Everybody’s vision slowly began to clear.

The violent sensation of being ripped apart and stitched back together faded little by little until colors finally returned to their eyes. For several seconds none of them moved. They simply laid there on the unfamiliar ground while their minds struggled to catch up with what had just happened. The portal journey had been unlike anything they had ever experienced before. It wasn’t like flying. It wasn’t like teleporting. It felt as if reality itself had grabbed hold of them and dragged them through a space where directions no longer existed. Up, down, left, right—none of it had meaning inside that endless sea of white light.

Leonid was the first to sit upright.

Irina followed shortly after while Tatiana pushed herself onto her elbows, her head still spinning slightly. Mary and the other two witches looked far worse. Their faces were pale and drenched with sweat, their breathing noticeably heavier than everyone else’s.

The first thing that caught their attention wasn’t the ground beneath them.

It was the sky.

Tatiana’s eyes widened.

Irina froze.

Even Leonid looked visibly surprised.

Above them hung four moons.

Not one.

Not two.

Four.

Four enormous moons dominated the heavens, each one carrying a different color. One shone with a pale silver glow, another seemed faintly blue, the third carried traces of crimson, while the fourth glowed with a soft golden light. Combined with the setting sun disappearing beyond the horizon, the entire sky looked almost unreal, like a painting crafted by a god who refused to believe in limitations.

For a few seconds nobody spoke.

They simply stared.

The reality of it finally settled into their minds.

They were no longer on Earth.

They were standing on an entirely different world.

A world that existed millions of light years away.

Then reality reminded them that this world might not interested in welcoming visitors.

The moment Leonid stood fully, his brows furrowed slightly.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

His body felt heavier.

Irina noticed it too when she rose to her feet.

Every movement required effort.

Every breath felt denser.

Every muscle seemed to be carrying invisible weights.

Leonid took several experimental steps before looking down at his own hands. "Gravity."

The single word immediately made the others understand.

The gravity here was absurd.

At least ten times stronger than what they were accustomed to.

Even standing still felt like a workout.

The ground beneath their feet seemed determined to drag them back down every second.

Surprisingly, Irina adapted almost instantly. Her werewolf body naturally compensated for the pressure, her muscles tightening and adjusting without conscious effort.

Leonid barely seemed bothered at all.

The witches however...

That was a completely different story.

Mary was sweating heavily.

The older witch had both hands resting on his knees.

The younger witch looked one deep breath away from collapsing.

The difference was obvious.

Their magic was powerful.

Their physical bodies weren’t.

Mary immediately began chanting beneath her breath. Strange silver symbols appeared around her fingers as ancient words rolled off her tongue. The air shimmered faintly around the group before a wave of energy spread outward.

Instantly the pressure vanished.

Everyone released a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.

The relief was immediate.

Even Irina stretched her shoulders comfortably.

Leonid rolled his neck.

Mary wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. "That should make things easier."

Then she paused.

Her eyes swept across the group.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

Her expression slowly changed.

The relief disappeared.

A small frown appeared on her face.

"Wait."

The single word immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Mary looked around again.

This time more carefully.

Her eyes narrowed.

Something was missing.

Someone.

Irina noticed her expression first. "What?"

Mary didn’t answer immediately.

Instead her gaze continued moving across the area.

Then she suddenly asked, "Where’s Tatiana?"

Everyone immediately turned.

Tatiana wasn’t standing with them.

Several meters away, she was frantically searching the surrounding area, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was staring at her. The package containing her cookies remained hugged tightly against her chest as her eyes moved rapidly across the unfamiliar landscape.

"What are you doing?" Irina asked.

Tatiana didn’t answer.

She kept searching.

Mountains.

Trees.

Strange plants.

Rocks.

Nothing.

Her breathing became uneven.

Faster.

More panicked.

Then she finally turned around.

"H-Has anyone seen Liam?"

The question struck the group like lightning.

Nobody answered.

Not because they didn’t want to.

Because they suddenly realized they couldn’t.

Tatiana’s eyes moved from face to face.

Leonid.

Irina.

Mary.

The other witches.

None of them were Liam.

The color slowly drained from her face.

"Where is he?"

This time the concern in her voice was impossible to miss.

Leonid frowned deeply.

"I saw him."

