The Gates of Death

An original light novel, dedicated to everyone who felt lost during their teenage years. Every city has its own legends. And in Chenghua City, there is a legend about the Door of Death. They say anyone who opens this door will disappear, not simply die. Every trace of their existence will vanish, and everyone who knew them will lose all their memories of them... But this door only opens for those who want to end their lives. Once it opens... that person will truly disappear. Our protagonist, Lan Xiao, is an utterly ordinary eighth-grade student. On the last day of summer vacation, he accidentally opens the door... After accidentally opening the Gate of Death, Lan Xiao is forced to make a contract with Aisi, a deity in the form of a black cat. Together with his childhood friend Si Yao and the young Daoist priest Chu Tianshu, he sets out to repair the Gate of Death. As he works to repair the gate, Lan Xiao meets all sorts of different people and discovers that he, too, is slowly changing... This story reflects many social issues that teenagers may face, including school bullying, domestic abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and social prejudice. The story is tentatively planned to have seven chapters based on the seven deadly sins, followed by three more chapters. So consider this an early content warning. I'll do my best to give the protagonist of each chapter a happy ending, even though reality can be cruel. This is the first long-form work I wanted to write after learning how to structure a script. It's a story I first dreamed of creating eight years ago, and now, eight years later, it's finally complete and ready to meet you all. I originally wanted to draw it as a comic myself, but in the end I never did, so I chose to tell it in words instead.