The Lord’s Manor of Avlas stood as a testament to the town’s rugged history. It was a structure of plain, grey stone, weathered by centuries of mountain winds, with heavy timber beams where the raw wood grain still bled through the stains. Inside the main hall, there was no gold leaf, no silk tapestries, and no unnecessary ornamentation to distract from its purpose: endurance.

  Seated in the grand high-backed chair at the head of the long hall was the King. Having traveled from the distant Royal Capital, he looked entirely out of place in such a functional room, yet he sat with his legs crossed and his posture relaxed, as if he were lounging in a private garden rather than a seat of power. His eyes, sharp and perpetually amused, rested on the Lord of Avlas, who remained kneeling on the cold stone floor before him.

  “To conduct an inspection in person... You certainly continue to work hard, Your Majesty,” the Lord said. His voice was stiff, echoing slightly against the vaulted ceiling.

  “Even a King needs a break sometimes. Besides, I found myself wanting to see the face of an old friend. Is that so wrong?” The King shrugged lightly, a carefree, almost boyish smile playing on his lips.

  “We are still in the middle of an official audience,” the Lord reminded him, his tone dry. “Please, at least attempt to maintain some level of royal decorum until the servants are dismissed.”

  “Oh, it’s fine, isn't it?” The King reached out and grabbed a thick ledger from the pile on the nearby table. He flipped through the vellum pages with a practiced, dismissive speed, his eyes skimming the columns of trade figures and mana-stone yields. After only a few seconds, he shut the book with a resonant thud. “I’ve reviewed the records. Everything is in order. Avlas is thriving under your hand.”

  “Understood. Everyone, clear the room. Now.” The Lord cleared his throat and gave a sharp signal to the guards and attendants lining the walls.

  As the heavy oak doors groaned shut and the latch clicked into place, the stifling atmosphere of the court dissolved instantly. The King let out a long, extravagant groan, stretching his arms toward the ceiling until his joints popped. He slumped back into the chair, the "National Authority" persona vanishing like smoke.

  “Ahhh—my shoulders are killing me. That carriage ride was a nightmare,” the King complained, his tone now entirely informal. “So? Talk to me. How have you really been?”

  “Well enough, I suppose. It’s been a long road, but thanks to the crown’s continued support, the wealth hasn't just stayed within these walls. It’s finally started spreading to the surrounding farming regions and the smaller settlements. People are eating well.” The Lord rose from his knees, a weary but genuine smile finally breaking through his mask of duty.

  “And the Capital should be fine as long as I’m around to keep the nobles from eating each other,” the King added cheerfully, his gaze drifting to the rafters.

  “You really are hopelessly happy-go-lucky, aren't you?” the Lord remarked, shaking his head.

  “I’m not happy-go-lucky. I’m just lucky,” the King countered. “Everyone around me happens to be exceptionally competent. It allows me to be lazy.” Then, as if a thought had just sparked in his mind, his voice bounced with renewed energy. “Speaking of competent—how’s my Claval-chan doing? Is she behaving herself?”

  “She’s not yours,” the Lord replied, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. “But her contributions to the territorial defense and the recent ruin investigations have been remarkable. She’s a handful, but thanks to her, our borders continue to expand without much resistance.”

  “Hmmm. Is that so?” The King stood up, his boots clicking on the stone as he walked toward the tall, narrow window that overlooked the valley. He stood there for a moment, his silhouette framed by the fading light. “In that case... tell me. What is that Black Hemisphere visible even from this distance?”

  “It appeared suddenly, six days ago. It wasn't built; it simply manifested. We’ve currently requested the Adventurer’s Guild to conduct an immediate investigation, but we’ve heard nothing back yet.” The Lord’s expression hardened immediately, the warmth of their reunion vanishing. He stepped up beside the King, his eyes fixing on a point miles away in the suburban flatlands.

  Outside, in the middle of a vast, golden plain, a strange shadow had been cast across the landscape. A jet-black half-sphere, hundreds of feet wide, jutted from the earth. It didn't reflect the sun; it seemed to absorb the light entirely, a void of absolute darkness that looked as if a fragment of the midnight sky had been cut out and pasted onto the daylight horizon. An indescribable, heavy tension slipped into the room, chilling the air between the King and his Lord.

