Crossing through the portal was like entering any door. His sight was blinded, but he felt nothing else. Not a breeze, no change in temperature, not even a feeling of familiarity, the same one he sensed as soon as it opened. However, fear began to spread inside him as he did not know where his friends were. Why had that happened when they went through it simultaneously? However, he did not feel lonely, not even a void where he perceived their bond. It continued subtly, reminding him that their friendship would not be affected even in such an environment. Ariel did not, nor would it happen with that strange test.

Turning and looking around allowed him to appreciate, in fact, the change of scenery he had had. What he could remember of the Silver Orchid was nothing compared to that place, especially since it gave him the feeling that it was at a considerable altitude. It was a set of temples built on top of some mountains, connected by bridges, as far as he could see from the observatory where he was, although he supposed there would be other roads.

Far from being in ruins, it looked in perfect condition, or at least as far as he could see. He could even feel the clouds closer than ever, and so far, he had only had one such experience, even though it was already dark and he could find no other details to catch his attention. A gust of cold wind managed to make him shiver, so he rubbed his arms and buttoned his jacket.

“Is this where I’m supposed to be?” Finnian said, aware that there would be no one to hear him or answer him.

Because that temple was impressive and beautiful, he didn’t know who decided to build it in such a place, far from anyone’s sight. Or maybe that was the purpose of a lot of effort. Everything there exuded calmness it even made him nervous. Then, right in front of Finnian, something appeared. Human in appearance, its features could not be accurately described because it resembled a ghost. Ephemeral, transparent, but at the same time, it was there, leaving him a trail. Thus, after following it, he found himself in one of the upper areas, exposed to the elements, but where he could also enjoy the landscape. Although it seemed to him to be made of stone at first, the floor had a well-kept finish. He even found benches of the same material there, and on one of them, a figure was waiting for him.

“To reach your destiny, you need to open all the doors.”

It was an older woman with abundant grey hair tamed by a rainbow tiara. Her round glasses hid brown eyes, calm and serene, just like the smile she gave him. And her clothes were simple, with a white blouse and khaki pants, but accompanied by rainbow sneakers that she swung from her seat, as she barely grazed the floor sitting down. He knew her or instead thought he did. It was his grandmother, or what she looked like before he came to Elthea.

“You’re not my grandmother,” Finnian whispered, unable to add anything more because of the lump in his throat.

“You’re right.”

Even her voice was identical, which stunned him too much to hide it. Her mere presence was physical, just like his, but at the same time, he was picking up slingshots that warned him that his eyes were not seeing the absolute truth. An illusion? Maybe something else?

“Why do you look like her?” Finnian added.

“You needed a friendly face for what you have to face. Someone you knew and someone you didn’t have trouble listening to.”

Because he used to listen to his grandmother, even if it was always a voice encouraging him to try different things and learn from his mistakes. Nevertheless, that older woman was other, she gave off magical energy that he sensed, but that intimidated him on the inside, though not enough to bite his tongue.

“Is this a joke? Where are my friends?” Finnian exclaimed, his tone still trembling, but he didn’t know if it was out of fear or fury.

Then she looked at him. Not sternly, but because she didn’t seem to understand the reason for his reaction. Her appearance changed in the blink of an eye, showing that of someone younger, with dark brown hair and eyes of the same colour. His mother, on this occasion, just as he saw her at breakfast, before leaving.

“Better?”

“Stop it,” Finnian asked.

The change came once again, appearing as his father. He was tall, with a mixture of sternness even when he was young, though he possessed the same smile as when he was relaxed and in good spirits.

“I can see in your heart that you have a complicated relationship,” she continued now, speaking even as he did. “Maybe that’s who you need to listen to.”

“Don’t go on with this,” Finnian asked.

He transformed again, now looking like his grandfather. With more hair than most his age, though so white it could pass for snow. His eyes were a mixture of brown and green, with lots of wrinkles from smiling too much. How many hugs had he received from him so that stranger was using his appearance?

“I said that’s enough!”

Finnian screamed eagerly, finally getting that torture to stop. The wind around him reacted to his words, taking shape to cut off that conversation all at once. Perhaps his strength was not enough to stop her from playing with him, although he was not a helpless boy because he was alone. He did not know who was in front of him, whether she was part of his test or not. However, she spoke and behaved almost like any other human, even if she lacked something fundamental: empathy, tact. No one would shape-shift to want to be listened to, at least not if they had forgotten what it was to be human.

“Show me what you look like, not anyone else,” Finnian said. “Don’t you dare use the faces of the people I love, whether they are from my world or this one! I’m here to claim my destiny but not to play twisted games.”

“I can’t. I lost my appearance so long ago that I barely remember it.”

How could such a thing happen? What was it that stood before me? Human? Spirit? Not even his magic determined that, so unless he spoke, he would not find the answers he needed. She wasn’t elthean, though; at least that much was clear to him.

“The first is fine,” Finnian said, serious but convinced he could handle it. “Where are my friends?”

“They are safe, closer than you think,” his grandmother promised him. “When you finish what you’ve come here to do, you’ll see each other again.”

“Should I take your word for it?” Finnian said.

“What does instinct tell you?”

As much as he distrusted her, they were both there for the same reason he had already named them. Finnian nodded, trying to relax despite not knowing where he was, a gesture that was answered with a smile—being careful as part of him, though there were forces in all worlds beyond his control. That was life, and even when magic affected it, it was not far removed from what he knew.

“You’ve come all this way looking for what belongs to you. Something you ignore and need to find out. But first, you must prove yourself worthy.”

Five primordial energies move creation. They exist constantly and are part of everything. Air, water, earth, fire and stars. These flow in harmony until something blocks them.

“But if we remove what’s keeping this from working as usual....”

“Without Calamity, everything would go back to the way it was,” Finnian muttered.

“Exactly,” his grandmother’s duplicate smiled. “But that’s not all you’re up against, not anymore. Something more evil has come to Elthea. You wouldn’t even be here if it were business as usual. You’re not a Signer like the others.”

“The key would only open the way for me?”

It was the most logical answer. As much as it was what allowed him to open the portal or react appropriately to it, it wouldn’t all have been so simple to possess it and reach the Silver Orchid. His life would always be complicated, no matter what he did or what he sought, and this would be no different.

“But you and no one else. Do you understand why?” she said, to which Finnian shook his head. “You will. If you can open the seven gates, you will get more than you want.”

“Why are you so mysterious? Is it so hard for you to come clean?” Finnian mumbled.

“Because there are details you must discover on your own.”

His grandmother’s sighed without the same smile he saw before, still staring back at him. She had to be powerful to succeed in creating such a sanctuary. He was still in Elthea; he must still be there, even if that place was even less accessible than any other he had known.

“Once you start the process, you won’t be able to stop until they’re all in or fail. Ready?”

Did he have a choice? At first, he thought he would pass the test with his friends, that they would have to face a protective elthean or something. Too often, Finnian had read how the hero takes on a tough one to get what he needs, but nothing like this. Not with someone so familiar and not about a game that he at least lacked pieces to fit together.

But he was there in the face of the impossible. If he had come this far, he wouldn’t turn around.

“Okay. Let’s get started,” Finnian said, nodding firmly and taking a deep breath.

He might not have his buddies, and he was worried about where they would have ended up. But he wouldn’t waste time, not now that he had come this far.