The transition was not a leap; it was a slow, agonizing crawl through a void that felt like crushed glass. When my senses finally returned, the world felt… heavy. It wasn't just the gravity; it was the atmosphere itself. The air in this new world was thick with a shimmering, invisible pressure that pressed against my skin like a leaden shroud.
I stood in the center of a hall that defied logic. Massive obsidian pillars rose like frozen giants, lost in the shadows of a vaulted ceiling where magical orbs flickered with a cold, ghostly blue light.
To my side, the four others from my world were reacting in their own ways. Kenji, the athlete whose ego usually filled a room, was now pale, his knees knocking together. Hina, the quiet one, was hyperventilating, her eyes darting around like a trapped animal. Sakura and Yumi stood frozen, their breath coming in ragged gasps. I stood apart, my face a mask of practiced indifference, but inside, my mind was already scanning every exit, every guard, and the terrifying man seated on the throne.
King Valerius sat atop a throne carved from the bones of a dragon. His presence was like a physical weight, a king who ruled through fear rather than love. Standing to his right was the man who would haunt my nightmares: General Kaelen, the 'Golden Knight.' His hair was like spun sunlight, his armor etched with runes that hummed with power. But his eyes—they were as cold as a mountain grave.
Behind him stood his three elite lieutenants, the flowers of Astheria's military:
Lyra of the Gale: A slender woman with a longbow made of white bone. Her eyes never left our throats.
Seraphina the Silent: A priestess in flowing silver robes, her hands glowing with a faint, eerie light.
Elena the Iron Rose: A knight in heavy plate, her hand resting on a broadsword that looked heavy enough to split a horse in two.
"Do not fear, visitors," the King's voice boomed, though it carried the warmth of a glacier. "You have been summoned to save the Kingdom of Astheria. Our world is being devoured by the Demon King's blight, and only heroes from beyond the stars can tip the balance of fate."
'Lies,' I thought. I saw the way the guards tightened their grip on their halberds. We weren't guests. We were property.
The Elemental Trial
The High Priest, a withered man named Malphas, stepped forward holding a Primal Crystal. It was a jagged shard of pure mana that seemed to suck the light out of the room.
"One by one, place your hands upon the stone," Malphas commanded. "Let your true nature be revealed."
Hina went first. Her hands trembled so much she almost dropped her bag. The moment her skin touched the crystal, it erupted in a violent, swirling crimson.
"Fire Element! Grade: High Mage!" the Priest shouted. The court erupted in whispers of awe.
Next was Sakura. As her fingers brushed the surface, the hall was flooded with a blinding, divine white light. It was so pure it hurt to look at.
"The Holy Element!" the King stood up, his eyes wide. "A Saintess! The heavens have blessed us!"Kenji followed, his arrogance returning as the stone manifested both red and green swirls. "Dual Affinity! Fire and Wind! A true warrior of destruction!"
Yumi touched the stone, and suddenly, the oppressive air felt… lighter. A brilliant, lush emerald light radiated from the crystal. For a second, I felt like I was standing in a sun-drenched forest, the scent of blooming jasmine filling my senses.
"Nature and Healing," the Priest bowed low. "A savior has arrived."
Then, the Priest looked at me. His smile faded into a neutral line. "Final Hero. Step forward."
I walked to the crystal. My heart was a steady thrum in my chest. I placed my palm on the glass. I waited. Five seconds... ten... twenty.
The crystal remained dead. It was just a cold, grey rock. No light. No color. No mana.
"Try again," Malphas hissed, his face twisting in confusion.
I pressed harder. Nothing. Not even a spark.
"Impossible," the Priest whispered, his voice dripping with sudden venom. "No mana-veins. No elemental root. He is an Elementless Husk. A void. He is of no use to Astheria."
The silence that followed was suffocating. I saw Kenji's lip curl into a sneer. I saw Sakura move away from me, as if my 'failure' were contagious. The King's face turned into a mask of pure loathing.
"Dispose of him," the King ordered, turning his back. "General Kaelen, take the 'Defect' away. We cannot waste royal resources on a parasite."
The False Sanctuary
General Kaelen stepped toward me. "My apologies for the confusion, Reyansh," he said, his voice smooth and dangerous. "Please, follow me. We will settle you in a guest room while we decide your fate."
