Jake wasn't all that surprised by the revelation. If anything, it fit too neatly with everything he had seen so far. A hidden cottage buried beyond a forest dense enough to swallow sound. No roads. No markers. No signs of trade or traffic. The world itself seemed to conspire to keep this place forgotten.
Luna, however, looked visibly shaken.
"Why do the people of this world want to kill us so badly?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but her hands were clenched in her lap.
Jake understood the feeling. Being dragged into another world was terrifying enough. Learning that its dominant civilization considered you an abomination was something else entirely.
Lucas leaned back against the table, crossing his arms. "You can thank Qin Shi Huang for that. Or at least, his interpretation of us."
He gestured vaguely, as if pointing toward the wider world beyond the cottage walls.
"When he arrived, magic was everywhere. Not rare. Not special. Everyone used it. Farmers enchanted tools. Kids lit fires by accident. It was natural. Then a beyonder shows up who doesn't follow the same rules."
Rowan nodded. "The records say Qin believed beyonders were walking disasters. People born with magic beyond reason."
"And he wasn't entirely wrong," Lucas added. "He himself had some form of time manipulation. Slowing moments. Rewinding seconds. Maybe more. Hard to separate truth from legend."
Jake frowned. "So he assumed all beyonders were like that."
"Exactly," Lucas said. "But gifts don't work that way. They scale. They respond to the strength of the world itself. Back when magic was rampant, beyonders were gods. Now?" He shrugged. "We barely scrape the edge of superhuman."
Luna tilted her head. "So all of this," she gestured to the cottage, the tools, the weapons, "it's all handmade?"
"Not quite," Lucas said. "The empire enforces the anti beyonder laws. That's the key detail." He walked to the window and pushed the shutters open.
Outside, the field stretched toward the forest, mist clinging low to the ground.
"This world is massive. The landmass we're on is comparable to Pangea back on Earth. Technically, it's an island, but calling it that doesn't do it justice."
Jake winced internally. He had joked about being on an island earlier. Apparently, the universe had listened.
"The farther you get from the capital, the weaker imperial authority becomes," Lucas continued. "Out here, people have real problems. Crops failing. Bandits. Rebel factions. Monster incursions. Whether or not you're a beyonder ranks pretty low on the list."
Rowan snorted. "Most villagers just care if you can help fix a fence or swing a blade."
Jake felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. At least he wouldn't be executed on sight.
"So," Lucas said, turning back to them, "welcome to a world where you can't go home, magic exists in a broken form, the only empire wants you dead, and the rest of the world might tolerate you if you're useful."
He smiled. "Any questions before we test your gifts?"
Jake shook his head. His mind was already overloaded.
Luna raised her hand slightly. "Yeah. One."
Lucas looked at her expectantly.
"Why are you only wearing a pot and a loincloth?" she asked. "I get the reference, but that seems incredibly impractical."
Lucas grinned, wide and unapologetic.
"I don't plan on getting hit," he said. "Why would I wear armor?"
Rowan laughed, deep and booming.
Jake leaned back into the couch, staring at the ceiling.
This world was insane.
And somehow, this was only the beginning.