It was an ordinary afternoon when everything changed.

Kai had never been particularly good at paying attention in class, and today was no different. He stared out the window, his gaze lost in the vastness of the sky, where dark clouds seemed to swirl unnaturally. Something about it was off, but Kai couldn't quite place his finger on it. The world outside seemed to hum with a strange, electric energy.

His teacher's voice faded into the background, a low murmur of unintelligible words as his mind wandered.

Sora, his childhood friend, nudged him in the side, pulling his attention back to the front of the class. "Kai, you're daydreaming again. Focus." She grinned at him, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai muttered absentmindedly. He glanced at her—her long, dark hair framed her sharp features, and her wide, intelligent eyes glinted with curiosity and concern. Sora had always been the more serious one of their trio, ever since they were kids. If anyone could pull him out of his daydreams, it was her.

"What's going on outside?" she asked, following his gaze toward the sky.

"I don't know," Kai said, his voice low. "But something feels wrong."

Before Sora could respond, there was a sudden, loud crack, followed by a violent shaking of the ground. The classroom's windows rattled in their frames, and a blinding flash of light filled the sky.

"Is this an earthquake?" Taro, the third member of their trio, asked, his voice strangely calm for the circumstances. Taro was the logical one—the brainy, bookish type who never seemed to panic. Even in the midst of chaos, he maintained an air of collected neutrality.

But this time, even Taro's steady demeanor faltered. His glasses, perched on the bridge of his nose, slipped slightly, and he reached up instinctively to adjust them.

And then the entire room was enveloped in a burst of energy. It was as if reality itself had torn apart. The walls seemed to melt away, the ground cracked open beneath them, and everything was consumed by a violent vortex of light.

Kai barely had time to react before he felt himself pulled into the whirlwind. He grabbed at the desk in front of him, but it was useless—the force was too strong. His body was weightless, tumbling through a vast expanse of nothingness, his screams lost in the wind. The world around him twisted and warped, as if the laws of nature themselves were breaking down.

The next thing Kai knew, everything stopped.

He hit the ground with a jarring thud, and for a moment, he was disoriented. His vision swam as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"Ugh…" Kai groaned, pushing himself up from the rocky, unfamiliar ground beneath him. He blinked, trying to clear his blurred vision. The world around him was completely alien.

The sky above was a sickly shade of crimson, swirling with dark clouds that seemed to pulse with strange energy. The air was thick and heavy, filled with a metallic taste that lingered on his tongue. Kai slowly rose to his feet, dusting himself off.

Sora and Taro were already standing nearby, their faces a mixture of shock and confusion. Taro adjusted his glasses once more, his eyes scanning their surroundings, while Sora was taking deep breaths, clearly trying to process what was happening.

"Kai… what just happened?" Sora asked, her voice shaky.

Kai had no answers. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and none of them made sense. His body was trembling, not from fear, but from something deeper—an unsettling sensation that he couldn't quite place.

"I don't know," Kai said quietly, his eyes scanning their surroundings. "One second we were in class, and now…"

He trailed off, his words hanging in the air. The world around them was unlike anything they had ever seen. Jagged rocks protruded from the cracked earth, and in the distance, strange shapes moved across the horizon. The landscape seemed barren, desolate, and yet there was an eerie energy that filled the air.

"What is this place?" Taro asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's not Earth," Sora replied, her tone flat. "I'm sure of it."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment, trying to process the impossible reality they had been thrust into. Kai's gaze wandered to the sky again, the swirling clouds mesmerizing yet terrifying.

Then, without warning, a deep, guttural growl echoed through the air, sending a shiver down Kai's spine.

Sora's hand instinctively went to the hilt of her dagger, while Taro's fingers tightened around his sword.

"What was that?" Taro asked, his voice now tight with tension.

"I don't know," Kai muttered, his heart pounding in his chest. The ground beneath them trembled again, and the growl grew louder, closer. Something was coming.

From the shadows of the jagged rocks, a massive shape appeared—a creature of nightmares, its glowing red eyes locking onto them as it snarled. Its body was a mass of black tendrils, shifting and writhing as though it was made of pure darkness. Its claws scraped against the ground, sending sparks flying.

Kai's breath caught in his throat. There was no way they could fight this thing. They had no weapons, no way to defend themselves. His mind raced, and his instincts screamed for him to run.

But there was no time.

"RUN!" Kai shouted, grabbing Sora and Taro by the wrists, pulling them toward what he hoped would be safety.

But the creature was faster. It surged forward, its claws slashing through the air with terrifying speed. Kai and his friends barely managed to dodge the first attack. The ground beneath them cracked, and the air was filled with the sound of the creature's furious roars.

"We can't outrun it!" Sora shouted, her face pale with fear.

"I know!" Kai yelled back. He felt something stir deep within him, an unfamiliar sensation, a pulse of energy that seemed to resonate with his very soul. The mark on his hand—the strange symbol that had appeared when everything first started—began to glow faintly.

The air around him seemed to crackle with power. He raised his hand instinctively, and to his shock, a barrier of shimmering light formed in front of him. The creature's claws collided with the barrier, but it couldn't break through. The barrier held firm, and the creature recoiled with a howl of frustration.

"What is this?!" Taro exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I don't know!" Kai replied, his heart racing. The barrier flickered, but it didn't break.

Suddenly, a new voice rang out from behind them. "Move aside!"

A figure appeared, standing on a rock formation high above them. It was a man, dressed in tattered robes, holding a staff that glowed with a faint blue light. He raised the staff, and with a swift motion, a burst of energy shot toward the creature, striking it square in the chest. The creature let out a screech and collapsed into a pool of black ichor.

"Get back, kids," the man said calmly, lowering his staff. "You don't want to mess with that thing."

Kai and his friends stared at the man, a mixture of awe and confusion written on their faces.

"Who are you?" Kai asked, still trying to catch his breath.

The man looked down at them, his green eyes piercing. "Name's Alaric," he said simply. "And if you want to survive in this place, you'll have to stick with me. Welcome to the multiverse."