Half-mad

According to the ones who sent them inside the Rift, the city's food supplies would only last several months, half a year at most. No one knew how long the apocalypse would last, or if the city was on its dying throes.

The entire reconnaissance squad entered the Rift knowing they might die. 

If there's a slim chance that the Rift was not as dangerous as expected…

If there's a possibility of blocking the monsters before they could enter Earth…

If there are edible resources inside the Rift…

The high-ranking officer who issued this mission must be half-mad.

Well, Ryujin also counted as half-mad to have voluntarily signed up for this.

But then again, when behind you were wide-eyed starving people trying their best to hold onto hope, one had no choice but to take risks.

Especially for an outsider like him.

Lifting his dagger, Ryujin braced for impact. 

From experience, the white-scaled monsters' first instinctive attack was always their long club-like tails. Ryujin had seen plenty of people die that way.

He was wrong. 

HIs squad was not under attack.

What welcomed them were not the wasteland littered by corpses they expected on the other side of the Rift, nor bloodthirsty creatures raring to pound them into minced meat. 

Rather than fear, what Ryujin sensed from his colleagues was awe and delight.

Only then did he get a glimpse of the source of their strange reaction. 

It was a majestic sight only seen in fantasy movies. 

"What on earth…" he heard someone say.

"You still think we're on Earth?" another laughed. There was relief, as well as confusion in his tone. "I bet my month's pay, it's the World Tree in that elf game my son plays."

"This looks like Yggdrasil of the Norse myths."

"Wow, you read?"

"And you don't?"

"Shut up, you two. Doesn't change the fact this place is beautiful."

Ryujin ignored their easy banter.

In front of them was a humongous tree, one so large it might as well be at least a hundred-story building at this point. There had to be thousands of branches, the thickest part even wider than the length of a twelve-wheeler truck. 

The tree was so enormous, it took him time to realize they were standing on its roots, not the ground. His squad—a group of three combat-type Awakened, three civilian soldiers, plus him—were akin to ants standing on the uneven roots. 

Even with Ryujin craning his neck, it was impossible to see the top of the tree's crown.

Only, is this something we can scale with our current equipment? How do we climb? Does it have fruits? In the first place, is this tree a living organism?

With rough bark the color of glass and leaves that glowed like crystals hit by morning light, it was easy to guess this kind of…creature, no, plant life was not one that should exist on Earth.

A crystallized tree unheard of in the real world. 

Yggdrasil. That's a good guess. 

Seems like the researchers who saw them off were correct in their hypothesis.

The Rift they entered was a 'door' to another dimension.

"No visuals on any hostile!"

"Stay in formation, eyes sharp, and follow my lead. We don't know what's out here!"

"Yes, Captain."

The leader took out a thermal scanner and shook his head. "Equipment don't work. Jack, check for oxygen."

One of the soldiers took out a lighter. It produced a flame.

"Looks like there's oxygen!"

One of the Awakened held a cage with a tiny mouse inside. The animal acted normally, with no distress in its behavior despite being exposed to the unfamiliar place.

"Captain, Sir, Baby Ruth, I mean, Number 001 remains alive!" the Awakened called out to the largest man in their squad.

"You named a lab rat Baby Ruth?" 

"What," the Awakened shot back, "you want me to rename you too?"

After doing a few more tests, the group agreed it was safe to breathe in the air of this world.

Ryujin testily removed the full-face helmet and let out a shaky breath. It was more comfortable moving around this way. The others did too.

Good, he could breath without difficulty. There's indeed oxygen in the air. It even smelled refreshing, like the air one would find in the countryside. 

However, there was no scent of grass or soil. There was no scent at all.

Strange.

Ryujin looked around.

No monsters in immediate sight.

Was this Rift not what the same 'door' the monsters used to enter Earth? Were they randomly transported elsewhere?

The Rift glowing behind them could not give an answer.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. The squad could not let their guards down mere minutes of entry in this strange new world.

His companions were also warily observing their surroundings.

Nelson, the captain and leader of the reconnaissance squad, spoke towards his subordinates. 

"Be it phones, radio, or cameras, any form of technology broke down and couldn't be used.

"Yuu, record. Day 0 of entry, no sighting of living organisms aside from a single tree. Describe the tree on your notes.

"Jack, step back into the Rift. Upon return, seek Dr. Jones before reporting to the Chief Commander…"

The tall soldier called Jack saluted before walking towards the Rift.

All of them waited with bated breaths.

… until he bounced back like there's an elastic barrier over the portal.

Fuck.

"Fuck," Nelson echoed my sentiments. "So we can't leave the way we entered. It's one-way."

Jack slowly got back up, his face pale. The other soldier holding a notepad was visibly shaking.

Jack made several more attempts, and even the three Awakened with them tried, but the Rift remained unmoved.

Nelson continued to issue orders and speak about several points of observation towards the soldier called Yuu, as if he felt not a hint of fear or worry. 

That composure was what made him a capable leader.

After Yuu finished recording things, Nelson let out a sigh.

"Don't worry. Since there are multiple Rifts that appeared in our city, maybe there are multiple Rifts here too. Monsters entered Earth through them. We can use those to leave this place."

Hopefully.

Ryujin scanned the sea of crystallized roots once again.

Or not.