Morning in the palace was... well, a mess.
"Who took my socks?!" Liam's voice echoed through the corridor like a battle cry.
"I didn't take them," Yui shouted from inside the bathroom, toothbrush hanging from her mouth, "but I did see one on the chandelier."
"What?" Liam peeked through the door. "How the heck did it get there?"
Ethan rubbed his eyes as he stepped into the hallway, hair sticking up in every direction like he'd fought a hurricane in his sleep. "Okay, who moved my charger?"
"That would be karma," Aiko said, perfectly dressed and calm, sipping something that looked suspiciously like magical tea. "You unplugged mine yesterday to charge your phone. The circle of life."
Ethan groaned.
While the others scrambled for socks, brushed hair, and argued about whose turn it was to do "absolutely nothing," Ethan shuffled to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and leaned in toward the mirror, blinking.
And then he saw it.
A faint blue mark shimmered on his chest, just near the collarbone — smooth, curved, and slightly glowing like it was pulsing with energy.
"…the heck?" He rubbed it. Washed it. Scrubbed it. But it didn't go away.
Two minutes later, he was back in the room, shirt half-buttoned and voice half-panicked.
"Okay. Look. This is not normal."
Everyone froze.
Liam stared. "You… got a tattoo?"
Yui squinted. "It's glowing, Liam. Tattoos don't glow unless you went to, like, a space wizard."
"It's not a tattoo," Ethan said. "It's been there since this morning. I thought it was a weird bruise or something, but it's not going away."
Aiko tilted her head. "Maybe it's a magic rash?"
Yui smacked her forehead. "Why don't we just ask the Guardians?"
A pause.
"…Right," Ethan said. "Why didn't I think of that?"
---
The team made their way down the twisting hallways of the palace, still arguing about whether Ethan was turning into a space elf.
As they reached the tall silver gates that led to the palace's heart, Liam rolled his eyes.
"Oh great. Now we have to go through the whole process of opening the gate again. This takes forever."
But the moment Ethan stepped forward — the mark still glowing on his chest — the gates rumbled softly… and opened automatically.
Aiko blinked. "My goodness. It's open."
"No magic words?" Liam whispered. "No secret dance moves?"
Yui smirked. "Guess his chest is the key."
---
Inside, the Guardians stood waiting, serene as always. One of them raised a hand in greeting.
"Good morning. How was your night?"
"Chaotic," Aiko replied without hesitation.
The Guardian smiled. "Good. That means you're adjusting."
Another Guardian stepped forward. "We've called you for something important today."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Is it about… the mark?"
They didn't answer — not directly. Instead, they simply gestured.
"Come. The Marksman is waiting."
---
They followed them down another hallway and into a round room with high ceilings and strange carvings. In the center stood a round table. Sitting at its head was the Marksman — mask on as always, fingers steepled, clearly in dramatic-mode.
"Take a seat," he said.
They sat.
Then he leaned forward. "Let's talk about Amsterdam."
Silence.
Aiko leaned toward Ethan and whispered, "Didn't we already arrive in Amsterdam?"
He shrugged. "Thought so."
The Marksman stood, walking slowly around the round table. "What you think you know about this world is just the surface. Amsterdam is more than a city. It's more than what you've seen."
He stopped, resting a hand on the back of Yui's chair.
"It is a gate. A hidden world. A place that exists between the layers of your world and others. A place chosen… to prepare you."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Prepare us for what? School finals?"
The Marksman ignored him completely. "You've been brought here because each of you might hold a connection to one of the core elements of existence. The powers that shape life itself. But connection isn't enough."
He leaned forward.
"You'll need to prove you're worthy of them."
Ethan's chest suddenly tingled again — the watermark glowing faintly under his shirt. He instinctively pressed his hand against it.
The Marksman turned toward him, as if he knew.
"Some of you may have already started feeling it. The pull. The way this place... recognizes you."
He raised both hands, and a silver disk rose from the center of the table — projecting ten golden lines of light into the air, each with a glowing rune.
"These are the Ten Truths of Amsterdam," he said. "Learn them. Live by them. Break them, and you break everything."
He tapped the air, and the lines began to form symbols and words in front of the team:
---
The Ten Truths of Amsterdam
1. Time flows differently here. One hour in your world equals one full day in Amsterdam.
2. The gate opens only when your team holds hands and speaks the world's name aloud. For the first month, this is your only way in.
3. You cannot speak of Amsterdam to anyone outside it. If you try, the consequences… will follow.
4. You will remember everything from this world. It's not a dream. It's real. And it matters.
5. You may have power — but it is not yet unlocked. That comes with learning, testing, and trust.
6. The Guardians will guide. The Marksman will teach. But only you can choose to grow.
7. Each element has a trial. You must pass to master it. Fail… and the element may reject you.
8. This world has enemies. Not all shadows are silent. Some remember you.
9. You are not the first team. But you might be the last.
10. The world outside depends on the one within. Save Amsterdam… and you save everything.
---
The light dimmed again.
The Marksman let the silence settle.
"You were chosen not for what you are — but for what you might become," he said. "And your journey… starts today."
Liam leaned back slowly. "Okay. That was… cooler than I expected."
Yui whispered, "I feel like we just got recruited by the universe."
Aiko crossed her arms. "So we don't have powers yet. We have to earn them?"
Ethan looked at her, still feeling the quiet pulse beneath his chest.
The Marksman gave the smallest nod. "Exactly."