Karl leaned back against the chair, arms loose at his sides, the faintest grin tugging at his lips. His voice, when it came, was steady and deep, but carried something sharp beneath the calm—like he enjoyed the sound of his own truths.
"So," he said, rolling the word on his tongue. "You want to know why we came here. Why the gates opened. Why your pretty little world started drowning in mana."
Reia didn’t look up from her notepad. Her pen tapped once against the page before she spoke. "Yes. Start from the beginning."
Karl exhaled through his nose, amused. "The beginning is boring. Long councils, endless arguments. You wouldn’t care. The short version? The monster race grew tired of looking at the same skies. We wanted new ground. Fresh soil to scorch, new blood to test our claws on. Simple."
Reia finally glanced up, her dark eyes steady. "So conquest."
Karl spread his hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "What else? We’re not philosophers. We wanted another world. Yours was close enough, weak enough. At least, that’s what we thought."
Evelyn, sitting just a little off to the side, muttered, "Charming."
Karl chuckled at that, shoulders shaking. "Charming? No. Honest. You’d prefer I dressed it up? Said something about destiny or higher purpose? Please. We saw an open door and walked through. That’s it."
Reia’s pen moved again, scratching notes. "You built the gates."
"Yes." Karl tilted his head. "Magnificent things, aren’t they? Whole cities of ours devoted centuries to weaving them. Anchoring one world to another is no joke, even for us. We thought it would be a grand stage. A hunt across dimensions."
Silas’ voice cut across, sharp and clipped. "Then why here?"
Karl looked at him, the grin widening. "Because your world looked so pitiful. No mana, no defenses. Just soft little humans with sticks and iron toys. Do you know how funny it was, the first time our scouts reported back? Like tossing wolves into a field of sheep."
Reia cut back in, voice cool. "And yet you didn’t expect resistance."
Karl’s smile faltered just a little, his eyes narrowing with a glint that almost looked like respect. "No. That was... a surprise. We spilled mana into your air without a thought. Thought it would make the killing faster. Make the game more fun. We didn’t expect it to... wake you up."
Reia leaned forward slightly. "Abilities."
"Yes." Karl gave a low laugh, shaking his head. "Your kind were nothing. But once the mana bled through, something in you twisted. Evolved. Hunters were born. You stood, clawed back. And for the first time in a long time... we bled."
Lucian didn’t move, but the silence around him carried weight. Karl noticed it, his eyes flicking toward him for a heartbeat before snapping back to Reia.
"You want to know what the elders said?" Karl asked. "They called it an accident. A joke. That humans waking up would just make the war interesting. But me? I think it scared them. Just a little. The thought that sheep could grow fangs."
Reia’s pen stilled. "So the gates weren’t meant to awaken us."
"No." Karl’s tone hardened. "We built them for conquest. For slaughter. But we gave you a gift instead. We made you dangerous."
Vyn’s voice piped up, impatient. "And you regret that?"
Karl smirked at him. "Regret? No. I like a good fight. I don’t mind when prey learns how to bite back. But the others, the ones higher up? They hate it. They don’t like surprises. They like control."
Reia tapped her pen again. "So you pushed Earth into a war you didn’t expect."
"Exactly." Karl leaned forward now, elbows on his knees. "You think I care about politics? About their great plans of domination? No. I came here for fun. For the challenge. For the chance to burn new skies. But the humans... you’ve turned it into something more. You’ve forced us to adapt."
Evelyn’s gaze was sharp. "And if we keep adapting?"
Karl grinned, teeth flashing. "Then maybe you’ll survive long enough to see what real monsters look like."
The silence that followed was heavy. Reia’s pen scratched again.
Lucian’s voice came in quiet. So quiet it cut sharper than a shout.
"How do we go there?"
The room shifted. Heads turned. Even Karl stopped mid-breath, his grin freezing before sliding into something else.
"You mean..." He tilted his head, eyes glinting. "Into the monster world?"
Lucian didn’t blink. "If you can come here, there has to be a way back. How?"
Reia’s pen hovered above her page, her eyes darting to him like he had just cracked the ground open. Even Vel leaned forward, restless.
Karl let out a slow whistle. "Now that... is a dangerous question."
"Answer it," Lucian said. His tone never changed—flat, calm—but the air seemed to thrum with weight.
Karl laughed, though it wasn’t mocking. More like someone genuinely entertained. "You’re serious. You want to walk into a world full of things that dream about tearing you apart?"
For a heartbeat Karl only stared, then leaned back, shaking his head with a low chuckle. "You’re either insane or... no, just insane. But I like it."
Reia finally found her voice. "Lucian, you—"
He lifted a hand without looking at her, stopping her words. His eyes stayed locked on Karl.
Karl tapped his clawed finger lightly on the armrest, thinking. "Alright. You want to know? The gates... they’re one way. Built to push out, not pull in. Like a spear through a shield. We forced them into your skies, tore the fabric open, anchored it. For you to come to us..." He paused, grin curling. "You’d need to tear it from your side. Break the wound open wider. And that, boy, would take a power even we don’t toss around lightly."
Reia’s pen scratched furiously again, but her face was tight. "So it’s possible."
Karl gave her a look, amused. "Possible? Everything’s possible if you’re willing to pay the price. But the way home, as you call it, isn’t a door you just knock on. It’s a storm. A collapse. You open it wrong, your world will bleed out before you even step through."
Lucian’s expression didn’t shift. "Where’s the anchor?"
Karl blinked once. Then laughed again, louder this time. "Straight to the throat, huh? No games with you. Fine. Every gate we made has a core—an anchor stone tied to our side. Destroy it, the gate dies. Seize it, though..." His grin sharpened. "And you could reverse it. Drag the door the other way."
Evelyn’s jaw tightened. "You’re just giving this away?"
Karl shrugged. "Why not? Knowledge won’t save you. If you’re bold enough to try, I’d like to watch. See how far you can go before you’re swallowed."
Lucian leaned back slightly, the shadows of his eyes unreadable. "Then that’s the way."
The others shifted, unsettled. Reia looked like she wanted to argue, Evelyn’s brow furrowed, Silas’ fingers drummed soundlessly on his arm. None of them spoke.
Karl chuckled low. "You really mean it. You’re not content just fending us off. You want to bring the fight to us."
Lucian didn’t answer.
Karl’s grin spread wider, almost gleeful. "Good. Then maybe you’re worth the trouble. But let me give you a warning, little conqueror—our world isn’t waiting with open arms. You think what you’ve fought here was bad? Those were scraps. Hounds sent sniffing. When you step through... that’s when the real hunt begins."
Silence pressed down again. Only Reia’s pen scratched softly, dragging the words onto paper like they might vanish if she didn’t.
Lucian finally stood. His voice, calm as before, carried like a blade across the room.
"Then we go gate raiding."
Karl laughed, deep and booming, filling the chamber. "Yes. Do that. Tear the skies wider. Come see what waits on the other side. I’ll even save you a seat at the fire."
The others watched Lucian, but he gave nothing more. Just that quiet certainty, as if he’d already made the decision before he’d asked the question.
Karl leaned back again, satisfied. "Oh, this is going to be fun."