Lux lay on the cold, stony ground. Blood poured from his forehead and spread beneath him into a large puddle of his own blood. His cloth clothes were torn, leaving his scratched, exposed upper body bare. Beside him lay a broken axe, split cleanly into two halves, jagged wooden splinters sticking out from the shattered handle.
With a groan, Lux turned and tried to drag himself forward. His hand reached weakly for something nearby. Blood ran down in streams. But as Lux almost reached the object with his fingertips, a monstrous roar thundered beside him.
Lux flinched slightly, but he had no energy left to react properly. His fingers touched the object. Even though his vision was fading, he recognized it.
In the end, Lux owed everything that happened here to that one thing. That object had called him here. It had brought him into this situation. Not exactly how it ended, but how it began.
Lux's vision went black.
A twitch. A jolt.
Lux was in a warm bed. The blanket lay over him, hugging him with heavy warmth. His simple white t shirt and black pants were on the floor in front of him. Lux was awake.
He shook his head and sat up with a sudden movement. Immediately he threw the blanket aside and pulled on his clothes. His room was lit by a harsh light from a small lamp on a table in the corner. A perfect little white night light.
Lux yawned and stretched.
"Shit, I still have no money!" Lux cursed, looking around his room.
Wooden flooring that looked beautiful. That was the good thing about this apartment. It was special wood, taken from a Woding, a type of beast. To be precise, a Woding was a living tree. A tree that could move.
Lux smiled faintly as he thought of his brother. He had been the one to slay it.
A sad expression crossed Lux's face and he quickly looked away.
"I miss you," Lux whispered.
He stopped and thought.
"Well, maybe I could sell something. This apartment means a lot to me," Lux said to himself.
Only then did Lux realize he was talking to himself again. He did not know why he kept doing it. Maybe because he had not spoken to a single person in three months. Ever since that one thing happened, he had slowly forgotten how to talk to people. Now he only spoke to himself.
Lux blinked a few times.
The apartment was small, yes, but its emotional value was enormous. It had four rooms. A bathroom and kitchen, both very small. A bedroom, and a training room.
If Lux enjoyed one thing, it was training. For a long time, he trained daily.
Not anymore.
Lux sat down on the edge of the bed. Outside, it was still pitch dark. He took out his phone. He did not even know what time it was.
He unlocked it.
[5 AM] glowed on the screen.
Lux rubbed his eyes.
"Five o clock. Well, I can still sleep," Lux said, sounding almost happy.
He put his phone aside. Two minutes later, Lux fell asleep peacefully.
But Lux did not wake up peacefully.
Not even close.
It was the most brutal way to be woken up.
BANG.
A kick against the door.
Lux jolted upright. He did not understand what was happening. He only saw three people stepping through the entrance. An older man in his fifties, and two younger men, maybe barely twenty. They carried batons made from white bone.
Lux did not know which beast the bones came from, but it had to be something sturdy.
His mind raced.
What did I do wrong? Am I being arrested?
No.
They would not come in with weapons if that was the case.
Lux's mouth was dry. No words came out.
The older man stepped forward slowly, cleared his throat, and spoke in a stern tone.
"Lux Tyl. I have to ask you to pack your things. You have not paid rent for two months. That is a sum of 1400 ZeL."
ZeL was the currency of this world. Small silver coins with three black dots on the front.
The older man motioned the two younger men away and spoke more quietly.
"I am sorry, boy. I know things are hard for you. Maybe this will help."
He pulled something out.
Had he been hiding it behind his back?
Lux stared, fascinated. His blue eyes sparkled. The room filled with the light from outside, making everything look bright.
And then Lux saw the one thing he never wanted to see again.
Cold ran down his spine. His pupils widened. Shock hit him so hard his words came out on their own.
"T-the Beast Phone," Lux said, staring at the gray device.
Because it was still gray, it meant no one controlled it yet. When a Beast Phone found its chosen owner, it turned black. It was a chance to travel into the Beast Dimension, a world five times larger than theirs.
And far more dangerous.
Lux had lost everything because of that world.
The older man smiled faintly, as if he only wanted to help.
"Think about it. Hunt smaller monsters and sell them. Or move out. I will give you one week, Lux."
He paused, and his expression turned sad.
"I am doing this for Lasa. You were everything to her."
"M-mom?" Lux asked, and a tear slid down his face.
The older man nodded and stepped back until one foot was already outside.
"Become a Beast Slayer. That is the only way you can earn ZeL quickly, Lux. Please make the right choice."
He placed the Beast Phone on the floor and stepped out. The door closed.
The room grew darker, but sunlight slipped through the curtains.
Lux trembled.
But it was not fear.
It was excitement.
Deep down, Lux knew the man was right.
This was his only chance.
Lux let out a breath. He had been avoiding this, but everyone did. The two worlds were connected, after all.
Lux's mind drifted back. It was twelve years ago. Lux had been only three. His mother had told him the story every day, and now it repeated inside his thoughts like an echo.
"Twenty years ago, a massive red portal appeared above the world. It spat out all kinds of creatures, and strange devices behind them, the Beast Phones. There were two kinds of Beast Phones. The first kind has no beast. They come through portals that can open anywhere. The second kind appears when you kill a beast, and you can"
Lux's thoughts stopped.
Without even realizing it, Lux had picked up the Beast Phone. It seemed ahead of its time, because a yellow text box appeared on the screen.
[Continue?]
Lux pressed it without thinking. If Lux stopped now and truly thought, he would throw it away. So he did not think. He forced himself forward.
A new line of text appeared.
[Lux Tyl Level 1 Beast HunterBeast Companions: 0Beast Phone Level: 0.1]
Lux's pupils widened in shock. After a short moment, the next prompt appeared.
[Enter the world?]
Lux closed his eyes.