I stood atop the hill, near the main entrance of our school, eagerly waiting for the trio to emerge from their respective classes. The sun bathed the campus in a warm glow, but my excitement made me oblivious to the pleasant weather. First, I spotted Vincent, his long brown hair obscuring one of his bright blue eyes. When he saw me, a grin spread across his face, and he made his way towards me. Together, we stood at the hill's crest, sharing an unspoken anticipation for the arrival of the others.

A few minutes later, amidst the sea of heads, I caught sight of Elena's signature hairpin, a pink accent against her black hair. Her eyes scanned the surroundings before finally locking onto ours, and she gracefully joined our small group.

As we conversed, there was a small gust of wind. Then, I felt a playful tap on my shoulder and turned to see Nathaniel, wearing a mischievous grin. To our surprise, he had somehow managed to sneak up on us without either Vincent or me noticing. His arrival added an extra layer of excitement to our gathering.

With all four of us now together, we decided to head to our usual meeting spot: the nearby park. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground. I chose to sit down at the bottom of one of the slides, feeling a sense of comfort in its familiar presence, while the other three settled on an empty bench.

"So…" I began, excitement and curiosity bubbling in my voice, "How do we want to start this?"

"Well, we can start with where we've been," replied Elena, her eyes lighting up with a mix of joy and nostalgia.

"Do you think other worlds exist?" Vincent asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

"Do you mean like parallel universes? Or those fantasy worlds they show in anime?"

"Both," responded Nathaniel, trying his hardest to keep a straight face.

"Uhh… I guess I wouldn't be surprised if they did exist."

"Well, they do, Wren! We've spent the past few months in one!" exclaimed Nathaniel with an infectious enthusiasm that drew us all in.

"Yeah! It was so cool! There were these amazing creatures, and there were kingdoms with knights, and the food there was amazing!" added Vincent, his eyes gleaming with the memories of adventures past. "The world also had—"

"Okay, guys, slow down! You're gonna make his head explode with unanswered questions if you keep going on a rant," chuckled Elena, her warm smile grounding us in the present.

"But yeah, basically what they said. It's like those anime you were talking about. We got summoned to another world as heroes, and they asked us to defeat the demon king and all the other shenanigans."

"Wait, so you guys actually fought a demon king?!" I exclaimed, my imagination running wild with images of epic battles. "What did he look like? Was he strong? Were there other people? How did you guys beat him?"

"Ahem!"

"Ah, my bad," I sheepishly apologized, realizing that I might have let my excitement get the better of me.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Thank you, Wren. Anyways, before we arrived in that other world, we met a goddess who called herself Nysara. She explained that the world we were going to be summoned into had magic, but as heroes, we would also be gifted with additional abilities."

"Wow, that's insane! So what abilities do you guys have?"

"Well, I'll let the twins demonstrate first."

As Vincent and Nathaniel stood up and started walking towards me, I eagerly watched, eager to witness their newfound powers in action.

"Ours are pretty simple, actually. I have an ability called [Acceleration] which allows me to move very fast, and Vincent has an ability called [Deceleration] which allows him to slow things down. Watch."

With a swift step, Nathaniel disappeared in a gust of wind, only to reappear behind me with a playful grin. Meanwhile, Vincent extended his hand, and I watched in awe as the small pebbles that were blown towards him with the wind started floating through the air very slowly, eventually descending to the ground with gentle grace.

"Huh. So that's how you got behind us on that hill. So what about you, Elena?" I asked, now turning my attention to her.

"Mine is a little more complicated. It's called [Channeling]. Essentially, I can connect myself to other objects and gain the traits of said objects, depending on the strength of my connection. I'm also able to connect to living beings, but that gets very disorienting because I can feel all their emotions and their senses."

Her explanation intrigued me, and I found myself captivated by her unique abilities. The interplay of the supernatural and emotion seemed like a double-edged sword, offering both wondrous possibilities and potential challenges.

“Due to the negative side effects, I usually only connect to living beings when I connect to small animals to scout an unknown area or when I connect to an enemy to sense their attacks. And yes, Wren I can also use it to read minds but I usually don’t do it to people who don’t consent to it.”

"Wait, so did you just connect to me and answer the question I was about to ask? How come I didn't even feel anything?" I questioned, my curiosity piqued.

"Apparently, those who aren't on guard against it can't feel it, but if someone is ready for it, they can weaken or even completely break off the connection. So I tend to not rely on this way of using it too much in combat," Elena explained, her eyes reflecting the wisdom that came with her newfound powers.

"Ah, I see. That's fascinating," I replied, admiration coloring my voice.

"Oh, you also said something about combat. How did you guys actually fight the demon king?" I asked, eager to hear more about their experiences in a fantasy world.

"Yes, did you forget the part where I said I can also gain the traits of objects I form connections with? Here, let me show you," Elena said with a glimmer of excitement.

Elena looked at Nathaniel and nodded. Nathaniel picked up a big stick and he disappeared in a gust of wind only to reappear behind her with a loud cracking noise and a broken half of a stick in his hand.

“Here, I connected myself to the pavement and channeled its physical traits into my body to make me sturdier.”

Her interaction with Nathaniel further showcased the versatility of her abilities. As she explained her [Channeling], connecting to the pavement to make herself sturdier, I couldn't help but be in awe of the extraordinary that now surrounded our once ordinary lives.

"We also learned to use magic in tandem with our abilities, and we can demonstrate that as well. Just not now. It's getting late, and this area isn't suitable for demonstrating magic without leaving traces," Vincent explained, a note of responsibility in his voice.

"Yeah, Vincent is right. The magic we learned is kinda destructive, so we'll need to find a place where a few craters and explosions won't look suspicious," added Nathaniel while nodding in agreement.

"Well, I think it's time to head home for the day. We'll contact you when we've found a place where we can demonstrate our magic," said Elena, picking up her bag.

"Okay then, I still have more questions, but I think I'm gonna need a bit of time to process everything I've seen here today," I said, realizing that this newfound magical world opened up countless possibilities.

"Oh wait, Wren, one last thing," said Elena with a mysterious glint in her eye. "Have you ever heard the name The Calamity of Despair?"

"No? Is that some new game that just came out?"

"No, it has something to do with what that goddess told us about before we came back to this world. I'll tell you another time. See you later, Wren!"

I waved goodbye to my friends, feeling a mix of excitement and intrigue coursing through me. On my way back home, my mind buzzed with thoughts of other worlds, magical abilities, and the mysterious name "Calamity of Despair."

As I lay in bed that night, I couldn't help but wonder how our lives had changed so dramatically in the past few months. The ordinary routines of school and everyday life now shared space with fantastical adventures and newfound powers. I drifted off to sleep, secretly hoping that someday, I might also find myself stepping into the realms of another world. But even then, something still bothered me.

“The Calamity of Despair, huh? Why does that name sound so familiar?”