The scene starts at Dominic's home.
Dominic's mother leaning onto a wall, clenching a phone in her hand.
She had been calling for hours.
"Good evening," she said finally when someone picked up. "Somto, how are you?"
Her brother's voice came through, a little rough but warm. "I'm fine, Diana. You sound tense. What's wrong?"
"It's Dominic," she said. "I've been calling him since morning. He's not picking. I thought maybe he was already there with you."
There was a short pause. "Already here?" Somto asked, confused. "Wait, what do you mean?"
Diana frowned. "He left two days ago, Somto. You said the school accepted him. You were the one that helped us get that chance, remember? You said you'd keep an eye on him."
"Of course I remember," Somto said quickly. "But…I haven't seen him. I didn't even know he was supposed to be here already."
Her heart sank a little. "You haven't seen him at all?"
Somto hesitated, his tone changing slightly. "Maybe he's staying at a friend's house. It's only been two days, right? Boys his age—maybe he wanted to hang around before leaving home for good. You know how that is."
"That's reckless of him," she said, voice rising. "And not something he'd do. You know him. He's not—"
"Diana," Somto interrupted softly. "Relax. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll check around. If he's supposed to be here, he'll show up soon."
She rubbed her forehead, exhaling shakily. "Alright. Just… keep checking, okay?"
"I will," Somto said. "I promise."
She ended the call and stood there for a moment, still holding the phone. The quiet in the room suddenly felt heavier than before.
***
Back on Zandria.
Dominic followed Lune down a slope, both of them walking side by side.
They had been talking for a while, mostly filling the silence.
"You know," Dominic said, kicking a small rock down the hill, "it's still weird that you literally broke into my house."
Lune groaned. "I already said I'm sorry. It would've been insanely hard to explain if I just knocked on your door and said, 'Hey, I'm from another world.' Honestly, it's hard to explain even now."
"Yeah, fair," Dominic said. "Still weird, though."
They reached the bottom of the hill. Ahead, there was a cave — wide, dark, with vines hanging over the entrance. The inside glowed faintly, some kind of pale blue light flickering off the walls. Lune slowed his pace.
"You know anything about the two realms?" Lune asked suddenly.
Dominic shrugged. "Just that Zandrians were originally from Earth. They discovered this realm somehow and started living here over time."
Lune nodded. "Well, at least you know the bare minimum."
He stepped inside, and Dominic followed. The cave walls were covered in paintings. But they weren't like regular cave art; they weren't rough or abstract. The figures looked clear, detailed, almost like story panels.
Dominic stopped. "These look...detailed."
"They are," Lune said. "They say the first Sorcerers left Earth on purpose. All of them. They wanted to prevent something."
Dominic frowned. "Prevent what?"
"No one knows for sure," Lune said. "Everyone has their own version of the story."
***
Master Aro stood by the wall, arms folded, while Lumin spoke across from him. The two were in the instructors' meeting room.
"You know what that means, Aro," Lumin said. "Any student that fails their first basic application class gets culled from the academy roster automatically."
Aro's brow tightened. "I'm aware. What I'm not okay with is that Axiom changed the outline without talking to anyone. That's not how this is supposed to work."
Lumin sighed. "It's within an instructor's rights to amend the outline of a general course however they see fit. The subject was entrusted to him. He's within the rules."
Aro turned away. "Then maybe the rules are the problem."
Lumin tilted his head slightly. "You wouldn't be this upset for no reason. It affected one of your students, didn't it?"
Aro didn't answer immediately. He just exhaled and said, "Speaking of my students…"
And then he left, cloak brushing softly against the floor as he stepped into the hallway.
***
Back at the cave.
Lune and Dominic were farther inside now. The walls curved into a dome, the ceiling split by veins of ore. The cave paintings continued, telling more of the same story — people crossing a rift, carrying strange tools, animals, and light.
"Using their mastery over SpaceCraft," Lune said, "the first Sorcerers found a thin veil between worlds. A layer of space separating the two realms. They broke through it and found this place. It looked just like Earth...but devoid of life."
Dominic traced a finger along one of the carved symbols. "So they just...abandoned Earth?"
