Leonel had exactly two thoughts as he tumbled through the swirling light of the Core Gate.
First: "I really hope I don't land on my face again."
Second: "Wait, what if I land on my back? That might be worse."
Before he could come up with a third thought—
WHAM.
He landed flat on his face.
"...I hate my life," he groaned into the dirt.
Aina, who had landed gracefully (because of course she did), looked down at him, arms crossed. "You're consistent, at least."
Leonel pushed himself up, spitting out grass. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I just saved us back there."
Aina raised an eyebrow. "By headbutting the Sentinel?"
Leonel scowled. "I prefer the term 'strategic cranial assault.'"
Aina actually snorted. "Sure. Let's go with that."
Leonel dusted himself off and finally took in their surroundings.
And immediately, his brain short-circuited.
Not the Apocalypse He Expected
They were in a forest.
Not a dark, creepy, horror-movie forest filled with evil trees that whispered in your ear.
No.
This was lush, vibrant, and absolutely beautiful.
Tall, ancient trees stretched toward the sky, their leaves glowing with a soft blue light. The ground was covered in strange, shimmering flowers, and in the distance, a crystal-clear river ran through the landscape. Fireflies—or at least, things that looked like fireflies—floated lazily in the air, their tiny bodies pulsing with golden energy.
Leonel blinked. "Did we… die? Is this heaven?"
Aina shot him a look. "If it was, you wouldn't be here."
Leonel placed a hand over his heart. "Ouch. That actually hurt."
Aina ignored him and turned in a slow circle, scanning their surroundings. "This is the Verdant Expanse. One of the stable zones within the Fourth Dimension."
Leonel frowned. "Stable zones?"
Aina nodded. "Most of the Fourth Dimension is chaos—constantly shifting, rewriting itself. But certain places remain intact. Some are safe. Others…" She trailed off.
Leonel hesitated. "Others what?"
She gave him a flat look. "Others make what we just fought look like a warm-up."
Leonel shuddered. "Great. Love that for us."
The First Problem (Because of Course There's One)
Just as Leonel was starting to think, Hey, maybe this isn't so bad, reality reminded him that he was not allowed to have nice things.
Because at that exact moment—
Something roared.
Leonel froze. "That… didn't sound friendly."
Aina had already drawn her blade. "We're not alone."
Leonel sighed. "Of course we're not."
And then—
The trees shook violently.
Something massive came crashing through the foliage, leaves and branches exploding in every direction.
Leonel barely had time to process the giant, six-legged panther with glowing red eyes before it lunged at him.
"OH COME ON!"
Running is Always an Option
Leonel did what any reasonable person would do.
He ran.
The panther beast slammed into the ground where he had been standing milliseconds earlier, dirt and debris flying everywhere. Leonel yelped, barely managing to teleport a few feet ahead before the thing could sink its teeth into his head.
Aina, meanwhile, was not running.
She was attacking.
Her sword flashed through the air, slicing across the creature's side. A wave of dimensional energy exploded from the impact, sending the beast skidding backward.
But instead of dying like a normal monster should, it…
Split in two.
Leonel's brain stuttered. "Wait. What?"
The two panther beasts shook themselves off—and then charged forward.
Leonel grabbed Aina's sleeve. "Aina. Aina. We have a problem."
"I see it," she said, dodging an attack.
"They're multiplying!" Leonel yelped, teleporting away from a claw swipe.
"Clearly."
"Which means if we keep attacking, they'll just—"
Aina sliced off a tail. The tail turned into another mini-panther.
Leonel screamed.
Aina sighed. "Okay. New plan."
"You think?!"
The Genius Escape Plan™
Leonel's brain worked overtime. If attacking just made more of these things, then…
He stopped running.
Instead, he turned and waved his arms like an idiot.
"HEY, YOU BIG, UGLY, MAGIC CATS! COME GET ME!"
Aina stared at him. "What are you doing?"
"Trust me!"
"That's the worst sentence I've ever heard."
Still, she backed off, letting the creatures focus entirely on Leonel.
The panther beasts snarled and lunged.
Leonel teleported straight into a tree.
The creatures skidded to a halt, confused.
Leonel smirked. "Ha! You don't climb, do you?"
The creatures looked up.
Then, their bodies shifted—and they suddenly had eight spider legs.
Leonel's smirk vanished. "I hate this place."
He immediately teleported back down. "Plan B! Plan B!"
Aina sighed. "Which is?"
Leonel grabbed her wrist. "WE RUN!"
Aina didn't argue.
Because sometimes, the best plan was to just not be there.
A Moment to Breathe (Sort Of)
After what felt like forever, they finally stopped running.
Leonel bent over, hands on his knees. "I am… never trusting… any beautiful landscapes… ever again."
Aina smirked. "Noted."
Leonel collapsed onto his back. "Wake me up when the world makes sense again."
Aina leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "So… never?"
Leonel groaned. "I walked into that one."
She smirked. "Yes. Yes, you did."
As much as Leonel wanted to lie there and pretend everything was fine, he knew better.
They still had a long way to go.
And something told him—the worst was yet to come.