"Glaciron Network (Formerly Milky Way) Year 100,810"
The Judgment Tower loomed over the city, its metallic surface gleaming under the neon glow of the godless world. A relic of humanity's ambition, now repurposed as a shrine to its greatest heresy—belief. At its heart, an old man stood tall, his frail body bound in Nano restraints that pulsed with blue energy, suppressing his strength, his abilities, his very essence.
Takakura Toji, the last believer.
The courtroom roared with the voices of thousands. Above them, a singular figure watched from his elevated throne. High Chancellor Varun, draped in his ceremonial robes of authority, leaned forward, eyes burning with cold satisfaction. He raised a hand, and the cacophony died into a reverent hush.
"Toji," Varun's voice boomed, amplified by unseen technology. "You have been found guilty of heresy, of poisoning minds with the delusions of a dead god. For decades, you have evaded justice, spreading your disease among the people. But your time has ended."
The crowd erupted again, a chorus of condemnation. They saw Toji as an anomaly, a stubborn relic refusing to fade into dust. A virus, long overdue for eradication.
Toji met the Chancellor's gaze, unshaken. Though ninety-nine years had carved deep lines into his face, his eyes held the fire of unyielding faith. He did not beg. He did not curse. He only smiled, serene and unwavering.
Varun exhaled sharply. "Renounce your false god," he said, "and I will grant you a swift death."
Silence hung between them, thick as judgment.
Toji's voice was calm, steady. "I am already free."
The Chancellor's lips curled. "So be it."
The restraints tightened as Nano soldiers flanked him, their metallic forms humming with artificial precision. Toji was dragged through the tower's halls, past corridors of steel and glass, out into the vast expanse of Execution Square. The city's citizens had gathered in anticipation, their faces alight with the glow of the screens broadcasting his final moments. The execution platform rose high above them, its surface sterile and cold.
A soldier stepped forward, brandishing the Nano Execution Spear. Its energy crackled, a weapon designed to erase existence itself.
Toji knelt, his hands still bound, his heart steady.
He closed his eyes. "Father, into Your hands I commit my soul."
A flash of white.
Pain beyond comprehension.
Then—warmth. Infinite, boundless warmth. A voice, neither male nor female, whispered through the void.
"Toji."
Darkness swallowed the world.
A sharp whoosh.
Toji's eyes snapped open as an arrow sliced past his ear, embedding itself into a tree trunk behind him. He moved before thought, rolling to the side, instincts honed through a lifetime of evasion kicking in.
Grass. Soil. The scent of damp earth.
He wasn't in the Execution Square.
He wasn't even on Earth.
Shouts echoed in the distance, the clash of steel on steel filling the air. Toji pressed a hand against the ground, steadying himself. The world around him was unfamiliar—a dense forest, sunlight filtering through the thick canopy above. Strange particles drifted through the air, shimmering like the Nano he once knew, but different. Living. Breathing.
Magic.
A figure emerged from the trees, blade raised. A foot soldier clad in battered armor, eyes wide with fear and aggression. He charged without hesitation.
Toji moved.
The old man who had knelt before his executioner was gone. His body, renewed and restored, flowed with a grace that belied his years. He sidestepped the soldier's swing, gripped his wrist, and wrenched him to the ground in a single fluid motion. A knee against his chest, a hand wrapped around his throat.
"Where am I?" Toji demanded.
The soldier gasped, struggling. "Y-You're in the West Plains!"
The name meant nothing. "What city?"
"Sarfin! Sarfin!"
Toji frowned. "Never heard of it. Last I checked, I was on Earth. Year 100,810."
The soldier's breathing hitched, his confusion mirroring Toji's own. But there was one last question to ask.
"What is the name of this planet?"
The soldier's voice was barely a whisper. "W-White Star."
Toji released his grip, rising to his feet. The battlefield stretched beyond the trees, warriors locked in combat, their cries ringing through the air. His mind reeled, but clarity settled over him like a shroud.
He was no longer on Earth.
And his mission had only just begun.
Toji stood over the foot soldier, the man's limp body slumping in his grip. The bones in the soldier's neck cracked with a sickening finality as Toji snapped it effortlessly. He let the body drop to the ground, an expression of indifference crossing his ancient features.
His breath came steady, his mind calculating. This was not the world he had known, and yet, the violence, the chaos—none of it felt unfamiliar. His heart raced with the intoxicating rhythm of battle. But he couldn't let himself be consumed by it yet.
