The world awaited him, a world that was still scarred by the other side.
He looked at the grey sky.
"Kaelan said it would take a few more days... I guess I should stay low and pray no monsters find me."
Julius stumbled, his boots sinking ankle-deep in the fetid mud. The sky above, grey as ever.
"Oh great, the world's trying to eat me now. That's fine. Totally normal." His shoes squelched with mud as he climbed out, feeling his soggy socks Julius felt like giving up. So what are the chances something intercepts me on my way out? 100 to 1?
The air hung cold and heavy, a suffocating blanket of decay and despair. This wasn't the world he knew, this was a gross horror fantasy, a place he'd watched thousands of living things die in already.
Seriously... Did they not check my reading list for worlds I'd want to live in?
He was a transmigrated student, ripped from his life and thrust into this nightmare with nothing but the bloodied uniform on his skin and the lingering memory of Kaelan. Kaelan, the hero, the savior, who in a final, desperate act of sacrifice, had somehow managed to send Julius through the veil between worlds.
Kaelan was gone, presumably dead, and Julius, utterly powerless in this environment, was left to grapple with the crushing weight of his survival.
He had no grand destiny, no innate abilities waiting to be unlocked. He was just Julius, a student, ill-equipped and terrified. His plan, if it could even be called that, was simple: survive. Stay low, find some way back, and honor Kaelan's memory by not becoming another casualty of this horrifying place.
"Appraisal."
[Level 1]
The blue light did not lie. Julius could only be dissapointed in his situation.
He moved silently, clinging to the shadows, his every sense on high alert. The landscape was alien and hostile. Twisted trees clawed at the sky, their branches adorned with grotesque, pulsating fruit.
"If that's my lunch I think I can say goodbye right now."
Strange, unsettling sounds echoed through the air – a chorus of whispers, guttural growls, and the rustling of unseen things in the undergrowth.
Although creatures roamed around these parts they were quite harmless, small goblins and red dwarves as per usual.
He'd managed to evade any interaction for days, existing on the meager scraps he could scavenge such as berries in bushes. If I die eating these... At least they tasted good. Fortunately they were seemingly regular berries. Maybe a little undergrown due to the lack of light, but other than that they were fine.
He was like a corpse, covered in blood that hid his human scent. Not only that but he was extremely weak, Kaelan had said his power attracted monsters. Julius' power repelled them. He thought he would be able to get out without notice.
Then, he saw him.
Standing in the center of a clearing, bathed in the sickly grey light that filtered through the corrupted sky, was a figure that defied any semblance of normalcy.
He was tall, impossibly so, his frame gaunt beneath what appeared to be crudely fashioned armor made of bone. Jutting from his forehead, two obsidian horns curved back like the scythe of a fallen god. But it was the face that truly horrified Julius. Where eyes should have been, eight glistening, spider-like orbs stared back at him, each reflecting the twisted landscape in miniature, each burning with an unsettling intelligence.
Julius froze, every muscle in his body locked in place. He knew, instinctively, that he had been found because all eight of the eyes were locked on to him, darting at his every move.
The figure tilted his head, his eight eyes fixing on Julius with unnerving precision. A low, guttural chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" The voice was raspy, like stones grinding together. "A little lamb straying into the wolf's den? A sack of potential, ready to be reaped?"
"Nothing to see here-." Julius turned his head and immideatly prepared to leave.
Yeah. There's no way this guy is good news.
Julius tried to run, but his legs felt like lead. The clearing seemed to shrink, the trees closing in around him. He was trapped.
The horned figure took a step forward, and Julius recoiled in terror. "Don't be afraid, little one. There's no need for fear. I am merely… an admirer."
"I don't swing that-." Julius gulped, his fear multiplied tenfold. Don't tell me-. I'm only 15. Is this guy a ped-.
"Who… who are you?" Julius managed to stammer, his voice barely a whisper.
The figure smiled, a cruel, unsettling expression that sent a shiver down Julius's spine. "Names are fleeting, unimportant. You can call me… Khelgar. And you, little lamb, are Julius, are you not? The one Kaelan so foolishly sacrificed himself for. I saw everything, with these eyes of mine."
Julius's breath hitched. How did he know?
Hidden cameras?
"I know many things, Julius. Things you wouldn't even believe if I told you the truth." Khelgar leaned closer, his spider-like eyes gleaming. "I know, for example, that you are powerless. A mere anomalie, adrift in a world that is far from your own. A world which demands only the strong survive."
"I… I don't understand," Julius stammered, fear clouding his mind. "Are you saying I really didn't get any cheats?"
"There is no such thing as an easy path in this world." Khelgar grimaced.
