Part 1

I was at a loss and didn't know what to make of the situation. I can't feel any mana activity so what I'm seeing and experiencing right now probably isn't caused by magic. But it was far too unbelievable!

"I see you've already brought him." a male voice came from behind. 

I looked towards the source of the voice to find Dr. Saionji smiling at me. 

I wasn't good at dealing with Dr. Saionji. He seems like a good enough guy, but there's this lingering sense of uneasiness whenever I engage in a conversation with him. I can't help but liken him to gramps whenever he was baiting Vance and me with sweet promises of awesome new techniques or training methods, only for us to end up biting off more than we could chew. 

We've gotten into some pretty close calls back then. Actually, it's quite remarkable that we survived that sort of hellish training. I involuntarily shudder at the thought.

Dr. Saionji's voice snapped me out from my reminiscence.

"Well, lad? What do you think about zero gravity? Pretty interesting right? Though normally, you should be used to this kind of stuff already. But, given your condition, it wouldn't be weird for you to think this is the first time you're experiencing it." Dr. Saionji began. I don't have the slightest inkling about what he's talking about. 

"Hmm. Judging from that blank, confused look, I assume I'm pretty much on point huh. Was the trauma really so severe?" he continued without paying attention to my growing confusion.

"Um... Sorry to interrupt but... Just what exactly is going on? What the heck is this place? Who are you people? Why is someone suddenly trying to kill me?!"

I unleashed a barrage of pent up questions. I already lost my cool earlier and am close to being hysterical now.

"Whoa there lad. Slow down. Relax. I'll answer all your questions to the best of my abilities. I only ask that you listen to my little proposal in return." Dr. Saionji replied, trying to ease my excited state.

"Alright. Sorry about that." I answered with a hoarse tone as I try to calm myself down.

"Good. Now then... Where to begin?..." Dr. Saionji nodded approvingly and launched himself towards me with a light tap of his foot to the floor. Stopping just short of where I was, he positioned himself as if he was sitting cross legged on a chair while in truth, we were floating in mid air. It was quite a bizarre sight.

"Well then... How should I explain...? Ah, yes. Considering all that you've told us about yourself in these past few days, I think you'll understand better if I explain it like so." 

Dr. Saionji paused his explanation for a few moments and looked me squarely in the eyes. I reflexively flinched a little from his gaze. His next words shocked me into silence.

"Basically my good lad... You're in another world." he stated in a matter of fact tone. 

My thoughts ground to a halt while trying to digest what the doctor claimed. And after a brief pause... 

"Huh? Are you crazy?!" I screamed.

Part 2

"Now I know it sounds hard to believe, but if we were to infer from your previous statements, it seems you are indeed from another world. A world different from this one. And now you're in our world. A stranger who's crossed space and time. Has a nice, romantic ring to it huh?" Dr. Saionji continued; unfazed by my panicked scream.

"What do you mean 'other world'? Maybe you meant 'another country'? I'm in a ship from another country right? This is all caused by some fancy foreign illusion magic right?" I denied desperately.

"No. This really is another world. There's no kingdom called Vandel here. No central continent called Grandale. No Lindorf village. You can't find those places even if you scoured the entirety of the colonized regions of the galaxy. 

Of course, they may be located on a planet somewhere out there in this vast universe. But certainly not here. It does sound more mysterious and exotic if we go with the 'other dimension' theory so I'm going with that." Dr. Saionji retorted with an unconcerned tone. 

I grabbed his collar in panic and shook him about wildly. I was completely out of it. 

"That's crazy! All of this is crazy! All of you are crazy! You expect me to believe that?!" I shouted in confusion and rage. I continued to vent for quite some time. 

After I tired myself out from all the shouting, Dr. Saionji gently removed my hands from the collar of his clothes and addressed me in a calm manner.

"Are you done now? Good grief lad. Learn to manage your temper a bit. Anyway, it's fine for me to continue right?" he asked. I nodded half heartedly. I no longer had the motivation to react.

