Little Pink Starfish

Though a lot of players’ focus had… strayed, the news that Pei Sen and Eagle were going to attempt pushing open the Gate of Eternity still drew massive attention.

Even if it was just a game, seeing two NPCs they had watched grow step by step into powerhouses brought real joy to many players. No matter what, these two NPCs were far more relatable than most. That sense of familiarity earned them consistently high favorability among players.

And really, players had never seen themselves and NPCs as the same. No one would feel jealous just because an NPC got stronger. After all, players were players, NPCs were NPCs—even if a game designed an NPC to be an ultimate power, players were used to overcoming that.

Besides, Pei Sen and Eagle hadn’t started out strong; they grew over time. It felt inspiring.

“Wait… they’re from this server, right? Can they even become gods in Gate of Eternity?”
“Should be possible… I really hope they succeed.”

The forum was bustling. As Pei Sen and Eagle ascended the white jade stairs step by step, they didn’t have the mind to care about outside chatter.

What looked like an ordinary staircase revealed its true nature only when stepped upon—it was incredibly hard to climb.

“So this is what it means to break into the Gate of Eternity,” Pei Sen said with a bitter smile. “Turns out, it’s not just the door—that path to the gate alone is hell.”

Eagle looked up at the still-distant black gate. “Feels like I’ve gone back to when I had no power at all.”

Exactly. On the stairs, it felt like all the power they had accumulated had been stripped away, and they were once again ordinary people. Their legs felt twice as heavy, each step exhausting.

For Pei Sen, it was manageable. He had always been an ordinary person in the real world, and he hadn’t been in this “game world” for that long. The sudden reversion wasn’t too hard to adapt to.

Plus, his body had always been physically strong. Now generated by game data, it was resilient. Even without supernatural powers, walking under doubled gravity wasn’t impossible.

But Eagle wasn’t so lucky. His strength came from the extraordinary—his body, enhanced by divine blood and capable of holding multiple Light Seeds, was half-divine. Yet even that was suppressed here, reducing him to the fragile figure Pei Sen had first met.

Still, Pei Sen’s hand was tightly clasped in his. That small contact of strength kept Eagle going.

The stairs were far longer than they looked from below. Even Pei Sen, who had climbed to great heights, was starting to feel exhausted. The enormous black gate still loomed far above.

They didn’t know how much time had passed. Eventually, it wasn’t physical strength carrying them anymore—it was pure willpower. They looked down from their current height and felt real fear. Without supernatural powers, even a misstep could mean death.

“No wonder no one’s pushed that gate in a thousand years,” Pei Sen muttered with a grim smile.
Just reaching it was already this brutal.

Eagle said nothing. He’d taken off his cloak and even his shoes. Even those felt too heavy now. Barefoot, he could move a little easier.

They were lucky there were two of them. If it had been just one person walking this endless, solitary, painful path, they might’ve turned back. Pei Sen and Eagle had walked together like this for three days.

By the third day, both were in terrible condition. Their supernatural powers sealed, they couldn’t even access their storage rings. Luckily, Pei Sen had hung a small jug of medicinal wine at his waist and hadn’t packed it away. That bottle was the only thing keeping them going now.

“This choice really hurts,” Pei Sen rasped. “Even with our clothes and gear reduced to the bare minimum, everything feels heavier the higher we go. Bringing supplies would’ve just made it worse.”

The weight wasn’t just physical—Pei Sen realized the things they carried had become dozens of times heavier than they should be. At this point, it wasn’t about stamina anymore—just sheer will.

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. He had Eagle. They leaned on each other and pushed forward. If Pei Sen had come alone, he might’ve given up by now.

It was just too hard.

And they hadn’t even pushed the door yet.

Eagle’s foot was bleeding again—he couldn’t lift it high enough and had stubbed his toe on a sharp edge. Pei Sen wasn’t much better—bloody footprints trailed behind them.

“Just a bit more, young master,” Pei Sen said hoarsely.
“Mm.”

At this point… if it came down to willpower, Eagle wouldn’t lose to anyone.

If he hadn’t had such terrifying willpower, how could he have fought back against the fate he’d been born into?

The grip from Eagle’s hand grew stronger. When Pei Sen felt like he could no longer take another step, that hand pulled him forward.

Slowly, Eagle stepped ahead. Pei Sen fell slightly behind.

“Young master…”

All this time, it had always seemed like Eagle was relying on Pei Sen. From early on, Pei Sen had gotten used to protecting him—even after Eagle became stronger, he still liked standing in front of him.

That once-fragile, sensitive young master—even when he’d grown powerful, Pei Sen kept shielding him.

But now, their roles had reversed. Tall and strong, Eagle was the one leading, pulling Pei Sen onward—as if they could keep walking like this forever.

