A strange world

Thousands of lightning bolts seemed to fall from the sky. The sound of thunderous explosions was heard simultaneously as thousands of lightning bolts hit the ground. The ground shook violently as the earthquakes continued for the past three days.

Dust flew into the air. The sky, which had been pitch black for the past week, became even darker because of the thick dust. The sound of thunder in the sky could be heard continuously.

The three volcanoes that witnessed the final battle of the Acedia Era continued to erupt their lava. The tsunami water hit the land hard again, and the debris of the city buildings throughout the southern part of the Acedia Continent was washed away by the crashing sea water.

Huge lakes seemed to form as the hollows in the ground where the lightning had struck filled with water. But that didn't last long. The hills around the lake began to shake violently. The moving smoke and dust suddenly stopped, as if the air had become dense. The sound of a violent explosion resounded again. All the water that filled the surface of the lake evaporated in an instant, along with the ground, which began to shake again.

The hills in the area of the giant lake were also destroyed. A large and massive earthen basin was now created, replacing all the lakes and hills that had exploded. The surface of the basin seemed to be melting like lava. White flames were still burning in several places.

In the center of the basin, seven wounded adventurers stood protecting one of their friends who lay helplessly on the ground. Meanwhile, not far in front of them was a middle-aged man who looked different from the average human.

"Neutron! Don't expect everything to be over when I die!" the middle-aged man shouted with burning red eyes. His body looked bloody as it was covered in wounds. Both of his hands were severed. The six horns on his head seemed to be broken.

"It's all over, Xavier. Your four thousand years of glory have been destroyed! Mankind will start from scratch," said a man holding a sword in both hands.

"It looks like I'm going to die soon, I can see my father standing in front of me," muttered the man lying on the ground while looking at the man holding the sword with both hands. But no one reacted to his words.

"I will treat you, Rafe. You will not die, he is Rex. Not your father," said a beautiful blonde girl carrying a magic wand with a yellow crystal.

"Lyn," Rafe mumbled, spitting blood from his mouth. His voice could not be heard because it was so quiet. His eyes were only on the blonde girl sitting next to him. Rafe's body began to be enveloped in a yellow glow.

"No, no, no. It's not over yet, Neutron! I will definitely get even with all of you! Especially you, Rex Chivara!" Xavier shouted as he opened his mouth wide.

"That's impossible, even though his body has begun to disintegrate," a man with a large shield said as he moved forward.

"He's already gone, Vhis," Rex said while holding the shoulder of his friend, who tried to use his remaining strength to protect them.

"I will definitely finish you!" Xavier shouted before his body turned to ash.

The dust from Xavier's body was immediately scattered by the wind until it hit the eight people present. All eight of them immediately closed their eyes to avoid getting caught in the scattered dust.

"Is it all over?" muttered Rafe, still lying helplessly on the ground.

Suddenly, Rafe's vision went completely dark. His chest felt tight and he couldn't breathe. His heart was beating faster and faster. A hideous, huge face suddenly appeared in front of him. Its mouth was open as if it was about to pounce on him.

"Xavier!" Rafe shouted with all his strength.

Suddenly, Rafe woke up with a gasp. He rubbed his face with both hands. His heart was still beating fast and he was starting to break out in a cold sweat. But now he could breathe again.

"I had the same dream again. It's been a week since he died," Rafe murmured as he caught his breath.

Slowly, Rafe raised his face. The look on his face suddenly turned to shock as he saw thousands of stars in the sky, glowing beautifully. Rafe immediately looked around. He was even more surprised when he realized that he was in a meadow.

"Am I still dreaming?" said Rafe as he stood up and looked around.

"Ouch!" Rafe shrieked as he pinched his own hand.

"This doesn't look like a dream. What the hell is going on?" Rafe muttered as he got to his feet.

"Rex! Vhis! Lou! Ryuu!" Rafe yelled in a loud voice. But no one answered his call.

"Lyn! Anna! Alicia!" Rafe shouted again. This time he attempted to call his three female friends. But none of them answered his call.

"You're not playing with me! I know you got me out of bed to tease me! Come out quickly, I'm cold!" Rafe called again as he crouched down and pretended to shiver with cold.

"Uhuk, uhuk, uhuk. Lyn, I'm already coughing. You have to heal me right away," Rafe added as he pretended to cough and held his chest.

"Tch. You really don't feel sorry for me," Rafe grumbled in his heart.

"Fine, if you really want to play hide and seek. I'll find you! What a child," Rafe muttered as he stood up and stared at the meadow around him.

"I can't feel their presence, as usual," Rafe said with a deep sigh.

"I give up, Rex, you can tell me to clean Xavier's palace garden all you want!" Rafe shouted loudly.

But no one answered his words. Rafe frowned for a moment, then he walked down the meadow. He was surprised because the atmosphere around him felt different than usual.

"I can't see the top of Xavier's Demon Tower from here. Did they move me to a place so far away?" thought Rafe as he walked quickly toward the end of the meadow.

Now Rafe was standing at the edge of the cliff that marked the end of the meadow. His eyes widened in shock at the sight below him. Oil lamps shone from a town in the distance.

"Where am I now? Hasn't every city on the Acedia continent been severely damaged since the end of the war?" said Rafe. His heart began to pound as if he had a bad feeling.

Rafe ran down the cliff quickly. His body looked like floating paper as he skillfully ran down the steep cliff. In a short time, Rafe had placed both feet at the bottom of the cliff where he had stood earlier.

"There's something strange about my body, am I still recovering from the last fight?" Rafe muttered as he alternately moved his hands and feet.

Shortly after, Rafe shot out like lightning, running very fast towards the city in the distance. The grass he passed didn't even move a little, the grass only moved in the wind after Rafe had gone quite far.

It didn't take long, and now Rafe was standing on top of the city fort he had seen earlier. His eyes were wide open as he saw the unfamiliar landscape in front of him. The style of the townspeople's houses was very strange to him. Even the oil lamps that once belonged only to Xavier's noble servants were now in every home as a means of lighting.

"What exactly happened? Where did they take me while I was sleeping?" Rafe muttered. The clothes he was wearing began to flap in the wind.

Continued...