After a series of sudden events and strange abilities that turned his world upside down, Alex made his choice. There was no turning back now. Curiosity had become an irresistible force, and the hope of finding a way out of this nightmare was the flame lighting his path forward. The mysterious young woman—who vanished like a butterfly from one moment to the next—carried keys with her, perhaps keys to this world… and perhaps the key to his return.
Shock still clung to his face—not only from the vision, but from the frantic pace of the events unfolding around him. His transition into this world had been nothing more than the beginning of a chain of battles and surprises that made the few hours he had spent here more thrilling—and deadly—than the last three years of his life combined. When the butterfly disintegrated into the air, Alex realized that the powers in this world were not simple abilities. They were intricate, bizarre mechanisms hiding deeper secrets.
"How do I follow her?" he muttered to himself, but the answer came quickly.
He looked toward the hovering swarm of wasps in the distance, then at the "Armored Octopus" draped around his body.
"Well, buddy… time to get to work."
Focusing his will, Alex channeled mana into the octopus entity and issued a command. The living armor responded instantly. Its skin shifted in color until it resembled the pale, cracked cement of the decaying building. It wasn't perfect invisibility, but it was more than enough—especially in cluttered environments like forests or crowded ruins.
"This gives us another layer of safety," Alex whispered, checking the camouflage one more time. He was certain the girl had headed toward the danger—toward the swarm of wasps—because her final words suggested something serious was about to happen.
Alex stepped to the edge of the rooftop. The octopus's tendrils extended outward, gripping the ledge tightly as he began to climb down. He moved slowly and steadily, blending seamlessly into the wall. From a distance, he was nothing more than a shadow or an imperfection in the concrete.
Once he reached the ground, Alex took a deep breath. It was the first time he had stepped outside the building since arriving in this strange world.
"Let's go."
Within a few breaths, he was moving toward the forest—the direction of the building cluster where the wasps had gathered. The moment he crossed into the treeline, the Armored Octopus shifted again, its cement-grey tones melting into deep greens, earth browns, and soft shadows until it became part of the forest itself.
Alex advanced slowly, senses sharpened. A voice inside him begged him to turn around, to flee in the opposite direction. But curiosity—mixed with necessity—was stronger. Something immense was about to unfold. And most importantly, he needed to find the girl; she might be his only way out of this world… or the only one who could explain its rules. Wandering aimlessly through this unknown place was a death sentence.
The deeper he went, the stranger the sound became. It wasn't insects, nor wind, but a muffled hum—like ancient machinery grinding or metal resonating softly.
After nearly twenty minutes of walking beneath thick canopy, Alex froze. A presence—strong and deliberate—was just a few steps away. He was about to retreat when he heard a voice.
"I know you're there."
The tone was calm and confident, not surprised—more like someone who had been expecting him. It was her. The mysterious girl stood beside a massive tree, close to the border where the forest met the cluster of buildings inhabited by the wasps. Her eyes were locked precisely on the spot where he stood, unimpressed by the camouflage.
Alex sighed. There was no point hiding from someone who saw what others could not. He cut off the flow of mana, and the camouflage melted away, revealing the transparent sheen of his living armor.
"How did you know?" he asked cautiously as he stepped toward her.
Her deep, reflective eyes shimmered with a faint glow Alex couldn't identify. She smiled gently—not mockingly, but knowingly.
"In this place, nothing truly disappears, Alex. And the mana you emit is far too strong to be masked by mere 'octopus camouflage.'"
He scratched his neck awkwardly. "Well… it works in a normal forest." Then his tone hardened. "Why are you here? Where did you go? And what is all this madness? I need answers—now."
Her smile faded, replaced by a seriousness that revealed a depth Alex hadn't seen before.
"My name is Iris. I am here to observe what's happening. I didn't disappear to run—I disappeared to confirm something I feared. As for answers… you will have them. But not from me."
She tilted her head toward the buildings.
"Look."
Alex stepped beside her. They stood at the point where dense forest met urban ruins. Less than a hundred meters away, the giant wasps circled a massive concrete structure—like an altar—without attacking it. They were guarding it.
The strange humming he heard earlier was coming from behind that structure, growing louder.
"What's happening?" Alex asked, his armor bracing itself instinctively.
"They've arrived," Iris replied calmly, though her hand had tightened around the nearly invisible blade at her hip. "The remaining matter is what drew them all here. This place is the convergence point."
The ground shook violently.
From behind the ruins emerged not one army—but three.
The First Army: The Goblins
They poured out of the rubble—thousands of ordinary goblins and dozens of evolved ones at the front. They weren't the pathetic green creatures of old tales. Their skin was thick and grey, armor rough and leathery, eyes glowing a cold yellow. Their strength lay in their weapons—warped black spears overflowing with a chilling, shadowy corruption.
At the front marched their leader—a towering monster nearly three meters tall. His darker, stone-like skin radiated an aura of drifting black fire that consumed nothing but promised ruin. He carried a massive double-headed axe, and every step he took sent tremors through the earth.
"The Black Swarm Chieftain… Garak," Iris whispered. "One of the strongest of the new goblin lords. He was supposed to remain in the north."
The Second Army: The Vyral
From deep within the forest to the right came a second army—a tribe of beasts resembling gorillas and bears, but larger and more ferocious. Their fur was a mix of dark brown and pale blue, their limbs thicker than tree trunks.
But what set them apart were the crystalline bones growing from their bodies—blue translucent plates covering their shoulders, backs, and joints like a natural armor of enchanted crystal.
"That's them," Iris muttered. "The Vyral. Crystal hunters from the mountain ranges."
The Third Army: The Swarm of hornets
And the third army… was the hornets themselves.
Their buzzing intensified, slicing into Alex's nerves as they joined the other two forces around the central building.
All three armies encircled the structure. Then—
A blinding light exploded outward.
From the heart of the building rose a radiant object, no bigger than a knight's helmet, yet glowing with a pure, overwhelming white light. A crystalline metallic fragment pulsed with immense mana—so intense it distorted the air around it.
"Core Metal!" Iris shouted, her voice trembling for the first time. "A mutated mana-infused mineral… the very thing they're all hunting. Consuming it evolves the True Name beyond any natural limit!"
Alex froze—not because of the armies now preparing for all-out war, but because the radiant crystal was making his octopus armor shudder violently.
"So… what's the plan?" he asked, voice steady despite the chaos boiling around them.
Iris gave him a sharp, wild look.
"The plan? We either run… or we take the Core Metal while they rip each other apart."
Before Alex could reply, Garak raised his burning axe and screamed:
"GARAK! BLACK SWARM KING! THIS POWER IS MINE!"
The Vyral alpha leapt in front of him, crystalline plates flaring.
"Hoshka! Hosh!"
And the battlefield erupted.
Alex glanced at Iris. Then at the Core Metal. Then at the monsters.
"We're not running… are we?" he asked with a faint smile. "We're taking that thing."
"I know," Iris breathed, eyes locked on the crystal. "But we'll have to break through three warfronts."
Something deep inside Alex burned with certainty.
He knew—somehow—that this metal would transform his ability, amplifying it beyond anything he had imagined. The risk of death was enormous, but the opportunity was real. And with Iris's teleportation ability, the impossible suddenly felt within reach.
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