When the brightness subsided, she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as her vision adjusted. She found herself standing amidst a dense forest, the scent of damp earth and rustling leaves grounding her senses. The surroundings were eerily familiar. As she took in the landscape, realization dawned—this was the forest behind her hometown.
Hope surged within her as she made her way toward the town. But that hope was short-lived.
The moment her eyes met the scene ahead, words failed her. The entire town was engulfed in flames, thick smoke billowing into the sky. People ran in chaos, their screams piercing the air. Amidst the destruction, Demons marched with their armies, mercilessly attacking everything in their path.
Elara's heart pounded in her chest as the horror unfolded before her eyes. This wasn't the world she knew—this was a nightmare made real.
After witnessing the horrifying scene, Elara instinctively ran toward the burning town, her body moving faster than her thoughts. The sky was shrouded in smoke, turning day into night, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and ash. Screams echoed from every direction as terrified people fled, pursued by Demons who showed no mercy.
Elara's heart raced as she navigated through the chaos, determined to reach her house. She moved carefully. When she finally reached her home, a shock awaited her. It wasn't destroyed or touched by the carnage—it stood eerily intact, though weathered with age, as if abandoned long ago.
Before she could process the strange sight, a pained groan caught her attention. She turned to see a man crawling on the ground, his leg torn apart, blood pooling beneath him. He gasped in agony, his eyes desperate as they met hers.
"Please... help me," he begged weakly.
"What?.."she sounded in horror to his condition but then.
Without hesitation, Elara ran to him and knelt beside the injured man.
"This is bad," she murmured, eyes wide with panic.
"Help me... please," the man pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.
Elara quickly looked around for anything that could be useful—bandages, a weapon, anything—but there was nothing.
"Don't worry. I'll save you," she said with a determined smile, trying to steady her trembling hands.
Despite her fear clawing at her chest, she helped him up, letting him lean heavily against her shoulder. Together, they stumbled forward, moving as fast as they could. But it wasn't fast enough.
From behind, the demonic horde drew nearer—shadows stretching, buildings collapsing, and the roar of destruction growing louder with every step they took.
But just in few seconds their path was abruptly blocked.
A Demon leaped in front of her, landing with unsettling grace. He looked different from the others—no armor, no signs of allegiance to the invading army. His presence was strange, quite casual.
Elara's breath hitched as fear gripped her. Her eyes darted frantically, searching for an escape route. The man trembled like he had lost hope.
The Demon spoke, his voice smooth but laced with malice. "Don't you think you should be running for your own life first? What does that man mean to you?"
Elara was confused, as it was the first time she had ever spoken to a demon.
Elara's voice trembled as she demanded, "Who are you? What do you mean?"
The Demon tilted his head, a mocking smile curling his lips. "Don't worry, I'm nothing more than a mere spectator. Lucky for you, I don't eat humans," he added with a wicked tone.
Elara froze for a moment, stunned by what the demon had said. But she quickly composed herself.
"If you're really not going to eat us… then what do you want?" she asked, masking her fear behind a bold tone, trying to sound confident.
"Nothing more than an answer," the demon replied casually, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Elara narrowed her eyes. "Well, I don't need a reason to save a life," she said firmly.
With that, she stepped past him, shoulders stiff, every breath trembling beneath the surface. Her gaze never left the demon's as she moved, daring to walk beside the very creature that moments ago seemed like death itself.
Inside, her heart pounded — but she didn't let it show.
The Demon made no move to stop her but called out ominously, "If you truly wish to help… this won't be enough. Save yourself first, girl. Only then you can save anyone else. Right now, you're barely surviving. Carrying him—" he tilted his head with a faint smirk, "means choosing to let two lives fall instead of one."
Elara's heart pounded as his words echoed in her mind. But despite the weight of his warning, she pressed forward, step by step, refusing to abandon the man.
Elara's legs felt like lead, her breaths ragged and shallow, but she kept running, her determination pushing her beyond exhaustion. Sweat dripped down her face as the sound of pounding footsteps grew louder behind her. Three Demon soldiers were closing in, their guttural roars echoing through the burning streets.
The injured man clinging to her shoulder twisted his head to glance at their pursuers. His face paled, and a grim resolve flickered in his eyes. "This is it," he muttered, pain thick in his voice. "Today is my last day."
"No!" Elara protested, her voice shaky but resolute. "Don't give up! I can get us out of here!"
But the man gritted his teeth, his desperation overriding her words. With a sudden burst of strength, he shoved Elara away. They both tumbled to the ground, dust and ash swirling around them.
"I'm grateful for your courage," the man said, wincing as he tried to sit up. "But it seems the Demon was right. I won't let you die for me after all you've done. Please, go. Leave me here."
Elara's heart ached with conflict. "No... I can't just—"
"Go!" he roared, his voice breaking with urgency. "Don't waste this chance! At least one of us should survive."
Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to find words. The man's expression softened for a moment. "What's your name?" he asked, his voice faltering.
"Elara," she whispered, trembling.
A faint smile crossed his bloodied face. "Elara... Thank you for today. I'm Zoro." His gaze hardened. "Now run. Save your life."
Elara's chest tightened, but Zoro's pleading eyes left her no choice. Biting her lip to suppress a sob, she turned and sprinted away, each step fueled by guilt and grief. She couldn't bring herself to look back, knowing that Zoro had chosen to sacrifice himself so she could live.
Elara stumbled to the edge of the burning town, her legs barely able to carry her. Her lungs screamed for air as she doubled over, gasping. Smoke hung thick in the air, mingled with the acrid scent of blood and destruction. The chaos she had witnessed gnawed at her mind, leaving her shaken.
As she caught her breath, a grim realization dawned upon her. This must be the calamity Uncle Nathan warned me about... the end of humanity caused by a Demon invasion. It means I have stepped into the future.
And I can't leave for next some hours, traveling through time ruptures it , so I cant go back until one rupture heals itself, but will I survive that long here?
The weight of her error pressed heavily on her shoulders. If she failed to survive, all her efforts and Nathan's hopes would be in vain. She would die without making a single change to the fate of the world.
Determination flickered through her fear. I have to stay alive... no matter what.
Elara had no choice but to follow the other survivors as they fled deeper into the forest. The air was heavy with tension and grief, but the instinct to survive drove them forward. After hours of relentless running, she found a group gathering in the heart of the woods—a ragtag collection of eleven people, some wounded but determined to live.
Elara quietly joined them, observing the mix of faces. Among them were two young siblings, no older than 12 and 13, who had been separated from their parents. The group collectively decided to keep moving further before preparing any resources. Their destination was the Light Empire, a formidable human stronghold believed to have the strength to withstand the Demon invasion.
Alkalosis was the first town to fall to the Demons from the northern territory, Elara recalled grimly. The Light Empire stood as one of humanity's last hopes. While Demons were terrifyingly powerful, a rare few hunters were capable of defeating them. However, such warriors were hard to come by—many served the empire, while others wandered the lands. Magic, though a valuable asset, was also scarce among humans.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the group finally stopped to rest. Despite the chaos, some people showed remarkable resilience, encouraging and supporting others. However, a few were bitter and distant, their pain too raw to connect with strangers.
Elara found solace in the company of a few kind souls. Miranjo, a girl around her age, offered a friendly smile despite their dire situation. Marcus, a middle-aged man who had lost his family, showed incredible strength, comforting others even while carrying his own sorrow. Lara and Joe, the two young siblings, clung to each other for support. There was also an old man with a scientific demeanor—logical, sensible, and perhaps the most responsible among them.
As night fell, the group gathered raw materials and set up a makeshift camp beneath the canopy of trees.
"It seems we'll have to sleep out here tonight," Miranjo said as he laid down an armful of large leaves.
"I've brought some wood for the fire," Marcus added, placing the bundle beside them.
"No, we shouldn't use wood," Elara said quickly.
Before Marcus could ask why, the scientist uncle chimed in, adjusting his glasses with a calm smile.
"It'll give away our location to anything watching from the forest. But don't worry—I anticipated something like this."
He reached into his worn satchel and pulled out a compact metal device. "I brought an auto-heat cooker. No flames, no smoke. Just enough warmth and energy to cook and keep us alive."
A wave of relief passed through the group. They all smiled, comforted by the uncle's foresight and reliability.
"This is great… but how will we cook without food?" Marcus asked, his eyes flicking toward the darkening path. "Those two haven't come back yet. It's been too long already. Maybe they didn't find anything."
"We should wait a little longer," the uncle said gently.
But even after waiting well into the night, the two still hadn't returned.
They spent a long time searching, each of them growing more anxious with every passing minute. Thankfully, no demons had pursued them—at least, not yet. But when they finally found them, the sight that greeted them was grim.
Elara's heart sank the moment they stumbled upon the grim scene.
One of the missing men lay face down in a shallow stream, his limbs limp, his body eerily still as the cold water flowed around him. His clothes were torn, and his skin had turned pale and blue. There were no signs of struggle—no wounds, no blood—just the silence of a death too quiet to be natural.
A few steps ahead, the second man was in an even more harrowing state. His body lay crushed beneath a boulder the size of a carriage, bones twisted at unnatural angles. The sheer weight of the stone had flattened the ground beneath it. Yet there were no cliffs nearby, no signs of a landslide, nothing to suggest how it had ended up there. It hadn't fallen—it had been placed.
Elara's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted to the shadows beyond the trees, suddenly aware of how still the forest had become.
"This wasn't an accident," she whispered, voice shaking. "Something... did this."
The others stood frozen in disbelief. Even the ever-rational scientist uncle had nothing to say at first, his gaze locked on the stone as if trying to calculate its impossibility.
Only one thing was clear now:
They were not alone in these woods—
And something was watching.