Adam groaned as he began to awaken from his slumber, opening his eyes slowly. He saw the form of a floating baby, translucent and blue. He could barely see the distant stars beyond, as well as the floating pieces of shattered moons.
Adam blinked, but the baby didn’t disappear.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I am Bell,” the baby replied, its lips unmoving.
“Bell?”
“Yes.”
“The system, Bell?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
“Why not?”
Adam stared at the baby for a long moment, before he sat up. “Yeah, you’re definitely Bell.”
Gentle hills welcomed his sight, trees sprinkled across the land. Adam spotted the others nearby, Jurot and Vonda, and the pair of porters. They had all awoken around the same time, though Jurot was the first to his feet, Phantom in hand, while Vonda grabbed her shield.
Jurot stared at Adam for a moment, before his eyes floated to the side. “Who is that?”
“You can see him?” Adam asked, following Jurot’s eyes to the floating baby.
“Yes.”
“Oh. It’s Bell.”
“The God of Chaos?”
“No, that’s Belle. This is Bell, the voice inside my head.” Adam’s words were casual, as though he wasn’t crazy.
“Okay.”
The others stared at Adam, the baby, and Jurot. They waited for Jurot to continue to ask questions, before realising he was done, leaving the matter mostly unexplained. Vonda, Remy, and Jeremy decided against asking either.
“Jurot, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Aldland any more.”
“Yes.”
“It’s a reference.”
“To the War of the Stars?”
“No, to the…” Adam waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. I’m actually not that familiar with the movie. Alright, let’s…” Adam spotted the Awakened Wolves off to one side. He dashed to them, calling out with his magic. “Hey! Who gave you permission to die?”
Spell: Healing Word
1D3 + 3 = 6 (3)
Spell: Healing Word
1D3 + 3 = 6 (3)
As he cast his spells, Bell’s colour deepened for a moment, before it returned back to the lighter blue it was normally.
The Awakened Wolves shuddered awakened at the sound of his voice, which healed them with his magic, and they stared up at him.
“You guys lost, right?” Adam said, reaching for his axe, his smile polite and sweet.
“Yes…” one of the wolves replied, dropping before the Half Elf, revealing its stomach. The second wolf also did the same.
“Good,” Adam replied, pulling his hand away from Wraith. He threw a look to Jurot and the others, before realising they had left their packs with the group before they had gone to fight. ‘Damn.’
Vonda reached for her shield and muttered a prayer. She stared at her shield curiously, but remained silent.
Adam stared up towards the sky, which was full of colour, with trails of sparkling lights covering the entire sky, as stars sparkled, while others faded. “It’s a very different sky than I’m used to.”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
“We are no longer without our realm,” Jurot confirmed. “We have slipped into another world.”
“Is it because of the Great Twilight?” Adam asked.
“Yes,” Jurot said, but he narrowed his eyes, staring all across the sky. “No.”
“No?”
Jurot continued to stare at the sky for a long while, before his eyes fell across the area. “Can you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
Jurot stared down at his hand. The hairs on his body stood on end. “I do not know.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Adam said. “We should make camp. I should be able to switch out my spells tomorrow for Goodberry, and then we don’t need to worry about food.”
“We’re in another world?” Remy asked aloud to no one in particular, not even to himself.
“Seems like it,” Jeremy said, wiping his mouth as he offered Remy his wineskin.
Remy sipped it, before returning it back to his cousin. “Gods be with us.”
“Gods be with us.”
Adam reached down to his amulet. “Gods be with us.” He felt how cool it was. It was a different type of coolness, though he couldn’t quite place it.
The Awakened Wolves sniffed the air. “There is the sea nearby.”
“Alright, lead the way. If you try anything funny…”
“We will not,” one replied, before the pair began to lead the way.
The sea wasn’t so far, about a ten minute walk, though they were atop the small hill, staring down at the sea beneath. There was another island ahead of them, though it was small.
“The hill was broken apart,” Jurot said, noting how the cliffs seemed to match, as though they were two puzzle pieces.
“Broken apart?”
