I return to my temporary base with my satchel heavier than usual—not with ingredients this time, but with ideas. The Titan blood pulses faintly against my palm as I set it down on the workbench. I stare at it for a long moment, thinking.
The Boiling Isles has taught me much, but the human realm… the human realm has machines. Tools designed to measure, analyze, and manipulate matter at a precision I can't achieve here. If I'm going to truly understand Titan blood, I need that equipment.
But first: the portal.
Phillip Wittebane's notebook practically glows with information. Every diagram, every note, every failed and successful attempt already recorded. In his arrogance, he left nothing out. A gift I didn't exactly ask for—but gladly accept.
I study it carefully, cross-referencing each step with my own knowledge. Glyphs, ingredients, energy flows, dimensional harmonics—all laid out. Yet, with my enhanced intellect courtesy of the Perceptroom, I see ways to improve every step. Adjust the energy ratios. Stabilize the field with additional glyph sequences. Optimize the key for Titan blood infusion.
Weeks pass—twenty-nine days, to be exact. I rarely sleep. The Raven motif dominates every line of the portal I design. While Luz's door might be an owl, elegant in its own way, mine has sharp, intelligent angles. Wings spread like protective guardians. Eyes that seem to watch both sides. A statement. A signature.
Finally, it's ready.
I fill the key with Titan blood, careful to maintain purity and intent. Every drop placed with precision. I insert the key into the portal's mechanism.
The door shudders. The frame quivers. For a heartbeat, nothing happens.
Then—a twitch.A ripple.The Raven awakens.
The portal swings open, a perfect, stable tear in the dimensions. On the other side: the human world, familiar yet alien, waiting.
I step closer. Fingers hover over the threshold.
This isn't just a doorway. It's the culmination of years of research, planning, and sacrifice. Every glyph I learned, every creature observed, every journal copied or improved—it's all here.
I inhale. The scent of the human world drifts through the portal. Civilized. Predictable. Powerful in its own subtle ways.
And it is mine to explore.
With a final glance back at the Boiling Isles, I step forward.
The Raven door closes behind me with a soft, resonant hum.
A month of work, and a lifetime of preparation… and I'm finally ready.