Creeeeakkk. The sound was louder than I expected and inside, we saw a dim room and a piece of paper. What the heck was this, a demon summoning?! There was a bottle of ink and a feather as well with a single lamp that hung from the ceiling. This looked and felt like a police interrogation. Like those mafia movies where you cheated the casino and they brought you into the back room to cut off your fingers. The decoration was messed up too, a single seat and the parchment on the paper.

It resembled a blood altar, in an office. Iris walked in, scared, frighten, like she’s walking into the belly of the beast. I walked in too, Eos followed. Bang! The door shut. I was more afraid now, it feels like we’re really in the maw of the beast.

“E-Eos” I shuddered out in fear, “W-what’s happening Eos, What’s going on”

Eos didn’t look fazed at all. He looked calm, like we’re walking in a spark. “She’s trying to connect with something that’s unnatural.”

Iris took a seat like it was an electric chair, and then a screeching sound pierced our ears. like someone took a quill pen and wrote into the parchment with great force.

Squiggles appeared, lines and curves, dots and small dashes. A cacophony of scribbles which became letters and formed into words the longer we saw the parchment transform. A line of text, one too advanced that even I couldn’t read, to me it felt like a spell was being formed.The scribbles and lines grew like a vine spreading itself tangling its greedy vines across every single line in each letter. The markings grew and to me, it looked like it looked like someone’s piece of flesh was on the table, inscribed with a magical language with veins growing on top of each letter.

Slip, Creak. Slip. The paper began folding itself, fodling it in half, and then in half again. It kept folding and folding by itself, it was like I was watching a butterfly come out of the cacocon, it looked like I was watching the birth of life. Every crease, fold, point and inflection folded on the paper. It felt like it was a bird struggling to get out of its shell, like a flower blossoming from its little sprout, like a butterfly struggling to get free from its cocoon.

Fodling, fodling, folding, each crease gained a bit of life, each fold gave it a little more depth, each inflection gave it vigor, the little details gave it cunning and the paper began to take form. It looked like a bird was being born out of the paper. I could see it’s little plump body, the wings, the beak and the tail, and the innumerable feathers on the back. The Bird’s eyes folded and with his little pupils it looked around, the legs were being folded too and they struggled to get up like a fawn deer, standing up, falling and standing up again. The wings were large and they also had the exquisite box patterns that were seen on the rest of the bird.The beak began to form, I could see it was testing its mouth. It stood on two little legs and tested them out too, it hopped around, with tattoos marked all over it’s paper feathers. The feathers began to fold themselves as the bird was looking at us. It folded slowly this time, like it was cleaning its feathers. A wave of folding feathers turned and folded itself, coming alive.

It looked like its feathers were being ruffled by a ferocious wind, and once the wind stopped. The feathers stopped folding and all that was left was an ultra realistic robin, with red tinted feathers and letters carved into its wings. Its eyes held intelligence and cunning while its wings were sharp and deadly despite it’s small size. It could fit in the palm of your hand, rest and cuddle. It looked like a cute baby bird for its size.

“Speak” it commanded. This tone felt like the bellow of a dragon, its tone was so deep!

“Yes Grandmaster. I’ve found a potential candidate that matches your description and can be an outstanding asset to the church. I believe she’s the perfect fit.”

“Go on” the bird kept listening.

“She’s smart, intelligent, wise, young and passionate.”

The bird jumped around like it was finding a good angle to perch on. “What makes you believe that she’s better than the competition?”

“I’ve seen it myself. I haven’t seen someone more knowledgeable at her age in my life.”

The chirping bird paused, jumping around, and stared and looked at Iris, then at me. “Am I correct to assume that you’re knowledgeable enough to be sent on missions?”

“I have no idea Grandmaster” I responded humbly, “I’m not sure about the difficulty of these missions”

“How much do you know about what we’re doing?”

“All I know is that there are missions I can do which can help the Goddess with her work”

Hehe~ Grandpa Eos taught me that a powerful organization should hire people who believe in their mission rather than the money they give. If that applies here too, then this should be the correct answer.

The inflamed bird drenched with crimson tipped feathers scrutinized me, turning its head up and down, like it was trying to crack open a nut. “Are you lying to me?” Its deep voice sounded like that of a graceful gavel, that was hesitatingly struck.

“I also have another reason I’m interested in taking on the missions. I heard that I can learn more about the portals which are the gateway to worlds”

“What about the portals interest you so much?” The bird talked as it ruffled and cleaned its paper feathers.

“I want to go to different worlds!” I replied in an excited manner.

“That’s quite innocent.” The bird smirked, “Tell me, what kind of world do you want to visit?”

What's up with this guy?! He’s asking so many questions!! “I prefer not to know.” I silently smiled, “I like to think that part of the adventure is not knowing what’s ahead, and being surprised when you find it.”

“I’m afraid to break your fantasy, but not all of the worlds are as dainty as a fairytale.” The bird chirped in a deep tone, “If you want to learn about portals to explore by yourself, you’ll statistically die within the first 4 jumps.”

“Can you help me understand why?”

“Of course. The world through that dimensional hole is dangerous. Name any monster and I can probably find a record of it. There’s an entire dimension that exists which brings all your fears to life, and then magnifies it by a hundred.” The bird smirked and cawed loudly, like it was trying to fit a little sardine into his mouth. I guess it was laughing?

It stopped gagging, and then looked at me with it’s eyes. The eyelids folded creating a more intense look, “So, do you still want to study about portals?”

I nodded resolutely.

“I’ll ask you the same question you asked me” the little bird looked at me smugly, “Can you help me understand why?”

“I’m enchanted by the idea that I can travel worlds. Everytime I open a book I want to go into that world, touch the walls, taste the air, relish the scent, and live and experience that world. I’m sorry if it’s just a childish infatuation, but to me. It’s my dream.”

The bird’s eyes smiled, then looked at Iris. “If what you told me was true then you found quite an individual. Thank you Iris, you’ve done well”. He turned his head to me this time, “Follow me, alone”

I looked at Iris, she nodded her head with a pleased smile on her face. This kinda reminds me of the scheme I read in a novel, where a king appointed a maid in every orphanage and trained all of the gifted children.

The little bird got up, expanded its wings like a giant hawk and flew into the wall. As his body touched the wall, it shot up in iridescent crimson flames like if you burnt a line of gasoline. Once the fire died down, I looked at it again, and then all that remained was a large crimson floating door..

The frame was burning a scarlet flame while the interiors of the door looked like a blood stained pool. I walked up slowly to it, like I was about to enter a pool and with my finger touched it. It wasn’t smoldering hot, it was rather quite warm. I pushed forward, and the liquid rippled, but I didn’t feel wet. I kept going, a step at a time, until my head came through at last and I saw a scorching battlefield.