“We have to enter the palace.” I decided.

The strange illusion I had experienced before had tried to make me enter the palace, which made me not want to enter the palace. However, there was nowhere else to go. We had already come this way, and I wasn’t leaving without Terra and Garnet. They were the reason I was here. If someone was trying to lure me in, they had chosen the perfect bait. Hopefully, knowing it was bait would mean I could avoid the hook.

Unfortunately, we’d have to move forward blindly. My Map didn’t seem to penetrate a single spec beyond those doors to give me an idea of what was to come. Glancing around the city one more time, I took a step past Sapphire toward the door. Sapphire made a noise of protest, reaching out and grabbing my arm. I turned to her, and she shook her head, a look of fear and worry on her face.

“Is this the direction of Terra and Garnet?” I asked.

Her eyes broke away, and then she gave a weak nod.

“Then, this is the way I’m going.” I declared, looking at the door and frowning. “As soon as I figure out how to open it.

Looking at the large double doors, I realized there was no doorknob or handle. I couldn’t see a clear way to get the door to open. I might have spoken too soon. With Alysia, I might have been able to cut the doors down, but without her in the blade, I wasn’t confident it wouldn’t just break in my hand. It did feel weaker. I was still holding onto it, but it didn’t give me the comfort it once had.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

As I was examining the door and trying to figure out what to do, Sapphire walked up to it. She reached out and touched several gems. Each one she touched suddenly started to glow. After pressing ten stones in a specific order, there was a grinding sound, and then the door opened in much the way it had in my previous vision. This time, though, there did appear to be some kind of light coming from inside. I didn’t know if seeing the light in a place where there shouldn’t have been light made it better or worse.

When Sapphire was done, she nodded and took several steps back. She reached out and grabbed my arm, holding onto me innocently once again. I looked at the crack that had opened. I wondered if that was as far as the doors opened. Maybe, different combinations would cause the door to open certain amounts. I knew I was just procrastinating though, so I grabbed Sapphire’s hand, making sure that she didn’t suddenly disappear again, and then I moved forward toward the door.

As soon as we entered, I could see the light was coming from a single orb that was sitting on the ground. It didn’t look to be particularly old. I walked toward the orb, leaning down to pick it up. As I picked it up, I realized that it wasn’t a light orb, but another imager! At that moment, groaning came from behind me and the palace door slammed shut.