Chương 2: Chapter 1: Wait, What?

I trudged through the Black Forest in Germany, hands deep in my pockets. My body felt heavy; my feet dragged as though wading through mud. A pounding headache pulsed behind my eyes in waves. Exhausted, my thoughts crawled like sludge. I looked up and squinted when the light made the headache worse. The hiking trail twisted left and right, but I barely noticed. Pain squeezed my chest, a constant reminder of everything I'd lost.

I rubbed the spot again, the skin raw, the sting anchoring me to the moment as my mind tried to drift. I let out a slow breath and shook my head. Snap out of it! You're here to get out of your head, not drown in it. I sighed and kept walking. It was the beginning of September, and the leaves were changing—gold and orange breaking through the green. Sunlight streamed through the leaves, turning the dust motes into drifting sparks. Birds chirped all around, their songs bouncing off the trees.

The forest was so peaceful, but that didn't ease the vise crushing my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears. Swallowing hard, I forced myself to focus on specifics to anchor in the present: the crunch of the gravel under my boots, the clean air filling my lungs, the moisture clinging to my skin, the smell of the woods—evergreens, wet soil, and moss—the birdsong, and the colors. But it didn't help. It never helped. Each step grew heavier, dragging me back into painful memories.

A breeze stirred the branches, sending leaves spiraling to the ground. My tears fell with them as I gritted my teeth. The forest was beautiful, but it couldn't pull me out of my head. In the last months, I traveled through Europe, losing myself among the crowds in the cities and going on long hikes, hoping that nature would help me escape my grief. Or at least make it more bearable. Each step sank me deeper into the earth. Leaning against a tree, I gasped for breath as the tightening in my chest worsened.

The forest was quiet except for the soft rustle of the leaves, the birds, and the hikers in the distance.

"I miss you," I whispered to the wind.

"I was so lost before I met you, and now I'm lost again." I pushed off the tree and kept walking, hoping the ache would stay behind. At 37, my life was crumbling before my eyes. I didn't belong—not in this world nor in my skin. I always stood out: too small, too strong, too fast, and looking ten years younger than my actual age. But she never flinched or cared about how people stared or whispered behind my back. She saw past all of it, saw me.

Without her, the world had lost its warmth, a place where I no longer fit. Each step and breath only deepened the sense that I was drifting through someone else's life, a stranger in my own skin, adrift and disconnected from humanity. Three tall blond guys walked past, chatting in German, and shot me startled looks. How do I look to make them look at me like that? A headshake dislodged the disconnected thought, and my mind drifted back to the hospital. It was just another building now, cold and empty.

I kicked a loose stone off the path and watched it tumble into the underbrush. I'd stayed there so she could patch things up with her father after our marriage wrecked their relationship. But now, it was four walls filled with memories I didn't want to revisit. My steps slowed as I ran a hand over my chest, raw skin stinging. I loved medicine. Loved being a doctor. Not the people—never really trusted them—but the work. Fixing someone and seeing them walk out healthier because of me. That made sense.

It made me valuable. Validated my existence and gave it meaning. I stopped to tighten the strap on my backpack and thought of money. Maybe it was more important than it should've been, but growing up in foster care did that to you. You needed something solid, something you could count on. Money is something tangible, something you can point at and say, "What I do has value; here is the proof." But even that was slipping away.

Every email I sent came back with a polite rejection, and whenever I got close, someone dropped my name like a poison pill. My father-in-law's reach was more expansive than I ever imagined. His network stretched across the country, and he used it to cut me off, to ensure I had no place in the field I'd worked so hard to be part of. Maybe I should move to Europe or Australia? I heard they need doctors. I want—NO, I need—a fresh start somewhere without the weight of the past. Suddenly, an awareness yanked at me.

It had no sight or sound to announce itself, yet it still called to me. A subtle force, like an invisible thread winding through the air, tugged me toward an unseen place beyond the edges of my perception. I froze mid-step, my breath catching as I scanned the surrounding forest. The sounds of the Black Forest filled the air—birds chirping, leaves rustling—but nothing stood out. Nothing was around, just the dense trees and distant hikers further up the trail, laughing.

Yet, the feeling was persistent, refusing to be ignored. It almost shouted at me to pay attention. I closed my eyes and shook my head, but it was like a soft hum that wouldn't fade, a connection to something at the periphery of my awareness. After standing still, debating with myself, I gave in. It was impossible to ignore it anymore. My feet moved before I consciously decided, leading me off the trail. The feeling came from my right, deep in the woods. I hesitated, glancing at the dense underbrush.

It wasn't too thick, but still challenging to navigate. Yeah, I could push through. With one last look at the trail, I stepped off it and into the trees. Twenty minutes of struggling through tangled roots, fallen trees, boulders, and low branches brought me to a patch of forest that looked like any other: tall trees, underbrush thick with ferns, and two enormous boulders on a rise. Yet, the sensation here was stronger. Pulling me, urging me to act. Almost shouting at me without sound.

