Mutagen

The army of magical races stared at the kingdom in the sky with excitement in their eyes. Nonetheless, none dared to raise their bodies from their current kneeling posture. The Gods of the past might have already been gone. However, their fate and respect, their devotion towards those Gods, remained unyielding for generations.

It was unfortunate, however. These devoted creatures could only see its gates and the clouds underneath their God\'s kingdom.

After all, not just anyone could step through its gates.

That aside, it made the atmosphere a bit awkward. After all, the army knelt on their knees while the group of strangers stood behind Silim and Magwayen like it was nothing important.

"What now?"

Mark spoke, not minding the atmosphere behind them.

The nonchalant attitude Mark had aside, his question was on point. After Silim recited the hymn, the blinding light revealed the location of Kahilwayan. However, as it was an abode of the Visayan Gods, calling the procedure "opening the passage" was definitely not just was what it was called.

Magwayen looked at Mark with a smile, understanding what he meant. They did say that they would open the passage, but no such passage could be seen, and instead, the gates of Kahilwayan were there for everyone to see. One would easily think that they could just fly towards the gates this way.

However, as Mark thought, it was not that easy.

With Magwayen giving Silim the signal, the latter recited a few more words of the hymn. Those words echoed into everyone\'s ears, and finally, the final part of opening the passage ended with a mirage opening in front of them at the edge of the mountain peak.

"So, this is the actual passage."

Mark said as he stared at the blurry mirage reflecting the distorted image of the gigantic gates up in the sky.

"It seemed that you did not take our words as it was, which is a good thing," Magwayen spoke. "Although we can see the gates of Kahilwayan and seem close enough to fly, it is not. Flying will not take anyone there, not even a single step closer. They will be stuck, and the only way is to return here. Not just anyone can enter Kahilwayan in any way they thought to use unless it is a way allowed by its king. Furthermore, reaching it is one thing, but entering the gates is another."

Not just anyone could enter Kahilwayan. It meant that it was a place that was supposed to be impenetrable with many layers of restrictions and defenses. Even in the myths, the only ones that were able to attack Kahilwayan were the Supreme Sky God\'s grandchildren. It might be because while they had the authority to reach Kahilwayan, it seemed that they were not allowed to enter the gates without permission.

Or else... the myth would not end up as what the people knew today.

"Mother, we should make haste," Silim said, looking at Mark and Magwayen. "The passage would not stay open for too long."

"Right, we should."

Magwayen nodded in agreement.

With Silim in the lead, they entered the passage, vanishing into the mirage.

***

"URP!"

Spera gagged as they stepped out on the other side of the mirage.

Now, they stood outside the gates, although they just entered the mirage just a second ago.

"Ugh, this is worse than my portal!"

Spera complained in a loud voice. She was the weakest in the group physically and was the one impacted the most by the side effects of the mirage.

Entering the mirage was a nauseating experience. It was different from Spera\'s portal, which connected two points in space. Here, the mirage seemed to be a distortion in space, forcefully connecting two locations without regard for safety. If it was like this, there was no way any regular human would be able to pass through it without vomiting. And vomiting outside the gates would be a grave disrespect and would revoke those people\'s opportunity for entry.

"It seemed that all of you held well."

Magwayen\'s voice echoed in everyone\'s dizzy ears. She had a playful expression on her face. There was no way she did not know of this, yet she did not warn Mark and his group.

Mark stared at Magwayen in annoyance. He could not help but raise his hand, showing the [Mark of the King].

"You know that I can also remove the energy from this thing, yes?"

Mark warned seriously.

"You better not do something like that," Magwayen shrugged, without even a shred of apology in her face. "You will need a guide inside."

Before Mark could turn to Silim, Magwayen continued.

"Silim had the authority to open the passage at most. Entry is a different matter."

"Even I had no right to step into the abode of the Supreme Sky God."

Silim added.

This made Mark even more annoyed. It meant that no matter what happened, they would need Magwayen\'s help to enter the Kahilwayan. In the first place, without Magwayen, it was already questionable if they would be able to enter the Secret Realm of Mount Madia-as peacefully, not to mention opening the passage.

In any case, they finally reached their destination, the Kahilwayan.

Opening the gates would still fall unto Magwayen\'s hands, however.

"Chimetrice, can you try opening the gates by force?"

Mark asked Chimetrice. After all, he was a [Chimera] made to contend against Gods.

Now, it was Magwayen who looked at Mark in annoyance.

"What you are doing is futile."

"I just want to try," Mark replied. "There\'s nothing to lose even if he failed."

"Okay, I\'ll give it a push."

Chimetrice agreed. Even he seemed annoyed at the fact that they were being played by Magwayen.

Looking at the gates, it sure was gigantic. It was probably around forty to fifty meters, and its walls were the same. One would think that this was actually an abode of giants. Well, some tales told that Gods were titans or gigantic beings. There were even Gods, who were literal giants.

