Chapter 1: Crossing into Another World

The beat of a tiny butterfly’s wings might trigger a cataclysmic storm thousands of miles away.

—The Butterfly Effect

In the vast, beautiful universe, tens of thousands of light-years from Earth, lies a stunning green planet in a distant galaxy.

Civilizations here take many forms. There is no Industrial Revolution, no computers—yet a highly advanced magical civilization thrives. Humans, orcs, elves, and dragons coexist in an ecosystem far more complex than Earth’s, home to numerous highly intelligent beings…

But now, the tranquility of this beautiful planet has been shattered.

KABOOM!

Battle Aura surged, magic flared brilliantly, and acrid smoke filled the air. In the sky, griffins screeched, and even mighty dragons soared. Knights’ lances gleamed coldly. On the ground, hundreds of thousands of troops—humans, orcs, and elves—stood poised for battle, swords drawn, bows strung, backed by powerful legions of mages.

The endless army was terrifying—yet they could barely hold their ground, for they faced dozens of extraterrestrial warships.

The colonial forces from the distant planet Trada!

Trada was a highly advanced civilization in the vast cosmos—yet fiercely aggressive. They built countless advanced warships, conquering planet after planet, enslaving native inhabitants or selling worlds to other alien species at exorbitant prices.

This expedition fleet belonged to the Trada colonial forces—but their luck had run out. During a space jump, a star suddenly exploded. The massive energy storm disrupted the jump, and instead of reaching their destination, they were transported to an unknown location.

Cut off from their home planet, this powerful expeditionary force drifted aimlessly through space. But this couldn’t last—they needed a base, rest, and supplies. Their only option was to find a habitable planet before their energy ran out, then do as Trada often did: conquer it. With a base, even if they couldn’t return home, they could survive comfortably.

A large number of unmanned reconnaissance drones were dispatched, scouring the cosmos for any signs of life. Two weeks passed before they finally received the news they sought: about two light-years ahead, a vibrant green planet teeming with life was discovered.

Transmitted images showed the planet’s technology was extremely backward—still in the Middle Ages: no machinery, no electricity, armies armed only with cold weapons. Fleet Commander General Mora was overjoyed; conquering such a backward planet would be effortless.

They could resupply—and… there were beauties. After drifting in space for two months, the soldiers were going stir-crazy. Seeing the 3D images from the reconnaissance drones—a tall, slender beauty—even the usually composed staff officers let out wolf-like howls.

Fine food and beautiful women were the best motivation; no war mobilization was needed. The general ordered the fleet to perform a short-range space jump, arriving just outside the green planet’s atmosphere.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as expected…

The once-invincible fleet met fierce resistance. Though Haolan Star was still in the Middle Ages, it boasted a highly developed magical civilization and incredibly powerful Battle Aura.

Facing the ruthless extraterrestrial invaders, Haolan’s intelligent beings united for the first time. Humans, elves, and orcs formed a massive coalition—joined even by the proud dragons.

These were colossal creatures dozens of meters long—still like ants before the massive warships—yet… magic was not to be trifled with.

Aside from the main cannons in the bows, ordinary lasers and energy missiles couldn’t penetrate the dragons’ protective barriers. Carrier-based aircraft faced fierce resistance from griffin riders, and mecha warriors meant for landing were overwhelmed by the knights’ armored tide.

“Damn it!”

Staring at the screen, General Mora smashed his wine glass in fury. The mighty imperial fleet—the once-invincible expeditionary force—couldn’t subdue a bunch of medieval barbarians wielding cold weapons. If word got out, it would be a disgrace to the empire.

What exactly was this “magic” they spoke of—and what was “Battle Aura”? Through the screen, Mora witnessed an FV joint strike aircraft fire two precision-guided bombs at an enemy commander—but… the one revered as the “Sword Saint” emerged unscathed, instead slicing the fighter jet in half with a single sword strike.

Was this even possible? Could flesh and blood withstand such force? Even fully armored mecha warriors couldn’t survive such explosions. The battle before him completely shattered Mora’s understanding.

Mora had served in the Trada colonial forces for over twenty years, conquering countless planets—yet this was the first time he encountered such an unbelievable situation. It seemed that, though this planet was in the Middle Ages, it possessed a strange civilization capable of rivaling the mechanical age.

With his current forces, victory was difficult. Cut off from their home planet, they couldn’t call for reinforcements. Worse still, the fleet’s energy and food supplies were running low. If they gave up now, their chances of survival in the vast cosmos were zero.

No matter what—they had to capture Haolan Star!

Mora rose from his command seat on the bridge: “Order: energy charging—prepare to deploy antimatter weapons.”

“Antimatter weapons, General? That’s…”

“Execute the order!” Mora’s eyes flashed with ferocity. “I understand the risks—but to conquer this planet, antimatter weapons are our only trump card.”

“Yes, sir.”

The staff officer saluted, and operators began busily inputting activation codes into the computers. The warships started to transform…

Meanwhile, in the coalition’s command center, the atmosphere was equally tense. Haolan’s civilization had endured for tens of thousands of years—yet this was the first time they faced such a situation. Where did these iron monsters come from?

The Behemoth King of the orcs was furious. His invincible Behemoth legion had lost thousands of warriors. Those cold monsters emitted strange beams—more devastating than magic. His warriors were bleeding.

Beyond the orcs, the dwarves’ berserker legions, the elves’ phantom archers, the human Royal Knights, and the Holy Knights—all elite forces—had suffered heavy losses.

