Raon closed his eyes and felt himself falling rapidly. The world he knew had changed overnight, becoming an unimaginable chaos. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in an unknown place, surrounded by ruins that left him speechless. Something terrible had happened, something that caused an incongruity in the ether and left everything in this catastrophic state.
As his mind tried to process what was happening, hundreds of questions raced through his mind. But at that moment, all those questions boiled down to a single word: "survive." It was the only thing that mattered at that moment.
With his eyes adjusting to the darkness, Raon noticed that he was surrounded by a weak, translucent white aura. He remembered the bet he had won, which had given him a high-grade shield, one-time use, and a 30-minute effect. The transparency of the shield indicated that time was running out, which alerted Raon that he needed to escape as soon as possible.
He looked around desperately for a way out. However, everything was surrounded by debris, forcing him to cast a spell and create a path for himself.
With his trembling hand, Raon moved his fingers and cast a burst of transparent green energy, a simple spell called radar. Only a few seconds later, he was able to identify a place where he could escape and began to move quickly towards it, before the shield's time ran out.
Raon's feet were crushed by a rock that was about to fall on him. Luckily, his shield protected him from the impact, but he needed to find a solution to free himself. He looked around, trying to find a way out. Then an idea crossed his mind: what if he cast an ice barrier?
As a mana user, Raon could only control two elements: air and water. But after years of training, he had finally mastered the composite element of ice. He focused his concentration on the rock that threatened to crush him and began to concentrate icy mana to weaken it.
The stone gradually froze, weakening until Raon could control it like a large piece of ice. He closed his eyes and focused on his magical ability, feeling the cold running through his veins. With a fluid movement of his hand, he cast a powerful ice spell that spread under the rubble.
The ice began to grow, breaking the rocks and lifting them into the air. Raon seized the opportunity and made his way through the newly created space. As he advanced, his ice magic continued to expand, lifting more debris and creating a safe path to escape.
Using an air spell, he accelerated his movements and saw the light of the exit in just ten seconds. His breathing was heavy, and his mana was almost depleted, but with one last effort, he created an explosion of air that propelled him towards the exit. His face hit the ground, but his hands slowed the impact.
He took a moment to catch his breath and feel the sun's rays on his back. Turning around, he saw how the city that had once been the largest in his country had become a pile of rubble. The buildings were in ruins, including his own school, the "Nova Arcanum Academy."
Raon stood up and approached the top of the rubble, searching for something or someone among the ruins.
But there was nothing. Soon, he looked up towards other debris where the student dormitories were located. Raon stretched his hand and a sheathed sword appeared in it. He quickly unsheathed it and took a sip from a small bottle he had also summoned. Strength returned to him and he moved his feet quickly but carefully towards his dormitory.
Jumping over debris, he managed to see small openings where he could see some people, but it was no use stopping. Most likely, they were dead. Raon's stomach churned at the thought. It was the first time he had ever seen a dead person in his life. Just a century ago it was normal, but society had changed. Soon, his steps stopped and he fixed his gaze on a small pile of rubble. The dormitories were smaller than the classrooms and only had a total of 3 floors. His was on the first.
Raon's hands took a pillar of rubble where he remembered his room was and, using air mana, he managed to move it. The next ones were smaller and easier to remove. Soon, he saw a small piece of intact wall that had a poster of a wizard on it. That was without a doubt his room. He hadn't come here for money or anything like that, but for a small box that was under what was once his bed. This contained some potions and remedies that he planned to use or exchange for something in the future.
"Raon?" Just as Raon was about to put away the things he had collected, a voice called out to him.
Raon turned slowly and his gaze met that of a boy covered in blood. His right arm was in a strange position and his gaze was lost.
"Darien. What are you doing here?" said Raon, looking at his friend.
"I was in my dorm when the earthquake happened. I managed to get out of the debris and started looking for a healing potion, when I saw you in the distance," replied Darien in a low and weak voice.
Raon hesitated a little, but approached his friend and handed him a potion he had taken from his storage. Darien didn't hesitate and took it instantly. He could feel his body improving a bit and his arm going back into place, although it still hurt.
Looking grateful, he wiped the blood off his face and looked into the distance, seeing the apocalyptic landscape that surrounded him. Just as he was about to move, a small bracelet on his arm vibrated.
"The signal's back!" exclaimed Darien excitedly. Raon quickly checked his own bracelet and noticed several notifications that the government had sent, but one of them stood out: "The level of mana in the atmosphere has increased." Before he could say anything, Darien read it out loud.
Although it sounded simple, it only meant one thing: the fourth ether disaster had begun.
Raon adjusted his sword and took a torn jacket from among the debris. He looked towards Darien, who was doing the same but with difficulty. "The government sent a location, it seems to be the central shelter," he reported.
Darien nodded and followed Raon, who jumped over the debris. Both knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to join more people and reach the shelter before nightfall.