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Jonathon took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air and pulled his jacket a bit tighter. The air was thinner here due to the altitude, but it also felt 'cleaner'. More -alive- somehow. Like every step he had taken for the past two days had included a piece of the mundane city life muck breaking off and falling away. Ahead of him was a supposed secret, one that he had waffled back-and-forth on for days. Was he here to just enjoy this beautiful journey, or did he believe there was something real at the end of it?

--

He had been mildly successful at his corporate job, but he hadn't ever really found much that had made him happy. He had put on the face that was expected of him, said the things that he should say, shaken the right hands, agreed to do the things that shouldn't have come to him, and worked the extra hours. All of it for what exactly? The supposed promise of eventually rising through the ranks to continue to do exactly what he was doing, just with others under him and new hands to shake. He had almost resigned himself to that existence too.

Then, unexpectedly, he had gotten notice that his grandfather had passed away, leaving him a small piece of property in the middle of nowhere. He had the smallest fragment of a memory of the man, but he hadn't seen his grandfather in at least two decades. Despite that, he had put in for 'Emergency Use of Vacation Time' due to a relative passing. His boss had politely told him that he should grieve, but come back ready to work. His response had been that he would take his laptop with him and finish the client review report on the upcoming 14-hour plane flight. The man sitting behind the big desk had smiled at that, then told him how lucky the company was to have him.

Sure. Lucky.

After the plane flight (and the monotonous blue glow of his laptop for 9 of those hours), he had arrived in a foreign country that was far from the world he knew. He took a bus to a train station, took a train (sleeper car, but he had gotten a work email that needed his attention sooner rather than later, so very little sleeping), and then took an Uber. He had to wait 30 min. for the Uber, as the town he was in only had two nearby. After all of that, he had arrived at the law office that had handled his grandfather's affairs. They had been the one to send him notice of his new inheritance. It was a one-story office building that looked like attempts had been made to update it at some point, but its current condition was half stone, half wood, altogether sloppy. It did not inspire confidence.

One employee greeted him at a front reception area in a different language, then, when he realized Jonathon spoke English, brought a younger man in. The young man spoke broken English, which allowed Jonathon to convey his purpose. The young man ran off and came back with some papers for him to sign and a key. Once he had signed, there was a polite nod, paperwork handed off, and an offer to drive him to his new 'home'. Jon hadn't expected a house! His hopes were short-lived, as they arrived at what could only be called a small country cottage. The walls were a dull gray, perhaps plaster, with a sharp sloping roof and a single visible glass window on one side. There was no driveway leading up to the cottage or even a garage. The young man smiled at his expression, "We sell, make money." Jonathon sighed, agreed, and thanked him. He did say he would stay the night under the roof that had been provided to him instead of a hotel. It seemed more economical anyways.

After removing his luggage, he took the key out and unlocked the door. Entering the building, he felt like he had just stepped back in time two centuries. The house had three rooms. A kitchen/dining room, a bedroom, and a single bathroom that didn't look or smell like the modern conveniences he was used to. The kitchen had an old black potbelly stove, complete with a tea pot on top. There was one small wooden table and chair. Thankfully, no food had been left out. Jonathon walked past into the bedroom. The bedframe was old and looked nice, which meant it would sell well. The bed itself couldn't be seen under the multiple thick blankets on it. Still, at least it was a bed. Next to the bed was a large desk, a dark wood that looked nice. He set his luggage down and walked over to check it out. On top of the desk, there were three piles of books, all in English. Self-help books, survivalist literature, how-to, etc. All seemed aimed at surviving something. Jonathon wondered if his grandfather had been some kind of Doomsday Prepper. A little bit kooky. He opened the pen drawer on the desk and found a single note on a piece of paper that looked like it had seen better days. It was clearly addressed to him.

"Dear Jonathon, I must apologize.

You don't know me and I know little of you. This is not how it should have been. Many years ago, after what happened to your father, I voiced my opinion to your mother. Suffice to say, she was not happy hearing my thoughts on your future and decided that I was not to be a part of your life any longer. It pains me even now to think of how much time I have missed, but I took solace in the fact that the family bloodline ran strong in you. As I write this, I am too old to take the journey. I should've done it years ago, but I kept convincing myself to stay, to prepare things for you so that you might have the Choice."

