Chapter 1

Another explosion echoed through the air, originating from the tiny, cozy cabin nestled in the heart of a vast forest, surrounded by towering mountains. But this forest wasn't just any ordinary woodland—nothing in this world was. In fact, the planet itself was so small that it could be circumnavigated in just five days on foot. It was tiny, almost impossibly so.

This was Bel's home, a planet she had crafted herself. From the tiniest blades of grass to the towering mountains, everything was forged with arcane magic. The land was scattered with peculiar items, relics and oddities she had collected throughout her travels. It was a quiet, secluded place, perfect for conducting the kind of research Bel thrived on.

"It's another dud, huh?" Sol, in his original form, sat lazily in front of Bel's latest "experiment," shielding his face with his staff as yet another explosion sent debris into the air.

"Looks like it," Bel answered nonchalantly, flipping through the pages of a book, her mind still working through the mystery of what had gone wrong.

"I don't understand why you'd want to create a flying pig," Sol grumbled, wiping ash from his skin, his dark complexion now even darker from the soot. "Is all this really necessary? Why not just take a pig and give it wings?"

"Per commission, I have to save this specie. It's important for me to understand their biology," Bel said, her voice cool. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand. It's more complex than it looks."

"Did you just call me stupid... master?" Sol asked, his voice laced with mock hurt.

"I never said that," Bel replied without missing a beat.

Heartbroken, Sol transformed back into his dog form with a dramatic whine, tail between his legs as he trotted away from the cabin.

"Sol, come on, I didn't mean it like that!" Bel called out, watching him go. "It's just... too complicated to explain."

As Bel stepped outside the cabin, the world around her seemed to come alive in a chorus of song. The trees swayed, the grass rustled, and the flowers swayed gently in the breeze, as if they were all celebrating her presence. It was a welcome that felt almost personal, as if every part of this world rejoiced in seeing her. Without needing to search, a large vine rose from the ground, curling toward her and lifting her into the air, carrying her effortlessly toward Sol.

There, nestled beneath a massive, bear-like creature, Sol lay curled up with a red scarf draped over his form. The creature, equally asleep, gave the scene a serene, peaceful air. Sol's feelings hadn't really been hurt, he'd simply sought an excuse to escape, to sleep in peace.

As the vine gently lowered Bel to the ground, it gave a cheerful little wiggle, as if pleased by its task. Bel patted it in thanks, watching it retreat back into the earth with a kind of contentment.

"Sol, I know you're just pretending to sleep," she said, her voice teasing.

There was no response from the dog. However, the beads of sweat forming on his forehead gave him away. The dog let out a soft whine, rolling over onto his paws in defeat, finally giving up on his pretend sleep. 

"It's a dud again. That means we'll have to travel and find a new ingredient to make it work, right?" Sol said, his tone dripping with reluctant complaint.

"I guess so," Bel said with a soft smile, her fingers gently brushing over Sol's fur. "We'll never reach a different outcome if we keep doing the same exact thing all the time."

"Where are we headed?" Sol asked, his voice deepening as he transformed back into his original form. His dark skin seemed to shimmer, and his wavy, burnt-orange hair cascaded down his shoulders like flames caught in the wind.

His sharp red eyes, always sharp and focused. His body, marked with old scars that told stories of battles past, looked both imposing and weathered. His maroon scarf shifted into a flowing cape that billowed dramatically in the breeze, following the wind's every move.

Normally, Sol wouldn't have been able to transform on his own, his ability to shift forms was limited by the constraints of the world he inhabited. But this is Bel's world, and in this realm, the rules were different. Here, Bel's magic flowed freely, and the boundaries that confined him in other places didn't apply. As her familiar, he was granted a privilege unlike any other, freedom.It was a gift, one he treasured, but one that also reminded him of the deep bond between him and Bel.

Bel wasted no time, summoning a book with a flick of her wrist as if she had been waiting for this exact question. The book materialized in her hands, its pages already fluttering open under her guidance. She flipped through them swiftly until she landed on the right page, then turned the book toward Sol, her pale golden eyes full of intrigue.

"I want to try this," she said, her voice carrying a note of quiet excitement. "An ever-glowing ball of mana."

