Kethi stood with their hand on the door's latch. Finally, it was time to leave the past behind.

The future would not be immediate, however. Between, there would be a space, a time, liminal and odd.

But the present did not scare them. They would take one step at a time.

And in the end, they would become what every old tome said they would, great and wise and strong.

They just had to take the next step into what awaited.

Kethi smiled, though they didn't look back. The latch clicked and the hinges groaned and again—

—Kethi began.