As soon as the blinding light had faded, he could once again see his surroundings. The weight upon his shoulders had faded, and he felt much better for reasons he wasn’t quite sure of. In a brightly lit room with wooden walls and flooring he appeared, and in front of him was now sitting a woman who he was sure was only slightly older than Ember was. Despite her youth, her entire stance radiated authority.

Apart from being a young woman, she was also utterly beautiful. She wore a flowing dress that had different shades of blue radiating from its rim at her left side. The cut looked formal, but it was also adorned with various pieces of white jewelry. Her nails and earrings were similarly colored and that along with her white hair and elegant figure struck awe into John. It seemed to him as if the outfit was designed to elicit such a response. Though he wasn’t sure how they worked together, much less radiated a sense of royalty. 

The room itself was quite large, round, and was decorated in what he figured were Victorian era furnishings. At the head of a round table of sorts sat the woman he first noticed, and around which many other men and women sat. Despite the room’s bright lighting, the only source of it John could see was the fireplace behind the table. Which crackled and popped, providing a pleasing sound and scent along with its warm light. Otherwise, the room was silent, which John needed to break. Confused, the young man preempted any other reaction to his arrival.

“Where am I?” he asked, with more curiosity in his tone than anger or bewilderment. Whispering soon began among the many people at the table. The woman, seemingly holding sway over the rest, soon made them quiet down simply by speaking.

“The Council of Exploration’s headquarters. We have heard much about you, John Miller, and we have seen much more. I’m sure we’ll be able to answer any question you ask. As you have earned your place among us and no more objections can be made,” she said, her tone drifting from authoritative to annoyed and her gaze snapping onto the visage of a few of the men and women sitting at the table, “but for now, sit down,” so he did, almost falling into the chair that he now noticed was set behind him.

“The ceremony will begin as soon as the preparations are over,” the woman began anew, before swiftly being interrupted by a bulbous man that proceeded to stand up.

“No objections, you say?” he said, his voice filled with spite, “I refuse to accept this child that didn’t even pass the first part of the test into the ranks. No matter what sort of attitude you have towards his potential, Lady Ingrid. He is unworthy. We should let him crawl back to whatever hole he came from,” he continued, his tone dipping even further into utter contempt for the woman John now knew was named Ingrid.

“Is it not you that requested I conduct the first part of the test personally? I see his potential, that is all that is required. Or, perhaps, do you claim to know better than me as to the young man having any chance of surviving out there?” she retorted in an almost dominating tone, “now, I’d request you all stay sitting until then. In the meanwhile, Mister Miller, please come with me,” she continued, walking out of the room swiftly and confidently. John soon followed her through the door that was placed behind him. As he went to exit the room, however, he noticed the whispering around the table increase once more.

The room he left through was a hallway that was once again decorated with Victorian furnishings. Strangely for the period, it was filled with blue and purple colors, not the gold, white, and red that were more common. As hallways go, it was fairly long and had many rooms branching off of it, but the most important one to John then was the one they soon entered.

It was a large office that mainly contained a sizable wooden desk, which was overflowing with different carvings of various fantastic creatures and scenarios, and three chairs. All with the same wooden carved style, two of which were placed on the outside of the desk, and one on the inside. Apart from being on the opposite side of the table from the two other chairs, the chair behind the desk had very intricate carvings. Depicting distinct battles and events instead of general pictures, and each containing different initials, though the most recent one looked to be “I.B”. As John assumed those were the initials of the owners of the chair, he thought to use Observe, and so he did. Somewhat surprisingly, a popup immediately told him of the spell’s failure.

“Don’t attempt that sort of cheap trickery with me, Mister Miller. I’m not a grunt or someone caught by surprise. Regardless, I will give you the answers you seek, as it is in both our best interests,” she said, not as sternly as she spoke before, but still enough for John to feel like he had acted improperly. Ingrid began waiting in silence, though he wasn’t sure what for, “I assume you have no questions then?” she said, breaking the silence and allowing the Gamer to realize what she had been waiting for.

“No... I’m just not used to all this yet,” he responded, unsure of what he should ask. It wasn’t long before he spoke again, starting with the most important of his questions, “where’s Ember?” he asked, his tone as calm as he could manage it.

“She’s safe. You did quite a job at rescuing her, really. It was the only reason you passed. Though I'm glad for it,” her tone conveyed far more disappointment than John would have hoped.

“That’s good… Wait, passed what? You still haven’t told me what the hell that means.” 

“Since Ember came back with the reports of your appearance, I was eager to recruit you. A young late bloomer who could both scry and enter the mind of one of our best spies is not a person to be taken lightly. And I, regardless of those old fools...” she paused for a moment and looked in the direction of the room they had come from “believed in your potential. To prove to them that you did indeed have a chance here, I decided to test you. It was a much better fate than leaving you to the horrors of the Abyss, or so I believe. And I’m sure you’ll come to believe as well. That is what you experienced these last few days.”

“Last few days? So you were manipulating my actions in the real world as well?” John asked, drifting between annoyance and anger.

“Ah, so you still haven’t noticed. Well, no matter,” she paused for a moment, thinking, “it’s been four days since you walked through that portal and entered our world. The first Plane of the place you have come to know as the Gateway. We had to let you heal for a day after the wounds you suffered in Graham’s mindscape, and you were unconscious during that time. Regardless, you passed in the end, that is what matters,” her voice had become so steady John found it almost relaxing.

