In a dense forest, in the middle of a small clearing, lay a young man on the ground.

He appeared to be about twenty-five years old. He had deep black hair. He was slightly shorter than average, and his skin was fair and pale. Of course, it was none other than Nero.

His clothing was torn, and both the golden crown and his long cloak were missing.

His eyes just opened and they were as dark as his hair.

Nero sat up, feeling pain throughout his body. He looked around, confused. For a moment, he was puzzled about how he had ended up here, but then he remembered the events in his fortress.

Shocked, he looked at his right arm and was surprised to find it completely healed. Not even a small scar, let alone a burn mark. Had he imagined the black flames? He couldn't believe that. It must have been some kind of magic. Nero still didn't fully understand what had happened.

He didn't know who those four people had been, but they were very powerful. Much more powerful than him. Not only him but also all of his subjects. They had killed almost all of his generals and destroyed his entire fortress.

The only thing Nero was unsure about was what had happened to Ramor. He suspected that he was dead because the last thing he had seen was Ramor engulfed in black flames, but how could he be sure of it?

Nero took a moment to reflect on the events. Within a few minutes, he had not only lost his entire army and fortress but he had also been ripped from his own world.

He was sure that this was not his world because there were not one, but two brightly shining moons in the starry night sky. One seemed to have just completed its cycle and was still quite large, while the other was only a small crescent.

There were also stars in the sky that Nero didn't recognize. It wasn't that Nero knew all the stars in the sky of his world, but he had learned the major star constellations. They made navigation much easier.

But in this sky, there were far fewer stars, and he couldn't identify any familiar constellations.

The next thing Nero realized shocked him more than losing his Polykenas and fortress combined. He couldn't sense the shadows. Since that fateful night in the mine when he had taken the crystal, he had been able to feel the darkness around him, but now... nothing.

Not only that, he couldn't use it anymore. It wasn't just depleted from excessive use; it was completely gone. He could feel it, like an emptiness within him.

As if a piece of himself had been broken off. Nero knew it had to do something with the mysterious black flame.

While they were still burning on his flesh, Nero felt his magic leaving him. But he hadn't expected it to be permanently stripped away.

He had lost his power, and it hit Nero hard. What should he do now? There were very powerful beings in this galaxy, and Nero didn't even know which planet he was on or what beings existed here.

And now he had no real means of defending himself. Nero knew he needed a new way to regain his magic. Magic was the only way he could never be oppressed by anyone or anything again. Even if Nero mastered swordsmanship or obtained the strongest crossbow, he could never defeat even his weakest self who had magic.

Nero stood up, pulling himself together. Sitting here and grieving over the past would achieve nothing. He had to look forward. He had to find a new way to regain his magical abilities. There had to be a possibility. In recent years, he had discovered many methods of cultivation. Crystals were not the only way to obtain magic.

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Not knowing which direction to go, he simply followed a bright star in the sky. The forest resembled the ones on his planet precisely in terms of vegetation. The plants and trees in this forest were exactly the same as those he already knew.

He spotted some small reptiles he didn't recognize and new species of birds. But he encountered no dangerous predators, which relieved him as he wouldn't stand a chance against a tiger-like creature. However, it didn't take long for him to see something new.

Through the dense forest, Nero noticed a faint glow, clearly emanating from an open fire.

He cautiously approached it, making sure not to make any noise. Finally, he managed to peer through the bushes and spotted three people sitting around a campfire. The fact that they were humans didn't surprise Nero much, as intelligent beings in most cases resembled humans.

Nero observed them and, astonishingly, understood what they were saying. Confused, he reached for his neck and felt a faint glow as he touched a specific spot.

-So the symbols Ramor engraved on my skin are still there.-

Nero pressed another spot, trying to activate another symbol, but unfortunately, without success. The one symbol that allowed him to understand foreign languages remained passive and required no magic to activate.

Meanwhile, the other symbols all required magic. There were precisely three more symbols. One was for sensing the whereabouts of his generals. Another was for communication with them. The last one was a practical symbol that enabled a detailed analysis of his body. Yet he couldn't use any of these three.

The three people were two women and a man, sitting around a campfire and enjoying roasted meat. Nero observed briefly, attempting to comprehend what they were saying, but he could only catch fragments of their words.

Just as Nero was about to retreat, one of the men suddenly perked up and raised his hand, looking in Nero's direction. Nero cursed internally, turned around, and started running.

He heard shouts behind him and the sound of the people moving through the forest. Suddenly, Nero felt a dull blow to his back, causing him to stumble. He barely managed to regain his balance and continue running.

Now, he wished he had his cloak again, which provided him with good protection against attacks from behind with its embroidered symbols.

Nero ran as fast as he could through the forest, but suddenly, a gigantic stone wall appeared in front of him. Shocked, Nero came to a halt and started running alongside the wall.

Not even half a minute later, something hit his leg, and an awful pain shot through Nero. This time, he couldn't recover his balance and fell, rolling on the ground.

The three individuals surrounded Nero. Nero tried to get up, but one of the men pressed the palm of his hand down, and Nero was restrained by an unseen force.

-A wind mage...- Nero thought desperately.

One of the women looked at Nero with disgust.

"It seems one of the mortals has escaped," she said distantly.

The other woman nodded in agreement.

"Look at his clothes. He definitely came from the camp. The question is how he managed to escape."

Nero didn't understand what they were talking about, but he also knew that any form of dissent would only result in a beating.

He was familiar with this type of people. He had been surrounded by them his whole life. They considered themselves superior. They saw themselves as the great and important ones, while Nero was nothing more than scum in their eyes.

Nero hated that gaze and anyone who looked at him that way. A storm of emotions raged within Nero. He was filled with anger and despair.

It seemed ironic to him. He had spent the last years of his free life striving to become stronger, to never be oppressed again, yet now he was once again a weak being at the mercy of the stronger ones.

Nero despised feeling helpless with every fiber of his being. Desperately, he tried to utilize the shadows around him again, but in vain. Nothing stirred.

Nero calmed himself. No reason to lose composure. The three individuals didn't seem to want to kill him, and as long as Nero was still alive, he could rise again. As long as Nero still had some life force left in him, he wouldn't give up hope.

Nero was lifted into the air, floating through the forest. After some time, the forest thinned out, and they arrived at a smaller wall. Another man approached the group and greeted them politely.

"One of the mortals escaped here," one of the women said.

The man looked shocked at Nero.

"How the fuck did he manage that?" the man asked.

The woman shrugged.

"How should I know? That's your responsibility."

The man nodded.

"I'll have it investigated immediately. And you, young man, better get back to work, and I'll forget about all this."

Nero nodded obediently, preferring to play along rather than endure torture. He was pushed into the camp and looked around. He found himself in a small settlement surrounded by a large wall. Everything was filled with fields, and poorly dressed people hurried about.

Nero sighed inwardly.

-Once again, I am only a prisoner.-