Kaelen's Perspective
A high-pitched, insistent ringing was the first thing to return. Then, the heavy, suffocating scent of mana. I was conscious, but my body was unresponsive—a dead weight held in a gentle, warm embrace. I forced myself to remain still, riding the wave of nausea and exhaustion until my mind could fully reassert control.
The Teleportation Incident happened.
My entire being was focused on the internal monologue, running through the metadata of this world and the risks I had just taken. The crucial question: Why did I do what I did? Why Aisha, why Lilia, why the deliberate separation from Norn and Paul?
The answer lay in the warnings of Orsted, the Dragon God. He once told Rudeus about the time loop—that most events are fixed, repeating themselves until a powerful, external variable changes the outcome. This implied that the fate of the major players in this world was largely set in stone unless a strong-willed agent like Rudeus, or in my case, myself, intervened directly.
My biggest threat wasn't the monster-filled world; it was the Human God, Hitogami.
Hitogami could only observe those whose fate was actively changing, or those who posed a threat to his manipulations. By doing the minimum—by letting the Teleportation Incident happen naturally and ensuring my actions were subtle—I hoped to stay below his radar.
I ran through the known teleportation locations from the original narrative:
Paul and Norn: Transported to a relatively safe, open plain in the Central Continent. They were tough and survived well enough.
Lilia and Aisha: Transported near the capital of the Shirone Kingdom, a dangerous place, but one where their eventual capture and use as bait was a fixed plot point. Their relative safety was only guaranteed because Rudeus would eventually save them.
Rudeus: The main variable, teleported to the Demon Continent.
Zenith: The anomaly. She was sealed away in a crystal deep within the Teleportation Labyrinth—a dungeon—destined to become half-alive and half-dead for years until Rudeus's future team rescued her.
My strategy was simple: Do not change the fate of those who are already relatively safe or necessary for the main narrative to unfold.
Lilia and Aisha were destined to be bait. Their survival was contingent on the plot running its course. Aisha's magic talent was strong enough that I knew she wouldn't squander the training, and Lilia was now primed to be hyper-vigilant and prepared for travel thanks to my subtle manipulations. They had a strong chance.
Norn and Paul were survivors. Their plot was relatively safe.
My only target for direct, physical intervention was Zenith.
Zenith's fate—years of living suffering in a crystal—was the most horrific and the most flexible. Critically, Hitogami only knew Zenith was in the Labyrinth, but not her exact location. By teleporting with her, I hoped to:
Dodge Hitogami's notice: My fate would be linked to a minor character already in a fixed, isolated location, meaning I wasn't an active threat yet.
Change Zenith's terrible fate: I could prevent her sealing, a horrific, unnecessary detour that derailed Rudeus's emotional health for years.
The violent disruption of the teleportation itself was my greatest risk. I had forced a collision with Zenith at the very moment of impact. The fact that I was still in a coma meant I had succeeded, but paid a heavy physical price.
I have to wake up. Zenith is wasting precious time.
I felt the cold, hard stone beneath me. I heard a scraping sound, followed by the faint hum of a magic-laced material. My fingers, still tiny, twitched. I focused every ounce of my recently expanded mana pool into my senses. I could feel the structure of the surrounding stone, infused with ancient, potent mana—it was a magic-laced wall.
My mind formed a silent, desperate incantation of Destroy Earth. It was an Intermediate-level spell, far too taxing for my current condition, but I needed an immediate, physical disruption.
I pushed my mana out, not to destroy the entire wall, but to disturb the inherent magical flow within the stone itself.
With a grinding sound, a section of the wall beside me cracked and crumbled inward.
I forced my eyes open. I was in a small alcove, and in front of me, with her back turned, was Zenith, checking something on the wall. She was moving, exploring—she was safe.
"Mama," I croaked, my throat dry and sore, my body aching with fatigue from the deep coma and the magic I just expelled.
Zenith spun around, her face illuminated by a small, anxious green glow from a light spell she must have cast. Her eyes, wide and bloodshot from lack of sleep, focused on me.
I was awake.