Ren slowly opened his eyes.
"Please tell me I'm on solid ground this time," he muttered weakly.
Ami sat up beside him, coughing a little.
"…Ren?"
They were no longer in the ocean. No explosions, no spaceships, no monsters. Just a wide grassy field under a calm blue sky. Birds chirped softly. A gentle wind blew.
Ren blinked.
"…Huh? Did it finally stop?"
Ami looked around carefully.
"I think the universe got tired."
For a moment, everything felt peaceful. Too peaceful. Ren sighed deeply.
"…Finally. A safe save point."
Ami tilted her head. "Save point?"
Ren shook his head quickly. "Nothing. Forget it."
They started walking slowly through the grass. Ami stayed close to him.
"…Ren," she said softly. "What is happening to us?"
Ren stayed quiet for a second, then answered honestly.
"I don't know."
Ami looked down at the ground, her voice small.
"We just keep getting thrown from one place to another."
Ren nodded.
"Sky war… space war… ocean war…" He counted on his fingers. "I feel like we're stuck in a broken game."
Ami gave a nervous smile.
"That's a strange way to say it."
Ren looked at her.
"I've been calling it reality, but reality keeps disagreeing with me."
Ami laughed softly. For a brief moment, the fear eased, and they felt a little calmer.
But suddenly, the grass under their feet started glowing. A faint magic circle appeared.
Ren stopped. "Ami?"
Ami looked down, eyes wide. "It's glowing!"
Ren pointed at the ground.
"Why is there always a circle?!"
The sky cracked like glass. A cold voice echoed from above.
"Subjects located."
Ren froze. "That voice again…"
Ami grabbed his arm tightly, scared. "Ren!! What is it?!"
Ren swallowed hard.
"I think… we are being tracked."
The ground shook with light. The air trembled.
Ami shouted, voice full of panic, "NOT AGAIN!!"
Ren took a deep breath and looked at her.
"This time… I'm not surprised."
Ami stared at him. "THAT'S your response?!"
Ren gave a weak smile. "I'm evolving emotionally."
Ami: "THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO EVOLVE!!"
FLASH!
Everything disappeared again.
---
Ren opened his eyes slowly.
"…Finally… solid ground," he said, tired.
Ami sat up and brushed dust from her clothes.
"I think we're stable this time."
They were in a hot, empty desert. Dry wind blew across the sand. In the middle stood one lonely tree with no leaves. Its branches looked sad and empty.
Ren squinted.
"That tree looks depressed."
Ami nodded. "It matches this place."
They walked toward the tree. The silence felt heavy. No fighting, no teleporting — just hot wind.
Ren exhaled.
"Maybe we finally reached a normal world."
Ami warned him, "Don't jinx it."
Ren raised his hands quickly. "Right. Sorry."
They stood near the dead tree. For a moment, it was quiet. Ren started to relax.
"…Okay. Maybe we're safe."
Ami nodded. "Yeah. Finally—"
WHOOOOSH!!
A portal ripped open in the sky.
Ren's eyes widened. "I TAKE IT BACK!!"
Ami grabbed his arm. "Ren!! You jinxed it!!"
A person fell screaming from the portal.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH—!!"
He crashed straight into the tree.
CRACK! Branches shook hard.
"OWWW!! WHY IS IT ALWAYS A TREE?!"
Ren froze.
"…No way."
Ami blinked. "You know him?"
Ren pointed. "That's my friend."
The boy fell out of the tree and landed face-first in the sand.
THUD.
He lifted his head, leaves stuck in his hair.
"…Ren…?"
Ren crossed his arms. "Sato."
Sato pointed at him. "WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS IN WEIRD PLACES?!"
Ren sighed. "I could ask you the same thing."
Sato stood up, brushing sand off.
"I was just talking about anime Season 2 and then — boom — portal!"
Ami looked between them. "So this is your friend?"
Ren nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."
Sato looked around the desert.
"So… this is isekai?"
Ren gave a tired smile. "Looks like it."
Sato paused.
"…Can I go back?"
Ren and Ami answered at the same time: "No."
Sato: "WHY IS THAT ANSWER ALWAYS SO FAST?!"
The desert sun burned down. Hot wind blew.
Ren wiped sweat from his forehead. "It's too hot…"
Ami sat under the dead tree, fanning herself. "This place is like an oven."
Sato lay flat on the sand. "I regret everything."
Ren looked at him. "You regret anime Season 2?"
Sato nodded slowly. "…Yes."
Ami sighed. "Can we focus on what's happening?"
They all sat together under the tree. Ren spoke quietly.
"First we were in school. Then the gate appeared. Then we started teleporting everywhere. And now Sato fell from the sky into a tree."
Sato added, "That sounds like a very bad game update."
Ren nodded. "Exactly."
Ami looked serious, worry clear on her face.
"So where are we now?"
Ren shook his head. "I don't know."
Sato sat up a little. "Do you think we're dead?"
Ren answered quickly, "No."
Ami added softly, "I don't feel dead."
Sato frowned. "That's not very convincing."
A strong wind blew. The dead tree creaked sadly.
Ren spoke quietly, a serious look in his eyes.
"…Something is controlling this."
Ami turned to him. "Like what?"
Ren hesitated.
"Like a system. Something is moving us from place to place on purpose."
Sato sighed. "Great. Even my life got patched without update notes."
Ren stood up slowly.
"Okay. First plan."
Ami looked up. "What?"
Ren pointed at the horizon.
"Survive this heat."
Sato fell back dramatically. "THAT'S your plan?!"
Ren smiled weakly. "Step one is always survive."
Ami gave a small, tired smile.
"…At least it's a plan."
The three of them sat together under the dead tree — hot, tired, scared, and confused.
But for now, the world stayed quiet.