They didn't leave the ruins on foot for long.
At first, Rio simply followed Elara in silence, keeping a careful distance behind her. She walked with quiet certainty, her steps measured and unhurried, as if the terrain meant nothing to her.
The ruined industrial zone stretched further than he had expected, its scattered wreckage slowly giving way to something more structured.
What had initially seemed like random debris began to look deliberate—collapsed infrastructure, broken transport lines, fragments of a system that had once functioned with precision.
But it wasn't just destroyed.
It felt… isolated.
As if this entire section had been deliberately cut off from the rest of the world.
Rio noticed the absence of something he hadn't consciously registered before—there were no active power sources, no signals, no movement beyond the two of them. Whatever had happened here, it hadn't been an accident. It had been contained.
That thought unsettled him more than the bodies.
He didn't speak. There was no reason to, and more importantly, no benefit. Elara hadn't acknowledged him since deciding he was coming with her, and judging by the way her posture remained perfectly composed, she wasn't the type to tolerate unnecessary conversation.
After several minutes, the environment shifted.
The broken terrain gave way to a smooth, dark roadway that cut cleanly through the edge of the ruins. Thin strips of light ran along its sides, glowing faintly in a steady rhythm. The surface itself looked untouched, as if it had been maintained even while everything around it had been abandoned.
Rio slowed slightly as he stepped onto it, his eyes narrowing as he studied the material beneath his feet.
This wasn't old infrastructure.
This was active.
Before he could think further, a low hum filled the air.
It started as a distant vibration, barely noticeable, but quickly grew louder as something approached at high speed. Rio turned instinctively, his attention snapping toward the source.
A vehicle emerged from the far end of the road.
It moved smoothly, gliding just above the surface rather than making contact with it. Its frame was sleek and angular, built with a kind of precision that felt far beyond anything he had seen in his previous life. Faint currents of energy pulsed beneath it, stabilizing its movement without any visible wheels or propulsion system.
The vehicle slowed as it neared them, coming to a controlled stop.
Its surface shifted subtly before opening along a clean seam, revealing a minimalist interior.
No driver.
No visible controls.
Automated.
Elara stepped forward without hesitation and entered, her movements as calm as ever.
Rio remained where he was for a second, watching the vehicle carefully.
Then he exhaled and followed.
He didn't really have a choice.
The interior adjusted slightly as he sat down, the seating conforming just enough to support him without feeling restrictive. The door sealed behind him, and for a brief moment, everything was still.
Then the vehicle moved.
Not with a jolt, not with acceleration he could feel—but with a smooth, seamless shift that blurred the outside world almost instantly. The ruins disappeared behind them, replaced by streaks of motion as the transport system carried them forward at a speed that should have been disorienting.
But it wasn't.
The stability was absolute.
Rio leaned back slightly, his eyes fixed on the passing landscape.
This world wasn't just advanced.
It was controlled.
His gaze shifted toward Elara.
She hadn't moved since sitting down. Her posture remained straight, her attention directed forward, as if the speed, the technology, the entire process was completely ordinary to her.
Of course it was.
She lived here.
He didn't.
Silence settled between them, but this time it wasn't empty.
Rio's thoughts had already begun to drift.
The name surfaced again.
Rio Valen.
This time, it didn't feel distant or unfamiliar.
It felt like something returning.
A memory formed—clearer than before.
A large room, richly decorated, filled with polished surfaces and expensive materials. The air carried a quiet tension, broken only by voices that didn't bother to hide their disdain.
"Disgrace."
The word echoed sharply.
Rio's fingers tightened slightly against the seat.
Another memory followed.
A man stood before him—older, composed, his presence carrying an authority that didn't need to be spoken aloud. His gaze was cold, unwavering.
"You are no son of mine."
The weight of those words settled heavily in his chest.
Duke Valen.
The realization came naturally, as if it had always been there.
The body he occupied hadn't belonged to a nobody.
It belonged to a noble.
Not just any noble—a member of a ducal house.
More fragments connected.
Servants whispering behind closed doors.
Expressions of thinly veiled contempt.
"Arrogant."
"Waste of talent."
Rio exhaled slowly, absorbing it all.
So that was the kind of person Rio Valen had been.
Not respected.
Not feared.
Just… dismissed.
Another shift.
Rain poured heavily from the sky, soaking everything in sight. A figure knelt on the ground, his posture broken, his pride already gone.
Him.
No—
The previous owner of this body.
Rio Valen.
Exiled.
The word carried weight.
It wasn't a quiet departure.
It wasn't a mutual decision.
He had been cast out.
Cut off completely.
More pieces fell into place.
House Valen was part of the Astryx Empire.
A dominant power.
Influential.
Structured around nobility and hierarchy.
Rio's eyes narrowed slightly as he processed the next realization.
Then this place—
This wasn't Astryx.
The environment outside had already begun to change. The barren ruins had long since disappeared, replaced by a sprawling cityscape that stretched far into the distance. Tall structures rose into the sky, their designs sleek and deliberate, connected by layers of infrastructure that moved seamlessly between them.
Another memory answered him.
The Virelian Federation.
A separate power.
More advanced.
Less dependent on traditional noble structures.
Rio watched as vehicles similar to the one he was in moved along invisible pathways, some traveling along elevated routes, others weaving between buildings with controlled precision.
This wasn't just a city.
It was a system.
And he was already inside it.
That realization didn't sit well.
He wasn't just in another world.
He was in the wrong part of it.
A noble from the Astryx Empire, exiled and abandoned, now standing in a region controlled by a completely different power.
And on top of that—
He had just come from an illegal experiment facility.
His situation wasn't just bad.
It was unstable.
The vehicle began to slow, the motion outside gradually becoming clear again as they approached their destination.
Rio's gaze remained steady, but his thoughts sharpened.
Arcane Odyssey.
Of all possible worlds—
It had to be this one.
Not as the main character.
Not as someone important.
But as a discarded extra who had already fallen out of relevance before the story even began.
His jaw tightened slightly.
There was a bitter kind of irony in that.
The vehicle came to a complete stop.
The door opened.
Elara stood immediately, stepping out without a word.
Rio followed, his movements more controlled than before.
As his feet touched the ground, the reality of everything settled in again—not as a shock, but as something heavier. Something permanent.
This wasn't temporary.
There was no reset.
No waking up.
Just this world, this body, and whatever came next.
Elara glanced at him briefly, her expression unchanged.
"Stay close."
It wasn't a suggestion.
Rio nodded once.
"Understood."
As they began walking, he felt it again—that faint, unstable presence beneath his skin. It hadn't disappeared. It hadn't weakened.
It was waiting.
Rio kept his expression neutral, his steps steady, but his focus sharpened inward.
He needed control.
Because in a place like this, losing it wouldn't just put him in danger.
It would expose him completely.
And someone like Elara wouldn't hesitate to deal with that.
[End of Chapter 5]