  ?

  “Team Jask still hasn't returned? It’s been six days.” The Guildmaster’s voice was a low rumble that vibrated through the floorboards of the guild’s upper hall. Usually, the Adventurer’s Guild was a cacophony of shouting, laughter, and the clatter of tankards. But today, the main hall was eerily quiet. Clerks moved with hushed urgency, whispering to one another in corners, and the smell of stale ale was replaced by the sharp, metallic scent of anxiety.

  “Sir, we sent Team Jask and his team to re-investigate the sector near the ancient ruins—the area where we previously had reports of instability. It was a designated high-priority assignment...” Across the massive oak desk, a young clerk clutched a bundle of mission records so tightly his knuckles were white. Sweat trickled down his brow, stinging his eyes.

  “And the other members who were part of that initial ruin incident? The ones who know the terrain?” The Guildmaster’s brows furrowed, deep lines etching into his weathered face.

  “Everyone except Rize has already left the city on other long-term quests. We've tried to send messengers, but they're out of range.” The clerk shook his head, looking down at his boots.

  Silence fell over the office. Even the sound of a quill scratching in the next room seemed to echo with unnatural volume.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Call her in. Find Rize and tell her she’s being conscripted for an emergency search and rescue,” he commanded. “And summon every available high-class team still in the city.” Finally, the Guildmaster slammed a massive fist onto the desk, rattling the inkwells.

  The tension began to propagate outward from the office like a wave. As the clerk scrambled out the door, whispers spread among the adventurers gathered in the lobby. The name of the ruins was spoken again, a cursed word that brought back memories of the missing. In the Guildmaster’s eyes, the shadow of the unrest shaking the city was clearly reflected.

  ?

  That night, in Japan, the city of Tokyo was a muffled roar of traffic and neon. Yu lay slumped over his desk in the dark, the only light coming from the faint, blue-white glow of his smartphone. He was exhausted, his mind focused on the slow, meticulous process of gathering mana through [Bind.] It had become a habit, a way to anchor himself to the other world even when he was physically trapped in his bedroom.

  Ping. The notification sound was sharp, cutting through the silence of the room. Yu peered at the screen, his eyes blurring from the sudden brightness. As he read the message, his pupils dilated in shock.

  [Unknown]: I taken Rize. Come alone if you want her back.

  Below the text was an attachment—a digital image file that looked like a hand-drawn topographical map of a region in the other world.

  “Wh... what is this...?” His breath hitched, his throat suddenly dry. The sender’s address was a meaningless, scrambled string of characters, the kind of digital ghost that left no trail. It was too specific, too heavy to be a simple prank. Yu re-read the message until the words burned into his retinas, a cold, greasy sweat beginning to run down his spine. His chest buzzed with a visceral, sickening premonition.

  If... if this is real... if someone actually found out about the connection...With trembling fingers, Yu activated [Bind]. The tear in space opened in the middle of his room, a shimmering, unstable portal that smelled of ozone and mountain air. He didn't think; he didn't plan. He stepped through the rift, his senses inverting as he transitioned into the other world.

  He emerged in the quiet, late-night streets of Rize’s town. The town was still recovering from the incidents, the stone buildings patched with fresh timber. The only sound was the rhythmic strike of his own shoes against the cobblestones. Yu ran, his lungs burning, straight to the inn where Rize stayed.

  He hammered on the door until it swung open, revealing Rize’s roommate, Kaya.

  “Huh? Yu? What are you doing here so late? Did something happen?” She was rubbing sleep from her eyes, looking confused.

  “Is Rize... is Rize here? Is she in the room?” Yu struggled to catch his breath, his voice coming out in a desperate, cracked squeeze.

  “Rize? No, she left town early this morning. She was assigned to a re-investigation survey request for the guild. She said she wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest. Why?” Kaya tilted her head, her confusion deepening.

