CNN's amber logo pulsed in the corner of the screen as the anchor's voice carried over footage of a shimmering crimson barrier that cut through Frazier Park like an otherworldly curtain.
"We're entering hour eight of what experts are calling one of the most significant Red Gate incidents in American history." The camera pulled back to reveal Diane, CNN's lead correspondent for paranormal events, her expression grave beneath her perfect makeup. "For those just joining us, at approximately Four PM Pacific Time, a C-Rank gate in Frazier Park transitioned to Red status with eleven hunters still inside, including several high-profile individuals."
The screen split to show formal hunter ID photos alongside social media images of the trapped hunters.
"Among those confirmed inside is Nicole Demara, daughter of tech mogul and Phoenix Imperium founder Damian Demara." The screen filled with a glamorous shot of Nicole at last month's Hunter Gala, her pink hair cascading over bare shoulders. "Ms. Demara, an A-Rank mage with a social media following of over fifteen million, was participating in what should have been a routine gate clearing operation."
The footage cut to an aerial view of the park, now transformed into what looked like a military staging area. Barricades held back crowds while emergency vehicles formed a perimeter around the pulsing crimson tear in reality.
"We go now to James, live at the scene. James?"
The screen transitioned to a harried-looking reporter, wind whipping his tie as floodlights cast harsh shadows across his face. Behind him, the red gate pulsed with malevolent energy.
"Diane, I'm standing just outside the established safety perimeter, where hundreds have gathered despite the late hour." The camera panned across the scene – news vans from every major network, police barricades, and clusters of people holding impromptu vigils. "The Federal Bureau of Hunters has established a two-hundred-yard exclusion zone around the gate, but that hasn't stopped concerned citizens and fellow hunters from maintaining a presence."
The camera zoomed in on a group wearing Phoenix Imperium jackets, their faces tense as they conferred with officials.
"Phoenix Imperium representatives arrived on scene within the first hour but have declined all requests for comment. Sources indicate that Mr. Demara himself is coordinating response efforts from his Los Angeles residence."
The camera swung back to the reporter.
"What makes this situation particularly concerning, Diane, is the nature of Red Gates themselves. Unlike standard gates, Red Gates create a complete dimensional seal, preventing any form of entry or exit until specific conditions are met."
"And those conditions are?" Diane prompted from the studio.
"According to FBH protocols, a Red Gate resolves in only two ways – successful completion by those trapped inside, or a catastrophic Dungeon Break when the gate's structural integrity fails. In the latter case..." The reporter paused, clearly uncomfortable. "Survival rates are historically less than five percent."
===
Damian Demara stood motionless before the wall of screens in his home office, hands clasped behind his back. The Los Angeles skyline glittered beyond floor-to-ceiling windows, but his attention remained fixed on the central monitor where Makima's face filled the screen – impassive, unreadable, and infuriating.
"You understand my position requires certain courtesies," Damian said, his voice perfectly modulated despite the rage churning beneath his composed exterior. "My daughter is inside that gate."
Makima adjusted her glasses with a single finger, the red rings in her yellow eyes shifting slightly. "Your daughter chose to enter a gate alone despite having a dedicated S-Rank bodyguard. An interesting decision."
"Evelyn was preoccupied."
"Convenient timing."
Damian's jaw tightened. "I need S-Rank intervention."
"Red Gates cannot be penetrated by external force." Makima's tone remained clinical, detached. "This is not a matter of resources or rank. It's a fundamental property of the dimensional barrier."
"There are exceptions to every rule."
"Not this one." Makima leaned forward slightly, her gaze penetrating even through the video connection. "Surely Phoenix Imperium's extensive research division has confirmed this independently? Or perhaps your data collection has... gaps."
The barb struck its target. Damian's fingers twitched behind his back.
"I have Yuki Tsukumo and Thomas Andre on standby," Makima continued. "They're already en route to California as a courtesy, though the presence is largely symbolic. Even National Authority hunters cannot breach a Red Gate. This isn't a matter of power, but dimensional mechanics."
"Then what do you propose?"
"Wait." Makima's expression softened fractionally. "Your daughter is accompanied by ten other hunters."
Damian's mask slipped for just a moment, raw fear flashing across his features. "And if they fail?"
"Then we contain the Dungeon Break when it occurs." Her voice softened further. "I understand your concern, Damian. Parental attachment is... powerful."
"Don't patronize me."
Makima's lips curved into something approximating a smile. "I recall similar urgency when you attempted to monopolize gate contracts across three western states. You called me, and I quote, 'a bureaucratic parasite feeding on the real work of hunters.' Your tone was considerably less polite then."
"Circumstances change."
"Indeed. Now you need something only I can provide." Makima tilted her head. "Unfortunately, in this case, even I cannot help. Red Gates are autonomous systems. They resolve on their own terms."
