A searing heatwave quickly ate away at the once cool atmosphere. The pitiful cries and shrieks of horror and pain quickly died out, consumed by the intense bright orange flames of seventeen fully grown dragons. Or perhaps, the thunderous sounds of their wings drowned out any cry for help that came from the city.
What looked to be once a pristine castle with 8 spires, was now charred black, with melted sections and outright broken walls. I couldn't determine if the dragons physically assaulted the castle or if the sheer force from their breath blew away those sections.
Away from the barely describable mass of black melting rock that was the castle, in the actual city, ten dragons were flying around in a haphazard manner, simply scorching the earth in their righteous fury. The lake next to the city had been evaporated into nothing but mist, making it hard to make any further details.
A sharp pain in my lips brought me out of my stupor. Finally, I realised just how truly intense the heat of the fire from seventeen dragons was. I was at least two kilometres away, but somehow it was enough to crack my lips. I licked my lips, suddenly feeling my skin drying up.
I blinked multiple times, struggling to comprehend what I was seeing.
"W-What grade is this, Tome? Has to be grade 5 at the very least if this is the start."
I cupped my mouth and fell back, leaning on a tree. Chills ran down my spine as I finally started to understand the true terrifying scale of what story walkers had been dealing with every time they entered Tomes. I knew they faced dangers regularly, but I couldn't comprehend the sheer intensity of it till now.
'In the first place, what the hell am I supposed to be doing here?'
From what I understood, when one entered a tome, they'd be put in a location that gave them enough clues and information, which allowed them to proceed and clear certain quests and trials, called Arcs. The scale of these arcs could vary greatly, but usually, the first arc wasn't long or particularly the most difficult. In most cases, it was actually the easiest to complete.
"Ok, so what clues have I been given here? Strange field of flowers in a forest, next to a city getting assaulted by 17 dragons. Is this a 'save the city' kind of trial?"
I looked back at the city's burning streets and shook my head. "Definitely not. It's already destroyed."
Beyond the city, there were nothing but hills of plain grass and even further beyond that were vague silhouettes of mountains. Honestly, this was a strangely empty place for a city to have been placed.
"It probably makes it easier to spot outsiders though. Wait… it's easy to spot incoming enemies too."
I looked at the city again. A frown found itself onto my face as I started to notice the absence of any surrounding defences. Even the lake was only at the western section of the city, meaning it would be rather easy to enter the city without much effort.
"Were they that lax about their security that they didn't bother to have better defences? Or maybe, 17 dragons was just too immense of a force for them to have any counter. This is so weird."
I shook my head.
"Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong?" The logic of this world shouldn't be the same one I applied to my world. "If I go under the assumption that they purposefully didn't have any defences set up even though they could see the enemy coming from two kilometres away, then what else could do they do."
Actually, the more I thought about it, there wouldn't even be enough time to set up any defences. The city was effectively a walking target. And I could definitely rule out the possibility of this world simply being a peaceful one given the dragons' assault. There had to be a logical reason for it.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain strike directly at my head. It was a much more different pain than headaches and migraines I felt before in the real world. This one felt more invasive. Like, I could vaguely point to the external source of it.
At the castle, there was a strong shimmer of bluish light that quietly faded out.
'I had an idea because of the dragon, but is this the [Intuition] ability? Why's it- wait! That's it! Abilities!'
In the end, it turned out I didn't have to think of this world as much different from the real one. Most story walkers were blessed with abilities from tomes, which obviously meant that the characters in the tomes possessed abilities themselves.
"Someone or a group of people have abilities so powerful they don't need anything beyond that. They were simply cocky and got screwed. Haha, even in this world, all it takes to lose everything is hubris, huh?"
I finally had an idea what was happening here. Well, I hoped I did at least.
"Aargh!", I moaned from the sharp, intense pain in my head. I tightened my grip on hair, pulling on them as if that'd lessen the pain.
There was only one way to do that. I had to satisfy my intuition and investigate the source. Now, the source of my intuition had changed from the castle to the forest. Specifically from the direction I just marched from.
"T-There's no way, right?"
Even if this tome was different from others, there had to be some similarities, right? It dropped me where I needed to be with enough clues to proceed with the arc. The only thing currently missing were
"Characters…"
I cautiously approached the source of my head pains. After a few minutes of walking, I wound up back in the field of flowers. Except, this time, the fallen arch radiated a dim bluish light with someone standing next to it. He was a tall man, clad in dark, worn armour from head to toe. His charred crimson cloak was smoking, as if a fire was only just now put out. Next to him, a claymore two-thirds his size was sticking out of the ground.
"Sir Corin, I failed them.", A cute, high-pitched voice, unbefitting of the armoured knight, said, catching me off guard. "The citizens, the children. My family. Everyone had their hopes on me. I-I failed, I-I-I, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I can't- I couldn't…"
As the person spoke, their voice sounded less refined, turning into sobs, then quickly breaking into a cry.
