It was purple. An ominous light filled the giant room, illuminating the device that took up a third of it. Thousands of cables and pipes connected the different pieces, holding the contraption together. In the middle of it, a giant glowing orb floated. Various shades of purple danced and formed chaotic shapes inside it.
In the dimly lit room, a figure stood. Two small yet strong-looking horns poked out of his head. The orb illuminated his sturdy, light purple skin, giving his red pupils an ominous spark. But those eyes were filled with pride toward his creation.
His posture was strong. A high-quality tunic partially covered his muscular chest. His skin bore a pattern of different shades, almost like tattoos. That pattern was the proof of his power and superiority.
So much time had passed in this god-forsaken wasteland, but it was finally bearing fruit. And that giant orb was the sweetest of them all. Waves of Energy collided and exploded, dancing inside the orb. It was ever-changing, shifting under the will and intention of its future master.
"Just a little more time. The calculations are almost done, and everything is progressing as planned. Then I, Morpheal, will stand at the top and show those bastards who is superior. I will never be looked down on again." With a slight wave of his hand, the main lights illuminated the rows of books and research equipment inside the large stone room. He walked toward the double doors leading deep inside his castle, where a servant waited outside.
The servants in his castle were from a lesser race he had used as slaves for quite a while. They reached his legs at most. Their skin was dark purple, though they were ordered to wear hooded robes to hide their disgusting features.
The servant tensely presented a report about the growing army. Morpheal took it without looking at the servant. Some test subjects were causing trouble and needed his direct attention to progress further. He had expected as much, as his next creations were made to be extra dangerous. Since he was already heading there to check the preparations, the report didn't bother him. The servant visibly relaxed, leaving his sight as quickly as possible without turning his back.
He continued toward the underground, to the creation facility for his soldiers, but stopped for a moment in front of a window to admire the view outside.
The entire sky was covered with dark clouds, frequently illuminated by wild Energy explosions and lightning of various colors. The surroundings of the castle had been flattened before he even built it, and they were now teeming with his different creations. Every single one of them had developed unique physical attributes and characteristics.
They had different types of skin and limbs. Some had horns, while others had bone spikes poking out of their bodies. Some possessed wings like giant bats or feathers like griffons; claws like lions or pincers like giant crabs; feet like humans or hooves like oxen. All were made for one purpose only: war and destruction.
***
"Ah, sorry about that, something just caught my eye." The Traveler turned to the suffering Elise. She was desperately trying to breathe and resist the wild environment.
With a quick hand gesture, the suffocating feeling faded away, and she could breathe once again. This gave her a chance to stand up unsteadily and look around thoroughly for the first time.
"What is this place, and what just happened to me?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.
"We are in a different Realm. The air, gravity, and Energy density here are different from what you are used to. And just your luck, it is much harsher. I put up a filter for you for now." He looked around while talking. "You can train your body to adjust to the gravity and Energy, but the air is a different thing. It is not easy to transmute your own breathable air or remove the requirement of oxygen from your body."
A different Realm?! Even the thought of something like that was enough to excite Elise. She had traveled for some time since leaving home and experienced a decent number of things, but they were nowhere near this. It was a rocky wasteland as far as the eye could see, and the sky itself was a completely different story.
"Do all the places you travel to look like this?" she asked.
"No. This seems like an incomplete or abandoned Realm. Energy is floating around freely—wildly, even." He seemed to have no problem with the current situation. "Yeah, I think this place will do."
"What do you mean, incomplete?"
"I'll explain it later. Come, let's start." He started walking toward the closest rocky hill in the distance.
"Start what?" There were so many questions that she thought her head was about to explode.
"Your test, of course!"
"Are you really going to test me here? I can't even breathe properly!"
"Don't complain from the start. We'll start with an easy one." As he finished his sentence, Elise felt the crushing pressure return. But this time, the feeling of her insides turning out did not accompany it. She fell on one knee once again. "I'll release the gravity first. Keep your armor on and try to keep up with me."
He kept walking, leaving Elise behind. She felt like her armor was betraying her, trying to crush her under its weight. Even standing straight was hard, but she had to walk all the way there. Every step was a challenge, but giving up was not an option. If she wanted to continue traveling with him and reach her dreams, she had to go beyond her limits. So, she walked, leaving the unusually smooth obelisk behind.
She had thought sword training in armor was hard when she first started. Back then, the armor made her movements much slower, and by the end of the day, every muscle in her body screamed in pain. But this time, the muscle pain was far worse. Her legs threatened to give out countless times along the way, but she forced herself to walk straight until the end. She was about to collapse when they finally stopped in front of a large pile of rocks at the foot of a sharp hill.
"Well done! I thought you were going to collapse way back there. Get some rest, then we can start." He inspected the pile of rocks while she dropped to the ground.
"Wait! Start? Didn't we start already?"
"We just got here; how could we have already started?"
"You are joking, right?" she asked, lying on the dirt and trying to catch her breath.
The Traveler didn't answer her, and she was in no shape to press for one anyway. She lay quietly, watching the magical explosions in the dark clouds. She listened to the constant roaring of the sky, noticing that the ground rumbled in response. Those resonant sounds, combined with her sheer exhaustion, forced her eyes to close. She fell asleep without even realizing it.