Behind her came three men, moving with the confidence of predators chasing cornered prey. They wore mismatched clothing and carried weapons—metal pipes, a knife, and what looked like a homemade club and their expressions showed anticipation of violence.

The woman saw Jorghan standing in her path, and her eyes widened with new fear. She tried to change direction, but her exhaustion made her slow.

One of the pursuing men laughed.

"Nowhere to run now, lady. Just give us what we want, and maybe we won't hurt you too much."

He licked his lips, staring at her body.

The woman stumbled directly into Jorghan, bouncing off his chest and falling backward. She looked up at him with terrified eyes.

"Please. Please help me. They've been chasing me for blocks. They want to rob me, or worse. Please."

Jorghan looked from her to the three men who'd stopped a few yards away, clearly reassessing the situation now that their prey had found a potential protector.

"This ain't your business, buddy," the lead man said, a stocky human with a scarred face and eyes that showed too much enjoyment of violence.

"Walk away and we'll forget you were here."

Jorghan's day had involved watching his friend's burned remains, crossing the void between worlds, and discovering his primary lead was gone. His patience for additional problems was far beyond exhausted.

"Leave," Jorghan said quietly. "Now. Or you'll regret it."

The three men looked at each other, then laughed. The lead one took a step forward, raising his pipe. "Big words from a small guy. You're what, five-foot-seven? We're going to enjoy teaching you—"

Jorghan moved.

He crossed the distance between them in a blur, his fist driving into the lead man's stomach with force that folded him in half. The pipe clattered to the ground as the man collapsed, gasping for air that wouldn't come.

The second attacker, the one with the knife, lunged forward with wild aggression. Jorghan sidestepped easily, caught the man's wrist, twisted, and the knife fell free. He swept the man's legs, dropping him hard onto the pavement, then stomped on his knee with enough force to dislocate it.

The man's scream echoed down the street.

The third attacker, the one with the club, turned and ran. He made it maybe twenty feet before Jorghan's hand closed around the back of his shirt, yanking him backward with irresistible force. The club fell away as Jorghan spun the man around and drove a fist into his face, breaking his nose and sending him sprawling.

The entire encounter had taken maybe ten seconds.

Jorghan stood over the three groaning, injured men, breathing normally despite the violence, his expression cold.

"I said leave. That was your chance. If I see any of you again, I won't stop with injuries."

The lead man, still struggling to breathe, nodded frantically. He staggered to his feet, helped his companions up, and the three limped away as fast as their damaged bodies allowed.

Jorghan turned back to the woman, who was still on the ground, staring at him with shock that had replaced her earlier terror.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, offering his hand to help her up.

She took it hesitantly, letting him pull her to her feet.

"I... no. Shaken, but not injured. Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought they were going to..." She trailed off, clearly not wanting to finish that thought.

"You're safe now," Jorghan said simply. He started to turn away, having more important concerns than this random encounter, but the woman grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Please. You just saved my life. The least I can do is thank you properly, maybe help you if you need anything."

She looked at his torn clothing, his foreign appearance, and his obvious exhaustion.

"You look like you've had a rough day yourself."

Jorghan was about to decline when he realized she might actually be useful.

A local who could explain how this world worked, where to find information, and how to navigate the new world where he had been absent for more than a decade.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Lizbeth," she replied.

"Lizbeth Anara. I'm a... well, I was a teacher before the Convergence. Now I'm mostly just trying to survive like everyone else."

"Convergence?"

Jorghan asked, the unfamiliar term catching his attention. Though he understood after a quick thought, he decided to let her explain. That day, during his fight with his uncle Hawkin, a strange phenomenon occurred. The day everything changed, it was called the convergence.

Lizbeth's expression became complicated: fear, wonder, and bitterness were all mixed together. "You really don't know? Where are you from that you haven't heard about the Convergence?"

"Very far away," Jorghan said.

"Explain it to me."

Lizbeth looked around nervously, as if discussing this in the open street was dangerous.

"Not here. Those men might come back with friends, or worse. Come with me to somewhere safer, and I'll tell you everything. It's the least I can do after you saved me."

Jorghan considered refusing, but information was valuable right now. And she seemed genuinely willing to help rather than trying to manipulate him.

"Lead the way," he said.

*

Lizbeth led him through streets that became progressively more damaged as they walked. Buildings with broken windows, vehicles abandoned at odd angles, signs of fire damage and structural collapse that hadn't been repaired.

"The Convergence happened a long while back," Lizbeth explained as they walked.

"No one knows exactly what caused it, but reality itself changed. Portals started opening to other worlds. Things came through—creatures, energies, and people from places we didn't know existed. And our world changed in response."

She gestured at a building where plants grew through broken walls with unnatural speed and vigor.

"The laws of physics aren't quite the same anymore. Magic exists now, or something close to it. And people... people started developing abilities. Powers that defy explanation. Some can manipulate elements. Others have enhanced strength or speed. Some can heal with a touch or kill with a thought."

"How many people have these abilities?" Jorghan asked, his mind processing implications.

"Maybe one in fifty? One in a hundred? It varies by region. But enough that society completely collapsed. Governments couldn't maintain order when random citizens could suddenly level buildings or kill entire police forces. Military technology became less effective when facing people who could dodge bullets or create shields from nothing."

They turned into an alley where a door led to what looked like a converted basement.

Lizbeth unlocked it and gestured for Jorghan to enter.

Inside was a small living space—a mattress in one corner, a portable stove, and supplies stacked against the walls, everything suggesting someone living in hiding rather than a comfortable residence.

"This is home now," Lizbeth said with bitter humor.

"I used to have an apartment, a career, and a normal life. Now I live in a converted storage basement and venture out only when necessary because the streets aren't safe."

She lit a small lamp, illuminating the space better.

"After the Convergence, people went crazy. Those with abilities thought they were superior and started taking what they wanted. Those without abilities either became victims or learned to survive in this reality."

"The government says it's trying its best to control the awakeners, but I don't think it's true."

"Like those three men who were chasing you," Jorghan said.

"Exactly. They're probably low-level ability users, nothing impressive, but strong enough to terrorize normal people."

Lizbeth sat on her mattress, exhaustion finally catching up with her.

"That's why I was so surprised when you beat them so easily. You must have an ability yourself. Something physical enhancement-based, from how you moved."

Jorghan didn't correct her assumption. Let her think he was an ability user rather than a half elf from another world.

Less complicated that way.

"You said people became greedy, acting like beasts," he prompted.

"Is that what you meant? The breakdown of society?"

Lizbeth nodded.

"The Convergence revealed what people really are when consequences disappear. When the strong can do whatever they want without law or morality to stop them, most choose to do terrible things. Theft, violence, murder, worse. The people I thought were decent, civilized—they turned into monsters the moment they gained power and realized no one could stop them."

She looked up at him with eyes that had seen too much suffering.

"You're one of the few I've met who used their ability to help rather than hurt. Most wouldn't have bothered saving a stranger. They'd have either joined the attackers or just walked away. The fact that you helped me without expecting anything in return... that's rare now.

Almost unheard of."

Jorghan processed this information, his mind working through what she said.

Earth had changed fundamentally since the convergence.

*

Lizbeth stared at Jorghan with a mixture of disbelief and desperation. They stood in the dim light of her basement shelter, the lamp casting shadows that made her face look older, more worn than her actual years.

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