Buena Village.
As always, wisps of smoke rose from the chimney in the knight's family's yard when the morning mist began to rise.
As usual, Sylphie arrived in the courtyard early to visit her two lovely younger sisters.
"Konnichiwa~"
Sylphie leaned closer to Zenith, her gaze softening as she looked at little Norn behind her.
" Norn -chan~ Koni-jiwa~"
But then little Norn suddenly cowered behind Zenith and murmured:
"No... can we not deduct the money?"
Zenith turned around upon hearing this and pulled Norn back into her arms, playfully scolding him:
"Oh dear, little Norn ~ How can you talk to your older sister like that? Say hello to your older sister right away~"
Little Norn remained nestled fearfully in his mother's arms, silent and still.
"Uh... hehe..."
Sylphie and Zenith exchanged an awkward smile.
Inside the mansion, Lilia was directing little Aisha to wipe down the chairs and benches.
Little Aisha's adorable figure skipped and scurried around the room, lively and cute!
The door was gently pushed open.
Sylphie stepped out, politely greeted Lilia, and handed her a necklace.
"I'll have to trouble you with this."
Lilia accepted the necklace with a gentle smile, "It was nothing~"
"What gift did Lilia prepare for Rudeus?" Sylphie asked curiously.
"It's a secret~"
"Huh? I'm so curious~"
Suddenly, a series of light, flirtatious footsteps sounded...
When Sylphie came to her senses, she saw a pretty red figure suddenly leap into her arms.
"Ha~ Little Aisha! You're so energetic so early in the morning~ Did you miss your big sister?"
"I want you to teach me more magic, sister!"
"Hmm~ Are you thinking about your sister or about magic?" Sylphie with a mischievous grin.
Little Aisha waved her little hands, her big eyes sparkling brightly:
"I want both!"
"Haha, little Aisha is so cute~ Give your older sister a kiss, and I'll teach you!"
"Okay, okay~"
Zenith then walked in carrying Norn, standing beside Lilia. She couldn't help but smile as she watched Sylphie and Aisha playfully teasing each other.
" Sylphie has really grown a lot!"
Lilia echoed in agreement:
"Yeah~ I thought there would be a huge fight after leaving Rudeus ~"
" Rudeus really taught Sylphie a lot of amazing things!"
"Thanks to Rudeus, Sylphie is now so brave and strong—she's no longer being bullied!"
"Ah~ after all, Sylphie has that head of green hair." Zenith said wistfully.
"If a ruby were to grow on my forehead, I'd look exactly like Superd Tribe."
At this moment, Norn, who was in his arms, tilted his little head and asked, seemingly indistinctly:
"What is 'Si... Pei Erduo Zu'?"
" The Superd Tribe is a very scary race~" Zenith said with a frightening expression:
"If we get caught..."
"But you're going to get eaten!!"
"Eek--!!!"
Norn screamed, then immediately began to sob, large tears streaming down her face.
"Oh dear, baby Norn, I'm so sorry~ Don't cry, don't cry~"
Just then, the door opened again, and a man with a somewhat tired face walked in.
It was Paul who walked in and saw his precious baby crying loudly; his heart felt like it was being ripped out.
Paul quickly took Norn from Zenith's arms and gently coaxed him:
"What's wrong? What's wrong? My little angel?"
Who bullied you again?
Little Norn nestled in his father's arms, feeling that familiar warmth, and his crying gradually subsided. Then he turned around, pointing at Zenith with a cute but fierce expression, and sobbed:
"It's Mommy! Mommy bullied me!"
Zenith, caught off guard by the pointed finger, glared at Norn.
Norn shuddered at the glare, looking like he was about to cry.
"Oh~ Norn, don't cry, don't cry~ It's Mommy's fault! Daddy will make Mommy suffer tonight, okay?"
Paul coaxed Norn while winking and flattering Zenith, making Sylphie and Lilia laugh uncontrollably.
Little Aisha stood to the side with her hands on her hips, silently scoffing at Norn's spineless appearance.
