The flames clawed up the sky behind them. Spider shrieks echoed from the collapsing towers. The castle was dying—and with it, the twisted reign of the Spider King.
Kai ran beside Albrecht, breath ragged, bare feet pounding against the forest soil. The princess—light, but dazed—was slung across Albrecht's back like a ragdoll. She clung to him with one arm and used the other to keep her dress from flying up.
"You really set every room on fire?" Albrecht asked between pants.
Kai nodded. "Even the mating nests."
The princess groaned. "That was half the castle…"
"Yeah, well, it smelled like half the castle too," Kai muttered.
They crossed a ridge. Smoke curled behind them. Far ahead, figures were forming up—their surviving knights, already making for the planned rally point in the eastern glade.
Albrecht slowed. "Here." He tossed a bundled cloth back.
Kai barely caught it. "What's this, a royal towel?"
"Uniform," Albrecht said. "From one of our scouts. It's better than running around with everything flapping."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Your sister didn't seem to mind."
The princess squeaked. "I minded!"
Chuckling, Kai pulled the tunic over his head, then slipped into the trousers and boots. It was itchy and smelled like pine, but at least it was dry. He adjusted the belt and glanced toward the princess, now walking under her own strength beside her brother.
"So," Kai asked, tone casual. "What's her name?"
Albrecht blinked, like he hadn't realized Kai didn't know.
"Seren," he said. "Princess Seren von Eisenmark. She's the first daughter of House Eisenmark."
Kai nodded. "Seren, got it."
The princess turned her head toward him. "And you're Ottokai Von Seraphis. The hero and naked infiltrator of spider kingdoms. Truly, a resume for the ages."
Kai grinned. "Just Kai's fine."
"Fine, 'Just Kai,'" she said, clearly suppressing a smirk. "Thanks for saving me. Even if your methods were—questionable."
Albrecht laughed under his breath. "That's just Kai. He doesn't do subtle."
"Nope," Kai said, eyes on the horizon. "I do results."
They didn't stop moving.
Behind them, the burning castle cracked and roared.
Ahead, their people waited—and the road back to the kingdom was still long.
---
The skies were clear, the castle walls still blackened from the fires that had reached even this far. But the banners flew high again, and the people cheered.
Kai walked slowly alongside Seren, who clutched the edge of her new dress—something far more royal than what she'd worn inside that spider-infested dungeon. Yet she listened like a child to every word he said.
"So there's this thing called ice cream," Kai was saying, waving his hands for emphasis. "It's cold, sweet, and makes your brain freeze if you eat it too fast."
Seren's eyes sparkled. "Cold food that people enjoy? That's so bizarre. And why would anyone eat so fast they get a brain freeze?"
Kai shrugged. "That's just part of the experience."
He told her about glass towers scraping the skies, cities that never slept, machines that flew across the clouds, and rivers lit up by neon. And Seren drank it all in with wide-eyed fascination, laughing and asking endless questions.
Later that day, they were summoned to the throne room.
The king sat tall and imposing, his hair silvered, his armor ceremonial but heavy. Kai stepped forward and bowed—he wasn't used to this kind of formality, but he figured it was expected.
"You," the king said, eyes studying Kai with a blend of calculation and gratitude, "you have saved my daughter from something no father should ever witness. From me, from this kingdom, and from all its people—thank you."
Kai nodded once. "Glad I could help. Just doing what I had to."
But then—
"Princess Seren," the king continued, "you're finally back—"
"I want to leave," she said suddenly, cutting across the throne room like a sword swing.
The silence was instant.
Seren looked at her father. "I want to go with Kai, to Earth."
Murmurs erupted from the courtiers, ministers exchanging shocked glances, some knights visibly flinching.
"Go… to Earth?" someone muttered.
"That's possible!?" a court mage gasped.
The king, however, didn't seem surprised. Slowly, he leaned back into his seat and folded his hands.
"It is," he said. "My grandmother once left this realm and crossed into the real world. She returned decades later, unchanged by time. The flow of time between worlds is… synchronized. So if she were to go, it would not break any law of this land."
Albrecht took a step forward, stunned. "But why?" he asked. "Why would you go there?"
Seren looked at her brother, the fire in her eyes unmistakable.