The word 'choice' had a capital 'C' on it instead of a lowercase. An odd decision, but Jonathon kept reading.

"And so, I have laid everything out. In this desk, the bottom right drawer, there is a key. It goes to the cellar. There, you will find a journal that has been in the family for generations. Every male born of the family was given the Choice. Some went, others stayed. And now, it falls to you. Go down, take the journal out, read it, and decide. Will you stay? Or will you go? My blessing is with you even now, though I have surely passed. But if you are anything like you were when you were young, then this world is not for you. Be brave. Be strong. Be ready. Cordially..."

Jonathon, rather curious, went down to the cellar, which was full of canned goods and jars of various things. Sitting on a small podium to the side was a journal, its cover cracked, but its pages well-cared for. He read the crazy 'tale' inside. It told of a supposed 'creature' or 'Being' who was hidden away somewhere nearby, a sort of a 'Gatekeeper'. The Gatekeeper stayed in this world only because of something some ancestor of his had done. It said that as long as one member of his family was here, this Being would await. No one else could even perceive the way to the Gatekeeper. There was some stuff about a gate leading to a world of mythology, but Jonathon shook his head, closing the journal. There was a hiking backpack next to the podium, visibly new unlike the other things in the cottage. Jonathon opened it up, finding preserved meals, various tools, a foldable tent, two coils of nylon rope, and a sleeping bag at the bottom. He brought the pack and the journal out from the cellar.

It all was too planned for it to be a prank, so clearly his grandfather had believed in this stuff. A gate leading to a magical fantasy world. Dragons and Unicorns. It seemed so silly, yet... As night fell, Jonathon found himself at the kitchen table with a kerosene lamp, reading. He was still dismissive, but... It could be a fun journey. A sort of silly 'quest' to see and experience the countryside. Why not, he decided.

It took a week of preparation. First, the young lawyer stopped by the next day. Jonathon had explained to him as best he could that he planned to sell the property and everything inside in two weeks. Plenty of time for him to take this hiking trip and return. Some paperwork was brought later and he signed all of it. Next, he began reading the books. He even packed two of them that seemed particularly useful. After all, he could read them on the trip in the evenings. Finally, with eight days before the cottage was supposed to be sold, he had set out. His suitcase remained at the cottage, along with his cell phone and laptop. He had scarcely touched either over the course of the week and it felt strangely liberating.

He followed a map in the journal leading to a series of hiking trails into the mountains. Everything felt...more alive. More real here. When the wind blew through these paths, it spoke to him in some hidden language that he didn't know yet, but he could almost comprehend. It was just on the edge of his understanding. It spoke of something alive. The views were gorgeous, the rising peaks fierce. The weather was equally aggressive, yet...he loved every moment of it. He felt right. He felt happy. Really happy. Even if the whole thing turned out to be a silly piece of nonsense, which some voice that got smaller and smaller said it would be, he felt fulfilled. Despite his misgivings about the 'Choice,' he decided he needed to get out more and enjoy nature. Go camping occasionally. He couldn't think of the last time he had left the city before coming here.

His thoughts were interrupted when, ahead of him, he saw the opening marked on the map from the journal. It didn't look like any grand magical cavern. Instead, it looked like some kid's crawlspace, low to the ground and barely a hole in the side of the mountains. According to the journal, it opened up inside and he could stand. It would be the final walk before he was to make fabled 'Choice' of his. He chuckled and pulled off his pack, rooting inside it for a moment before pulling out a headlamp. Spelunking sounded like a blast, so why not humor his grandfather's dying wish a little longer?

--

After stepping off the well-worn path, Jonathon had placed the hiking backpack on the ground and laid on his belly. He had to push the pack in ahead of him to fit. Inside the hole, the wind died abruptly. In fact, all sound died. Jonathon glanced behind him to make sure there was still light from outside coming in. It was there, yet it was like the rest of the world didn't quite extend its reach into the cave. He turned on his headlamp and continued moving forward. He found quickly that the ceiling had gotten to the point that he could crouch-walk forward and awkwardly moved further in until he could stand. There was a path leading further in. To call it a path was the only way to describe it, as the walkway had large vertical stones on either side of it. As he trekked, he noticed that the rough-hewn natural cave walls gave way to smooth arches, like it had been carved out. The kind of smoothness he normally associated with industrial equipment, which obviously couldn't fit in here. It was a surreal place for smooth walls.