Damian's expression hardened back into its usual mask. "Keep me informed of any developments."
"Of course." Makima inclined her head slightly. "For what it's worth, I hope Nicole returns safely."
The screen went dark before Damian could respond.
===
In her Washington office, Makima stared at the blank monitor for several seconds, contemplating the rare glimpse of genuine emotion she'd witnessed from Damian Demara. A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Enter."
Himeno stepped into the room, a thick folder tucked under one arm. Her eyepatch gleamed in the low light as she approached the desk.
"The files you requested, Director."
Makima accepted the folder. "Thank you. Any updates from the site?"
"No change in the gate's status. FBH containment protocols are holding, and we've established a secondary perimeter in case of Dungeon Break."
Makima nodded, opening the folder to reveal eleven detailed dossiers. "These are complete?"
"As current as our systems allow. Most are standard hunter profiles, though several merit attention."
Makima began methodically reviewing each file, setting aside those for Jin and Sonya Park, Alexander Shepherd, and several others after brief examination. She paused at Nicole Demara's extensive profile, studying the psychological assessment before moving on.
Her fingers stopped at the next file. "Xavier Valentine."
The photo showed a striking young man with white hair and piercing blue eyes. Makima scanned the basic data: D-Rank hunter, former porter, no guild affiliation. Then she reached the activity log.
"Thirty gate completions in two months," she murmured, tracing the timeline with one finger. "Progression from porter to active hunter status with no formal reclassification application."
Himeno shifted slightly. "It's unusual but not unprecedented. Many D-Ranks increase activity before seeking formal advancement. Plus, half of those gates were completed with a B rank hunter named Miguel Gonzalez."
"The pattern is wrong." Makima flipped through performance metrics, noting the perfect completion rate and unusually low reported mana expenditure. "These readings suggest capabilities well beyond D-Rank classification."
"Reawakening?"
"Possibly." Makima studied the photo more closely. "Or deliberate concealment. Either way, it bears watching. Let Yuki know and flag this profile for continued monitoring."
She closed the folder, her eyes distant. "Interesting coincidence, finding him in the same gate as Nicole Demara."
"Do you believe it's significant?"
"In my experience, Himeno," Makima said, removing her glasses, "coincidences rarely exist in our line of work."
===
Noel Valentine paced the length of her friend's living room, phone pressed to her ear, free hand clenched into a white-knuckled fist. The television droned in the background, rehashing the same Red Gate footage for the twentieth time.
"Pick up, damn it," she hissed. When the call went to voicemail again, she nearly hurled the phone across the room.
Her friend Maria watched nervously from the couch. "Still nothing from Miguel?"
"He's avoiding me." Noel stabbed at the phone again, this time sending a text: ANSWER YOUR PHONE OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN.
The response came almost immediately: Calling now. Don't murder me.
The phone rang seconds later. Noel snatched it up. "What the hell happened?"
Miguel's voice came through, unnaturally subdued. "I only found out an hour ago. My alone time with moms, remember? I wasn't on twitter."
"My brother is trapped in a fucking Red Gate Miguel!"
"I know, I know." Miguel's voice cracked slightly. "Noel, I should have been there I'm so sorry."
The fight drained from her body. Noel sank onto the couch, suddenly boneless. "No. No, that's not... I didn't mean..."
"I'm heading to the site now. I'll call you when I get there."
"What good will that do?" Bitterness seeped into her voice. "None of us can help him."
"Maybe not, but I'm not sitting this out." The background noise suggested he was already driving. "Xavier would be there for any of us. Besides, he's gonna be fine."
"You don't know that."
"Actually, I do." Miguel's voice found some of its usual confidence. "You've never seen him in action, Noel. Your brother is... different when he fights. Trust me on this."
The call ended before she could respond. Noel stared blankly at the television, where a reporter was reciting the names of those trapped inside. When Xavier's picture appeared, a jagged sob tore from her throat.
Maria wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "He'll be okay."
Noel didn't answer, her eyes never leaving her brother's image on the screen.
===
Across town in her apartment, Tenten sat cross-legged on her bed, phone pressed to her ear, eyes fixed on the television coverage of the Red Gate.
"I just don't understand why Shikamaru and Xavier didn't tell anyone," she said.
On the other end of the line, Miguel sighed. "A red gate can't be predicted. It was supposed to be a C rank."
Her free hand absently arranged throwing knives in a perfect circle on her bedspread. "Fuck."
Traffic sounds filtered through the connection. "Look, I'm almost at the site. Want me to call when I know more?"
"Please." She hesitated. "Miguel... what are their chances, really?"
The pause stretched uncomfortably long. "Better than anyone else in there. That's all I can say."
