The surface was quieter than I expected. After the endless grinding noise of bones in that labyrinth, the silence of open fields pressed against my ears like a weight. Grass swayed gently, the sky stretched wide and gray, and for the first time since arriving in this cursed world, I felt something like freedom.
It lasted all of ten seconds.
"Stay close." Saintess voice was sharp, cutting the air like her staff might cut through flesh. She didn't even glance back to see if I obeyed, just walked forward with that commanding stride of hers, robes trailing faintly over the dirt path.
I hesitated. Part of me wanted to run the other way—vanish into the hills, find some corner of this world that didn't involve emperors, demons, or saintesses with voices like knives. But the thought of more skeletons, more labyrinths, more fires… yeah, no. Running wasn't survival. Not right now.
So I followed.
"You said transmigrators aren't rare," I finally spoke up, stepping over a patch of rocks. "That true? You mean there's others like me, just… dropped here?"
"Yes." Her tone was clipped, factual. "Many. Most do not survive long. Demons hunt your kind. To them, you are both prize and threat."
A chill ran down my spine. "Prize? Threat? What am I, some kind of shiny collectible?"
Her eyes flicked briefly toward me. "To demons, your kind carry… potential. Your souls are unstable, not bound as natives are. They see you as vessels to corrupt, or fuel to devour."
"…Great." I muttered, running a hand down my face. "So basically, I'm a snack with legs."
"You survived," she said coldly, "which already places you above most."
I wanted to take that as a compliment, but from her it sounded more like a reminder that I'd barely scraped by.
"What kind of devour though?" I pressed, my voice a little sharper than I meant.
The saintess did not speak for a while, her silence heavy enough that it almost felt like an answer on its own. Each step of her boots against the dirt seemed to drag the seconds longer.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she spoke.
"They devour your soul, not your body. Humans are vessels to them. But they are… picky—super picky. They need a vessel strong enough to withstand their power and strength."
Her words sank into me like ice. Soul-devouring. I swallowed hard, suddenly aware of every faint ache and shiver in my body. If demons were walking around looking for sturdy meat-suits to wear, then what exactly did that make me?
"So if I'm not strong enough…" I started.
"You break." Her voice was cold. Absolute. "Like glass under stone."
I grimaced. "Well, thanks for the motivational speech, Miss Sunshine."
The saint didn't respond, eyes forward, as if even acknowledging my sarcasm wasn't worth her time.
I kicked a rock off the path, trying to mask the unease crawling in my chest. Vessel, fuel, soul-devouring—was there ever going to be a point where I wasn't just a walking target with a timer on my back?
Suddenly the saint spoke, her voice calm but carrying that razor edge that made every word cut deeper.
"And my name isn't Miss Sunshine. It's Lumine Roseheart of the Kingdom of Lumen. I am part of the royal family—the next in throne to be Queen."
I blinked. Once. Twice. Not expecting her to just… casually toss that kind of information at me.
"You didn't really need to reveal your family but, uh, good for you I guess…" I muttered, scratching the back of my head. "Congrats on, y'know, being the future monarch and all. Do I bow now or—"
Her expression didn't change. Eyes forward, lips still, her face almost porcelain under the fading light. If anything, my words seemed to bounce off her like pebbles against a wall.
For a second, I thought she wasn't going to answer. Then, just barely, she tilted her head in my direction, the faintest flicker of emotion ghosting across her pale eyes.
"...It is not something I announce often," she said softly. "But you are… different. And if I am to protect you, you should know who it is standing beside you."
The way she said it wasn't boastful. If anything, it was detached, like she was reciting a fact carved into stone. Cold, shy, elusive, and somehow that made it scarier than if she'd puffed her chest and bragged.
"Well," I said after a long pause, trying to break the tension, "that explains why you've got the whole mysterious 'I can smite demons with a flick of my wrist' vibe going on. Royalty perks, huh?"
Her gaze flickered to me again, unreadable. Then back to the path. No answer.
Figures.
The air outside the cavern felt heavier somehow, like the sky had been holding its breath the entire time I was underground. The wind brushed against my skin, cool and almost gentle now—far different from the way Aurelia had practically tried to fold me into an origami crane.
Lumine said nothing as we descended the rocky path down the mountain. Her steps were precise, deliberate, as if every stone on the trail had been placed there for her alone. I had to scramble to keep up, half-sliding on loose gravel more times than I'd like to admit.
"So…" I began, trying to fill the silence before it strangled me, "does the whole 'I'm royalty, bow down peasants' thing come with free travel? Or do you just walk everywhere like this?"
She didn't look at me. "There is a carriage waiting."
Of course there was.
We pushed through the thinning treeline, and soon the mountain gave way to the edge of a sprawling forest. The canopy swallowed most of the moonlight, turning the path into a twisting tunnel of shadow. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, because apparently my life wasn't cliché enough already.
Lumine moved without hesitation, her white cloak drifting like mist in the dim light. She didn't flinch at the sounds. Didn't even seem to notice them. Just… walked.
I kept close behind, whispering to myself like an idiot. "Yeah, sure. Totally normal forest walk with the future queen. Nothing suspicious. Definitely not walking into an ambush."
After what felt like an hour, a faint glow appeared between the trees. A lantern. Then another. Then the shape of a carriage, sleek and sturdy, with two white stallions tethered to the front. The crest of a rose blooming in sunlight—Lumen's emblem, I guessed—was painted on the polished wood.
A driver in uniform stood at attention, bowing deeply as Lumine approached. "Saintess. The path is secure."
She gave a single nod, silent as ever, before stepping up into the carriage. Not even a glance back to check if I was following.
