The world twisted.
I felt myself being pulled apart and crushed at the same time, as if my body wasn't meant to exist here.
A swirling void of black and blue stretched endlessly around me, churning like a cosmic storm. I had traveled through rifts before, but this was different—harsher, unstable.
I tried to scream, but no sound escaped my throat.
Gravity shifted violently. One moment, I was weightless, floating in the abyss. The next, I was plummeting.
Then—
Impact.
I slammed into the ground, pain exploding through my ribs as the breath was ripped from my lungs.
For a moment, all I could do was lie there, my face pressed against the rough, cold earth, gasping for air.
Thunder rumbled overhead, loud and violent, sending a tremor through my bones.
The familiar burning sensation of a rift closing brushed against my skin, and when I finally forced my eyes open—
The void was gone.
I was somewhere new.
I pushed myself onto my hands and knees, wincing. The ground beneath me wasn't dirt or sand. It was metal.
I blinked hard, trying to clear the fog from my mind. The entire beach was made of fine, jagged metallic grains, dull silver beneath the flickering sky. The texture shifted slightly under my weight, scraping against my skin like rough iron filings.
I exhaled shakily.
Beyond the shoreline, the ocean wasn't normal.
Dark, almost black waves churned violently, veins of eerie blue light pulsing just beneath the surface. Each time a wave crashed against the jagged rocks, the water sizzled and sparked, as if some unseen energy was reacting to the air.
The sky loomed unnaturally high, filled with swirling green lightning that split the clouds apart. The air itself buzzed, thick with electricity.
A storm was brewing.
And then, I noticed something else.
A massive crater stretched across the shoreline nearby. Its edges were still smoking, the ground charred and warped, as if something had fallen from the heavens and struck with terrifying force.
I swallowed hard.
I had no idea where I was—or what kind of world this was.
I needed shelter.
That's when I saw it.
A shipwreck.
Half-buried in the metallic sand, the wreckage loomed like the ribcage of a fallen beast.
Its wooden frame was massive, reinforced with dark metal bands, yet still shattered in places. This wasn't the remains of some small fishing vessel—this had been a warship.
Something had attacked it.
I exhaled, pushing myself to my feet, ignoring the ache in my limbs.
The ship was the only structure in sight. If I wanted shelter, that was my best bet.
I took a step toward it—
Then stopped.
The waves had gone silent.
A prickle ran down my spine.
For the last few seconds, I had felt something was off.
The air around me had grown... still.
I turned slowly, eyes scanning the shoreline. The storm raged on above, the ocean continued to shift—
And then, I saw it.
The water near the shore rippled.
A large, dark mass moved just beneath the surface. It was almost perfectly still, but it was there. Watching.
Then, a slow, deliberate clicking sound echoed across the beach.
The sound of a predator testing the waters.
I froze.
Then—
The ocean exploded.
A monstrous, reptilian beast lunged from the sea.
Its dark, leathery skin glistened with water, its massive limbs slamming into the metallic sand with a force that sent vibrations through the ground.
It had the body of an eel fused with a land predator—four powerful legs, each ending in razor-sharp claws, and an elongated tail dragging behind it.
Its bulging, glassy eyes locked onto me.
Then, its mouth stretched open.
Rows of backward-hooked teeth gleamed.
And it charged.
I ran.
The beast roared, its clawed feet tearing through the sand, closing the distance too fast.
The shipwreck was too far.
A shadow loomed over me.
I threw myself to the side as the creature lunged, its massive jaws snapping shut inches from my leg.
I scrambled back up, sprinting toward the wreckage, every muscle burning.
The creature hissed, its long tail whipping the sand as it lurched forward again.
I leapt.
My body slammed into the shipwreck's hull, hands scrambling for a hold. I hauled myself up, ignoring the burning in my arms.
The creature rammed the ship, sending a violent shudder through the structure.
Then—silence.
For now.
Inside the wreck, the air was heavy.
Scattered across the floor were remnants of a forgotten crew—torn banners, rusted armor, shattered weapons.
Then I saw it.
A chest.
Unlike everything else, it was pristine, its golden lock untouched by time.
I hesitated. Something about it felt… wrong.
I raised my sword.
With one clean strike, I slashed the lock apart.
The moment it hit the floor—
Light exploded from the chest.
A brilliant orb of energy shot out, spiraling wildly before stopping inches from my face.
As the glow dimmed, I saw her.
A tiny, floating fairy.
She blinked at me, tilted her head—then grinned.
"Oh wow. You're not dead. That's new."
I stared. "…What?"
Bell, as she introduced herself, was a pixie made from the power of the Wisdom Goddess.
She had been sealed away by the Void God's forces when they corrupted her goddess.
"The Wisdom Goddess…" I hesitated.
"She's one of the fallen gods, isn't she?"
Bell's expression darkened. "She was once the wisest among them all. But she was couruppted by the void god, enticing her with more knowledge"
"And he answered"
A chill ran down my spine.
Bell clenched her fists. "The knowledge consumed her. She became something else. And now, her wisdom only spreads madness."
Before I could respond, the world trembled.
The sky split open, lightning crackling through the storm clouds.
Bell and I turned just in time to see something plummeting from above.
A burning, golden shard.
I barely had time to react before it crashed into the land, sending a shockwave through the air.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Then, Bell turned to me, eyes sparkling.
"Well… I guess we know where we're going next."
I exhaled.
And then, we ran.