This was the place, no doubt about it, but there was nothing here. The pull grew more insistent, urging me forward. Moving slowly, I ducked under a low-hanging branch and approached the larger of the two boulders. It was just a big stone stuck in the earth, rough and cold to the touch. I walked around it to investigate, and the sensation became slightly weaker, like a shout decreasing in volume. I paused, frowned, and continued around the rock. The further I walked, the weaker the feeling became, but never faded.

I walked a few steps back, and the sensation intensified again. My brow furrowed in confusion. There was something here, but what was it? Curious, I returned in front of the boulders, and the feeling returned in full force. The same thing happened when I walked around the left-hand boulder—the feeling got weaker, but returned when I retraced my steps. What the hell am I doing? I sighed and turned to leave, but the feeling got stronger, like an urgent call. It stopped me in my tracks.

I looked at the boulders again and did one last test: I walked between them. It felt like walking through an invisible barrier, an energy field that tickled my skin. The charged air prickled the hair on the back of my neck. I got goosebumps all over and froze, trying to make sense of the sensation. A scream ripped from my throat as I collapsed to my knees. The world tilted on its axis as a ball of fire detonated in my skull. My head exploded while my brain roasted alive. I couldn't draw breath. My vision swam.

Black and yellow spots danced in front of my eyes, and a loud ringing sounded in my ears. My entire body shook uncontrollably. Then it got worse. A line of fire snaked down from my head to my diaphragm. A second ball of fire exploded. This one was much worse. The pain was sharper, burning me in two places at once. I writhed on the ground, too weak to scream. Every bit of energy I had went into one desperate task: staying alive. But it didn't stop.

Another line of fire snaked lower, trailing to my abdomen before exploding in another eruption of lava. I burned alive. I changed my mind. Please let me die. That would be better. Anything would be better. But the fire only grew hotter, stronger, pushing outward like it wanted to consume every inch of me. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Lines of fire shot down my arms and legs, each one an explosion of searing agony, as if my blood itself had turned to liquid flames. The lines moved down to every finger, every toe. My eyes, nose, mouth, and ears burned. My existence turned into nothing but fire. I wasn't in pain anymore—I was pain. A living embodiment of agony. Darkness. I came to with a start, curled in the fetal position, clutching my midriff. A sharp intake of breath brought the potent smell of earth to my nose.

Anticipating the return of pain, I lay still, bracing for the fire to rush through me again. But the pain was gone. Completely. My body felt… good. Too good. No fire or pain. The aches I'd carried for years and the crushing tiredness were also gone. Slowly, I stretched, half-expecting something to hurt, but nothing happened. I felt different. Whole. Is this real? Slowly, I shifted, slid off my backpack, and rolled onto my back. Still, everything felt good. I moved my hands and legs, expecting something. Nothing.

I still felt good. It didn't make any sense. I'd quit my job to take care of my wife in her last days, and feared sleeping in case she needed me. After she was gone, insomnia and nightmares kept me awake. I tried staying in our home, but every object dragged me deeper into memories, amplifying the grief until I drowned in it. Old buried memories from my childhood floated back up, adding to the pain and nightmares. I was emotionally and physically battered and exhausted, with no way out.

Now, I felt completely rejuvenated, as if the flames erased all the past year's sleepless nights and the physical and emotional weight. I felt good, like I'd slept for days. I opened my eyes. It was night, but not dark. Above me, an enormous moon hung low in the sky. Its pale light bathed everything in a soft glow, making the world look ethereal. Wow! I looked left, and a smaller moon hung there. Wait, what? I sat up in shock, glancing left and right between the two moons.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and looked again. Still two moons. Shook my head. Still two moons. The second time I closed my eyes to erase the improbability, I noticed a red light pulsing in the corner of my vision, like a warning signal. I opened my eyes again—two moons. Closed them—blinking light. Shook my head vigorously—still two moons and a blinking light. Pinching myself didn't help either. I'm losing my mind, I thought, rubbing my face.

I opened my eyes again, and the two moons were still there, but now I noticed the red light, even with my eyes open, pulsing at the edge of my vision. I reached out, trying to touch it, but my fingers touched nothing but air. The light didn't shift or react. It stayed in place and moved with me as I moved my head, remaining in the same spot in my field of vision, as if it were attached to me. I focused on it and tried to nudge it mentally.

Words appeared before my eyes almost immediately, in glowing white on a translucent gray background, like a virtual display coming to life. Innate talent detected Gate Traveler Huh?! The text disappeared, and a new line appeared. No Class or Profession detected"What do you mean, no profession detected?" I shouted at the text box.

