The third dimensional gravity vortex struck Davin with full force, flinging him out of the cosmic tunnel in a blinding burst of white light. The pain from losing 30% of his permanent memories still left a dull throb in his head, but the air greeting him this time bore no resemblance to the ozone and chemical stench of Neo-Veridia.

The air in this new place felt exceptionally thin, crisp, and scented with clean mountain dew. Davin tumbled out of the vortex, finding himself floating freely in the open air with no footing beneath him.

Not falling to a fatal abyss, but simply... floating.

Davin opened his eyes wide, stunned as he observed the scenery around him. He stood within a surreal world defying the limits of the wildest imagination: Aethelgard.

No flat plains or oceans existed below. Instead, thousands of small and large fragmented islands floated freely amid an endless blue sky blanketed by golden mist.

In this world, the laws of physics had entirely collapsed. A waterfall from a floating island above did not fall downward, but instead flowed in an upward curve, splashing water droplets into empty space. Hill-sized boulders drifted slowly like hot air balloons, while ruin debris orbited one another in a zero-gravity dance.

Even more baffling was the flow of time here.

In the distance, Davin watched the faint shadows of crystal birds flying backward in reverse, while ripples of light in the air flickered back and forth repeatedly. Seconds of the past projected before his eyes like optical ghost illusions—he caught a fleeting glimpse of himself running as a child among floating temple pillars, despite having only just arrived in this realm.

"What is this place...?" Davin muttered quietly, his voice muffled by the silence of space.

He tried moving his body in the weightless air. His hands swam slowly through empty space, yet the law of inertia sent him spinning aimlessly.

Suddenly, the hourglass symbol on the back of his right hand pulsed with a warm glow, casting a thin silver light responding to the gravitational instability around him.

Zzzt...

The symbol acted as an emergency spatial anchor. Davin felt a minor magnetic pull in his palm. Focusing his mind, he channeled a tiny burst of energy from The Ledger into his right hand, steering it forward like a helm.

Whoosh!

His body glided slowly through the air, spinning to dodge a massive chunk of floating rock drifting upward. Controlling his descent, he sailed smoothly across a sea of white clouds stretching beneath the horizon.

Yet, amid that surreal beauty and confusion, Davin’s survival instincts suddenly screamed loudly. Goosebumps broke out across his skin.

Whoosh—!

The sound of rushing wind was cleaved by a high-speed sharp object.

Without a second thought, Davin twisted his body forcefully in mid-air, leaning to the side.

Swish—!

A crystal energy arrow radiating blinding blue light shot past right in front of his chest, so close that the wind pressure from the arrow tore the front of his coat and scorched his skin. The arrow sped far into the distance, piercing a floating rock and shattering it to pieces.

Davin gasped, his breath ragged as he regained his balance in the air. He looked up quickly, searching for the origin of the lethal attack.

Atop a tilted, floating ancient marble-pillared temple ruin, a mysterious figure stood tall on the edge of the stone cliff.

The figure wore a gleaming white cloak snapping in the fierce wind. Across its back, magnificent wings composed of thousands of strands of pure crystal light beat softly, catching the twilight sun. The figure’s face was hidden behind an expressionless silver mask, and in its left hand, a transparent bow made of pure energy was being drawn back, ready to release a second shot.

The winged light entity stared sharply at Davin with a cold gaze, uttering not a single word. Its energy bow aimed straight back at Davin's chest.

Davin clenched his jaw, raising his right hand bearing the hourglass symbol, bracing for the next strike amid a world that defied both gravity and time.