Smith Inc. Lab, Earth, 2024

———Alyse———

Red sits slumped on the far side of the shattered glass chamber, staring at the fractured portal hanging limp from its mount on the wall. He's silent now—no tears, no flames, just a blank stare locked on the broken remnants.

"Kylen, open the door," I say, stepping toward it.

Kylen hesitates, his hand on the handle. "Are you sure you—?"

"I've got this," I cut him off, my tone firm. "Trust me."

He studies me for a moment, then nods, turning the handle. The faint grind of gears fills the quiet room as the door creaks open. Kylen steps aside, giving me space to walk through.

"Red..." I call softly as I approach. "Are you okay?"

He doesn't respond, doesn't even glance my way.

"Red?" I kneel beside him, lowering my voice further.

Finally, he turns to me, his face streaked with tears. His voice trembles, each word heavy. "He's dead."

I feel the weight of his grief settle over me. "I know, but Draco sacrificed himself to save us," I say gently, hoping to ground him in the truth of that moment.

"No, you don't understand." His voice cracks, and his tears fall faster. "Not Draco... Domnik. He's dead."

Shock punches through me. "How do you know that?"

"I felt it, Alyse." He presses his fingers to his chest, tapping where his heart beats. "Right here. I felt it when he..."

I try to respond, to reassure him somehow, but he cuts me off.

"We left him. We fucking left him back there to die! How the fuck could we do that?" His voice rises in a mixture of anguish and fury as he buries his face in his hands.

My throat tightens. "We didn't have a choice, Red. Ogre would've killed us. Draco pushed us through to save our lives."

Red shakes his head violently, his hands falling to his lap. "No. No, Draco pushed us through so Ogre wouldn't get this."

He pulls his sword from its sheath—a weapon glowing with swirling fire and light, alive with power. The DragonsBreath. Without a second thought, he tosses it to the floor. The flames extinguish, the blade retracting into the hilt as it clatters against the ground, lifeless.

"The DragonsBreath?" I breathe, stunned.

He nods wordlessly, his grief swallowing him whole.

I reach to pick it up, but before my fingers touch the hilt, it begins to shift. The blade disintegrates, the metal liquefying into a swirling blob. It moves with unnatural precision, flowing toward Red and latching onto the metal brace around his ankle. The molten madium merges seamlessly into it, leaving no trace of the sword behind.

"What the—" I start, recoiling.

"Oh yeah," Red says bitterly, staring at his ankle. "Draco gave me that, too. No clue what it does. Good to know it just ate our only chance of killing Ogre if he decides to follow us."

His words hang in the air, heavy with despair, and for a moment, I don't know what to say.

"We can't even leave now, can we? We're stuck here because I had to go and break that fucking portal!" Red's voice cracks as he points to the shattered remnants still hanging from its mount. "And now Ogre and whoever else is left behind get to run unchecked, doing whatever the hell they want to our home."

"That's not your fault!" I protest.

"Yes, it is." His voice lowers, trembling. "And you know it is, too. You're just being nice."

He pauses, his breath hitching as he presses his left arm. His hand comes away red and trembling. "Fuck," he mutters, wincing as the burn there finally catches our attention.

"Claire..." Kylen's voice cuts in from behind me.

I glance back and see him and Claire still standing on the other side of the broken glass chamber. Everyone else is gone now; I suppose they told their team to give us space.

Claire steps into the room, her expression calm but kind. She nods at me faintly before walking to Red's left side and kneeling.

"Mind if I take a look?" she asks softly, her voice like a salve in itself.

Red hesitates but finally extends his arm. His eyes are rimmed red, but he sniffs, swallowing back his tears.

Claire's hands hover over the burn, and within moments, the raw, blistered skin fades to smooth perfection.

Red's eyes widen. "You're a healer? Wait... you have powers?"

Claire nods, offering him a small smile. "I came from Naurus too. I was part of Kylen's team. Back there, we didn't even know we had powers. But when we crossed the bridge to get here, something in it... activated what was already inside us."

She glances at Kylen, who leans casually in the doorway, arms crossed.

