—Ah, human greed… how far can it go?
—We don't know, my good friend who condemned us. Aaahh, now I remember. Do you recall when the elites joined forces to form an empire and, through portals, began exploring other worlds? One of those worlds—a fantasy world—was connected to ours, remember?
—Yes. Maybe that's what caused Earth to change so much.
—Maybe, my friend. Everything turned to darkness and blackness...
Present...
—How come I'm your brother now? Just a moment ago, you wanted to kill me.
—What are you talking about? I don't remember anything.
(Thinking) What happened to him? Well, at least he doesn't want to kill me anymore… but it's strange.
—Hey, ummm, come on. Follow me. Let's go somewhere safer.
—Alright.
Nova and Lia began walking toward a nearby civilization. Lia told him she didn't know anything about this world, something that made Nova wonder if she had lost her memory.
In the end, he would explain that there are five continents:
The first, America, had become one of the most dangerous due to its high density of deadly and deformed creatures of all kinds.
Europe was inhabited solely by Kaijus that awakened because of a nuclear war that wiped out sixty percent of humanity years ago. Asia was full of humans because it was the least dangerous. Africa was a grave—uninhabited and filled with desert, where demons roamed. And Oceania was isolated, so nothing was known about it.
Nova and Lia arrived at a community that, luckily, had no members of the Empire. Lia asked what the Empire was.
Nova explained that the Empire once ruled the galaxy, but lost it due to poor decisions—and also because of the Stermitrons, an android race created by humans that, of course, rebelled against them.
After telling her that, Nova entered a hotel and rented a room with Lia.
But before going in, he noticed someone following them. They both left the place, circling around until they caught whoever it was.
It was a Stermitron, who quickly released smoke to confuse them both. But Lia could still see him and jumped to a rooftop. Using her powers, she summoned concentrated energy and fired at the robot. But the Stermitron pulled out a device capable of trapping magic—something that shocked Nova and Lia, since such a thing didn't exist before.
The android then said:
—You two are strong, huh? You're mistaken. We Stermitrons already have five of the ten rings of power. That's why I was following you—because you have one...
—You do realize you just revealed your plan, idiot?
—Uhhh, I-I-I...
—Wow, how dumb you are—and to think you're supposed to be an AI!
Nova, tired of the Stermitron, decided to attack, but Lia beat him to it and knocked the Stermitron out with a surprise attack. They began interrogating him, but he refused to talk.
In an act of sacrifice, the android said:
—For the Empress...
Then the android destroyed itself, burning its power core from the inside. Nova already suspected something: the Stermitrons were back on Earth. He noted that they hadn't returned in a long time—so they must be well prepared.
But the question still echoed in Nova's mind: Why do they want the rings?
That night, Nova and Lia entered a bar to talk.
Approaching the bartender, Nova asked:
—Hey, do you know anything about Jack Arlenson?
—Yeah, but you'll have to pay me for that info.
—(Points a gun at him) Listen, I've had a horrible day. So talk.
—Alright, alright. I heard he went to False Hope, a worn-out and destroyed city.
—Thanks for the info, idiot, —Nova whispered.
With the information in hand, they prepared to leave, but everyone in the place started screaming:
—They've arrived! They're here! Run!
Everyone quickly fled the place, taking their homes—which were quick-folding tents—with them.
A few seconds later, the entire area was empty. What Nova had rented was now gone. But Lia mentioned that some Devourers had appeared, and both Nova and Lia hid.
However, Lia accidentally broke a branch, attracting the Devourers' attention. With no other choice, they fought.
Nova summoned his sword, and Lia conjured her dark magic. The two quickly learned each other's attack patterns and managed to perform strategic combos that put the Devourers in trouble.
But then, in the middle of the fight, a 10-meter-tall Devourer appeared.
This creature walked on four legs, unlike the others. It wasn't humanoid—it was deformed and had tentacles on its mouth or head.
But what shocked them most was that it could speak, saying:
—Humans… accept your fate. You will all be devoured. I will chew every bone and piece of flesh from you...
—Ha ha ha ha...
The duo fled, but the creature caught up. Nova had to hide Lia and told her to look for him in False Hope.
Nova started running, drawing the creature's attention. Lia tried to help, firing multiple attacks—but, having forgotten her memories, she had become a novice again and was quickly knocked out.
Meanwhile, Nova would arrive at the Sleepers' Caves, thrilled to find himself at the entrance to the next labyrinth, which led to the Ring of Faith and Worth.
Lia would eventually stand up and begin heading toward the place Nova mentioned—but stopped, realizing she didn't know where it was. Feeling foolish, she stood still.
She then decided to find a settlement, hoping someone could take her to False Hope and reunite her with Nova.
Meanwhile, the massive creature saw Stermitron ships arriving from afar—and with a single attack, they disintegrated the monster. One of the ships landed, and from it descended the Empress, named Alita, who was looking for someone.
—Hey, command unit. We need to find Nova and stop him from collecting the remaining five rings...
—At your command, Empress.
—Move!
—We're going, we're going!
—Look at the sunrise... He won't survive, hahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahahaha!
In the distance, more Stermitron ships arrived on Earth...
To be continued—for now...