Late at night, in a certain WeChat group:
*Fourth Brother:*
"Damn it! It's that bastard Ururu again! I'm done! Bros, log in and play Soul Knight!"
*Oldest Brother:*
"What's with the late-night rant this time?"
*Fourth Brother:*
"Got camped at the bridge (sad)."
*Fourth Brother:*
"Come on, let's do a four-player co-op in Soul Knight!"
*Second Brother:*
"How many are we missing? If it's just one short, I'm not joining."
*Fourth Brother:*
"We're missing three! (said with righteous confidence)"
*Third Brother:*
"6."
*Second Brother:*
"So you haven't even found a single person?"
*Oldest Brother:*
"I'm not playing. Last time, you played as the Hyperborean and died before even starting. I had to keep using my skill to revive you."
*Fourth Brother:*
"Having you tank in front makes me feel so safe! This time, I'll play as the Vampire, no slacking off!"
*Fourth Brother:*
"Second Brother revives minions, Third Brother summons bears, and I'll deal damage gracefully from the back. Super stable!"
*Third Brother:*
"…Why would a third-skill Vampire need to deal damage from the back?"
*Second Brother:*
"Then I'm crafting a red-tier weapon."
Amidst laughter and banter, four game icons lit up on their respective screens.
In the pixelated dungeon, the Paladin, clad in molten lava-like skin, raised his shield at the forefront.
The Necromancer floated with eerie crimson eyes beside him, the Druid blew his horn to summon a colossal beast, and the Vampire brandished a massive scythe.
They coordinated seamlessly, fighting their way through.
Finally, they defeated the boss and stood before the Magic Stone.
*Fourth Brother:*
"Perfect! I'm on fire right now! Let me log into Arknights and do a ten-pull!"
*Oldest Brother:*
"Here we go again…"
*Third Brother:*
"Stay calm with your pulls…"
*Second Brother:*
"Do you guys hear the impending wails of despair?"
*Fourth Brother:*
"Relax, relax! Watch this! I'm going all out with this new banner!"
Miss—54
Miss—67
Miss—72
*Fourth Brother:*
"…"
*Second Brother:*
"Do you even have enough allowance left?"
"By Sea Cat above!!! I'll sacrifice all the lifespans of my future sons! Grant me this ten-pull, max pot, graduation!"
*Oldest Brother:*
"…You dog."
*Third Brother:*
"…That's too much…"
*Second Brother:*
"…Even all their lifespans combined probably won't cut it. If you want to get something, you'd better throw in your own too."
*Fourth Brother:*
"Second Brother, you're even more ruthless than me! Fine, fine, I'll add mine too… Holy crap?!"
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden anomaly occurred on the screen.
No ordinary white or purple glow—ten beams of rainbow-colored golden light instantly filled the entire screen.
A single ten-pull, truly max pot!
"It… it actually happened?!"
Fourth Brother's voice distorted from sheer shock.
However, before he could even revel in the joy, the light on the screen violently expanded, engulfing his entire vision.
At the same time, the other three locations were also completely enveloped by the light.
In the voice channel, only Fourth Brother's abruptly cut-off exclamation remained before everything fell into dead silence.
Bang—!
"You brat, what are you screaming about?! I'll teach you a… Wait, where'd he go?"
...
Terra, Year 1090, Rim Billiton.
A sage rescued a Cautus girl and embarked on a journey with her to Kazdel.
Meanwhile, four crimson meteors tore through Terra's night sky, plummeting toward the four corners of the continent with earth-shattering force.
---
Columbia, Rhine Lab.
"How is the subject's condition?"
"Stable for now. There's hope for survival."
"Is that so… Then increase the dosage. They're just expendable materials anyway. Perfect for testing drug resistance across different races."
The man referred to as the subject stared blankly at the ceiling, the conversation between the two researchers clearly reaching his ears.
It hurts so much…
Someone… anyone… just kill me…
Boom—!!!
A deafening roar shattered the night's silence. A meteor streaked across the sky, tearing through the high-rise building and obliterating the sins within.
"Cough… cough…"
Oldest Brother struggled to regain consciousness from the impact's dizziness. He shook his muddled head and forced himself to sit up from the crater's bottom.
What happened? That blinding light just now…
Instinctively, he raised his hand to rub his throbbing forehead, but his fingertips brushed against something hard, warm, and unnaturally curved.