"We spent a long time looking into it," Claire continues. "Studying our pasts, our bloodlines, trying to connect the pieces. Eventually, we realized the truth: we're children of the pantheon. Kylen is of Zen, and I am of Qharus."

I shake my head, trying to process what she's saying. "Then why didn't you come back?"

"We couldn't," Claire explains, her voice tinged with regret. "The bridge closed as soon as we came through."

Kylen steps forward, his tone steady but grim. "We tried to reopen it, but it wouldn't let us. And then the gateway started leaking radioactive energy. We designed this structure to contain it, to stop the radiation from spreading." He gestures to the shattered glass chamber, the remnants of their desperate effort to keep their new world safe.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Sorry for breaking it," Red mutters, his voice subdued.

Kylen chuckles lightly. "Don't worry about it. It was time to upgrade anyway—we built that thing six years ago."

"Six years?" I repeat, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah...?" Kylen raises an eyebrow, confused by my reaction.

"Brenelor said you went missing only a week or two ago," Red cuts in, his brow furrowed.

Kylen shakes his head, frowning. "But that doesn't make any sense..."

Claire's eyes light up with realization. "It does," she murmurs. "I had a theory about this. Time moves differently here—much differently than in Naurus."

The room falls silent as we let her words sink in. What felt like days back home was six years for them. The weight of that revelation presses down on me, bringing with it questions we're nowhere near ready to answer.

"Where even are we?" I ask, glancing around the strange room.

"Earth," Kylen replies. "It's... similar to home, but also very different."

"Different how?" Red presses, his tone edged with frustration.

Kylen exhales, leaning against the wall. "Well, for starters, technology here is everywhere—way more advanced in some areas but oddly primitive in others. And there's no magic. At least, not like on Naurus. Everything here runs on science, ingenuity, and brute force."

"No magic?" I repeat, frowning.

"None," Kylen confirms. "What's even weirder is that when we arrived, they didn't even have spacecraft capable of traveling between planets. Claire and I... well, we stepped in. Started designing ships, creating tech no one here had ever seen before. Let's just say we made a fortune doing it."

Red crosses his arms, his expression still tense. "So you became a billionaire while Naurus fell apart?"

Kylen flinches slightly but doesn't rise to the bait. "I did what I had to survive, Red. If you think I wasn't trying to get back, you're wrong. But Earth... it has its own rules, and I had to learn them fast."

Red's jaw tightens as he steps closer to Kylen. "You survived? That's all you cared about?"

"That's not what I said," Kylen replies calmly, though there's a hard edge to his voice. "You have no idea what it was like—being thrown into a world where nothing made sense, with no way to get home. I spent years trying to fix that portal, Red. Years."

"And in the meantime?" Red presses, his tone sharp. "You built ships, made money, played the hero for a world that isn't even yours?"

Kylen's eyes flash, but he keeps his composure. "Yes, I built ships. Yes, I made money. But every credit I earned, every piece of tech I designed, every decision I made—was with the goal of getting back to Naurus. I didn't forget where I came from."

Claire steps in, her voice calm but firm. "He's telling the truth. We didn't stop searching for a way back, not for a second. But this place... it's not like Naurus. Time is different here. Resources are different. We had to adapt to survive and to find answers."

Kylen looks at her, then at Red. "That's why I couldn't find a way back, why everything I tried failed. The portal wasn't just crossing worlds; it was bending time."

Red stares at him, his expression unreadable. "So what now? We're stuck here forever?"

Kylen steps forward, his gaze steady. "No, I can rebuild it. But it's going to take time."

Red exhales sharply, turning away. "Time we might not have. Ogre, the Daem—they're still out there, Kylen. They're still tearing Naurus apart while we're stuck on this... this rock."

Kylen places a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's not waste time fighting each other. If we work together, we might be able to fix this—and get back before it's too late."

Red doesn't respond immediately. His hands ball into fists, but he doesn't pull away. Finally, he nods, his voice low. "We better move fast. Because if we don't... there won't be anything left to go back to."

Kylen nods, his eyes scanning us with a faint smirk. "But first, you two need to come back to the city with me. You look like you've been through a war zone." He gestures toward our tattered clothes and dirt-streaked faces.

