Chapter 419 Qayin’s Curse — First Blood, Last Wound
The rift of that dimension did not open with the grandeur it ought to have, resembling a gateway to a lost world.
It tore slowly like the flesh of the world being cut deep by a knife. From within, Joanna and Rui stepped cautiously onto the grounds of Alpha—once known as the center of civilization and the fulcrum of the entire Spiral connecting various dimensions. The sound of their footsteps was absorbed, as if this world soaked up every sound produced. Although there was no scent to remind them of the past, the smell of damp, cold earth seemed to emit a faint signal of something unsaid, a lost sense of nostalgia.
Yet this world... did not welcome them.
The sky was clear but cold. The wind was thin, carrying neither aroma nor memory. It was as if this entire place was questioning:
"Who are you... and why have you come?"
Joanna grasped her hands tightly, sensing the empty pulse around her. No creature greeted her. No will reached out to touch her. Not a single fragment of time or names of the past recognized her. In her mind, memories of laughter from her friends and the scent of flowers in the backyard of her home flickered—things that now felt exceedingly distant. "Are we truly brave enough to face a place that has forgotten us?" she pondered, filled with doubt.
Without warning, a spell in the form of soft blue light surged from Rui's fingertips, forming a luminous circle before them. The light pulsed, emitting a shimmer akin to dew glistening in the dawn. It spread throughout the area, replacing the darkness surrounding them with a mystical hue. However, its effect was not merely visual; the air seemed to become heavier and more coarse, as if burdened with unspoken hopes and fears shared between them.
Joanna beheld the wonder while grappling with a mix of awe and trepidation. "Can this magic help us find our way home?" she pondered within, but a part of her questioned their strength in this forgotten world.
"This place..." she whispered, "...does not recognize us."
Rui walked beside her, her expression tense yet undaunted, even as anxiety swelled within her heart. Reflecting on all the history and memories erased from this world filled her with doubt. "This is our world... before we were born. Before all things chose us, and now it seems as if we are travelers without a trace."
What they did not know was that at this timeline: