*Chapter 4 — Into the Mysterious Realm*
The sensation suddenly intensified. Arin's expression changed.
The necklace grew hotter against his chest. The remaining blood qi within the wolf's corpse was pulled toward it faster than before, while the spiritual qi inside the beast was stripped away and absorbed alongside it.
The wolf's enormous body slowly began to lose its vitality. Its fur became dull. The muscles beneath its skin slackened. Even the blood that had spilled across the floor seemed to lose its remaining warmth.
All of it was being drawn toward the necklace.
Arin could only watch. He had no idea how an artifact that had looked half-dead moments ago could suddenly display such power.
The ruby's faint glow became brighter. Then brighter still. A crimson light spread across the room.
Arin instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes. The light did not burn him. Instead, it wrapped around his body.
His breathing stopped.
Something was happening. The sensation inside his mind became clearer. The necklace had found something. A location. A space.
But before Arin could comprehend it, his body suddenly went numb. His knees buckled. He fell to the floor.
"What's happening...?"
He tried to move. Nothing. His fingers twitched weakly.
Then crimson energy began pouring from the necklace. It spread across his chest. Then his shoulders. His arms. His legs. Within seconds, the energy had completely covered him.
Arin's body disappeared beneath the crimson light. The energy continued thickening until it formed a cocoon around him. A crimson cocoon.
Arin lay motionless inside it. He could no longer see the ruined room. He could no longer hear the wind outside. He could barely even feel his own body.
Then— Something entered him.
Arin's consciousness trembled. The energy didn't simply surround him. It was entering his body. Passing through his skin. His muscles. His bones. His blood. Every part of him was being touched by that strange power.
Arin wanted to scream. But no voice came.
The energy moved deeper. It reached his organs. His nervous system. Even his mind.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Arin felt something completely beyond his understanding. His entire constitution was being examined.
Then— Remade.
His bones trembled. His muscles tightened. His blood surged through his veins. Every weakness hidden within his body was being washed away by the strange crimson energy.
It wasn't simply healing his injuries. It was changing the foundation of his body.
Arin's body had been that of an ordinary human. A seventeen-year-old boy who had spent most of his previous life suffering from hunger and weakness. That body could barely survive the world around him.
Now, something was changing it. His muscles became denser. His bones became stronger. His flesh became tougher. His blood seemed to carry a completely different vitality.
The process continued. Arin's consciousness slowly faded. He could no longer distinguish between his body and the strange energy surrounding him. He could only feel warmth. Then silence.
He lost track of time. Minutes passed. Or perhaps hours. He didn't know.
The crimson cocoon remained completely still. Outside it, the ruined house had become silent. The dead wolf remained where it had fallen. But the necklace continued its work.
The energy it had absorbed from the wolf was no longer merely being stored. It was being used. The artifact had found the space it was searching for. A hidden place. A mysterious realm separated from the world Arin currently occupied.
The connection became stronger.
Then— The crimson cocoon trembled. A faint crack appeared across its surface. Arin's fingers moved. His eyelids twitched. Then his eyes opened.
For several seconds, he stared blankly. His vision was blurry. He couldn't remember where he was.
He tried to move. His body responded immediately. Too easily.
Arin slowly sat up. The crimson cocoon around him had disappeared. He looked down at his hands. Then his arms. Then his body.
The pain was gone. Not completely. There was still a faint soreness throughout his body, but the terrible injuries he had suffered during the battle were no longer there. The wounds had vanished.
His muscles felt different. Stronger. Denser. His entire body felt strangely balanced.
Arin slowly clenched his fist. The air around his fingers trembled faintly. He stared at his hand. "What happened to me?"
There was no answer. He touched the necklace. The artifact was still there. But its crimson glow had weakened considerably. The energy it had absorbed from the wolf had been almost completely consumed.
Arin's eyes narrowed. Before he could examine it further, the strange sensation returned. The same one he had felt earlier. The necklace had found the location. The connection was ready.
Then— Space around Arin distorted. His eyes widened. "What the—"
A crimson light appeared beneath his feet. It spread outward in a circle. Arin instinctively stepped backward. But there was nowhere to go.
The room itself seemed to bend. The walls stretched. The air twisted. For a moment, Arin felt as though the entire world had become nothing more than a distorted reflection.
Then he felt it. Something beyond the space around him. An ancient energy. Vast. Cold. And impossibly powerful. It was unlike anything he had ever sensed from the wolf. The difference was so enormous that Arin's heart nearly stopped.
He didn't know what was on the other side. But the necklace had already made its choice.
The crimson light surged. Arin's body was pulled forward. "Wait!" His voice disappeared into the distortion.
The next instant— Everything went dark.
---
Arin felt as though his body had been thrown through an endless tunnel. Space pressed against him from every direction. His stomach churned. His head spun. His body felt weightless one moment and impossibly heavy the next.
He couldn't tell whether he was moving forward, backward, upward, or downward.
Then suddenly— BOOM! His body was thrown out.
Arin crashed into soft grass. He rolled several times before finally stopping. For several seconds, he remained completely still. Then he groaned.
"...I'm going to vomit."
He pushed himself onto his hands and knees. His breathing was unsteady. He looked around. And froze.
This wasn't the village. It wasn't the wilderness he knew. It wasn't anywhere he recognized.
Endless green grass stretched in every direction. The grass reached his knees. Huge trees towered in the distance, their trunks thick enough to make the largest trees of Earth look like saplings. Mountains rose beyond them.
The air was clean. Almost unnaturally clean. There was no sound of humans. No buildings. No roads. No familiar signs of civilization. Only nature.
Arin slowly stood. His eyes moved across the strange landscape. It was beautiful. Too beautiful. And somehow... That made it even more suspicious.
He had learned one lesson since arriving in this world. The more beautiful something looked— The more careful he needed to be.
Arin touched the necklace again. The artifact was now almost completely drained. Its once-bright crimson glow had disappeared. The ruby remained cracked, but something about it had changed.
It had brought him here. To this place. A place he knew nothing about.
Arin took a slow breath. He looked toward the enormous forest ahead. Then toward the distant mountains.
He had no idea where he was. He had no idea how to leave. And he had no idea what kind of creatures lived here.
But there was one thing he knew. He had survived. Somehow, against all odds, he had survived the wolf. He had survived the mysterious transfer.
And now... He was somewhere completely new.
Arin tightened his fists. "Alright." His eyes hardened. "If this is where that necklace wanted to bring me..." He looked toward the endless wilderness. "...then I'll survive this place too."