The Gates

· Gate of the Rodent

· Gate of the Fish

· Gate of the Bird

· Gate of the Horn

· Gate of the Primate

· Gate of the Canine

· Gate of the Cat

· Gate of the Reptile

Every human possesses one of the Eight Gates, but the gate is only awakened when the human is brought to this planet. In other words, all human inhabitants of Planet Inobiru who were abducted from Earth all possess a gate.

Gates are links that connect humans to an energy source that grants them abilities. The gate one possesses is determined by the type of abilities displayed when the gate is activated. Some gates are evenly matched in terms of energy even if they are completely different while some other gates are tremendously powerful and some others, extremely weak.

The majority of the humans that appear on this planet are usually on the weaker side when it comes to their gates and the village that Leo found himself in was home to a good number of them.

The energy source that the gates served as a link to, combines itself with the energy within the human body, energy commonly known as Chi, thereby enhancing the physical body of the being as well as bestowing abilities unique to the particular gate possessed by that being.

The Chief continued his explanation about the gates and Leo's interest in the topic grew with every second he spent listening to the Chief. Kiva and Lucius stood still and quietly watched as the Chief enlightened Leo. After the Chief was done with his explanation of gates, Leo could do or say nothing but be amazed by the possibility of something that he never once perceived or even thought of being possible.

"But the monsters I saw in the jungle, are these gates really powerful enough to grant you guys the abilities to survive them?"

Leo's question caused Lucius to become hysterical. He stepped forward to correct Leo's understanding of just how powerful the gates are.

"Even though you are still a fledgling, you sound too naïve to be who Kiva says you are."

Lucius' voice was deep and just like Kiva had a sense of authority. This must have been a common trait among all the members of the fighting force. Leo turned in his direction. He was shocked at how manly Lucius' voice was, but at the same time bemused.

'Who Kiva says I am? What is he talking about?'

Lucius continued talking to Leo with an undermining tone.

"After Kiva brought you here, she reported that you managed to survive for hours in the jungle. And yet, here you are questioning if the gates' powers are enough to survive. This means that you got through the animals in the jungle not by your power but by luck."

Leo hadn't the slightest clue of what Lucius was getting at, but he knew that he was right about how luck played a big role in his survival. How the attack of the snaky tail was thwarted by the snapping vines, how the vines broke his fall and reduced the damage he took, how the aquatic monster saved him from the tiger monster and how Kiva rescued him from the man-eating insects.

'Wait…Kiva was the one who rescued me?'

He just assumed that a bunch of strong men from the village saved him and that he had hallucinated seeing someone with a feminine shape on sandals. He turned to look at Kiva while completely ignoring Lucius. She was still facing downwards with her eyes closed. At this point, the admiration and respect that Leo had for Kiva were magnified and he now had an idea of why the villagers treated her the way they did.

'To think that she could navigate her way through a jungle alone while carrying him. She must be really brave.'

He turned to look at Lucius who clearly had a problem with him.

"I only asked if the power of the gates enabled your survival. I spent hours running from those monsters and I know just how terrifying they are. You all have been here far longer than me, so you must know how far the gates' powers can help in your survival."

Lucius glared at Leo and wondered what made Kiva think that this weakling was one of them. He then decided to explain the extent of the gates' power to Leo.

"Listen carefully. The weakest of humans on this planet are far stronger than the strongest humans on Earth. This means that not only do the gates grant us abilities that could not only aid in survival but also to fight on equal footing with the animals in the jungle."

Leo's eyes widened.

"Fight those monsters? Are you out of your mind!? Those monsters were designed to kill, there is no fighting them, only running and hiding from them. Anyone that faces those monsters head-on would surely lose."

After Leo completed his sentence, Kiva turned around and left the room, she was clearly upset by something. Leo, the Chief, and Lucius watched as she stepped out and this made Lucius a bit happy.

"Seems like she is finally starting to see that she made a mistake."

The Chief was just sitting there quietly observing Leo's reactions and response and grew sad. But he didn't let it show.

"Lucius!"

Lucius was shocked to hear the Chief shout his name with such an angry tone.

"Yes, ah… yes Sir"

"Please Leave, I want to be alone with Leo"

"Right away, sir"

Lucius took his leave, but as soon as he was about to leave the room, the Chief called his name. Lucius turned back to look at the Chief and was met with a glare.

"I understand sir."

He then left the room leaving only Leo and the Chief.

"Leo, allow me to apologize on Lucius' behalf once more. I know he can be difficult but with time, you'll get used to it and eventually realize that he is actually a good person."

"That's Ok. But was he serious about being able to fight those monsters"

"You keep calling them monsters, but we here in the village see them the very same way you saw animals back on Earth, be it wild or tame. Your body is no longer that of an ordinary human. Once you understand this, then you can overcome your fear of them."

The Chief did not give Leo a straight answer, but it was clearly implied since back on Earth, humans were capable of fighting and even killing the animals. But this was done with the use of weapons like guns. Maybe gates in this world are the weapons they use in taking down those monsters.

"These gates that we all possess are really that powerful?"

"Yes, they are. Far more powerful than you could ever imagine.