Sol leaned in, squinting at the illustration before raising a skeptical brow. "Ever-glowing ball of mana? Never heard of it. Sounds weird. Does it have a name?"

Bel shook her head. "It was never mentioned what it's called," she admitted. "But I have a faint idea where we might find it."

Her eyebrows twitched slightly—a subtle but unmistakable sign of her excitement. Sol recognized that look instantly. Whatever this "ball of mana" was, it had already captivated her. And that meant one thing: they were going after it.

With a sigh that was half tired, half resignation, Sol crossed his arms. "Let me guess... it's in some dangerous, unexplored place, isn't it?"

Bel's lips curled into a small smile. "Maybe."

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Riding atop Sol's flying cloud, Bel gazed down at the pitch-black planet below. At first glance, it almost resembled a black hole, a void that devoured all light. But upon closer inspection, faint pulses of energy flickered across its surface, revealing the presence of life—entities moving, shifting, thriving in the darkness.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Sol asked, his voice uneasy as he hovered beside her, one hand gripping the edge of the cloud as if to steady himself.

Unlike Bel, Sol had never grown accustomed to traveling between dimensions. The sensation unsettled him, no matter how many times they did it.

Dimensional traversal was a rare and dangerous arcane art, one considered taboo in many worlds due to its immense power, and the catastrophic consequences if it fell into the wrong hands. It was a knowledge that couldn't be learned from books, only inherited. Bel's master had been one of the few grand mages to wield it, and now, that legacy had passed on to her.

She had spent years mastering it, refining it, pushing it beyond what even her late teacher had achieved. Conjuring wormholes—tearing through space itself, was a skill few could even afford thinking. She could create two types: one that allowed others to pass through freely without her presence, and another that required her physical touch, transporting anything in contact with her and herself.

But what set her apart from others who had wielded this knowledge was her precision. While her teacher's wormholes were powerful yet imprecise, Bel's wormholes could pinpoint exact locations. The only factors that could throw her off were miscalculations in her prerequisites, or the interference of forces greater than herself. Beings that she encountered a few times but never confronted.

There were legends of wormholes that could rip through time itself, but even with Bel's confidence in her abilities, she knew that was a realm beyond her reach. The ruler of time was something she could neither challenge nor comprehend, at least, not yet.

For now, her focus was here, on this enigmatic, abyssal planet. And the ever-glowing ball of mana that supposedly lay hidden within.

"Let's go down, Sol," Bel commanded softly.

Without hesitation, Sol guided his cloud downward, descending toward the pitch-dark surface of the foreign planet. The atmosphere felt thick, heavy, as if the very air carried an unseen weight. Despite the eerie silence, Bel remained composed.

As a precaution, she refrained from summoning any light—no torches, no flames, nothing that might disturb whatever lurked within the darkness. Instead, she murmured an incantation under her breath, weaving a subtle spell around herself and Sol. A faint shimmer passed over them, granting them both the ability to see through the void.

It wasn't a particularly powerful spell, just enough to pierce through the overwhelming darkness. But as the world around them came into view, Bel and Sol found themselves staring at an endless, barren wasteland.

There was nothing. No trees, no structures, not even a hint of movement. Just an empty, desolate expanse stretching infinitely in every direction.

Sol exhaled, his sharp red eyes scanning the landscape. "This place is empty," he muttered, gripping his staff instinctively. "Are you sure the mana whatever ball is here?"

Bel remained quiet for a moment, her pale golden eyes carefully observing the land before them. Something had to be here. The book had pointed her to this place, and if there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was that ancient knowledge rarely lied.

"There's more to this place than what we see," she finally said. "We just have to find it."

Bel was about to take her first step forward when a faint sound reached her ears. It was barely noticeable, almost swallowed by the oppressive silence of the planet. Her body tensed instinctively, and without hesitation, she moved toward the source of the noise.

As she approached, she found herself standing at the edge of a massive crack in the land, its jagged surface stretching endlessly in both directions. Only then did she realize, they were standing on higher ground. Below them, hidden beneath the veil of darkness, were entities.

Hundreds, no, thousands of humanoid figures shuffled through the depths, their movements uncoordinated and disorganized, as if they wandered without purpose. Their skin was pitch-black, textured almost like scales, blending seamlessly with the void around them.

