Both of them stumbled back in fear, but it changed nothing.
When they turned around at the same time, everything surrounding them had completely changed. What lay before their eyes now was a blood-red sky, ancient shattered statues scattered all around, and massive ruined buildings stretching far into the distance.
Directly ahead of them stood the gates of a huge palace. They stood wide open, as if someone had left in a hurry and never come back.
Driven by instinct, Aron stepped back.
"How did we end up in a cursed place like this..." He looked at Zekai, his voice trembling. "This can't be real... right, Mr. Zekai?"
Zekai honestly couldn't tell whether this was a dream or reality either.
Just then, the tear in reality behind them closed on its own without leaving a single trace.
There was no way back. Whether they liked it or not, this was definitely not Earth.
Zekai wondered if it was Just the two of them? trapped here or if there were others like them. "Aron. Let's see if anyone else is trapped here like us."
Aron nodded reluctantly. "Huh!"
They turned to check if there was any other way out, but everything behind them had been crushed into dust. Every path was blocked.
Zekai crouched by the rubble. "Whatever destroyed this place might still be here."
After a short silence, he looked toward the open palace gates. "We have no choice. We have to go inside this palace."
Aron's face went pale. "Then why are we still standing here? Let's go in."
They stepped into the palace courtyard, looking around alertly in hopes of finding some way to escape.
Aron fumbled around in his pockets for something. "I left my phone on the counter. I need to call Sara and tell her."
Aron's naive talk annoyed Zekai. "Hey, do you even realize the situation we're in?! Are we here on vacation or what?!"
Aron raised his hands slightly. "Alright, alright, don't get worked up."
Zekai composed himself. He immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket. Would there be a signal here? He needed to contact someone!
The screen lit up. 1 missed call from Grandpa Marcus.
The time showed 8:43 AM.
He stared at the screen.
Suddenly, the numbers started to glitch.
8:43 AM.
9:30 PM.
8:43 AM.
9:30 PM.
Aron leaned in to look. "Did the time just change?"
The clock jumped back and forth uncontrollably. It refused to stay still, which irritated Zekai even more. "Tsk..."
Even though neither of them blinked once, morning kept turning into night, and night kept turning back into morning.
His knuckles turned white from how tightly he gripped the phone.
A second later, though, he relaxed his grip. Panicking wasn't going to fix anything.
Aron handed something over to Zekai. "You left this on the counter."
It was the tarot box.
Zekai took it without a word, but the fact that Aron had gotten dragged into this bothered him.
At the same time, having someone else here made him feel like he wasn't completely alone. Still, he hated that Aron had been pulled into this danger because of him.
Zekai looked at Aron. "Because you ran after me, you got dragged into this mess too."
Aron didn't complain. He just laughed nervously. "As long as I'm with you, nothing will happen to me." He looked around the empty courtyard. "Besides, standing here being scared isn't going to help us."
Zekai decided not to dwell on it either. "You really never change, do you, no matter the situation?" He added, "Still putting others first!"
Aron scratched his head with a grin. "Guess I've been like this since I was born!"
Aron looked out toward the strange horizon. "Do you think this is still Earth?"
Zekai looked back at the view of the ruined city. "Maybe." He paused for a moment. "Or... it could be something else wearing the face of Earth."
The words slipped out beyond his control. Once spoken, he couldn't take them back.
Another dimension.
If that was true, neither of them knew what kind of world they had just stepped into.
Even worse. They had no idea if whatever lived here wanted to keep them alive.
Zekai clenched his fists tightly.
Thump.
Heat flared in his pocket.
To see what was happening, he immediately pulled both objects out.
The tarot box was pulsing with a faint red light.
On the other hand, the black cube was completely dark and cold.
One reacted; the other did nothing.
One pulsed warm against his palm. The other stayed dead. That was worse than either glowing.
"...Aron."
"Yeah?"
Zekai raised both items in his palm. "Does either of these look like it's glowing to you?"
Aron stared at them closely, then shook his head. "No. They look pretty normal to me."