Everyone immediately looked at him.

The vampire rubbed his forehead as he tried to remember the chaotic journey through the portal. "I definitely saw him fall with us."

Tatiana immediately stepped closer.

"You saw him?"

Leonid nodded slowly. "Yes."

Irina crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Knowing Liam, he probably regained his senses before all of us and wandered off to do something stupid."

Normally that explanation would have sounded completely reasonable.

This was Liam after all.

The man treated danger like a hobby.

But Mary wasn’t smiling.

In fact, she looked increasingly worried.

"No."

The firmness in her voice immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Irina looked at her.

Mary shook her head.

"No. That isn’t possible."

"What isn’t possible?" Tatiana asked immediately.

Mary remained silent for several seconds.

Then she finally spoke.

"When the portal became unstable, I underestimated how much energy maintaining it would require."

Nobody interrupted.

They simply listened.

"The distance between galaxies was far beyond what I predicted. The portal was collapsing. If I hadn’t stabilized it, all of us would’ve been torn apart before reaching our destination."

Tatiana’s grip around the cookie package tightened.

She didn’t like where this conversation was heading.

Mary continued quietly.

"To keep the portal intact... I had to draw an enormous amount of energy from Liam."

Her expression became complicated.

Even now she seemed shocked by what she had done.

"The amount I took was absurd."

Tatiana felt her stomach sink.

"Get to the point."

Mary looked directly at her.

Then she said the words Tatiana least wanted to hear.

"Liam should be unconscious. Completely drained"

Silence followed.

Complete silence.

"There is no way he wakes up before us," Mary continued firmly. "Not after what happened. I drained far too much energy from him. He shouldn’t even be able to stand right now."

Tatiana’s heart immediately dropped.

Leonid’s eyes suddenly widened.

A memory surfaced.

Something he had seen while they were falling.

"Wait."

Everyone turned toward him.

Leonid frowned deeply as he replayed the scene inside his head.

"When we were coming out of the portal..."

His voice became slower.

Careful.

Trying to remember correctly.

"I saw him."

Tatiana stepped forward immediately.

"And?"

Leonid looked toward the horizon.

"He wasn’t moving."

Nobody spoke.

"He wasn’t grabbing anything."

The silence became heavier.

Leonid slowly turned back toward them.

"While everyone else was trying to orient themselves..."

His expression darkened.

"...Liam looked completely unresponsive."

The realization settled over the group like a dark cloud.

Irina’s confidence disappeared.

Tatiana’s face turned pale.

Mary’s expression became grave.

Because if Leonid was right...

Then Liam hadn’t wandered off.

He hadn’t regained consciousness early.

He hadn’t gone exploring.

Which meant only one possibility remained.

Somewhere on this alien world, under four moons and an unfamiliar sky, Liam was missing.

——

Everybody immediately spread out, their eyes scanning the unfamiliar landscape from every possible angle. The excitement of arriving in another world had completely vanished. Nobody cared about the four moons anymore. Nobody cared about the strange air or the alien environment surrounding them. The only thing that mattered right now was finding Liam.

Tatiana was by far the most distressed.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt painful.

She kept turning in circles, searching between trees, rocks, hills, and shadows as if Liam would suddenly appear if she looked hard enough.

"Liam!"

Her voice echoed across the forest.

"Liam!"

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each shout carried more desperation than the last.

She hated this feeling.

She hated not knowing where he was.

She hated standing here while he could be injured somewhere.

"Tatiana."

Mary’s voice suddenly cut through the chaos.

Tatiana looked back.

Mary’s expression was serious.

"Keep your voice down."

Tatiana stared at her.

The witch took a slow breath.

"He won’t be able to hear you."

Tatiana opened her mouth.

Then froze.

Completely froze.

The package of cookies she had been holding slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground.

Nobody understood why.

Not immediately.

Tatiana’s entire body had suddenly gone still.

Her head tilted slightly.

Her nose lifted into the air.

She inhaled.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then her eyes widened.

A scent.

Faint.

So faint that it would have been impossible to notice.

She knew that scent.

She knew it better than her own.

Liam.

For a split second she thought she imagined it.

Then the scent came again.

Weak.

Distant.

But unmistakable.

Her head snapped toward the forest.

"There!"