"You've been so busy that it's only now that you're back?" Zenith looked at Paul, who looked haggard, with a touch of concern.
"Ah... yes, there have been frequent monster uprisings lately, it's really a headache."
During the conversation... Paul keenly noticed that something seemed amiss in the sky outside the window:
"Um?"
Paul, holding Norn, stood by the window gazing at the distant view.
Everyone followed Paul's gaze and looked in that direction...
Confuse.
I don't understand.
It was a bizarre and unseen sight...
The sky was obscured by a chaotic, distorted vortex, and as everyone stared intently at it...
The eerie vortex of chaos suddenly contracted, followed by a burst of dazzling light.
The beam of light was slowly spreading outwards...
No!
That speed wasn't slow!
By the time they realized what was happening, the white light was less than a hundred feet away from Buena Village!
Paul hurriedly tightened his grip on his young daughter, who remained oblivious to what was about to happen.
Lilia quickly realized what was happening, looked anxiously at Aisha behind her, and suddenly hugged her tightly.
Senis stared tremblingly at the rapidly spreading white beam of light ahead, leaving only a pale expanse in its wake, and took a step back in horror.
In an instant--
A white light enveloped everything in the world...
Who will be the last vestige of darkness amidst the white light?
--With thunder!
Shatter the darkness!!
When the white light appeared, no one had time to react.
One second everything was fine, the next second, the whole world was swallowed up by blinding white light.
It wasn't sunlight, nor did it resemble any known form of magic.
The light came without warning, as if someone had suddenly torn a hole in the sky and stuffed the entire world into that pure white.
I can't see anything.
I can't hear anything.
My body felt terrifyingly light, as if I had suddenly lost all weight.
Someone wanted to shout...
Someone wants to escape...
Some people instinctively reach out to grab the most important person in their lives.
But there's nothing I can do.
In that white light, time seemed to lose its meaning.
Whether a second or an hour had passed, no one could say for sure.
The only thing I could feel was the increasingly intense dizziness and a fear that slowly welled up from the bottom of my heart.
Later, people called this disaster --
" Fittoa Region Teleport Incident ".
But for them at this moment, it was just a peaceful day that suddenly collapsed.
" Norn--!"
The instant the white light burst forth, Paul almost reflexively pulled his daughter into his arms.
As a father, I don't think at all in this situation; my body acts first.
Immediately afterwards, the world spun around.
It felt as if I was being swept into a raging torrent, my consciousness churning and surging, and my chest felt tight and uncomfortable.
Then--
Bang!
A violent impact was felt.
Paul suddenly opened his eyes.
The blinding sunlight made him dizzy.
The sound of the wind rustling through the grass filled my ears.
"Cough... cough cough..."
He propped himself up and sat up, his head still a little dazed, but the first thing he did was look down to check on the person in his arms.
Norn is still alive.
The little girl was so frightened that her face turned pale, her eyes were red, and she gripped his clothes tightly with both hands, as if she was afraid that she would disappear if she let go.
"Dad..."
A voice, trembling with sobs, rang out.
Paul immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully... at least Norn is alright.
He patted his daughter's head before looking up at his surroundings.
Then, the expression on his face slowly froze.
grassland...?
As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but grassland.
There are no villages...
No houses...
No familiar roads or farmland...
There was no Zenith, Lilia, or anyone else she knew.
The wind blows through the waves of grass, spreading layer upon layer into the distance.
The world was eerily quiet.
Paul remained silent for a long time.
In the end, he just cursed in his heart.
This is a huge problem.
On the other side.
Lilia crashed heavily onto the sand.
The scalding hot sand got into my collar, stinging my skin.
But she couldn't care less about any of that.
" Aisha!"
She hurriedly looked down to check.
The next second, a small head popped out from inside my arms.
"Mom, I'm here!"
Hearing the sound, Lilia finally felt relieved.
Aisha is alright... That's more important than anything else.
