Cynthia: DAD! WAKE UP!
She knelt beside her father's motionless body, her hands trembling as she tried to shake him awake.
He was unresponsive—collapsed on the cold bathroom floor, his mouth slightly parted with a thin trail of saliva.
Cynthia: I need to call the ambulance!
Fumbling for her phone, she pulled it from her pocket and immediately dialed emergency services.
Cynthia: Help is coming, Dad! Just hang in there!
Phone: 911, what's your emergency?
Cynthia: My dad... he's unconscious! I don't know what happened, he's breathing but not waking up!
Phone: Alright, sending an ambulance to your location. Is he on the ground floor?
Cynthia: No, upstairs.
Phone: If possible, bring him downstairs for quicker access.
Cynthia: Alright!
She hung up, her breath quickening. Without wasting a second, she checked his breathing—steady, thank God. She slipped her fingers near his nose, feeling the faint exhale. Relief washed over her, but there was no time to pause.
She crouched and pulled his heavy body toward her, hooking his arm over her shoulders.
His full weight dragged against her, but she grit her teeth and bore it.
Step by step, she hauled him down the stairs, her arms shaking from the strain.
She laid him gently on the living room couch, brushing the sweat from her forehead.
Cynthia: They have to hurry... I can't lose him...
She opened his phone, the screen lighting up to show the time—8:47 PM.
Cynthia: Last time I checked the time... it was 2 PM. Six hours... wasted in that stupid portal.
Her stomach twisted. Six hours gone, and her dad had been here—alone, collapsing while she was trapped in another dimension. She stared blankly at the phone's wallpaper: a family photo. A little girl with red hair in the center, flanked by her parents. She must've been around eleven back then.
Cynthia: First it was Mom... now Dad too?
Her lips trembled. She pressed the phone to her chest, trying to keep herself from falling apart.
Then came the distant wail of sirens.
Cynthia: They're here!
She ran outside and waved frantically toward the ambulance.
Cynthia: OVER HERE!
The vehicle pulled up and screeched to a halt. Two paramedics jumped out with a stretcher. Cynthia led them inside. They checked her father, nodded quickly, and with practiced hands, lifted him onto the stretcher.
Without a word, they rushed back out, loading him into the back.
Cynthia climbed in without hesitation.
The doors shut.
The ambulance sped off.
===============
~"Creeekkk"
Eren slowly opened the mysterious door that had spawned out of nowhere.
Beyond it, darkness stretched deep into what looked like a tunnel—familiar in its eerie atmosphere. The walls and floor were the same: black stone, rough and cold. Crystals embedded along the tunnel walls glowed a pale white, just enough to light the path.
Eren: It feels just like that dimension I got trapped in before… but this isn't the same.
The vibe matched—quiet, tense, and thick with dread—but this was a new place entirely.
Eren: Those who stumbled into that dark room where the lich appeared… they must've died, if what that thing said was true.
Back in the previous dimension, the voidborn lich had told him that 29 others had reached that dark room—and none survived. A trial was given. A test of endurance. Three strikes from the lich's staff... and they all perished.
Eren: Surprising I made it out…
But that doesn't mean I'll survive this one too.
He remembered how broken his body was, barely alive after the last encounter. Maybe he got lucky.
Eren: Could it be that the others… were just as weak as I was?
But then, something clicked.
Eren: Wait...
What happened to Jack?
Jack—one of the only others he met in that dark dimension—had shown real strength.
Eren: That guy was strong. I saw him tear through those creatures like they were nothing.
Eren hadn't been able to kill a single one. Every creature he encountered had been taken down by Jack.
Eren: Could he have reached that same room… faced the lich too?
And if so… did he survive?
Eren kept walking, thoughts spiraling. Then—his body jolted slightly.
Eren: What was that? A… vibration?
He instinctively reacted.
"Equip."
In a black swirl of gas, his phone materialized in his left hand.
Eren: It opened the app on its own... and there's a new button now? Radar?
The app's name was still unreadable, labeled only with "???". Without hesitation, he tapped the radar icon. A digital radar popped up, revealing several red dots around him.
