The private jet hummed softly above the clouds. Inside, only four people occupied the space—Reinhard, Kael, Elizabeth, and the pilot, sealed behind an anti-sound door that split silence between them.
Elizabeth leaned back in her seat, gazing out at the endless blue. "Have you done your manifestation today?"
Reinhard cracked a grin. "Right here. Right now."
He raised his hand dramatically, eyes burning. "Four hundred and thirty-eight days until the first step of unification. By my hand, Reinhard Haygram—the King of YangPass—this world will know peace and unity once more."
Kael groaned. "Corny as hell."
"Shut up," Reinhard shot back.
Kael smirked. "You never ask how. Probably because you can't. You talk about uniting all species when humans can't even cooperate with themselves. Out there, there are dozens of species stronger, faster, more evolved—and not a single one built to coexist. Evolution shaped them for survival, not peace."
His tone shifted, half-rant, half-sarcasm. "Even humans aren't one species anymore. Every few generations, we diverge further. We cherry-pick similarities, call it 'humanity,' and pretend the rest doesn't exist. But the gaps are widening. Two continents under partial human control, countless others lost. Civilizations blink out every decade, and you still dream of uniting them all? Good luck."
Reinhard stopped listening halfway through. His eyes were glued to the ocean below—his first time seeing it. A shimmering infinity of blue, swallowing his thoughts whole.
Kael noticed the empty look. "Are you even listening?"
Reinhard didn't answer. His body heard, his mind didn't. The ocean was louder. Maybe Kael's words would return to him one day, when they mattered.
Elizabeth wasn't even pretending to follow the debate. She was pressed against the window, awestruck. Compared to this vast expanse, her island and life felt microscopic.
Hours later, they descended over the Continent of Hawkins.
At the checkpoint, a gorilla-like humanoid in a pressed uniform sat at the verification desk. His golden eyes flicked over their papers lazily.
Reinhard took in the view beyond—towering trees scraping the sky, forests so dense the ground was barely visible. Everything glowed green, alive, vast. Yet, something felt off. Too still. No insects. No birds. Just silence and chlorophyll.
The gorilla handed back their documents. "Good luck on your tour. If you meet any ruling species here, keep your distance. They're… unpredictable. Even with peace treaties, instincts can override reason." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "Like when you're studying but your brain just wants a snack."
Elizabeth frowned. "That's… not very comforting."
He stared at her. "You want comforting lies or useful truth?"
She blinked. "What?"
Their pilot stepped forward, giving the gorilla a cold stare. The creature grunted and muttered, "My apologies."
As they walked away, the gorilla thought to himself, Humans with that kind of restraint… their society must be a strange one. Either a utopia or a prison. I wonder which.
Outside, Reinhard stretched. "We sure don't see worlds like this back home."
Kael checked his holo-device. "Oryn's four kilometers out. We'll strike with combined aura when we're close. Let's show Hawkins what YangPass-trained humans can do."
Reinhard and Elizabeth grinned. "You bet."
Minutes later, a tremor of power hit them.
Elizabeth's expression tightened. "That aura… it's massive. Bigger than anything I've felt."
Kael waved it off. "Relax. Oryn's all brawn, no brain. Aura overflow—nothing refined. Can't weaponize it properly."
They moved through the brush, weapons ready. But Oryn sensed them first.
It burst from the trees—a twelve-foot behemoth with eight legs, the front pair ending in claws thick as blades. It lunged. Reinhard barely rolled away, the strike carving through the earth where he'd stood.
"Reinhard!" Elizabeth shouted.
"I'm fine!"
The trio raised their arms in formation, aura flaring outward. Three beams of energy linked, forming a shimmering cage around the creature. Oryn roared, slamming into the barrier, trying to tear through.
Reinhard dashed forward, anchoring his aura to its legs. "Kael, now!"
Kael concentrated, his aura twisting into a narrow, high-pressure stream. Within it—an injector. It shot forward, piercing Oryn's chest. The beast convulsed, roared once more, then went limp, paralyzed.
Elizabeth laughed, breathless. "We did it! YangPass Aura Trio, undefeated!"
Reinhard slumped against a tree, exhausted.
Elizabeth smirked down at him. "You're sitting there just to stare at me, aren't you?"
Reinhard deadpanned, "Who the hell wants to stare at his own sister's boobs?"
Kael sighed. "Can we not do this right now?"
"Yeah, yeah," they both replied.
And just like that, the trio turned back toward Noren Island—mission complete, though none of them realized this journey had only just begun.