Light swallowed everything.
Nolan Graham couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed.
One moment, he had been standing in his room—phone in hand, the quiet hum of the real world around him.
The next—
A blinding radiance consumed him whole.
When the light faded, the air changed.
It felt heavier.
Warmer.
Alive.
Nolan blinked slowly.
Stone.
That was the first thing he noticed.
Cold marble beneath his feet. Towering pillars stretching toward a ceiling painted with gold and symbols he couldn't understand.
And people.
Dozens of them.
No—
Hundreds.
Knights in silver armor lined both sides of a massive hall. Their swords gleamed under torchlight, their posture rigid, disciplined.
At the far end—
A throne.
And upon it sat a man crowned in gold.
"…Where… am I?"
Nolan's voice came out quieter than he expected.
"You stand in the Kingdom of Lioness."
The voice was deep.
Commanding.
The king.
Nolan's eyes sharpened.
"Lioness…?"
He looked around again. The armor. The architecture. The atmosphere.
This wasn't a set.
This wasn't a dream.
"You have been summoned," the king continued, "from another world."
Silence.
Nolan let out a small breath.
"…You're serious."
A step forward.
Metal echoed against stone as a knight approached, then knelt before him.
Not in threat.
In respect.
"Hero," the knight said.
The word landed heavily.
Nolan frowned slightly.
"I think you've got the wrong person."
A soft voice broke through the tension.
Gentle.
Clear.
"No."
Nolan turned.
Standing beside the throne was a young woman.
Elegant.
Composed.
Her presence alone felt different from everyone else in the room.
Her eyes met his.
And for a brief moment—
Everything else faded.
"You are the one we summoned."
She stepped forward.
Graceful.
Calm.
"Welcome, Hero from another world."
Nolan studied her silently.
There was no mockery in her expression.
No doubt.
Only certainty.
"…And if I say no?" he asked.
A faint ripple moved through the hall.
The knights stiffened.
But the girl—
She only smiled.
Softly.
"Then you would still be here."
That answer told him everything.
Nolan exhaled.
"…Right."
The king rose from his throne.
The entire hall seemed to shift with the movement.
"Our world stands on the brink of destruction," he declared.
"The Demon Lord threatens all life. Entire kingdoms have already fallen."
His gaze locked onto Nolan.
"You have been chosen to save us."
A pause.
"And in return…"
The king spread his arms slightly.
"You will be granted power beyond imagination."
The air grew tense.
A mage stepped forward, holding a staff glowing with faint blue light.
Ancient symbols began to form in the air.
Nolan felt it before he saw it.
Something—
Entering him.
Not pain.
Not exactly.
But a pressure.
A presence.
His vision blurred for a second.
Then—
Clarity.
He looked down at his hands.
Something had changed.
"…What did you just do?"
The mage lowered his staff.
"A gift," he said.
The king's voice followed.
"You now possess a unique ability."
Nolan's heart beat slightly faster.
"What kind of ability?"
The king smiled.
"The power to grow stronger with every enemy you defeat."
Silence fell.
Even without understanding everything—
Nolan knew.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't balanced.
That was dangerous.
Across the hall, the young woman—the princess—watched him quietly.
Their eyes met again.
And this time—
There was something else in hers.
Not just hope.
Concern.
As if she already knew—
Something would go wrong.
Nolan slowly clenched his fist.
A new world.
A new power.
A role he never asked for.
Hero.
The word echoed in his mind.
He didn't know it yet—
But the moment he accepted that title…
Would be the moment everything began to fall apart.