Curve 1: Into Another World

Iona is a region located in the northern hemisphere, characterized by a temperate climate with distinct seasonal variations. The region is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, ranging from majestic to minute, and including species that are both benign and venomous. Nestled in the center of the region is the celestial mountain.

As the day waned, two celestial bodies were observed plummeting from the firmament. One of these meteorites landed at a harbor in Iona, illuminating the area with its radiant energy before finally making landfall. The other meteorite struck a seashore in a different region called Elion.

Those employed at the port, who beheld the plummeting of the meteorite, are simultaneously intrigued and frightened. They harbor trepidation about approaching the meteorite as they are unaware of its potential nature. It evokes memories of the tale of the most formidable sorceress, Amaterasu, who also descended from the heavens like a brilliant flash.

Moments later, guards approach the meteorite, equipped with spears, swords, and shields. As they inspect the meteorite, they discern a sudden cacophony emanating from the rock, as if it had been bisected. The air remains hazy, making it challenging for them to discern the source of the noise.

As the smoke finally dissipates, they perceive a man who appears to be of youthful age standing atop the meteorite, wearing only bottoms. He is of a slightly toned physique with disheveled, black hair; small eyes with dark brown irises; a slender nose bridge; thin, pale peach lips; and an oval-shaped face. He stands at a height of approximately 5 feet and 7 inches.

The guards were alarmed by his sudden appearance. They aim their weapons at him.

"Who are you?" they ask.

"You must be a soldier from the South!"

The youthful man scrutinizes his hands, feet, and chest before casting his gaze about his surroundings. "It would seem that I have arrived in Zeon," he posits in a cold, grave tone. Suddenly, a voice emanating from within his mind responds, "I have lost track of your brother, Kei." spoken in a monstrous, booming voice. "It is of no consequence. I am confident that he will fare well on his own."

The guards threaten him. "Don't move! I asked you who you are! Tell us or you'll die!"

Upon receiving their warning, his eyes radiate a bright blue as he fixates upon them with a piercing glare. Strange, glowing blue patterns also appear on the left side of his face. This is followed by the sudden circular motion of his irises, which elicits heightened vigilance from the guards. However, it is too late for them to react. Upon making eye contact with the young man, they succumb to unconsciousness, one by one. His glowing blue eyes and the blue patterns on his face simultaneously vanish after rendering the guards unconscious.

The youthful man exits the meteorite and experiences the ground beneath his feet. "It appears that I have lost half of my power," he declares. A voice in his mind inquires, "What shall we do now?"

"Of course," he sighs, and then gazes upward at the sky. "We will locate the crystal of void and utilize it to bring down the Defiant."

"Very well."

Subsequently, he traverses a forest and perceives a towering mountain in the distance, the mountain of Iona. It stands so tall that it appears to ascend beyond the firmament. As he wanders, he detects the loud, stomping footsteps of approaching horses. He hastily ascends to the top of a tree to conceal himself. Then, two horsemen pass by. He decides to let them pass to avoid causing any further disruption. Using his exceptional eyesight, he is able to detect the heat emitted by any living being in his vicinity. All living beings expend energy, producing heat, and Kei has the ability to see that heat. He espies a legless reptile near him, which hisses and bares its fangs in a threatening manner.

"Poor little creature," he says before crushing the head of the snake. The snake falls to the ground and, instead of dying naturally, its body is reduced to ashes. At that moment, he suddenly hears the loud flapping of a raven flying away. Kei finds it peculiar that the raven does not emit any heat, therefore he was unable to sense its presence.

"What strange creature," the voice inside him spoke.

A few minutes later, Kei becomes more curious and decides to explore further into the forest. He spies a small hut in the middle of the forest and approaches it. However, a young woman notices him and calls out to him.

"You there! What are you doing in the midst of nowhere? Are you lost?" she queries.

Kei turns to her and regards her. "What is this place?" he responds.

The woman smiles and removes the pin from her hair, tossing it aside. "You are at my hut. This is my settlement. I typically do not permit anyone to enter my abode, but... very well. Why are you not wearing a shirt?"

Kei glances down at himself. "Am I supposed to be wearing one?"

"Of course, silly. It's fine. Your body looks good regardless. Come inside, I will prepare something for you." With that, she heads into the hut. Despite feeling a sense of wariness, Kei follows her, feeling somewhat puzzled by her behavior.

"Isn't it odd that she allowed you into her house without knowing you?" the voice in his head asks. "I'm not sure. I still don't fully understand how people in this realm behave," he replies.

Inside the hut, there are only about three small rooms. The woman sets down the bag she is carrying on the couch and walks over to the stove. "Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?"

"I don't know what that is," Kei responds.

"You don't know what a cup of hot tea is? Where are you from? I thought every person living in this world knows about tea."

