Unrivaled in another world

[: 3rd POV :]

As the survivors began to stir, preparing for their journey, their gazes occasionally flickered toward Daniel.

Their thoughts were heavy, questions swirling in their minds, but no one dared to speak them out loud—at least, not yet.

Then, just as the last few gathered their belongings and the representatives began to organise the groups, Daniel remained standing at the front, his eyes scanning the horizon.

The others began to move, but there was something about the way Daniel stood, still, as if rooted to the earth itself, that piqued their curiosity.

It was as if he were waiting for something, or perhaps... doing something.

"Before we leave," Daniel spoke, his voice cutting through the murmur of the group, "I almost forgot."

The words were spoken with a nonchalance that caught everyone by surprise.

The representatives and a few of the more battle-hardened among the freed slaves exchanged wary looks.

What was he about to do now?

Without further explanation, Daniel lifted his hand with effortless grace.

In an instant, the air thickened around him, the sky dimming as a swirling mass of dark energy began to gather in his palm.

It was a black orb, ominous and consuming.

For a moment, the survivors thought it was just another trick of the light—or maybe a dangerous spell, like so many they'd seen used against them.

But they quickly realised this was something far worse.

"Wait..." Kel, the beastkin, muttered under his breath.

His ears perked, tail stiffening as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

The Mana felt...wrong.

It wasn't just destructive; it felt like it didn't belong.

Daniel spoke again, casually: "Void Singularity."

The orb expanded rapidly, gaining size and a terrifying, unnatural density.

It hovered ominously for a heartbeat, then, in the blink of an eye, was hurled forward—its trajectory aimed directly at the facility that had once been their prison.

The moment it hit the walls of the compound, the entire area seemed to warp, as if time itself bent.

The meteor disappeared—vanished completely, as though it had never existed.

The space around it returned to normal, like the strike had erased it from existence.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

"What...?" Sava'rieth, the demon firebinder, breathed out in disbelief.

She had seen powerful skills in her time, but this—this was something she couldn't comprehend.

And it wasn't just her.

The entire group stood frozen, their eyes wide, some of them instinctively taking a step back.

Even the bravest among them—the ones who had faced countless battles, who had commanded armies, who had dealt with the darkest of skills—could feel their spines tingle with a chilling sense of unease.

For all their power, none of them had ever felt anything like this.

Liara, the elven archmage, was the first to regain her composure.

Her heart was still racing, but she was keen enough to study Daniel's every movement.

This was no normal skill. This was beyond the norm.

"I... did you just..." Liara trailed off, still trying to grasp what she had just witnessed.

Daniel's calm, unruffled response didn't help calm their growing panic.

"Yeah. Nothing left but dust."

The tremor of fear in the air was palpable now.

The weakest among them was still of S rank, but even those of Epic and Gold rank couldn't suppress the cold shiver running down their backs.

They could feel it—the absolute weight of his power, suffocating and vast.

It was as if they were standing near a force that could swallow the world whole and spit out nothing but oblivion.

And in that moment, something cracked in their collective minds.

Who was he?

The thoughts were the same, unspoken yet unanimous.

Just who is he?

The question lingered in the air like a shadow, and Daniel could sense it.

The tension in the clearing had shifted.

They were still grateful—more than grateful—but now, curiosity and suspicion had replaced much of the awe.

They needed to know.

They needed to understand the force they were travelling with.

But no one spoke those words aloud. It was as if they were afraid to.

It was not in a sense where they were afraid of him, but rather, they didn't want to be impolite to their saviour and question his identity out of curiosity.

Moreover, their curiosity had reached the max as they could see and sense that Daniel was rather young and for him to possess such power, he either had powerful backing or he belonged to a noble family.

"That's a lot of destruction for just a simple 'goodbye,'"

Kel said slowly, his voice laced with both respect and a hint of wariness.

He had seen many magics in his time, but this… this felt like something that had never been meant for mortal hands.

"It was a final mark," Daniel answered with a shrug, his eyes scanning the now-silent compound. "Just making sure nothing remains."

The others couldn't fathom how Daniel could treat such power with such ease.

But there was something in his demeanour that unnerved them even more than his strength, his calmness.

His complete lack of hesitation or concern as he wielded something so destructive.

It was as if this was just another tool to him—a necessary action, nothing more.

