Luca walked down the worn stone steps of the ruined temple, letting his eyes wander across the vast, untouched land before him.
It was…beautiful.
The sky stretched wide, a bright turquoise with two suns casting golden light over the clear ocean. Palm trees swayed gently in the warm breeze, their leaves rustling softly. Waves rolled onto the soft white sand, leaving behind trails of foam. In the distance, green cliffs rose from the sea, mist curling around their peaks, while waterfalls spilled into hidden lagoons, shimmering under the sun.
The world felt alive in a way that Earth hadn't in centuries—like it was untouched, raw, and waiting to be shaped.
He took a slow breath, letting the crisp air fill his lungs. "Not bad." He muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Definitely an upgrade from a city full of smoke and sirens."
For a moment, he just stood there, admiring the scenery. The ruins behind him whispered of a time long past, while the land ahead held the weight of a future yet to be written.
He took another step forward, rolling his shoulders, stretching out his still-healing muscles. His body was almost fully regenerated now, save for a few patches of tender skin, but the pain had dulled into nothing more than a mild annoyance.
Then, just as he was getting comfortable with his new surroundings, a thought crossed his mind.
A rather important thought.
He stopped mid-step.
Wait.
He slowly blinked.
How am I supposed to get anywhere?
The realization settled in like a heavy weight.
I can make portals now, right? I used one to get here. But…How the hell do I make one myself?
His brow furrowed as he thought back to his brief—and frankly, extremely unhelpful—conversation with the Goddess of Space. She'd gone on about the state of the world, the war, the demi-humans, his 'role' in everything…But she hadn't actually explained how he was supposed to move around.
He exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Figures." He murmured to himself, glancing up at the sky. "She gave me the 'big picture' but left out the part where I actually use my damn abilities."
"No..." Luca muttered to himself, a spark of defiance flickering in his eyes. "No, I don't need anyone to teach me. I can figure this out. I'm a resourceful guy. I've faced worse challenges than...interdimensional travel." He paused, considering. "Like that time I had to fix the plumbing in my apartment with nothing but a rusty wrench and a roll of duct tape. That was a nightmare...This can't be worse than that, right?"
He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.
"Okay, portal...portal...how does this work? Think of a place...Think of a place..." His mind drifted to the image of...Well, humans. Lots of humans. "The human continent! That's it! Gotta start with the source of the problem." He pictured sprawling cities, bustling marketplaces, maybe even a decent tavern or two.
He then suddenly heard a sound and thought that the portal had opened. But when he opened his eyes nothing had changed and he was quick to realise that it was his stomach that had made that grumbling noise, since he hadn't eaten dinner yet to his embarassment.
"Ahem...Okay, maybe it's not just thinking. Maybe it's...visualization. Like picturing a mediaeval human society in my mind. The old intricate bulidings, the mighty castles, bustling market places...The lack of self cleaning toilets." He closed his eyes again, focusing on the image. He even tried making whooshing sounds with his mouth, like wind rushing through.
But still nothing came up.
"Come on, you stupid portal!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Work! Do something! Open! Teleport! Beam me up! Engage! Portalize! Portify! Porta-potty!"
And once again no portal appeared before him.
He then tried a different approach. He remembered seeing portals in movies and cartoons. They usually shimmered and swirled. He started waving his hands in front of him, making swirling motions, trying to mimic the special effects he'd seen on screen. He even added some dramatic humming to the mix, trying to create the right atmosphere.
He looked utterly ridiculous while doing so. He resembled less a powerful savior and more a crazed mime trying to open an invisible door.
"Maybe it's a command word." He mused. "Like... 'Open sesame!' Or...'To infinity and beyond!' Or...'Please, portal, please, I'm begging you! Pretty please with a cherry on top!'" He tried each phrase in turn, his voice growing louder and more frantic with each failed attempt.
And then finally threw his hands up in exasperation.
"This is ridiculous! I'm the savior! I shouldn't have to beg a portal to open! This is so...humiliating!" He kicked at a stray rock, sending it skittering across the sand. "I'm going to do this one last time and if this doesn't work." He muttered. "I swear, I'm just going to swim. Or hitch a ride on a passing sea monster...Anything has to be better than this."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried one last time. "Okay, focus, Luca, focus." He mumbled to himself. "If thinking of the portal itself isn't working, then think about the source of this power? The power that connects the gates between different parts of the world...The power that was bestowed upon me by the goddess."
Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind. Not of the human continent itself, but of...the goddess.
Floating in her ethereal realm, surrounded by swirling nebulae and cosmic energy. And then, branching out from her, like roots from a cosmic tree, he saw them all splitting and going into several points on what appeared to be a globe with two major continents.
While one landmass has several of these landmarks made of light marked, the other continent only had one.
A gasp escaped his lips. "That's it!" He exclaimed silently. "Of course! The temples! They're all connected to her! They're...like...beacons! Landmarks I can set to transport myself."
