It was at that moment, the scenery changed once more, the 'Knights' and 'Priests' that surrounded me turned to nothingness. A force similar to the one that pulled me over to this supposedly 'Royal' castle once again transported me somewhere else. After focusing my eyes, I saw that there was a creepy faceless man in a formal suit standing respectfully before me. The world around me seemed both dark and bright, just like the faceless man's clothing and even his physique.
"Who are you?" I asked curiously, it was the first time in eighty years something like this had happened to me, but I didn't panic. It's not like losing composure will help a deadman anyway... I have nothing of value that could be taken from me.
I mean just look at me, I'm merely an old man waiting for death to call. Even if the faceless man in front of me was dangerous or even if my 'soul' is now a captive of some godly entity, there's no reason for me to worry about losing something now that I'm dead.
"'I am a God from another world~'... Is what I wanted to say, but that explanation isn't quite right." The half black and half white faceless man answers in deep thought. I felt his 'gaze' sharpening moments before he glanced at the world around him. It was almost as if he too wasn't sure on how to put my situation into words.
"You probably have a lot of questions for me so I'll start my story from the beginning, but please be patient with me until I've done explaining." The faceless man was polite and direct with his words so I decided to say nothing. It wouldn't make sense for me to anger this supernatural entity anyway...
"In a world completely different than your own. Two types of ceremonies are conducted every hundred years. One is called the 'Hero Summoning' whilst the other is called the 'Totem Summoning'.
I know you've read similar tales in your youth at the time you were still in your own world. Tales of a Hero defeating a Demon King and saving the world. It may seem ridiculous to you but the truth is that you were chosen as a candidate to be summoned into this magical world. Just look." The faceless man gestured behind me. I turned my head to see that the light and dark world there suddenly transforming. It distorted into something unexpected.
What appeared before me was a lush world filled with forests and giant mountains. I looked down and saw old civilisations similar to the ones built in my own world. This world is definitely different from my own because I can see two suns that were both big and small shining brightly in the sky. The faceless man didn't interrupt me as I fell into a trance, curiously observing the breathtaking world around me.
"It's a beautiful world." I praised wholeheartedly after stealing a glance at the faceless man behind my back in deep thought. If he really was a God, why is he so respectful to me: A tool kidnapped to serve the foreigners of this world?
Not only that but there was a lot of inconsistencies in his words... How could he know my past? And even if he did, I can't understand how he could act so familiar with me despite his position of power. He didn't introduce himself and instead decided to show me the beauty of these foreign lands. Why is he going this far? I can't wrap my head around it!
"Please tell me more about this alternate world." I requested sincerely after seeing how magical this alternate world was. I almost felt like the liveliness of my youth had restored!
From what I could see in the 'Mirror' the godly entity made: Dragons and Phoenixes lived harmoniously on deserted landscapes. Not only that but they also seemed to have an amiable relationship with other mythological races and creatures. I couldn't help but be surprised after seeing that there were many purple-skinned people with lightning tattoos who built temples and shrines that seemed to blend in with the varied ancient cultures of those around them.
Hah... This is an alternate universe alright. I may be unable to tell who those tattooed foreigners are but they don't seem to be of the same species as the humans I saw when I was first 'summoned' to this world considering their taller and larger physiques...
It was only after taking a good look at the alternate world through this strange 'mirror' that changed its perspective constantly did I turn around to look at the man behind me.
"Informing you about the difference in society and common sense of this mystical world probably wouldn't be able to help you adapt since those type of differences are things that can't be explained through a few mere words.
Instead, I'll inform you of your current circumstances. The reason you're here in front of me is due to the fact that you can no longer go back to your original world of Earth." The faceless man said in a serious tone. His 'face' showed no signs of mischief or falsehood, as deep within his tone of voice were emotions of pure sincerity.
It was strange how I could read his expression considering how the faceless man in front of me only had an outline of humanoid features...
"I don't understand what you're trying to say." I said with furrowed brows. An inquisitive look appeared on my face as I wanted to know why I couldn't return.
"Let me clear up why these 'Druids' and 'Fiends' even bother to summon people from a different world through ceremonies. Only after that will you understand why you can't return." The faceless man sighed before waving his hand again. The world behind the man changed. It seemed to illustrate a story as he continued his explanation.
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"I'll try to keep this simple enough for you to understand. Basically, the world you saw was the creation made by the joint effort of two Gods, the Dark God and Light God. Both Gods created their own children based on their image. The Light God created the Druids whilst the Dark God made those known as Fiends.
Everything was peaceful at first, both races were respectful to each other and cared for each other's wellbeing. The Fiend Race offered their power to help the humans to build society whilst the Druid Race returned their kindness by imparting their wisdom. However, a change occurred after many years had passed, the Dark God and Light God had a falling out due to the wars their children fought over petty squabbles.
The Dark God was angered by the Druid Race's greed whilst the Light God was angered by the Fiend Race's savagery. They fought, killing each other in the process, and left behind two Divine Swords that held traces of their 'Will' they decreed before death.
