Conner frowned.
The reason was simple: as soon as they spotted the dimensional distortion, the girls began to express, almost in unison, their desire to explore that place immediately.
He hesitated.
His original intention was to wait a couple of days before venturing into the unknown, to gather more information and better prepare the expedition.
However, the girls’ enthusiasm was difficult to contain, and after a few moments of reflection, he ended up reluctantly giving in.
But…
Conner took a step forward, adjusting his clothes while keeping his eyes fixed on the dimensional distortion.
“Just to be clear…
are you sure you want to go in now and not wait a couple of days?”
He received no answer.
Or rather, he received it in the form of several piercing gazes loaded with impatience and determination.
Conner held the silence for a few seconds before raising both hands in surrender and letting out a long sigh of resignation.
“Alright…
I get it.”
Deep down, he couldn’t blame them either.
After all, he himself felt an enormous curiosity to discover which version of Skartaris they would find on the other side.
There were too many unknowns; he didn’t know to what extent that world would resemble the one he remembered from the stories of his past life.
“Very well, the plan is simple,” Conner announced, turning toward the four.
“We are going to do a quick reconnaissance.
Raven, as the only magic user on the team, we’ll leave you in charge if we run into any mystical enemies.”
Raven nodded seriously.
Conner, although he agreed, fervently wished not to encounter any magic users.
Beside him, Karen and Laurel exchanged a knowing glance, cracking their knuckles with fearless smiles; they were hoping to find something that would warm them up.
Kara, for her part, was eager to test her strength in a real fight.
“Come on, honey, drop the paranoia and the fear,” Karen said with a defiant smile, giving him a light push.
“Let’s see what this mysterious place has in store for us.”
Conner nodded, his gaze darkened by uncertainty.
With the decision finally made, the group exchanged one last look of complicity before heading toward the dimensional distortion and crossing the threshold together into the unknown realm hidden in the depths of the Earth.
The dimensional transit lasted barely a blink, but the environmental shift hit them with the force of a truck.
In its place, they found themselves on a hill of jagged, reddish rock, under a sky perpetually illuminated by a massive, golden sun that hung static in the center of an inverted celestial vault.
Below stretched a colossal landscape: prehistoric jungles, white-water rivers, and mountain ranges that defied gravity.
“Wow, there’s a sun her—” Kara began to say, but suddenly her expression changed.
Not just her; all the Kryptonians in the group showed a gesture of discomfort and weakness.
Raven looked at them with doubt, unable to feel what they were experiencing.
Conner, for his part, was cursing internally.
He had felt a growing weakness since he crossed, but it wasn’t until Kara’s comment that it hit him: Red sun.
‘Damn it…
I only remembered the kryptonite and the magic of the place, I completely forgot that there’s a damn red sun here,’ he thought, feeling like an idiot.
He looked at the worried faces of the girls and rolled his eyes, annoyed.
It was their fault for insisting, but he reproached himself for not being firmer in stopping them.
With a bitter smile, he finally said: “Well, girls…
welcome to Skartaris.”
“There’s something you want to tell us, isn’t there?” Laurel asked, noticing that Conner knew more than he admitted, especially given the name he dropped with such certainty.
“I want to emphasize that I don’t know much,” Conner defended himself.
“I didn’t save specific information; I just knew there could be magic, and I knew the name by pure chance.
As for the red sun…
well, let’s just say I’m not foolish enough to come without preparation.
If I had known there was something here capable of weakening us this way, I simply wouldn’t have come.
I was completely unaware of the existence of this red sun.”
Upon hearing Conner’s words, they immediately understood what was happening.
Some time ago, he had explained the weaknesses of Kryptonians to them in detail, and the red sun occupied a place among them.
It wasn’t a simple annoyance or a partial reduction of their capabilities; it was one of the few things capable of stripping them of almost all their powers.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Karen interrupted, noticing that her strength was draining at an alarming rate.
“We have to do something fast.
I can feel myself fading.”
Conner was about to give the order to retreat—perhaps he would return later with special equipment—but before he could articulate a word, a deafening war cry shook the air.
The echo of clashing metals resounded from the valley.
A few meters away, a contingent of soldiers in barbarian armor was being slaughtered by a horde of ruthless creatures: humanoid lizardmen, with green scales and bloodshot eyes, armed with axes and spears.
‘Lizardmen…,’ Conner analyzed, remembering the series he saw in his other life.
In the center of the chaos, defending the rear with savage skill, was a man with snow-white hair, wearing a winged helmet and a tattered cape.
It was Travis Morgan, the Warlord, alongside Tara Morgan, who was firing arrows without rest.
But the situation was critical: an arrow imbued with a dark mist struck Morgan’s shoulder, bringing him to his knees.
The lizards lunged at him to finish the job.
“Conner, do we intervene?” Laurel asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Conner licked his lips while calculating the pros and cons.
The power loss wasn’t instantaneous; they had enough residual energy.
Saving the hero of Skartaris would grant them an invaluable ally and would allow him to understand what version of this story they were living in.
“Karen and Laurel, left flank!” he ordered in an authoritative voice.
“Kara and Raven, destroy the catapults!
I’m going for the leader!
Finish this as quickly as possible and don’t waste any energy!
Let’s move!”
BOOM!
The sound barrier broke with a triple sonic boom.
The four Kryptonians shot off like meteors, while Raven descended with dark elegance.
Conner landed in front of the warrior king with an impact that made the earth tremble.
In the blink of an eye, he intercepted the sword of one of the lizard commanders with his palm.
He clenched his fist tightly, shattering the blade, and immediately delivered a dry blow to the creature’s chest, sending it crashing violently into the nearby trees.
For an instant, a shiver ran through Conner’s body.
It was the first time he had taken a life.
However, perhaps because those creatures weren’t human, he managed to compose himself quickly and continued fighting.
Around him, the chaos was absolute.
Karen and Laurel dismantled the army in seconds, while Kara reduced the catapults to splinters.
Raven, landing next to a stupefied Travis Morgan, cast spells that made the remaining enemies retreat.
Travis, blinking under his winged helmet, watched Conner, who remained standing in front of him.
“Incredible…” the Warlord murmured, in shock.
“Could they be deities?”