I stood there for a moment, staring. The horses snorted, impatient. The driver side-eyed me like I was late to a wedding.
"…Right," I sighed, climbing in after her. "Because who wouldn't want to share a ride with Miss Ice Queen herself?"
Inside, the carriage was surprisingly comfortable. Cushioned seats, polished wood, the faint scent of lavender lingering in the air. Lumine sat across from me, hands folded neatly in her lap, staring out the window as if the world outside was infinitely more interesting than my existence.
I leaned back, exhaling slowly. "So, Kingdom of Lumen, huh? Never thought I'd end up hitching a ride to the capital with royalty. Pretty sure I was supposed to, I don't know, get a normal job after transmigrating. But no. Now I'm part of some political fairy tale."
She shifted, her gaze sliding toward me for just a fraction of a second. Her voice was quiet, but sharp.
"You should be grateful you are alive at all."
I froze, caught off guard by the venom tucked beneath her otherwise calm tone.
"Yeah… yeah, fair point," I muttered, sinking back into my seat. The silence returned, heavier than before.
The carriage jolted forward. The forest blurred past the window.
For the first time since arriving in this world, I realized I wasn't running anymore. No skeletons. No collapsing walls. No bosses screaming in my face. Just a straight path leading to… what exactly? Safety? Or a whole new mess waiting in the kingdom?
I glanced at Lumine, but her eyes never left the night beyond the glass.
"So uhh," I said, scratching the back of my neck, "is there… anyone else like me? Y'know, survived their own trials, or whatever you people cooked up?"
Lumine didn't even flinch. She just turned her head, gave me a look that could peel paint, and rolled her eyes before staring out the window again. For a second I thought she was going to ignore me completely. But her voice came eventually—flat, sharp, like a knife dragged along glass.
"Yes. Six months ago, a cluster of students appeared near Lumen. Forty-seven of them, to be precise. Most of them died. Only twenty-six remain."
Her words hit like stones dropping in my stomach. Forty-seven? That many?
"Only five of them were remarkable," she continued, her tone dipped in disdain. "But I have long forgotten their names. They are nothing more than pests compared to me. Their usefulness ended the moment they failed to reach sainthood."
I leaned forward a little. "Wait—students? From where?"
Her eyes finally shifted to me, sharp as blades. "Your world. Earth."
I blinked, throat going dry. "You mean—my classmates?"
"Yes. They mentioned a boy who was missing. A weakling. Black hair. Green eyes. Frail body. Always smiling. Pathetically short. Five-foot-five." Her gaze scanned me, slow and deliberate, as though she was measuring me up for a coffin. "By their description, that missing boy is you. Yet, somehow… you've collected an extraordinary amount of mana. For someone like you, that is a rarity. An anomaly."
I felt my breath hitch. A mix of relief, confusion, and dread tangled inside me. My classmates were alive. Some of them, at least. Twenty-six out of forty-seven. But she said five were remarkable, which meant… what about the others? And why did she sound like she'd enjoy burning them alive if given the chance?
"Mana…?" I muttered, trying to anchor myself back into the conversation. "Like magic? And what made you say that? I don't even know how this stuff works yet."
Lumine sighed, long and exasperated, like explaining to me was beneath her. Still, she spoke.
"The more mana a person accumulates, the more perfect they are. Mana is not magic itself, but the foundation for it. The core. Think of it this way: mana is your energy, and magic is the shape it takes."
To demonstrate, she lifted her hand. Blue fire bloomed in her palm, its glow painting her pale face in icy light. The flames danced and coiled like living things, yet her expression remained completely indifferent, as if conjuring them was as natural as breathing.
"I have affinity with fire magic," she said, her voice a whisper wrapped in steel. "You, however… I do not know. And do not ask me. Discovering your affinity is your burden, not mine."
The flames vanished as quickly as they appeared, leaving only the faint scent of scorched air.
I sat there in stunned silence, the image of her blue fire still seared into my mind. Mana. Magic. Affinity. My classmates alive—at least some of them.
Her words echoed in my head long after the flames in her hand vanished.
Twenty-six left. Five remarkable. My classmates.
And then it clicked.
They died… in the least harsh environment. A trial that was nothing more than adapting to this new world. Meanwhile, I had been chewed apart, crushed, stabbed, burned, and hunted a hundred times over in that damned labyrinth. A trial designed to break me, yet I lived.
I clenched my jaw, a dark laugh slipping past my lips before I could stop it.
"The same people that looked down on me from the very beginning," I whispered, almost to myself. "The ones who sneered, called me weak, laughed at me…"
My fist tightened, nails digging into my palm.
"Well, aren't they the pathetic ones now? Dead, forgotten… while I'm still standing."
Lumine gave me a sideways glance, expression unreadable, but she said nothing. Maybe she thought I was crazy. Maybe she didn't care.
But for the first time since I woke up in this world, I didn't feel like the weakest one in the room.
Then I realized she was staring at me. Not just staring—looking at me with this strange, almost wary glance, like she'd just caught me plotting how to burn down an orphanage for fun.
I coughed into my hand, trying to play it off.
"Right, uh… not a psycho. Totally normal guy here."
She didn't reply, but the way her eyes lingered on me a second longer made me feel like she wasn't buying it. Great. Now the future Queen of Lumen probably thought I was unhinged.
So, I forced my gaze away, turning my attention forward. In the distance, past the thick green canopy of trees, I could finally see hints of it—tall spires, gleaming stone walls, banners fluttering in the wind.
The Kingdom of Lumen.
Whatever came next, it would start there.