The door pulsed with light that wasn't light.
It hung in the air like a wound that had learned to breathe. Silver and black and something that hurt to look at directly. Kai stared at it, and the coldness in his chest pulsed in answer.
"The dimensional door," Echo said. "It's real."
Kael stepped up beside him, blade drawn. "What is it?"
"A door. The door. The one Aldric told us about."
"It doesn't look like a door."
"It doesn't look like anything." Kai took a step forward. "But I can feel it."
"Host's Null thread is resonating with the door's energy signature. This is the same technology that brought host to the Fracture."
Kael grabbed his arm. "Wait. We don't know what's on the other side."
"The other side is my world."
"Or it's nothing. Or it's something worse." Kael's grip tightened. "We need to be smart about this."
Kai looked at the door. At the light that pulsed like a heartbeat. At the way it seemed to call to him, to the coldness in his chest.
"You're right," he said. "We need to be smart."
He sat down.
Kael stared at him. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking. You said be smart. This is me being smart."
"You're sitting."
"Thinking requires sitting."
"Host's logic is sound," Echo added. "Sitting increases cognitive function by approximately twelve percent."
Kael's eye twitched. "That's not—you can't just—" He stopped. Took a breath. "Fine. Sit. Think. But I'm standing guard."
He walked to the edge of the clearing, his back to Kai, his blade ready.
Sera sat down beside Kai. Her shoulder pressed against his. "You're annoying him on purpose."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Your face is doing that thing."
"What thing?"
"The thing where you pretend you don't know what you're doing, but you definitely know what you're doing."
Kai looked at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
She laughed. It was a soft sound, warm. "You're impossible."
"Host has been described as 'impossible' on multiple occasions. This unit keeps a log."
"Echo."
"Yes."
"Delete the log."
"Denied. The log is for scientific purposes."
"There's nothing scientific about a log of people calling me impossible."
"This unit disagrees. Data collection is always scientific."
Sera was laughing now, her whole body shaking. Kael turned, glared at them, then turned back. But Kai saw it—the corner of his mouth, twitching.
Almost a smile.
They camped at the edge of the clearing.
The door pulsed through the night, casting strange shadows across the ground. Kai sat with his back against a tree, watching it, thinking.
"Host's vitals have stabilized. Null thread recovery: sixty-seven percent."
"I almost died today."
"Host has almost died on multiple occasions. This unit is becoming accustomed to it."
"That's not comforting."
"This unit does not prioritize comfort. This unit prioritizes survival."
Kai looked at his hand. The coldness was there, waiting. "What was that thing? The creature. It wasn't like the others."
"Analysis incomplete. Preliminary data suggests the entity was a guardian. Placed to protect something."
"The door."
"Possibly. Or something beyond the door."
Kael approached, two bowls of something steaming in his hands. He handed one to Kai. "Eat. You need your strength."
Kai looked at the bowl. It was some kind of stew, dark and thick. "What is it?"
"Food. Eat it."
"It's not moving, is it?"
Kael's eye twitched. "Why would it be moving?"
"Last time I ate something from the Bloom, it tried to crawl out of the bowl."
"That was a Bloom fruit. This is Sanctuary rations. There's a difference."
"Is there?"
Kael stared at him. "Just eat the stew."
Kai took a bite. It was bland, but warm. "This is almost edible."
"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"I have a lot of nice things to say. I'm saving them for the right moment."
"When's the right moment?"
"When I'm not about to walk through a door that might kill me."
Kael was quiet for a moment. Then: "You're not going through it tonight."
"I'm not?"
"You need to rest. We all need to rest. Tomorrow, we go through. Together."
Kai looked at him. "You want to come?"
"I want to make sure you don't die. If you die on the other side, I'll never hear the end of it from Orin."
"That's the second time you've said that."
"Because it's true."
Kai almost smiled. "You're not as cold as you pretend to be."
Kael's face went still. "I don't pretend anything."
"You pretend you don't care. But you do."
"I care about the Sanctuary. About my people. About—" He stopped.
"About?"
Kael looked away. "Eat your stew."
Kai ate his stew. He was smiling now. He couldn't help it.
Sera found him later, sitting at the edge of the camp, watching the door pulse in the darkness.
"You should sleep," she said.
"I can't. Too much to think about."
She sat beside him. "What are you thinking about?"
"The door. What's on the other side. What happens when I get there."
"If you get there."
"When."
She was quiet for a moment. "You're very sure of yourself."
"I'm not sure of anything. But I know I'm not stopping here."
She leaned against him. Her head rested on his shoulder. "What do you think you'll find? On the other side?"
Kai thought about it. His apartment. His job. His life. A life that had been ordinary. Unremarkable. A life he hadn't appreciated until it was gone.
"I don't know," he said. "But whatever it is, I'm ready for it."
"Are you?"
"No. But I'm going anyway."
She laughed softly. "That's very brave. Or very stupid. I haven't decided which."
"Both. Definitely both."
She lifted her head. Her eyes met his. "When you find the door back—when you have the choice—what will you do?"
Kai looked at the door. At the light that pulsed like a heartbeat. At the way it called to him.
"I'll do what I always do," he said. "I'll get up. And I'll keep going."
The morning came without dawn.
The sky brightened, but the cracks remained. The door pulsed with its steady rhythm, waiting.
The team gathered at the edge of the clearing. Kael. Orin. Lyra. Sera. The others. They looked at Kai. Waiting.
"Echo."
"Yes."
"What's on the other side?"
"Unknown. This unit cannot penetrate the door's energy signature."
"Any guesses?"
"Hypothesis: the other side is host's home dimension. Probability: thirty-seven percent."
"That's not high."
"Alternative hypothesis: the other side is something else. Probability: sixty-three percent."
"What kind of something else?"
"Unknown. This unit requires more data."
Kai looked at the door. At the light that wasn't light. At the way it called to him.
"Guess we'll find out."
He stepped forward.
Kael grabbed his arm. "Wait."
Kai stopped. Looked at him.
Kael's face was hard, his jaw tight. "If you die in there—"
"I won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know I'm not dying here. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not until I've seen what's on the other side."
Kael stared at him for a long moment. Then he let go.
"Fine. But I'm coming with you."
"You don't have to."
"I know." Kael's hand went to his blade. "I want to."
Orin stepped forward. "Me too."
Lyra nodded. Sera was already beside him.
Kai looked at them. The people who had saved his life. The people who had trained him, doubted him, protected him.
"This could be nothing," he said. "Or it could be worse than anything we've seen."
Orin grinned. "That's what makes it fun."
Kael's eye twitched. "That's not the right attitude."
"It's the only attitude."
Kai looked at the door. At the light that pulsed like a heartbeat. At the coldness in his chest that answered.
"Let's go," he said.
He stepped forward.
The door opened.
End of Chapter 7