“Four days?! What about my parents? My school? Alice?!” John said, standing up in anger. He was worried about what would happen with them already, and now he had gone missing for that long. The consequences would be severe, he was sure. 

“Don’t be concerned, they are all safe. Your parents and the school have been notified and await your return. I understand you care for your old world, but it is of less importance now. You are part of the Abyss, regardless of your opinion on that fact,” Ingrid responded, her voice remained calm, but a tinge of something else entered it.

“They are still my family!” John shouted, even more worried. 

“And you will remain in their life, but your priority should lie elsewhere now. I know your mind, John Miller. We both know this opportunity is one you have always been looking for,” she paused for a moment, letting what she said sink in.

“You have a choice in the matter, of course. But that choice is far more limited than I would like to give you. Alone, you will not survive in the Abyss, as you are now at least. Because of that, you must understand your predicament. For now, you will remain here under my tutelage, until such time as you are ready to go out and explore the dangerous planes of the Gateway. That is to be your role here, it is the one you are most qualified to fill. And it is the one that will allow us to help you grow as best we can. Most important, it is one that will allow you to improve and develop without fear for your own life or your family from the rest of the Abyss,” she explained, looking John directly in the eyes with an almost warm expression on her face.

He noticed something glinting in the corner of her eyes, which he now saw were the same brilliant blue as her dress. Looking at her now, he took in her form. Her looks did not match her fervor, of that he was sure. The flowing white hair that framed her face told him nothing of where it came from. Neither did the rest of her, showing him only the noble young woman she was in body. But her eyes, her eyes told a different story. One as long and as dark as would make a young woman into a leader. He realized what lay beyond them, and said, simply.

“And what happens then? Is the rest of my life going to be wasted following your orders?” he asked, his voice containing both anger and curiosity.

“I don’t think anyone can truly say. As much as it would help you if I guaranteed you anything, I don’t have that ability. It all depends on what your potential truly is.”

“So you can promise nothing. You expect me to abandon everything, for nothing.”

“For now, perhaps not forever.”

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“That maybe, one day, I will be able to promise you something more than what I have. You’ll be able to promise yourself something. Sadly, that’s all that can be done for now, until you prove yourself.”

So many thoughts passed through John’s head in an instant. He wondered if it might be better to say no, to tell Ingrid off and go back to his previous life, but he knew it would only be a lie he told himself. There was one thing he wanted more than anything, he wanted a sense of purpose, and exploring the Abyss was a fantasy that he still couldn’t believe came true. Despite not knowing what other dangers he might find himself in. More than that, Ingrid promised to protect his family and Alice, which meant that otherwise they might be in danger too. All of that stood against his decision, and knowing that he would be taught more about the Abyss and his powers made his choice clear.

“Then promise me that one day I will get a chance. To choose for myself, to make my own way in this twisted world...” he responded, somberly. 

“That I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help you get there. I will help you in any way I can to reach a level of strength where our support and protection are no longer needed for you to manage on your own in the Abyss. But I’m sure, when you have that choice, you will choose to remain here.”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m not going to think about that sort of thing,” John said, almost angry.

“Now, there are details to be discussed,” she moved on almost immediately, ”the ceremony I spoke of will require much of you, I’m sure. Sadly, I can’t tell you much. I wish I could, but it is a highly kept secret that I hoped we could avoid. My hand has simply been forced by the situation. It is another test of sorts. You will be given much more help than what you have before, however. And I'm sure with that assistance you'll be able to succeed. Thus, I hope to see you back here in a few days,” her voice had returned to its calm nature. 

“When?”

“In a few minutes, now. Be warned, the next time you shall see me or anyone, more probably, will be after the ceremony is over. So, if you have any more questions, this is the time.”

“What was the place I saw in Graham’s mind?” John asked quickly, wanting to get an answer to that, at least.

“Well, I’ll be able to tell you more after the ceremony, but it was probably a real place. That usually happens when one uses their own memories as a basis for protection. What you saw in his mind was a layer of defense around his mindscape, one you almost got through. And even that much was quite impressive. The shadows, they are the defenders of that layer. That’s all I can say for now,” even that much gave John a lot to think about, but that would be for another time. For now, he could think of any more questions.

“I don’t think I have anything else I want to ask,” he said, not absolutely sure that was truly the case.

“Then we are to head back to the chamber, you will be teleported from there to the grounds of the ceremony,” she said, walking out of the room and back to the larger one, with John following close behind. When Ingrid entered the room, she walked back to her chair at the head of the table and spoke.

“Members of the Council, it has been a long time since an explorer has joined us. Many hundreds of years have passed since a house was added to our ranks. Too long, I would say. Far too long when our goal has always been to explore the Gateway’s secrets. The core houses remain, and it is our duty to carry the torch until we are dead or done. But that has not been enough for many years. Many of us have left, in despair or in seek of fame and fortune. Let us hope today is the start of a new era. The start of a new time of discovery. When our guild is once again full of life, and explores just as much every year as in our inception.”

She held up a small cup as she finished her speech. Some of those sitting around the table did the same, most did not.

The sight of Ingrid drinking from that cup was the last thing John saw before another array of lights enveloped him.