“What... what is that?!”

    “Something’s falling from the sky!!!”

    “What?!”

    Julian, leading the vanguard of the Serpina army, froze in place as he stared up at the sky in shock.

    A boulder was falling.

    No—

    A burning boulder.

    A massive, blazing meteor, like the divine punishment spoken of in religious texts.

    And that meteor—

    Was steadily descending, blotting out the sky above Julian.

    ‘......!!!!’

    The moment he realized how imminent the danger was, his survival instincts took over.

    Shoving all unnecessary thoughts aside, he yanked the reins of his horse hard.

    At once, his mount burst forward at full speed.

    He had to run!

    Screw commanding the army—

    If he didn’t move, he was going to die!

    Death.

    Even for a seasoned general who had sent countless soldiers to their graves—

    The fear of death was overwhelming.

    If he were to die fighting in battle, at least he could convince himself it was a meaningful end.

    But this?

    To be crushed by a random rock falling from the heavens?!

    Sure, his name would go down in history.

    As the general who got crushed by a meteor.

    Not a general who died heroically in an unwinnable battle.

    Not even one who perished in a tragic accident while preparing for war.

    But the fool who was obliterated by a rock from the sky!

    "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!"

    Julian roared as he pushed his horse harder, desperately trying to escape the impact zone.

    If he had just shouted, “Retreat! Get out of the way!” at this moment—

    Maybe, just maybe, the casualties would have been less severe.

    But—

    It was already too late.

    And then—

    "AAAGH!!!"

    "HELP!!!"

    The meteor—

    Uncaring, unstoppable—

    Came crashing down right into the heart of the Serpina army.

    BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

    A thunderous explosion shook the earth.

    The deafening impact was followed by the bloodcurdling screams of soldiers.

    Fire erupted, swallowing men and siege weapons alike.

    A thick, black cloud of dust and smoke spread, blinding the battlefield.

    And then—

    Raindrops.

    A single one.

    Then another.

    Then, as if the heavens themselves had been shaken by the destruction—

    A torrential downpour began to fall.

    Julian had no idea how long he lay there, dazed.

    It wasn’t until the pounding rain stung against his forehead that he realized—

    He was alive.

    “Ugh... khh...”

    The shockwave from the impact had blasted him off his horse, sending him crashing into the mud.

    Blood dripped down his temple as he pushed himself up, gasping for breath.

    He looked pathetic—

    But the fact that he was breathing meant everything.

    Pain.@@@@

    His body ached. His ears rang from the sheer force of the explosion.

    But he was alive.

    He had survived.

    And that was all that mattered.

    He grinned through the pain.

    Pain was fine.

    Pain could be endured.

    But death—

    There was no coming back from that.

    Dying now would mean losing everything.

    But his relief didn’t last long.

    "W-what... what the hell just happened?!"

    Reality hit him like a hammer.

    And for the first time, he truly took in the devastation around him.

    A massive crater where his army had been.

    A gouge in the earth where the meteor had struck.

    And bodies—

    So many bodies.

    The remains of soldiers who had failed to escape.

    "Hh— hhiiiik—!!!"

    Julian had killed hundreds in battle.

    He had commanded the deaths of thousands.

    He had long accepted that life on the battlefield was cheap.

    But this—

    This was different.

    This was not war.

    This was annihilation.

    This was something beyond his comprehension.

    Something he could not control.

    Something unfathomable.

    He had never felt fear like this.

    He was a warrior.

    Not a god.

    And then—

    "......!!"

    Julian felt something.

    A presence.

    Slowly—terrified—

    And this—

    This fear he felt now—

    It was just like that.

    "S-save me...!"

    "General Julian...?"

    The soldier was bewildered.

    Julian finally processed the soldier’s presence and grabbed him.

    "R-run... RUN! Sound the retreat! We have to withdraw! A god— a god has appeared—!! WE HAVE TO ESCAPE!!!"

    "What?! General, what are you saying—?"

    "DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?! MOVE!!!"

    The soldier hesitated.

    But after witnessing the meteor’s impact himself, he had no better idea of what to do.

    And so—

    "U-understood!"

    He quickly helped Julian onto his horse.

    Julian clenched his jaw, swallowing the pain shooting through his body, and rode.

    Nothing else mattered.

    He had to flee.

    That single thought was the only thing keeping him moving.

    And just like that—

    Without even attempting to recover what remained of his army—

    Julian abandoned the battlefield.

    ‘...I can’t see him properly.’

    I had been trying to get a good look at the enemy commander near the fortress, but even squinting, I couldn’t make out his face clearly.

    I considered going closer—

    But my body refused to move.

    Still, as expected, the Serpina army was in full retreat.

    Even the siege weapons they had dragged all the way here were left behind as they fled in terror.

    They were completely broken.

    I mean, could you blame them?

    A goddamn meteor had just fallen from the sky.

    "...Hah."

    I let out a deep sigh.

    Everything had worked out, but—

    Honestly, I had been terrified.

    For a while, it really looked like the lightning wasn’t going to come.

    The sky had been cloudy, sure—

    But there hadn’t been any rain or storm.

    And in this game, lightning only struck when it was raining.

    The fact that it hadn’t started raining even when the enemy reached the fortress—

    Had scared the hell out of me.

    I was really sweating when the siege weapons started moving closer, but—

    I wasn’t that nervous.

    Because the prediction had said "Defend the fortress."

    So something had to happen.

    ...But I had never expected a meteor.

    Not even in my wildest imagination.

    In all my 10,000 hours of playing this cursed game, I had only seen meteors a handful of times.

    To actually witness one while inside this world?

    What kind of insane probability had decided to bless me today?

    Honestly, I had been a little worried that the shockwave would flatten the fortress too—

    But thankfully, it had only dealt about as much damage as it would have in-game.

    The way this world adhered so strictly to game mechanics was—

    Honestly, kind of a relief.

    For reference, when a meteor lands, it doesn’t matter how many soldiers are present—

    It wipes out 90% of the army on impact.

    I let out a slow breath.

    Even if things had gone as predicted, I hadn’t been able to control my anxiety.

    Now that the tension was fading—

    My body felt exhausted.

    And when I turned my head—

    I saw Irene, standing frozen, staring at me—

    With wide, bloodshot eyes.

    "Swen... what... what exactly... what did you just do...?"

    Yeah.

    To Irene, this must have looked insane.

    From her perspective, I had spent days babbling about "communing with the heavens,"

    Building a shrine, screaming at the sky while acting out a bizarre ritual—

    And then—

    A meteor had fallen.

    How the hell was I supposed to explain this?

    After a long pause, I just gave a simple answer.

    "...It seems... I have successfully invoked the distortion of the heavens..."

    Huh?

    Why was my voice... not coming out properly?

    My vision—

    Was growing blurry.

    Ah.

    That made sense.

    My low combat stats also meant—

    Low physical endurance.

    Even though I knew things would work out—

    I had still faced death head-on.

    My body had been under intense stress for hours.

    And now—

    It was finally crashing.

    "Swen!"

    I stumbled—

    But before I could collapse, Irene rushed forward and caught me.

    Having her here was—

    A relief.

    If I had fallen, I definitely would’ve hurt myself.

    "Irene... as I told you... I was only doing this for..."

    I mumbled something—

    But before I could finish—

    I lost consciousness.