Thirty Years Ago – A World of Mixed Realms
The sky was a clear expanse of blue, dotted with white clouds, bathed in warm sunlight.
A pristine, untouched canvas—until, without warning, the space above twisted unnaturally.
A figure stepped out, emerging as if from thin air.
Rin Yuki stood suspended in the sky, lifting his gaze to the sun.
The fact that it's still shining means… I succeeded.
With a flicker of movement, he appeared over Eurasia—the very land where, in the future, the trio of sorcerers would summon Mio.
Though this continent hadn't yet met its destruction, Yuki could already sense the tremors of war echoing across its distant regions.
"There's already war in this era? How… peculiar."
Another shift—and he materialized directly above a battlefield.
Below, soldiers clashed, bodies falling like leaves in a storm.
Yuki observed silently, a faint sigh escaping him.
How fragile life is.
Yet, he chose not to interfere.
Then—a fighter jet streaked toward him.
The pilot's eyes widened in shock at the sight of a man standing midair.
"Th-That's… a person?!"
"What are you babbling about, Tom?!" A comrade's voice crackled through the comms. "Stay focused! One slip, and you're dead!"
Before the pilot could argue, the figure vanished.
"Damn… Did I imagine that?"
Shaking off his disbelief, the pilot resumed his bombing run.
Meanwhile, Yuki had already left the warzone far behind, arriving above a secluded village in Northern Europe.
"This should be the homeland of those sorcerers."
Peering down, his near-omniscient awareness pinpointed the exact settlement he sought.
Villagers below suddenly looked up, their gazes locking onto the lone figure in the sky.
Among them stood a girl—pale golden hair, violet eyes, features delicate yet striking.
Her curiosity burned bright as she stared.
"…Could he be a god?" she whispered.
The moment the words left her lips, the crowd stirred.
The celestial stranger descended, villagers hastily clearing a path.
When Yuki's feet finally touched the ground, they could see him clearly—his face, his presence.
And the girl who'd dared to call him divine?
Her breath caught.
He's… beautiful.
Never had she seen a man so effortlessly captivating.
His aura—elegant, otherworldly—felt like something beyond mortal realms.
The girl's heart raced with conviction.
He has to be a god!
Without another second of hesitation, she spun on her heel and sprinted home—she had to tell her sister about the divine being who'd descended from the heavens.
Meanwhile, Yuki scanned the villagers' wary expressions and sighed inwardly.
"Of course. Showing up unannounced would make anyone suspicious."
Clearing his throat, he addressed them in flawless Nordic tongue.
"Ahem. Everyone, I mean no harm. There's no need to be tense."
The crowd relaxed slightly, and an elderly man—the village chief—stepped forward to speak with him.
The conversation flowed smoothly.
When asked why he'd come, Rin Yuki simply smiled.
"I was traveling and happened upon this place. The scenery is lovely, so I thought I might stay awhile."
The sorcerers, sensing no malice, lowered their guards and welcomed him warmly.
Soon, the chief offered to show Rin around.
"Mr. Rin, outsiders rarely find their way here," the old man mused, stroking his beard. "And given how you arrived… well, you're clearly no ordinary man."
These secluded sorcerers weren't fools.
Their eyes had long been opened to the world's hidden truths.
To them, Yuki's ability to walk on air wasn't just impressive—it was proof.
Though they called themselves "sorcerers," their craft had little to do with stage magic.
They were scholars of the arcane: mysticism, alchemy, Kabbalah.
And Yuki?
He defied physics without so much as an incantation.
That was the essence of their studies.
"Oh, it's nothing grand," Yuki replied humbly. "But your village—you've dedicated years to the mystic arts. Surely you've made breakthroughs?"
The chief's face darkened.
"Ah… let's not speak of that."
He sighed.
"Even with our innate magic, we're still just mortals. The mysteries of the universe? We've barely scratched the surface."
His gaze drifted to the distant lake, frustration simmering beneath his wrinkled features.
"Our numbers dwindle. Without fresh talent, our knowledge stagnates. Soon, there may be no sorcerers left."
"Hmm… A real dilemma," Yuki mused. "Why not merge tradition with modern science?"
The chief's eyes lit up.
"Truthfully, Mr. Rin, we've already begun. One of our own—a boy named Isaac—pioneered the fusion of technology and sorcery."
At the mention of Isaac, the old man beamed with pride.
Yuki, however, smirked.
Isaac, huh?
In the original story, that guy was nothing but a glorified troublemaker.
After the village was destroyed by humans, Isaac would go on to summon Mio and obliterate Eurasia as revenge.
And once he witnessed Mio's power?
He became obsessed—scheming, manipulating, all to steal her abilities for himself.
All for the sake of his childish dream of world domination.
The guy was, without a doubt, a full-blown chuunibyou.
From the chief, Yuki learned that Isaac had left the village to "see the world."
But Yuki knew better.
Even now, that bastard's already plotting his rise to power.
With the world engulfed in war, Isaac had dragged his loyal friend Elliot into the chaos.
No wonder the village gets wiped out later.
Once the two of them flaunted the sorcerers' power on the global stage, it was only a matter of time before nations saw them as a threat—and erased them.
"Tell me, Chief," Yuki said casually, "how much do your people really know about the outside world?"
He tilted his head, his voice laced with warning.
"Out there, they fear what they don't understand. They crave power but despise those who wield it. And if they can't control a threat…"
A cold smile.
"They eliminate it."
The chief's shoulders sagged.
"I'm aware. But if Isaac wants to bridge the gap between our worlds… who am I to stop him?"
Yuki didn't press further.
Fine.
Let them walk their own path to ruin.
After a peaceful tour of the village's lush landscapes, Yuki and the chief made their way back—only to find two figures waiting at the entrance.
A silver-haired girl with violet eyes stood stiffly, her expression uneasy, while the golden-haired girl from earlier clung to her arm, refusing to let her leave.