I followed him through corridors that felt like a labyrinth. He led me to a lavish room, filled with silken tapestries and soft beds. His elite soldiers stood at the door. "We am sorry to frighten you," Kaelen said, bowing slightly. "Rest here. We have no choice but to follow the King's law, but we will ensure you are fed."
I sat on the bed, my mind screaming. 'They are going to kill me. The kindness is a facade.'
An hour later, I was summoned again. "The King wishes for you to see the capital," a guard told me. I was ushered into a grand carriage. I wasn't alone; I was surrounded by four guards.
As the carriage moved through the city, I looked out the window. The beauty of the kingdom was a lie. Beyond the marble palaces were the slums—dirt, despair, and death. I realized they weren't taking me to a guest house. They were taking me to the executioner's block in the dark outskirts.
When the carriage slowed in the middle of a crowded, chaotic market, I didn't wait. I threw the door open and threw myself into the crowd. "Stop him!" I heard the guards roar.
I ran. I ran until my legs felt like lead. I wove through alleys filled with the smell of rotting fish and smoke. I thought I had lost them. But in my haste, I turned into a dead-end alley, surrounded by tall, crumbling stone walls.
The Knife in the Dark
From the shadows, three figures emerged. Their leader was a man named Zark—a mountain of a man with rotted teeth and eyes filled with a predatory hunger. He held a rusted iron dagger that hummed with a dirty, brown light. The Earth Element.
"Well, well," Zark chuckled, his voice a gravelly rasp. "A little noble bird lost its way. Give us your clothes, your boots, and your life."have gold," I lied, backing against the wall. "My friends have it. Just take me to them, and I'll give you ten times what I'm worth."
"I don't like moving targets," Zark grinned, his eyes widening. "I like them still. Dead still."
He lunged. My Judo training kicked in—I tried to use his weight to flip him, but he was too heavy, his body reinforced by Earth mana. He was a stone wall.
The first strike was a cold, sharp shock in my chest. I felt my breath leave me in a crimson spray. Then the second strike... the third...
The pain was absolute. It was a searing, white-hot agony that consumed my entire existence. I fell to the muddy ground, my blood soaking into the filth. Zark didn't stop. He was a beast, plunging the knife into my dying chest again and again.
'So... this is the end of the observer,' I thought, my vision blurring into a grey fog. 'I saw it all... but I couldn't change a thing.'
The Death-Link
As my heart gave its final, weak beat, the world didn't vanish. Instead, a horrific, high-pitched screeching filled my head. It felt like my soul was being shredded by a thousand invisible claws.
And then, a voice—ancient, seductive, and bone-chillingly cold—whispered in the depths of my consciousness:
"Oh, my sweet, broken little observer... I won't let your play end in such a pathetic way. Rise. Claim what is yours."
A bolt of Blood-Red Lightning struck the alley, blinding and silent. I felt my soul being ripped out of my body and shoved into a narrow, dark space.
My eyes snapped open.
I was standing. My hand was gripping a bloody dagger. My arm felt heavy, muscular, and dirty. I looked down, and my world shattered.
There, at my feet, was me. I was looking down at the body of Reyansh. His eyes were wide, staring at the sky with a look of pure shock. His chest was a hollowed-out mess of red.
I looked at my hands. They were Zark's hands—calloused, scarred, and covered in my own blood.
I... I killed myself?
Suddenly, a violent pressure erupted inside my skull. It felt like my brain was being crushed by a hydraulic press. Zark's soul was still there! He was trapped in the back of the mind, screaming in a frequency that vibrated my very teeth.
"GET OUT! WHO ARE YOU?! WHY CAN'T I MOVE?! GIVE ME BACK MY BODY! AHHHHHH!"
The mental warfare was too much. Two sets of memories, two personalities, and two souls were clashing for control over one nervous system. I felt the Earth mana in my veins go wild, burning like liquid fire.
I looked at the corpse of Reyansh one last time, my new throat letting out a jagged, horrifying scream of pain, before I collapsed into the mud, unconscious, as the city's bells began to toll in the distance.
[Chapter 2 Ends]