NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 3: Chapter Three: Lost and Awakened
1. A First Glimpse of a New World
Jack's eyes fluttered open. A cold breeze brushed against his face, carrying the fresh scent of pine mixed with the crispness of snow. Above him, the sky stretched endlessly, painted in hues of blue and silver. Three moons hung motionless in the heavens, their soft glow casting ethereal shadows across the land.
This isn't Miami.
He lay on a stretch of grass, surrounded by towering snow-capped peaks that shimmered like polished glass under the sunlight. The landscape was wild, untouched—a place where time itself felt ancient.
A deep, rhythmic beat filled the air—the flapping of enormous wings.
Jack sat up abruptly, just in time to see a winged unicorn descending from the clouds. Its pearlescent wings spread wide, each feather glistening like silver. Straddling its back was Alicia, her golden hair cascading in the wind, her sapphire eyes locked onto him.
"Still alive, I see," she teased, offering him a hand.
Before Jack could overthink it, he grabbed her hand and was hoisted onto the creature's broad back. The warmth of the unicorn radiated through him, steady and calming. With a powerful thrust of its wings, they soared into the sky.
"Welcome to Aelso," Alicia said, her voice soft, yet heavy with meaning.
Beneath them, the world unfurled like an endless canvas—majestic, dangerous, and breathtaking.
They flew over snow-capped mountains, the ridges sharp and white, resembling the jagged peaks of the Alps. Below them, a deep canyon carved through the earth, its sheer cliffs and winding rivers reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. Farther ahead, turquoise waves crashed against sun-drenched cliffs, calling to mind the pristine shores of Hawaii.
"This entire world is a single, massive landmass—the Aelso Continent—divided into eight regions, each with its own climate and culture," Alicia explained, her voice nearly drowned by the wind.
She pointed toward the distant horizons:
To the southeast, dense rainforests stretched endlessly, as wild and untamed as the Amazon.
To the southwest, shimmering sand dunes twisted into the horizon, a sea of gold resembling the Sahara.
In the north, icy tundras sprawled under swirling snow, not unlike the Antarctic expanse.
To the west, lush fields and rolling meadows mirrored the old-world charm of Western Europe.
The eastern coasts bustled with mountain ranges and ancient forests, their landscape a mirror of East Asia.
And to the far south, volcanic islands spewed ash and fire into the skies, much like the isles of the South Pacific.
"Every region has its own cultures, species, and magic," Alicia continued. "Humans, orcs, dwarves, elves—you'll find them all here. And most worship the Goddess of Light—Artemis. But some… follow older, darker things."
Her words barely settled when Jack noticed the life below: dragons coiled around mountain peaks, their scales glinting under the sun. Phoenixes left fiery trails across the sky. In the rivers, a massive, turtle-like Xuanwu swam lazily, its shell etched with ancient runes. From the forests emerged graceful unicorns, roaming alongside centaurs, while the shores revealed mermaids, their haunting songs riding the ocean breeze.
And above it all, the three moons cast a silvery veil over the continent.
Jack's breath caught in his throat.
This world isn't just alive—it's ancient. And I'm completely lost in it.
---
2. The Power of Magic and Magestones
Hours later, the winged unicorn descended into a crystalline valley, where jagged mineral shards jutted from the ground like frozen lightning. Some of the crystals floated mid-air, humming with raw energy, their surfaces alive with shifting colors.
"These are Magestones," Alicia explained, sliding off the unicorn's back. "They're the heart of this world. Every weapon, every city, every piece of advanced magic—you'll find Magestones behind it. They store elemental energy, and with the right skill, you can turn them into weapons, tools… even fuel entire cities."
She reached out, and a nearby Magestone glowed in response. Her hand flicked in a practiced motion, and a spiraling stream of light shot upward, twisting into the form of a radiant serpent that danced in the air before dissolving.
