After several hours passed, the young man finally regained consciousness after fainting from severe hallucinations.
"Goodness, what happened, and where am I?" he muttered in confusion. He then tried to get up while holding his aching head. His body felt weak as he stood, causing him to fall back down, sitting on his knees.
"My body… feels strange. Did something just happen to me?" he said while clutching his head. Confused about what had happened to him, he looked around. The room wasn't completely dark—there was a faint light, as if the ceiling was designed to let sunlight in. "Wait, is the ceiling built that high just for the light to enter, and—"
"Wow, finally you woke up," interrupted someone.
The young man looked around, searching for the source of the voice in the room, but saw no one. His vision was still blurry, and the dim lighting didn't help.
"Who's there? I repeat, who's there!" he demanded cautiously.
"Relax, relax. We won't do anything to you," said the person from within the shadows.
"That was my fault for startling you. You've just woken up from fainting and here I go scaring you, sorry," the voice added, almost playfully.
The tone irritated him slightly, but with his head still pounding, he couldn't do much. Slowly, the dizziness began to fade. He got to his feet carefully, balancing himself, while glancing around in confusion at the unfamiliar place.
Suddenly, the room lit up at once from an unknown source, startling him. He stood frozen in confusion, unsure of what was happening. Then, someone appeared from the upper inner balcony and cheerfully called out to him, "Tada! Not dark anymore, right? Or maybe still a bit dark? Sorry for the inconvenience."
Hearing the voice, the young man immediately turned around. To his surprise, the one speaking was a young woman with a graceful, beautiful face, dressed in luxurious noble-like attire. No wonder her tone had been so overly cheerful.
"Wait, who are you really? And what's the meaning of all this?" the young man asked, calm yet cautious.
"Ehh, was I just joking around this whole time?" the woman answered, surprised at herself as if she had forgotten something important.
"Maybe," the young man replied with a shrug.
He then asked, "Excuse me, if I may ask… what exactly is this place?"
"Oh, this place? This is a summoning chamber!" the woman said gleefully.
"Ahh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Casca, I am a Demigod." She made a silly face and shaped a V sign with both hands.
The young man responded with an uninterested stare. What caught his attention more was the room itself. It contained six black curtains and one red curtain, all surrounding him in a circle, with him standing at the very center.
Whether it was coincidence or not, the red curtain was placed directly beneath the inner balcony—right where Goddess Casca was standing, watching his every move. That made him wonder even more: why was the red curtain positioned there? Was it special somehow?
His curiosity grew until suddenly, a faint memory flashed in his mind, reminding him of something like a video game from his own world. He tried to recall its name, but then an emotionless voice echoed inside his head.
[THE MAGIC WORLD]
Startled, he clutched his head again, enduring the pain from the strange echo.
Casca, noticing his odd behavior, tilted her head in confusion. "Hey, is something bothering you? You look kind of strange. Are you sure you're alright?"
Realizing Casca had been watching him, the young man tried to act as if nothing happened. "Well, isn't it normal? I mean, you saw I just woke up."
"What? Did you already forget about that?"
Hopefully she doesn't get suspicious of me… Damn, do I really look like a weirdo right now? I just hope she sees me as normal.
"Ohh, you're right. I guess I'm not very attentive to other people's conditions," Casca said with a cheerful face, without the slightest guilt.
Ah… and for some reason, my gut tells me something is about to happen.
"Okay, since there's nothing else to talk about, I want you to meet them—and introduce yourself too," Casca said, lifting both arms in excitement.
Meet them? What does she mean by that?
Suddenly, the black curtain to the right of the red curtain fell, revealing what lay inside.
"Hello, newcomer! Nice to meet you. My name's YAIRA. I'm a cheerful and lively little girl. Let's be good friends!" said Yaira, striking an energetic pose.
[Status: Female, 16 years old]
[Advantage: ???]
Wait, what's this? A status panel? But why does it only show gender and age? What does this mean?
While he was still thinking, the rest of the curtains began to drop one by one, eventually approaching the red curtain.
After Yaira came Kocu [Status: Male, 18 years old], handsome but arrogant, indifferent to others.
Then Koyui [Status: Male, 8 years old], with an expression full of scorn.
Next were Samanta [Status: Female, 18 years old], Yano [Status: Female, 17 years old], and Kanae [Status: Female, 18 years old]. All three of them wore expressions of fear toward the young man. Their "advantages" were also unknown.
"Oh, now it's your turn. Go on, introduce yourself!" Casca said brightly.
Wait… why did she skip over the red curtain? But why not just start with it earlier?
"My name is Ace. Ace Hankaza. Nice to meet you all," Ace said politely, bowing slightly.
"Wahhh, what a unique name! Hellooo, Aceee," Casca cheered.
But her joy didn't last long. A status panel appeared before them. "Wow, Ace, this must be your status! Let's see it," Casca said excitedly. Yet her excitement quickly soured. "Wait—what is this? Why does it only show your name?!" Her cheerful tone turned bitter with disappointment.
"I expected more from you. But with this… I think, Ace, YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE HERE!" Casca shouted with disapproval.
At that exact moment, the red curtain beneath her balcony dropped. The figure inside was unlike the others—cloaked in a hooded robe, shrouded in mystery.
Wait, who is this person? Why does he feel…
STRANGELY FAMILIAR?
"You've been strange from the start. When we first met, you showed no uniqueness at all," Casca said, glaring at Ace with a disgusted expression.
"Wait, but—"
"Rey, cast him into the abyss now," Casca ordered coldly.
Abyss? What does she mean—Rey? Is that him?
Without a word, Rey began chanting. A large magic circle appeared beneath Ace, the floor crumbling away within its radius.
"What the—"
Ace plummeted into the dark abyss, screaming, betrayed, discarded like useless trash.
He fell endlessly into the black void. Was this his end… or—
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW JOURNEY?
As his eyes began to close, certain death awaiting him, fate intervened. Instead of crashing into oblivion, he landed on a giant spider's web, its size dwarfing his body.
But the web was fragile, unable to hold his weight. It tore apart, dropping him again with a jolt of pain.
"Ahhh… am I… still alive? Hahhh… thank goodness. I thought… ah, never mind. What matters now is… how do I get out of here?" he muttered, relieved but wary.
Was this a warehouse? No… perhaps a survival shelter.
"A bunker… wow. My life is starting to turn into something I really didn't wish for," he said calmly.
Looking around, something unusual caught his eye: a lantern, sitting on a table cluttered with stuffed animals.
He approached the lantern and found a piece of paper beside it. Picking it up, he read the words written on it: "A little star will always guide you to the safe path."
The message was enough to tell him—he wasn't alone down here. But what did it mean?
"Such beautiful words… Is this lantern's light meant to guide me out? Hahh… I'm truly grateful to whoever wrote this," Ace said, pocketing the note.
He then picked up the lantern. Just then, something fell from a nearby storage rack. Brushing off the dust, he saw what it was—a weapon, a knife.
"A kitchen knife… wow, I'm lucky. But I can't be too happy yet. I still have work to do," he said, taking the knife.
Now prepared, Ace stepped toward a massive steel door.
"This isn't just about preparation anymore… only those who deserve it will survive. Damn, I hate those words," he muttered, gripping the knife and lantern tightly.
He noticed a button on the side of the door. When he pressed it, the colossal gate slowly opened, shaking the ground.
"Alright… I have to be strong. No matter what happens, I must endure."
Ace then walked through the colossal, pitch-black corridors. Yet he was not alone—something lurked in the shadows, watching him.
Would he find a way out to freedom? Would fate grant him good fortune at last?
End of Chapter (No Way Back)