As they continued speaking with Tanza, a strange sound suddenly echoed through the air along with a blinding beam of light. Everyone nearby stared at it in shock and amazement.
But Tanza alone remained calm.
He did not even seem surprised.
Watching the three react with fear and confusion, a thought rose within his mind.
"You are not from this place… are you?" Tanza asked slowly.
The three of them froze.
"How did you know?" they asked nervously.
Tanza smiled faintly.
"It was obvious from the way you looked at it with fear. Here, this is completely normal."
Realizing they could no longer hide the truth, the three revealed everything to the old man. After listening carefully, Tanza spoke in a calm voice.
"Do not worry. I will help you."
The three looked at him with hope.
"But first, listen carefully to what I am about to say."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"In two weeks, the Festival of Magic will begin in this city. The palace has ordered sweets from our inn for the celebration. I will send all of you there. If you manage to prepare sweets that impress the people inside the palace, there is a chance you may be offered work there permanently."
His eyes turned serious.
"And only if you enter the palace… will you be able to discover where the gate truly is."
The moment they heard those words, joy filled their hearts. They thanked Tanza sincerely.
But one question still remained.
"What exactly was that light and sound?" Rudran asked.
Tanza slowly shook his head.
"Even we do not know. Ever since this city was created, on every full moon night, a mysterious sound along with a pillar of light emerges from the tower. To us, it is simply a normal occurrence."
After saying that, Tanza smiled warmly.
"Enough worrying for today. Sleep peacefully. Do not burden your minds with unnecessary thoughts. From now on… good things will happen to you."
Holding onto his comforting words, all three finally went to sleep.
That night, however, Rudran saw a terrifying dream.
He stood in the middle of a bloody battlefield. Suddenly, a sword pierced through his back. The pain felt horrifyingly real.
Rudran woke up with a gasp, sweat covering his body.
Only then did he realize dawn had already arrived.
Without wasting time, the three began their work.
For the next two days, Tanza personally taught them how to prepare sweets worthy of the royal palace. He worked alongside them tirelessly.
Yet no matter how hard they tried, something was missing.
The flavor they desired could not be recreated.
The sweets were good… but not extraordinary.
Not enough to impress the palace.
Still, Rudran refused to give up.
For two entire nights, he stayed awake experimenting with different recipes and ingredients. But every attempt failed to achieve the taste they were searching for.
Seeing Rudran's determination, Tanza finally brought an old book from his shelf and handed it to him.
"Follow the recipe written in this," he said.
Rudran once again began his struggle.
Hours passed.
Then suddenly… something changed.
One particular sweet he prepared astonished everyone.
The flavor was unlike anything they had ever tasted before.
Excitement filled the room instantly.
"What should we call it?" Parivendhan asked.
After thinking for a moment, Rudran smiled.
"Dokla."
And from that day onward, the sweet received its name.
But there was no time to celebrate.
Only four days remained before the festival, and they needed to prepare enough Doklas for the entire palace.
For four exhausting days, the three worked without rest. Through sheer determination and endless effort, they finally completed the enormous order.
At last, the day arrived.
Loading the Doklas onto a horse carriage, they made their way toward the palace.
The moment they arrived, something immediately caught their attention.
One side of the palace was guarded far more heavily than the others.
Suspicion rose within them.
After quietly informing Tanza, the three secretly slipped away toward the heavily guarded area without attracting anyone's attention.
At the outer entrance, nearly ten soldiers stood guard.
Without hesitation, the three attacked them and forced their way inside.
But deeper within, even more guards appeared. Multiple layers of security protected the hidden area.
Rudran slowly drew his sword.
The others followed immediately.
A fierce battle erupted.
Steel clashed violently as the three cut down every guard standing in their way.
Finally, after fighting through countless enemies, they discovered a gigantic door hidden deep within the palace.
Even with all their strength, opening it proved nearly impossible.
After a long struggle, they somehow forced it open and stepped inside.
The moment they entered, a blinding light burst toward them.
When their vision finally cleared, they discovered a massive underground tunnel leading deep beneath the earth.
Only then did they realize the truth.
Their journey had only just begun.
Taking burning torches from the walls, the three cautiously moved deeper into the darkness.
After walking for some time, the tunnel suddenly split into four separate paths.
Parivendhan knelt down and placed his ear against the ground near each tunnel carefully.
When he reached one particular path, his expression suddenly changed.
He could hear the sound of ocean waves.
Shock filled his eyes.
"This way," he said immediately.
Without hesitation, the three followed that path.
After traveling deeper inside, they finally arrived before another gigantic door.
They tried everything to open it, but it would not move even slightly.
Then they picked up nearby rocks and attempted to break it apart.
But the door remained untouched.
Only then did they realize something terrifying.
This was no ordinary door.
It could not be destroyed so easily.
Frustration consumed Parthiban.
Filled with rage, he slammed his fist against the door with all his strength.
The impact tore open the skin on his hand, causing blood to spill across the surface of the door.
Suddenly—
Glowing magical symbols spread across it.
The gigantic door slowly began to open with a thunderous sound.
The three stepped outside… and froze.
They were standing in the middle of the sea.
A hidden pathway carved through the mountain connected the doorway to a rocky cliff rising from the ocean itself. The tunnel they had traveled through was hidden inside an isolated mountain surrounded by endless water.
Then, in the far distance… they saw it.
A gigantic gate stood upon a mysterious island-like structure in the middle of the ocean.
The moment they saw it, all three understood immediately.
That was the gate.
The legendary magical gate leading to Velmora Veil.
Excitement surged through them instantly.
"We can swim across and reach it!" Parthiban shouted as he prepared to jump into the sea.
But before he could leap, Rudran grabbed him and stopped him.
Parthiban frowned angrily.
"Why are you stopping me?"
Without replying, Rudran lifted a massive rock and threw it into the ocean below.
The moment it hit the water—
Massive crocodiles suddenly emerged from beneath the surface.
The three stared at them in horror.
Now they understood why nobody could cross this place so easily.
As they stood there trying to think of a way forward, something strange caught their attention.
Among all the crocodiles, one creature looked different from the others.
One of its eyes glowed with a deep crimson light.
The sight of it felt unnatural.
Terrifying.
Almost… inhuman.