"Adversity does not shape us—it reveals what we were meant to become."
Ethan was horrified, almost choking as he saw all five royals rush at the injured Lucian. *I messed up. It's really over...* Ethan thought, clenching his fists.
Lucian was too caught up in the pain to even notice the royals coming. He just held his leg, screaming at the top of his lungs.
Annie, as soon as she saw Lucian was in danger, rushed in without a second thought.
"Idiot! You have a bow—shoot from a distance!" Ashley shouted, but Annie was already too close.
A royal tried chopping her down. She quickly dodged and jumped inside, reaching Lucian and holding him in her arms.
But she messed up. Both of them were completely surrounded from all sides. There was no running away.
"Ethan, WTF are you doing?! Keep looking around! Two more clues and we'll be out of this place!" Ashley shouted hurriedly, looking around in panic.
"What about them?! We don't have enough time—they'll die!" Ethan shouted back, his voice mellowing out.
Ashley didn't respond. Streams of tears just kept flowing from her eyes as she searched frantically.
Marcus jumped in to fight them. He was able to hold off one, but five were just too much for him.
"Hey, Ethan, I'll hold one off. That'll create an opening. You're fast, right...? Just save everyone. I'll be honest—we planned to kill you here when Lucian wasn't looking. I'll accept any punishment, just save him," Marcus said, opposite of his usual strong and tough exterior. His words were delicate.
He was desperate. Even Ethan felt that. *It's because of me he ended up in this situation. I have to risk it all to get him back.*
Marcus flung his axe, hitting one of the royals in the head, quickly following up by slamming it down on him. But as the royal fell to the ground.
Before Ethan could even move, a fury of slashes was unleashed. Annie tried her best to shield Lucian, but her small body wasn't enough.
In a matter of seconds, Annie was turned into bits, her blood and guts spilling all over the floor. Her skin was left like torn paper. And the only thing that followed was their laughter.
Lucian was gravely injured, losing a large chunk from his back and shoulder. His legs were split open, dangling with even the slightest movement.
Seeing Annie turned into pieces made Lucian lose it. Marcus charged in, swinging his axe recklessly to keep them away.
*At this rate, he'll bleed out. Ethan thought, biting his lower lip. Calm down, Ethan. Calm down. Think of a way out.*
Finally, a bling sound echoed, giving Ethan hope. He quickly looked at Ashley to see if she had found another clue.
But Ashley was still panicking, almost as if she didn't even hear it.
Finally, a screen popped up in front of him.
[Ethan Blackwood, you have connected with the Nexus. You embody adaptability and...]
The screen began to glitch out, beating almost like a heart. Things around him began to slow down, finally coming to a stop.
"Transmigrator Ethan Blackwood, I don't have much time. I can't interfere too much with the timeline, but you have to reach the Nexus, clear stages, and things will maje sense. You have to save us. I feel ashamed to assign the task of saving the world to an outsider, but..."
Finally, a shattering sound echoed, and time began to slowly speed up.
A screen popped up in front of him.
[Congratulations! You have been granted a Divine Intervention.]
[Concept of Adapting]
Current Status: Nascent Adaptability (Initial Awakening)
Skills:
Situational Awareness
Basic Flexibility
As time returned to normal, so did Ethan's processing power.
WTF just happened? Ethan thought, but before he could ask any more questions, Marcus screamed at him.
"Do something, bastard! Don't just sit there!"
*I'll just have to think about it later, but what can I even do?* Ethan thought, running towards Marcus. All five of them were ganging up on him, yet he was still able to handle it.
Ethan was amazed by it, but as he closed in, two of the royals attacked him.
[Situational Awareness Activated]
A sound echoed in his mind, and suddenly, he could see behind his head.
[Basic Flexibility Activated]
Another sound echoed as Ethan dodged both of them, making them cut each other.
*What are these sounds in my head? It's almost as if my brain is being overloaded with information.* Ethan kept thinking, reflexively dodging all the attacks without even looking.
*Was that a god or something? What does he want from me? I'm just a college kid. If he wanted someone, there were better choices.*
Marcus looked shocked, seeing Ethan dodge such fast attacks with such grace.
"Wow... Where were you hiding that...?" Marcus said before quickly shifting his focus to Lucian, who was getting pale. A huge pool of blood surrounded him, chopped pieces of Annie clinging to the ground.
Lucian's eyes were shut, tears flowing. His hair was tainted in her blood.
"She died, Marcus... She really died..." Lucian said, barely mustering up words from his dried-up lips.
"Ashley, you still didn't find anything—" Marcus shouted, but he was attacked from behind by three royals. With a slash, he was launched, crashing into a nearby wall, his back completely shredded.
Ethan, still dodging two royals attacking him from every angle, was still able to focus on the chopped-up dining table. He crouched down, trying to inspect it, leaving himself vulnerable.
Their attack landed—but it didn't even make Ethan flinch.
*It's almost as if I can see everything—how their bodies move, how the air shifts around me, how the scent of blood is different for everybody...*
"I found something!" Ethan and Ashley shouted together.
Marcus got up, shielding the wounded Lucian, who was already motionless.
"Do your thing!" Marcus said, collapsing right in front of the royals.
Bling
[You have found the remaining clues.]
Velmorian royals were cursed by the gods to turn into monsters to match their inner souls.
Velmorian royal bodies deformed, lost control, throwing the place into a coup, leading to extreme poverty in Velmora and attempts of murder on the religious family Elyris in anger.
"Whatever the fuck—who cares about this gibberish? Just take us out!"
Finally, a blinding flash enveloped them.
And in a couple of seconds, they were falling from the sky.
As usual.
But this time, the fall was what made them secure. The sense of familiarity in this unknown place was more than enough to calm their nerves.
Stage 2 Cleared.
Survivors: 4 — Ethan, Leo, Marcus, Ashley.
Lucian was lying on the floor, unconscious. But Ashley, Marcus, and Ethan were so happy they hugged each other, flooding each other with compliments.
But the atmosphere quickly turned sad as they realized they did survive—but at what cost?
Marcus quickly picked up Lucian.
The walk back was dead silent. Everyone settled into their rooms. The quietness was deafening.
Ethan tucked himself into bed, covered his ears with a pillow, and tried to sleep.
He tried blinking fast, counting in his head, tossing and turning—nothing was putting his mind to rest.
*There's just too much... Did Leo survive? What was that thing? Where are we? Why are we here? Why did I suddenly get abilities like an isekai protagonist?* Ethan kept questioning himself.
But strangely enough... he was calm.
*I am calm... I guess too calm. I'm not even worried about Lucian or sad about Annie's death. Even if I didn't talk much to her, I should at least feel something. I guess my emotions really have dulled...*
Ethan thought quietly, crying to himself before finally drifting to sleep.