The air was warm, filled with the lazy hum of cicadas and the chatter of high school students spilling out of the tour bus. A wide valley spread before them — green hills, a crystal-blue lake, and the ruins of an ancient fortress that was their destination for the day.
Laughter echoed through the field as Ms. Isabella Kane, 29, checked her clipboard and smiled at her students. She was tall and striking, with smooth dark hair that reached her shoulders, intelligent hazel eyes behind frameless glasses, and a white blouse tucked neatly into black slacks. Even when relaxed, she carried herself with quiet authority — the kind that came from experience and confidence, not force.
"Alright, everyone," she said, her tone firm yet kind. "We'll meet back here at three. Stay with your groups, and please don't wander off too far."
A few students nodded; others were already snapping pictures or goofing around.
Among them was Sylas Ashford, 18 — tall, lean, with a physique that didn't look impressive until you noticed how effortlessly he moved. He had tousled dark hair that framed his calm face, and eyes that always seemed halfway between boredom and curiosity.
"Man," Sylas muttered, stretching his arms behind his head, "we finally get a field trip and it's to a pile of rocks."
Next to him, Ethan Marshall, the tall, athletic 18-year-old class rep with a deep voice, laughed. "That 'pile of rocks' is older than your family tree, bro. Try appreciating history for once."
"Yeah, yeah." Sylas smirked. "Wake me up if a ghost of the past shows up."
Emma Sullivan, 17, cheerful and always smiling, giggled behind them. "You'd be the first to scream, Sylas."
"Lies and slander with you."Sylas muttered with one eye open.
Their banter drew a few laughs from nearby students. Even Liam Carter, the confident 19-year-old heartthrob of the class with a toned body, shook his head with a grin while a group of girls whispered nearby. It was the kind of day that felt unshakably normal — warm sunlight, easy laughter, and the kind of peace no one realizes they're about to lose.
---
Something started to form at least over 30 feet above the students. It started as a shimmer — a faint, silver distortion in the sky.
"Hey," said Noah Bennett, the quiet, sharp-eyed 18-year-old classmate, squinting upward. "Do you guys see that?"
At first, nobody cared. The shimmer subtly grew brighter, like sunlight through water. Then it began to pulse. That's when it definitely noticable even by the most dulled eyes of the bunch.
"What… is that?" Emma asked softly.
"We should go."Ava Morgan muttered as she slowly backed up.
The air pressure suddenly changed. A deep, low hum rolled through the valley, rattling the bus windows. Birds scattered from the trees.
The shimmer twisted and tore open. It's like something was trying to come out of it.
A swirling vortex, like a storm made of light and shadow, unfurled in the sky. Wind roared to life, tearing through the field, kicking up dust and grass.
"Everyone, get back to the bus!" Ms. Kane shouted, her voice cutting through the panic.
Students screamed as the vortex expanded, dark clouds spiraling around its blinding core. The sound was deafening — a colossal, living vacuum tearing at the world itself. Trees snapped in half. The bus skidded as the wind pulled at it.small animals effortlessly being sucked into it.
The half asleep Sylas ran, his heart pounding, hair whipping across his face. He grabbed Emma's arm, pulling her along as she stumbled. "Move! Come on!"
They were only about twenty feet from the bus when the air shifted again — the pull became unbearable, a force dragging them backward.
"Grab something!" Ethan yelled, clinging to a metal signpost that screeched under the strain.
Ms. Kane wrapped her arms around a nearby railing, eyes scanning desperately for her students. "Sylas! Emma! Stay down!"
It didn't matter.
The wind became a scream, the sky a gaping mouth of light and darkness. One by one, they were lifted from the ground — first loose debris,tree branches,bags, then grass, then bodies.
Sylas reached for the bus even tho it was still out of reach, fingertips brushing cold air being violently sucked by the vortex—
Then.... he was gone.
The storm swallowed them all.
And just as suddenly as it came, the world fell silent. The wind died. The field was calm again — the bus sat still, the sky clear, as if nothing had happened. Only the echoes of terrified screams lingered for a moment before even they were gone.
---
It was pure darkness.
Then there was light.
Sylas groaned, his vision blurry, his body weightless. The air felt… wrong. Thick, like mist.
When his eyes cleared, he froze.
They were no longer in the field, instead they were in a totally unfamiliar place. One would have trouble believing such a thing even existed.
A vast grand hall stretched around them — towering marble pillars carved with glowing runes, golden chandeliers suspended from a ceiling lost in mist. The floor gleamed like polished crystal, reflecting their confused faces.
Around the perimeter stood figures in ornate armor, cloaked and silent. Their weapons gleamed, but their heads were bowed, their eyes fixed on the center of the immense hall.
A faint, radiant light pulsed from the far end.
"Wh–where are we…?" whispered Emma, clutching her skirt, her voice trembling.
Ms. Kane stood quickly, scanning the room. "Everyone, stay calm. Is anyone hurt?" Her voice quavered slightly, but her composure held. She moved from student to student, her heels echoing softly against the crystal floor.
Sylas sat up, rubbing his head. His classmates were pale, shaken, whispering among themselves. The strange soldiers watched silently — until the light at the far end of the room flared brighter.
The air itself seemed to bow somehow.
From the light stepped a woman.
She was unlike anyone they had ever seen — tall, graceful, and impossibly radiant. Her hair flowed like spun gold, cascading down over a gown woven with threads of light. Her eyes shone with warmth and authority, the kind that could quiet a battlefield. A faint halo-like shimmer framed her head.
The armored figures instantly fell to one knee, pressing fists to their chests. The entire hall echoed with the synchronized thud of reverence.
The students looked around in confusion, whispering.
Sylas just stared, his breath catching in his throat.
The woman's gaze moved slowly across the hall,from the trembling students to the kneeling soldiers and finally stopped on Ms. Isabella Kane, who stood firm, still tending to her class despite her fear.
A small smile touched the woman's lips.
When she spoke, her voice was calm and melodic, resonating through every corner of the grand chamber.
"Be at ease, children of another world," she said. "You stand within the sanctum of the Goddess of Light…"
She raised a hand, light gathering gently around her fingertips.
"…I am Lumena."