Abandoned buildings, sand covering the streets, and the silent darkness of night—only the sound of the cold wind could be heard.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but ruins left behind by an intelligent civilization.
At that moment, an entity emerged from one of the collapsed buildings. No matter how you looked at it, it was a person.
He wore a suit that covered his entire body and a helmet that left no gap whatsoever.
With his heavy voice, indicating that he was a man, he spoke:
"Hmm, this makes me one hundred percent certain that every living being on this planet has gone extinct, and that this extinction happened decades ago. But this is strange... it looks like I need to go there."
After saying that, he looked into the distance and began walking toward what appeared to be a multi-story building. At the top of that building, a bright light shone, illuminating the path of the man's steps.
He walked slowly as if enjoying the surroundings, though there should have been nothing to enjoy in such an environment. Who knew what thoughts lay behind that helmet?
After some time walking, he finally arrived at the building.
He stopped right in front of it, bent his knees, and—
*boom
He leapt several meters into the air, leaving dust where he had stood. Using ledges for footing, he jumped and swung his way up toward the building's peak. He was clearly no ordinary being—his movements defied logic.
Upon reaching the rooftop, he looked around. What lay before him was a humanoid skeleton.
The skeleton appeared to be embracing something—the very source of the mysterious light.
"Hmm? A human? So this planet was inhabited by humans as well... but this is truly strange."
The man was puzzled by the sight. Throughout his journey on this planet, he had never found any clear evidence of what species had once lived here. But upon seeing this skeleton, he realized that humans had been among them.
What confused him was why this was the only skeleton he had found.
The man approached it and began examining.
"Judging by this environment, it seems this person has been dead for one or two years. Could they have survived the extinction? Logically, that's impossible. And more than that, judging from the skeleton, they were only in their teens. This makes no sense at all... What really happened on this planet?"
After observing the skeleton, he turned to the source of the light it had been holding. What he saw was light itself—so bright it blinded him, preventing him from seeing the core of its source.
Without hesitation, he took it, and suddenly the light in his hands began to fade until it no longer shone at all.
When the light vanished, darkness once again covered the world. All that could be seen was the star-filled sky.
But he did not enjoy the sight. His attention was fixed on the object in his hand—a round, marble-like object with abstract carvings etched into its surface.
He truly was a super-being, somehow able to perceive it all despite the pitch-black night.
After observing for a while, he clenched the object tightly and fell silent.
[ Initiating scan__ Material: Unknown__, Energy: Undetected__, Information: Not Recorded ]
Letters began to appear before his eyes. If anyone else had been there, they would never have seen them, for they were directly imprinted into his brain.
"What is this object? With light that bright, there's no way it doesn't leave any trace of energy! What is going on with this planet?"
The analysis only deepened his confusion.
"Haah... the night is still long. I suppose I'll rest here and continue my research tomorrow."
He looked around, found a good spot, and lay down.
Little by little, his body relaxed—he had fallen asleep.
**********
He dreamed. A memory he could never forget.
A green garden adorned with beautiful flowers. Among them, a woman in a lab coat watered the blossoms.
Her beauty surpassed even the flowers around her. Her golden hair gleamed like precious gold.
The woman turned and smiled at him, saying:
"These flowers are beautiful, aren't they?"
**********
The man awoke and looked around. Sunlight lit up the scenery he had grown accustomed to lately.
"Haah~"
He pondered the dream he had just experienced. It wasn't the first time—he had dreamed it dozens, perhaps hundreds of times.
It was as if his deepest desire shaped his dreams—the wish to return to the past, or more precisely, to meet once again the woman in them.
"Meeting her again is impossible, because she—no, because everything is gone."
Suddenly, his hand emitted light. He looked at it and realized it came from the strange object he had held all night.
In no time, the light grew brighter and began to envelop him rapidly.
"W-what!?"
Moments later, the light vanished—taking the man with it, leaving behind the ruined world.
**********
"Ugh."
The man regained consciousness and looked around. What he saw was the complete opposite of what he had seen before.
Towering buildings, clean streets free of sand and dust, trees decorating every corner. He saw and heard the voices of people everywhere.
But what he felt from them were emotions of confusion, curiosity, and unease.
Such emotions made them fail to notice the strangely dressed figure who had suddenly appeared among them.
"W-what is this?"
"What kind of strange pattern is this?"
"A performance?"
"Could this be...!"
Those were the voices he heard. Then he noticed what they were looking at.
Beneath his feet was a circular design with strange patterns and inscriptions.
He observed that everyone around him had similar circles beneath their feet, each connected to another by drawn lines.
(What is this now? They don't even know what these patterns are! No... some of them do. It seems this isn't common knowledge.)
As he pondered what was happening, the circle beneath him suddenly began to glow. Seeing that, he felt déjà vu.
The light beneath his feet grew brighter, enveloping him once again.
"AGAIN!?"
**********
After a while, the man regained consciousness and took in his surroundings.
He saw several people beside him, all of them in an open field surrounded by armored knights from the medieval era.
One of the knights stepped forward. Judging from the different armor he wore, he seemed to be the leader.
When he was just a few steps away, the knight leader spoke to them in a dramatic tone and gesture:
"Oh, Heroes of Fate, welcome to our world. Forgive my rudeness, but I beg of you... please help us!"