"I need to get out of here," he muttered, scanning the forest for a way out. His senses were heightened, sharp, as always, even in this strange new land. He moved swiftly, weaving through the trees, his mind more focused on the chaos that surrounded him than the fight he had just won.
When he broke through the dense woods, his eyes widened at the sight that awaited him.
The battlefield stretched out before him—a wasteland of bodies. Soldiers, lay scattered across the open field. Some were dismembered, others contorted in grotesque positions. Blood pooled around them, staining the earth a deep crimson. The stench of death and the metallic scent of fresh blood hit him all at once, but he did not flinch. He was beyond that now.
"Am I... the only one left?" Toji's voice was low, almost curious. His hand clenched into a fist, his mind stirring with thoughts of power. These soldiers, his comrades, had fallen to whatever force had opposed them. And yet he stood here—alive. The last of his kind, it seemed.
His lips twisted into a wry smile, arrogance flashing in his eyes. "Fools. If you don't serve God, you deserve to die."
He lifted his hand, fingers splayed, and felt the strange, floating energy around him. It crackled in the air, light particles swirling like dust in a breeze, but there was something different about them. They weren't like the Nano energy he had once wielded, not quite as structured—but it was close, so close. It hummed with potential, an untapped power he had yet to master.
His eyes narrowed as he reached out mentally, coaxing the energy into his palm, experimenting with it the way he once did with Nano. The particles shifted, swarming in a controlled chaos. Toji smirked.
"Interesting…" he muttered. "This is just like Nano, but less structured. Let's see if I can bend it to my will."
He let his instincts take over, feeling the energy respond to his commands. The battlefield around him felt quieter now, even though the distant clamor of war raged on. His new power thrummed in his veins, and he could sense the enemies closing in.
One of them was bold enough to charge him—a warrior armed with a gleaming blade. Toji didn't flinch. He sidestepped, grabbing the soldier's wrist and twisting it with brutal precision. The sound of snapping bones rang out as the man screamed, but Toji's grip didn't falter. He threw the man aside like a ragdoll, watching as he crumpled to the ground, his body twitching in pain.
A spear came next—its shaft gleaming, the tip aimed straight for Toji's heart. Without a thought, he raised his hand, willing the energy to do his bidding. The spear stopped mid-flight, frozen in the air, suspended by an invisible force. Toji's lips curled into a smirk.
"So, it works exactly like Nano… No, even better."
With a flick of his fingers, he compressed the energy into a force, releasing it in a shockwave that blasted the soldier off his feet. The man flew through the air, crashing into a nearby tree with a sickening thud. Toji didn't spare him a second glance. The next ones were already on their way.
Three warriors approached him in quick succession, swords drawn, spells crackling in the air. The first lunged forward with a wild swing. Toji ducked, his movements swift and precise. He delivered a crushing punch to the man's stomach, and the force of the blow sent the soldier coughing blood to the ground.
The second attacker didn't hesitate to cast a fire spell, flames roaring from his hands. Toji raised his own, twisting the magic to his will. With a flick of his wrist, the fire turned to ice, freezing the soldier solid. He didn't even flinch as the man crumpled to the ground, encased in frost.
The third warrior hesitated, eyes wide with fear as he saw his comrades fall so easily. Toji didn't give him a chance to retreat. With a burst of speed, he was upon him. One fist crashed into the man's skull, the sickening crunch of bone echoing in the air as the body dropped lifeless to the ground.
More came. Toji didn't stop. He was relentless, every movement fluid and purposeful. The battlefield became his stage, his strength undeniable as he manipulated the swirling energy into a whip-like tendril, cutting through enemies with ease.
The last soldier standing—a man whose fear was palpable—stared at Toji in horror. "W-what are you?" he stammered, his voice shaking.
Toji wiped blood from his knuckles, his gaze cold. "A believer."
The soldier's eyes widened in disbelief. He turned to flee, but Toji was faster. He extended his hand, the energy forming into a sharp blade that sliced through the man's back. The soldier fell to the ground without a sound.
The battlefield was silent once more. Toji exhaled, his chest heaving slightly, but his eyes were filled with something darker now. Power. He looked down at his hands, feeling the energy pulsing within him.
"So…" He muttered to himself, a smile creeping onto his lips. "This is my power in this world."