Fragments of her final quest description floated through Aira's mind as she steadied herself against the unfamiliar tree, its bark rough beh her trembling fingers. What was the exact w? She reached for the memory, trying to grasp it with the same precision she once accessed her quest log—that crystallierface that had guided her through thousands of challenges. 'Uhe closed door to pass through.' The words surfaced like debris from a shipwreonsensical as ever.

  What did it eveo 'unopen' a door? But she was always so focused oing that quest that she never really sidered its absurdity. She had indeed passed through a door, but into what seemed to be airely different world. 'Unopen,' as if the door was never meant to be ope all. As if she had vioted some ic rule by toug that handle. "A warning," she growled to herself. "Was it a warning and not a quest?"

  It was too te to worry about that. Now, Aira had only one quest: to survive.

  And survival demanded movement. Aira forced her uncooperative body forward, sing the terrain with the practiced eye of an are enforcer. Downhill—that's where she o go. Water always flowed down, and water meant life.

  She paused at the edge of the clearing, kneeling with effort to gather several distinctive stones. With trembling fingers, she stacked them into a small , an arroointing in her intended dire. A habit from her training days—mark your path, create breadcrumbs back to the beginning. Though what she would do if she o return to this spot, she couldn't say. Perhaps only to firm that there was no way to Aira's world left behind her. Perhaps to wait and see if whoever sent her here would follow.

  Slim ce. The ones who seemed to orchestrate this circus left the chamber before Aira.

  Paradoxical cultists… What a joke!

  But the results of their as? It definitely wasn't a joke anymore.

  She knew something was very wrht at the moment she stepped through that portal covered in runes.

  Runes… Aira chuckled. At least that sound came out of her throat without any distortion. She was marked with a Rune now.

  Aira put her fist high above her head and looked up, preparing to shout at whatever higher forces chose this trial for her. But again, only growls came out of her throat. Like a wild beast.

  She looked down, shifted, and pced one final stoop the marker, willing her muscles to remember how to move effitly in her current weakeate. Each step felt like wading through chest-deep mud, her limbs fighting her every and. Listening for the faint sound of running water, Aira oriented herself and began a slow, arduous dest through the alien forest. The shadows betweerees seemed to deepen as she moved, as though the forest itself was closing ranks behind her, swallowing the evidence of her arrival.

  Whatever this world held, whatever had brought her here, she had only one imperative now, reduced to the simplest truth of existence: she had to survive.

  Only after that would she have a ce to get some answers and make people in charge of this charade atable.

  And she didn't doubt she would.

  Aira pushed her way through the dense underbrush, each step a battle against vegetation that seemed to resist her passage. Thorns snagged her clothing, branches whipped at her face. As if this alien nature reized her as an intruder. Then—a glint caught her eye. She froze, breath caught ihroat. There, led in a small recess in the ground, water bubbled up from beh the topsoil—a spring, barely wider than her hand. The sight nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  Water. Life. This brook was her first true ally in this strange world.

  Despite being uo see her stats, she could feel that each puncture made by thorns and each clumsy movement affected her stitution ah much more than before. Even without those numbers, she khe effects of her new ditiohere.

  Now, as she had to follow the small stream, the ground was damp and slippery, making Aira's progression even slower, her stance more unsteady. Each step only emphasized the ges in her degraded abilities. All that was effortless before now felt like a struggle. Even her breaths came out bored and heavy.

  She hoped to find signs of civilization but only saw grees, tangled vines, and rown foliage. It didn't look like anybody besides animals visited this part of the forest. If there even were any intelligent beings in this forest. In this world.

  But it would have been a cruel joke to put her here only to die.

  The thought of wildlife reminded Aira of a good steak and made her stomach grumble a bit. Provisions were among the things she lost along with her warhammer during the transfer. With her analytical mind, she khat if she wao survive, she had to find a way to replenish her provisions, and soon. But at least she had water. Even if she had o put it.

  Wheream became deeper, Aira stepped closer and made a few rge swallows. At least the water was absolutely normal. Just as she remembered it. Just like she wa to be.

  "Alright, baby steps," Aira thought and chuckled. "Yeah, how else would I call my yle of movement with my downgraded agility stat?"

  Trying to distract herself, Aira attempted to figure out how much her stats were reduced in this world. She was so used to having access to the numbers at any moment. But what was important, besides them, was some hard math. She knew her stats even without accessing any menus. So, she should be able to calcute the base level for her old rad some other things as well.

  Previously, she was a human. What was she now? That was anyone's guess. But it wouldn't be a wild guess to say that it affected her capabilities. Still, even without seeing the updated stats, she khe situation was dire. She felt weaker, and she was getting tired much faster. This meant that her strength and endurance were affected at least a bit. But the worst was the situation with her agility. Just a few hours earlier, in the dungeon, she could move tenfold faster. Never before has she been this slow, even when ill or wounded.

  Was she cursed to spend the rest of her life in that state?

  Aira tinued her slow march through these desote nds, time stretg like pulled taffy. The spring widened gradually into a brook no deeper than her ankle. As the light began to wahe trees suddenly parted before her, revealing a perfect circur clearing bathed in goldeernoon light.