"You should have already noticed yourself right? Almost all the things you've seen here couldn't possibly exist in the world you're from, basing from your descriptions. You just refrained from acknowledging that little fact in order to better cope with the situation. But right now, there's no use denying it." he went on. I looked at him with a powerless expression.

My head was a mess and I mulled over a lot of things in worry. If this really was another world, then how did I get here? It's said in the Church's teachings that one would reincarnate an untold number of times until the soul becomes pure enough to sublimate towards the eternal realm. Did I already undergo reincarnation after dying? 

But Dr. Saionji said this was another world and that the places I'm familiar with don't exist. Have I reincarnated into the far future? What if this really was another dimension? How would I get back? Legend tells of people ending up in the Spirit Realm and never returning. Will the same thing happen to me? Will I never get to see my loved ones again? 

People say losing someone to death is incredibly painful for the ones left behind. But I'm actually the one who died. It's incredibly painful for me too.

They say death send you into a journey towards eternal peace and happiness. That you're not supposed to fear or be sad about it. What a load of nonsense! Then what is this feeling that is tearing through my heart? How am I supposed to overcome this? 

Should I just accept it and move on? Like hell I can! I still have so many things I had to do. I still have so many things I wanted to say. I still had people I wanted to be with. But I will never have the chance to fulfill those hopes ever again. Just how unfair is that?! 

Why? Why do I remember my previous life? If I didn't, then I won't have to experience this kind of pain at all... 

And even if I really haven't died. If what Dr. Saionji said is true and I have indeed travelled through dimensions, how would I even find myself back. Merely wanting to wasn't enough. Is there a way to get back in the fist place? How would I even start? 

Countless worries assaulted me one after the other. People often say you need to keep your cool in situations like this. But can you? I certainly can't. 

How the do you expect me to keep calm when I'm in such a predicament? This isn't like getting stuck in a deserted island or something. It's possibly being thrown into a new life or a new world. There's a nagging sense of something uncomfortably alien about this whole thing and it's driving me nuts. 

"Well, now that we've established that bit, it's time to move on to the more important topics." Dr. Saoinji declared, not paying my unsettled mood even a tiny bit of attention. I continued to stare at him with lifeless eyes. 

"Don't look so glum lad. I have a really interesting proposal for you later. But first, I need to tell you about our world. Notice the grand tapestry of stars out there?" he pointed out. 

I moved my gaze to the large glass window. I could clearly see multitudes of stars within an ocean of darkness. It was surreal yet beautiful.

"That's called 'space'. We're now in a place called 'space'. It's the thing beyond the sky. The next frontier. By the way, in your world, what's said to be beyond the sky?" Dr. Saionji explained further and paused a question.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"The domain of the gods who created the world - Alma, the goddess of light and creation, chief among them. It's said that only after countless lifetimes can a soul be purified enough to join the gods in that sacred domain." I answered almost involuntarily. I was still in a state of confusion and shock, so I wasn't fully conscious of what I was saying 

Dr. Saionji's lips curved into a light smile. 

"Gods huh? Humanity certainly likes to play god actually. Quite the irony. So it's similar to heaven or nirvana." he whispered.

"Well, anyway, in this world, this is what lays beyond the sky. A vast, mysterious place with countless untold secrets. And we have gained the capability to explore it and discover what little we can about it. Will we actually find 'gods' residing somewhere in this vast universe? Who knows. But that's part of the charm you see. Excitement for the unknown." he continued.

"Now, even in this world, there are conflicts. And space has become the stage for countless battles. Even now, we're right in the middle of one. The higher ups are desperate to downplay the situation and try to keep up a facade of false peace though."

I nodded lightly. Conflicts just can't seem to be avoided, even in a so called other dimension.

"We're actually a covert military operation that has recently been commissioned to spearhead a project that would turn the winds of battle in our favor. And we want you to join up."

Huh? 

Now what's he on about? As if I wasn't confused enough already.

Part 3

"I want you to officially sign up and become our military's asset." Dr. Saionji stated once more.

