The skies had long since settled. The light that shimmered above the Cardinal World vanished as quickly as it came. No explosion, no devastation—just a sudden and unexplained ripple in reality.
But those who ruled this world, those whose senses extended beyond time and space… they felt it.
And none of them could explain what it was.
A cold wind whispered through the grand black marble halls of the Ice Continent, where Guy Crimson, the Primordial Red and one of the most feared Demon Lords, sat lazily on his throne. At his side stood Velzard, the White Ice Dragon, arms crossed, her silver-blue eyes half-lidded in boredom.
Then it happened.
The air stopped moving.
The floor hummed.
Even time itself seemed to hesitate for half a second.
Guy's crimson eyes flicked open instantly.
"...Did you feel that?" he asked, his voice calm, but laced with caution.
Velzard narrowed her eyes.
"That wasn't magic… nor was it divine pressure," she said slowly. "It wasn't even spiritual energy."
She stepped forward, ice particles swirling gently behind her.
"What in the world was that?"
Guy stood, his cloak flowing unnaturally as his aura responded.
"It felt like... the world itself held its breath. And then pretended nothing happened."
Far away in the Dragon Kingdom, Milim Nava, the chaotic and explosive Demon Lord, sat on a giant cliffside, legs swinging off the edge. She was chewing meat, bored out of her mind.
"Another peaceful day… ugh, where's the fun!?"
Then her pupils narrowed.
She dropped the meat.
"Huh?" she whispered, her hair floating slightly as the surrounding pressure shifted.
Her fingers clenched the edge of the stone as she looked up toward the sky.
"That… that wasn't magic."
"What kind of power was that!?"
And just like that… it was gone.
Milim stood up, frowning.
"Tch… who just made my heart skip a beat like that?! Show yourself!" she shouted to the wind.
High above the clouds, Velgrynd soared beside Rudra, keeping watch over their empire. Then suddenly, the wind changed.
It wasn't stronger.
It was strange.
Like a presence had just threaded itself through the weave of the world.
Velgrynd froze in the sky.
"Rudra… did you just—?"
"Yeah," he interrupted. "I felt it."
He stared at the sky where nothing visible had changed.
"Something just entered the world."
"Something we've never seen before."
Back in the forest, Saiki Kusuo stood alone beneath the quiet canopy. A half-eaten cup of coffee jelly rested on a nearby rock.
The breeze was gentle. Birds chirped. Magicules lazily floated in the air.
To Saiki, it was finally… peaceful.
He looked around. The area was calm and full of life. After finishing the jelly, he wiped his hands and began walking deeper into the forest.
"Now I need a place to stay," he thought to himself. "Somewhere away from everything… as usual."
As he walked, the Jura Forest itself reacted.
Not consciously. Not violently. But everything felt it.
Small monsters—slimes, wolves, goblins, dryads—froze.
Birds flew away in silence.
Even the ancient Treants whispered among themselves.
"What is this… presence?" one muttered through the rustling of its leaves.
"Not demon… not divine… it is something else," said another.
Even beasts that had no language or thoughts instinctively moved away from the area Saiki walked.
They didn't know why. But they sensed it.
He wasn't predator or prey.
He was a natural disaster… wearing human skin.
After a short walk, Saiki found a clearing surrounded by hills and trees. It was perfect.
"Quiet. Secluded. And I don't detect anyone nearby."
He raised a hand lazily. His eyes barely moved.
Rocks lifted from the ground. Trees arranged themselves. The earth shifted. In a few moments, a perfect Japanese-style cabin stood in the clearing.
Clean. Simple. Peaceful.
He stepped inside, took a deep breath, and sat on the floor.
"This'll do."
Outside, the forest was silent. The animals wouldn't come near. The magicules seemed to slow and swirl differently, like a vortex around the area.
The atmosphere of the entire Jura Forest had subtly changed.
No explosions. No sounds.
Just an unseen shift—like a new law had been written into nature.
Back in the Ice Continent, Guy stood at the edge of his balcony.
He looked south, toward the Jura Forest.
"It came from there," he said.
Velzard nodded beside him.
"And it's still there."
Guy smirked.
"Whoever—or whatever—that is… just made the world blink."
"I think I'll keep watching. Something tells me this might be fun."
World
Saiki Kusuo sat cross-legged in the center of his newly-built wooden house, nestled deep within a peaceful clearing in the Jura Forest. Sunlight trickled through the branches above. The breeze was soft. The forest, despite its magic, was unusually silent around him—as if nature itself held its breath.
He had just finished cleaning up after his cup of coffee jelly, which he had enjoyed thoroughly under the shade of a tree.
"Nice flavor," he thought. "Not quite Tokyo's but it'll do for now."
The silence around him was comforting. Almost too comforting. But Saiki had lived long enough to know one thing:
Peace never lasts.
He stared at the wooden floor of his cabin. Then he closed his eyes.
"Okay," he muttered. "Time to figure out exactly what kind of world I landed in."
With no limiter to hold him back, Saiki's full power flowed effortlessly through every nerve in his body. His psychic field expanded at the speed of thought.
From the forest clearing, an invisible wave rippled outward—undetectable to anyone else, but utterly precise. Every tree, every grain of dirt, every creature… nothing escaped his senses.
The first layer was familiar now.
"Goblins, dryads, lizardmen… direwolves… pretty standard."
Then something strange caught his attention—Ogres.
"Large humanoid-type monsters. Stronger than goblins… good in combat. Interesting."
He scanned further north—another powerful presence.
It was massive. Ancient. Unmoving.
A dragon.
But something was off.
"Huh. This one's… sealed?"
Deep within a dark cavern hidden under the forest, sealed behind unbreakable magical barriers, Veldora, the Storm Dragon, lay curled in slumber. But his slumber wasn't deep—not anymore.
A moment ago, something brushed against his existence. It wasn't a physical touch. Nor was it magical.
"Wh-What… was that?"
He jolted slightly, his golden eyes glowing in the dark.
"That wasn't a demon… not a dragon… not even spiritual energy! What the heck was that?!"
Veldora snarled quietly, clawing at the air.
"Someone just felt me while I'm still sealed. That shouldn't be possible!"
But no one answered.
No explanation came.
Only silence… and an odd, lingering feeling that something powerful now walked above him.
Back in his house, Saiki exhaled softly and pushed his range outward. Now, he scanned far beyond Jura Forest—across oceans, mountains, and continents.
"Let's see who the big players are."
In mere moments, he detected them.
Guy Crimson, burning with primordial chaos.
Milim Nava, raw destruction wrapped in childish glee.
Leon Cromwell, precise and divine.
Luminous Valentine, shrouded in grace and darkness.
Draguel, Velgrynd, Velzard, even the distant and strange aura of Rudra.
Each of them had power unlike anything from his world. And none of them used psychic energy. It was all magic. Skills. Divine force.
"These aren't ordinary people," Saiki thought, brows slightly furrowed. "These are walking nuclear warheads."
Even some humans surprised him. Knights, warriors, sword saints, archmages… each possessing absurd techniques and strengths.
"Wow. This is like an anime where everyone's broken."
After several more seconds of scanning, Saiki slowly opened his eyes.
He sat in silence.
No movement. No emotion.
Just one thought spinning in his head.
"So this world… is full of freaks too."
He looked around at his quiet little house. Birds chirped in the distance again, cautiously approaching now that his scan had ended.
But something inside him stirred.
"If there are this many powerful beings… chances are, they're going to notice me eventually."
"Which means..."
He sighed, rubbing his temple.
"So much for living a peaceful life."
He stood up and walked outside. The wind had picked up. Leaves blew across the clearing. The sun was already starting to dip past the trees.
"I need to come up with a plan," he said aloud to himself. "If I just sit here, they'll come to me eventually. That's how these stories go."
He raised a hand lazily. A piece of earth rose up like a chair beneath him. He sat.
"Do I hide? No, too late for that. My presence already messed up the whole atmosphere."
"Do I go to them first? No, that's annoying."
He thought for a long time.
Then, finally, he looked toward the sky.
"Maybe I should learn the rules of this world first," he said. "Before I break them by accident."
He closed his eyes again.
"Let's start small… gather information… and maybe…"
He sighed again.
"Just maybe I'll find a way to have coffee jelly in peace."