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n?”Lara, hurry up! We’re going to be late!”

nA youthful voice cried out from a bathroom, coming out to reveal itself as a young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes, as well as a flowery school uniform.

n“I’m coming, sheesh!” from the same bathroom, another young lady with extremely beautiful features and pristine now white hair walked out while wiping her hands. Her blood-red eyes showed exasperation and a hint of excitement for what was coming next.

n“Carla, you don’t need to rush…woah!” Lara began to complain until the one called Carla grabbed her hand and dragged her along.

n“Hmph, Lara, you always do things like this! You have to be time-conscious, time-conscious, you hear?” Carla chastised the lax Lara who preferred to do things at her own pace.

n“Yes, yes. Now let go of me before my hand tears in two,” Lara whined pitifully, eventually softening Carla’s heart enough to let go of her.

nLara rubbed her sore wrists and spoke unhappily. “It’s just our orientation in The Second Gate, what’s so big about it?”

nCarla made a sound of frustration and glared at Lara, not willing to exchange words with her best friend anymore. Lara raised a hand in defeat and followed the brisk walking of Carla as they headed towards their school’s gymnasium.

nWhile Carla walked with a spring in her step, Lara walked like a delinquent, her hands in her pockets and her posture bent. Carla saw this and furrowed her brow, about to chastise Lara once more, but Lara simply plugged her ears with her fingers.

nCarla rolled her eyes and gave up. Soon, the duo came about the hallway to the gym, which was packed with students from their batch who were about to undergo the same experience as they did.

nMany students were chatting and gibbering among themselves with excitement and enthusiasm, but when they saw Carla and Lara approach, their voices died down. After all, the two school belles were notorious for being troublemakers in their own right.

nA teacher who was sorting out the students saw the two approaching and rolled his eyes. “Carla Dubois and Lara Sanguis, hurry up and get inside! Your names were called long ago!”

nCarla bowed to the teacher and apologized profusely, glaring at Lara who seemed to not care, Carla’s eyes glowering as if saying that this was exactly what she was talking about. The teacher waved his hand as these two were the most excellent students the school had produced since its formation, so their little ‘quirks’ were often ignored.

nThey went in and were led by teaching assistants towards two beds with high-tech helmets attached to the head. They lay down and were strapped in by the teaching assistants, before the helmets were placed on their heads and activated.

nImmediately, the minds and souls of the duo were whisked away from their school and into a special place that every being of every universe had access to and craved to partake in, the Second Gate!

nAn AI-like voice greeted the two of them in their respective home spaces and explained the functions of the helmets as well as the nature and benefits of the Second Gate. Carla listened seriously while Lara kept looking for a ‘skip’ button.

nAt this point, who didn’t know about the Second Gate? It had been drilled into their heads since they were children, all in anticipation for the day they could qualify to enter it.

nSoon, Carla and Lara were taken into a lobby area where students from not only their school, but hundreds of schools in the galaxy and their sector were packed together as today was the day of their orientation.

nAs part of the orientation, they were to take a short tour of the history of the Second Gate as well as its creators.

nBefore everyone appeared a large statue of a young woman who looked barely older than they did, a soft smile on her face as she wore regal clothes. Her purple hair was tied into a ponytail and her purple eyes glinted with expression. 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ

nShe was quite tall, almost 6 feet, and her caramel skin tone shone even through the projection.

n“First is Lady Antonia Alighieri, the current manager and controller of the Second Gate. She handles all affairs pertaining to the Second Gate and is our overall GM, so make sure to show her respect.” A personalized AI voice repeated to each student privately as they looked up to the magnificent form above them.

nThe statue changed to a still form of a mature woman with flowing purple hair that reached her hips and purple eyes full of playfulness. Her pristine creamy-colored skin shone with healthiness, though she dressed quite conservatively and casually, unlike the one who came before.

n“Second is Lady Beatrice Alighieri, the wife of our lord and the mother of Lady Antonia. She currently manages all aspects of each universe’s rewards and punishments from actions within the Second Gate. She is very strict and fair, so make sure to memorize the rules of the Second Gate before entering.”

nThe students marveled at the beauty of the two women who were displayed before them, but their excitement soon reached the peak when Beatrice’s statue disappeared as they knew what was coming next.

n“And finally, there is our Lord, Dante Alighieri!” the AI voice spoke with a hint of emotion, revealing Dante’s status that appeared the next moment.

nAll the students cheered happily, their faces filled with worship and fanaticisms towards the most popular and respected being across their entire universe.

nThe statue depicted a handsome man who had his arms folded behind his back, his slicked-back brown hair neatly combed as always while his wisdom-filled brown eyes filled them with comfort.

nHe also dressed casually, wearing a yellow jacket with a black undershirt and yellow pants that were ended by black shoes. Looking at him, he did not look like an Omnipotent God, but like a cool young dad who had the best advice for you.

n“He is the beginning and the end, the source of all our existences. His official title is the ‘Quantum Lord’ and he is the one who created the Second Gate after the destruction and removal of the Zero and First Gates.”

nThe AIs collectively hesitated before stating this piece of well-

nknown information reluctantly.

n“However, despite this, he prefers to go by his own personal title, The God of Technology.”

nUpdated from 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮

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