Author's Preface
Chapter 5 — Beyond the Black Door
Darkness.
Not the type that occurred due to lack of light Nor the darkness behind closed eyes.
It was... like absence.
Kael couldn't even hear his own breathing.
He called out in panic
"...Old man?"
No answer came
His voice was swallowed by emptiness before it could travel.
Instinctively, he gulped hard then took another step.
Click...a sound echoed beneath his feet.
Light slowly spread across the darkness like ink flowing over paper.
The world then slowly uncovered itself.
An endless stone pathway stretched into an unending distance.
There was no sky.
Only countless floating Ledgers drifted overhead like silent stars.
Some were enormous, as large as buildings.
While Others were no bigger than a human hand.
Every one of them was chained and tightly shut.
Kael looked around in awe.
"...Where are we?"
Aster was revealed standing several meters ahead, leaning casually on his black cane.
While his gaze stretched beyond the horizon.
"The Vestibule."
"It's The place between reality... and Contracts."
Kael swallowed hard
"So this isn't another dimension?"
Aster answered.
"Ridiculous...It is."
"And at same time it isn't."
Aster smiled.
"Don't worry,You'll get used to answers like that."
Kael sighed.
"I already regret following you."
"Well You still have time to leave."
"..."Can I?"
"No."
"...I knew it."
Aster chuckled.
"Good...It means you're learning."
They continued walking.
The stone beneath their feet was covered in strange symbols that shimmered and lit faintly with every step they took.
Kael looked up once more and asks in curiosity
"So...Are those all Ledgers?"
"Yes they are."
"Every awakened possesses one."
"Even if they don't realize it."
Kael frowned.
"...so then why are they here?"
"They're waiting boy."
"For what or who?"
"The day their owners can finally awaken them."
Silence briefly settled between them.
After several minutes of walking, Kael finally asked.
A question he had in mind since.
"What exactly is a Debtor?"
Aster didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he paused then bent down and picked up what looked like an old coin lying on the stone path.
He tossed it toward Kael.
"Here Catch."
Kael caught it effortlessly.
"...A coin?"
"Throw it."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Kael shrugged and flicked the coin into the air.
But The moment it left his fingers...
It stopped..then hung motionless in midair.
Kael blinked.
"..Gravity broke?"
"Not exactly."
Aster calmly raised his Ledger.
"The coin owes Reality the act of falling."
Black ink spread across one of its pages.
"The debt has been postponed."
The coin remained suspended.
Kael stared with his mouth slightly open.
"...You did that?"
"I did."
Aster snapped the Ledger shut.
The coin responded immediately and dropped to the ground with a metallic clang.
Kael stood frozen.
"This.."
"...This is impossible."
"No."
Aster corrected him.
"This is Contract."
He tapped his Ledger gently.
"Listen carefully...
"Reality exists because everything honors a Contract."
"Fire burns."
"Water flows."
"The dead remain dead."
"Those are all Contracts."
"And Debtors..."
He looked directly into Kael's eyes.
"...are the people permitted to negotiate those Contracts."
Kael's heart pounded.
"So.. you mean I can do this too?"
Aster's expression suddenly became serious.
"Eventually....But first."
"You must survive your initiation."
Kael frowned.
"...Initiation?"
After the word left his mouth
The endless stone pathway trembled.
Far ahead...One of the giant chained Ledgers slowly opened by itself.
The sound echoed across the endless Vestibule.
With a rumbling sound
BOOM.
Black pages burst into the air like ravens.
A cold voice resonated throughout the entire space.
New Debtor Registered.
Guardian Confirmed.
Initiation Trial Selected.
Kael instinctively stepped backward in fright.
"...Old man."
"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling."
Aster sighed.
The voice continued.
Calculating Trial Difficulty...
For a brief second...
The words glitched slightly.
Administrator Authority...
The text distorted violently like a hacked computer.
But at same time instantly rewrote itself.
Aster frowned.
"...Strange."
"What is it?"
"...Nothing important."
He closes his Ledger.
"Come."
"The Trial has begun."
The stone pathway ahead slowly collapsed into darkness.
Only one bridge remained.
Waiting For the newest Debtor.