"That person is dressed so strangely, but he's so handsome. Is he cosplaying some character? Hehe, do you want to go ask for his contact information?
I heard that boys who usually cosplay are especially innocent."
"Why me? Why don't you go? But haven't you noticed that he looks a bit familiar?"
"Really? Now that you mention it, he does look a bit like our school's heartthrob. The more I look, the more he resembles him. Could it really be him? Then we definitely need to go ask for his contact information!"
Opening his eyes to this unfamiliar world and the strange things before him, all of it left Phainon somewhat bewildered after he regained his senses.
He looked around this strange world, full of questions, and two whispering female voices reached his ears, increasing the confusion in his mind.
Where am I? What are all these things?
Just then, a bus sped past Phainon, making his gaze even more confused. He looked exactly like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city.
What was that thing that just passed? How can it carry so many people, and run so fast? How does it do that?
The two girls' whispers reached his ears again. Following the sound, he saw two strangely dressed people looking at him and chatting, their communication slates pointed at him and glowing.
Phainon was currently full of questions that needed answers, and the two whispering girls in front of him were the perfect candidates.
Thinking this, Phainon walked towards their location. Seeing Phainon approach them, the two girls felt a strange mix of excitement and apprehension.
Although Phainon was very confused by the excitement in their eyes, the immediate problems were more pressing.
Phainon revealed a gentle smile.
"Hello, ladies. May I ask which city this is?"
The two looked at Phainon's exquisite face with excitement. If this world truly were a novel, they had no doubt that the young man before them would be the male protagonist, and they hoped the female lead would be themselves.
But of course, these were just their fantasies. They also automatically overlooked Phainon's somewhat strange choice of words, assuming he was simply embodying the character's personality.
"Th-that, this is Changkong City. Can we exchange contact information?"
One of the girls answered excitedly and pulled out her phone. This scene made Phainon wave his hand a little awkwardly.
"Sorry, I have some things to attend to, so I won't stay longer. But I hope both of you ladies have a happy day."
After speaking, Phainon hastily left the spot. After all, the two girls' gazes were too fervent, making Phainon feel uncomfortable all over. He had no choice but to find an excuse to leave quickly and find a few more people to ask about the current situation.
"Excuse me, hello. Do you know the way to Okhema?"
"Okhema? Never heard of it."
..."Hello, sir, may I take a moment of your time? Do you know Aglaea?"
"Who is that? Don't know?"
..."Hello,..."
— — — — — — — — — —
After some time of asking around, Phainon had a rough idea of his current situation.
He had, for some unknown reason, arrived in another world. There were no Titans here, and judging by the prosperity, there seemed to be no Black Tide either.
It could be said to be an almost perfect world, but how did he come to this world?
He still had an unfinished mission; he had to find a way back.
But where to look and how to return, that was a huge problem.
Mydeimos had become a demigod, guarding Suspended Peak City alone against the Black Tide, Castorice guarded the Underworld, and Teacher Anaxa had used his own life to declare the truth of this world to him.
The Journey of Fire only had the spark of the Sky Titan left, but precisely at this time, such an unexpected event occurred.
Phainon couldn't imagine what kind of disaster his hometown would face if he suddenly disappeared.
Just thinking about it made Phainon feel inexplicably agitated. He didn't have much time left; he had to find a way back.
"I must find a way back. I still have my mission unfulfilled, and I cannot let down everyone's expectations."
After a moment of panic, Phainon gradually calmed down. The key now was how to get back?
He had just checked; apart from the clothes on his back, he was penniless.
Although Phainon desperately wanted to return to his original world, this was clearly impossible. Not to mention how he came to this world, he also didn't know how this world viewed outsiders.
If he exposed that he didn't belong to this world, would they help him?
Phainon silently asked himself in his heart, but in the end, he shook his head. Human hearts were the least trustworthy, because they could sometimes be more terrifying than disaster. So, he dared not gamble on the kindness of the people in this world.
While Phainon was deep in thought, a sudden commotion made him somewhat confused.
He thought there was an argument, but when he looked, his pupils contracted.
Before him was a clearly abnormal person, holding a huge scythe, who sliced the man in front of him into two halves with one strike.
In that instant, Phainon's initial impression of this world completely vanished; this world was not as beautiful as it appeared on the surface.
Without giving Phainon much time to think, the person holding the scythe walked towards a fallen little girl and raised the scythe in his hand, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the girl.
Phainon no longer stood by. He rushed over, hugged the little girl, and, using the momentum of his charge, carried her away, dodging the person's attack.
Phainon gently stroked the little girl's back, soothing her emotions.
"It's okay, I'm here. Don't be afraid."
Then he turned his head to look at the person holding the scythe. Only then did Phainon notice the person's difference.
Although he still looked human, the aura emanating from him and his transformed pupils told Phainon that the person before him could no longer be considered human; he was more like a Dead Soldiers.
The Dead Soldiers watched Phainon dodge his attack, his face devoid of any expression. He mechanically swung the scythe again, but this time, Phainon did not dodge. Instead, he turned sideways and grabbed the scythe's handle with one hand.
He wanted to snatch it from the Dead Soldiers' hand, but with a pull, the Dead Soldiers' arm came off as well. This made Phainon momentarily stunned; he hadn't expected the person to hold on so tightly.
However, when he regained his senses and looked at his hand, he found that the scythe he had been holding had vanished into thin air, only to re-materialize in the opponent's sole remaining hand.
It was clearly not something Phainon could use. Without hesitation, he single-handedly lifted the Dead Soldiers, who was as light as a chick, and slammed him onto the ground. The immense force even caused a slight indentation in the ground.
This also caused that Dead Soldiers to transform into specks of starlight and disappear into the air.
Phainon was not surprised, because the Black Tide monsters in his hometown also disappeared after being eliminated.
However, before he could turn around to comfort the little girl, a sudden tremor of the earth instantly tensed Phainon's nerves. He could feel the immense size of the approaching entity; every step it took could cause the earth to shake, which was enough to explain everything.
When he followed the sound, he saw a giant creature, tens of meters tall, appearing out of nowhere in the city. The tremor just now was merely the aftershock of its walking.
Its two forelimbs, like towering pillars, destroyed everything in their path. No skyscraper could withstand a single blow from it.
"What kind of monster is that?"