But their eyes, their eyes were wide open, stark and unnatural in contrast to their dark bodies. They were unblinking, staring into nothingness.

Unlike Bel, who analyzed them with curiosity, Sol assessed them with caution. His gaze traced their every movement, reading the flow of energy within them. He could sense it, dark, muted, yet undeniably present.

Though the creatures moved aimlessly, Sol knew better than to dismiss them as harmless. The way their bodies shifted, the eerie stillness in their unblinking eyes, it was unsettling. His fingers twitched, gripping his staff, instincts sharpened by years of battle.

"If they attack, I can take on a few hundreds, maybe more" he calculated silently. He wasn't worried about himself. No, his concern was for Bel—not because he doubted her strength, but because her mind was always more focused on discovery than on battle. If a fight broke out, she'd be too absorbed in studying them than to dodge the first strike.

He glanced at Bel. "What do you think?" he asked, his voice low. "Are they just wandering... or guarding something?"

"I'm not sure," Bel answered, her golden eyes flickering with curiosity. "It doesn't look like they're following a path."

Something inside her urged her to go down, to get closer, to see if these creatures could speak, even though they appeared to have no mouths.

Before she could act on her impulse, a voice whispered from behind them.

"What are you doing here? Are you lost?"

Sol reacted instantly. His body moved on instinct, staff swinging toward the source of the voice with deadly precision.

Barely—just barely, did the figure avoid the strike.

"Do not hurt me!"

Unlike the creatures below, this one looked undeniably more human. His form was clear, far different from the vacant, aimless wanderers beneath them. And yet both Sol and Bel did not feel his presence.

Bel and Sol both knew that he spoke a language different from their own. Under normal circumstances, understanding him would have been impossible. However, the two of them possessed a unique blessing, one not born of arcane knowledge, but of divine power.

A demigod they had encountered on their journey had granted them the ability to understand and communicate in any language that had ever existed. A sacred gift, separate from magic, yet invaluable beyond measure.

But that was a story for another time.

Bel took a step forward, lowering her hands to show she meant no harm. Her golden eyes remained steady, filled with curiosity rather than hostility.

"We don't intend to hurt you," she assured him. "But we do want to know—where are we? And who are you?"

Sol, however, did not lower his guard. His grip on his staff remained firm, his sharp red eyes scrutinizing the stranger.

The strange man's eyes scanned Bel and Sol from head to foot, his gaze lingering longer now, clearly on high alert. They were vastly different from him, his features, darker and more muted, stood in stark contrast to their appearance. His expression faltered as he processed the sight of them, and his voice trembled slightly when he asked, "What are you?"

Before Bel could answer, Sol's patience snapped. His short temper flared, and with a swift motion, he extended his staff, the end of it gently pressing against the man's neck. His red eyes burned with intensity, his voice cold and commanding. "Who are you?" he demanded; his tone dangerous.

The air around them seemed to dance with tension as Sol's grip tightened on the staff, ready to strike if necessary. Bel, however, stood calmly, watching the exchange unfold. She didn't believe the man meant them harm—but she understood Sol's need to be cautious.

"It is only right that we answer first. I am Bel, and this is my companion, Sol," Bel said softly, her voice unwavering. She didn't ask Sol to lower his staff, sensing that the tension in the air was palpable enough to demand caution.

"There is only one guide. Why are there another two here?" the stranger's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze flicking between them as he murmured under his breath.

Bel's keen wolf-like hearing, inherited from her lineage, picked up the whispered words without effort. Her pale golden eyes flickered for a brief moment, and she didn't flinch or give away that she had heard. But she registered the implication of the man's words. One guide? 

She tilted her head slightly, her curiosity deepening.

"Only one guide?" she repeated quietly, though it wasn't a question aimed directly at the stranger. More to herself, as she tried to piece together the significance of his statement. She glanced at Sol briefly, her mind full of curiosity.

The tension hung thick in the air. Sol, still holding his staff near the man's neck, didn't break his glare. "What does that mean?" he growled. "Explain yourself."

The stranger seemed to hesitate, and then his gaze switched from Sol to Bel, before speaking, this time more clearly. "You are not supposed to be here," he said, his tone now more certain, even though there was a hint of unease.

"Only one guide... Only one... Why are there another two of you?"