  In its ter stood a crumbling stone arch, weathered and a, its surface quered by vines and moss that seemed to pulse with vitality in the fading light. The stream Aira had been following ran directly beh the arch as if the mo had been deliberately pced to straddle this lifeline. Something about the symmetry felt iional—not random ce, but design.

  "A mysterious stone mo?" thought Aira. "Again?!?"

  Aira approached it cautiously aended her hand to touch it. But before she felt the cold surface touch her fingers, a jolt of fear passed through her, making Aira snatch her hand back. Just a few ho, her life was ged forever wheouched another mysterious stone object. Would it be a mistake to do that once again?

  She remembered that portal she stepped through in the dungeon. Uhis a relic, it was covered by glowing runes and emanated power. That was ann for Aira to stop. To give her progress a thought. And maybe even to track back.

  The power that the portal in the dungeon emanated was absolutely fn. Alien. It didn't belong to the dungeon or to Aira's magical text. Still, she touched it, she ope, and she stepped through.

  That's where she faced those… whoever they were. Their status marked them as Paradoxical Cultists. Their levels pared to Aira's. Maybe a bit higher.

  And again, she was impatient. She wao finally get through that dungeo her XP and her new level. Make the first step oh of the Legendary wielder of the are.

  Hubris… That's what it was. That's what led Aira here.

  Her palm left a faint imprint on the damp moss. But there was ion from the remnant of a bygone era. No energy flowed through her touch. She was left with only a sense of emptiness.

  Aira felt both relief and a the same time.

  Briefly, she thought she felt something—an echo of her lost power. But after waiting a bit more for it to ma, Aira realized that her mind ying tricks on her. Her magic was gone. And at a moment of such a glorious achievement!

  For a brief moment, Aira's head spuy blurring as memory overtook her. She was ba that chamber, watg the cultists move around the glowing altar with inhuman grace. Their leader's eyes had gleamed with secret knowledge, his mouth curved in that insufferable smile that said he kly what would happen. Her warhammer had passed through their bodies like they were made of smoke—even when her aim was true, they'd shimmer and reappear meters away, tinuing their ritual without pause. Not fighting her, but using her somehow. Leading her exactly where they wanted her to be.

  The bizarre dance tinued for what…? A few minutes? An hour? It was impossible to say. Especially as the result was the same. The cultists did their deed and vanished. And Aira was here. Lost.

  "Great, a plete dud," Aira thought, unsure if she was addressing herself or the mo before her. "And to top it off, it feels like I'm half-dead now."

  She removed some moss to uhe letters hiddeh. At first gnce, she thought they were familiar. But no, the symbols were unlike anything she had ever seen before but didn't match the runes on the doorway and the altar she saw in that damned dungeon.

  However, at least the mere existence of this object meant there had to be a civilization in this world. Aira was making progress. There were intelligent people here. Hopefully, they didn't go extin the turies sihe moment this arch was built.

  ***

  Aira tinued her slow and unsteady martil the moment the sun began its dest. Since finding this a mo, she felt as though she was walking through the territory of an old settlement, but it was abandoned so long ago that no buildings remained. And she could only guess where the old pavement had been in the aimes because trees were not as dehere.

  The forest spread around her in all dires with no end in sight. The branches of the trees cast long shadows across the ground and seemed to reach out to Aira as if to grasp her. The air grew colder, and she could feel the chill seeping through her clothes. She o find shelter and do that as soon as possible. Aira hugged herself, trying to return some warmth to her body, though it did little to fort her.

  "Fantastic," she thought. "Out of mana, out of skills, and now out of warmth. Could this day get any worse?"

  Immersed in self-pity, Aira stumbled forward blindly until something solid stopped her progress—a wall, appearing so suddenly through the gloom that she nearly crashed into it face-first. She recoiled, heart rag before her eyes adjusted the sharp angles of human struid the forest's chaos. A stood before her, half-swallowed by wilderness, its wooden walls ed and grayed with age, its roof sagging dangerously in the ter like a swaybacked horse. The windows were empty sockets, gss long goill, it was undeniably a building—proof of intelligent life in this realm.

  Aira made her way toward the , her steps cautious. The door was left slightly ajar, but in her current state, it took almost all powers Aira had left to pry it open a bit more. She had to clear the way first, as undergrowth and branches were getting in the way. But then, unwillingly, the door submitted to her efforts.

  Faint rays of light filtered through gaps in the walls, barely illuminating the interior. Even while she saw the desote state of the , Aira couldn't help but expect that cozy feeling she usually got upoering a house. But here, the years erased even the smells of decay.

  The floorboards creaked under Aira's steps, a stant reminder of the fragile state of the structure. The remaining furniture was scattered haphazardly around the room: a shattered chair, a wobbly table, and a narrow bed tucked away in one of the ers.

  "ly a weling sight, but it'll have to do for now," Aira thought, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Exhaustion washed over her, only amplified by her new dition. It was as if shaking it off, even with a lo, was impossible.

  She took a step forward and then looked back at the door. "What a stupid a, to close the door, when not all of the walls are in pce!" she thought.