"Pretty much." Lune said. They brought fragments of the civilisation, plants, animals — everything they could. Their SoulCraft gave life to this world. They named it Zandria and stayed for good."
Dominic stared at a panel showing a giant sphere above two smaller ones. "So they left their homes. Their families. Just like that?"
Lune nodded. "Most of the context's gone now, but they treated it like an emergency. Whatever they were running from, it was serious. Oh, and they also expanded the planet — made Zandria about four times bigger than Earth."
Dominic blinked. "Crazy work."
Lune chuckled. "Yeah. A high-ranking Sorcerer would know more though. I'm just repeating what I was taught."
Dominic rubbed the back of his neck. "I asked how you got to Earth and somehow we're in a cave talking about ancient space mages."
Lune smirked. "I'm getting there."
He walked to the far side of the cave and placed his hands on a large, flat stone plate fitted into the wall. With a quick push, the circular slab rolled aside, revealing a small glowing rift. It looked like a tear in the air, shifting colors like oil on water.
"This," Lune said, "is how I got there."
Dominic stared. "You're serious."
"I was desperate to hide what I am," Lune said. "The Mandrake plant can mask chi completely, but it's rare. A witch doctor gave me a single leaf and a set of runes. Said I could sync my energy with it to find more. Those runes led me here."
He pointed at faint glowing patterns on the ground. "Didn't realize this rift was real until I stepped through. Two days ago, I finally tried it—and ended up on Earth."
Dominic folded his arms. "So the Mandrake's chi linked both worlds."
"Looks that way," Lune said. "The runes probably redirected the rift straight to your neighborhood. From there, I just followed the chi residue to your house."
"And broke in," Dominic added.
"Yeah…that part wasn't great," Lune admitted.
Dominic's eyes stayed fixed on the rift. "So this could send me back?"
"It should."
He hesitated. "I don't know how that plant got into my house or what it's connected to, but I know I've been gone too long. My—" he caught himself before saying too much, "—people back home are probably worried. And I already blew my chance at the academy."
He smiled faintly. "Would've liked to say goodbye to everyone, though."
Lune gave a small nod. "It's fine. They'll understand."
Dominic stepped closer to the rift. "Okay, so…how do I use this thing? Are there controls or something?"
"I made it to your home through chi resonance," Lune said. "If you can focus or align with it somehow, maybe it'll work for you too."
Dominic blinked. "Yeah, about that—I can't use chi."
They both paused. Then Lune's eyes widened a bit. "Wait. Back at the exhibition — when I used chi reinforcement, you saw my fists glowing, right?"
Dominic nodded slowly. "Yeah, so?"
"Humans can't see chi. They're not able to." Lune said. "Not unless they're like the first Sorcerers — the ones who would later become the first Zandrians."
Dominic blinked. "So…you're saying I'm—"
"I'm saying there must be something different about you," Lune interrupted.
Dominic thought for a second, remembering Master Aro's words. You're different from regular humans.
He took a breath, walked up to the rift, and raised his hand. He closed his eyes, focusing on one thing—home. He pictured his home, the quiet kitchen, his mum and his sister.
After a few seconds, he opened his eyes. "Yeah, no. I got nothing."
He took another look at the rift. "Screw it. You only live once."
Before Lune could react, Dominic stepped forward and jumped into the rift.
***
Everything twisted. Colors bent, space folded, and then he was falling. Again. And before he knew it, he hit the ground.
"Okay," he muttered, sitting up. "That drop always sucks."
He looked around. Bushes. Dirt. A smell of familiar air. For the first time in what felt like forever, he was back.
"I'm home," he said quietly, smiling.
He started walking, brushing leaves off his clothes. After a few steps, he heard something—a faint rustling to his left. He stopped.
"Hello?" he said, voice low.
No answer.
He moved closer, pushing through the brush. When he finally saw what was on the other side, his stomach dropped.
There were kids—three, maybe four of them—tied up against a tree. Their faces were dirty, eyes wide with fear. They were gagged, struggling to move. One of them shook his head at Dominic, like he was warning him to run.
Dominic froze. "What the—"
Something cold pressed against the back of his head. A gun.
He didn't move.
A man's voice came from behind him, low and steady. "One more to bite the dust."
And everything went silent.