I stepped out of the red portal with the others, and space unfolded around us, endless black, scattered stars, and silence deep enough to swallow worlds.
"Finally, the big black universe." Steve spread his arms wide and grinned like he owned the place.
It had been two full months in that secluded realm. Two months of training, evolving, refining and becoming something new.
By the time I finished my own evolutions, both Steve and North had stepped into Grandmaster realm.
With the amount of powerful beasts roaming that mountain range, they had gained levels so fast it almost felt unfair.
North had even taken Lyrate as her temporary master, something that worried me more than I wanted to admit. Lyrate’s personality leaned heavily toward "slightly insane," and the idea of North picking up those habits made me uneasy.
But in this universe, maybe that kind of madness was exactly what we needed.
A strange ripple tugged at my senses, pulling me out of my thoughts. Essence trembled through the void.
I turned and saw it.
The massive Feran spacecraft floated not far from us. Their weapon arrays glowed as Essence charged the cannons.
"They’re aiming at us already?" Primus muttered.
Ragnar stepped forward with a grin, his new humanoid form looking even more intimidating as he summoned his silver club.
"Let me smash this machine," he said, lifting the weapon eagerly.
I placed a hand on his shoulder before he could take another step.
"Wait," I said, smiling slightly. "Why destroy a perfectly good ship?"
Ragnar blinked at me.
"We have an entire universe to travel now," I continued. "And we don’t have anything even close to that size. That ship is perfect."
Steve nodded.
Ragnar lowered his club, shoulders dropping a little.
"So... no smashing?" he asked, sounding genuinely disappointed.
I shook my head. "Not today."
Ragnar grumbled but stepped back, club resting on his shoulder.
The Feran cannons kept charging for another breath, light building, Essence flaring, then suddenly the glow flickered... dimmed...and the entire weapon system shut down.
Primus blinked. "What happened?"
I smiled. "Knight happened. Let’s go."
Ragnar’s eye twitched. "That sneaky coward... always stealing my fun."
We flew toward the ship, its massive hangar doors already open. Knight was inside, moving through the shadows like it was his playground. By the time we entered, every guard, every crew member still aboard was unconscious. Only a few maids and engineers lay scattered around the hallways.
We moved straight for the control room, drifting past metallic corridors and wide chambers until the main door slid open.
"Whoa," Steve breathed, eyes sparkling at the control panels. "This thing is way bigger than Dante’s ship."
"You couldn’t tell from the outside?" Primus teased.
I ignored them and took the captain’s seat.
"Lyrate, wake them up."
"Happily." She smiled and snapped her fingers.
Dozens of butterflies materialized in the air before landing on the unconscious Ferans. Lyrate crouched and pinched one leopard-tribe Feran’s cheek.
"Wake up, little Ferans. It’s morning already."
One by one they groaned and opened their eyes...then froze as they saw us filling the room.
Their expressions shifted from confusion to pure horror the moment they spotted me seated at the controls.
"Yes, you’re right," I said calmly. "The portal is gone. So is Vaelix. So are your fellow Ferans. All dead."
Their eyes widened. I leaned back in the chair.
"Now. You will take us back to Vaythos. Any issues?"
Silence. Shock. Fear.
Then one Feran stepped forward, a tall tiger-tribe man with captain markings on his armor.
"You think we’re stupid?" he growled.
I tilted my head. "You’re the captain, right?"
He nodded stiffly. "And you think I’m lying?" I asked.
He nodded again. "Vaelix Ranthor is not someone you can just kill. Not even together."
I tapped my fingers on the armrest.
Then nodded.
"Okay. If you say so."
I glanced at Lyrate. "Lyrate."
She chuckled, stepping forward as her butterflies glowed faintly.
"Begin."
Immediately, every Feran dropped to their knees.....gasping, limbs trembling.
Lyrate walked to the captain and crouched beside him, voice dripping with cheer.
"Let me explain my new creation."
She tapped a butterfly resting on his head.
"This lovely creature drinks vitality. One year per second. That’s why you all collapsed, you can’t lose that much life without falling."
The captain’s face drained of color. Lyrate smiled sweetly.
"While I explained that, you lost five years. Now, those willing to become our crew, raise your hand."
Her eyes darkened.
"The rest can feed my pets."
Not even a heartbeat later, except for three Ferans, everyone raised their hands. Even the captain.
I looked at the three who didn’t. Their arms shook violently.
"Lyrate, those three are too weak to raise their hands."
"Oops. Sorry."
She snapped her fingers, and the butterflies stopped glowing.
She smiled at the whole trembling crew.
"Alright. Good to know you’re all ready to cooperate. So, these butterflies will be your friends from today."
She tapped one lightly.
"If you behave, they do nothing. If you don’t... they punish you. And if you try to kill them, they explode and take your head with them. Oh and don’t worry about daily life. They’re weightless. You won’t even feel them."
She ended her little speech with a bright smile.
The crew exhaled shakily, relief and fear mixing together, and hurried back to their stations.
I stood up from the captain’s chair.
"You can start the ship. Destination: Vaythos, our homeworld. I’ll send you the coordinates from the other vessel."
I turned to leave.
"North and I will come in Dante’s ship. The rest of you follow in this one."
"Sure, sure. Go have your honeymoon," Primus teased as he walked out, laughing.
Ragnar thumped his chest.
"Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on these beasts."
I nodded and reached for North’s hand.
But out of the corner of my eye, I saw Knight already vanish, folding into space and heading straight toward Dante’s ship.
I sighed.
He had proudly told me earlier that he planned to become the group’s "hidden boss."
Ragnar wanted to be the strongest.
Lyrate wanted to be the scariest.
Silver... was desperately trying to be the most handsome.
I tightened my grip around North’s hand and phased us both straight to Dante’s ship.
We landed quietly in front of the massive hull, the metal still bearing faint scorch marks from the last battle.
Both of us stared up at it in silence.
"It feels like all of that was a dream," North said softly, her voice trembling at the edges.
"It does," I replied. "Everything was abrupt... and none of us expected any of it."
She lowered her head slightly.
"Do you think it was our fault? He was trying to protect us. Maybe if he was alone, he could have saved himself..."
I let out a slow breath.
"I don’t think any of it was your fault," I said gently. "Or Steve’s."
But in my mind, the words I didn’t want to speak finished themselves.
It was my fault.
The chained realm was meant for me.
And I dragged all of you into it.