John was greeted by the darkness of the metal bed he had entered the simulation in, and quickly swung the door open. There was no time to waste.

“Vera! Has anything happened to Serah?” he yelled, hoping she would say everything was fine.

Vera sounded almost as panicked as John was as she responded, “Yes, a fire alarm went off, triggering the opening of her pod! Follow the lights!”

His fears had come true; something had happened during the testing. The fact that the lights could be used meant it was an emergency, so he ran out of his room at full speed.

“You’ll have to take the stairs two floors up through that door!” Vera told him, opening the door to the stairs at the end of the lights.

Instead of running up the stairs, John jumped through the gap in the middle, climbing both floors instantly. The door to the hallway was open, so he continued through it, following the lights.

An open door showed a room filled with people standing in a circle, all looking nervous.

“Please, miss, calm down!” One shouted, gesturing with both hands toward the middle of the room. John could see wisps of flames swirling aggressively in front of them, surrounding a naked blonde girl looking terrified.

“You bastards get the fuck away from her!” John yelled, pushing through them all and approaching Serah with his arms outstretched.

Serah’s face was one of shock as she looked at him, only letting out a silent, “John?”

He walked through the flames Serah sent towards him in fear, letting them sear his clothes and skin without care. Serah, still frozen in shock, stood there until he embraced her.

“It’s okay, you’re safe, Serah. I promise,” he told her confidently. He still had no idea what had happened, but his first priority was to make sure she felt safe.

He could feel her shaking in his arms, still not moving. “Is… Is it really you, John?” she stuttered, sounding like she couldn’t quite believe him.

“It’s me, I swear. We were just on a picnic, and you showed me your magic. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

The people surrounding them stood still with nervous expressions, looking completely useless. None of them wore the clothes John had seen others like him wear, meaning they were likely normal humans working there.

John covered Serah’s ears before shouting in anger. “Get the hell out of here, you useless bastards, and get her some clothes!”

They all hurried to get out, not saying a word. John sighed and looked back at Serah, still seemingly in shock.

He started talking to her as tenderly as possible. “I’ll explain whatever questions you have. It’s probably my fault this happened, so feel free to blame me all you want.”

She looked up at him for the first time, with tears still in her eyes. “What the hell is happening, John?”

John nodded, expecting that question. He could understand Vera’s careful handling of information the day before now that he was in her spot. “It might be better if you calm down first, Serah. You’re already in shock, and it won’t get better after I tell you.”

Her eyes were filled with doubt. “... What is my favorite color?”

“What? Serah, it’s really… It’s aquamarine, right? It is me, I promise! Your favorite song is ‘Swan in the lake,’ your favorite food is lamb ribs with potatoes, you wanted to be a singer when you were young, and you were taller than me until we were 9.”

The doubt seemed to clear, but she still seemed unsure. “Then tell me the truth, John. You know who handles stress the best of us.”

John knew how it had been in the past, at least, and had to admit defeat. “... Okay, fine. We’re in a different world, one outside of our own. The people here created our world and are using it to make people like us. People capable of using magic.”

“... What?”

“Yeah, it takes a while to sink in. I only came here yesterday, so I’m quite new to this myself.”

Serah looked down at his chest as if trying to digest what she had heard. She leaned in closer, embracing him back, perhaps finally trusting him to be who he said he was.

John looked behind her into the room they were standing in. A broken pod with scorch marks on the roof above it stood in the middle.

Steps were heard outside the door before stopping right outside. “I had someone bring some clothes, John,” Vera told him through the speakers.

John felt a slight relief from hearing her familiar voice. “Just have them throw it in.”

The door opened, followed by a soft thud on the floor before it closed again. John looked down at Serah. “I’ll close my eyes and let you get dressed, okay?”

He felt extremely distracted by her leaning against him like this, but he managed to keep his cool. She hesitated a bit before finally giving him a nod and letting her arms fall from his back.

Closing his eyes, he let her go, feeling her do the same and hearing her walk over to where the clothes lay. He swallowed as he heard her getting dressed but still kept his composure. The situation was too severe for such thoughts.

‘How did this happen? Did she break the barrier so easily, even while unconscious here?’

A whisper came from behind him after the rustling ended. “I’m dressed now.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

He opened his eyes and turned around, seeing her in the same uniform everyone with essence was wearing. It suited her quite well.

Still trying to figure out what to do now, John considered his options. The thought of taking her back to their world struck him, but perhaps a middle-ground would be better. “Vera, can I bring her to my room?”

“That’s fine, but could you tell me what happened first?”

“I’d like to know that myself. When I went back, I ran the testing program on her, and then she fainted after using magic. Then I came out here to look for her.”

Serah looked at him as he talked about the testing, but her expression carried no accusations. It looked completely neutral.

“Is that all? That makes no sense. Here, the only thing that happened was that the fire alarm went off… Did she break through the barrier while unconscious somehow?” The last part sounded more like she was speaking to herself.

John slowly approached Serah, trying his best not to scare her. “Would you like to come to my room? You can see our village from there, and it’s pretty nice.”

Serah simply nodded, looking ready to follow him. John walked towards the door, which opened as soon as he neared it.