'That doesn't sound like an adult.', I noticed. I tried getting closer to get a better view and was proven right. Next to the knight, there was a little girl, on all fours, crying uncontrollably into the ground. My eyes were quickly pried away from the sight of her trembling slender frame.
"Who is there?", A thick, distorted voice, demanded.
I froze, stunned by the knight's hollow visor staring right at me. He gripped the handle of his claymore and effortlessly tore it out of the ground, pointing its tip at me. The young girl quickly stood up, hiding behind the knight and taking a small peek at me
Taking in a deep breath, I took a step forward, unto the field of flowers. My other option was running in the opposite direction and hoping this scary looking individual somehow didn't catch up to me and gut me like a fish. And with a body plagued by an infinite number of ailments, I doubted I'd get far.
Besides, this was a truly curious opportunity. Seeing actual characters in person was so… novel.
"Hello.", I cautiously waved at them while approaching.
"Stop right there." The knight commanded, prompting my feet to stop moving against my will.
'What the hell? W-What happened? Some form of mind control ability? But I don't feel my mind being manipulated. And if anything, the source of my mental pain is that girl over there, so why? This feels so creepy.'
I grimaced.
"Who are you?", He demanded.
"M-My name is Ken. I'm kind of lost at the momen-", I was immediately shut up by the pricking sensation of the claymore digging into my throat. The knight had effortlessly closed the distance between us, and suddenly, I felt just how imposing he truly was. Being at least two heads taller than me, he completely shadowed me.
"The next lie you tell will be your last.", He snarled.
'D-Damn it! I lied on instinct.'
I held back the urge to gulp, very my throat would be cut by even the slightest wrong movement.
"I'm Ab-Ah-Atr-Atlas…", My tongue trembled, almost completely fumbling my name.
"Where are you from, Abahatratlas? How did you get into the Sullied Grove?"
'Abahatratlas? How? Shit, I don't have time for that.'
I believed myself to be quite a proficient liar, although, due to recent circumstances, I might have to reevaluate myself on that. Besides, even now, how could I possibly explain the truth to him?
'Hey, I come from another world. I opened a mystical book and somehow wound up in this field. Now I'm supposed to help you kill some dragons.'
Like he'd buy that.
I felt heat slow spread through my neck as something moist started to drip down, followed by pain.
"Answer."
"I'm from s-somewhere very far… from here. Or close? Honestly, I d-don't really understand how it works. I also don't know how I ended up here. I… opened a book and the next thing I knew, I was here. P-Please, I'm not lying."
There was a silent moment in which I was simply forced to stare into his hollow visor, wondering if there truly was a person behind the black helmet. Then finally, he spoke, "What's your goal here?"
"I-I'm not a hundred percent sure about that, but I think I was sent here to help you."
A pair of lively emerald eyes popped up from behind the knight, giving me a curious watery stare. Finally, she tugged on the knight's cape. Only then, did he drop his sword. My knees immediately buckled and before I knew it, I was on the ground, free from whatever order he gave my legs.
'I-I actually didn't die?', I quickly grabbed my neck, in a shabby attempt to stop the shallow bleeding.
"I'm sorry for his behaviour. He's simply making sure I'm safe.", The little girl cautiously approached me, lightly lifting up her silky gown for easier movement.
She had a petite frame, leading me to believe she was no older than thirteen. Her intricately plaited turquoise hair was covered in a hairnet, laced with tiny sapphires that shimmered gently. Her face, although still containing traces of baby fat, somehow had a dignified and regal look to it.
"N-No, it's fine. I can understand it."
'He's a jackass!'
I gently rubbed my neck, trying to ease my pain.
"Would it be alright if I cured your injury?", She asked.
"You can do that?"
"Yes, let me just…", She gently placed her hand above my head, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she opened them again, the emerald lustre was replaced by a vibrant, glowing blue, as tiny blue sparks dropped from her fingers.
The effects were instant. The pain in my neck instantly faded, as did the slight cut. But that was not all. All my bodily aching faded immediately as well, making me feel lighter and more at ease. No, this went beyond fading. The pain was simply not there, like it had never been. In that moment, the years of pain from my scars and missing organs felt like they'd never happened.
A deep sigh of relief escaped my lips.
Behind her, the fallen arch started to glow even brighter. And suddenly, something clicked in my head. Like, I finally had everything I needed now.
"It's you.", I muttered, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Excuse me?", She pulled back, frowning. The blue glow had long disappeared, replaced with distrusting emerald. Following her pull back, was my pain. It returned, settling on my bones, my eye, stomach, my legs, my arms.
"You're the ability user the kingdom was relying on. That thing that got shattered. That blue light as the castle was being destroyed. Crying on the ground right there. It was all you, wasn't it? You failed."