Chapter 10 – A Broken Arrival
Pain.
That was the first thing Karn felt.
Not a sharp pain. Not a single wound.
It was the kind that spread through every muscle and bone like his entire body had been crushed and stitched back together.
"…Ahh…"
His fingers twitched against rough grass.
The air smelled different.
Fresh.
Almost too fresh.
Slowly, Karn opened his eyes.
Above him stretched a vast blue sky he had never seen before. The clouds were enormous and bright, drifting lazily across the horizon.
"Zangika…"
For a moment there was silence.
Then the familiar voice came through the glasses.
"Karn! My love! Are you okay?!"
Karn winced as he tried to sit up.
"Do I look okay…?"
His entire body was covered in scratches. His arms trembled as he forced himself upright.
"Status report," he groaned.
Zangika immediately began listing information.
"Galactic Nexus suit severely damaged. Structural integrity at twelve percent. Core systems offline."
Karn blinked.
"…Twelve?"
"Shield generator destroyed. Thrusters non-functional. Nano repair swarm critically depleted."
He rubbed his forehead.
"So basically… the one suit we spent a year building is broken."
"Yes."
"And Shadow Nexus?"
"Deployment system damaged during dimensional entry. It will require approximately three hours before it can be activated again."
Karn stared at the empty sky.
"So I'm stranded in another dimension… with no armor."
Zangika tried to sound optimistic.
"At least you're alive."
He sighed.
"…Fair point."
For a moment they remained silent.
Then Karn looked around.
Endless green fields stretched in every direction.
The grass was taller than normal and moved like waves under the wind.
"What kind of place is this?"
"I am scanning the atmosphere."
Zangika paused.
"That's… strange."
"What?"
"Oxygen levels are extremely high. Similar to Earth during the prehistoric era."
Karn frowned.
"Dinosaur oxygen?"
"Yes."
"And gravity?"
"Almost identical to Earth."
"That's good."
"…However."
Karn sighed.
"Of course there's a however.
"There is another type of energy present in the air."
"What kind?"
"I cannot identify it."
Karn raised an eyebrow.
"You can't identify it?"
"No."
That alone made the situation unsettling.
Zangika continued scanning.
"It appears to exist everywhere in the atmosphere… but it is not interacting with your body."
"Should it?"
"I do not know."
Karn slowly stood.
His muscles protested immediately.
"Ahh—damn…"
"You should rest."
"If I sit here doing nothing I'll die from thirst."
Zangika remained quiet.
Then Karn asked something important.
"…Do we have food in void storage?"
Silence.
"Zangika?"
"…We have spices."
Karn stared at the sky.
"You're joking."
"Ten kilograms of masala."
"…Why?"
Zangika's voice became awkward.
"I… planned to cook for you someday."
Karn covered his face.
"So instead of food you stored spices."
"Well we always had food at home!"
Karn sighed heavily.
"You're a little dumb for an AI."
"I AM NOT DUMB!"
The argument lasted several minutes before both of them calmed down.
Eventually Karn sat on the grass.
Shadow Nexus timer: 00:14:23
"I'll wait," he said.
--
Fifteen minutes later.
"Shadow Nexus deployment ready."
Karn immediately stood up.
"Finally."
He tapped his glasses.
"Shadow Nexus."
A soft metallic sound echoed.
Dark threads of advanced fabric spread across his body like flowing liquid.
Boots.
Pants.
Coat.
Mask.
The suit sealed itself perfectly around him.
Karn flexed his fingers.
"Ahh… that feels better."
The HUD lit up inside his vision.
But suddenly Zangika spoke again.
"…Karn."
"What?"
"There's something strange."
"What now?"
"I just ran a full biological scan."
"And?"
"You're younger."
Karn froze.
"…What?"
She projected a hologram of his body.
"Your biological age has decreased."
"By how much?"
"Approximately two years."
Karn stared.
"So I'm… sixteen again?"
"Yes."
"And my organs?"
"Healthier than before."
He sighed.
"Dimensional travel apparently comes with anti-aging benefits."
Zangika ignored the joke.
"I believe the unknown atmospheric energy may be responsible."
Karn shrugged.