Vera spoke again, trying to sound calming. “You guys take your time for now. I won’t disturb you unless you need any questions answered. I can help explain anything you want, but I think it’s best to tell her what you know first, John.”

John nodded, feeling appreciative of her gentle handling of the situation. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.”

John started returning to his room, keeping Serah in his side view. A gentle hand touched his, making him look down. Serah had stretched her arm out to hold his, still looking anxious.

He took it gently. Even despite the situation, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

They reached the room and entered it quietly. The warmly lit windows showed their village from John’s house, looking as peaceful as ever.

Serah looked around the room at all the smooth and flat surfaces, but she stopped when she saw the window. Dragging John with her, she walked over to them and looked at the world she knew so well.

“I’m so confused right now… This is the village from your house. This is the window in your living room.”

“Yeah… I don’t know how they do it, but they did it to make me feel more at home here. Maybe it’s like a portal to our world, but only we can see through it?”

She looked thoughtful as she shook her head gently. “I don’t even… The people of this world made our world, for the sake of creating us?”

“Yes. But we were here all along; it seems we just sent our minds to our world while our bodies grew here.”

“But… why?” she asked, looking on the verge of tears.

John sighed, hoping she wouldn’t hate him too much after learning everything. He slowly explained everything he knew and how he had caused her to get involved due to his selfishness.

They moved over to the couch and sat down on separate sides. Serah was still digesting everything and needed some time.

“You tested me to know if I could come with you. You would be fighting alone to keep our world safe, and you feel bad for wanting me to join you?”

John still felt guilty, but her wording made it seem like he shouldn’t. “Well, yeah, I didn’t know what you would want. So I just listened to my own voice…”

She looked at him intensely. “Of course I want to join you! Why did you hesitate, to keep me safe? That’s so stupid!”

John felt she was being a bit unfair, even if he was happy to hear what she was saying. “Well, I thought you might have preferred living a peaceful and nice life instead of joining me to fight monsters. Is that so stupid?”

“Yes! If you fight to protect our world, what happens if you fail? Do we all just die? Just because I should live a peaceful life?” She looked at him like it was obvious.

“Over half of us die during training, Serah! Do you think I could make that choice for you so easily? It’s not… I want you to be safe, alright?”

Her face showed no signs of being convinced, even if it seemed to lighten a bit at his last sentence. She sighed, looking at her hands. “I’m stronger than you think, John… But…”

A shadow of sadness showed on her face for a moment before a wistful smile. “Is it okay if I rest my head on your lap? There’s just so much… so much to think about.”

Surprised by her daring question, John needed a moment before replying. “Uh, sure. Go ahead.” He adjusted his position to make it more comfortable, putting his feet closer together.

Serah lay down on the couch, resting her head on his lap and closing her eyes. Despite all her strength and courage, she seemed so fragile as she lay there, with her slender neck, light breathing, cute ears, and the contours of her resting face.

The desire to protect her flared up in his chest, but John knew she would hate to be treated like a vulnerable little girl. He could only support her as best as he could. Lifting his hand slowly, he debated if he should try stroking her hair. But the nerves stopped him, leaving it hanging in the air.

All of a sudden, he felt a gentle stroking on his knee as if Serah was telling him it was okay.

‘Yeah, she definitely knows me better than myself…’ John mused with a smile, reaching his hand forward and stroking her hair. Its silky smooth texture was just as he had imagined it.

He thought back, not entirely willingly, to seeing her vulnerable and exposed after emerging from the pod. The thought of all the other men seeing her like that invoked a rage within him, but knowing how irrational it was, he tried to dampen it.

‘It was an emergency; they only tried to help,’ he convinced himself, hoping it would quell his emotions. But irrational emotions had a tendency to stay around.

“... Is something wrong?” Serah asked, somehow sensing his tumultuous mind.

“Nothing important,” John replied, hoping she wouldn’t dig into it. Jealousy probably didn’t suit him.

Instead of replying, she just smiled, keeping her eyes closed. “... Hey, who is Vera?”

Feeling relieved, John was happy to answer, “Oh, she’s sort of an assistant, I guess. She controls most of the stuff around here, but she’s not in charge of much. She has helped me a lot since I got here.”

“... She sounds very friendly. And yet you still came back for me, huh?”

John furrowed his brows, deep in thought. He felt some sort of game was being played right now, but he didn’t know the rules.

“... Are you trying to act jealous to show me that I can be as well?”

She chuckled, turning her head to look at his face. “It’s not as fun when you spell it out. But I’m not just acting…”

“Do you have direct access to my mind or something? How are you reading me without even looking?” He chose to ignore her last sentence for now, focusing instead on the superpowers she was seemingly born with.

“It was an educated guess, don’t worry. I don’t read minds, so you can go back to thinking about me in that room without fear,” she said, turning away from him again.

“...”

John felt defeated. He wanted to defend himself, but he also felt that was what she wanted him to do. So, instead, he stopped playing, taking a step back from the situation.

“I’m glad you’re adjusting well, Serah.”

She didn’t respond, but a light blush seemed to spread on her cheeks. John smiled, feeling like he won a battle for once. But then his mind shifted back to everything else going on, putting a damper on his mood.

‘I hope they find our bodies back home. And I hope Mom doesn’t worry too much…’