Elenore stepped closer to the railing, her breath catching as the cool blue luminescence of the holographic display washed over her face.
The projection was breathtaking in its precision. Every jagged coastal cliff, dense forest canopy, winding river network, and jagged mountain ridge was rendered in razor-sharp, three-dimensional topographical detail.
A glowing digital scale in the lower corner indicated the vast expanse: the visible landmass stretched over one hundred kilometers across the azure sea from United States Island.
She stared intently at the sweeping terrain, her amethyst eyes darting from the northern highlands to the sprawling river basins along the southern coast.
She searched her mind, digging through every corner of her consciousness for a familiar name, a remembered mountain peak, or anything.
But nothing surfaced.
The dense fog in her mind remained completely unyielding. The coastline looked entirely alien to her—like staring at a foreign world drawn by a stranger.
A sharp, familiar throb pulsed behind her temples. Elenore pressed a slender hand against her forehead, letting out a soft, defeated breath. Her pointed ears drooped down in visible dismay, and the bright spark of hope that had lit up in her eyes slowly flickered out.
She turned her head toward John, her delicate fingers gripping the dark handrail.
"I... I am sorry, John," Elenore murmured, her melodic voice laden with genuine guilt and vulnerability. "I do not recognize any of it. The mountain passes, the coastal inlets, the vast forest... it all feels like a stranger’s painting. I desperately wanted to be of use to you after everything you have done, but my memories remain locked away. I cannot even tell you whose territory lies just a hundred across this water."
She lowered her gaze to the floor, her shoulders slumping beneath the soft ivory sweater.
John observed her expression for a moment, then reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle, grounding squeeze.
"It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. At least we gave it a try," he said and then returned his attention to the screen. "Though our discovery didn’t end there. We also saw civilization living there."
"Operator, switch the feed to Recon Package Delta-Four," John instructed.
"Copy that, Commander. Routing high-altitude electro-optical feed from Reaper Two now," the technician replied, keying in the command.
The massive wall display flickered, the topographical overview dissolving into a crystal-clear, high-definition optical zoom. The camera slowly panned down through a thin layer of scattered clouds, locking onto a sprawling coastal settlement nestled between the edge of a forest and a natural deep-water bay.
It was a massive settlement—part fortified town, part sprawling frontier trading hub. Timber palisades reinforced with heavy stone bastions encircled hundreds of layered wooden longhouses, thatched workshops, and bustling earthen market squares.
Then the camera zoomed in further, capturing thermal-stabilized 4K imagery of the inhabitants moving through the streets.
They were unmistakably non-human.
Towering, broad-shouldered humanoids with the distinct features of predators walked the thoroughfares. There were warriors with thick wolf ears twitching atop their heads and bushy tails trailing behind their leather armor, feline demi-humans with striped fur and agile frames leaping across wooden rooftops, and massive, bear-like individuals hauling heavy timber crates with effortless brute strength.
John stood with his arms crossed, watching the screen with calm, analytical eyes. Having grown up reading fantasy tropes and having already encountered abyssal monsters, the concept of demi-humans or beastkin wasn’t entirely foreign to his understanding. But in a tactical sense, confirmed ground intelligence was worth its weight in gold.
He glanced over at the silver-haired elf beside him, curious to see if the visual sight of these people would trigger a spark of recognition in her dormant mind.
"Look closely at the inhabitants," John said, nodding toward the screen. "Half-human, half-animal features. Canine, feline, ursine traits. Do you recognize what kind of people they are, Elenore?"
Elenore leaned forward, resting both hands on the cool steel railing. Her amethyst eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at the live movements of the furred warriors, watching their ears twitch and tails swish with fluid, living detail on the massive glowing screen.
"They are... Beastkin," Elenore said softly, the word slipping past her lips with sudden, natural familiarity.
Her pointed ears perked up slightly as a faint, distant thread of ancient memory brushed against the edges of the fog in her thoughts.
"I... I recognize the species, John," she continued, her melodic voice gaining a trace of clarity. "The Therianthropes—the beast tribes. Even before the seal, they roamed the wild borders and forest fringes of the continent. They are fierce, proud hunters who rely on raw physical prowess and ancestral instincts rather than complex spellcraft."
She paused, studying the fortified timber walls and the watchful guards stationed on the watchtowers.
"Seeing them confirms that some things in this world have not changed," Elenore murmured, turning her gaze back to John.
"I see, well, we are going to establish first contact with them so that we can find out more about this world."
Elenore tilted her head to the side, noticing something.
"Why are you so eager to know about the world? Shouldn’t you know about it since you have a country here, and possibly established diplomatic ties with other nations."
John leaned back against the railing, crossing his arms over his chest as a faint, self-deprecating smile touched his lips.
"In our world, we certainly do," John replied calmly. "But here? We know practically nothing. Because the truth is, Elenore... we are not from this world."
Elenore’s amethyst eyes went wide.
"Not... from this world?" she whispered, her voice faltering as she stared at him. "Another realm beyond the stars? How is that even possible?"
"I was summoned here," John explained, his tone growing cold and sharp with remembered disdain. "Pulled from my home alongside hundreds of others by a higher entity. A deity named Viona."
At the mention of the name, John looked closely at the elf girl’s face, watching for any reaction, dread, or recognition.
Elenore blinked, the sheer shock of his otherworldly origin still lingering in her eyes. She searched her thoughts, repeating the name under her breath.
"Goddess... Viona?" she murmured softly. "I have never heard of a deity named Viona,"
"Yes, because you lost your memories," John simply said.
Elenore wanted to refute, like she really genuinely knows who Goddess Viona is prior to her sealing. She knew deep inside of her mind her memories are not completely erased. But it would be difficult to justify to a man like John.
While they were at it, one of the operators approached John and leaned forward and whispered.
John leaned over to listen to what the operator had to say and when the operator was finished speaking, his eyes widened.