To Zekai, the red light was clear. He shifted his attention to the black cube. Suspicion coiled tighter in his gut. Both of these were in my grandfather's pocket. Why does one give off a signal only to me, while the other does nothing at all?
Is it reacting like this just because it's in my hands?
To clear his doubts, Zekai held out his hands to give both items to Aron.
Aron blinked. "Why are you giving them to me?"
"Hold onto them for a bit."
"...Alright."
Aron took the cube. Even when he touched it, no light appeared. Zekai studied his face for any change. Nothing. He looked completely normal.
So it didn't show any reaction to him either.
Connected, maybe. Or just two things that happened to end up in the same pocket. Was this black cube just waiting for the right moment?
Zekai's mind told him there had to be a reason for this. Yet his gut told him to throw it away.
Don't doubt it... It might be useful when the time comes. I need to keep it.
Still, something in him refused to let it go. He figured if he didn't keep it on him, he wouldn't obsess over it.
"I can't hold onto both of these! So you keep the black cube. I'll keep the tarot box."
"I'll take it back from you later when I need it."
Zekai handed it over without making Aron suspicious. Besides, he thought that if he kept it himself, he might lose it at some point. If he needed it again, he could just get it back from Aron.
Aron slipped it into his pocket. "Alright. I'll keep it!"
Zekai nodded. "Hmm. But don't lose it!?"
Before he could say another word, a chill ran through his whole body. Zekai froze on the spot.
His eyes immediately started scanning the courtyard.
Shattered statues. Dried-up fountains. Overgrown vines everywhere. Piles of rubble.
His gaze locked onto one specific statue. His expression completely changed. His boots stopped dead before taking another step.
"Mr. Zekai?"
Zekai didn't say a word.
A tiny crack had formed on the stone face of that statue. This statue was almost completely intact, untouched by the ruin scattered around it. It wore ancient armor that had grown smooth with age. It stood tall and firm. Like a warrior who had never stopped guarding a dead city.
A massive stone snake was wrapped tightly around its neck.
He could count individual scales, each one carved sharp enough to cut a finger. Its head rested right against the statue's cheek.
Its mouth hung open, rows of tiny stone teeth lining the inside.
A guardian statue.
Zekai hadn't noticed it before.
On the other side of the courtyard stood another statue.
Between its hands, a massive sword was driven deep into the ground.
That statue, however, remained completely motionless. It didn't move an inch.
Zekai's fingers tightened around the tarot box. Every nerve in him said run.
"Aron."
"What?"
"Don't move. Something's wrong!"
All the color drained from Aron's face in fear. "What do you mean?!"
Zekai didn't answer.
The head of that guardian statue had now turned straight toward them.
Creeeak.
Another crack exploded across its neck.
The stone snake slowly lifted its head off the statue's shoulder.
Its stone eyes suddenly opened. And then the guardian statue smiled.
Both of them stood frozen, fear locking their legs in place.
Zekai's jaw tightened.
"Before, it was facing the palace," he whispered.
His eyes stayed fixed on the statue. "Now it's looking right at us."
Aron tried to laugh out of fear, but the sound couldn't get past his throat.
"Mr. Zekai... that thing scares me."
"Don't be scared. When I say so, run inside the palace."
Aron looked past the statue toward the deep darkness behind the open palace gates.
Without realizing it, he took a step back.
"I feel like... something else inside is watching us too?"
Zekai felt the exact same way. "Whatever it is, we have no choice but to go inside."
Aron couldn't argue anymore.
Ever since they arrived, a dead silence had hung over the courtyard since they arrived. Now it felt different.
It was no longer empty.
It was waiting.
Suddenly—
The snake moved.
Creeeak.
Its head snapped free from the guardian statue's shoulder.
A bright green light flashed inside its stone eyes.
In the very next second—It lunged for Aron's face!
Zekai shouted at the top of his lungs, "Aron!"
Aron froze completely. His mind went blank. His hands refused to move.
The snake's jaws were already just inches away from his face.
✦ End of Chapter 2 — The Fallen Realm ✦