"Because I want to grow," she said. "I want to see the world Kai came from. The world you all speak of with awe and confusion. I want to learn. And—" she paused, voice softer, "when I come back, I want to return not just as a princess… but someone strong enough to stand beside you."
Albrecht was speechless.
But then, slowly, he dropped to one knee.
"As your knight," he said, "and as your brother… I will prepare. When next we meet, I will be stronger and better, worthy of fighting beside you."
Kai blinked. Damn, that was intense.
Seren turned to him, full of energy, full of expectation.
"So," she asked with a smile, "do you have room for one more in your world, Kai?"
---
The air around the ancient shrine was colder and quieter. The walls were carved with swirling patterns older than the kingdom itself, runes half-cracked by time and spider infestation.
In the center of it all was the Gemstone—an orb the size of a child's skull, floating above a stone pedestal, pulsating slowly with violet-blue light. Like a heartbeat from another world.
"This is it," the king said, his voice low with reverence. "The Rift's Core Gemstone. Strike it, and the gate will reopen—for your return."
Kai stepped forward, boots crunching on moss-lined stone. Seren walked beside him, silent but sure. Behind them, Sir Albrecht followed, not as a prince but as a brother.
They stood before the glowing orb. Kai's parasite stirred under his skin, reacting to the dimensional energy radiating from it. His fingers itched.
"I've been here before," Kai muttered. "Not this exact place, but… I remember this feeling."
Then, without turning, he said, "Seren, say goodbye to your brother."
Her lip trembled. She hesitated—just one heartbeat—and then ran.
"Big brother!"
She flung herself at her brother, arms wrapping around him in a tight, tearful embrace. Albrecht froze for a second, then held her close, burying his face in her hair like they were kids again, hiding from monsters under the bed.
"You better come back, Seren," he whispered, voice rough. "Stronger. Wiser. Everything you said you would be."
"I will," she sniffed, stepping back and wiping her eyes. "And you better not slack off, brother."
He smiled faintly. "Never."
Then, she turned and returned to Kai's side.
She took his hand without asking. Her grip was firm despite the tremble in her fingers.
Alright! My first rift done!
Kai didn't say anything. He raised his other arm—and his skin hardened, turning into jagged, charcoal-like rock, the Vorabone Carapace adapting into a battering mold around his knuckles.
One last breath.
Then—
CRACK
He slammed his fist into the Gemstone. It shattered like glass under pressure, but instead of fragments, light exploded outward in spiraling tendrils. The world twisted. Gravity lost all meaning. The walls melted into sky. Sound disappeared as if someone had plunged them beneath the ocean.
Seren squeezed his hand tighter.
And then, they were gone.
---
Kai's eyes fluttered open.
For a second, he couldn't move. The air was still, warm. Birds chirped in the distance. Light filtered through the trees in thin, glowing shafts. Then, his system pinged softly.
[GeneDevourer Mission Complete
Rift Closed: F- Rank
Reward: €1000 transferred
Reward: 6x Common Material Packs → [Convert to Normalized Fragments? Y/N]
He blinked. "Back on Earth…"
He sat up and dusted himself off, brushing flakes of blackened dirt from his coat. The crater they landed in was shallow, maybe two meters deep, with scorched soil and half-melted grass at the center. Just like last time. Rift landings always hit like a hammer.
Beside him, Seren stirred.
She groaned softly, rubbed her eyes, and pushed herself up. Her golden hair was tousled, dress wrinkled but still regal. She looked around, eyes wide with wonder.
"So this is Earth," she whispered. "The sky looks softer here… the air too."
Kai grinned. "Yeah. Welcome to the wasteland side of paradise."
She stood up slowly, testing her balance like a newborn foal. "It doesn't feel ruined. Where are the floating cities and skyports?"
He pointed up. "That's not here. We're in a forest. We're a few days away from anything that glows."
Seren turned to him, brushing leaves from her shoulder. "So… what now?"
Kai's grin faded. His eyes sharpened.
"Now… it's time for my next plan."
She tilted her head. "Which is?"
He straightened, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'm going back to Wolfram Institute."
Seren blinked. "What's that?"
Kai laughed, and for the first time in days, it wasn't bitter.