Leonel's breathing was ragged. His muscles burned, his limbs trembled, and his mind reeled from the intensity of the battle. The Invalid—or whatever that thing had been—was gone, disintegrated into nothingness after his final attack.
But he had no time to rest.
The glowing eyes in the distance were multiplying, appearing one after another like eerie phantom stars in the darkness.
His instincts screamed at him.
Run!
But where?
This alien wasteland stretched endlessly in all directions, and he had no idea where he was—or if there even was a safe place in this strange dimension.
His ability, Dimensional Shift, had saved him once. Could it do so again?
He clenched his fists. Now was not the time for hesitation.
As the first Invalid lunged forward, he vanished.
Leonel reappeared twenty feet away, landing unsteadily on the uneven ground. His legs nearly gave out beneath him, but he forced himself to keep moving.
Behind him, the Invalids shrieked, their bodies glitching as they twisted in his direction.
And then—they rushed forward.
Leonel's breath hitched.
These creatures didn't just move fast. They were instantaneous.
One moment, they were distant shadows. The next—they were right behind him.
Leonel barely had time to react.
He jumped, but something lashed out from the darkness, striking his side.
Pain exploded through his ribs as he was sent flying. He tumbled across the rocky ground, gasping as his vision blurred.
He struggled to push himself up, but a shadow loomed over him.
One of the creatures had reached him first.
It was larger than the last one he fought—its body flickering between a dozen unrecognizable forms, as if it couldn't decide what it was. Its hollow eyes burned with an unnatural crimson glow, and its limbs unfurled like ink in water, reaching for him.
Leonel's heartbeat thundered in his chest.
No… not like this!
Then—
The world trembled.
A deafening crack split the air. The ground shook violently, and in the blink of an eye—something massive crashed into the battlefield.
A pulse of silver energy erupted outward, sending the Invalids screeching in pain as they were thrown backward.
Leonel shielded his eyes from the light, barely managing to sit up.
And then—he saw her.
A woman stood at the center of the impact, her presence radiating power. She wore a sleek, form-fitting battle suit, woven with glowing blue inscriptions that pulsed in rhythmic patterns. Her silver-white hair floated weightlessly, as if gravity itself did not affect her.
And in her hands—
A blade made of pure energy, its edges crackling with flickering dimensional rifts.
She turned her head slightly, her piercing violet eyes locking onto him.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said, her voice calm yet carrying an unmistakable authority.
Leonel opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything—
The Invalids shrieked again, their forms regenerating.
The woman sighed. "Figures."
Then—she vanished.
No—not vanished.
She moved faster than human perception.
In the span of a heartbeat, she reappeared behind the nearest Invalid, her dimensional blade slicing through its form like a hot knife through butter.
The creature collapsed instantly, its body breaking apart into glowing shards before dissolving into nothingness.
The others hesitated—just for a fraction of a second.
It was a fatal mistake.
With a single step, the woman warped through space, cutting through three more Invalids in an instant. Her movements were fluid, effortless, like a dance conducted outside the constraints of time.
Leonel watched, stunned.
He had never seen anyone fight like this.
This wasn't just raw power.
This was mastery.
Who was she?
Within seconds, every Invalid lay defeated, their forms disintegrating into the void.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Leonel exhaled sharply, his body still trembling. His injuries ached, his mind reeled, but he was alive.
The woman turned back to him, her glowing blade fading into nothingness.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, she sighed. "You're untrained."
Leonel blinked. "What?"
She folded her arms. "You have an ability, but no control. You barely survived that fight."
He frowned, pushing himself to his feet. "I just got this power today, okay? Cut me some slack."
She raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you somehow ended up here."
Leonel hesitated. "Where is 'here,' exactly?"
The woman studied him for a long moment. Then, she turned her gaze toward the distorted sky, watching as the swirling purple clouds flickered with streaks of crimson.
"You're in the Sub-Dimensional Zone," she said finally. "A space between worlds. A fragment of the Fourth Dimension leaking into reality."
Leonel swallowed. "So… I got teleported to another world?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. Think of this place as a pocket of broken space—a side effect of the dimensional collapse."
Leonel exhaled slowly. This was too much to process.
One minute, he was at a party. The next, the world had ended. And now—he was in some warped dimension filled with monsters and impossibly strong fighters?
"…Who are you?" he asked.
The woman hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then, she answered:
"Aina Rhalis."
Leonel's breath caught in his throat.
"Aina?" he echoed, his heart skipping a beat.
Could it be…?
No. That was impossible. The Aina he knew—the girl he had been hopelessly in love with for years—was just a normal person. She wasn't some kind of superhuman warrior.
Was she?
As if reading his thoughts, Aina gave him a knowing smirk. "I'm guessing you know someone with my name."
Leonel hesitated. "…Yeah."
"Well, I'm not her." She turned away. "At least, not in the way you think."
Leonel frowned. What was that supposed to mean?
Before he could ask, Aina's expression hardened. "We need to leave. Now."
Leonel tensed. "Why? Are more of those things coming?"
Aina's violet eyes flickered with urgency. "Worse."
Leonel's stomach twisted. "Worse than that?"
The ground rumbled beneath them. The sky shuddered, distorting violently as cracks of golden-blue energy split through the air.
And then—something began to descend.
A massive shadow loomed overhead, its form beyond human comprehension. The air grew thick with an overwhelming presence, pressing down on Leonel's chest like a crushing weight.
His mind screamed in primal terror.
This was not just another Invalid.
This was something far more powerful.
Aina grabbed his wrist. "No time for questions. Hold on!"
Before he could protest, she vanished—taking him with her.