His body moved but not as he wanted. It moved without his consent. Otto was an observer in his own body. Panic and hysteria was only natural.

“Calm down,” his own voice told him.

What’s going on?! Otto tried to shout. Why can’t I use my body? Who are you?

A different voice intruded, occupying his inner existence, I am ---- -------. I have taken your body for my mission.

Piece by piece his memories came back. Panic and confusion were replaced by fear, Wait, so are you a… a god?

The being openly laughed, “Don’t be foolish, Ilm. There are no such things.”

…Then, what are you? Otto asked.

“I am a transmigrant, a Gaikin. My name is ---- -------.

I… I can’t understand that. Your name, that is.

The being frowned. So Ilm from this realm can not comprehend such basic sounds. Disappointing. Then call me Nu.

Nu… Otto repeated.

Nu looked at the sun overhead, “It is time.” It got up and headed towards the road west on the horizon.

Wait, wait, wait! Otto panicked, What’s going on?

“My mission must begin. Sig operatives have fled my universe and infiltrated this one. Their transgressions will be punished – they shall be purged. That is my duty.”

Otto complained, Why me? I know I don’t have much to lose, but you came out of nowhere and took my body and now I’m in some war—

SILENCE, boomed Nu. I can erase your existence like many others Gaikins do to their host. Otto whimpered like a scolded puppy. Once the battle here ends, Nu said, Your body will be returned.

So even if you lose, I’ll get my body back? He asked.

No. Then the procedure is to destroy this entire universe. Nu reached the road and looked down both ways. There was no one out today. “Which way is the capital, Solhelm?”

West, towards the ocean. You should go right.

Nu nodded and proceeded towards the destination. Otto confined himself deep in his body, unsure of what to do. Nu spoke of war and destruction, and he was numb to it all; everything seemed unreal and he couldn’t process any of it. Failure, Nu claimed, would result in the end. The end of everything. Was it his fault, he wondered? Did he allow this to happen by letting Nu take his body?

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He was already punished for being a failure: just this morning his dad kicked him out for ‘leeching’ and ‘not pulling his weight’. Now he had a front row seat to a war he never asked to be a part of.

“I hear you,” Nu said.

Huh?

“I can hear your thoughts.”

Otto didn’t reply, feeling his privacy was violated.

“It’s natural to feel as you are. All I can tell you is to not worry. I will not lose.”

Telling me not to worry won’t magically solve anything. I’m still stuck in this! I’ve lost my body and got a war.

“I can put you to sleep and wake you once my mission ends if that is what you wish.”

It didn’t sound like a bad idea to Otto. Maybe, but this is my body. I can’t leave it unsupervised – who knows what you would do!

“Very well. Don’t be a nuisance and there will be no problems with that.”

Nu maintained a sprint down the road not even breaking a sweat. Was my body always capable of this? Otto asked.

“No. As far as hosts go, you were lacking in every area, especially physical characteristics.”

So this is your power? He asked disappointed.

“Yes. I can tell you’re curious – want me to explain?”

I mean, if you can, that would be nice. Otto had nothing to do but be curious.

“There is a process to leave a universe and enter another realm, but conventional methods require a host. The more compatible and developed a host is, the more of the being’s existence can be transferred over. In this case, for an Ilm, you are a very compatible host, yet underdeveloped. I can access many of my power and abilities on a limited scale. The more your body develops and the integration grows, the closer I reach to full power.”

Huh, I see. What is an ‘Ilm’? You keep calling me that. Aren’t I human? Aren’t you, I think, human?

“Many from my universe, many Gaikins, are human. Neither you nor I are. Ilm are a step below humans, a precursor. As such, any transmigrants will run into compatibility issues, humans trying to integrate with a non-human entity. There is a limit for such integrations.”

So why would they bother coming over if they just end up worst?

“The alternative is death,” Nu said. “The war for them is nearly lost in our universe, so they flee through the multiverse. They infiltrate a universe and cultivate life towards producing human vessels. Once they exist, they can move their people en masse in hopes of restoring their empire and avoiding their punishment. Our goal is to purge them before their plans can become complete in any universe. Hence battle is done through using Ilm such as yourself as proxy. Thus, the Ilm Proxy Wars.” Nu trekked off the path towards the forest line. It cracked knuckles and stretched out the back.

Otto said, That’s pretty interesting, actually, but what are you doing now? Thought we were heading to the capital.

“As I said, I must develop your body to harness my full power. I sense life in the brush. They are numerous and small. Since this is an F-type universe, it’s possibly goblins or kobolds – perfect specimens to test my power and begin that process.”

Goblins?! Otto screamed. He dreamed of becoming a hero or an adventurer and working his way up killing goblins to dragons, but it never worked out. If a slime was too much for him, then a goblin was sure death. Are you sure this is a good idea? Adventures were regularly killed and tormented for underestimating them.

SILENCE, boomed Nu. “We are the closing things to gods you will see. So sit. And Watch.”

And Otto felt time had stopped again.