuations, the current location would be... the Interplanetary Academy. So, if I just adjust this doohickey here..." Following that, there were a variety of sounds that none present could describe.
"Alrighty then, that should do it. Stand clear!" After that, the person speaking cleared their throat a final time before speaking.
Only, this time, their voice had been altered completely, no longer sounding like the same person. It was a woman's voice that none of them could quite place, although they were certain it was familiar to them. "Open sesame!"
With that, the door shuddered.
A deep, resonant 'thoom,' echoed through the transitory space as the stone split down the center. Ancient seals unraveled like loosened chains, not breaking but recognizing. The door opened just enough to reveal the sunny world beyond. A world that felt vast, patient, and very much awake.
Jin Huang blinked, staring at the door in confusion. "Uh… did I do something?"
Shen Wuyou didn't answer. His die hovered in his palm, spinning wildly before clattering to the ground on its own.
6.
Hei Shisan finally laughed. It wasn't loud. It wasn't manic. It was the sound of someone who had just realized the world was far more interesting than he'd thought.
"So that's how it is," he murmured, eyes gleaming as he looked at Jin Huang with sharp, delighted curiosity.
"The Headmaster's key gets rejected, but you get invited." He slipped the golden card back into his sleeve as if it had lost all importance. "Well," Hei Shisan continued lightly, stepping aside and gesturing toward the opening door, "this just became a lot more fun."
Shen Wuyou swallowed. "You're not… upset?"
Hei Shisan glanced back over his shoulder, mismatched eyes bright. "Upset? No. Annoyed, maybe."
Then he grinned.
"But if the sacred realm itself is choosing a first-year with no apparent cultivation," he chuckled, "I'd be stupid not to follow."
The door opened wider- as wide as it could- before finally stopping and returning to dormancy. From beyond it, the scent rolled out in a crushing wave.
Jin Huang's stomach growled. Loudly.
Hei Shisan paused mid-step and looked back at him, eyebrows lifting. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I've escaped the Detention Zone three times, stolen from the Headmaster once, and broken at least seventeen academy rules."
He pointed at Jin Huang.
"But I have a feeling you are going to get into even more trouble."
Then, laughing softly to himself, Hei Shisan stepped into the sacred realm first. Behind him, Jin Huang realized that, although he was being bombarded with the scent, it no longer drove him into a stupor. He could still control his thoughts and actions.
As for the key, it had already floated down and returned to him, looking every bit as unremarkable as always. Now, though, he regarded it much differently before tucking it away again.
"Just what is that key, man?" Shen Wuyou asked.
"I don't really know. My parents left me a letter after they died, saying that I wasn't their real son, and that they had found the key in my crib. That, and a scroll that transported me to the Academy somehow." Jin Huang explained, feeling for the key under his clothes and noticing the glowing flame symbol in his palm.
"That's insane, but it can't be a coincidence. Do you think whoever sent you with those items intended for this to happen? Could it all be preordained?"
Jin Huang frowned as he fell into thought. "I have... no idea. I just want to find the source of this scent as quickly as possible."
"I hear you," the black and white haired young man said, eying the die in his hand.
They stepped through the doorway and into the sunlight-rich world, looking around at what they could.
They stepped out onto a grassy hillside, bright greens prevalent no matter where they looked. There were trees of various types and sizes dotting the landscape, even some far larger than the two had ever seen before.
The bright blue sky was filled with pure white clouds, the air clean and refreshing, and the atmosphere entirely relaxing. Jin Huang felt like he could simply lay on the grass and fall asleep in an instant.
"So this is the sacred realm? It looks like a fantasy world." Shen Wuyou remarked, marveling at the sights. Stopping, he looked at the floor and tossed the dice, watching which direction it chose to move in.
As he was doing that, Jin Huang took a deep breath through his nose and instantly knew where he needed to go. Strangely, though, he saw nothing in that direction for miles but grassy terrain, hills and trees.
Pausing, he focused on his other senses, and only then did he notice someone lying flat on the grass, almost completely hidden by it if no for the white student uniform they wore.
It was Hei Shisan, lying flat with his eyes closed, arms beneath his head.
"Took you two long enough to step through," he yawned. "Something's wrong here."
As he hopped to his heet, Shen Wuyou picked up his die, frowning.
"What do you mean," Jin Huang asked, folding his arms. He also felt there was something off, but he wanted to hear what Hei Shisan had to say.
"I'm a fifth-year student. I've been at this academy almost six years, and in that time I've been in the sacred realm a total of seven times. Now this might look like it, but it can't fool me."
"This," Hei Shisan's eyes narrowed, "is not the sacred realm. It is something else. Somewhere that the teachers have never taken us before."
Shen Wuyou's eyes widened momentarily, and he looked around him again with newfound interest... and worry.
Jin Huang gulped, subconsciously reaching for the stone key pendant beneath his clothes.
Hei Shisan stepped toward him, tucking his arms back into his sleeves while ignoring the bits of grass that clung to him.
"Just where did that trinket of yours take us to? What exactly did it do the sacred realm?"
Leaning closer, his face entering within inches of Jin Huang's, he posed his final question.
"Who are you?"
Jin Huang took a breath, finding himself unable to answer Hei Shisan initial questions. "Truthfully, I don't know. I'm just a farm boy and I don't know much about anything. All I know is that something here has been pulling me in- drawing me to it ever since I came to the Academy."
Shen Wuyou stepped in, "And whatever it is, its also been calling to me. To the dice of my life. I am to find great fortune here. I know it now, and its all because I decided to gamble on you, Jin Huang."
Hei Shisan took a step back, nodding slowly as if understanding something. Suddenly, he flashed a smile and let out a singular chuckle. "It's funny."
He removed one hand from his sleeves and flicked his wrist, causing something to come out of his spatial ring and appear in his hands. Once that object appeared, a chiming noise could be heard coming from it.
Holding it up, he revealed that it was some sort of compass, and it was pointing in a specific direction. "All three of us seem to have something to find here, and I'm willing to bet its in the exact same direction."