In the middle of a dead-end street, black particles floated aimlessly.
As they faded, a body appeared—alive, but unconscious.
Eren Fritzwerld...
He fell asleep as that terrifying figure he met in the dark room used some kind of magic.
It snapped its bony fingers, and Eren instantly went unconscious.
Two figures—a woman and her child—walked toward the dead-end.
Their house stood there, nestled among the crowded neighborhood.
The kid spotted Eren lying in the middle of the street and stopped.
Henry Amanei : Mom, look over there!
He pointed his finger towards Eren.
His mother noticed too, and they rushed over to check on him.
Lisa Amanei : Honey, bring neighbors to pick him up!
Henry : Alright mom!
The little kid ran to the nearest house to get the neighbors, asking them to help pick up the unconscious Eren.
============
A random portal appeared beneath the bridge on the highway, this time standing vertically instead of horizontally.
A man with white hair, his hoodie stained with dust as if from a battle, stepped through.
Jack : Well, I survived.
It was none other than Jack Vetragoad.
He had finally returned to the real world after vanishing, trapped in that black portal with Eren.
Strange as it seemed, he was trying to conceal something hidden in his hoodie.
Jack : Now how am I gonna hide this... plus, what's this invansion thing that was written in the stone tablet.
Something glowing beneath his hoodie caught the light. No one knew what it was, but the information it held intrigued him—he had to bring it with him.
Jack : They'll definitely say something if I were to hide this orb in the bag. Not only that, I am carrying two daggers as well so I'll get caught badly if anyone were to see this.
For right now... it's better to hide this under my hoodie.
A glowing blue orb pulsed beneath his hoodie, holding information that piqued his curiosity.
Having survived the strange dimension he entered while trying to save Eren, he showed no astonishment upon returning to the real world.
Yet, thoughts of Eren lingered in his mind.
Jack : I should be glad that I survived... but, what about Eren? Is he even alive? That guy seemed weak as well.
That's truly concering I suppose. Great pains as I would have walk till I can get to the road to ask for a ride.
Seems like the city is not that far... Mom and Sis would be waiting for me as well.
============
On the rooftop of a building, a small portal appeared by the door.
A young lady with red-dyed hair stepped through it.
Cynthia : WHAT'S THE TIME!? AM I LATE?
She appeared troubled, carrying a backpack that held a similar glowing object.
Pulling out her phone, she turned it on to check the time, and it read...
Cynthia : 5 PM! AM SO LATE, DAD WOULD BE ANGRY.
Not only that, how did I got into this rooftop of this huge building?
She turned her head to see if the small portal she had stepped through was still there.
To her surprise, it had vanished.
Cynthia : Hmmm...
Come to think, did I got pulled into that thing just to have experience killing some random animal looking beasts?
Just like Jack and Eren, she too had battled hostile "creatures" set on slaughtering them.
Not long ago, she was effortlessly slashing through wolf-like, goblin-like beasts with her katana.
She had faced a similar trial, slaying beasts to obtain a key for a massive door.
Upon unlocking it, she found herself in combat with knights who had caused her no end of trouble.
Cynthia : This katana can't penetrate through its armor. I'll try to behead this thing!
She swung her katana, decapitating the first knight with a clean strike.
Two knights remained—one had already fallen, and the next was ready to join him.
Dominating the hostile beasts had been moderately difficult for her, even when facing that massive wolf-like creature.
True to form, another massive door awaited, revealing a dark room with a crimson orb and a statue holding a stone tablet inscribed with:
"PrEpArE fOr tHe iNcOmInG iNvAnSiOn!"
The words on the stone tablet left her both confused and intrigued.
Just then, a small portal appeared, following some kind of energy extraction as she touched the crimson orb.
She goes towards the portal that was an exit point, throwing her katana to the ground.
Cynthia : That was one serious like taking experience there... but I have to get going now!
She approached the rooftop door, attempting to unlock it, but it was firmly locked.
