Ulah took a deep breath, his chest heavy with the weight of the unfamiliar air. The soft breeze that swept through this new world was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It carried a hint of sweetness, a gentle caress against his skin. It felt surreal, almost magical.
As his senses adjusted to the environment, he couldn't help but be captivated by the world around him. It was as if he had stepped into a vibrant, untouched paradise. Fields of wheat, golden and swaying in the breeze, stretched as far as his eyes could see. The land was painted in shades of green and gold, a testament to the abundance of life in this place.
His awe was momentarily overwhelming, rendering him momentarily speechless. He couldn't believe his eyes, and he blinked repeatedly, as if expecting this beautiful illusion to dissipate. In the distance, a small figure caught his attention, further intensifying his wonder.
A creature, standing at a modest height of about four and a half feet, was tending to the golden fields. It resembled a rabbit but with a humanoid stance. This bunny-man wore overalls and a straw hat, its little arms cradling a stack of wheat as it traversed the vast plain. Ulah tilted his head, eyes wide with amazement. He blinked, thinking that perhaps he had been hallucinating. Yet, the creature was real, and it was living a life right out of a storybook.
Ulah's mind briefly entertained the idea of turning back, searching for the familiar green portal that had brought him here. But when he turned around, it was gone, leaving only a faint shimmer of dissipating particles. Panic surged within him, and he began to laugh hysterically, a response to the overwhelming fear and disbelief.
The laugh was tinged with desperation, a coping mechanism to deal with the sheer improbability of his situation. He couldn't truly believe that he was marooned in an alien world. But as the laughter subsided, a slow burn of regret and anxiety took over.
The boy who had once been filled with boundless curiosity was no longer curious. Instead, he felt a rising sense of panic. In his desperation, he mimicked the motion that had brought him here. With the staff clutched tightly in his hand, he began to trace a large circle in the air, the same motion that had created the portal.
The result was another portal, but this time, it didn't lead him back to Earth. It transported him to a different, eerie world. This new place was barren, covered in fine, blood-red sand. Ulah stumbled back in horror, realising that he had no control over where these portals would lead him.
Fear and frustration overtook him as he created portal after portal, all revealing different exoplanets, none of which were Earth. His eyes began to well up with tears, and the weight of his predicament finally crashed down on him. He was marooned in a universe of alien worlds, a prisoner of his own accidental travels.
Ulah's world had been replaced by a cacophony of colours, cultures, and landscapes. The people he knew, the places he had visited, the food he had eaten – all gone. He couldn't go back in time and undo the choice he had made to step into that mysterious building. A sense of dread overwhelmed him as he contemplated the possibility of spending the rest of his life in this strange, unpredictable cosmos.
The portals he had created eventually winked out of existence, leaving him in utter solitude. With a heavy heart, he turned to look at the bunny farmer once more. The creature observed him with a mix of amusement and curiosity, its furry face seemingly untroubled by the boy's ordeal.
Tears flowed down Ulah's face as he collapsed to his knees, his voice cracking as he sobbed. The bunny farmer, with its innocent and whimsical appearance, looked at him with sympathy and asked in a high-pitched voice, "Are you okay, sir?"
But Ulah was too overwhelmed to respond. His vision was blurred by tears, and his sobs were incoherent. He stared at the bunny farmer, his mouth opening and closing as if to speak but unable to form words. It was as though he had entered a surreal dream, one from which he desperately wished to wake.
The world around him pulsed with life, yet he felt a profound sense of isolation and fear. The bunny farmer's presence provided some semblance of comfort, but Ulah knew he was a stranger in a world he didn't understand.
---
Far from this alien world, amidst the vast cosmic expanse, a man in a black wool hood and a mask navigated the cosmos with a singular purpose.
"How much for this, ma'am?" he inquired, his voice resonating with authority and military precision.
The woman behind the counter, sensing an air of mystery about the hooded man, replied cheerfully, "Two hundred, please." The transaction was swift, and the man departed, his presence leaving an unsettling impression on the shopkeeper.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of purple and blue, the man continued his solitary journey. The beauty of the celestial spectacle had little effect on him; he had seen it all before.
Meanwhile, a young boy in a worn navy blue uniform had noticed the hooded man and began following him, his steps deliberate but cautious. The boy led the man into a dense forest, tailing him as though he were stalking elusive prey.
They reached a peculiar clearing, where an eerie silence descended, causing the birds to stop their songs and the nearby stream to fall silent. The boy, aware of the tension in the air, gripped a sword that was nearly half his size and sought refuge behind a tree.
He peered cautiously around the trunk, trying to gauge an opening or weakness in the hooded man's defences. However, the man vanished in a blink of an eye, leaving the boy bewildered and defenceless.
The boy stammered, "Huh? Whe—" before he was abruptly silenced, a swift blade cutting his neck. Blood spurted from the wound, and the boy clutched his throat in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. His efforts were in vain, and he collapsed to the ground.
The hooded man had reappeared, and with a cold, unfeeling gaze, he watched the boy's life ebb away. The boy's gasps and feeble attempts to reach for his sword only amused the hooded man.
"Where is your God now?" the man whispered, his tone devoid of sympathy. The boy's mumbled pleas fell on deaf ears.
With his life slipping away, the boy's arms fell limply by his side. Tears welled in his eyes as he gazed up at the hooded man with a mix of fear and sadness. His world had ended before it could truly begin.
The man, without uttering another word, turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. The boy's cries filled the eerie silence that had overtaken the clearing. He had been a mere pawn in a game he could never hope to understand, and now he was nothing more than a lifeless body in the woods.
The man continued his journey through the darkening woods as the golden hour gave way to a sky painted in deep shades of blue and purple. After walking for what felt like an eternity, he arrived at an open landscape, a cliffside that overlooked a raging ocean below.
In the distance, a small house beckoned, but the man paid it no heed. His mission was of utmost importance. He ventured further, his footsteps echoing in the desolate silence.
Finally, he reached a large crater, its centre marked by a small blue fire created from stacked wooden blocks. An assortment of weapons and artefacts lay scattered around, most of them displaying the wear and tear of time and conflict.
From the shadows emerged a grotesque figure, its skin resembling that of a snake, its body emaciated like a starving human, and its eyes gleaming with a dragon's ferocity. Its maroon and black scales gave it a menacing appearance.
The snake-like creature and the hooded man engaged in a tense exchange. The creature spoke with a mixture of disdain and eagerness, revealing the desperation that had driven it to seek the hooded man's aid.
As the transaction concluded, the hooded man handed over a bag filled with precious gems and stones, his own motives and identity shrouded in mystery.
The snake-like creature, its sinuous movements filled with a sense of urgency, dragged a stone etched with intricate symbols across the ground. The stone emitted a brilliant green light, casting a haunting glow in the surroundings.
As the portal materialised, the hooded man expressed his gratitude, and the creature addressed him by the name: "Cano".