“No.” Jurot stared at the island, noting the dents within the land. “It was torn apart by a creature.”
“…” Adam backed away. “Let’s head away from here.”
The group moved around the hill so they were still near the sea, but far enough away they felt safe.
Mana: 17 -> 15
Spell: Tower of Adam
“Hmm?” Adam called out as he glanced around, before staring at the tower. He squinted his eyes at it suspiciously. There was a bath for the bottom floor, and a bedroom on the upper floor, but something was wrong.
“Jurot?”
“Yes?”
Adam began to chant his spell, and Bell’s colour, which had faded slightly, deepened, and returned to its slightly faded colour. “Baktu bless us,” Adam chanted.
Spell: Bless
Adam had cast the spell on Jurot, himself, Vonda, and one of the wolves. He could feel his mind growing heavy while he tried to keep the spell up. He stared at his hands for a moment, before glancing across to the nearby hills.
“Fireball.”
Mana: 15 -> 13
Spell: Fireball
The explosive spell struck across the nearby hill, engulfing it in fire, before it soon dissipated.
“Blur me,” Adam chanted.
Mana: 13 -> 12
Spell: Blur
Bless dropped as Adam’s mind focused on another spell which caused his body to appear as though it was stuttering around the area he stood.
“Let me heal you all,” Adam said, casting his Healing Word spell multiple times, far too many times, making sure everyone was at full Health.
Mana: 12
“Jurot?”
“Yes?”
“All my spells are a little cheaper,” Adam said. “I can cast First Gate spells seemingly infinitely, and Fireball? I can cast that more than ten times now.”
Jurot slowly nodded his head. “Magic permeates through this world easily.”
Vonda raised her brow, before she began to chant. “Good Mother, please fill us with your light.” She waited for a moment, before she glanced around. Then she clasped her hands together and tried to cast another spell. “Good Mother, please allow us our sustenance.”
“Your connection has been cut?” Jurot asked.
Vonda frowned, bowing her head. She had felt something had been off, her shield had been too cold for her liking. Now, having tried to cast her spells, she had confirmed her suspicions.
“Stick with me,” Adam said, nodding his head to the porters too. “If my magic is greater, then I’ll be even more of a monster.”
“We will need it if the Gods do not reach here,” Remy whispered, swallowing with a heavy heart.
Jurot continued to look around the sky, and then across the land. “Even if we slipped between realms, they all are within the sights of the Gods. If our Gods hold no power here, then we are outside the realms which connect to our world.”
“What does that mean?”
Jurot thought about the flash of light he had seen when they had been struck by the sea of colours which had transported them to another realm. He was certain it was the presence of one of the Divine, at least a form they could take while they travelled the realms. However, that only meant that what he was thinking was even less likely.
“Jurot?”
“Something interfered and sent us here,” Jurot said, reaching down to grip his axe. He could feel the cool steel against his hand, the hard wood around his palm.
“I noticed a flash of light before we passed, could it have been that?”
“The light was from a God,” Jurot explained, though he wasn’t sure what it was exactly. “It was unlikely they had sent us here.”
“Unlikely, but not impossible, right?”
Jurot thought about who it could have been. There was one figure who would dare to do such a thing, one of the Divine who was considered a member of the Greater Pantheon, though he had perhaps the fewest followers. “It may have been the Lord of Chaos.”
“It was not him,” Bell said, looking to Adam as he spoke.
“How do you know?” Adam asked, raising his brow towards the baby.
“I know.”
“Alright…” Adam was pretty sure the system wouldn’t lie to him.
Jurot frowned, unsure of what had send them here, but whatever it was, it could slip by another member of the Divine unnoticed. He was certain it wasn’t the flash of light, since such a flash would have been from one of the Lesser Gods, which could roam the land.
“I guess I’ll make another tower for us,” Adam said, before stepping away. He was certain that this was all his fault. ‘Damn it…’
Mana: 12 -> 10
Spell: Tower of Adam
After casting his spell, he found that the group had increased in number. “Oh no,” Adam groaned. “I thought I had gotten rid of you.”