His willpower… was incredible.

Pei Sen suddenly thought of the original timeline, where Eagle had lost everything. His eyes had gone blind. He never returned to the Lanno territory. He was alone. No one he could trust.

He joined the Church of Light and became its powerful, cold Saint.

Pei Sen didn’t know what that version of Eagle had gone through—but how many could have walked that path?

“I’ve never been Eagle’s savior. He doesn’t need me to save him. He’s always been this strong… I just hope he can be happier?” Pei Sen stared at the black door looming above, remembering Eagle’s smile when he’d said he was happy.

“If I’m with Eagle… we can do it!”

Step by step, they climbed on. And in Pei Sen’s heart, courage swelled.

“We’re here,” Eagle suddenly said.

Pei Sen looked up—the black gate was right before them.

It was enormous. He had to crane his neck just to see part of its surface, and still couldn’t find the top. The two of them standing before it were like ants. Forget pushing it open—with how weak they were, just reaching it was a miracle.

“This is it,” Pei Sen whispered. His voice barely worked.

Eagle smiled at him. The two clasped hands again, and together, they stepped onto the final platform.

In that moment, their supernatural powers slowly returned. Though they were still exhausted and weak, their strength and stamina returned to normal!

The air was thin at this altitude. Breathing was difficult, but at least they could now access their storage rings!

The first thing they did was drink water. Warm light power enveloped their bodies, gently healing them. It was such a comfortable sensation, they nearly fell asleep then and there. After all, they hadn’t closed their eyes for three days.

The stairs hadn’t allowed even short rests. Pausing meant losing the courage to keep going. And Pei Sen had sensed something strange—had they stopped to rest halfway, they might never have reached the top.

With strength returning, Pei Sen pulled out a small stove and a clay pot from his ring. He lit the fire with a spell and started cooking porridge.

The bubbling water released a warm, sweet aroma. Compared to the cold water and dry bread they’d had earlier, the rice porridge smelled like heaven.

“Young master, it’s ready.”

They each had a bowl, and as the warm porridge went down, their stomachs settled. Hunger returned. So they pulled out more food and ate a full meal.

Eagle glanced at the towering door. “Should we rest a day before trying to push it?”

They were here. And it seemed the rules didn’t allow rest on the stairs, but here on the platform, adjustments were acceptable.

No one would have the strength to push the gate after that climb—not even a superhuman.

“If it’s allowed, then no need to rush. Let’s rest first.”

Pei Sen had already pulled out a bed and thick quilt from his bag. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into it. But instead, he sighed, pulled out water and a basin, and used a spell to clean the blood from both their legs and feet. He washed them thoroughly.

Pei Sen himself didn’t care, but he knew this delicate young master absolutely wouldn’t sleep dirty.

Once they were cleaned up, Pei Sen, fighting off sleep, took out more pots and made soup and stew—enough for when they woke up starving again.

Then the two of them crawled into bed, nestled under the covers, and fell into a deep sleep.

The black door loomed silently above them. On this high-altitude platform, there was nothing but the bed and the two figures sleeping soundly in it.

Behind the door, three gods stood in silence. They were the last three who had become gods by pushing this very gate, and were currently the weakest gods in all of Gate of Eternity.

“Did someone actually pass the Eternal Stair test? Why is the gate not reacting?”

“Usually, even if they’re too weak to push the door, there should be some response.”

“You mean the gate always reacts when someone pushes it. So what’s going on? Did someone pass the stair trial but give up on becoming a god?”

“That’s impossible!”

“Then how long are we supposed to wait here?!”

The Gate’s trial wasn’t just stairs and a door. To truly become a god, one had to challenge an existing god after opening the gate. That was the real final test.

In the last thousand years, a few had passed the stair trial and opened the gate—but failed the divine battle and never entered the realm of the gods.

These three gods, weak as they were, were still gods. And they’d been waiting a while. Their patience had worn thin.

“Should we ask the Mirror Goddess to flip the Mirror of Reversal and see what’s going on outside?”

Normally, they couldn’t see through the gate from within. And gods didn’t leave through the Gate—they had other ways.

“Fine.”

Then, they saw—on the vast platform before the black door—an oversized bed. On it, two people slept soundly, wrapped in thick bedding.

Around the bed were five or six small stoves, each with a pot. From each pot drifted thick, fragrant steam.

The gods stared, then unconsciously swallowed.

The three gods: “……”

What the hell is this?! You’re about to become gods—what are you doing?!

Sleeping?! At this time?! Seriously?!

And not just that—you’re even cooking something mouth-watering! Just watching this makes us hungry!

Unbelievable. Unheard of.

You two… could you take this a little more seriously?!