The blue letters glowed intensely in the air:
[You have completed the main mission: Kill the monsters or die!]
A brief collective sigh of relief swept through the clearing. However, that relief lasted only a moment.
The forest, the trees, the sky… the entire dimensional space began to fade like a dream dissolving at dawn. Fragments of reality dissolved into nothingness until only a vast darkness dotted with distant stars remained.
[Rewards obtai…]
Suddenly, the screen turned a violent, aggressive red.
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
The message multiplied hundreds of times, trembling with fury. Then, everything came to an abrupt halt.
[Reconfiguring system…]
[Anomaly detected]
[You are too strong for this world. Your levels, skills, and divine power will be sealed until you can prove your worth without them.]
Jay felt the seal activate.
Chains of black light emerged from the void and wrapped around his body, sinking into his skin like burning roots. His imposing starry aura began to fade slowly, stealing away the power that had dominated the battlefield.
He let out a long sigh, silently watching as his powers dissipated into the air, turning into small green and blue particles that floated around him like dying fireflies.
He placed his right hand over his chest, closed his eyes for a moment, and murmured in a firm, reverent voice:
—Blessed be the Goddess.
When he opened them again, his face held a smile full of pride and perseverance. There was no trace of frustration or anger, only the serene determination of someone who accepts a new challenge.
—Well then… —he whispered to himself. —Let's start from zero.
…
That day would remain etched forever in the memory of all the survivors.
They would tell the story over and over: how they had been saved by a mysterious knight with emerald-green hair and scarlet eyes that shone like blood gems. A being whose stellar armor, adorned with living constellations, and whose cape seemed to contain the very universe itself, had illuminated the darkness of the forest like a star fallen from the sky.
His image was so magnificent, so imposing and divine, that it soon became legend.
As the days passed, hundreds of products began to appear throughout the kingdom: action figures, t-shirts, posters, medals, even perfumes and chocolates featuring his silhouette. They called him "The Star Knight," "The Guardian of the White Stars," or simply "The Savior of Lumig."
Children played at imitating his heroic pose in the squares, and bards were already composing songs about his feat.
And the knight himself… had no idea about any of it.
Jay, still standing in the middle of the now-empty clearing, only felt the weight of the seal on his body and the faint smile of someone who had just accepted a new beginning. Completely unaware of the cultural phenomenon he had just unleashed.
…
Tunja City Police Station
The atmosphere inside the station was controlled chaos. Hundreds of officers ran back and forth between desks cluttered with papers.
The phones wouldn't stop ringing: desperate family members reporting missing persons, robbery complaints, accidents, and people who had simply "vanished" after the incident at Lumig Shopping Center.
Voices overlapped, creating a constant buzz that seemed endless.
In an isolated office at the end of the hallway, farther from the noise, was the office of Commissioner James Baker.
The man, about fifty years old, with graying hair and a face marked by exhaustion, let out a deep sigh as he looked at his desk. A huge pile of reports, photos, and statements threatened to collapse at any moment.
—It's a goddamn disaster… —he muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration.
From his chair, he could clearly hear the commotion outside: raised voices, ringing phones, and hurried footsteps. The entire city seemed to have gone mad since the previous day, and as commissioner, he had to deal with all of it.
Baker leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling with tired eyes.
—Thousands of people missing… and not a single coherent lead. What the hell is going on?
Suddenly, all the noise in the station stopped. Every officer, every civilian present, and even Commissioner Baker himself froze in front of the television screens.
The news was broadcasting live images and videos from different points around the world.
—Experts have classified these massive energy accumulations that appeared simultaneously across the planet as dimensional portals —announced the presenter in a grave voice.
The silence became absolute.
The images that followed were devastating: monsters emerging from the portals and massacring anyone nearby. People being devoured alive, torn apart, crushed… The screams captured in the videos sent chills down the spine.
—Holy God! —shouted a young police officer, covering his mouth.
Many looked away. Others clutched their heads, turning pale. Several people had to leave the room because they couldn't bear the brutality of the images.
But then, someone spoke up from the back:
—This is our hero!
An officer had connected his phone to the main television.
Everyone turned toward the new screen.
In the video, recorded with a shaky hand, a man with an elegant and knightly bearing could be clearly seen. His emerald-green hair glowed under a powerful greenish-blue aura. Beautiful ethereal birds made of the same energy flew around him and perched on his shoulders and sword.
Suddenly, a blinding white flash flooded the screen.
In a single instant, all the monsters that were about to attack the civilians were completely disintegrated.
The room fell silent for a few seconds… until a voice filled with awe broke the quiet:
—That was beautiful… —whispered an officer.
—It really was —added a woman with bluish hair standing by the door, her eyes still fixed on the screen, as if hypnotized.
At that moment, for the first time all day, a spark of hope shone on the faces of those present.
…
Knock! Knock!
—You can come in, Burton —said James Baker without looking up from his documents.
Detective Burton entered quickly.
—Chief, you need to come see this. Now.
—What's so important that it can't wait? Can't you see I'm up to my neck in this? —exclaimed Baker, annoyed, revealing his bright orange eyes.
Burton sighed.
—Trust me, sir. You have to see it with your own eyes.
They both walked down a long white hallway until they reached a special interrogation room protected by one-way glass.
On the other side of the glass sat a young man handcuffed to the table.
—We haven't found a single civil record on him —Burton explained in a low voice. —No documentation, no criminal record, no information prior to the monster invasion. It's as if he didn't exist before yesterday.
—Not a single document… This kid is a complete mystery —murmured Baker, crossing his arms.
—We only have a couple of recordings of him. In the first one, he's seen stealing clothes hanging in a backyard. And in the second, two minutes later, he returns and leaves two small objects at the door of the same house.
Baker observed the detainee carefully.
Fair skin, intense green hair with subtle blue streaks, and calm gray eyes that no longer had the scarlet color seen in the videos.
What a strange kid… thought the commissioner.
Baker continued watching the young man through the one-way glass, his brow furrowed.