Lancer adjusted his backpack as he walked home, the chill autumn breeze rustling the golden leaves scattered along the sidewalk. The faint hum of a distant car blended into the quiet, but his mind was elsewhere—trapped in a world of numbers.
"The derivative of 3x² is 6x... but if I'm finding the area under the curve, that's the integral..." he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he imagined the graph in his head. "Add C for the constant... Right, that works."
He sighed, shifting his bag on his shoulder. It wasn't like he'd needed to solve that problem just now, but math had always been a strange comfort for him, a puzzle he could work through to drown out everything else.
Rounding the corner, his house came into view at the end of the street. Familiar and steady. The stability grounded him—until it didn't.
The air rippled, sharp and electric, like the moment before a thunderstorm. Lancer stopped in his tracks, frowning.
"What the—"
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.
The sidewalk beneath his feet disappeared, the streetlights and houses fracturing into shards of light. Gravity twisted, pulling him into a whirl of blinding colors.
Lancer's stomach lurched as he fell into what felt like endless nothingness. His mouth opened to scream, but the sound was swallowed by the void.
And then, it was over.
He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him. The cold, mossy earth pressed against his palms as he pushed himself up, coughing.
When he opened his eyes, his heart skipped a beat.
Around him was a dense forest, its trees gnarled and twisted as though warped by some unnatural force. The sky was a deep violet, with two moons casting faint, eerie light over the landscape.
"This... this isn't real," Lancer whispered, his voice shaky. He turned in a slow circle, his breath visible in the cold air. "I was just—"
A low growl interrupted him.
Lancer froze. Slowly, he turned toward the sound.
Emerging from the shadows was a massive, wolf-like creature. Its body shimmered with crystalline fur that refracted the moonlight, and its long tail was tipped with jagged crystal spines. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto him with an unnatural intensity.
"What... is that?" Lancer muttered, his hands trembling.
The wolf's growl deepened, and its muscles tensed as it crouched low, ready to pounce.
Before Lancer could react, glowing words appeared in the air before him:
[Weak point: Right foreleg joint]
"What?" Lancer whispered, his fear momentarily giving way to confusion.
The wolf lunged.
Lancer threw himself to the side, hitting the ground hard. He scrambled to his feet, heart pounding as the glowing words reappeared.
[Weak point: Right foreleg joint]
His gaze darted to the wolf's leg. The joint shimmered faintly, marked by the glowing text.
The wolf snarled, its spined tail swishing menacingly. Lancer's eyes caught on a sturdy branch lying a few feet away. Without thinking, he dove for it, rolling to grab the makeshift weapon.
The creature charged again.
Lancer swung the branch with all his strength, aiming for the glowing mark. The impact echoed through the clearing, and the wolf howled as its leg buckled slightly.
The words shifted.
[Weak point: Tail joint]
Lancer hesitated, panting as he gripped the branch. "I'm not... I'm not doing this. I'm not killing it."
The wolf snarled, rising to its feet despite its injury. Its glowing eyes burned with fury, and its spined tail arched, ready to strike.
Lancer's gaze darted to the trees behind it. He weighed his options, his thoughts racing.
He bolted.
The wolf howled, giving chase as Lancer sprinted into the forest. He weaved through the dense undergrowth, ducking low branches and jumping over roots. The glowing words reappeared, hanging just ahead of him:
[Escape route calculated: 30 meters ahead, right turn.]
Lancer gritted his teeth, following the directions without question. The wolf's snarls grew fainter as he pressed on, adrenaline surging through him.
Finally, he stumbled into a small clearing, the glowing words reappearing in the air:
[Pursuer disengaged. Threat neutralized.]
Lancer collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. His hands trembled as he clutched at the damp earth, his mind reeling.
"What... is this place?" he whispered.
The words lingered for a moment before fading into the air.
[Welcome to Polaris. Further instructions pending.]
Lancer stared into the dark forest, the distant howls of more creatures echoing in the night.
He wasn't ready for this.
"What was that thing?" he panted, his voice barely above a whisper.
A calm, mechanical voice answered from nowhere:
[It is a manticore, one of the many creatures inhabiting Polaris.]
Lancer blinked, too stunned to process. "Oh."
He looked up at the sky, the twin moons casting their cold light over the forest. His stomach twisted.
"This is... definitely NOT Earth," he said, swallowing hard.
His gaze flickered back to the shadows, his grip tightening on the stick. "I need to find a way out of here. I'm not meeting another one of those wolf things."
The voice returned.
[Nearest civilization detected 4 kilometers west. Proceeding is advised.]
Lancer didn't hesitate. He stood, wiped his damp palms on his jeans, and began walking fast—stick in hand, his senses on high alert.
Whatever Polaris was, he had no intention of meeting any more of its predators.
Lancer pushed forward, his breath visible in the cold evening air. The forest had grown quieter as he walked west, though the tension in his shoulders refused to ease. The glow of the moons overhead did little to comfort him; every snapping twig and rustling branch made him grip the stick tighter.
After what felt like an eternity, the dense trees began to thin. He quickened his pace, the promise of open space pulling him forward.
When he finally stepped out of the forest, he froze.
Spread before him was a vast clearing. Nestled at its center was a village or perhaps a small town, enclosed by a towering stone wall. Fires burned brightly along the walls and within the settlement, their flickering light illuminating the area as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Lancer stared, a strange mix of awe and relief washing over him. "Finally," he whispered.
He descended the slope cautiously, his stick still clutched in one hand. The winding path down was uneven, forcing him to take careful steps. As he approached the walls, the structure loomed larger than he'd realized, easily three times his height.
Two guards stood at the gate, their postures stiff and alert. They wore leather armor reinforced with metal plates, and each carried a spear tipped with a jagged, dark metal. One of them noticed him first, nudging the other.
"Halt!" the first guard barked as Lancer came closer.
Lancer stopped in his tracks, raising his free hand in what he hoped was a universal gesture of peace.
"Who are you?" the second guard demanded, his sharp eyes scanning Lancer's clothes. "And where did you come from?"
"I—uh," Lancer began, stumbling over his words. "My name's Lancer. I was... lost in the forest and found my way here."
The guards exchanged a glance, their expressions hardening.
"Your clothes," the first guard said, narrowing his eyes. "They're strange. Where are you from?"
"Earth," Lancer said without thinking. At their blank stares, he realized his mistake. "I mean... far away. Very far."
"Don't play games with us," the second guard snapped, stepping closer. "Are you a spy? A runaway? Speak!"
"No! I swear," Lancer said quickly, backing up a step. "I just—look, I don't even know how I got here. One minute I was walking home, and the next... I'm here."
The first guard raised an eyebrow, but his grip on his spear didn't relax. "You expect us to believe that? You stumbled into Polaris by accident?"
"I'm telling the truth!" Lancer insisted, his heart pounding.
The second guard studied him for a long moment before letting out a low grunt. "Fine. If you're lying, the chief will deal with you."
Lancer blinked. "The chief?"
The first guard nodded. "We'll take you to him. He'll decide what to do with you."
Without another word, the guards flanked him, their spears glinting in the firelight. Lancer tightened his grip on the stick, his mind racing. He didn't know who this chief was or what kind of judgment awaited him, but he had no choice.
"Let's go," the first guard said, motioning toward the gate.