Eren: It's detecting nearby creatures...
Suddenly, faint giggles echoed from the dark.
Eren's breath caught.
He swallowed dryly.
"Unequip."
With a whisper, the phone dissolved into thin air, black mist curling away from his hand like it had never been there.
Just then—shadows moved.
Seven goblins stepped into view. Their jagged weapons caught the faint light of the crystals—daggers, rusted swords, worn-out shields. Their skin colors varied: some yellow, others red, a few even blue.
Eren: Same as before… these damn things again…
They didn't speak. They just watched, waiting. A breath away from charging.
The goblins didn't wait.
They snarled and hissed, eyes gleaming with bloodlust as they prepared to charge at Eren. There was no time to think.
Eren gripped the single dagger in his right hand tighter, his pulse quickening. He glanced around—but there was no Jack. He was alone this time.
Eren: Gotta lock in.
The first goblin rushed toward him with a low growl, shield raised and sword tucked behind. Three more followed behind—only, Eren quickly noticed something odd.
Eren: 1v4... wait a minute...
The three behind weren't charging directly. Instead, they split up, disappearing around the sides, trying to flank him.
Eren: Gotta make this quick!
The first goblin approached fast. Its shield was thick and crude, dented from battles past. Eren knew he didn't have the strength to break through it with a single strike.
He backed up, scanning the terrain. Cracked stone beneath his feet. The tunnel walls were too smooth to offer much cover, but the narrow space forced the goblins into a limited path.
Eren: How can I get rid of this thing...?
Then it clicked. If he kept running and suddenly stopped, the momentum of the charging goblin might do the work for him.
He sprinted backward, baiting the shield-wielding creature. It snarled and gave chase.
At the right moment, Eren halted. His feet dug into the ground, his body twisting.
He dropped low and slashed his dagger toward the goblin's ankle just as it closed in. The goblin couldn't stop in time—its leg slammed into the blade, and with the force of its own movement, the dagger carved clean through.
A pained howl echoed in the tunnel.
The goblin fell, its shield crashing beside it. Blood spurted as it writhed on the ground.
Eren: Hope these bastards are dumb enough to fall for this kind of trap.
No time to rest.
The other three goblins were closing in fast, their weapons—knives, rusted swords—gleaming in the dim light.
Eren lunged forward, driving his dagger into the fallen goblin's back to finish it. Blood sprayed, hot and sharp in the air.
He yanked the blade free, grabbed the discarded shield, and spun just in time.
Clang!
All three strikes from the incoming goblins slammed into the shield. The impact rattled his bones, but he stood his ground.
Eren: Perfect!
One goblin was pushed back. The others took a step back, reassessing.
Eren: I knew it!
One down. Three in front of him, three more closing in from behind. Six goblins surrounded him now.
Eren glanced over his shoulder—two were gaining fast. With a sharp turn, he blocked their incoming strikes with his shield.
The third goblin, closing in with speed, lifted its sword high for a slash.
Eren reacted instinctively. In one swift motion, he spun, driving his dagger into the goblin's neck. It crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Two down.
Eren assessed the remaining goblins. Two on one side, three on the other. Time to make a move.
He darted in the opposite direction, trying to gain some distance. The goblins didn't follow.
Eren: Guess they've got some brains after all.
Eren: That gives me a choice, to risk it.
He considered his options, then decided to make his move. He needed to take out a few more.
Out of range for now, he thought to himself.
Eren: I've definitely improved. I took down those wolves in the dark arena on my own. No help needed.
Eren: Jack's aura clearly gave him a boost. But… do I have one? Maybe I can't sense it. Or maybe... I don't have one yet.
He shook the thoughts aside and set his resolve.
Eren: It's time.
He made his decision to charge.
He sprinted at the group of three, their eyes locking with his. As soon as they saw him, they reacted.
Two swung their weapons at him, their strikes ringing off his shield with a deafening clang. The third—faster than the rest—lifted its sword, aiming for his head.
Eren: Huh?