But Kei remained silent, simply sitting down on the chair at the table while waiting for the woman. In the meantime, she heated up a kettle of water. Suddenly, the young woman removed her clothing and gazed at Kei. She bit her lips and approached him slowly. Kei, who was as innocent as he was, had no idea why she had taken off her clothes.

"I'm sorry, it's getting a little hot in here," she said, flipping her hair. "Lately, I feel like someone is watching me. I keep thinking that there's a stalker following me. Could you possibly be that stalker?"

Kei looked her directly in the eyes and replied in a deep, serious tone, "I have no idea what you're referring to."

However, the woman circled around him. "I know what every man desires—a body like mine. Every man in the world craves a woman's body. No matter what you look like, no matter how wealthy or intelligent you are, you'll always be a slave to your sexual desire," she said as she touched Kei's shoulders while he sat on the chair.

Upon feeling the touch of her hands, Kei suddenly experienced a different sensation emanating from her. To confirm this, he activated his eye power. His left eye glowed blue, and he turned around to examine her.

"She's a deceiver! Go, kill her." the voice inside Kei said.

The woman's appearance was an illusion. Kei pushed her away and stood up from his seat. "Why are you concealing your true form?" he asked.

She fell to the floor and frustratedly asked. "What do you mean?!" then she noticed Kei's eye has changed. "Your eye..."

"Try harder. An illusion of that level won't be able to fool me."

The woman rose from the floor and made a frightening grin on her face. "I see. You're not a normal one," she stretched her neck and glared at Kei. "Are you one of Yul's men? I don't remember seeing your face in the Crimson Crystal's picture that my sister gave me."

"I don't know who that is. What exactly are you plotting?"

The woman laughed hysterically. Her skin gradually aged as wrinkles appeared on her skin. She was extremely thin, and it seemed as though her bones were only covered by her wrinkled skin, with no obvious muscle on any part of her body. "I loathe you humans more than anything else!" She then crawled rapidly towards Kei, intending to bite him with her abnormally large jaws. However, Kei simply grabbed her by the neck and bound her limbs with a spell. The woman struggled to move as the spiritual chains bound her. "What the hell! What is this, you bastard?!" she screamed. "Take this off or I'll feed on your heart!"

Kei fixed his gaze on her eyes. "It repulses me to see you transform into such a wicked, ugly hag. I can't believe you intended to eat me," he said, creating four magical needles in the air, which he used to puncture the woman's limbs. The pain was so intense that she couldn't help but scream in agony. After he punctured her limbs with needles made from his spirit power, he felt a cold sensation coming from her, a stronger sensation than what he had felt the first time he made physical contact with her. "I can sense a fragment of devilish power within you. Where did you obtain that power from?"

"I thought you're one of Yul's men but... it seems you're really not. You're stupid and ignorant of what we are."

Kei glared at her. Upon making eye contact, the woman sweated as she saw something inside Kei. She saw an extremely dark presence inside him. "W-What kind of monster are you... what are you, really?"

"I'm someone you can't handle no matter what," Kei answered. Then, his irises spun once again and he put the woman into a deep slumber. As soon as she fell asleep, Kei released her from the binding spell he had cast. She collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Kei looked down at her with a grave expression. "A monster like her deserves death. Impale her!" the voice inside him spoke.

"She possesses a fragment of corrupted spirit power. That means there are beings, even in this world, who indulge themselves to corruption," he thought.

"Could there be fiends in this realm as well?"

"That is something we have to figure out as we stay here."

"Then let me devour her to read some of her thoughts. Perhaps we can gain important knowledge from her," the voice responded. "No, there's no need. If there are fiends in this world, it would be wise to ally with those who fight them. She mentioned a name earlier—Yul? I'll take her to that person. That person must be after her."

"You are right, I agree with you. But how do we locate him?"

"Let's find a settlement nearby and ask if they know anyone named Yul."

So, he carried her outside the hut and intended to take her to the person she had referred to as Yul. However, when he went outside, he saw two other women arrived.

When they saw the unconscious woman, they shouted at Kei. "What have you done to our sister, you bastard?" the taller woman said.

The two women both had pale white skin and long, black hair with unusually pointed noses. The taller woman wore a black cloak, while the other woman beside her wore a maid outfit. They were both outraged as they saw their sister unconscious.

The taller woman leapt towards Kei to attack him, but Kei summoned a barrier to defend himself from external attacks. When the taller woman attacked him, her hand was burnt instead.

"Sister Hila, be careful! He's an experienced sorcerer. He's capable of summoning a spiritual barrier!" the woman in the maid outfit screamed.

Hila jumped away from Kei and launched a fireball at his position. However, as the fireball flew towards Kei, it was repelled by another attack.