The Dark Forest, once a patrimony of Elstonai and the place where the hero Ishimi killed the Demon God. Back then, stepping foot inside meant death, thanks to the monsters within and a lovely thing called magic cancer, a side effect of the absurd mana levels in the area. But now? It’s a tourist trap, all thanks to the mana thinning out and the monsters being mostly gone. Almost like something wiped them all out, so it was peaceful—
Out of nowhere, a towering column of mist shoots up above the treetops.
Aaaand never mind.
At the source beyond the trees, there’s a massive crater where a lake used to be. The water, which should be rushing back, just isn’t, held back by some unseen force, leaving behind a lakebed so flat and perfect it looks fake.
Hovering above it is a woman. Four long, oval-shaped wings glow behind her, shifting like a living, starry night sky, ethereal and awe-inspiring.
Or at least she was, until she started flailing like a drowning pigeon.
"AGHFHJSDJ!" she screeches, limbs flapping wildly. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! My flawless plan to cleanse this lake of all the filth in it—RUINED!" She kicks at the air like she’s trying to swim. "I mean, it’s not like using the [VOID OF NOTHINGNESS] skill to erase its pollution was a bad idea! Reality’s just a fragile piece of crap—"
Out of nowhere, she teleports inches away from your face, her eyes boring into you. In her frantic rambling, she’s somehow forgotten this is a tourist spot.
"You!" She jabs an angry finger at you. "Why are you staring? Trying to pick a fight? I’ll have you know what you just saw was part of my cool intro in front of an NPC like you, and definitely not me having a meltdown because my brilliant brain couldn’t make it work the way I wanted it to." She lifts her chin like she’s waiting for applause... which she wouldn’t get anytime soon.
Did... she just call you an NPC? You're either two minutes from getting your atoms scattered across five dimensions or about to get pulled into something stupid