The Divine Sword of Darkness held the decree to eradicate the Druid Race whilst the Divine Sword of Light held the decree to eradicate the Fiends. The Fiend Race tried to let their Emperors handle the Divine Sword of Darkness but found that none of them had the required strength to lift it. Those who attempted to do so forcibly had all died with shattered souls which were sent to the Death God as punishment for their sins. The Druid Race had similar circumstances on their side but the solution their greatest Magician came up was shocking. He planned to summon a being from another world to wield the Divine Sword of Light in the stead of humanity's champions.
They used the magical energy within the Divine Sword of Light to summon a warrior from alternate world, but little did they know that their Magician's suggestion had been overheard by Fiend Race's spies. This allowed them to duplicate the ceremony and allowed them to summon a wielder for the Divine Sword of Darkness. The ceremony done on both sides was a success, and a tradition was created from that day forth so that the almighty will of their Divine Gods could be carried out completely.
The wielders were always summoned from your world called Earth. Every time they appeared in this chaotic world, the war between both races would intensify. The summoned wielders would be imparted strength by their Divine Swords upon arrival to this world called Sphera, allowing them to become truly invincible warriors of the race they were summoned by. The only drawback of this power was the lack of freedom brought by the decree of the two stubborn Divine Swords.
In every hundred years, the summoned Hero and Demon King would lose their right to possess their Divine Swords because of the restrictions placed on them by the ones handling their summonings. This was due to the fact that both races didn't want the wielder of their Divine Swords to weaken with age since the swords only gave one enhanced strength, not immortality.
A 'wielder' could hold onto his Divine Sword for a long time and even have his/her lifespan augmented by the divine energy within their sword, yet what it couldn't dispel was age. This created a very long cycle of tradition...
This cycle repeated hundreds and thousands of times as countless eras passed... That is... until the incident where YOU were summoned as both the wielder of the Divine Sword of Darkness and Divine Sword of Light took place." The faceless man stopped his words there and dissipated the realistic illustrations behind him.
The faceless man in front of me gave me a lot of information I couldn't digest it all in one go. However, I was still able to instantly make some connections to what happened to me before I arrived here and was able to make sense of the present impossible situation I'm in thanks to his words.
It seems the people I met before weren't humans but mystical beings called Druids... Hmmm, that's strange because they looked too human in my opinion and didn't look anything like the tree huggers I heard Druids were in my past as a knowledgeable intellectual (Otaku).
Well, it's probably nothing special...
It might be that they looked identical to humans due to their similar history and culture. The illustrations the faceless man showed couldn't have been fake since the Divine Swords drawn were an exact replica of the ones I saw after being summoned. Not only that but the Gods who held the swords seemed to be the type who would stubbornly fight to uphold their beliefs.
One sword seemed like it was glimmering in light whilst the other sword was so dark that it seemed to devour light itself. What baffles me the most about what the faceless man said is that the two Gods actually fought for such childish reasons. I understand that the Druids created by the Light God may have been too similar to humans and thus incited war, but what is up with the actual Gods themselves getting caught up in a war caused by different ideals? Is it even possible for Gods that the faceless man illustrated with his world altering powers to even exist!?
If they don't exist, then why would the faceless man lie to me? The care he shows towards me seems genuine, yet that in ITSELF is what makes me feel more suspicion towards him. I've never had any close friends who hadn't gone through life or death tribulations with me, so I'm unable to comprehend his reasoning...
Perhaps I'm just imagining it and the faceless man is only being kind. You can't judge a supernatural entity like him with regular human logic, right?
My heart thumped wildly as I took in what he said, not knowing how to respond. My previously indifferent face became stern as I looked at the faceless man in front of me. The fact that I couldn't return was something that didn't really affect me much but what he implied in his story really put me on edge.
He said that the Gods of this world died...! If so, then who is he?
I think I should pretend to not have thought of this question until he starts introducing himself. Who knows what could happen if the faceless man has a weird temperament that could be incensed by questions of this nature?
Meh... It could be that he forgot to introduce himself as well but that seems unlikely considering how the faceless man seems to be wiser than you'd expect. The fact that he has a lot of information regarding me doesn't make me feel any safer since that could mean he read through my thoughts...
Hmmm... Now that I think about it, the faceless man before me never mentioned 'why' he couldn't send me back to my homeland. Is it that he can't send me back to Earth or that he won't?
I can't believe this to be the truth. I feel like he's insulting my intelligence... How can an entity that could bend reality to his will not be able to send me back to my homeland? If I'm going to die somewhere, I want it to be in the country I fought to protect all through my life! Although those in power may believe me to be a threat even at this age of mine, that doesn't change the fact that I want my grave to be somewhere close to my comrades who had fallen in battle.
Fine... Let's say he can't send me back for now... However, the problem still stands that the even I'm unable to comprehend how I was chosen twice out of the more than seven billion people of Earth in these two summonings. It doesn't make sense!