The three gateways stood quietly in the distance.
Each one glowing with a different light.
Nobody spoke.
For several moments, everyone simply stared.
Feroz felt something strange inside his chest.
Not fear.
Recognition.
As if part of him already knew these roads.
Haya noticed his expression.
"You feel it too?"
Feroz nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Salman looked uneasy.
"That's normal."
Rehan immediately disagreed.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
Rehan kept his eyes on the gateways.
"It's not normal."
The atmosphere became tense again.
Feroz sighed.
"Can anyone explain something without making it sound mysterious?"
To his surprise, Rehan smiled.
"Fair enough."
Then he pointed toward the three roads.
"Each path gives something."
That was simple enough.
Feroz waited.
"The first path teaches."
"The second path changes."
"The third path takes."
Now that sounded dangerous.
Haya folded her arms.
"Which one makes him stronger?"
Rehan shook his head.
"All of them."
Nobody liked that answer.
Especially Feroz.
The old man laughed quietly.
"That's why the choice matters."
The group slowly began walking closer.
The gateways grew larger with every step.
Ancient stone structures.
Covered in faded symbols.
Older than anything Feroz had ever seen.
Even older than the Circle.
Vaheen continued staring at them.
Silent.
Motionless.
Watching.
For the first time, Feroz noticed something unusual.
Vaheen wasn't looking at all three paths.
Only one.
The middle gateway.
Feroz immediately looked away.
He wasn't going to let that influence him.
Not after everything that had happened.
Meanwhile—
far away from the threshold—
deep beneath the earth—
the Free Masons Council gathered once again.
The circular chamber was silent.
The Archivist stood before the others.
Ancient records lay open across a stone table.
"The separation has stabilized."
Several council members exchanged uneasy looks.
One finally spoke.
"Can he still be guided?"
The Archivist remained silent for a moment.
Then:
"Less than before."
That answer clearly worried them.
Another member leaned forward.
"And Vaheen?"
The room became even quieter.
The Archivist slowly closed one of the books.
"We have lost visibility."
Nobody liked hearing that.
For decades they had studied the process.
Prepared for it.
Predicted it.
Now—
for the first time—
they could no longer see what was happening.
Back at the crossroads—
Haroon sat beside Younus near the ancient markings.
The map hidden within Qadir's symbol was becoming clearer.
Slowly.
Piece by piece.
Haroon looked exhausted.
Days had passed without answers.
Without Feroz.
Without progress.
Then suddenly—
Ibn Younus froze.
Younus noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
The old scholar pointed toward a section of the map.
His hands were trembling slightly.
"There."
Haroon moved closer.
"What?"
Ibn Younus swallowed.
Then quietly said:
"This isn't a way into the threshold."
Silence.
Haroon frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ibn Younus looked up.
His eyes filled with realization.
"It's a way out."
Back at the crossroads—
the group finally reached the gateways.
Now standing directly before them.
Each gateway looked different.
The left gateway carried faded blue symbols.
The middle gateway carried silver markings.
The right gateway looked damaged.
Broken.
Ancient cracks ran through its stone surface.
Rehan studied them carefully.
Then pointed toward the left gateway.
"Learning."
The middle.
"Change."
Then the right.
"Loss."
Simple.
Direct.
Easy to understand.
Feroz looked at each one.
Trying to decide.
Then something unexpected happened.
The knife Haroon had given him suddenly became warm.
Not hot.
Warm.
Like it was reacting to something nearby.
Feroz immediately pulled it out.
Everyone noticed.
The blade was glowing faintly.
A soft golden light.
The same kind of light he had seen around Younus.
Haya stepped closer.
"Why is it doing that?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Then—
for the first time since arriving—
Vaheen moved.
The figure slowly raised its hand.
Not toward Feroz.
Not toward the group.
Toward one of the gateways.
The middle gateway.
The path of change.
Rehan's expression immediately hardened.
"Interesting."
Feroz looked at him.
"What?"
Rehan didn't take his eyes off Vaheen.
Then quietly said:
"For the first time..."
A pause.
"...he wants something."
And suddenly—
the choice became much more important than Feroz had realized.