He focused his mind on the image, visualizing the network of temples, each one a tiny point of light in his mental map. And then, he filtered his thoughts.
Humans. Human continent. He pushed the image of the goddess, the temples, the swirling nebulae, to the back of his mind, focusing solely on the idea of...humans.
Slowly, the other lights began to fade. One by one, they flickered and disappeared, until only the light on the other continent remained.
A small, dim light, barely flickering, like a dying ember. But it was there. It was from the human continent.
A smile spread across Luca's face. "That's the one." He whispered. He focused his consciousness on the dim light, picturing it in his mind, feeling the connection, and then...pop.
A shimmering, circle portal appeared before him, glowing with a soft, blue light. It wasn't a grand, swirling vortex, but it was there. It was open. And it was exactly where he needed it to be.
"Finally." He sighed, relief washing over him. "Took long enough." He grinned.
He grinned, stretching his arms as he admired the swirling portal before him. His own personal shortcut through space itself.
And then without a second thought, he strode forward, stepping through the portal with all the confidence of a man who had zero idea how stable it actually was.
The moment he passed through, the world blurred—colors smeared together like paint on water, and his body felt weightless. But then—
Whump~
He hit solid ground, stumbling slightly before catching himself.
"Alright..." He muttered, blinking as his vision cleared. "Not as smooth as last time, but it will do."
Then, as he took in his surroundings, his smirk faltered.
He wasn't in a bustling city like he wished. He wasn't even near one.
He was in another ruined temple.
Luca's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. The architecture, the stonework, the weathered carvings on the cracked pillars—it all looked eerily similar to the temple he'd just left.
Faded murals depicting celestial figures lined the walls, their details barely visible beneath the decay of time. Statues of robed figures, some missing limbs or faces, stood solemnly in the corners.
And inscribed along the walls, in the same ancient script as before, was the unmistakable symbol of the Goddess of Equivalent Exchange.
Luca let out a slow breath. "...Well, that's suspicious."
He walked further in, brushing dust off one of the statues. The goddess's iconography was everywhere, but the place had clearly been abandoned for centuries—maybe even longer.
"So, what?" He murmured to himself. "Two ruined temples in a row? And both of them dedicated to the same goddess?" He glanced around, noting how the roof had caved in over time, vines creeping through the cracks. "Not exactly a great track record, lady."
His gaze drifted to the inscriptions, running a finger along the faded lettering. The words were too worn to read, but the meaning was clear—this place once held significance.
And yet, it had been completely left to rot.
"Guess that explains why there's only one temple on this continent left." His lips curled into a smirk. "I take it she's not too popular over here."
It made sense. If she was the patron of the demi-humans, and the humans were actively wiping them out, then her influence must have been all but erased on this side of the world. This temple—like the one he'd just left—was nothing but a relic of a forgotten past.
And just when he thought that he was once again thrown into a inhabitable part of the world again and thought that he was going to have to trek until he saw civilisation, he saw it.
Far in the distance, rising from the rolling plains beyond the temple, was a kingdom—and not just any kingdom.
It was massive.
Grand white stone walls stretched high into the sky, fortified towers standing tall at every corner. A colossal castle, gleaming under the light of the twin suns, loomed at the city's heart. Its spires pierced the heavens, adorned with banners bearing golden sigils.
The outer city sprawled in an organized, almost opulent manner—bustling markets, rows of neatly arranged houses, and massive bridges arching over wide, glimmering canals.
The roads leading into the city were pristine, lined with statues and marble pathways that gleamed under the sunlight.
Luca whistled, impressed despite himself.
"Now, if that's not the main capital of this continent, then colour me impressed that even a random place like this has a such a breathtaking city."
Even from this distance, he could see the sheer wealth radiating from the place. This wasn't just some human settlement—it was a seat of power.
It had to be the heart of the empire.
The pillar city of mankind.
...Also, the very city that probably held the people responsible for the downfall of the demi-humans.
Luca's smirk returned, slow and sharp as he thought of this.
His eyes locked onto the tallest structure in the city—the grand, imposing castle that loomed over everything else like a watchful predator. Its
And at the very top—perched at the highest point of the entire kingdom—was the royal chamber.
Luca could almost feel the power concentrated there. If there was anyone calling the shots in this empire, it was whoever sat on the throne in that room.
His fingers twitched with anticipation. The king—or whoever ruled this place—was up there, surrounded by luxury, drowning in wealth built on the suffering of others. While the demi-humans had been pushed to the edge of extinction.
Luca chuckled, his voice laced with something almost playful.
"Yeah… I think it's about time I visit the king and try to change his mind about his advance on the demi-human continent."
He flexed his fingers, cracking his knuckles as he took a step forward.
"But of course I can't show up empty-handed, though." He mused. "Gotta bring some gifts. A lot of them."
"...Hehe. So many 'gifts' that I'd successfully change his mind with my magnimity."