"Magic here isn't something you learn. You're born with it," Alicia said, turning toward Jack. "From the moment we take our first breath, magic flows through us. People are ranked from E to S tier, based on the strength of their innate abilities."
She held up her fingers, counting off as she spoke:
"Eight elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, dark, light, and electricity. Most people have one affinity. Some rare cases have two."
She paused.
"But you… you're different."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Your aura carries all eight elements. And I'm not talking about random traces. I mean full, unlocked potential. That's… not supposed to happen."
Before Jack could process that, she gestured to a hovering Magestone. "Try it."
He hesitated but followed her lead. Reaching out tentatively, his fingertips brushed against the cold surface. At first—nothing. Then, like a dam breaking, a surge of energy raced through his veins. Light, heat, pressure—all elements collided within him. The stone cracked under his grip before exploding into shards.
Jack staggered back, breath ragged.
"Holy sh—"
"You're S+ tier," Alicia whispered, wide-eyed. "With full elemental affinity."
"...That sounds important."
"It's more than important," she replied gravely. "It means you were summoned here for a reason."
---
3. Alicia's Hidden Pain
Days passed in the valley as Alicia taught Jack the basics of channeling magic. They rode through forests thick with ancient trees and across windswept plains dotted with ruins of a civilization long gone.
But Jack couldn't shake the feeling that Alicia was hiding something.
At night, when the campfire dwindled to glowing embers, he'd catch her staring into the distance—her features soft, but her eyes heavy with sorrow.
"You're not telling me everything," Jack finally said one evening.
Alicia hesitated, the flickering firelight reflecting in her blue eyes. "My kingdom—Tibilis—is on the brink of collapse. War is coming. I… I don't know if we can survive it."
Her voice trembled. "But when I found you—when I saw the Magestones react to you—I realized you might be the last hope we have."
Jack swallowed hard. "Why me?"
"There's a prophecy," she said softly. "Of a summoned outsider—someone who could either save or doom this world."
Save or doom. No pressure.
---
4. Chaos Descends
They didn't have time to debate fate.
The sky above them split open, thick black clouds spiraling into a vortex. From it, dark-winged figures descended—demon hordes, their horns gleaming under the blood-red sky. In the distance, the town they had passed through hours ago was already burning, its wooden houses crumbling under the onslaught.
Alicia's face paled. "They found us."
The ground trembled as dark beasts poured through the forests, their claws tearing through the earth.
Jack froze.
He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't a hero.
But when a bolt of dark magic shot straight toward him, instincts kicked in.
Alicia yanked him backward, practically throwing him onto the winged unicorn. "HOLD ON!"
They shot into the sky, the demon hordes swarming beneath them. But they weren't alone in the air. Winged beasts surged upward, their claws snapping at the unicorn's legs. Fireballs and lightning bolts crisscrossed the sky as Alicia fought them off with sweeping bursts of light magic.
Jack clung tightly, helpless as chaos erupted around him.
For days, they fled—through forests, over rivers, narrowly escaping death at every turn.
Finally, they found refuge deep within a cavern, hidden behind a cascading waterfall. The world outside was quiet again, but Jack's mind was anything but.
I can't do this. I'm not made for this.
But the memories of the burning village—the people he hadn't been able to save—gnawed at him.
---
5. The Will to Survive
Alicia sat by the waterfall, softly singing an ancient melody. Her voice was haunting, laced with light magic, and Jack felt the weight on his chest ease, his racing thoughts quieting.
Her song healed more than wounds—it reached deeper.
"Jack," she said gently, "this world is built on balance. Light and dark. Order and chaos. You must keep that balance within you, or…" She trailed off, eyes clouded with something unsaid.
Jack didn't press her.
But he understood.
If he was going to survive—if he ever wanted to make it back home—he needed more than luck.
He needed power.
And the will to wield it.
He clenched his fists. "I'm done running."
Alicia smiled faintly, though her eyes still held shadows. "Good. But remember—power alone isn't what makes you strong. It's how you choose to use it."