The air was filled with the scent of wild flowers and the clanking of metallic weapons. As Kenji and his friends stood before the gate, they saw the silver-haired female warrior sitting like a stone statue atop her massive white horse. Behind her stood hundreds of armored soldiers, their spears glinting under the moonlight.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted in a grave voice, "Bow before Her Highness, Princess Elina! You now stand upon the holy soil of Grand Valoria."
Princess Elina stepped down from her ornate chariot. She wore silver armor, but her eyes held a certain melancholy. She looked at Kenji and the others, speaking in a calm tone, "I know you have many questions. But it is impossible to give all the answers standing here in the open fields. His Majesty King Zenos awaits you. To the palace."
Kenji noticed his friends; some were trembling in fear, while others stared wide-eyed at the Princess's beauty. Haruki even whispered, "Bro, is this a VR game? The graphics are totally real!"
They were ushered into a massive royal carriage. As it began to move, Kenji looked out the window. Miles of empty fields stretched out, but the grass was a shade of blue. He realized that while this world looked like Earth, its rules were different. Suddenly, the royal guards shuttered all the windows tightly. The interior plunged into pitch-black darkness.
After about 15-20 minutes, the roar of thousands of people could be heard outside. Kenji guessed they had reached a major city. Strangely, right before the carriage stopped, all eight of them were blindfolded.
When the blindfolds were removed, they found themselves in the middle of a vast, gold-encrusted hall. High above on a throne sat King Zenos. To his right stood General Baron, clad in iron armor, and to his left was an old man in strange robes holding a gnarled staff—Malkas, the Royal Priest and Sorcerer.
King Zenos began to speak in a heavy voice. "You may feel we have kidnapped you. But the truth is, we had no other choice. Malkas, show them the map."
Malkas struck the floor with his staff, and a massive holographic map materialized. Kenji was shocked to realize he could strangely read the text on the map! It was some form of magical influence. The map showed eight kingdoms:
Valoria (Where they are now)
Ironford
Misthaven
Shadowfest
Aetherguard
Flamepeak
Crystalbrook
Windfuss
The map was surrounded by a vast blue ocean, but at one edge, there was a massive area of ink-black darkness. It looked as if there was no map there—only an impenetrable black wall.
"This is the 'Void Wall,'" King Zenos explained. "According to our ancient text, the Celestial Chronicles, when this world faces destruction, eight heroes will come from another world. They must gather the eight Sacred Divine Books from the eight kingdoms and perform a ritual. Only then can the wall be breached and the darkness beyond erased."
Kenji gathered his courage and asked, "Why weren't we called sooner? And what is this wall?"
The King sighed. "The eight books are held by eight separate kingdoms. For years, these kingdoms have been at war, trusting no one. But now, the attacks of monsters from the other side have increased so much that we were forced into a truce. Without you, we have no future."
As he finished speaking, the kings of the other seven kingdoms entered through eight different doors. The atmosphere immediately grew heavy. King Zenos announced, "According to the rule, you eight friends must be separated and sent to the eight different kingdoms. After one year of rigorous training, you will join the war together."
"Impossible! We won't go anywhere without each other!" Takashi roared. Kenji stood his ground as well. But Malkas raised his staff and muttered an incantation. Instantly, everything went blurry before Kenji's eyes. He saw his friends collapsing one by one. Before losing consciousness, he only saw Princess Elina looking at him, whispering something inaudible.
When Kenji regained consciousness, he found himself in a massive royal bed. His head was throbbing. The memories of last night rushed back to him. He ran to the window.
Outside, he saw the familiar blue grass and the distant capital of Grand Valoria. This meant he hadn't been sent away; he was still in Valoria. But his seven friends had been separated and sent to the other seven kingdoms. Kenji's heart sank—in this strange world, his friends were his only anchor.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Kenji spun around to see Princess Elina standing there. She was no longer in armor but in royal attire. On her shoulder sat a small blue dragon hatchling, its wings fluttering and its eyes sparking with faint electricity.
Elina looked at Kenji with cold eyes and said, "So, you're awake? Consider yourself lucky to be in Valoria. The environment of the other kingdoms could have been hell for an ordinary person like you."
Kenji spat through gritted teeth, "Why did you do this to my friends? Why separate us?"
Elina replied with a tone of disdain, "Because gathering eight books is hard enough; managing eight incompetent 'heroes' together is even harder. Get up, 'Hero,' time is short. Your training begins today. If you want to stay alive, you must learn the rules of this world."
Kenji looked out the window toward the horizon and thought to himself: 'Friends, I don't know where you are. But I promise, after this one year, I will find you. And I'll show the ones who separated us exactly what the power of this card truly is.'