[Moments Earlier]
"ROOOOAAARRRR!!!"
The battlefield trembled as the war raged on, H'Trae's defenders overwhelmed by the overwhelming onslaught of beasts that seemed to spawn from nowhere.
Thousands of creatures, twisted and monstrous, descended upon the Northern Continent, tearing through ranks and causing chaos at every turn. The warriors fought valiantly, but their strength was faltering against the sheer volume and power of their enemies.
Lucielle had already gotten control over the Dragonoids, so she used them as shields to protect the powerless members of the Alliance's army, but her defenses were no more useful than wet paper when it came to these otherworldly monstrosities.
Using her power as Dragon Emperor, she could manage to get rid of several beasts at once, but with their sheer volume, it was too much for her to handle alone.
There was also the fear that if she unleashed her full power and achieved more devastating results, her allies would be caught in the crossfire.
Other than Lucielle, only a few others could even match the creatures from the wormhole.
Of course, the Otherworlders—particularly Justin and Belle—were holding their own.
Then, the Fairy King, Fae, and The Oracle were also performing excellently against the horde that fast approached. However, Fae was already heavily injured from the severity of the battle, and since the Fairy King and The Oracle were not combat-oriented, it was difficult to do more than they were currently handling.
Plus, despite their constant struggles, the wormhole above kept spitting out more monsters.
It felt like an endless cycle of torture and death.
Then—
WHUUUUUUMMMM!!!
Among the chaos, a sudden flash of golden light erupted, brighter than the sun itself.
The very earth seemed to shake with the force of its arrival, causing every combatant to stop in their tracks. The air grew thick with tension as all eyes turned toward the source of the blinding light.
From within the golden radiance, a figure emerged—a handsome warrior clad in shimmering gold armor, his presence overwhelming in its majesty.
The armor was flawless, reflecting the light around it like a radiant beacon. His sword, a massive blade of pure gold, gleamed with untold power, and a golden crown rested upon his head. His eyes were filled with determination, his presence an aura of invincible strength.
The armies on both sides of the battlefield paused, unsure of what they were witnessing.
Was he a god? A hero?
None could say for sure, but one thing was clear: this being exuded an energy that seemed capable of turning the tide of any battle.
From behind him, another figure emerged—a man dressed in an all-black suit, his ebony face forming a grin as his crimson eyes flashed with malevolent light.
His presence was just as imposing, though in an entirely different way.
The contrast between the two figures, one shining with golden radiance and the other cloaked in shadow, was stark and mesmerizing.
The man in black stepped forward, his gaze shifting from the golden hero to the war-torn battlefield.
"Adonis… do you recognize this place?"
As he calmly said this, his voice was heavy with a certain weight of expectations.
Adonis, the golden-armored hero, looked around at the devastation around him. His eyes softened for a brief moment, filled with a quiet sorrow.
"I do," he replied, his voice both solemn and resolute. "This is H'Trae… the one I left to return to the one I failed to protect."
He turned his gaze back to the man in black, who stood beside him with an air of quiet confidence.
"But now I have returned, Ater. Though I could not save my original H'Trae, I will not fail this time. I will fulfill my duty as a Hero."
Adonis raised his sword high, and the air itself seemed to hum with the energy emanating from it. He brought the blade down in a single, fluid motion, cutting through the air with such force that it cleaved through the ranks of the monstrous beasts nearby.
SWIIIIISSHHHH!!!
The beasts, no matter how large or ferocious, were instantly torn apart, their bodies scattered in an explosion of gore.
With a single motion, Adonis took to the skies, his golden armor glowing with divine light.
"Everyone!" he called, his voice booming across the battlefield. "Retreat now! From this moment onward, I will handle everything. You have my word."
The soldiers, stunned by the sheer power and confidence of the golden hero, quickly began to fall back. He and the exhausted Lucielle exchanged glances, and despite her surprise, the two of them nodded and she also retreated.
The Oracle, the Fairy King, and everyone else, finally ceased their struggles as they all watched the Hero standing high in the air.
With Adonis leading the charge, they had no choice but to trust in his strength and retreat to safety. Adonis remained aloft in the sky, his golden sword held firmly in his grasp as he glared down at the approaching wave of enemies.
His gaze was unyielding, his resolve unwavering.
"Now that I am here," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos. "I will save this world. No more will H'Trae suffer. I will see it protected, no matter the cost."
Memories flashed in his mind at that very instant—how he managed to break free from Rey;s constraints and complete the Magic Circle which he thought would return him to the past, but chose to confirm Rey's words about the impossibility of regression.
Had he never regressed? Was it simply transmigration?
He put it to the test.
And the result? While Rey was fighting the Dragons and putting all of the Northern Continent to ruin, he vanished with the power of the Circle.
… And ended up in a ruined world.
The world was without human life—without hope.
It was a world that had been fully conquered by the Dragons, and despite the chaotic landscape that greeted his eyes, he recognized the world before him.
It was H'Trae… his original H'Trae.
Rey had been right all along!
What he and everyone else imagined to be regression turned out to be nothing more than transmigration. He never went back in time, but traveled to another timeline to repeat the same cycle of destruction.
Everyone he truly loved and cared about was dead.
—All but one.