"Whatever."
He looked forward.
In the distance something caught his eye.
"…Is that a road?"
Zangika zoomed the HUD.
"Yes."
A narrow path cut across the endless fields.
But the stones were uneven.
Rough.
Hand-cut.
"These tools are primitive," she noted.
Karn grinned.
"So someone built it."
"Which means civilization."
They followed the road.
Hours passed.
Eventually Karn climbed high using Shadow Nexus and spotted movement in the distance.
A wooden carriage rolled slowly along the road.
Pulled by two horses.
Zangika scanned it.
Old transport technology."
Karn smiled.
"…Or medieval."
Zangika paused.
"You might actually be correct."
Karn watched the carriage approach.
"Let's find out."
--
He stepped into the road and waved.
"Hey! Can you stop?"
The driver pulled the reins.
The carriage stopped.
The man stared at Karn in confusion.
Then he spoke.
"Ahola shila khola tol—"
Karn blinked.
"…Yeah I didn't understand a word."
"Language unknown," Zangika said.
Karn gestured drinking motions.
"Water?"
The driver seemed to understand.
He handed Karn a leather water pouch.
Karn drank greedily.
"Ahh… that's amazing."
Spring water.
Cold and refreshing.
He bowed slightly in thanks.
The driver gestured toward the carriage.
"Sit?"
Karn shrugged.
"Why not."
Inside the carriage sat four people.
A woman.
A small girl.
Two farmers.
They looked at Karn's clothing with confusion.
Shadow Nexus definitely did not look normal.
But they still made room for him.
After sitting down, Zangika whispered quietly.
"The child has a fever."
Karn looked at the girl.
She was pale.
Breathing weakly.
"…Can we help?"
"Yes. But you may expose our technology."
Karn didn't hesitate.
"My mom taught me something."
"What?"
"Kindness shouldn't depend on who someone is."or how it affects you you should always show what kind of person you are
Zangika paused.
"…Understood."
Karn tried to examine the girl.
The mother recoiled in fear.
But then something strange happened.
One of the men sitting beside her moved his hand slowly toward her waist.
Zangika noticed instantly.
Her voice turned cold.
"Disgusting."
Before Karn could react—
His arm moved.
One punch.
The man collapsed unconscious.
Everyone froze.
Karn blinked.
"…Zangika."
"He deserved it."
"You can't just—"
"Also," she said calmly, "I needed access to his brain."
She connected through the man's ear canal.
Scanning neural patterns.
Extracting language structure.
Fifteen seconds later…
"Language acquired."
"You're kidding."
"Would you like the download?"
"…Do it."
A sharp pulse passed through Karn's mind.
Suddenly the strange language made sense.
Karn took a breath and spoke.
"…Your daughter has a fever."
The woman's eyes widened.
"You… speak our language?"
"A little."
Zangika scanned again.
"Minor infection and cold."
Medicine from the suit was applied.
Then Zangika increased the suit's heat output slightly.
Warm air filled the carriage.
The woman began crying.
"Thank you… noble sir."
"Noble?"
The farmers bowed slightly.
"No noble helps commoners like this."
Karn sighed internally.
Zangika whispered.
"Don't correct them."
"Why?"
"Being mistaken for a noble and my love you do look like a noble l."
Karn stayed silent.
Hours later the carriage reached a town.
Stone walls.
Iron gates.
Guards wearing armor.
Karn stared.
"…This is medieval."
Zangika confirmed.
"And the energy in the air…"
"Mana."
Karn laughed quietly.
"I got isekai'd."
--
The town was alive with activity.
Blacksmiths hammering metal.
Merchants selling bread and meat.
People wearing cloaks and linen clothing.
Horses.
Wooden carts.
Stone houses.and wodden Houses
It felt like stepping into another century.
Or another world entirely.
Karn eventually found an abandoned house on the edge of town.
Collapsed roof.
Dusty floor.
But it was shelter.
He lay down on the wooden floor.
Exhausted.
"Zangika…"
"Yes?"
"…Tomorrow is going to be crazy."
She answered softly.
"Yes."
Outside, the unfamiliar stars of another world filled the sky.
And Karn slept.
End of Chapter