The dirt road wound through sunlit hills, the Hero Academy still just a distant glimmer of white stone and gold banners on the horizon. The air smelled of pine and wildflowers, but under it all was the faint, electric hum of magic.
Seraphina walked ahead of me with perfect posture, her armor catching the sun like polished glass. Even without saying a word, she radiated the kind of calm authority that said she could take down an ogre before breakfast. Lilielle, in contrast, skipped along behind us, humming a tune as the charms on her staff jingled with every step.
"So…" I said after a few minutes of silence. "This is… surreal."
"Hmm?" Lilielle tilted her head.
"I mean… I spent years staring at your character models on a screen, and now I'm walking next to you. And the ground is real. And the sun is real. And if I stub my toe, I think that'll be real too."
She giggled, spinning her staff. "It's more fun this way, right?"
Seraphina didn't laugh. She hadn't smiled since I woke up in this world.
"…You left," she said finally, not looking at me. Her voice was calm, but each word felt like an arrow.
I flinched. "I… yeah. Life got busy, I guess."
"I waited," she continued. "Day after day, watching Rifts open… thinking, surely, he will return. Surely, he will summon us again. But the world was quiet."
Lilielle's ears drooped, and she slowed her skipping. "We tried our best without you, but… it wasn't the same. The other heroes—they missed you too. Some… stopped believing you were ever coming back."
I shoved my hands in my pockets, guilt settling like a stone in my chest. I wanted to say I'd been busy with work, or that my phone battery kept dying, or that it was just a game… but standing here, walking next to the people who used to be pixels, none of those excuses felt right.
"I'm sorry," I said softly.
For the first time, Seraphina turned her head toward me. Her violet eyes softened just a fraction. "…You returned. That is what matters now."
We walked a while in silence. Birds trilled in the distance. The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows over the road.
"Hey, hey!" Lilielle said suddenly, pointing to a grove of trees ahead. "Look, look! Those flowers weren't here last year!"
We stopped by a patch of glowing blue flowers that pulsed faintly with light, like tiny lanterns.
"Riftblooms," Seraphina said, kneeling to inspect them. "They grow where magic leaks from unstable rifts. It means the world is weakening."
Lilielle leaned close to the flowers, her face lit by the glow. "Pretty, though! Don't you think?"
I crouched beside her. "…Yeah. Pretty. And terrifying, apparently."
As we walked again, Lilielle peppered me with questions about my time away.
-Did my world have heroes like her?
-Did I eat anything interesting?
-Was I married now? (She asked this with zero hesitation, and Seraphina almost tripped on a rock.)
I answered as best I could, the conversation weaving between silly and heavy. With each laugh and memory, the weight of my absence pressed a little harder on me. These weren't just units in a game—they were people who remembered everything.
Finally, as twilight settled, we reached a ridge. The Hero Academy came into full view below us.
My breath caught.
It was larger than I'd ever imagined from the menus and loading screens—an entire city of white stone walls, soaring towers, and cascading waterfalls. Floating banners shimmered with the sigil of a radiant star, and above the academy, crystalline spires rotated slowly, humming with power. Training fields and dormitories spread out from the central keep like the petals of a flower.
"Home," Seraphina said quietly. Her tone carried pride, but also a thread of vulnerability.
Lilielle clasped her hands together. "Wait until everyone sees you! They're going to freak out! Well… some of them. Others might be… um… grumpy. But I'm happy!"
For the first time since I arrived in this world, I let myself smile.
"…Yeah," I said, staring at the glowing academy below. "I think… I'm happy to be back, too."
Finally, as twilight folded into night, we crested a ridge. Below, the Hero Academy sprawled magnificently, a shining beacon against the darkening sky.
My breath caught in my throat.
The academy was far grander than any menu screen or loading animation had ever suggested—an entire city built of gleaming white stone and soaring towers, waterfalls cascading like silver ribbons. Floating banners shimmered with the radiant star sigil, and crystalline spires hovered above, slowly rotating and humming with raw power. Training grounds, dormitories, and study halls fanned out from the central keep like petals on a great luminous flower.
Seraphina's voice broke the silence, quiet but resolute. "This is Valeris, the northern continent—the last stronghold of civilization."
I looked out past the academy toward the horizon, where the land rolled away beneath a bruised sky. "How bad is it?"
She sighed. "The Rifts have consumed over fifty percent of our world's surface. Entire kingdoms swallowed by darkness, millions of lives lost… and the rifts only grow stronger."
Lilielle shivered. "Some of the villages we protected no longer exist. The Rifts tear through everything like a storm. Magic leaks from them, corrupting the land and twisting creatures into monsters."
I swallowed hard, the weight of it sinking in. This wasn't a game anymore. The stakes were real—every lost village, every fallen hero, a scar on the world.
Seraphina's violet eyes met mine, fierce and unyielding. "That's why the academy exists. To train new heroes. To push back the darkness. But even we can't hold the line without you, Trainer."
Lilielle smiled softly, trying to lighten the mood. "But hey, we're going to win this. Together."
I looked back out across the horizon. "Are there others like the Hero Academy fighting this war?"
Seraphina nodded. "There are three main factions holding the line across Valeris. The Hero Academy trains summoned heroes and their trainers—beings who left their names etched into history or were chosen by the will of the world itself. Legends, champions, those whose deeds shaped ages. Their souls answer the call, drawn here to fight the Rifts."
Lilielle added, "The Cultivator Alliance focuses on martial artists and warriors who master their bodies and spirits through ancient techniques. Their strength comes from discipline and tradition."
"And then there's the Mage Tower," Seraphina continued, "a bastion of arcane power where spellcasters push the boundaries of magic. They strike from afar, unraveling Rift energies with devastating force."
I noticed a flicker of tension in Seraphina's eyes. "The factions don't always see eye to eye. There's pride, rivalry, and a few old grudges—especially between the Cultivators and the Mages. But the Rifts leave no time for infighting. For now, their focus is survival and turning back the darkness."
Lilielle nodded in agreement. "We're all on the same side. For now."
The three factions maintain a fragile alliance, each bringing their unique strength to the battle. But even combined, the Rifts push ever forward.
For the first time since I arrived in this strange new world, I allowed myself to smile back.
"…Yeah," I said, staring down at the glowing academy below. "I think… I'm ready to fight."