Khelgar chuckled again. "I am a human, Julius. Or rather, I was a human. Just like you. I came to this side just as you did. But unlike you, I recognized the opportunity that lay before me."
The oppurtunity to look like a freakshow?
He paused, allowing his words to sink in. "I accepted the deal, Julius. The deal offered by the Gods of this Other Side. I pledged my loyalty, my service, and in return, I was granted power. I became… an Apostle."
The word hung in the air, heavy with implication. Apostle. A servant of the dark gods, corrupted and empowered by their twisted magic.
"And I believe, Julius," Khelgar continued, his voice taking on a persuasive tone, "that you would make a fine Apostle. You could have power beyond your wildest dreams."
Well I can't have anything according to the laws of this world, given my level...
As Julius was thinking to himself, Khelgar noticed his mind slip briefly.
Before Julius could react, Khelgar moved with terrifying speed. He grabbed Julius by the arm, his grip like iron, and dragged him forward.
"Let me go!" Julius screamed, struggling against Khelgar's immense strength. "I don't want to be an Apostle! I just want to go home! I want to scroll on tiktok! I want to eat mcdonalds-."
"Home is irrelevant," Khelgar said, his voice cold and dismissive. "Home is weak. Here, you can become strong. Here, you can claim your destiny. You can become more than a powerless student, more than a burden on the memory of a dead hero."
He pulled Julius toward a dark, ominous-looking cave, the entrance shrouded in shadows. "Come, Julius. Let me show you the path to true power. Let me show you… my lair."
Julius fought with all his might, but it was useless. He was dragged into the darkness, the last rays of corrupted sunlight fading behind him.
The lair was a cavern of horrors. The air was thick with the stench of decay and unnameable substances. Twisted bones and grotesque trophies lined the walls, illuminated by the flickering light of strange, phosphorescent fungi. In the center of the cavern, a pool of bubbling black liquid steamed, emitting a nauseating odor.
Khelgar released Julius, who stumbled and fell to the ground, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Behold," Khelgar said, gesturing theatrically to the pool. "The source of our power. The essence of the Other Side. Through this, we are granted strength beyond your wildest dreams. Through this, we become more than human."
He turned to Julius, his spider eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "You see, Julius, the gods of this side understand something that your world refuses to acknowledge: that power is the only true currency. That those who possess it are the only ones who truly matter. Your world is built on lies, on false morality and empty promises. They tell you that strength is evil, that humility is virtuous. But here, we know the truth. Strength is survival. Strength is freedom. Strength is everything."
Julius remained silent, his fear slowly giving way to a cold, creeping dread. He knew that Khelgar wasn't just trying to recruit him; he was trying to break him. To strip him of his ideals, his beliefs, everything that made him who he was.
"Kaelan died so you could live," Khelgar continued, his voice dripping with disdain. "He sacrificed himself for a powerless, insignificant student. Do you think he would be proud of you now? Hiding in the shadows, cowering in fear? He gave you a second chance, Julius. Don't waste it. Embrace the power that is being offered to you. Become an Apostle. Become… something more."
He stepped closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "Think about it, Julius. With the power of the gods, you could avenge Kaelan. You could cleanse this world of its corruption, it's real corruptions, the humans. You could even… find a way back to your own world. You could be a hero, Julius. A true hero. But only if you are willing to sacrifice your weakness, like I have done."
It's like my second day here... Let's not go too far.
"I'm not weak." Julius snapped, but his voice was frail as glass.
Khelgar extended a hand, his bone-like fingers long and spindly. "Take my hand, Julius. Embrace the power. Become one of us."
Julius stared at the outstretched hand, his mind reeling. Khelgar's words, twisted and manipulative as they were, resonated with a dark, insidious truth. He was powerless. He was weak. He was a burden.
Was this the only way to survive? Was this the only way to honor Kaelan's sacrifice? To become something more than he was?
He looked at the bubbling pool of black liquid, the source of the Apostles' power, and felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He imagined the corruption seeping into his body, twisting his mind, turning him into something… inhuman.
He looked back at Khelgar, at his eight spider eyes, at the cruel smile that stretched across his gaunt face. And in that moment, Julius made a decision.
He wouldn't become an Apostle. He wouldn't sacrifice his humanity for power. He wouldn't betray Kaelan's memory by becoming the very thing he fought against.
He may be powerless, he may be weak, but he still had a choice. And he would choose to remain himself, even in this corrupted world, even in the face of unimaginable horrors.
He wouldn't surrender. He wouldn't give in. He would survive, not as an Apostle, but as Julius, the student, armed with nothing but his wits and his unwavering determination.
The question now was, how?
"Uhh..."