"I—" Sava'rieth began, but words failed her as she found herself staring at the place where the compound had been, now utterly devoid of any trace of its existence.

"Who... exactly are you?" Liara couldn't hold back any longer, her voice steady but lined with a sharp edge of curiosity.

Daniel's gaze flickered over to her.

He could feel the weight of her question—the same question the others were too cautious to ask.

But it wasn't one he was prepared to answer.

The other representatives shifted, their eyes flicking between each other and back to Daniel.

The tremor of curiosity still lingered in the air.

Daniel's gaze shifted to meet Liara's, and for a brief moment, there was a flicker in his eyes—a shadow of something far older than his age, something they hadn't yet seen.

Then, with a soft sigh, he spoke.

"I'm Daniel." He paused, letting the name hang in the air before adding, "I'm 16 years old."

There was a brief pause, a slight shift in the air as the weight of his words settled over them.

"You're... 16?" Kel, the beastkin, was the first to react.

His voice was thick with disbelief.

"You look older. Much older. And you carry yourself like someone who's lived through centuries of battle."

Daniel gave a small, almost wistful smile. "I suppose I've had to grow up fast."

''And I'm just like you guys'' Daniel said.

''Like us...?'' Liara muttered.

Daniel's smile faded, replaced by a more sombre expression.

He took a deep breath before speaking, his voice quieter now, almost as if speaking the truth aloud made it more real.

"I'm just like you," he said. "I was a slave ever since I was born."

The words hit like a hammer, striking everyone into stunned silence.

The air seemed to grow heavier, as if the very weight of his confession hung over them, pressing down on their shoulders.

"You... were a slave?" Liara breathed, her voice barely audible.

Daniel nodded. "Since the moment I was born. No family, no home. I've been searching for one ever since." He lied.

Sava'rieth, the demon firebinder, couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her body.

"How... how is that possible? How could someone so young, so powerful, have been a slave?"

Daniel's gaze flicked to the ground briefly, his voice carrying a hint of a deeper, buried sorrow.

"It's not something I like to talk about, but I've been trying to find my way back to the Human Continent. To find my family... but I don't even know who they are."

He lied again when he knew who his family were, but revealing that to them wouldn't change anything.

The last part of his sentence hung in the air, a stark contrast to everything they had seen in him.

They had all assumed he was some kind of being of untold power, born of noble blood or some unknown force.

But the idea that he had been enslaved for so long, from birth no less, seemed almost impossible.

He paused, his expression momentarily distant as if lost in a past he didn't want to revisit.

But then he glanced up at them, meeting each of their eyes, and there was an unspoken understanding in his gaze.

It was as if the weight of all the questions that had been plaguing the survivors was now laid bare, and the truth of his story became a mirror to their own hidden scars.

They had all been slaves in some way—trapped by their circumstances, hunted by enemies, torn from their families.

But none of them had ever imagined that the one who had freed them, the one who held such unimaginable power, had lived through the same torment.

"I can't imagine…" Sava'rieth began, but her voice faltered, choked by a sudden, raw emotion. "You've been through all of that... and yet, you're still standing."

Daniel shrugged, his eyes flickering with the faintest trace of bitterness.

"I've had no choice. I learned to survive."

The realisation seemed to settle over them, heavy and real. There was no longer any mystery about why Daniel had done what he did.

Why had he fought for them?

He had never known a home, never had the warmth of a family, yet he had saved them.

He wasn't some noble hero or a chosen one, but a young man who had fought his way through hell to be where he was.

Daniel didn't want their pity.

He didn't want anyone's sympathy. But the gratitude in their eyes, the understanding, spoke volumes.

"You've been a slave..." Liara whispered, a new understanding dawning in her eyes. "And now you're trying to find your place. We... we understand. But you don't have to do this alone."

Daniel's smile, although faint, held a touch of sincerity. "I'm not doing this for pity. I'm doing this because it's what I promised. And I don't break my promises."

The others were silent for a moment, processing the depth of his words.

The enormity of his past, of his burden, had shifted something inside them.

They had been saved by this young man—this Daniel—and in that moment, they understood that the power he wielded wasn't just his strength; it was his resolve.

His past didn't define him.

Although he was a stranger to them, they now felt like they could connect to him in some way.

The survivors, who had once been slaves themselves, now looked at Daniel with newfound respect and understanding.

They were no longer just grateful—they were ready to stand by him, whatever it took.