Wyatt felt like he was in a dream.

The vegetation around them was low due to the high altitude, and every step was harder than the last. But the view of rice terraces, stone roofs, and the bell sounds of the donkeys that wre carrying their bags made it all go away.

"Should have gone to the gym more," someone muttered behind him. Arthur was taking them up to the portal entrance, somewhere up in the mountains. They had gone into the village to rent the donkeys to carry their belongings. Arthur didn't exactly tell them how long the journey would be, but considering there was an eleven-year-old, Wyatt hoped that it won't be too hard or long.

In the end, two people from the group decided to opt out. Arthur seemed to have expected it and had arranged for them to meet another guide to do their cover tour: around the Himalayas in two months. Wyatt was kind of jealous of their itinerary, but he could always do that when he came back.

But he wasn't going to get another chance to go to another world.

"It's not too far. But we would have to carry our own bags. This is as far as the locals would go," Arthur informed them when they stopped for a break. They were fairly high by then, the village already disappeared into a speck around the bend. The villagers were nodding at them, undying the bags and leading their donkeys away.

"Why can't they go all the way with us?" Mr Hatfield asked.

"Their culture and religion forbid it. This is sacred ground for them," Arthur answered. "But don't worry, it's perfectly safe."

Wyatt grimaced. He didn't like the idea of going into someone's sacred ground, and Arthur's statement seemed to defy the speech that he gave about Kulacecius. The guide had repeatedly stressed that they would be faced with life or death situation. He compared Kulacecius to the middle ages, that pride and honour were worth more than human life.

Shouldering their own duffle bag, Wyatt struggled the ascent up the next hill. Everyone was breathing heavily, and George had offered to carry Juliette's bag. Arthur had offered help to Riya, too, and Salvatore had taken the bag of the remaining girl that went with them. What was her name? Monica? Monique?

"Look up," Arthur said softly. Wyatt looked up and saw the most beautiful temple nestled on the side of a mountain, barely visible if not for the golden reflection from the sun. It looked nothing like the temples Wyatt had ever seen before, with high pillars but curved, slanted roof, a mix of tiles, wood, and stone. In fact, from a certain angle, it looked as though it was floating by the mountain.

"If we move quickly we might be able to see my most favorite view of the sunset," said Arthur, looking back at them with a grin. Wyatt was a little taken aback; it was the first time the guide actually seem happy.

They walked around the side of the hill, along a wide path with a steep drop on the other side. Before long, they were met with a set of splendor stairs. The color of the staircase is the sort of golden-red that the golden color is just shimmering on the top, like how you see the Sun is red but you can also see the shining golden colour.

"Are we really going to walk on it?" asked Riya. Wyatt kind of get what she meant. These stairs didn't look like they were built to walk on. They were built to admire.

"Yes, Miss Garde. How else do you suggest we get up?" Arthur said with a sly smile, then taking the lead, he walked up the steps.

It might be just the lights, but just as Arthur's first step landed on the staircase, it suddenly looked less forbidding as it does a second ago. Everyone scrambled after him, eager to be close to the one person who knew the next steps.

The higher they climbed, the more their surroundings seemed to melt away. Wyatt glanced around and it felt as though there was nothing except the stairs and them. But he was sure that there were cliffs either side.

As they reach the top of the staircase, a strange yet delightful feeling spread through his body. Although higher up than before now, Wyatt did not feel cold. In fact, he felt warm.

The temple was even larger up close. The pillars were intricately carved, with figures twisting, dancing, and praying. The hall seemed endless but the strangest thing of all was the floor. It seemed to be made of colourful tiles, but from a certain angle, it was almost like they were looking down to the world. Wyatt swore he saw glimpses of a city. But how could it be? There should be nothing but rocks underneath them.

"Here it comes. Come close, you'd not want to miss it," said Arthur from the other side. As Wyatt turned around, he caught a glimpse of something that he knew he'd remember for the rest of his life.

Everyone rushed towards the other side without another word, because the view was beyond this world.

A gigantic Sun is setting in a sea of clouds in front of them, it looked so close that it's like sitting at the front seat at the cinema but better because they were level with the view.

The clouds were reflecting different colors from the Sun: yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, lilac, cream, indigo, millions of brilliant vivid colors beyond imagination, and they were weaving like the sea. Mists hung over them, dancing and turning like they were playing a symphony.

The Sun was about one-third set, the colour on it ranged between deep blood red to gentle yellow-orange, like the most skillful artist's work. It looked too beautiful to be true.

"Wow, you can earn like millions if you open a tour just to see this," Mr Hatfield said. Wyatt threw a quick glance at him to see that he had taken off his hat and there was even a tear on one side of his face.

"Alright, let's get moving," Arthur exclaimed, who seemed to have ignored the statement. Everyone moved on behind him reluctantly, stealing some last glances at the wondrous sunset.

As they walked on, the temple became narrower and the space between the pillars become enclosed by walls, there was no light and the place looked mysterious in the dark.

After ten or fifteen minutes, they reach a point where the tiled floor gave way to grass. As they stepped outside, there were lines of trees in front of them. Yet they were still inside the temple.

"This way," said Arthur, leading them forward still. As they walked on, Wyatt realised that although this is a forest, the trees formed roughly to two lines and they were walking in the middle. Between them.

Like the pillars in the temple, as they walk on the trees began to close up. After another ten minutes, Wyatt noticed a closing of some sort at the far front. It looked like a mural.

As Wyatt began to look closer, Arthur turned around and stepped in front of everybody, blocking the view.

"We are almost at the opening to the other world. If anyone wants to back out, they still can," he said, looking at everyone.

No one moved and a gentle wind blew by, making the leaves whisper and the grass dance. It felt like nature was trying to say something while none of them did.

"Okay then," Arthur said. And with a sigh, he walked aside.

At the final enclose of the two lines of the trees, they didn't meet, instead, two trees stood about two meters apart with their branches tangled together on top.

In the space between was an opening that led to a road. The road continued on for as far as eyes could see, surrounded by forests until it met a gate. From there, a city rose around a hill, full of colorful brick houses that wrapped upwards until finally, it reached a castle. It was a real-life, splendid fairy-tale kind of castle, a castle with high, pointed towers, welcoming and forbidding.

"Oh my god, is it where we are going?" asked Jimmy, escaped from his parents' grip and nagged at Arthur's shirt.

"Yes, that's the land of Kulasciceus," Arthur said, his eyes looking at the path. Wyatt caught a glimpse of something rather unexplainable in his eyes, it seems to be love towards the city, but there was something else.

"This is your last chance to back out," Arthur said as they stopped in front of the gate. While he could still see the city clearly, everything appeared to be wrapped, like it was behind some kind of ever-moving magnifying glass up close. It was starting to give Wyatt a headache so he looked back towards the group.

"You need to take a deep breath before going through the portal, you'll need it. Whatever you hear, do not turn back, because if you do, you will be lost between the passage of worlds, and you'll be stuck lost for all eternity," Arthur warned. Wyatt swallowed hard. Not looking back. That's easy. Right?

"This is your first challenge to the land of Kulaciceus. Whatever you hear in there, it will reflect your deepest desires for the chance to trap you there for all eternity. It's imperative that you ignore everything you see or hear. Just concentrate on the road because once you are off, you are doomed. Remember, whatever is in there is not real."

Everyone nodded nervously, but none of them turned back, because they had all come too far. Besides, it sounded simple. Just keep walking.

"Keep a firm grip on your belongings, clear your thoughts, and be strong," said Arthur, before stepping in the path himself.

Everyone gasped as Arthur seemed to be walking into jelly, his body being swallowed by the invisible barrier that stood between them and the world beyond. The sucking sound was enough to make Wyatt wince.

"That seems easy enough," Salvatore said with a dry laugh. The others eyed the barrier uneasily, where the silhouette of Arthur was just visible. He appeared to be on the road already, but somehow they could tell that he wasn't quite there yet.

Wyatt looked around him and nobody seemed eager to be the second one. Wyatt wondered if it was a good idea at all that Arthur himself took the first go.

Clearing his thoughts as Arthur told, he drew a deep breath. Might as well do it now. He gave a little wave to George, whose jaw seemed to be dropping as he stepped through the barrier.

"See you on the other side."

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This is actually the second version of the story! I originally intended for it not to be a mystery tour and have the participants know that they were going to another world from the get go. But then it'll mess with the continueity of the story and I wanted to surprise them!

Let me know your thoughts!