The Ignatius Centaur School was one of those buildings with brick walls and stained-glass windows, where echoes of the old days still lingered in the winding corridors. For most pupils, this place meant mainly boredom and tests, but Maja, Igor and Lena knew that this school had never been just an ordinary educational institution. It was a steamy June evening when they stayed after lessons, preparing for the final of the school's Physics Olympiad. In the chemistry room, where they were experimenting with metal conductivity, the lights went out unexpectedly. Igor, always prepared for anything, pulled a torch from his backpack and, blinking, threw a provocative: "Let's go see what's going on in the basement. There are supposedly fuses there too." Maja rolled her eyes, completely unconvinced. However, Lena was already heading for the door. No one wanted to be left alone in the dark - so all three of them set off downstairs. The basement of the school was older than the rest of the building. As they descended the steep, creaking staircase, the air thickened, as if even the dust had its own story there. The corridor led to a door that hadn't been used for years, the paint on which was peeling. Igor, curious as ever, found a cracked hinge and pushed it open without difficulty. Beyond the threshold was a small chamber - the walls were covered with brass plates, and in the middle stood a round, decorated platform with a medallion in the middle. Everything resembled a set from a science fiction film, with only dust and cobwebs betraying that no one had been here for years. "Look at these inscriptions," Lena whispered, pointing to the careful engravings covering the edge of the platform. They looked like the alphabet, but none of them recognised the letters. Maja was leaning over a medallion on which two intertwined circles were engraved - one with floral motifs, the other full of geometric patterns. As soon as she touched the surface, the platform shook slightly and the air crackled from the gathering energy. The glow penetrated through the cracks of the medallion, illuminating the shadows on the walls. Igor froze, watching as the light began to swirl around them, and the shapes in the inscriptions slowly shifted and folded into an arrangement that began to resemble something... Then they heard a low sound, as if the whole school had sighed with exertion. The platform lit up with a bright blue glow, and the air trembled - an oval vortex formed in the centre, through which they could see a fragment of another world: a palace staircase stretching into infinity, tangled vines and the shadow of someone's silhouette looking straight at them from behind a portal. At the same moment, the platform shook violently and Lena felt an invisible force pulling her forward. Igor reflexively grabbed Maja's hand. From the other side of the portal, someone raised a hand in an inviting gesture.... And just then, under their feet, the floor began to crack, the light of the portal spilled across the room, and the choice - whether to enter or escape - suddenly became the most important decision of their lives.