It took almost an hour of walking, something that he hadn't expected or counted on. The path didn't deviate, just ascended ever-so-gradually along a gentle slope. The underground was cool, but the earth under his feet felt like it gave off a sort of a warmth. It was strange and the whole idea of this Gatekeeper no longer seemed so far-fetched. After all, wouldn't this place have been turned into some kind of a tourist trap or an archeology site if this was just a silly story? Someone else had surely found it. Yet, there had been no signs of anyone else being here. At the same time, he noticed there was no dust either. Jonathon wasn't sure if dust was a thing in caves, but he thought it should be.

At long last, he came out into a massive cavern, his headlamp illuminating a domed ceiling that was at least a hundred feet above him and an opposite wall that was a hundred feet away. The path came to a single precipice over a deep black pit. "Huh...all that...for this? What...am I...supposed to jump?"

Jon looked around for a rock to toss down when a giggle arose from under the earth and a voice, feminine, yet powerful, vibrated through him, "Jumping is not the preferred method, little one. I'd have to catch you then."

Two massive horns rose from the darkness blindingly fast, followed by a face that filled the entire cavernous space. The headlamp, which should've only illuminated a spot of this behemoth at a time, was actually not needed. Orange scales gave off a luminous glow, revealing all of her. It? This...this was the Being! His mind scrambled to comprehend what loomed over him, but was failing.

"Ah...the last descendent of the Hero! I've waited some time to fulfill my oath and here you are. Have you come to make the Choice?" Her voice was like a bass speaker right next to his head and he felt every syllable from his head to his toes. He looked up at her, cascades of blue hair flowing off her head, rippling like a river down to rest along her neck. How could such a thing even be? His brain told him it should be in a panic, yet... He felt calm as he looked into her emerald green eyes. They were human-like. Peaceful, calm, and serene. The green irises seemed to swirl, like the pictures he had seen of the Milky Way galaxy, yet their focus was clearly on him.

He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry, so he swallowed slowly and did his best to be brave, "Is...is it true? There's another world with magic...and um..."

Her laughter filled the cavern and echoed, a tinkling sound despite the depth and breadth of it. "Am I here, little one? I AM! Therefore...it is."

Jonathon swallowed again and impulsively nodded, "Then...yes...take me. I want to go!" Her eyes seemed to pulse and she leaned forward, her massive mouth mere feet away, big enough that he could fall into it and he would be only a small snack, like a fish cracker inside that mouth.

"Are you certain," the lips whispered to him. "Once you say yes, there is no going back."

Jonathon thought of his life, waiting for him back in the city. The twenty emails he was sure were on his laptop, demanding his attention and input. The same apartment, bland and gray. The same meals, the same empty words, and the same routine. His voice grew in strength, "Yes! I'm sure."

She smiled at him, incredibly intimidating despite the genuine pleasure it showed. After all, it was right in front of him. "Then to the gate you shall go!" Her head sank back into the black depths.

Jonathon crawled to the edge of the precipice, glancing down into that darkness, his headlamp illuminating nothing. He saw the orange glow in the distance, growing, and it shot up over him, a massive clawed hand, four-fingered. Then it came down over him, engulfing him. The claws closed gently, carefully wrapping him up within. He gripped his pack tightly, ensuring he didn't lose it, while he also tried to breath steadily as the air around him turned into a living sauna. The heat from her hands was immense. Then the hand began to move, pulling him deep. Down. Down. Down. Did the mountain really go this far down?

Finally, the movement stopped and the claw altered its angle, shifting until it was under him, then it slowly opened. "Forgive me, little one, but the world up there is so confining. Down here, I can at least maintain a fraction of my true size! Now. Behold...!" Jonathon's eyes took a second to adjust and orient, but he saw. She loomed over him despite holding him out in front of her. Moreover, he saw more of her. Not just her face or hand, but her entire body. She was...to say inordinately endowed in terms of breasts would be a gross understatement. She wore no clothing, but her splendor didn't call for it. Jon felt like he couldn't be embarrassed, despite all of it, because he was such a tiny speck to this goddess, this Divine Being. His eyes slid down her and struck on something below.

"Oh," he feebly managed to get out. It wasn't a she. Or was it? He didn't know if such classifications applied to a Being like this. She was a hermaphrodite. Below him sat a massive glowing orange circle with a dark shape inside it, liked a domed cap. As he watched, the orange circle began to get larger. Was she growing? He glanced upwards and realized that was not the case. Her hand was carefully lowering him towards her male genitalia.

"To get to the other world, you must cross into the beyond. Fear not, little one, you are in my careful control. May you find what you seek."

"Wait...wait! How?!" He shouted, confused. His heart hammered in his chest as she continued to lower him. The circle grew and grew and the domed cap began to take on a very recognizable shape. Coherence was gone, but Jonathon felt like he had been tricked, like the journal had been a lie.

Her voice came one last time, from far above, yet still filling him, "The world you seek is inside me. As are many, many worlds. No harm will come to you by me, as I once promised one long ago. So...my ancient vow is fulfilled." With these words, her hand began to slowly tilt as it kept sinking. Jonathon, confused and in a panic, tried to cling to the scales that covered her claws, but with no avail. He began to slowly slide.

The hand stopped descending and tilted further, but Jon didn't glance back. The waves of radiating heat and the sounds of something sliding moistly beneath him told him everything he needed to know. There was no grip that he could keep and he and his pack slid right off the claw. There was a fall for three seconds and then... He saw her glow get eclipsed; his perspective became a single large slit. He was inside her shaft. It was so large that he probably could've jumped off the hand that had held him and still landed inside. She was just too large and he was too small. Then the slit closed and the walls pressed in against him. They were heavy and almost suffocating with the pressure pushing all the air out of him, but they quickly molded to his body. He tried to shout, but some kind of moisture on the walls filled his mouth. He didn't want to, but the taste only confirmed his situation. He began to sink, the flesh shifting and moving him. Down. There was an occasional small pocket of air, which he gulped in greedily, but it always passed in a breath. And still he went down.

The only sounds in his ears was that of fluids moving beyond him and a steady 'bum-bum, bum-bum' somewhere distant. He had been swallowed up by this Divine Being, this Goddess, and now he was inside her, going to...his brain didn't want to acknowledge it. He wanted to believe her words. She had promised him. Yet some part of him knew biology and he had a feeling his end would be white and hot. He might've been sinking for minutes or hours, but finally, the fleshy hold relented and he fell. He braced himself, eyes squinted shut. Jonathon grimaced and waited for the falling sensation, but there was none. One eye slowly creaked open and he involuntarily gasped, his whole body relaxing.

He was floating among stars. To describe it would be a grave disservice to the awe-inspiring sight he beheld. Worlds floated around him, stars filled the spaces between them and they were all so close he could wave his hand through them and they moved between his fingers like liquid. He felt like he was moving with a current, pulling him through the boundless sights, seeing suns and supernovas, worlds born and worlds destroyed. He floated past all of them, wondering what lives there were here. Then, ahead, a world that was blue and green, with a yellow glow on one side and an orange one on the other, two spirals of light that floated on either pole.

He wasn't sure if the world grew or he shrank or distances or what...but he went from being a giant among the stars to a person approaching a world like a lunar lander approaching the Moon. The current pulled him faster and faster, the world filled his vision. Things flashed past him and he felt a blackness slowly starting to form at a point ahead of him as lights seemed to stretch. The blackness engulfed him and he knew no more.

"Oy, lad, ye alright?" A voice called to Jonathon, shaking him.

He slowly opened his eyes, a yellow sun above. "Huh...was it all a dream?"

A figure stepped in front of the sunlight, "Lad, naws not the time to be having a dream, ey! Ye ain't bean struck by Cir-Stroke, have ye?" The figure standing over him had a full beard.

"Uh," Jonathon managed to get out as he sat up, already close to the height of the figure standing next to him.

"Whut's a-matter? Nevah seen a dwarf before?"