"Wait. Now just wait one moment! You said 'military' right? Why would I want to be conscripted to fight in a war for a country I don't even know? And I'm not that strong anyway. Why would you want me?" I asked, puzzled about the reason for the invitation.

"Ahaha. Don't worry. I'm not gonna ask you to go fight in a war. Far from it. I only want you to serve as a test pilot for our newly developed weapon system." Dr. Saionji answered.

"Like I said, why me? I don't know about being a 'pilot' or something but there must be others more qualified than me." I insisted. 

Dr. Saionji made a tired sigh and fixed a sharp gaze at me. 

"Here. Take a look at this."

He handed me pieces of film-like sheets. They contained various information about someone. On top of the very first piece was some sort of tiny portrait of a young man. Must be the one being described in the sheets. My brows furrowed after realizing that the portrait looked eerily similar to me. I looked at Dr. Saionji in increasing puzzlement.

"That's you. Or rather, that's the identity of the man you formerly were before you started to claim otherwise." he explained.

I became even more confused. My former identity?

"Kou Mikagami. That's who you are. Rather, that's who you were. Right now, you claim to be... Myst Evrard was it?" Dr. Saionji went on.

"You're actually one of the few who voluntarily signed up for joining the Elysium project. Before joining up, you were a fresh recruit just out of one of our military institutes.

You and several others were on route to one of our testing facilities to take part in the project, but were ambushed by enemy forces pretending to be criminals who were after your ship and valuables. Space pirate wannabes if you will. You're the only one who survived the attack." he explained further.

"I... This..."

I was at a loss. I didn't know what to think anymore. Suddenly being told I was a different person before... 

"I don't know exactly what happened to you after recovering from the attack. Kou Mikagami might have already died and you took his body over after dying in the world you're from yourself. Or maybe you're just delusional and you're making the things you're claiming up because of the trauma from nearly dying. 

I'm no expert when it comes to psychoanalysis. But I do know this - You're a valuable asset who has the aptitude suited for our purposes. And we want your services in order to develop a weapon system that will help us in winning the war."

Dr. Saionji's gaze bore through me. But I was preoccupied with something else. 

Delusional? No! That can't be! I could never dream something like that up. I remember them clearly. The taste of moms cooking. My sisters cute nagging. My fathers deep set voice. My hometown. Our noisy neighbors. Vance's cheeky laugh. Felise's lovely smile. 

I remember them all quite vividly. The entirety of my twenty years of life in Lindorf. I couldn't possibly make all that stuff up... right?

"Hey kid! Don't just go losing yourself in la la land. We're in the middle of a deal here." Dr. Saionji admonished.

"Deal?" I asked.

"Uh huh. It's the offer I was talking about earlier. You seem to be set on the fact that you're really a different person who came from an unfamiliar world. We're prepared to go along with your whims and grant you both the resources and the expertise to pursue a means of getting back to your own world, no matter how crazy that sounds." he stated.

What? Are you serious?

"Judging from that expression, I assume you're at least interested. Very well. Just think about it. You'll never get an offer as good as this. You'll get to have the full backing of the Coalition military. Our resources and quality of personnel can't be matched by just any run off the mill organization. We're your best shot at finding a way to get back to your own world. Rather, we're your only shot. And all we ask is that you cooperate with us a bit too."

Dr. Saionji was smiling. But there's something familiar about his smile. It was the smile of a conniving merchant. I saw uncle Milton make that smile lots of times before. 

But he's right. I'm in an unfamiliar alien world. I have no one I can rely on. If what he's saying is true, then it's a major step for me. But people who make that kind of expression always gloss over the more inconvenient stuff for their own purposes. Was it really alright to trust him? 

"What's the catch?" I asked. Dr. Saionji grinned wryly.

"Nothing major really. Like I said, you'll be serving to develop a weapon of war. It's not like you'll be the one responsible yourself, but the weapon you'll help develop will definitely cause a lot of blood to be shed. But hey, it's war. That's sort of par for the course. Still, I can't have you getting any moral dilemmas just cause we failed to mention this from the get go. So I'm telling you this now."

Dr. