Kus reached out to the orb offered by Franz. As soon as his outstretched fiouched it, a burst of blue smoke poured forth, blog everything around him, including Franz, from view.

  As the blue smoke faded, the ruins of a city were revealed to surround him. Skyscrapers, whice stood tall and proud, were now shattered and in the process of colpsing. The blocks of buildings that surrouhem, in a style Kus did nnize, had been ed by fire or marked by the wounds of ret fighting. Rubble filled the streets, and the corpses of human soldiers, civilians, and monstrous creatures blurred to his gaze by distance y everywhere. Only a few human survivors moved here and there. He could practically smell the death that had taken hold over the city.

  A roar of thunder and a crack of dispced air that pressed against his back caused Kus to turn around. A glowing arch of blue light had appeared ireet behind him. Moments after it stabilized, a line of monstrous soldiers covered head to toe in red spiked armor surged forth. Howls of bloodlust burst from fanged mouths at the sight of the startled human survivors further dowreet opposite Kus. With swift strides that quickly turned into a full sprint, the red-armored creatures rushed in their dire, all the while the numbers ing through the portal tio swell.

  Screams echoed up to Kus as the few humans he saw scrambled in desperation to find cover in nearby buildings or to flee deeper into the city. Some ducked behind the twisted remnants of what looked to be cars of some sort, likely hoping to be passed by. The figures in red armor were too fast, however, and within moments of getting inte, they were tearing through every human within reach. He could just barely hear the ts of ‘Blood! Blood! Blood!’ from where he stood looking down at the age.

  Kus felt only horror as the massacre unfolded. One woman threw herself into the doorway of a crumbling apartment building, and even this far away, he could tell how frantically she was seeking to hide. Before she could get deeper into the building, one of the figures in red armor surged behind her, a cwed hand swinging downwards to sm her to the ground in a single brutal stroke. The monster’s other cwed hand thrust into the woman’s chest, cutting her scream short, and spttering the front of the building with her blood. Dozens of others met simirly brutal ends in those early minutes.

  Another roar of thunder echoed from several streets over. After a minute to see what fresh horror was about to be revealed, a new wave of monsters came sprinting from between the rubble of several buildings. War cries emanated from the charging figures, which looked extremely simir to the hobgoblins and trolls of his favorite rolepying game. Many were cut down in the initial rush, but the swelling numbers of goblinoids began to wreak a toll on the red-armored monsters. The fighting tinued as each side received reinforts.

  The roars of new portals began to emerge in the distance. From the limited view of the city he had, eaew invading force was anhtmarish creature. Some races he reized from his tabletop games, others were pletely unknown to him.

  Franz appeared at his side in a burst of blue smoke. The Imperial Are Pathfinder gazed stoically down at the violend destru that tio expand around them as eaew invading force tributed to the chaos.

  “In the heart of this chaos, the few remaining human defenders were fighting a losing battle. Some feted well enough to the System’s arrival that they were able to find Csses of their own. Even fewer survived this long into the fall of their world. By the time the first of ions arrived, we were only able to save the smallest pertage of this world’s popution.”

  Franz pointed into the distance as a massive portal dwarfing all others that had emerged to this point burst ience. A bck-scaled beast burst forth, wings quickly thrusting its massive form into the air. The sheer force of their movement stirred the wind, sending debris swirling in a chaotic whirlwind around the creature. Each wi lifted the monstrous form almost made the earth tremble uhe beast’s titanic presence. Kus couldn’t help but feel a shiver of awe at the titan from mythology let loose a roar.

  “A Bck Dragon by the name of Croxthantorix came through a portal to eventually quer the world for itself. Withihose fas who survived the early fighting sued for peace with the mythic creature ahe world to his tender mercies.”

  Kus listened closely to Franz as he spoke about the fall of another world so simir to Earth. His eyes, however, were focused solely on Croxthantorix as he circled once over the city. Its bck scales shimmered in the dim light, eae gleaming like obsidian, abs the faint glow from the ruins it flew over. The dragon surged through the air, eaent exuding raw power and domis serpentine neck curved upward as it asded, and its crimson eyes burned with an a, malevolent intelligence as it looked out over the ruins of the city.

  And then it roared.

  The sound was so deafening, so primal, that it seemed to shake the fabric of the memory itself. It reverberated through the air, filling Kus with not only awe but also dread. He felt like an ant staring up at a force of nature, a being far beyond human prehension.

  As the dragon came closer to their position, the surrounding city burst into blue smoke. When it dissipated both Kus and Franz were sitting back at the table in the diner.

  “What the hell was that?” Kus asked in a whisper, eyes locked on to Franz who was once again across from him, his coffee in hand. His eyes darted around the room, but no one had reacted to the blue smoke. Perhaps they hadn’t seen it? No, that didn’t matter at the moment. If he had had any doubts about the seriousness of what was ing, they had been dispelled by what he had just seen.

  “That, boy, is why you should willingly go to the school yreat-great-grandfather wants you to attend. Only there will you be able to gain the knowledge, skills, and allies you will o give you even the smallest of ces to save Earth from the ing Iion. Otherwise the best you might hope for Earth is the fate of the world you just witnessed.”

  “Iion of Earth could end worse than that?!” Kus asked, shocked.

  “Much, much worse,” Franz said grimly, his eyes shifting down to his coffee. For several long movements, he just stared into the depths of his drink, lost in some heavy memories of his own. Shaking his head to dispel them, he made eye tact with Kus again.

  “Kus - or should I say, Krion - there is much you do not know about your world. I ’t expin anymore iime we have,” Franz said in aone. “But that doesn’t ge the fact you have to make a decision: will I have to force you into attending the school your true family wants you to attend, or will you go willingly?”

  Before Kus could respond, Ingrid emerged from the kit with two heavily loaded ptes of food in hand. As she approached the table, Franz causally reached out and disabled the artifact he pced to prevent their versation from being overheard. He slid it bato his pocket as as the waitress set the ptes oable.

  “One Bavarian Huntsman’s Feast for the growing young man,” Ingrid said, setting the first pte covered in sausages, pretzels, cheese, and several soft-boiled eggs in front of Kus.

  While the food looked good, Kus couldn’t help but stare at the other pte Ingrid held. Oe, set a bowl full of yered yrano, and honey, all buried under a pile of fresh fruit and nuts. It was not at all what he expected Franz to order.

  “Is everything alright?” Ingrid asked.

  “Don’t mind Kus, he’s just regretting pig an inferior meal to my Fairy Queen’s Parfait,” Franz said with a ugh as he reached out to take his own pte from the waitress. “Could we also get a refill on our coffee?”

  “Of course, I’ll be right back with a fresh batch.”

  As the waitress went off to get the pot of coffee, Kus took the first bite of one of the sausages. It really was good. Franz begaing mouthfuls of his food, letting out a pleased sound at the taste.

  After their coffees were topped off, they ate in silence. While externally calm, Kus thoughts were a whirlwind. Despite his struggle to find another option, everythi ing back to this Imperial finishing school for the nobility Fraioned as being his best shot to prepare for the ing Iioually his pte was empty, and his decision was made.

  “I just wao bee a doctor, pay down my debt, and take care of my family,” Kus said softly at his empty pte. He looked across the table at the Imperial Are Pathfinder. “I have made up my mind.”

  Franz paused at his st bite to look Kus in the eye. Whatever he saw there lined up with his expectations, as he nodded once.

  “Your decision is the right one. Your true family needs you, Krion Sturmwacht of Archducal House Bcksword,” he said formally and then put the st bite of yogurt into his mouth. Swallowing, he gave Kus a grin that had an edge of sadness.

  “Wele to the Empire.”