A massive cavern unfolded in silence, lush and green despite being buried beneath the earth. Moss clung to the walls of glittering stone, and vines draped like curtains across crumbling pillars. Water trickled faintly somewhere in the distance.
Then, with a deep crack, part of the wall collapsed. Dust billowed, rocks scattered, and out stumbled a lone figure dressed in explorer's gear, his clothes weathered but his eyes alight with wonder.
"Wow…" the man whispered, brushing dirt off his sleeves. "Can't believe such a place existed beneath the Cave of Death. This… this is what I desired this time?"
His name was Nexus, descendant of an ancient family known for their mastery of ki—the life energy within the body and the owner of an ancient artifact known as the Wayward Compass.
This artifact was unlike any ordinary tool. It did not point north, nor did it heed magnetic poles. Instead, it guided its wielder toward what their heart truly desired—whether they knew it or not.
And today, it had led him here, into the forbidden depths where no ordinary explorer would have survived. Only through his ki manipulation had Nexus endured the choking air, the collapsing passages, and the suffocating pressure of the cave.
He pulled the compass from his coat and studied it. The needle gleamed faintly, pointing forward into the cavern's heart.
"Hm." Nexus tilted his head. "I wonder what in here I could possibly desire. I can't think of anything… but well, the compass hasn't failed me yet."
With a shrug and a faint smile, he followed its direction.
The path wound deeper until he froze, eyes widening.
Before him rose a tree made entirely of crystal, its branches gleaming with hues of emerald, sapphire, ruby, and gold. The crystalline limbs bent and twisted, forming natural bridges and walkways, as though daring him to climb.
Nexus let out a breathless laugh. "What… in the world? A tree made of crystals? You've outdone yourself this time, compass."
The needle pointed unwaveringly toward the tree's very top.
Suppressing the unease fluttering in his chest, Nexus placed a careful foot on one of the crystalline boughs. The surface was smooth, slick, and groaned faintly under his weight. His ki swirled instinctively, ready to reinforce his body if the branch snapped.
Step by step, he climbed higher. Each creak made his heart pound faster. Each glittering shard of color reminded him of the abyss yawning below.
Finally, he reached the top.
There, nestled in the highest fork of the tree, was no fruit, no flower—just a shard of crystal shaped into a four-pointed star.
Nexus blinked. "…That looks familiar."
He pulled out the Wayward Compass. For a moment, both relics pulsed faintly with light—matching colors, matching rhythm.
"This… could it be part of you?"
He went closer to the shard. The instant the compass neared the shard, they snapped together like magnets. Nexus flinched as the shard embedded itself, the compass reshaping with a violent burst of light until it gleamed as an eight-pointed star.
The tree groaned. Cracks spread rapidly along its trunk.
Nexus's face went pale. "Oh no… I knew this was too easy."
The crystal beneath him shattered.
With a roar like breaking glass, the entire structure collapsed, dropping him into the endless abyss below.
Nexus's instincts screamed. Ki flared around his body as he thrust his will outward, attempting to glide, to control his fall. For an instant, he slowed—but the abyss itself seemed to pull at him, devouring the energy as fast as he could gather it.
"What—?! It's sucking my ki dry?!" Nexus shouted, panic in his voice.
The darkness swallowed him whole. The last thing he saw before the world vanished was the compass, glowing faintly in his hand—its new eight-pointed star pulsing, as though guiding him not to safety… but to something far stranger.
-
After a while, Nexus stirred, coughing dust from his lungs. His body ached as though he'd been tossed down a mountain, but he was alive. Blinking, he pushed himself upright.
The cavern around him looked… similar to the one he had fallen from. The same glittering walls, the same moss and vines, the same trickle of water. But something was wrong.
The air smelled sharper, charged with an unfamiliar energy. The stone shimmered with hues he had never seen before. It was like waking in a dream shaped by memory, yet not quite the same.
Frowning, Nexus reached for his compass. His fingers closed on empty air.
"What?!" His voice cracked as he scrambled to his feet, patting his coat, his belt, even the ground around him. "No, no, no… don't tell me—where is it?!"
Panic surged. That compass was his family's greatest heirloom, his only real guide. Without it, he was just a lost traveler in an impossible land.
Then, without warning, light shimmered before his eyes. The compass appeared in his palm, whole and steady, its eight-pointed star glimmering faintly.
Nexus froze. "…You came back?"
And then he remembered.
His late father's voice echoed in his mind, words spoken long ago by firelight. *"The Wayward Compass is not just a mere artifact. It is a spiritual artifact—alive in its own way. It carries many abilities. One is this: when it chooses its master, no hand but theirs may wield it. No thief can take it. No accident can destroy it. And if ever it vanishes, do not fear—for it rests within your mind, waiting only for your command.
But alas, that is not possible right now. It is incomplete. Perhaps when it becomes whole again, it can shine like a star once more. I failed to find its missing fragment… but I hope you will succeed."*
Breathing slowly, Nexus lowered his hand. "So… it chose me. And it led me to the missing fragment. Becoming complete."
The realization steadied him. He managed to fulfill his family's long-standing wish. He managed to complete the wayward compass. He was thrilled, but now was not the time for that.
"Alright, old friend," he muttered, clutching it tight. "Then show me the way out of here."
The needle stirred, pointing toward a faint glow between the cavern walls. Nexus followed, weaving through jagged stone until at last, the cave opened into blinding daylight.
He shielded his eyes, then gasped.
The world beyond was unlike anything he knew.
Floating beasts soared through the skies, their riders perched proudly on saddles carved of crystal and steel. Carriages without horses—sleek, glowing machines—raced along hovering roads that twisted through the air. In the streets below, people strolled in flowing robes or strange modern garments, each one faintly shimmering with energy. Some bore weapons that pulsed with runes, others carried books that glowed like miniature suns.
A city sprawled across the horizon, its towers a fusion of stone, steel, and spirit, humming with currents of power. The air itself was alive with energies unknown to him.
Nexus's jaw dropped. "…What kind of world… did I fall into?"