Kael sat in silence.
His gaze lingered on the lifeless body of Lumino lying before him.
When… when did everything start going wrong?
He couldn't remember. Lumino wasn't breathing, a chilling stillness where warmth had been, his chest unmoving.
The air hung heavy, thick with the coppery tang of blood. Kael's blade, glinting wickedly, was the undeniable cause, piercing Lumino's heart.
I'm a cold-blooded murderer who stole his life.
His eyes shifted toward the glowing system window.
[Warning: Low MP]
If only he had never gone to Letruish. If only he had never stepped into that place.
Now regret gnawed at him with every breath.
He remembered. Back in his own world—DF-1—he had once stared at the same kind of window system.
=================
Kael had just finished a mission, cutting down the shadows infesting District 3 of his world.
'Yes, more EXP. Let's convert this—mana and agility could use the boost.'
--- Hunter Status ---
Name: Kael Eros
Job: Shadow Hunter
Rank: Grade 2, Rank S
Agility: 160 → 170
Strength: 220
Mana: 160 → 167
Intelligence: 152
˻System Warning: Massive energy overload detected˺
[Warning: Threat level equivalent to a natural disaster]
[Warning: Energy waves too large to contain!]
"What the hell is this?"
'Check location.'
-Scanning coordinates-
-Outside Dimension-
[Coordinates: 231.89.7]
"Outside dimension…? Where is this?" Kael keyed the numbers into the system, but no known world matched. Not a single registered dimension appeared in the database.
"Run an outer-system search."
[Understood. Searching outer-system coordinates.]
[Match Found.]
Kael's brows furrowed. Don't tell me…
[Dimension: Terafisa. World: 'Letruish']
"…Letruish?"
The system held no records, no descriptions. Just a name. He hesitated, but the overwhelming warning about the energy flux left him no choice.
"Should I check it out?"
"System. Portal scan."
[Energy sufficient: one entry, one return.]
"Risky… but if I can harvest EXP out of this, it might be the jackpot."
"Open dimension portal."
[Portal opening successful.]
A circular eclipse-like rift tore open in the air. Its glow shifted from blue to yellow.
New color. Haven't seen that before.
[Destination: Letruish]
[Are you sure?]
[-Yes-] or [-No-]
"Yes."
The portal shimmered, unstable. Its edges contracted.
"…Wait. It's shrinking?"
Panic flared. Kael vaulted into it, but pain stabbed into his skull the moment he crossed. Memories flashed—his childhood, fragments he had long buried. Emotions he didn't want to feel came rushing back.
[Disturbance detected.]
[Transfer process destabilized.]
[System Error.]
[!@$*&^5 Void]
Woooosh—
-Welcome to V*#@d Nexus-
Kael stumbled into a place that felt wrong. The air itself unsettled him. To his side, another glitching portal flickered.
"What is this place?"
A broken, glitch-riddled system window floated before him.
'This doesn't feel right. I haven't even reached Letruish, and already it's off.'
He ignored it and stepped into the new portal that appeared. Sunlight warmed his skin as he entered. The world was calm and bright: emerald trees swayed, filled with the chirping of unseen birds. He inhaled the fresh, clean air.
[Orb detected. Distance: 1 meter.]
At least some functions still work. The rest of you, though—damn it, system.
He looked ahead. There, crouched low, someone cradled an object glowing red. A gem-like orb, radiant and alive.
Kael didn't even think—his instincts drove the words from his mouth.
"Put that down. Now. Or face the consequences."
==============
The memory ended.
That was their first meeting—his first encounter with Lumino. If he thought back, he knew the truth: he should've acted then. Should've seized the Orb, should've cut Lumino down quickly before anything bound them together.
But he didn't. He let himself hesitate. He let himself get caught. And that hesitation was what had led him here, staring into the empty eyes of someone he could no longer save.
Hopelessness weighed on him. It was the same despair he had felt years ago, standing at the graves of his parents.
Death has always been the hardest thing for him.
"Kael!"
A voice cut through his haze—familiar, desperate. A hand gripped his shoulder, forcing him to turn.
"Kael! Are you alright?"
Alira. Her expression was heavy with worry.
She knelt across from him, Lumino's body between them. Her trembling hand brushed through Lumino's hair.
"…So it's true," she whispered.
'She'll hate me. She'll know it's my fault…'
But Alira looked at him and smiled—a bright, determined smile that nearly blinded him.
"Don't worry, Kael. I'll fix this."
His eyes widened.
"I'll bring Lumino back. I'll make him open his eyes again."
The air shifted. Magic swirled, unseen threads weaving into Lumino's chest. Crimson strands emerged, stitching his wound closed, binding it together.