This couldn’t continue. Coalition Marshal, Duke Ares, summoned the commanders of each race: “Is everyone ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then, as planned—order the mages to prepare forbidden spells. Bring down those flying monsters in the sky.”

Thousands of mages were gathered—an unprecedented event in Haolan’s history. Besides the human empire’s mages, there were the Church’s holy priests, the orcs’ shamans, and the elves’ nature mages. The elements in the air grew abnormally active, as the mages began preparing immensely powerful destructive magic—the legendary forbidden spells.

The Trada colonial forces had already received their commander’s orders, recalling carrier-based fighters and mecha warriors into the ships. The fleet’s main control computer emitted a cold voice: “Antimatter energy reactor charging at 75%, 80%, 95%… Ready. Countdown initiated: ten, nine, eight, seven…”

Simultaneously, Haolan’s mages completed their super spells: the fire-element forbidden spell “Doomsday Phoenix,” the light-element forbidden spell “Angel’s Judgment,” the shaman’s forbidden spell “Wrath of the Beast God,” and the elves’ “Redemption of the Nature Goddess”…

An unprecedented fusion of four forbidden spells—unparalleled in power, unimaginable—perhaps even the gods would retreat. And the colonial fleet’s antimatter weapons, with their terrifying destructive power, far surpassed the nuclear weapons we know. The ultimate clash of two civilizations—who would prevail?

But just then, an accident occurred…

The fusion of four forbidden spells and the antimatter weapons, though not yet unleashed, had already caused spatial vibrations. The accumulated energy exceeded the limits this plane could bear—shattering the balance of natural law. A sharp tearing sound echoed as a crack appeared in space, rapidly widening under the energy’s pull.

“Heavens!”

“What is that?”

…

The mages panicked, finding the elements in their hands completely uncontrollable. With a bang, crystal balls shattered, and wands turned to dust. The elemental energies constituting the four forbidden spells began being sucked into the rip in space.

The warships fared no better. Alarm lights flashed incessantly as the main control computer’s cold voice announced: “Antimatter energy reactor charging dropping: 90%, 75%, 60%…”

“What’s happening?”

A soldier must remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses before him; a commander must be even more composed. But Mora’s face paled, a sense of foreboding gripping him.

“General, something terrible is happening! Besides the antimatter energy reactor, the warships’ power systems are losing energy rapidly. The engines will stop soon.”

“What? Quickly, find out what’s going on!”

Streams of data were input into the computers, screens flickering. Seeing the scene before him, Mora’s face turned ashen, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Heavens—what was that? A spatial rift? No… it was no longer just a rift—it was a black hole!

A black hole—the cosmos’ most terrifying hunter. Everything in the universe, even light, cannot escape its pull. And the fate of anything drawn into a black hole is only one—destruction!

The accumulated energy from the four forbidden spells and the antimatter weapons had broken spatial laws—creating a black hole.

“Quickly, turn the fleet around! Leave this planet—now!”

Snapping out of his shock, Mora shoved the pilot aside and took control himself. Though drifting into the boundless cosmos with dwindling energy and supplies offered little hope, staying here meant certain death. Escape was his only thought now.

But... it was too late. The newborn black hole was still weak, but as it absorbed more matter, it would grow larger and larger. Now, the warship's energy could no longer break free from the magnetic field, like a tiny insect struggling against a gale, being pulled bit by bit into the black hole by the suction.

And they were not the only victims. Countless soldiers of the Hailan Star Allied Forces had already been sucked into the black hole. Before this terrifying cosmic hunter, not only ordinary soldiers but even Behemoths, Sword Saints, and giant dragons appeared so fragile, with no chance to resist or struggle.

And besides living beings, stones, flowers, grass, trees, soil—everything was also being devoured by the black hole.

The unpredictability of fate—who could have expected this? The decisive battle between the Hailan Star Allied Forces and the colonial fleet would end in such a manner.

"No—"

Amid General Mora's desperate roar, the flagship of the expedition fleet was also sucked into the black hole. But then, something even more incredible happened: from the black hole that devoured everything, a person drifted out. His body was enveloped in a silver light membrane, apparently completely unaffected by the black hole.

*Pop.* In the main control room of the flagship, a thumb-sized metal sphere detached from the supercomputer. The planet of Tralad possessed a highly advanced civilization. Centuries ago, computers had evolved life, but later, fearing it would threaten humanity's status, it was ordered to be prohibited. However... nothing is absolute. The flagship's supercomputer had already evolved life, but it had always been careful not to let anyone discover it.

Now, in this critical situation, the supercomputer did not want to be annihilated along with the warship in the black hole. This small metal sphere was its core, breaking free from the main body in an attempt to escape.

But... it wasn't that easy. Even light would be devoured by the black hole. Although the sphere was small, it still couldn't break free from the suction. Despair spread through the supercomputer's core. And just then, it discovered the youth—the youth drifting out of the black hole. Only he ignored the gravitational pull.

This was the only chance. The computer operated at high speed, quickly making a judgment. It used its last bit of energy to struggle toward the youth.

Success! The computer core breathed a sigh of relief, having escaped the fate of destruction. Now, it wanted to seize this person's body. From the metal sphere, many tentacle-like things extended, wrapping around the youth. However, upon touching the silver light membrane on the youth's body, they recoiled as if burned.

"Not good!"

The supercomputer sensed danger. It wanted to leave, but it was already too late. The tentacles began to melt, followed by its main body. The supercomputer had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice—it was instead absorbed and consumed by the youth.