Rian didn't remember falling.
Only that the ground was suddenly against his cheek—
Hot.
Cracked.
Barely holding together.
---
The sky was still wrong.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel it.
Something vast moving where nothing should exist.
Something that made breathing feel… optional.
---
"…You're still alive."
---
The voice wasn't loud.
It didn't echo.
---
It simply *appeared*.
---
Rian's eyes snapped open.
---
Someone stood there.
---
Untouched.
Unburned.
Unshaken.
---
That was the first thing wrong.
---
The second—
Was that Rian couldn't *focus* on him properly.
---
Not blurry.
Not invisible.
---
Just… inconsistent.
---
Like his existence refused to stay in one place for too long.
---
"You—" Rian tried to speak, but his throat tightened.
"You shouldn't be here."
---
The stranger tilted his head slightly.
---
"…Probably not."
---
The answer came too easily.
Too casually.
---
Rian pushed himself up, forcing his body to respond.
Every instinct screamed at him—
*Danger.*
Not like the dragons.
Not like fire.
---
Something deeper.
---
"What are you?" he asked.
---
The stranger didn't reply immediately.
---
Instead—
He looked up.
---
At the sky.
At the dragons tearing through it like they owned it.
---
And for a moment—
Something flickered in his eyes.
---
Not fear.
---
Recognition.
---
"…That's a difficult question."
---
Rian swallowed.
"Then give me the simple version."
---
Silence.
---
Then—
The stranger stepped forward.
---
Rian flinched.
---
Because the world *skipped*.
---
One moment, distance existed.
The next—
It didn't.
---
Now he was close.
Too close.
---
Rian could finally see his face clearly.
---
Normal.
Too normal.
---
But his eyes—
---
They didn't belong to someone standing here.
---
They belonged to someone who had *already seen the end of things*.
---
"I had a name," the stranger said.
---
Had.
---
That word sank in deeper than anything else.
---
"What is it?" Rian asked.
---
The stranger hesitated.
Not out of uncertainty.
But… restraint.
---
Like saying it might matter more than it should.
---
"…Eron."
---
The name felt quiet.
---
But the air shifted anyway.
---
Rian exhaled slowly.
"Eron…"
---
A roar tore through the sky.
Closer.
Louder.
---
Rian instinctively looked up—
---
A dragon.
Descending.
Watching.
---
He stumbled back.
---
Eron didn't move.
---
"You're not even reacting?" Rian's voice cracked.
---
"They're not here for you."
---
The answer came instantly.
---
Rian froze.
---
"What…?"
---
Eron's gaze remained on the sky.
---
"They're not here for this place either."
---
That was worse.
---
"Then why are they here?" Rian asked.
---
This time—
Eron looked at him.
---
Directly.
---
And Rian felt it.
---
Weight.
---
Not power.
---
Understanding.
---
"They're here," Eron said quietly,
---
"because something changed."
---
A pause.
---
Then—
---
"I changed."
---
Rian's mind went blank.
---
"You're saying this is your fault?"
---
Eron didn't deny it.
---
Didn't confirm it either.
---
Instead—
He looked at his own hand.
---
Flexed it slowly.
---
Like it didn't fully belong to him yet.
---
"In my world…" he began,
---
"I was called a hero."
---
The word felt wrong.
Not proud.
Not bitter.
---
Just… distant.
---
"I fought things like them."
He nodded toward the sky.
---
Rian's chest tightened.
---
"Then why are they here?" he demanded.
---
Eron's answer came without hesitation.
---
"Because this isn't my world."
---
Silence.
---
Heavy.
---
Unavoidable.
---
"You don't belong here…" Rian whispered.
---
Eron nodded.
---
"And neither does what came with me."
---
Another dragon roared.
Lower now.
Closer.
---
Watching.
---
Rian's voice dropped.
---
"What did you bring?"
---
Eron didn't answer immediately.
---
The air around him shifted again.
Subtle.
Wrong.
---
Like reality was adjusting itself… and failing.
---
Finally—
---
He spoke.
---
"Something your world tried to measure."
---
His eyes narrowed slightly.
---
"Something that doesn't stay measured."
---
Rian felt it again.
That fracture.
That instability.
---
Not in the sky.
---
Around *him*.
---
Around Eron.
---
And suddenly—
The Empire's system…
The rankings…
The tiers…
---
All of it felt meaningless.
---
Like rules written for something smaller.
---
Eron stepped past him.
---
Toward the burning horizon.
---
Toward the dragons.
---
"Wait—!" Rian called out.
---
Eron paused.
Just slightly.
---
"What happens now?" Rian asked.
---
For a moment—
Even the sky seemed to hold still.
---
Eron didn't turn.
---
But his voice carried clearly.
---
"…Now?"
---
A dragon descended.
The air screamed.
The earth split.
---
And Eron walked forward.
---
"Now I see how long this world lasts."