I glance down at myself, brushing some dirt off my sleeve. "I could definitely use some sleep," I admit, looking over at Red.

He shrugs, his exhaustion evident. "Yeah, okay. Whatever."

Kylen's smirk turns into a grin. "Great. Let me get the helicopter ready."

"The heli-what?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Kylen doesn't answer. He's already jogging out of the room, disappearing through the next door. "You'll see!" he shouts over his shoulder as he steps outside.

Claire chuckles softly, folding her arms as she turns to us. "Trust me, it's fun. You'll love it."

I stand, reaching down to help Red to his feet. He lets out a quiet sigh as he rises, still clearly weighed down by everything that's happened.

"Don't worry," I say, trying to meet his gaze. "We'll figure it out. We always do."

He forces a faint smile, one that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, maybe. Shiarus must be looking out for us. But how long can we keep pressing our luck?"

I don't know how to answer that. So instead, I just give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before turning toward the door.

Claire walks ahead, her steps light, while Red and I fall into stride together, side by side. We step through the front door into an open field, the cool air brushing against our skin.

"Helicopter," Red mutters, shaking his head. "Why does that sound like it's going to be something ridiculous?"

I glance at him, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Guess we're about to find out."

I notice a faint hum growing louder by the second. Red and I both squint against the setting sun, our eyes adjusting to the sight of a sleek black machine rising from behind the building. It hovers effortlessly, its blades slicing through the air with a rhythmic thrum.

"That's a helicopter?" I ask, shading my eyes with my hand.

"Yup," Claire says, crossing her arms as she watches it descend. "Kylen's pride and joy. Don't let the noise fool you—it's smoother than it looks."

The helicopter touches down on a nearby landing pad with surprising grace, the wind whipping around us as the blades slow. Kylen leans out from the open cabin door, motioning us over with a wide grin. "Come on, don't be shy!"

Red and I exchange a glance.

"You go first," he says, gesturing toward the machine.

I narrow my eyes at him. "What, afraid of flying now?"

"No," he mutters, "just... cautious."

I roll my eyes and stride forward, the wind pulling at my hair and clothes as I approach. Claire follows behind, her footsteps sure and steady, while Red lingers a moment longer before finally trailing after us.

Kylen hops down to meet us, his voice cutting through the noise. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" Red mutters under his breath, but Kylen ignores him, ushering us toward the open cabin.

Inside, the helicopter feels surprisingly spacious, with plush seats and a control panel brimming with glowing buttons and screens. Kylen slides into the pilot's seat with practiced ease, strapping himself in and flipping a few switches.

Claire takes the co-pilot's seat, turning to smile at us. "Just buckle up and enjoy the ride."

I settle into one of the seats behind them, fumbling with the straps as Red slumps into the one beside me. He stares out the window, his expression unreadable.

The rotors roar to life again, and the helicopter lifts smoothly off the ground. My stomach lurches at the sudden motion, but I grip the armrests and force myself to look out the window. Below us, the sprawling landscape comes into view, a patchwork of roads, buildings, and greenery stretching as far as the eye can see.

Red leans forward, his brow furrowing as he takes it all in. "This place... it's so different," he mutters.

Kylen glances back over his shoulder, a hint of pride in his voice. "Welcome to Earth. You haven't seen anything yet."

The helicopter banks slightly, giving us a better view of the city ahead. Skyscrapers rise like jagged peaks, their windows glittering in the fading sunlight.

"What's all that down there?" I ask as I point out the window at the ground.

"Those are the streets below, people use these things called cars here instead of horses. Um... You'll see don't worry." Claire assures.

The car lights flicker on as night begins to fall.

For a moment, even Red seems mesmerized, his earlier tension easing just a fraction.

"It's beautiful," I say softly, unable to tear my eyes away.

Kylen grins. "Wait until you see it up close."

As we approach the city, the glowing skyline reflects in the glass, casting a warm, golden light over us. It's a strange, breathtaking sight, and for a moment, the weight of everything we've been through feels just a little bit lighter.