Earth, somewhere along a sunny, crowded seaside beach.
A portal silently unfolded behind a secluded reef at the edge of the beach, causing no energy fluctuations or spatial disturbances.
Neos stepped through first, followed by the others in a file as they set foot upon this familiar yet unfamiliar world—Earth.
Warm fine sand pressed beneath their feet, and the sea breeze carried the salty scent of the ocean mixed with sunscreen. Beyond lay blue waters and laughing crowds at play. Everything seemed so... ordinary.
The instant Neos stepped out of the portal, his supreme will, vast as a sea of stars, silently spread outward. It became an exquisitely subtle information-distortion field that reduced the presence of everyone on his side to a minimum while warping the perceptions of the surrounding crowd.
To ordinary people, they were merely a somewhat quiet group of unfamiliar tourists, soon to be overlooked.
"It really is similar, but..." Neos frowned slightly as he sensed the "breathing" of this universe. "Its source level is higher, its rules are stricter and... more 'active.' The universe itself has a noticeably stronger 'will.'"
He could even vaguely sense several gazes from the depths of the universe turning toward them, as though they had noticed these outsiders.
They were certainly no ordinary beings—at the very least, they stood on his level, perhaps even higher.
Malcador, Erda, Valdor, and the Primarchs, who had arrived in such a "normal" modern Earth setting for the first time, displayed entirely different reactions.
They curiously examined everything around them—humans running and laughing in skimpy swimsuits, vividly colored parasols and beach chairs, and the outline of a modern city filled with high-rises in the distance.
"Humans... it's actually a human world?" Vulkan muttered in a deep voice, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The contrast with what