As far as I can tell, the very basic mechanic of advancing beyond the sections with the candles and the green flames is to get there before certain characters die. In the case of the first one, that's the guy in samurai(?) armor you find dead. They key to preventing their deaths is to solve certain riddles and thereby unlock shortcuts that let you get to them before they die/get themselves killed.


1. The Gate of the Runner

Clue: Near the end/in the chamber from which you reset, there is an important clue in the glowing capsule. On your next run, pay attention to the world you pass by.
Solution: In one of the early areas, there is a river with a zig-zag pattern. You need to start at the upper left corner and cross the river at every straight section, making your own zig-zag pattern, until you reach the bottom. If you do it right, an obvious effect will appear.


2. The Gate of the Eye

Clue: Once more, the clue to solving this puzzle can be found near the end. Take a look at the note, and consider where it might be applied.
Clue 2: While there are some of those rabbit cyclopses in the final room, that's not where the puzzle to advance needs to be solved.
Solution: Similarly to the river puzzle, the location in question is near the start, a bit before the river. You'll come across a creature that looks kinda like the rabbit cycloses, but metallic and without a visible eye. You need to run around it repeatedly at a slight distance to unlock the shortcut.


3. The Gate of Perpetuity

Clue: I don't remember 100%, but I think this time the most important clue is in an audiolog at or slightly before the end. Good luck?
Solution: Shortly after the starting point, there's an area with an outline of an infinity symbol on the ground. Stand at the part where it's interrupted and proceed to walk alongside the symbol over and over again. (You might need to try repeatedly with different directions?)


4. The Gate of the Pit

Clue 1: Your most recent clues should let you figure out in which area you need to look. Search it thoroughly.
Clue 2: The area is your landing spot, right where you get teleported at the start of every loop. The big transmission tower is just to tell you this is it, it's not actually relevant to the puzzle.
Clue 3: First right, then left, then the middle?
Solution: In the landing area, there are two objects you can activate by standing besides them. They are crosses that glow. But, you can only walk horizontally, or else they will deactivate. (I've found it most simple to just slide my cursor along the very bottom of the screen.) Activate the right cross, then the left, and then stand on the forcefield in the middle. Wiggle around a little until you find the location where your character's eyes are visible through the foliage, then stay there for a few seconds. Once the ball appears, just hit it.



5. The Gate of Calm

Clue: The hint lies in the torn up pieces of paper, and the audio recordings that they are tied to in the clue screen.

Clue 2: Consider the clues are about meditation, and how it grants power. Also, something about a futon/ thing to sit on while meditate. Where could you find somewhere to meditate that you also have a use for the power it would grant you?

Solution: There are two locations you need to visit. After you went up to the upper left corner of the map and turned right again, you'll enter a room with a blue speckled pillar. Go to the piece of cloth in the middle of the screen, and stay there. Do not touch your mouse. After a while, you should see a white aura. Wait until it transforms into a green aura, then go to attack the stone pillar.


6. The Gate of Sparks

Clue 1: Look at the torn notes you found in the second location unlocked by meditation, as well as the audio clue found nearby.

Clue 2: The notes show the locations at which you need to do something with the circuits. The upper three, you likely already passed after unlocking an area with meditation. But what about the others?

Solution: The notes give you the locations of where you need to activate the circuit switches, which in many cases are located at the outer edges of levels. I reccomend you bring a ranged weapon like the bow, or the katana, since those let you immediately activate the switches as soon as you hover over them.

The notes give you the coordinates of areas where you need to activate switches. Coordinates are counted from the upper left. The (4,6)(?) coordinate is the landing area, and you need to go to the top and hit something, resulting in green sparks. After that, proceed on the same route across the pit and through the meditation pillar. There is one more location before the meditation pillar that you need to activate switches in, (1,6), which is 3 fields to the left of the landing area. All the other areas with switches are after the meditation gate. Just make sure you always hit both switches in each area, and all 4 in the last. If you make it, the gate will open once you hit the last switch.


Gate 7: The Gate of Unlocking you Phone

Clue 1: By now, you should be familiar with how there are puzzles that require you to walk in certain patterns to unlock new paths. What remains is which patterns in which sequence, and where.

Solution: Directly besides the starting location, on the 'normal' path, you'll find a field with 9 dots. Walk the patterns in sequence, from the one with one black dot on the note to the one with 3 black dots on the note. The end of one pattern should leave you right where you need to start the next. If it doesn't work, try repeating it more slowly and carefully.



And that should be everything you need to reach 'the end'.
If there is something in my writing that's unclear or some terrible typo, feel free to leave a comment so I can fix it.
Good luck!