Cynthia : DAMN IT!
She kicked the door with such force that it shattered.
A yellow aura began to emanate from her body, though she was unaware of it.
The loud noise echoed, disturbing the residents on the floor near the rooftop.
Cynthia didn't hesitate; she ran down the stairs, heading for the lift.
A person from that floor arrived just in time to see her walk past, but it wasn't her that caught his attention.
It was the broken door.
Alex Daiman : What the fuck!? Who did this?
A noise from the elevator signaled Cynthia's swift descent to the lower floors.
He turned, intending to confront her, but she had already vanished.
Alex : No wonder, she might have did this.
============
Steve : Lucky me... I spawned near a road.
A young man emerged from a small portal near a road, surrounded by dense trees—essentially a forest.
Steve : Well... I should throw this gauntlets to the place where it belongs.
He tossed his gauntlets, stained with black blood, toward the portal.
Strange gases swirled around the portal's edges, forming an oval shape.
And then, it began to shrink.
Steve : It's shrinking?
In a few seconds, it had shrunk to a point and vanished.
The swirling gases faded as well.
It disappeared without leaving a trace.
Steve : There it disappeared. Welp.
Steve Tharnold faced the same trial as Eren Fritzwerld, Jack Vetragoad, and Cynthia Haidwin.
He had to kill hostile creatures, including a massive wolf-like beast that granted him a key to open a giant door.
After battling two knights, he unlocked another massive door, revealing a vast room with a crimson orb at the center of a road and a statue holding a stone tablet.
Following the inscription on the tablet, he touched the crimson orb, triggering a mysterious energy extraction.
Soon after, the orb shrank to a size small enough to fit in his pocket.
Steve : This orb... became small.
And the words written in this thing changed as well.
"PrEpArE fOr ThE iNcOmInG iNvAsIoN."
Steve : What kind of invasion is it talking about as well?
He turned his head to the left, where a small portal appeared.
Without hesitation, he stepped through it and returned to the real world.
Steve : Am back...
Huh!?
The object in his pocket—the once huge orb, now shrunk and yellow—began to glow.
Steve : Welp... need to hide this thing.
It was evening, and the road was dark, with no shelter or place to stay.
Just then, a light appeared in the distance— a car was approaching.
Without hesitation, Steve waved at it.
The driver noticed and steered the car toward him.
Harry Armfeil : What are you doing here?
Steve : I was exploring the jungles, got lost and lucky enough I found this road.
May I get a taxi? I'll pay when we reach the city.
Harry : No need to pay, come on in.
Steve : Thanks!
Harry : No problem...
Harry let Steve into his car, offering a ride to the nearest city.
Though intrigued, the yellow glow in Steve's pocket caught his attention, but he chose to ignore it.
Harry : Shall we go?
Steve : Sure.
============
Somewhere in a room, he opened his eyes, finding himself covered in a blanket, with a woman and a child watching him.
Eren : Where am I?
Henry : Good morning mister!
Eren : Ugh... good morning I guess?
Lisa : You seemed to be injured and tired. You were bleeding a little while ago.
Eren : I guess so...
Umm.... May I ask, are you the one who took me here?
Lisa : Of course. You were lying down in middle of this street where our house was and we saw you lying down.
You were unconscious and were injured. So we took you here.
Eren : Thanks for the help mam! I really appreciate.
Lisa : No problem.
A phone call rang from her mobile, drawing her attention. She grabbed it and answered the call.
Lisa : Excuse me.
Eren : Sure...
Eren lay on a couch, bandages covering his injured hands and forehead.
The living room he was in was cozy and well-kept.
Eren : Reminds me of the living room I live in...
Eren sat up on the couch, a sudden thought clicking in his mind.
He checked his pocket, pulled out his phone, and looked at it.
Eren : Need to check if everything that happened there was real!
He unlocked his phone, swiping the screen to check the apps.
It was all real...
An app named "???" appeared.
Eren : NO WAY...