  At those words, Yu’s gaze fell to his feet. A confusing mix of relief and renewed terror washed over him. So she wasn't kidnapped from her bed... But then, what is this message? Did they get to her in the field? Questions swirled in his mind like a storm, but there were no answers to be found in the quiet streets. Only one thing was certain: he had to go to the location marked on the map. He couldn't wait for morning.

  Yu inhaled deeply, centering the mana in his core, and activated [Bind] again. Relying on the digital image on his phone as a coordinate anchor, he forced a door open through the fabric of space. Beyond the shimmering veil lay an unknown place, a grassland far removed from the safety of the town walls.

  ?

  A blinding flash of white light covered his vision. When Yu finally opened his eyes, he was met with the sharp, sweet scent of crushed grass and wild herbs. He was standing in the middle of a vast, open plain. And there, looming over the landscape like a silent god, was the object from his map. A pitch-black hemisphere, gargantuan and terrifying, protruded from the ground.

  It was so black that it seemed to possess its own gravity, drawing the eye into its featureless depths. The outline was vague and flickering, looking less like a building and more like a hole in reality that had been forcibly pasted into the day.

  “This is... this is the place.” Yu gasped, the weight of the phone in his hand feeling like a hot coal.

  “Who goes there!?” A sharp, authoritative voice flew from behind him. Yu whirled around to see a girl standing a few dozen yards away, her silver hair swaying violently in the plains wind.

  It was Claval. Her eyes were narrowed into predatory slits, her hand resting on the hilt of a half-drawn sword.

  “Yu?” Her voice shifted, a mixture of genuine surprise and a flare of irritation. “What are you doing here? This is a restricted zone.”

  “Claval... Why you’re here too?” Yu nodded instinctively, his heart still racing.

  “I was ordered to conduct a preliminary investigation. But it’s a waste of time. I can't find a single entrance, a seam, or even a magical signature. It’s just... there.” Claval lowered her sword, though she didn't take her hand off the hilt. She turned back to glare at the black hemisphere. She bit her lip, not bothering to hide her frustration. She had clearly been at this for hours. “The Old Man—the Lord—keeps pestering me for updates every ten minutes. What am I supposed to tell him? That it’s a giant, useless ball of ink? What am I supposed to do with a thing like this?”

  “It’s cold. Not like ice... It feels like it’s trying to suck the heat out of my fingers.” Claval approached the dome and peered into the surface. It was as smooth as polished obsidian, mirror-like yet devoid of any reflection. When she reached out to touch it, she recoiled slightly. There were no doors. No windows. No cracks. It was a perfect, seamless void.

  Yu suddenly felt a strange, familiar heat beginning to bloom in the depths of his chest. It was the same sensation he felt when he reached for a satellite. [Bind] might be able to open a way.

  He tightened his grip on his smartphone, focusing his mind on the black surface. He didn't look at the sphere with his eyes; he looked at it with his mana. Slowly, faint, glowing lines of blue light began to emerge on the pitch-black surface. They interlaced and shifted, forming a complex geometric pattern—an invisible door that was finally taking shape under his observation.

  “Wha—! What are you doing!?” Claval’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she watched the void begin to react to the boy.

  Yu didn't answer.

  “...Open.” He whispered a single word into the wind. A surge of light rushed across the surface of the sphere, and with the sound of a heavy seal being broken, a section of the hemisphere split open like a set of sliding doors. A dark, hollow corridor opened its mouth, accompanied by a blast of freezing, stagnant air that smelled of ancient dust and death.

  “As expected... it had to be you,” Claval whispered, her voice low as she swallowed her breath. She looked at the dark opening, then back at Yu, a new kind of intensity in her eyes.

  “Let’s go. Rize might be inside. If she’s trapped... I’m the only one who can get her out.” Yu stepped forward into the darkness.

  “Rize? What are you talking about?” Claval shouted, but she didn't hesitate. She drew her sword fully, the blade glowing with a protective light. “Hey! Yu, wait for me!” Claval followed Yu as he proceeded into the heart of the hemisphere.

  A moment after they crossed the threshold, the seam in the black wall vanished, and the surface returned to its original, featureless state, as if the door had never existed at all.