A person stepping through a portal should be transported instantly to their destination. But when Protheus stepped through, he found himself drifting through space and time, surrounded by tiny particles that looked like stars in the night sky.
He could walk through the strange space. The ground beneath him shimmered like black water, space itself, bending reality. Suddenly, he heard the voice of a little girl.
"Help… us," the voice whispered.
Protheus looked around, trying to find where it came from. In the distance, he saw a soft white glow. Drawn to it, he started walking toward the faint figure of a little girl.
"Who are you?" Protheus asked.
"Please… help us," she said again.
He reached out his hand to touch her. But before he could, a blinding white light appeared out of nowhere.
Suddenly, he found himself standing in the middle of a ruined city. He looked around. The portal behind him had vanished.
"Where am I?" Protheus muttered.
As he checked his surroundings, he noticed monsters everywhere, goblins, orcs, minotaurs, centaurs, and a two-headed wolf the size of a bull. There were all kinds of terrifying creatures.
But when they saw him, the monsters ran like mice fleeing from a predator.
"Disgusting cowards," Protheus said.
He didn't bother chasing them. He was still exhausted from his last fight with Tel'Zerot. For now, his top priority was to find a safe place to rest and recover his lost energy and mana.
He began wandering through the ruined city, amazed by the strange technology around him, especially the odd transportation used by the people who once lived there.
"Hmmm, what is this box-shaped carriage?" Protheus wondered.
He was examining a damaged car—an SUV made by a company in Japan, though he had no idea what it was.
"And these walls with holes between the pillars… are these roads in the sky?" Protheus said, looking up.
He was analyzing an elevated rail transit system, which he knew nothing about.
"This world is so interesting. The level of technology here is incredible. How did they create these things without using magic?" Protheus said.
"I need to examine this carriage later. How does it move without horses or griffins to pull it?" he added.
With a wave of his hand, a glowing circle appeared beneath the car. Magical runes floated around the edges, spinning slowly.
"I'll take this with me," Protheus said. "It might help me understand how this world works."
The SUV slowly vanished into his magical storage, a personal space pocket dimension where he kept items of interest.
Once the car was stored, the runes faded, and the circle disappeared.
Earlier, when Protheus arrived in this world…
High above a ruined city, a tear in space opened like a bleeding wound. Three winged demons emerged from the rift, their six wings beating silently as they hovered in the grey, dust-choked sky.
They descended onto a crumbling building, landing with the weight of ancient dread. Ash and wind howled between the shattered buildings as they looked out across the devastation.
"This country has fallen," said the tallest demon, his voice like grinding stone. "But the world still fights."
"Far to the west, those Awakened Ones who have mastered magic are resisting us," the second added. "They fight back with spells that burn through our legions. They have no gods, yet they have power."
"The invasion slows," the third demon said, crouching on the edge of the tower. "But this place, these ruins, it reeks of something old.
He sniffed the air, and his eyes narrowed.
"There's a presence nearby. Something… powerful."
They fell silent, the wind stirring around their blackened armor.
"The Commander warned us," said the first. "A force of great power may have entered this land. We're to find it. Observe it. If it is the 10th Pentacle Mage…"
The second demon growled, his claws clenching. "He killed Lord Tel'Zerot. Slaughtered billions of our kind. If he's here, he must die."
"Patience," said the third. "He may be weakened. The Commander will want confirmation first. If he truly is here…"
Then the third froze. His head turned sharply, staring out toward the city.
"There," he said, voice low.
The others followed his gaze.
A lone figure wandered the ruined streets, a man in long pearl white robe, surrounded by the broken carriage, small and big.
"That's him," the tallest demon whispered. "Protheus. The 10th Pentacle Mage."
"He shouldn't be here," the second muttered.
"Then it's perfect," the third said, smirking. "Let him wander. Let him tire. When his guard drops, we strike."
"But we must first report to the Commander," the first insisted. "If Protheus lives, everything changes."
Suddenly, the air around them shifted. A presence, overwhelming and cold, turned its gaze upon them.
"What…?" the second demon breathed.
"He sees us—" the third began.
But it was already too late.
Back in the city ground, Protheus stopped.
He had sensed them.
Three dark presences in the distance—perched on a ruined tower. He narrowed his eyes, locking onto their energy signatures.
"So, you've been watching me," he said coldly.
He raised his right hand and pointed two fingers toward the sky. A golden magic circle formed above him—then a second, and a third. The air crackled with power.
"Rank 7 spell… Golden Ray Lasers."
Thousands of golden beams burst from the sky like a storm of divine judgment, each one faster than lightning.
From the tower, the demons had no time to escape. The first screeched, the second tried to fly, and the third opened his mouth to cast a spell—but all were vaporized in a blinding wave of golden light.
Silence followed.
"Don't watch me from the shadows," Protheus muttered. "You won't live to see what happens next."
He lowered his hand and turned his gaze back toward the city skyline.
He turned away and started to wander the city again. As he moved through the quiet streets and broken buildings, a realization came to him.
This world was not dead.
It was wounded. Shattered. But not lost.
There were signs of resistance. Faint traces of powerful magic in the far distance of the planet and discarded weapons around the city that did not belong to demons. Somewhere out there, people still fought back.
His eyes narrowed with renewed focus.
"I need to find them," he said quietly. "If there are those who still stand against the invaders, I will lend them my strength. But for now… I need shelter"