The crimson thread, a vibrant splash against the dimness, vanished into Lumino's flesh at his wrist. A faint prickling sensation, then it was gone. Simultaneously, the other end, unseen, found its home in Kael's left wrist.
"The thread... is... reconnected..."
Pain ripped through Kael's body. His chest clenched as if being pulled into Lumino. He resisted the pull, striving to avoid falling on top of him.
Blood surged through Lumino's veins, revitalizing him. Color returned to his skin, and warmth bloomed in his hand, clasped by Kael.
"Lumino…" Kael breathed, glancing at Alira. "How… how is this possible?"
But her eyes were glassy with tears. "That doesn't matter. What matters is—look! He's opening his eyes!"
Kael turned back, disbelief trembling in his chest.
And then, slowly, Lumino's eyes fluttered open.
Their gazes locked.
For the first time, Kael's hollow stare sparked with life again.
"Ka…el?" Lumino's voice was hoarse, fragile.
"Yes, Lumino?"
"…Your face is a mess," Lumino chuckled faintly.
Kael laughed through the tears brimming in his eyes. "Yours too."
"Oh my god, are you two seriously talking about that right now?" Alira snapped, though her voice cracked with relief. "Idiots. Both of you."
"I feel like… I just woke up from a very long dream," Lumino whispered.
Kael placed his hand gently over Lumino's eyes. "Don't think about it. Don't remember."
"Kael, I can't see."
"Yeah, Kael! Watch your hand, you're covering his sight. Lumino deserves to look at my beautiful face!" Alira huffed.
"…Heh." A faint laugh escaped Lumino's lips.
Kael leaned closer, his voice soft, almost trembling.
"Welcome back… Lumino."
-----
"She's finally done it…"Lady Seraphine's menacing voice slithered through the air, dripping with dark satisfaction. "At last, I've fully marked Lumino…today is the day. And no one can break it anymore."
Her lips curved into a radiant smile, a twisted mockery of joy, "Sooner or later, I will claim you back as mine."
"Are you certain it's wise to trust that woman, my lady?" Thartonus asked, his tone wary yet deferential.
"She's precisely the right one," Seraphine replied with a feral grin, her eyes gleaming. "I've entrusted everything to her. She will bring Lumino straight into my arms."
"I still can't comprehend how that woman dared to act so boldly earlier," muttered Orches.
From behind a jagged stone, a hoarse voice trembled with pain.
"Damn you, Seraphine…" Terasvari's frail form quivered, blood dripping at her lips. "You've manipulated him, twisted him… Again, the same thing—you never change… o-ohhkk—just like you did with Lola…"
"Tera, my dear," Seraphine cooed mockingly, licking her lips as her crimson eyes glowed with malice. "You're still the same—naïve, fragile, pitiful."
Her smirk hardened into cold disinterest. "Honestly, I've grown bored of you. I'll return to my castle."
The ground cracked with a deep rumble as a portal of warped light unfurled behind her, the same gateway she had used to arrive.
"Ah… do as you want with her," Seraphine waved dismissively at her subordinates.
"My children are hungry anyway," Thartonus murmured darkly.
From his shadow, something grotesque stirred. Shapes slithered forth, twisting and writhing until they solidified into nightmarish beasts.
"Shadows…" Terasvari gasped, her voice trembling with horror. Her eyes widened as the creatures lunged. "No—don't—please, don't! Arghhh!!"
The Shadows fell upon her, their fanged maws tearing into her essence. The sound was wet, grotesque—life itself being consumed. Within moments, all that remained of Terasvari was a husk, her body shriveled like a dried husk, a mummified remnant of what once lived.
"Ugh… revolting," Orches muttered, averting his gaze.
"Surprisingly… delicious," Thartonus said with chilling delight, licking his fangs. "Don't sneer at me. This is all that's left of my children, after all."
"Hmph. Even so, I didn't expect you to act so brazenly. What if other vampires catch wind of this?" Orches muttered.
"Enough," Thartonus growled, her expression twisted with rage. "My mood is foul. To think Richo and Izek are dead already…"
She clenched two blood-red gems in his palm, the remnants of what once were. Her gaze burned with hatred.
"And at the hands of that man who looks like a woman, no less," Orches sneered.
"I care little for appearances," Thartonus hissed, his voice seething with vengeance. "I only care for vengeance, to the one that is responsible slaughtered them. The one who slaughtered my children… That man Kael, if I ever get the chance, I will make sure he suffers a death so cruel even the abyss will pity him."
With a violent motion, she crushed the gems in his hand. They shattered into scarlet dust, scattering in the wind.
"Let's go, Orches," Thartonus growled, shadows curling around his form.
"Okay!" Orches nodded, following her into the darkness.