After they hung up, Tenten stared at the television, where they were showing Xavier's hunter ID photo again. Xavier Valentine had secrets. If—when—he emerged from the Red Gate, she intended to discover what they were.
===
Kafka leaned back in her private jet seat, legs crossed elegantly as she scrolled through files on a tablet. Across the aisle, Thomas Andre's massive frame dwarfed his custom-built chair, his expression darkening as he reviewed the same information.
"Damian must be losing his mind," Andre said, his deep voice rumbling through the cabin. "His precious daughter trapped in a Red Gate with no VIP extraction possible." A satisfied smile crossed his face. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
Kafka glanced up. "Nicole isn't her father."
"No, just his most valuable asset." Andre snorted.
"You offered her a contract last year."
"Business is business." Andre shrugged massive shoulders. "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy Damian's discomfort. The man's been trying to poach our West Coast contracts for months."
Kafka returned to her tablet, swiping through profiles of the trapped hunters. Most were unremarkable—a healer, a barrier specialist, a few C-Ranks with standard abilities. She paused on Nicole's file, remembering their last conversation at an industry event. Despite her vapid public persona, Nicole possessed surprising insight and a razor-sharp wit when cameras weren't rolling.
Her finger stopped on the next profile: Xavier Valentine, D-Rank, former porter. Something about him tugged at her memory. She studied his photo—white hair, striking blue eyes, features that seemed vaguely familiar.
Realization struck like lightning.
"Dante," she whispered.
The memory crystallized—a meeting months ago, an unexpected encounter with a young man whose energy signature had been unlike anything she'd felt before.
The energy pattern had been so distinctive that she'd searched for him afterward, curious about a D-Rank with such unusual mana characteristics. But "Dante" had vanished, and she'd eventually filed the encounter away as an oddity.
Now here he was—Xavier Valentine, trapped in a Red Gate with Nicole Demara.
Kafka zoomed in on his statistics: thirty completed gates in two months, all perfect completions with minimal reported mana usage. The pattern was too consistent, too perfect.
He was hiding something.
"Found something interesting?" Andre asked, noticing her intense focus.
Kafka composed her features into casual indifference. "Just reviewing the roster. Standard mix of hunters."
Andre grunted, returning to his own tablet. Kafka continued staring at Xavier's image, recalling the strange vibration in his energy signature—like nothing she'd encountered in years of S-Rank hunting. Not powerful, exactly, but... different. As if operating on frequencies other hunters couldn't access.
She made a mental note to find this Xavier Valentine after the Red Gate situation resolved. The Scavenger Guild was always looking for unique talents, and something told her Xavier Valentine might be the most unique of all.
===
The Seoul apartment was bathed in the blue glow of the television, where international news coverage of the American Red Gate incident played with Korean subtitles. Sung Jinah leaned forward on the couch, chin propped on her hands.
"She's been in there for eight hours now," she said, pointing at the screen where Nicole Demara's social media photos flashed by. "I follow her fashion posts. She always has the cutest outfits."
Her brother Jinwoo, fresh from the shower after completing some C-rank dungeons with Jinho, glanced disinterestedly at the screen. Water droplets still clung to his bare chest as he toweled his hair dry.
"Red Gates are rare but not unprecedented," he said, heading toward the kitchen. "The hunters will either complete it or they won't."
"That's cold, oppa." Jinah frowned at him. "Nicole has millions of followers. People care about her."
Jinwoo returned with a sports drink, dropping onto the couch beside his sister. "Fame doesn't help inside a gate. Only strength matters there."
The broadcast switched to showing profiles of the other trapped hunters. Jinah perked up as Xavier's photo appeared.
"Oh! He's really cute." She nudged her brother. "Look at his white hair. Is that natural or dyed, do you think?"
Jinwoo glanced up reflexively, then froze. Something about the man's image sent an inexplicable chill down his spine—not recognition, exactly, but a strange sense of wrongness, like encountering a predator wearing familiar skin.
"Xavier Valentine," the Korean narrator pronounced carefully. "D-Rank hunter, no guild affiliation."
Jinwoo leaned forward, suddenly intent. The man's blue eyes seemed to look directly through the screen, carrying an intensity that belied his low rank classification.
"Xavier Valentine," Jinwoo murmured, testing the name. The unease persisted, a warning prickle at the base of his skull. "Huh."
"What's wrong?" Jinah asked, noticing his sudden focus.
Jinwoo shook his head slowly, unable to articulate the strange sense of connection and threat he felt. "Nothing. Just... let me know if anything changes with the gate."
As he walked away, Jinwoo couldn't shake the feeling that Xavier Valentine was going to become important somehow—to the hunter world, and perhaps to him personally.
He just couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a very, very bad one.