Chapter 132: Going Home (2)
Everyone in the group stood there staring blankly at the old vendor, their faces reflecting a mixture of shock and disbelief. Nobody knew what to say in response to such devastating news. The weight of the revelation hung heavy in the air around them like a suffocating fog.
’The gates aren’t closing? What does this even mean?’ Arthur’s mind raced with terrifying possibilities. ’If we’re not able to stop this catastrophe from happening in just one district, what happens when more gates start popping up in other locations across the realm?’
The grim reality of the situation was sinking in for all of them. They were all thinking the same dark, troubling thoughts, their minds conjuring worst-case scenarios that seemed increasingly plausible. The silence stretched uncomfortably until finally Lara found her voice and spoke up.
"That’s not possible," she said, her voice carrying a note of desperate denial. "They’re not closing? How can that possibly be? Gates have always closed on their own after a certain period of time."
The old man sighed heavily, "I don’t know the specifics, and don’t ask me to explain the mechanics of it. I’m just telling you what I know."
Lara thought for several more moments, her brow furrowed in concentration as she processed the information. Suddenly, her face contorted into an expression of dawning realization and growing horror.
"Wait a minute," she said slowly, her voice taking on an edge of urgency. "Did you just say that the gates opened up just over three months ago?"
The old man gave her an odd, questioning look, clearly not understanding why this particular detail seemed so important to her. "...Yeah? That’s what I said. Why?"
Lara’s eyes opened wide with shock and alarm as she took several staggering steps backward, her face pale with the implications of what she was beginning to understand. "T-that’s not possible at all," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "We came into the Second Realm just under two months ago, and I don’t remember hearing anything about this crisis when we left Earth. There was no mention of category 4 gates or any kind of emergency situation."