In Atheria, Jasper felt the chill of frosty air biting into his skin. The surroundings were dimly lit, with faint traces of purple lightning flickering in the sky above him. A vast landscape of wealth stretched before him, massive piles of gold glinting under the fading light. Though anyone else might have been struck by the display, Jasper remained unfazed. He assumed it was some exclusive quest or special mission set by the game, perhaps a personal challenge crafted just for him.
His gaze drifted to the thousands of women standing nearby, their allure undeniable and beauty potent, almost spellbinding. Yet, despite his fascination, Jasper sensed an odd pull—a mysterious force as though their very presence was attempting to draw him in. It must be some high-level charm spell, he thought, though even that was puzzling; he'd been playing Amber Lands for over nine years and had seen nearly every form of magic the game had to offer.
But before he could process it, a sharp pain surged through his mind. It wasn't like any game mechanic he'd experienced before; it felt as if the pain struck directly at his soul. It became unbearable, and as the intensity mounted, Jasper collapsed.
Princess Seraphina watched him fall with satisfaction, a broad smile stretching across her face. She had done it—she had finally summoned a demon, and from the look of him, successfully inscribed the Rune of Slavery onto his very soul. Now, she alone held the key to his will. She snapped back to her waiting subordinates. "Pack everything and move," she commanded. "We need to leave before anyone else arrives."
Her subordinates quickly went to work, gathering what they could. Most of the gold remained undamaged, though some had warped from the heat of the lightning storm. The women, as promised, were given their payment and sent off in different carriages, instructed to disappear into the world and never return to the empire. What they didn't know, however, was that Seraphina had placed a mana bomb in each carriage, aside from her own.
As the procession of carriages moved into the night, Seraphina activated the bombs using her mind control. A series of explosions echoed across the tundra. These weren't ordinary blasts—the mana bombs were designed to vaporize everything within range, leaving no trace or ashes, only raw energy in the air. The magic ensured that while the energy signature would be detectable by a skilled mage, there would be no evidence of what had actually occurred. Such tactics were frequently employed among the empires to eliminate witnesses.
Back on Earth, Adrian sat by Jasper's hospital bed, holding his son's hand as monitors hummed around him. Jasper had been declared comatose; hours had passed since they arrived, but the doctors were no closer to understanding what had happened. The lack of answers weighed heavily on Adrian, his mind racing over what could have caused his son's sudden collapse.
In the hospital lobby, Isabella paced as she filled Mary in on the situation over the phone. Mary listened, her voice anxious on the other end, but Isabella tried to remain calm for her daughter's sake. She could feel the panic building within her, though.
In Atheria, powerful entities were probing the area where the summoning had occurred. They sensed something extremely dangerous had happened, but they couldn't pinpoint what it was. Princess Seraphina looked at the demon sleeping in front of her with keen interest. She was a little surprised; he was strong, potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of times more powerful than her. But why had his soul felt so weak? She had just gone in and done it without the slightest resistance.
A few hours later, as Jasper began to wake, he looked around with curiosity. He initially thought everything that had happened was a dream, but it was not. Neither was it a game; the pain in his head proved that. But if it wasn't either, what the hell had happened to him, and where was he? Confusion swirled in his mind as he looked at the princess, who was also watching him. He calmed himself and asked the first question that came to his mind.
"Who are you, and what the hell happened to me? Where are we going? What world is this, and how did I get here?" Once he started, questions poured out, but no answers came.
Instead, he was met with a chuckle. "What are you, a demon or a ten-year-old child? Can't you see? You were summoned by me to help with a few tasks I require assistance with."
"What can I do? I can't do anything; I'm just a young man," he protested.
"Young man? Look in the mirror, will you? You look at least seventy or eighty years old," she retorted, amused. "And you are not a complete demon, I see."
"Demon? Who the heck is a demon? You're the demon—you, you, you!" Jasper stuttered, anger boiling within him, but it only brought him another surge of pain.
"Hey, my, my, please don't try to swear at me. I am your master now, and doing so might hurt you—maybe a little too much for your liking. Let's introduce ourselves, shall we? I am Princess Seraphina Von Zafyre, Princess of the Zafyre Empire of Humans."
Jasper looked around at himself and the lavish surroundings. One thing slipped out of his mouth: "Holy shit, mother of fury."
He was his game character. He wore his robe and even the multicolored rings on his fingers. He had been transported as he was in the game; everything was intact. He had never read a transmigration novel, so he wasn't sure what was happening.
[Why? Well, the answer to that is simple: he had a life to live, parents to care for, and parents who cared for him—that's why. He wasn't a loser who was interested in reading or writing fantasy, dreaming about it when he knew it could never happen. He already had a life countless others would die to achieve. Well, a little out of line. Sorry.]
Jasper—or, as he would now refer to himself, Lucifer—replied in an arrogant tone he often adopted while roleplaying in the game, "I am Lucifer Morningstar, demon amongst demons, lord of darkness, granter of death—Lucifer Morningstar."
He had acted a little haughtier than usual. Although he hadn't read a transmigration novel, he was no fool; he understood that she needed him. If she thought he was useless, she might even kill him. He had just arrived in this new world, and he didn't know how she would do it. He also had to ascertain whether he could use his game powers here. If he could, he might find a way to escape, even if there was the tiniest chance of it.