At first glance, everything seemed calm. Too calm.
Hans couldn't tell when he noticed it, but something in the air had changed—an eerie stillness, thick and unnatural, as if the world itself was holding its breath. The silence wasn't just the absence of sound; it felt alive, clinging to the walls, to his skin, to his thoughts.
Goosebumps still covered his arms. For a moment, he wanted to believe it was only paranoia—maybe just the shadow of a bad dream—but he chose to ignore it. Feeling fear wouldn't help him. Not now. Not when he could sense that something, somewhere nearby, was watching him.
Then he turned his head to the left.And he saw it.
The air tore open before him, like someone had ripped a wound through space itself. From that cut emerged a ring of emerald-green light, slowly spinning, pulsing with a rhythm that didn't belong to this world. At its center was nothing—a void so deep it seemed to swallow sight, thought, even the soul.
Hans didn't think. He didn't even breathe. He simply took a step forward.And when he crossed the threshold of that portal, the world he knew—his ordinary life, his routines, his fears—vanished like a fading dream.
In an instant, he was drifting through a galactic sky, just like the ones he used to read about in his favorite sci-fi novels. The sky was dark, as if it was always night, surrounded by countless shining stars floating in the air like frozen sparks. He could even see planets hanging in perfect clarity, as if someone had placed them there just for him to admire their beauty.
He didn't lose his breath—quite the opposite. Hans had never felt more alive.It was as if he had been completely reborn through that interstellar journey.He felt like he was living in a magical fairy tale he never wanted to end.
But that fairy tale ended far sooner than he expected.
Suddenly, Hans was lying face down on the ground, his landing so rough that he almost slammed into the dirt. If it hadn't been for the softness of the grass, the impact might have been brutal.
"Damn… that was awesome!"
Hans was buzzing with excitement, adrenaline still rushing through him. He had landed in a world that looked strangely similar to his own—but the portal was gone.
He turned back to where he'd just descended from, but there was nothing. The strangest part was that it was daytime here. The sky glowed orange; the sun was setting behind the mountains.
Then the silence broke.A terrifying sound echoed in the distance—a roar, something between a furious tiger and… a dinosaur, maybe.
Hans froze."That's… weird," he whispered to himself, as if afraid someone might hear him—even though he was completely alone.
The air here didn't feel as heavy as it had before he went through the portal.And then, from not too far away, he saw it.
A humanoid creature—at least two meters tall, maybe more. Hans was six feet one, yet he had to tilt his head upward to take it all in. It was definitely an alien.
The being's glossy black eyes bulged from its skull—no pupils, no whites, just two huge, empty sockets gleaming in the light. Thick veins crawled around its head, swollen as if ready to burst.
Hans froze in shock.He wanted to scream or run, but he couldn't. His feet felt nailed to the ground. His body refused to obey.
The most horrifying thing about that alien wasn't its eyes—it was its mouth.It wasn't even a normal mouth; it stretched across its entire face, wrapping around like some demonic mask. Its teeth were long and razor-sharp, like vampire fangs ready to sink into his neck and drain him dry.
Hans's heart pounded wildly in his chest.He swallowed hard, unable to look away.
Then—out of nowhere—a fierce female voice echoed through the air. A woman appeared, wearing a tight black leather bodysuit that fit perfectly around her neck. A glowing electric-blue belt shimmered faintly against the dark fabric.
Her jet-black hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her face was subtly made up—elegant but not flashy. Her eyes were bright green, and a strange tattoo ran around her neck, shaped like a choker with a dangling charm—a crescent moon within a black magic star.
From her right arm extended a monstrous, oversized hand—mutated and powerful.Despite its size, she moved with incredible speed, almost as if she were flying, though she had no wings.
The alien turned toward her—ignoring Hans completely—and boom!Thick, greenish blood splattered everywhere.
The creature had been crushed in an instant by the girl's giant hand, which now dripped with disgusting slime and bits of alien flesh.
Before Hans could even thank her, she was gone—vanished—leaving behind the grotesque mess around him.
Hans was covered in blood and guts, the stench like sulfur burning in his nose. He wanted to throw up, but he held it in, too stunned by what he had just witnessed.
Was it all just a dream?
"Well," Hans muttered, brushing the slime off his shoulder, "guess I'd better start walking and see what's out there…"
He sighed and began to move forward, letting the alien filth dry and fade away as he walked.
The path was long, silent, peaceful—except for the strange creatures he came across now and then. Some had no arms or legs, just torsos with eyes, nostril-like holes, and thin slits that opened to make odd, haunting sounds.
Others resembled normal animals—wild boars, birds—but with strange mutations that made Hans stare in both fear and fascination.
Finally, he reached what looked like a small town. Ordinary, familiar.At least, it was the only thing that reminded him of home.
Suddenly, people began to appear—each one of them identical to him.The only difference between them was their clothing. They looked like they had come from a distant village in Japan, a place where the beautiful tradition of wearing kimonos was still alive, regardless of gender. What set them apart were the colors and the intricate patterns of their garments.
The town was lively, even though night was almost falling. The sun had completely vanished, the sky was dark, and stars were starting to appear—tiny glowing dots scattered across the heavens.
As expected, the people looked at Hans like he was some kind of outsider who had trespassed into their close-knit community, where everyone knew everyone else. Hans stared back at them too, though differently—more with curiosity than suspicion.
The buildings kept the classic Japanese architecture of the 1700s, or something close to it. There didn't seem to be anyone there who belonged to the modern world Hans had come from—before stepping through that mysterious dimensional portal that had appeared in his backyard.