Lisa whirled around, heart pounding, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. In the moonlight, she saw a figure emerge from the trees, tall and imposing. The sight of Kai, his eyes blazing with an intense energy, halted her steps.

"No, don't go near it!" He warned, his voice echoing in the still night. He quickly closed the distance between them, positioning himself between her and the portal.

"Aren’t you… the jacket guy?" Lisa wondered, her eyes darting between Kai and the pulsating portal. Kai hesitated, grappling with what he should say.

"I... I'm here to help," he managed finally. His answer felt insufficient in the face of her confused expression. Still, he held her gaze, trying to communicate his sincerity.

Meanwhile, in the undergrowth, two of the Aether soldiers watched the scene unfold, their instructions from General Tae clear in their minds. They were to observe, to assess the situation and report back. Yet, as they watched Kai converse with the girl, they couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The presence of the portal, its light dancing in the darkness, spoke volumes of the gravity of the situation. This was more than they had imagined.

Back in the Aether realm, Master Sebong and General Tae awaited news from their soldiers. They knew the gravity of their mission - they were not only dealing with a potential reappearance of the Shadow Clan, but also the risk of revealing the existence of the Aether realm and the ancestral clans to the human world.

Lisa glanced once more at the portal, its shimmering light reflecting in her wide eyes. A rush of adrenaline surged through her, curiosity mingling with fear. "What is that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kai followed her gaze, and for a moment, they were both lost in the hypnotic dance of the portal's shimmering colors. "It's a gateway," he began, but his voice was drowned by the intensity of the portal's pull.

Without a thought, driven by an impulse she didn't understand, Lisa took a step, then another, and finally, she plunged into the portal. As she entered, she felt a sudden rush, a sensation of déjà vu. Fragments of forgotten memories played out: the portal's iridescent glow, the tingling sensation of crossing realms, and that silhouetted figure from her dreams, always just out of reach, his face a mystery shrouded in shadows.

Before she could process it all, a sharp gust of icy wind hit her, causing her to stumble and fall. Picking herself up, she found herself staring into the startled eyes of Kai, who had, seemingly on pure impulse, jumped in right after her. The portal closed with a faint, wistful sigh, leaving them in an unfamiliar, frigid world.

From a hill not far from where the portal once stood, soldiers of the Aether realm had seen it all. The necklace's energy had guided them, a