The Gate hung at the bottom of a shallow valley, a vertical tear of pale blue light humming in the open air.
Flattened grass and a bare mana-burned ring surrounded the anomaly, marking where the tear had scorched the ground clean.
A sagging rope line blocked the valley mouth between two posts, and a small Guild checkpoint stood beside it with a folding table.
Two guards leaned near the table, while a third guard endured the morning from a wooden crate with his chin propped on one fist.
Even the guards kept their eyes off the entrance, as though watching the tear too long might invite it to notice them back.
The waiting silence made every footstep sound deliberately loud against the valley walls.
The crate guard climbed down when he saw Hajin's group approaching, and the seated guard raised one hand before noticing the numbered badge.
That badge carried a Ranker's number, and both guards straightened like a lightning current had run down the rope line.
