Elsa had spent the last decade of her life in fear, disappointment, and loneliness.
It all started when her husband failed to return from Dominion Expanse for five General Portal Openings in a row. The family knew something had gone wrong, and Elsa reported it to the Explorer groups that came back for the sixth General Portal Opening.
The search for her husband, Jeremy Blake, lasted for many weeks. His settlement in Dominion Expanse was found several months later. The reports said everything he had built was destroyed in a serious monster attack, and there was no trace of life left.
So they all believed Jeremy Blake was dead.
His two eldest sons ended up with similar stories. Adrian didn’t even return from his first entry into Dominion Expanse, after making bags of promises that he would achieve what his father couldn’t.
Lucas was lucky enough to return for the first General Portal Opening. But when he failed to return for the next two, they began to believe he had met the same fate.
Elsa became a mother who had suffered three major losses and was on the verge of suffering another. She had begged Eren not to join the Preparatory Academy when he turned sixteen. She wanted him to live a normal life, like the 50% of people on Earth who never go near Dominion Expanse. But Eren insisted.
Her greatest fear was watching him walk the same road as his father and brothers. Still, she had always believed Eren would learn from the nightmares that had already happened to them.
Little did she know that her last surviving son was about to turn her greatest fear into reality.
"You... you can’t say that, Eren. No, you can’t. You can’t do this to me."
Elsa shot up from her chair and rushed toward him. Then she collapsed onto her knees and clasped her hands together.
"Please, Eren. I can’t afford to lose you. You’re the only one I have left, and I won’t survive without you. Listen to your mother, Eren. Please!" Elsa begged.
Eren looked down at his panicking mother as waves of emotion crashed over his heart. He could picture the fear inside her. He understood completely what it would mean for her to lose him to Dominion Expanse like the rest of them.
But he hadn’t made this decision alone. Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to sign his own death warrant, not when he knew exactly how it always went for Settlers.
Right after the death of his brother Lucas was confirmed, Eren had started noticing a strange interface in front of him.
Miraculously, he realized that only he could see it, and only he could hear what it said.
[Congratulations! You have received the Ultimate Summoning System.]
That was the only introduction it gave. It promised him more information if he chose to become a Settler and entered Dominion Expanse.
After his brothers’ deaths, Eren had been living in fear and uncertainty about even stepping into the Preparatory Academy. But somehow, the system gave him the courage to go on anyway, and it fueled his drive to achieve what his father and brothers couldn’t.
Not as a goal.
As revenge.
As vengeance!
’I want to prove that Dominion Expanse can be conquered.’
And since then...
Not a single soul had been able to convince him otherwise.
Not even his mother.
Eren placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder and looked at her seriously.
"I know you’re scared, Mother. After what happened to Father, Adrian, and Lucas, it’s only natural that you don’t want me entering Dominion Expanse at all," he said.
"But I’ve made my decision, and I’m not taking it back," Eren added.
Elsa’s face fell, her jaw dropping.
"I believe I’ll do things differently from Father and my brothers. I believe I’ll succeed, and give us the life we’ve always dreamed of.
"When I excel, no one will mock us or look down on us anymore. We’ll be high on the ranks. Wealthy, famous, and people will start to forget Jeremy Blake and begin to remember Eren Blake."
The words hit hard coming from him. Elsa looked up into her son’s bright, determined eyes. He had always been cold, but he had never sounded this serious.
The tone of his voice alone revealed the weight of the courage he was carrying.
"My dream..."
He raised his head to the ceiling and let out a long, rough sigh.
"...is simply to become the greatest Settler Dominion Expanse has ever seen."
Elsa flinched, breath leaving her in silence.
"So, Mother. Let me go in there and face that cruel world. It’s what Father started... so I should be the one to finish it," Eren finished.
The dinner ended with Elsa finally accepting the decision her last surviving son had made. What choice did she have anyway?
She had seen and heard the same determination in his older brothers, and it had ended the same way.
Eren might have been fiercer than they were, but that didn’t prove he would make any difference in Dominion Expanse.
In the end, she just had to live with the fear, and the hope.
Hope.
It was the only thing she had left to cling to.
◆
The next day, Eren got himself fully prepared for the Settlement Program Confirmation.
Elsa had cooked his favorite meal to make sure he left with a full stomach. And before he set out, they shared one last emotional moment at the teleport station.
"I don’t know when the first General Portal Opening will happen after you get in there, but I hope it comes sooner than I expect."
"I love you, son. I’ll be right here, waiting for you to come back to me and tell me all about it. Stay out of trouble, and be safe. Your father and brothers are counting on you."
Eren could only nod. They shared one last hug, and then they parted ways.
’Stay out of trouble? Mother, really? Everything about Dominion Expanse is trouble,’ Eren thought as he stepped into the station.
In the year 3511, humanity had advanced so far that teleportation was part of everyday life. There was no need for cars or buses, unless someone personally wanted one. No airplanes or ships were needed to cross to the other side of the world. Teleportation had covered all of it, and life had become even easier.
He paid for a ticket worth about five dollars, stepped into one of the teleport arrays, and in seconds he arrived at Caster City’s Portal Unit.
The moment he landed, noise and crowds hit him from every side. As expected, the whole place was flooded with graduates of the Preparatory Academy who lived in Caster City.
The Program was happening everywhere in the world at that moment. The World Government had declared the day a public holiday to honor the new Explorers and Settlers of Dominion Expanse.
Eren’s thoughts went straight to Daniel, Kai, and Bradley. They had agreed to meet before they went their separate ways, at 4 PM.
