The sun rose again on the capital, and Jacob woke up early as usual. He cleaned himself and got dressed in a few minutes and then went to the room to his right.

The mansion for the Dawn members was built in only a few weeks after they started using stone and bricks. They were slowly moving away from the simple wood houses. There were over ten rooms, so a few of them were empty. He didn’t even knock on the door after so many attempts in the past. He knew that Silas would just ignore him and keep sleeping until noon.

"Rise and shine. Today is the party. Come on, get up and have breakfast with me. We can go over the preparations after eating." He opened the curtains, and the sun rays entered the room.

"Aaaahhhh! Again, seriously, Jacob. I was about to get up on my own." Silas' room was a mess, with clothes thrown everywhere and objects like plates and cups scattered across the floor. The only organized thing was the table in the back with his notes and plans for the future of the alliance.

Of course, those were only simple things and short-term ideas; the real plans were inside his head in another place far from here.

He got some clothes and washed his face with water in a cup. The same routine he had grown accustomed to. "Let’s go eat."

They went down to the dining room to grab some food. Cink offered to have a pix here to do the cooking and cleaning, but he refused. They would expose themselves too much if they relied on someone else.

It was not like Silas thought they were going to get betrayed, but better safe than sorry. They cooked some meat with bread and accompanied it with some fresh fruits.

"How did the negotiations go yesterday?" he asked.

"Oh, you mean that tribe in the west? perfect, they agreed immediately. If they refused, they would be a lost cause. After seeing the difference in so many aspects, only a fool would refuse to join. You said it yourself."

They had encountered a few tribes after expanding their territory, but not a single one refused to join after witnessing their military power and the benefits of joining the alliance. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too easy.

"You’re getting worried about nothing again." Jacob could see it in his eyes.

"I mean, we have been expanding in the Old Lands, but we still haven’t been able to cross the river to the jungle continent. There could be something dangerous, strong enough to back us into a corner with all of our armies."

"We know. That’s why we are all working on becoming stronger and getting more food and rare minerals. I heard that Nadine has been harvesting more of that green stone and she’s in like her fifty-two ship or something around that. We’re making progress. Relax, buddy."

"I know, I know, it is just,"

"Mmm?"

"It's been over a whole year, Jacob. We still haven’t found more people. For all we know, they could be all dead at this point. We haven't learned anything about how to move between the worlds of the System, nothing to indicate we can still go back to earth." That was the problem.

Escaping and going back was the biggest hurdle, and by far the one with the least chances of success. They made advancements; they built a civilization in less than a year, but this was supposed to be temporary. Every day that passed really hit him in the face. They were going to spend the rest of their lives here.

"No, not even the rest of our natural lives, since we won’t die of old age anymore. We could spend thousands of years here. Until the day the Ouroboros comes and kills us all."

Jacob poured him some juice. "Listen to me, buddy. It is not your fault, or any of our faults. I know we don’t have a clue how to return, but don’t blame yourself. You’re just a person, like me or Nadine. We just have to push and do our best. We aren’t gods or angels. Just people."

"You’re correct, Jacob." Nora entered the dining hall. "None of us should have to bear the burden of fighting for the System or returning home. The System is the one to blame. He took us without our permission and left us in this world. Not only us, but several other races like the pix."

"He’s the one to blame. He’s the one who should take responsibility for all of this." Nora's face still had a kind expression, but her words were full of contempt for the System. After she started to teach the pix, she learned their terrible history.

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She already despised the System for altering her body, but after learning all the problems and things the pix went through after being taken from their home, her feelings toward the System were set in stone.

She put her hand on Silas's shoulder and smiled at him. "You’re not alone. We’ll find a way out of here together."

"Nora,"

"Besides, you’re too egocentric if you think we are special enough to be the only humans still alive. Now, cheer up; we have to prepare the mansion for the party."

Silas feel a bit relieved, every time those feelings and insecurities rose up in his heart, someone else took him out of the paranoia and fear. He wasn’t even sure if it was Nora’s words or maybe she used some of her power to help him calm down.

In any case, he felt better, but there was another thing he couldn’t shake from his heart. A sensation in his chest that had been dormant for a long time was waiting to open again. What is it? Why can't I put it into words?

He let the feeling go down in his heart to sleep again and began to prepare for the celebration. The three of them cooked the food and prepared the drinks. They put some lights as decorations, and Jacob put some statues made of wood.

"When are they going to arrive?" Jacob asked with enthusiasm.

"I believe Franco and Nadine were close. So, they should arrive in one more hour or maybe two." Nora had their assignments and places memorized. She was in charge of cooking the main dishes since she was the second-best chef in the group after Nathan.

"Are you really trying to prove to him that you are the better chef?"

"It's not about that; I just don't understand how he got so good at cooking.

"I guess the explorers' cooking teachings are pretty good, hahaha." Jacob laughed at the fact that Nathan had become the best at cooking by just spending time with the explorers on the border.

It was during that silly moment of talking and having fun preparing for their reunion that the thunderous sound came from the sky and a tear opened. An explosive wave of sound came from inside the tear and extended all over the Old Lands.

Silas turned over to the window and saw the massive tear in the sky. "What is that?"

It was a massive hole of pink and purple. It was too far away to see with certainty, but he could see that something was falling in flames from the hole. Like a small meteorite, it was crashing right into the forest with a column of smoke and flames behind it.

"Is that a meteorite? I didn’t know they could fall here?"

"I don’t think this is natural. Look!" Nora pointed to the colorful tear that was closing.

The tear began to slowly vanish into thin air. Before it could completely close, another thing sprouted from inside the hole and made its way in the same direction as the first object. Just like it was never there, the tear disappeared and the sky was intact.

The sounds of the soldiers running around and organizing themselves filled the streets of the capital as they took a step outside the mansion. They didn’t manage to walk for a minute before a group of soldiers intercepted them.

"My lords, I have come with word from Chief Cink. He asked you to go and talk with him. He’s preparing a force to go investigate the strange thing that fell from the sky. He wants you to accompany him and the soldiers in case of danger."

"Tell Cink, he can take his time preparing an elite group of soldiers ready for anything. We’ll go first to investigate and secure the place."

"Are you sure? Just the three of you? Isn’t that too risky?"

"Time is of the essence. We could miss something important if we take too long, so only the three of us are going first. That’s why you’re going to tell Cink to prepare the elite force and go as backup. Understood?"

"Y-yes sir." The solider turned back with the others to deliver the message.

"Are you ready?" He looked back at his companions.

"As always." Jacob had his gun in his hand. He had the same posture and the same determination in his eyes, ready for any fight.

"I would like to be wearing my armor, but I can’t let you two go alone." Nora wasn’t the best at close combat, but she was ready to support them.

With that, the three of them started to run northeast. Whatever it was that crashed, it was not very far from here.

***

The flames were slowly extending across the surrounding trees. The impact left a big crater. No, it was two craters around the same area. The first one was a crude capsule made of metal. It was full of dents and hot from the fire that threatened to consume it.

The door was kicked open and someone came out of the capsule. A human, he was bleeding gravely and had several injuries on his body and head. Metal pieces were stuck on his arms and legs.

"D-Did it work? Did we make it…?" He stopped as he noticed he was the only one who made it. "No, No, NO!"

He tried to stand back up, but he was wounded and exhausted. He looked around until he noticed the second crater. It wasn’t made by a metal capsule, instead a silhouette came from the smoke.

"No!" He realized it immediately as the giant red devil emerged with his four arms. He managed to push his wounded body and get back up. He took five steps before almost failing over.

"Oh, where are you going? I don’t know how, but you brought us to another world. Is that your power? Awesome, hahahaha. Now I definitely need to capture you. Having the power to travel between the worlds, the master is going to be very pleased with me."

The tolgar had a devilish smile. He had some wounds and scratches, but he was mostly fine. The fall didn’t even break a bone in his muscular body.

"How did you stop the capsules?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Is it not obvious? I crushed them with my hands before they could escape with you." He flaunted his four arms and the palms of his hands covered in blood. "Don’t worry, you aren’t going to die. We’re going to spend a lot of time together from now on. You’re going to be our slave."