The ships were drawing nearer, their hulls gleaming faintly beneath the fading sky. I leaned back on the platform, arms folded, letting the low hum of the engines blend with the whisper of the wind. Toho and Kiso were a few meters ahead—each holding a faintly glowing violet stick that pulsed between their fingers as they retreated toward the storage sector, where food, supplies, and the last few civilians were being evacuated far from the battle.
Everything still felt strangely hopeful. I sat there, half-relaxed, surrounded by the endless forest that crawled along the horizon like it was alive. Nearby stood Trottel—a man with white hair, circular glasses, and a constant air of curiosity. A book hung from his belt, its pages fluttering lightly against his coat. He seemed to know everything, or at least pretended to.
Everyone who could help, did. Every hand was used for something—repairing, guiding, building, defending. Amid the chaos, a boy with yellow hair and a tuxedo carried himself like he didn't belong in a battlefield. He smiled constantly through his round glasses, listening carefully to every command...
To every word and information...
Without saying much, he handed me a plate. "Here you go, Mr. Adam," he said, voice polite, steady.
On the plate was a donut. I never said it aloud—but I like donuts, especially the cheap ones that come in plastic wrappers. Nutribuns. Wait… why am I even remembering this?
I took it anyway. He smiled again and went back to his duties. I never even learned his name.
Then, over the mountains, light flared. A dome—bright enough to blind—rose like a second sun, encasing an entire civilization: the Kaloterm Kingdom. It stretched from valley to valley, as immense as a mountain itself. The sight reminded me of the Stratum, except this time, life filled every corner.
Buildings pressed close together, railways crisscrossed like veins, and everything was made of stone and concrete instead of the cold steel of the mechanical world. This was a civilization born from life, not machinery.
And around it, a vast sea of light—a barrier. Thousands of nuclear detonations rippled against it, perfectly synchronized. Each explosion that could hollow out entire continents was swallowed whole, leaving no mark. The sky filled with mushroom-shaped clouds, their shadows stretching far beyond the horizon. When the smoke cleared, the barrier still stood. Not even a crack.
Then came the retaliation. Thousands of knights appeared atop the walls, firing rays of white light in perfect formation. The black-armored ones followed, unleashing continuous beams like fragments of their own will.
Piercebox rummaged through his pouch, pulling out an item box—inside it, a pulsating blue gem inscribed with unreadable runes. It expanded around our ships, forming a shield—but the enemy's firepower was too high. Their rays sliced through it effortlessly.
"Dammit, that isn't fair!" he yelled, stringing his bow and launching scrolls that burst into storms of lightning arrows. Hundreds struck the barrier, only to vanish like sparks in water.
Kiso steered the ship downward, his rifle flashing as he tried to neutralize the beams. Toho raised her hands, summoning massive floating balloon-like structures—bigger than buildings—to intercept the attacks. The rays struck them and burst in radiant bursts of white and violet.
"That's it," I muttered.
"I guess it's up to you," Kiso said quietly.
"Main character!" Piercebox shouted with his usual grin.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Please… don't call me that." I floated closer to the barrier, scanning its structure—well, Rehan did the analyzing. In an instant, it began to crumble, dissolving into nothing.
And beyond it stood the King. His body was cracked, dark energy seeping through glowing veins. He was bleeding, trembling, but the aura around him—raw mana—was suffocating.
"You…" he rasped, staring at me in disbelief. That someone like me could destroy his kingdom's last defense so effortlessly. He coughed, smirked faintly. "It doesn't matter anymore," he said. The land around him shimmered with endless problems, dissolving at the edges. He'd seen too much to be surprised anymore.
"Try to capture all the humans, Adam! Good luck with that guy!" Piercebox called, smirking. Then he hesitated. "Wait—heck no! I'm the strongest one here, I should—"
"The job," I said flatly.
He froze. Realizing pride meant nothing now...The souls and the world were at stake, as he smiled awkwardly, then tugged Kiso's hair as a joke. Kiso punched him hard enough to shut him up, and the monsters—behemoths, golems, and worse—descended upon Kaloterm.
"My people…" the King whispered, raising a trembling hand. Light gathered in his palm encircling, ready to burst. I moved faster, striking it aside before it could release. The energy dissipated like dust.
Dozens of swords and spears materialized in the air—dozens of them. I waved my hand once, and they disintegrated midair.
"Don't," I said quietly.
Silence.
From the heart of the kingdom, a massive insectoid creature emerged—its body bristling with jagged legs, hundreds of eyes gleaming in the shadows. It roared, shaking the ground.
The King vanished. In the next heartbeat, he reappeared behind me—grabbing hold, his hand cold as void—and the world folded inward.
He dragged me through another dimension with some kind of gluttony.
As i looked at the endless snow of white, "Sigh I hate being trapped again and again..."