(3:43 PM)
Eren clicked his tongue as he checked the time. He was about to turn and scan the area when he heard a familiar voice from a distance.
"Hey, Eren!"
It was Daniel. Eren turned and saw his three friends running toward him.
A gentle smile touched his face as he crossed his arms.
"We thought you’d already left," Daniel said the moment he reached him.
"I was thinking the same about you guys," Eren replied, shaking his head.
"Well then... this is the best time for our final farewell before we enter Dominion Expanse," Kai said with a slight grin, looking at all three of his friends.
"Actually, the one we should be saying goodbye to is Eren," Bradley said. "As Explorers, we could end up in the same settlement, or at least somewhere close to each other." Daniel and Kai both nodded.
For a moment, none of them seemed willing to go first. Then Kai stepped up and faced Eren.
"Three years, man. Three damn years of waking up to your ugly face every morning." He laughed softly. "I’m actually going to miss it."
His smile faded into something more sincere.
"Take care of yourself, Eren. We’ve shared too much for me to just say goodbye like it’s nothing. Wherever you end up, I hope you find what you’re looking for."
Eren looked at him and nodded.
Bradley was next. He shook his head and pressed his lips together before finally letting the words out.
"I don’t really know what to say. We spent so much time together that I guess I started thinking we’d always be around each other."
He smiled faintly and shrugged.
"You’re stubborn as hell, but you’ve always been a good friend. So... don’t do anything stupid out there. And if you ever become some big-shot Settler with your own territory, don’t pretend you don’t know us when we come visiting."
The joke made all of them smile. Then Daniel waited until Eren looked at him before he finally spoke.
"You know, I always thought we’d be standing together. Same path, same direction, probably arguing about which one of us would get famous first." Daniel chuckled, but his voice slowly grew quieter.
"I don’t know what you’re going to find out there, Eren. But whatever happens, don’t forget us, okay? You’re my best friend. And no matter how far you go, you’ll always have a place with me. Just... come back alive."
The emotion in that last line was heavy and obvious. Even the others felt it.
"When we get back from the first General Portal Opening, we’ll talk about the Classes we unlocked and everything we went through," Kai said out of nowhere, and they all nodded.
Then Eren spoke.
"I know you’re all scared for me," he began. "Kai, Bradley... Daniel."
His eyes landed last on his best friend.
"You don’t have to worry about me. While you’re worrying, worry about yourselves too, because we’re all walking into the same world."
"And I hope that one day... you all forgive me for the betrayal," Eren said.
The three of them stood frozen, with no proper response to what he had just said.
They were still standing there, stunned, when a loud voice crackled over a microphone.
"ATTENTION, ROOKIES! IT’S TIME!"
"ARRIVE AT YOUR RESPECTIVE PROGRAM UNITS AT ONCE TO BEGIN THE TRANSPORT PROCESS! I REPEAT... ARRIVE AT YOUR RESPECTIVE PROGRAM UNITS TO BEGIN THE TRANSPORT PROCESS."
(4:00 PM)
Eren glanced at his wristwatch and confirmed it. It was truly time.
"We’ve got to go," Kai said.
They all nodded and parted ways at once.
Kai, Bradley, and Daniel ran west, toward the crowded section of the grounds where all the Explorers were lining up. Eren walked calmly toward the thin queue in the east.
"Goodbye, Eren! I love you!"
Daniel’s voice reached him from across the crowd. Eren only smiled and didn’t answer.
’How long did it take you to say that to me, Dan?’ He thought.
By the time he reached the queue, the assessment had already begun.
The youngsters stepped onto a base that confirmed their student status and the Path they had chosen, then walked into a giant passage. Eren had no idea where it led.
When it was finally his turn, he did as instructed.
[Name: Eren Blake.]
[Academy: The Preparatory Academy of California City.]
[Final Score: 69.]
[Path Chosen: Settler.]
[Congratulations, Eren Blake. You have now been registered into the Settlement Program.]
[You will be transported to your assigned settlement in Dominion Expanse at random. You are advised to make use of the Starter Resources that will be delivered to you.]
[Safe trip, Settler. Good luck!]
That was the robotic voice he heard before he walked into the giant passage, which led straight to another ground.
It was much smaller than the grounds where the queues had gathered. But here...
Here stood the Portals leading to Dominion Expanse.
Eren saw a door-shaped opening of glowing light. Three men in thick black vests, their faces fully masked, stood around it. They were the ones in charge of guarding the portal and making sure every person who went through had been confirmed. They were the Portal Keepers the Masters had talked about.
The Portal Keepers were authorized security personnel who guarded the Portal day and night to prevent illegal entry. From the very day the Portal appeared and never vanished, they had been the first body the World Government created, to keep curious people from entering clueless and unprepared.
Eren let out a breath and walked toward them. A small queue had formed, but it didn’t take long before his turn came.
One of the Portal Keepers ran a scanner-like device over him from head to toe, then nodded and gave him the go-ahead.
Eren stared at the darkness in the middle of the glowing lines and exhaled deeply.
It was today...
It was now.
It was finally happening.
With his fist clenched, he stepped into the portal and felt himself vanish into the darkness.
Seconds later, his boots hit the ground.
He had landed on a stretch of dry, ashen earth. The ground was gray and powdery, and it crunched softly beneath his feet as a fine layer of dust stirred and settled around him.
He hadn’t even turned to look around when the announcement rang through his head.
[Welcome to Dominion Expanse!]