Cold air rushed into David Banner's lungs as consciousness returned to him in fragments. His eyes slowly opened to a sky so clear and vast that for a moment he forgot how to breathe. Endless stars stretched across the heavens like scattered diamonds, brighter than anything he had ever seen in his old world. The grass beneath his back was damp and cool, bending under his weight as the wind rolled across an open plain. His heart beat slowly at first, then faster as confusion crept in. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing felt familiar.
David groaned quietly and pushed himself upright, rubbing his temple. His head throbbed like he had just been hit by a truck. The last thing he remembered was lying in his apartment scrolling through videos late at night, half asleep while watching scenes from Black Clover. Then there had been that strange sound. A tearing noise—like reality itself ripping apart. After that… darkness.
"…Where am I?" he muttered under his breath.
The words left his mouth shakily as he looked around the empty field. Tall grass swayed endlessly in the wind, and a dark forest stood a short distance away like a silent wall. No buildings. No roads. No power lines. Just wilderness. The realization slowly crept up his spine like ice.
This wasn't Earth.
David looked down at himself and immediately froze. His clothes were different. Instead of jeans and a hoodie, he wore rough commoner clothing—simple brown pants and a loose white shirt made from coarse fabric. His feet were bare against the grass. The outfit looked like something straight out of a medieval village.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
His voice trembled slightly as he lifted his hands. They looked wrong. Smaller. Leaner. The fingers were thinner and smoother than he remembered. His breathing became uneven as he quickly ran toward a small puddle of rainwater reflecting the starlight.
He knelt down and stared at the face staring back at him.
Brown hair. Hazel eyes. Olive skin.
But younger.
Much younger.
The jawline was softer. The face thinner. The body clearly that of a teenager.
"…Fifteen," David whispered slowly.
His chest tightened as the truth hit him all at once. His body had changed. Somehow, impossibly, he had become a younger version of himself. He was still David Banner, but physically he had reverted back to when he was fifteen years old.
"I was twenty… what the hell happened?"
Panic bubbled in his chest, but something else quickly distracted him. A strange sensation brushed against his senses, something subtle yet powerful that seemed to exist everywhere around him. The air felt thick, almost alive. Invisible currents flowed through the wind, the trees, even the soil beneath his feet.
David slowly stood up, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"…What is this feeling?"
It was like standing in the middle of an ocean made of invisible energy. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable, but it was overwhelming. He could almost feel it brushing against his skin, drifting through the air like a current waiting to be touched.
He cautiously reached out with his hand.
For a brief moment, the air rippled.
David's eyes widened slightly as the sensation vanished the moment he pulled his hand back. His heartbeat quickened again. He had watched enough anime to recognize what this might be.
"…Mana?"
The word sounded ridiculous leaving his mouth, but nothing about this situation was normal. The environment felt exactly how characters described mana in Black Clover. Something that existed naturally in the air. Something people could breathe, sense, and manipulate.
David exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"So… either I've completely lost my mind…"
He glanced at the unfamiliar sky again.
"…or I'm actually inside the Black Clover world."
The quiet night suddenly shattered with a distant howl.
David froze.
That wasn't a normal animal. The sound was deeper and far more aggressive than any wolf he had heard before. Another howl followed, closer this time, echoing across the plains like a hunting call.
His instincts kicked in immediately.
Run.
David didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted toward the nearby forest, pushing through the tall grass as quickly as his legs could carry him. His body moved surprisingly well, lighter and faster than he remembered. The body of a fifteen-year-old had far more energy than his old twenty-year-old self.
Behind him, the grass exploded violently.
Several massive wolf-like creatures burst into view, their glowing eyes reflecting the moonlight as they chased him across the field. Their bodies were larger than any wolves David had seen before, with sharp claws and jagged teeth that gleamed as they growled.
"…You've got to be kidding me!" David shouted breathlessly.
He dashed into the forest just as the first creature lunged. Branches whipped against his arms and face as he pushed deeper between the trees. The beasts followed close behind, their heavy footsteps crushing leaves and snapping twigs with frightening ease.
David's mind raced as adrenaline flooded his system.
Think. Think!
He grabbed a fallen branch from the forest floor while running and spun around just as the first wolf leaped toward him. Instinct took over. The branch slammed across the creature's snout with a loud crack, forcing it back with a startled yelp.
But the others quickly surrounded him.
Six wolves circled him slowly, their yellow eyes locked onto him like predators savoring their prey. Their growls rumbled through the dark forest as saliva dripped from their fangs.
David tightened his grip on the broken branch, forcing himself to breathe steadily despite the fear rising in his chest.
"…Alright," he muttered quietly.
"If this really is Black Clover…"
His gaze hardened as he watched the wolves carefully.
"…then survival comes first."
The wolves attacked all at once.
One lunged from the left, its claws slicing through the air. David barely dodged in time, rolling across the ground before scrambling back to his feet. Another wolf charged directly at him, forcing him to swing the branch with everything he had. The wood cracked against its ribs, but the creature barely flinched.
A third wolf tackled him from the side.
They crashed into the dirt together as its jaws snapped inches from his face. David shoved his forearm against the creature's throat, desperately keeping its fangs away from his neck. Its strength was overwhelming. The wolf snarled violently, pushing down harder as its claws dug into the dirt beside his shoulders.
"…Not like this," David growled through clenched teeth.
His arm trembled under the pressure.
For a brief moment, something strange pulsed deep within his chest.
Once.
Then again.
A cold sensation spread outward from his heart like dark water flowing through his veins.
The wolf suddenly whimpered.
Its ears flattened against its skull as its body stiffened in fear. The beast abruptly jumped away from David and backed up several steps, its tail lowering instinctively.
The other wolves reacted the same way.
Their growls faded into uneasy whines as they stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. One by one they began retreating, slowly backing away until they disappeared into the darkness between the trees.
The forest fell silent again.
David slowly pushed himself up from the dirt, breathing heavily as confusion flooded his thoughts. His heart continued beating strangely fast as he looked down at his chest.
For just a moment, he thought he saw something.
A faint black shimmer flickered beneath his shirt.
It looked like distant stars hidden inside endless darkness.
Then it vanished.
"…Okay," David said quietly, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm definitely not normal anymore."
The wind rustled through the forest canopy above him as the stars glimmered between the leaves. Somewhere far away, a church bell faintly echoed through the night.
David didn't know it yet, but that bell belonged to a small church in a remote village called Hage.
A village where three children—Asta, Yuno, and a mysterious swallowtail bird named Nero—were living their peaceful lives.
And in exactly one month, every fifteen-year-old in the Clover Kingdom would gather to receive their grimoires.
For now, David Banner stood alone in an unfamiliar world with nothing but commoner clothes and his will to survive.
He didn't have magic.
He didn't have a grimoire.
He didn't have allies.
But the night he arrived…
Something ancient had fused with his heart.
And the world would eventually learn that the boy who fell from the stars was far more dangerous than anyone could imagine.
For now—
David Banner simply started walking.
Survival came first.