While Chimetrice approached the gates, Mark had the chance to observe it. Aside from the gates seemingly made of some sort of unknown steel or concrete,  it did not look anything special. Even the walls seemed to be made of large river stones stacked together and fixed with some sort of adhesive. Yet, the structure felt impenetrable and indestructible. There even seemed to be a distortion of space above and around the place, making the gigantic gates the only way in and out.

Looking behind them, the mirage was still there. But what Mark noticed was that the ground below, the peak of the mountain, was way farther than they saw initially. It really seemed that what they could see earlier was nothing but an illusion.

BAM!

A loud sound startled everyone the moment Chimetrice planted his palms on the gigantic gates. It was not that Chimetrice hit the gates on purpose, but it seemed that there was some resistance on the gates. It made him force his strength onto it.

Finally, it seemed that Chimetrice was enveloped by an invisible force that caused the air to tremble. It might be a defense mechanism placed on the gates, preventing people from pushing them open.

But Chimetrice had a pride of his own. And given that his forte was his fortitude and endurance, this kind of force would not stop him.

BOOM!!!

The air trembled even more, as the clash between the strength of Chimetrice and the force defending the door ensued. Even Mark and Silim, the strongest people here, aside from Chimetrice, could not help but step back and defend themselves from the scattering force.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The air continued to tremble, and the ground started to shake. Mark could only step in front of his group, using the energy from his crystals to protect them.

And after a few seconds of struggle, Magwayen\'s eyes dilated in surprise.

CREAK!

Slowly, the heavy gates began to move. Chimetrice was not only enduring the invisible force but was actually able to push the gates that even most Gods could not open forcefully.

BOOM! BOOM!

The tremble became stronger the moment a gap between the gates opened.

But with the last push that contained all his strength...

BAM!

Chimetrice forced the gates open entirely.

Magwayen and Silim trembled at this sight. The sacred gates were forcefully opened. It was not even someone in the realm of Gods that did it. There was no need to even mention the realm of Gods, as the person was not even a Deity.

"Looks like he managed to open it."

Mark said. He might not say anything else, but he definitely meant that they opened it without Magwayen\'s help.

"Just what in the world is he?"

Magwayen snapped and asked Mark. There was neither anger nor discontent that the gates were forcefully opened. Instead, there was only curiosity at something they did not expect.

Seeing that they actually failed to annoy Magwayen this way, Mark sighed. It seemed that whether they were playing in her hands or not was not a matter of importance to her.

In any case, there was no need to hide Chimetrice\'s background.

"A human-created weapon to fight against Gods," Mark answered truthfully. "He might have lost to Gods in the past, but they failed to destroy him. And now, he managed to revive with the help of his lover."

Mark pointed at Ilia.

"An entity from the Era of Gods, the same as me."

Silim said, having a bit of surprise and joy in her tone.

The people from that era that was still alive were very sparse in number. It was even considered luck for the people of that era to meet nowadays. Now, there were actually two of them in front of her. Of course, Magwayen herself was a God of that era, yet she was not really here, but an avatar created from the artifact.

"To think that a human managed to create such a powerful being."

Magwayen stared at Chimetrice with interest.

"Aren\'t we going to enter?"

Chimetrice said as he returned. Ilia immediately hugged him, proud of his strength.

"We should."

Magwayen replied to Chimetrice, now speaking to him with acknowledgment in her tone.

"Then, mother," Silim voiced out in sadness. "I will return."

"Do not be sad, my child," Magwayen spoke. Unfortunately, her avatar could not touch anything, or she might put Silim in her embrace. "This would not be our last farewell."

"Yes, mother."

Silim replied with the rare smile she never showed anyone.

The group finally entered the gates. Unexpectedly, after the gates were opened fully, the invisible force vanished entirely. They passed through the gates without any problem.

Silim stood outside the gates, watching until the group vanished from her sight.

And then, the gates closed on their own, giving Silim the signal to return to the peak of Mount Madia-as.

Walking after a few minutes, they all saw what lay inside.

However, none of them expected the scene.

If one was to say "Kingdom in the Sky," one would think of a grandiose place with a castle surrounded by clouds. Not to mention that it was an abode made by the Gods of the past.

What lay in front of them, however, was an empty village. The huts made of wood with overgrown vines were the center of the largest floating island.

Trees surrounded the area, and not just some regular trees. Many of them appeared to be magical, with leaves that shimmer like crystals and trunks as sturdy as steel.

A forest village in the sky. It was the most accurate description of the place.

The only different thing was the mountain further back. It had long winding stone stairs leading to what seemed to be a wooden mansion on its top.

It made Mark remember. Even Bathala was living in a shabby shack, was he not?

In the first place, the Ancient Gods of this country were portrayed to exhibit a tribal culture. Then, it should not be surprising that the true appearance of Kahilwayan was this.

"That would be your destination."

Magwayen said, pointing at the very same mansion atop the small mountain.