---
By the time Melody had the strength to get up, the sun was already high in the sky. Late morning warmth bathed the earth, and as she pushed herself upright, she was greeted by Sena, who wore a bright smile on his face.
"Good morning, my lady. Did you get enough rest?"
"I'm okay," she replied, brushing off his concern. "What's the situation? Where are we?"
"Great news, my lady. It seems we successfully crossed over as planned, with no casualties. Team 4 is currently scouting the area, and Teams 1 and 2 are setting up the base near the plane. And from what we've seen, we landed in a steppe."
At the mention of the steppe, Melody looked around. The landscape stretched endlessly in all directions, a vast plain covered in short, yellow grass swaying gently with the wind. She exhaled a deep breath as she stepped down the plane's cargo ramp, touching the ground with her hand and letting the dry blades brush her fingers.
"What about the fuel?" she asked, scanning the scene—people were already at work building a temporary military base, one lookout tower was already up, and another was halfway done.
"Unfortunately, we lost around 3,000 gallons after we crossed the portal," Sena said, his tone more serious. "But the enhanced solar panels we brought from R&D can keep us powered for now. According to the AI system on the plane, we're approximately 3,500 miles away from the nearest city with a population of over 10,000."
Melody nodded, then gave her next order. "We need to finish building this camp before nightfall. We have no idea what kind of dangers lurk in these open plains."
Sena nodded and moved off, calling out instructions to accelerate construction.
Growl.
Melody blinked as her stomach rumbled. The stress of the crossing and the aftermath had dulled her hunger, but now it returned with a vengeance. Not one to skip meals, she joined the workers and searched for the cook.
They called her Healer–1.
Among the thirty-three Golden Tiger Guards they brought aboard the C-30 Globespinner, a prototype medium cargo plane, Healer–1 was the most skilled in both cooking and battlefield medicine. Melody trusted her without question—she had been handpicked by Sena himself from among hundreds of elite candidates.
They were all orphans once—taken from war-torn regions, trained, and conditioned to become the ultimate guardians of the Colni family. The Colnis were the kingpins of Asia, with economic influence reaching across multiple nations. Many had tried to hire the Golden Tigers, offering fortunes in exchange for their loyalty. But their allegiance was absolute—Colni only.
As Melody ate from the tin container of heated rations, she didn't hesitate. It was simple food, but it was familiar, sustaining, and most importantly—prepared by someone she trusted.
After the meal, Melody climbed the nearly finished lookout tower, made of carbon fiber and rising five meters high. Although short by most standards, it was more than enough for the flat expanse of the steppe.
From above, she surveyed the camp being established around the plane. The area was roughly 10 meters wide and 15 meters long. Two watchtowers had been positioned—one facing north, the other south. She could already make out the layout: six tents total. One for herself, one for male soldiers, one for female soldiers, another for medical use, one for food and ration storage, and the last for weapons.
Carbon fiber fencing five feet tall surrounded the perimeter, with barbed wire coiled along the top. Lights had been mounted at regular intervals along the fence, powered by solar panels attached to the aircraft's wings.
"The camp's nearly complete, my lady," said a voice behind her.
Melody turned. Sena stood there, clipboard in hand.
"What about the scouts?" she asked.
"We just got a radio message from them. They found a small settlement about 500 meters east of our location."
"Are there people there?"
"Yes, Miss Melody. Team 4 made contact. It's a family—one woman and three children. She appears to be around twenty-nine years old. The children are a ten-year-old boy and two eight-year-old girls."
"Do they live alone? Or is there a larger community nearby? Oh, and stop calling me 'my lady.' It's cringe. Just call me Miss Melody."
"As you wish, Miss Melody," Sena teased, grinning. "According to the scouts, the region's been in conflict lately. All the men of fighting age have been pulled into a tribal war. That family is likely stranded here."
"Can we gain anything useful from them?"
"Possibly a lot," Sena said. "That's why I ordered Team 4 to escort them back here. They'll arrive in about three hours."
Their conversation was cut short by a sudden crack of gunfire.
Without hesitation, Sena grabbed Melody by the waist and dropped to the floor of the tower, shielding her as he scanned the horizon. He drew his sidearm, calm and efficient.
The radio on his belt crackled to life.
"This is Panther-1. Target spotted—1,000 meters at twelve o'clock."
Sena relaxed slightly and stood up, helping Melody to her feet. He raised the radio to his mouth.
"How big is it?"
"About the size of a small car," came the reply.
Taking Melody's binoculars, he looked toward the northeast. There, moving slowly in the distance, was a massive feline creature unlike anything he'd seen before—sleek, black, and primal. A chill settled in his bones.
They weren't just somewhere remote.
They were somewhere else entirely.
---
Elsewhere...
"So, tell me, Sabira—where exactly are we going?" Pansy asked, glancing around nervously as she followed Sabira down a cobblestone path along the main road of the Imperial Capital. Both wore thin white cloaks, concealing their clothing and faces.
Sabira looked back, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Just follow me! First, we'll grab some fruit from the market down this road. Then we'll head to the Glory Gate—that's when things get interesting."
"But isn't that the way out of the city? I'm forbidden to leave without permission from the nobles... or the Emperor," Pansy protested, lowering her voice.
Sabira didn't even slow down. "Don't you know who I am?" she called over her shoulder. "Don't tell me you haven't figured it out, even after working together for almost half a year?"
Pansy frowned. "I—no, I haven't."
Sabira stopped, turned dramatically, and pointed a thumb at herself. "I'm the daughter of the current Vizier. With my position and my family name, you can go anywhere in the empire when you're with me."
After buying some dried fruits and water from a stall near the gate, the two passed through the Glory Gate without issue. Just beyond the city's edge, two camels waited patiently.
Sabira climbed onto hers with ease and looked down at Pansy.
"So here's the plan," she began. "We're going to track down that huge thing from last night. You saw it too, right? That enormous creature flying above the clouds? I knew you'd be curious. There's a mountain peak nearby—Mount Noth. My friends have been stationed there since last night. One of them has an artifact that can enhance sight across great distances. We'll use that to figure out what that creature was."
Pansy blinked, overwhelmed by the speed of Sabira's speech. It was like watching an excited puppy reunite with its owner after a long day.
She didn't say anything, not wanting to deflate her companion's enthusiasm.
And so, the two set off, eastward toward the towering silhouette of Mount Noth, with hopes of finding answers waiting at its peak.
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