"I'm a doctor, dammit! I heal people!" New Class Unlocked Gate Traveler Would you like to take the Class Gate Traveler? Y/N I'm definitely losing my mind. But what the hell. Since I had nothing to lose, I mentally tapped YES. Almost instantly, immense pressure built in my head, like a balloon about to explode from too much water. Before I could react, everything went black. When I came to this time, it was light. I squinted and rubbed my eyes, closed them again, and breathed.

When I opened them for the second time, the light hurt less. Morning? I sat up slowly and looked at the sky. One sun. Good! No more shocks. I examined myself, expecting some change again, but there was none. Physically, I felt the same: no aches, pain, or exhaustion, just a strange sense of calm. My head also felt the same. The overfull balloon feeling disappeared entirely. So what happened the second time I blacked out? I closed my eyes and listened to my body. Something inside me did change.

There was a new awareness, a new feeling inside of me. As though I had connected to a part of myself that had always been there but concealed. Now, it revealed itself. It hummed softly, not with sound but with sensations. A quiet energy spread through me, filling every nook, cranny, cell, and vein, making me whole. For as long as I could remember, I had an empty feeling inside me, as if a part of me was missing. It ate me up and made me feel inferior, useless, empty, disconnected, and broken.

It made me feel untethered—like some part of me was floating in a void. I'd tried to fill it in so many ways. I studied to be a doctor to help people and fill the emptiness with benevolence. It didn't help. I read, listened to music, and even resorted to smoking pot, hoping it would ease that emptiness. But nothing ever worked. I was a hollow shell, missing an integral part of my being.

For a fleeting moment, I entertained the notion that I was missing a soul, but my being alive put that worry to rest, at least partially. I'd always assumed it was because of my past. Growing up without a father, losing my mother when I was young, bouncing around foster homes that never wanted me, and being different in a lot of small ways that, together, were a big enough difference to be noticed. But now I realized that emptiness wasn't about family or anything else. It was about this. Whatever this was.

It had been the missing piece all along. The feeling of emptiness I had carried with me all my life was gone, like it had never existed. A pleasant presence was in its place. A warm hug from the inside out that enveloped me with inner peace. I had finally found my place in the world, the anchor that connected me to the here and now. Complete for the first time. I sat there, savoring the sensation. The world around me was quieter, brighter, and more connected to me. I finally fit in. I belonged.

No more drifting through life like a leaf on a river. I was firmly rooted in the present and had a place in it. A place that no one could shake or take away. The red blinking light was there again at the corner of my eye, pulling me from my reverie.

With a mental nudge, I tapped it, and a new text scrolled across my vision: Class: Gate Traveler Level 0 Gates to the next level (1/1) Level Up +1 to all Traits, +5 Free Points, +1 Ability Point Class: Gate Traveler Level 1 Free Points: 5 Ability Points: 1 Gates to the next level: 3 I stared at the text, trying to make sense of it. My mouth hung open, and words tumbled in my head, but none made sense. Gate Traveler? I opened my mouth again, but nothing came out. What does it even mean?

My stomach growled, and my mouth was dry. I rummaged through my backpack, relieved to find everything still there: my wallet, two granola bars, a bottle of water, a book, my phone, and a jacket. No matter how many times I pressed the power button or shook the phone, it wouldn't power on. Dead as a doornail. With a sigh, I focused on something I could control, eating one of the granola bars and washing it down with water. The simple act of eating grounded me and pulled me out of the mental spiral.

As I sat there, my mind drifted back to what the text had said. Gate Traveler. It had to be connected to the stones I'd passed through. I glanced over my shoulder. Two massive boulders with flat tops stood behind me, like tree stumps made of stone. A shiver ran down my spine as the strange pull that had led me here popped back into my mind. The feeling was still present. It was fainter now, but still there, like an invisible connection to the stones. But there wasn't a pull or urgency, no shout this time.

Just a quiet sense of "it's here." Can I go back? Standing, I hesitated before reaching out to touch the nearest stone. It was cool and rough beneath my fingers. Like before, text appeared in front of my eyes: Traveler's Gate #468217258 Destination: Earth/Gaia/Terra Status: Unintegrated Mana level: 3 Technology level: Low Threat level: Moderate I dropped on my butt, staring at the text as my mind spun. A portal? To another world? No, back to Earth. My thoughts raced, jumping from one revelation to the next.

Mana level? What is that? Technology level low? Why low? Did that mean this place had a lower level of technology than Earth? Or was Earth the one with lower tech than here? Or compared to somewhere else? That thought sobered me up, but also raised my blood pressure. This was a gate to another world! I began to hyperventilate. No, no, no! Not now. I'm not going to lose it. Before I could spiral further, I sprang to my feet, grabbed my backpack, and raced through the gate back to Earth.

Whatever this place was, I wasn't ready for it. I needed time to process and think.