Vario's sudden disappearance wasn't a prank. Not this time.
He blinked, and the dim fluorescent lights of the convenience store vanished. The shelves, the crates, the scattered cans—all gone. In their place was a world he knew all too well: the past. His past.
The air was thick with magic, the sky a bruised swirl of purples and reds. Mountains of jagged rock loomed in the distance, and the faint scent of sulfur and fire lingered. Vario's senses sharpened instantly; he was back in the war-torn lands where he had once ruled and fought, a world of demons, heroes, and endless conflict.
And he wasn't alone.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward—the last remaining demon from that world, a survivor who had harbored resentment and cunning for centuries. Its eyes glowed a sickly green, a grin twisting across its face.
"You thought you could leave?" the demon hissed. Its voice echoed unnaturally across the scarred landscape. "You left your power behind. You left your friends behind. But the past… the past never forgets."
Vario's eyes narrowed. "I didn't leave anything. I chose a different path."
The demon laughed, a sound that scraped like steel on stone. "A path? You abandoned everything! I will remind you… of your place."
With a flick of its clawed hand, a pulse of dark energy surged through the air. Vario staggered, his wings of shadow instinctively spreading to shield him. The demon's power was immense, the last remnants of a once-great army condensed into one vengeful entity.
Vario's mind raced. He had faced countless threats, monsters, and dark gods, yet the pull of his past world always carried weight—the kind that reminded him of mistakes, regrets, and battles unfinished.
"You won't take me without a fight," Vario growled, his aura flaring. Shadows peeled from his body, forming jagged wings and curling into blades of darkness. "I am not your prisoner."
The demon snarled. "We shall see."
Back in the convenience store, Nyx, Bella, and the rest of the heroes felt a chill ripple through the air. Vario's absence was no longer just mysterious—it was dangerous. The shadows themselves seemed to stir, as if carrying a message across worlds: Vario had been taken… back.
And the fight that awaited him in his old world would demand every ounce of strength, cunning, and magic he possessed.
Somewhere, far away from the safety of the store, the last demon prepared to settle old scores—and Vario had no choice but to face the past he thought he had left behind.