He froze.
In disbelief, he traced his hands upward from his forehead—
The terrifying, magma-congealed horns were undeniably real atop his head, their texture unmistakable. He could even feel the scorching power flowing within them.
An absurd and horrifying thought exploded in his mind.
"Holy crap!" he blurted out, his voice distorted by shock. "I turned into a monster?!"
Almost simultaneously, three equally terrified and incredulous voices erupted directly in his mind.
*Second Brother:*
"Holy crap! I turned into a woman?! This body… these huge… What's going on?!"
*Third Brother:*
"Holy crap! My… my head… Why did it turn into a deer's head?! And these claws…?!"
*Fourth Brother:*
"I… Wait, I think I'm still as handsome as ever—Huh? These pointy ears… this cloak… Damn! I look even cooler! Wait… this scythe—Death's Breath?!!"
Chaotic thoughts collided and intertwined within the invisible link. Oldest Brother looked down at his hands—they were no longer human palms.
Now, they were encased in dark magma armor, pulsating with explosive power.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging, unfamiliar yet innate scorching energy coursing through his body.
Glancing at the ground, he saw a familiar yet foreign cross-shaped shield.
"Bros…" Oldest Brother tried calling out in his mind, his voice heavy. "Are you all still alive?"
Second Brother's tearful voice echoed in their minds: "Gone… my little brother's gone…"
Third Brother's voice, filled with panic, sounded on the verge of tears: "Where is this?! Why did I turn into this?! Oldest Brother… Oldest Brother, where are you?!"
Fourth Brother's voice, however, carried an unnerving calm, cutting through their chaos: "Bros… look up at the moon."
The moon?
The abrupt command made the others, immersed in the horror of their transformations, instinctively comply.
Oldest Brother lifted his now-fiery Ifrit-like head toward the sky; Third Brother raised his massive deer head; Second Brother also forced himself to look up, despite the extreme discomfort of his unfamiliar body.
Then, everyone fell silent.
In the night sky hung two moons.
Twin moons shared the heavens, their intertwined radiance bathing this unfamiliar land.
This was a sight never seen on Earth.
Their minds fell into a long, oppressive silence, the weight of their situation passing wordlessly among them.
A long, long time passed.
Fourth Brother's voice broke the silence again, the forced calm and bravado now gone:
"Bros… I think we've been isekai'd."
These words struck like a sledgehammer, shattering the last shred of hope.
"Isekai'd…"
Oldest Brother repeated the word, surveying his surroundings—floating dust, molten magma, and ruins.
He felt the scorching power surging through his veins, then looked down at his tall, twisted form—everything confirming Old Four's deduction.
"Not just a transmigration," the voice of Oldest Brother dropped low, forcing himself to stay calm.
"We... we've become characters from Soul Knight, complete with skins and weapons."
"I've turned into a Paladin, and it seems I can manipulate fire."
"I'm a Necromancer..." Second Brother's voice trembled slightly.
"My weapon is right beside me, and the area is filled with corpses!"
Third Brother's voice choked with tears, "We... were we sacrificed by that ten-pull...?"
"Dammit..." Old Four cursed, unsure whether he was cursing his own jinxed words or this shitty fate.
"So... are we in the world of Soul Knight now? Do any of you see any iconic landmarks around?"
Second Brother: "No, I told you—it's all corpses here!"
"Wait... these corpses have horns? And tails!"
Third Brother: "I'm in a snowfield! An endless expanse of snow!"
Oldest Brother looked around; dust and smoke blocked his vision.
Gazing at his own twisted hand, he focused his thoughts.
Scorching flames erupted from the crevices of molten rock, the resulting shockwave scouring the dust clear. Amidst the revealed ruins was a barely recognizable symbol.
Oldest Brother: "I see a symbol here—a Φ shape, with plus and minus signs inside the two holes."
Old Four: "Holy shit! Oldest, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Oldest Brother: "Positive... Do you recognize this symbol?"
Old Four: "Recognize it? Of course, I do! This isn't the world of Soul Knight—this is Terra! Arknights' Terra!"
The twin moons cast their indifferent light upon the four strangers scattered across different corners of the Terra continent.
After the initial shock, the cold reality pierced through their hearts like a biting wind.
They were no longer players controlling characters from behind screens.
They were the characters.
And this world was fraught with peril.