Only after confirming that her daughter was safe and sound did she begin to observe her surroundings.
The more I looked at it, the more depressed I felt.
The golden sand dunes stretched to the horizon.
The air was scorching hot.
In the distance, one can even see distorted and swaying mirages.
This is definitely not the Asura Kingdom.
"Desert..."
Lilia murmured to herself.
Aisha, nestled in his arms, seemed completely oblivious to the danger.
The little girl looked around, her eyes sparkling.
"Mom, are we on an adventure?"
Hearing this, Lilia couldn't help but give a wry smile.
adventure?
I wish it were truly an adventure.
But she knew very well that the disaster that could engulf the entire Fittoa Region was something that ordinary people could not comprehend.
Such a thing is not even recorded in history books.
She looked down at her daughter in her arms, and her arms involuntarily tightened a little.
No matter what happens, at least I can't give up.
Absolutely not!
Somewhere in the world.
When Sylphie regained consciousness, all she could hear was the whistling wind.
wind?
wrong.
The next second, she suddenly realized she was falling.
Moreover, it fell from a great height.
"Huh...?"
My mind went blank for a moment.
When she looked down and saw the endless forest below, she was jolted awake.
He will die.
You really can die!
The instinct for survival instantly overcame the fear.
Rudeus said: The more challenging the situation, the calmer you need to be!
Calm down... thinking back... the magic Rudeus once taught me...
Magic that can handle the current situation!
--[ Levitation ]!!
The magic surged wildly, causing the speed to plummet to less than 100 meters from the ground!
The accelerating descent finally began to slow down.
But in just a moment, the magic power within his body was almost completely depleted...
With a loud bang.
She crashed directly into the tree canopy, and branches broke off one after another.
Its body tumbled and collided among the branches and leaves before finally crashing heavily to the ground.
pain!
My whole body aches...
It's unclear how much time passed before Sylphie finally managed to get up.
My forehead is cut.
The clothes were torn all over.
But at least he's still alive.
Finally, using the little magic he had left, he performed a simple healing on himself...
The girl sat there blankly, staring at the sky above.
My mind is a complete mess.
Where is Aunt Zenith?
Where is Aunt Lilia?
Where is Uncle Paul?
Where's Norn sauce?
Where's Aisha?
Rudeus...
When she thought of that name, her nose suddenly felt a little sore.
Although I was terrified, for some reason, I gradually calmed down.
Rudeus said that before.
When faced with danger, the more panicked you are, the more likely something bad will happen.
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath.
Then he slapped his face hard.
"No."
"We have to survive first."
The voice wasn't loud, but it was more resolute than I had imagined.
She leaned against the tree trunk to stand up, her legs still trembling, but she had already taken a step forward.
Meanwhile, in another, faraway place.
Zenith remained floating in the white light.
She felt herself falling.
There was no end in sight... Unfamiliar scenes flashed by all around.
ocean.
Mountain range.
wilderness.
City.
Various never-before-seen scenes flashed before my eyes like a dream.
She couldn't even distinguish between what was real and what was just an illusion.
suddenly...
The persistent feeling of weightlessness disappeared.
Instead, there was a biting cold.
Zenith slowly opened her eyes--
Snow?
Snow is everywhere!
A fierce wind swept across the snowfield, carrying ice crystals and making a sharp whistling sound.
The sky was so gloomy it was suffocating.
She stood there blankly, her mind a complete void.
what happened?
Why am I here?
Where are your family members?
I can't remember any of the answers.
My memories are like they've been torn apart, leaving only scattered fragments.
Just then, a huge black shadow vaguely appeared deep in the snowstorm.
That appears to be a building.
Ancient and silent, it stands quietly at the edge of ice and snow.
Zenith stared blankly in that direction, snowflakes falling continuously onto her shoulders.
She didn't know where that place was, nor what awaited her.
But one thing is irreversible.
That sudden burst of white light completely swayed everyone's lives in a different direction...
And the peaceful years belonged to the Fittoa Region.
From that day on, it ended.