The First Key

The forced courage, the intensity of the past few days, and the string of high-stake moments eventually had a toll on the boy. Roa broke down, emotionally collapsing all at once.

"I can't do this anymore, man. Tanoò's gone, Theya's dead. We lost a ton of Jumpers and locals. People whose names I never even learned. I can't keep going, lost and alone—alone and lost. I got no past, probably no future, fighting some endless stream of enemies with all the might of Existence behind them. I don't even know what's true anymore. It's too much. I just—can't..."

His friend yanked him up, and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm tired too—but tomorrow's another day. You'll feel better. We'll figure it all out, don't worry." He pointed at the others scattered nearby, wounded, unconscious, limping and battered. "You're not alone. You need to stop thinking that just because you're not in your old life anymore. You wanted to leave it anyway, didn't you?" Rosso's eyes pierced the Sunflower's, as he opened his arms wide. "You told me something once that stuck with me. You said to trust in the process of life. Now it's my turn to remind you of this. Let things unfold. See what happens next—and like you said, when eventually you will get over it—you will be stronger, once more."

He patted him again and the two lay down, exhausted.

"Things become easier when you stop forcing life to be something it's not," Rosso repeated Theya's words.

"Acceptance is key. Go with the flow," Roa said, finishing the quote from their fallen comrade.

Laying there, they spotted faint glows coming out of the walls of the Palace. As they moved closer, they noticed them forming into shapes. Deer, lizards, fish, birds, all sorts of animals and floating seeds.

"Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah, these must be Kami, spirits of Nature returning, now that the Gate has fallen." Roa finally smiled, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes.

They made their way back towards the throne chamber, where the locked door of the chokepoint stood, untouched for more than three-hundred years.

"I don't know what Tanoò gave me, but it worked. My wound closed, although my body still feels damaged," Roa explained, touching smooth skin where his wound once gaped.

"You've been taking a beating for days, man. Cut it some slack," said Rosso.

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The locals surrounded them, celebrating the heroes and their victory over the fallen rulers. Someone tugged on Roa's shirt. It was a little girl who asked why he had helped them. The Sunflower smiled and picked her up.

"Wouldn't you have helped me?" he asked. The child nodded, smiling. "If we work together, things will be easier for all of us. That way, we will all be happier, right?" he said as she nodded again. He looked at the others and said, "I've suffered too. I know how it feels. I don't want anyone to suffer, especially if they don't have to."

"You're a noble soul, Sunflower," said a woman.

"I'm one of many. We all have it in us. We just have to wake it up, bring it out. If we all just stand by as the world burns, there will be nothing left for anyone. Then, the only thing we will do together—is suffer."

"You're the first one who has done something about it 'round these parts," said someone else.

"I won't be the last. You will carry this torch, long after I am gone."

"You are our savior," shouted a young man.

"No," the boy said with a stern, angry tone. "No—do not make me into some savior. Saviors exist in fairytales. Humanity must save itself—not sit around, waiting for saviors to fall from the sky. You saved yourselves. We did our part."

"But we couldn't have done it without you."

"And we couldn't have won without all of you." He looked around, glancing intensely from one set of eyes to the next. "We move as One. We fight as One—and most of all, when we win, and win we shall—WE CELEBRATE, together, AS ONE!"

The people cheered, lifting him up onto their shoulders as they reached the giant door.

"What do you think is behind it?" asked Fulvix with a worried look. "What if it's another monster?" He bit his fingernails. "I really don't want to run from another monster."

"We are about to find out..." said Roa, pulling out the golden key from his pocket.

He turned around.

"They said it was impossible—and yet," he raised the key into the air, "here we are," Roa said confidently with a smile.

Many of the locals freed themselves that day, not only from the chains their immoral rulers had placed upon them, but from the limitations of perspective, and anything else that keeps people from seeing Humanity and Nature as One, indivisible, sacred whole. Others, meanwhile, still went back to their old ways, chucking the whole thing over to luck, falling trap to the invisible chains the Old Order had long ago placed within their minds, and within their hearts. To Roa and the other true believers of the righteous cause, every single new, awakened person, was a win. A new seed planted towards a liberated Humanity, and the restoration of the sacred equilibrium of Nature.

With a steady hand, the Sunflower slid the golden key into the lock. Its metal surface gleamed faintly, catching the dim light in the chamber. As he began to turn it, a deep, resonant clank rippled through the room, shaking the very air. Dust rained down from the ancient grooves above, the sound rolling like faint thunder in the walls. He turned it again—another heavy clank, louder than the last, sent vibrations through their boots.

The final twist came with a resounding boom, so powerful it seemed to shake the very ground beneath their feet. The group exchanged tense glances, their breaths shallow, as ancient mechanisms released. The massive doors before them trembled, then began to shift inward. The air filled with the scent of rust and oil, mingled with new, foreign smells. Together, their hands reached up, pulling the two giant doors apart. When the opening widened, light spilled in—blinding everyone. The silence that followed was heavy—reverent. No one moved for what felt like forever, until someone finally spoke.

"Who are you?"

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