Page 1 — The Map That Shouldn't Exist
Arin never believed the old stories about floating kingdoms and doors in the sky. In the crowded market of his dusty town, stories were just another thing people traded for coins. But everything changed the day a silver-eyed fox stole his bread.
"Hey! Come back!" Arin shouted, running through the narrow alleys.
The fox slipped through a broken wall into an abandoned watchtower. Inside, sunlight fell through the cracked roof, illuminating something hidden beneath the stones — a glowing parchment.
The fox sat beside it calmly, as if waiting.
Arin picked up the parchment. Lines of blue fire spread across it, forming a map. At the center was a symbol: a circle split by a winged gate.
Words slowly appeared:
THE LAST SKYGATE WILL OPEN WHEN THE BEARER ARRIVES.
Arin's heart pounded. The tower trembled. Outside, a deep horn echoed across the land — not from the town… but from the mountains far beyond.
The fox looked at him again, then ran to the door and stopped, waiting.
"You want me to follow you?" Arin whispered.
For the first time in his life, with nothing but a strange map and a thief fox as a guide, Arin stepped beyond the only home he had ever known.
Page 2 — The Forest of Breathing Shadows
By sunset, Arin reached the edge of the Blackroot Forest. Travelers said the trees there listened… and sometimes answered.
The fox darted ahead between twisted trunks. The deeper Arin went, the quieter the world became. Even the wind sounded like whispers.
Then the shadows moved.
A tall figure formed from smoke and leaves, eyes glowing green.
"Who walks beneath the breathing forest?" it asked.
"A-Arin," he stammered. "I'm following the map… to the Skygate."
The spirit studied him.
"Many seek the Skygate. Most seek power. What do you seek?"
Arin hesitated. He had no grand answer.
"…I don't know. Maybe… a reason to matter."
The forest grew still.
The spirit touched the ground. Roots rose and shaped themselves into a wooden staff, smooth and warm.
"Then carry this, Seeker Without a Crown. The path ahead tests not strength… but choice."
As Arin accepted the staff, the fox barked once and ran forward again. The trees slowly parted, revealing a hidden trail lit by tiny floating lights.
For the first time, Arin felt it — adventure wasn't a story anymore.
It was real.
And it had chosen him.
Page 3 — The City Above the Clouds
After days of travel, cliffs rose before him, impossibly high. Waterfalls poured into endless mist. At the top… ruins floated in the sky, held aloft by shattered bridges of light.
"The Skygate…" Arin breathed.
A stone stairway spiraled upward along the cliff. Halfway up, a voice called out:
"Stop right there!"
A girl in bronze armor dropped from above, landing lightly. She held a curved blade glowing faintly.
"I'm Lyra," she said. "Guardian of the Upper Ruins. And unless that map says otherwise, nobody climbs further."
Arin showed her the parchment. The winged symbol burned brighter.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"That map… we thought it was lost centuries ago."
Before Arin could answer, the sky darkened. A massive shadow passed overhead — a black airship shaped like a blade.
Lyra's face hardened.
"They found it first. The Iron Dominion."
Ropes fell from the ship as armored soldiers descended.
Lyra drew her blade.
"Well, Map-Bearer," she smirked, "looks like your adventure just became a war."
Arin gripped his wooden staff, hands shaking.
For once… he didn't run.
Page 4 — The Gate That Judges Hearts
They fought their way through the floating ruins — Lyra swift as lightning, Arin clumsy but determined. When his staff struck the stone floor, roots burst out to block arrows, just as the forest spirit had promised.
At last they reached it.
A vast circular door floated in midair, wings carved across its surface. The Skygate.
But the Dominion commander stood before it already — a tall man in dark steel.
"Hand me the map," he demanded. "With the Skygate, I will command the skies, the storms… the world itself."
Arin looked at the glowing parchment… then at the frightened towns far below the cliffs.
"I can't," he said quietly.
The commander laughed and lunged.
In desperation, Arin pressed the map against the gate.
Light exploded outward.
A voice echoed from everywhere:
POWER IS GIVEN ONLY TO THE ONE WHO WOULD REFUSE IT.
The gate opened.
Not to treasure… but to a blinding storm of stars.
The commander was thrown back, his armor cracking like glass. The soldiers fled.
Lyra stared in awe.
"What… did you do?"
Arin stepped forward, heart steady now.
"I didn't come for power," he said.
"I came because I thought I was nobody."
The storm softened, forming a small crystal of light that floated into his hands.
THE SKY DOES NOT NEED A RULER, the voice said.
IT NEEDS A KEEPER.
Page 5 — The Keeper of Open Skies
Months later, the floating ruins were no longer silent.
Travelers came from distant lands, guided safely through the skies by shining beacons. Airships no longer came for war, but for trade and exploration.
At the highest tower stood Arin and Lyra, watching the sunrise above the clouds.
The silver-eyed fox curled beside them, tail flicking.
"So," Lyra smiled, "Keeper of the Skygate… do you miss your old town?"
Arin thought for a moment.
"Sometimes," he admitted. "But if that fox hadn't stolen my bread…"
The fox opened one eye, unapologetic.
"…I'd still be there, waiting for life to begin."
He looked out across the endless sky, where new islands slowly drifted into view — lands not yet explored.
Adventure wasn't over.
In truth… it had only just opened its first gate.
And somewhere far beyond the horizon, another map was already beginning to glow.
THE END… OR PERHAPS THE BEGINNING.
T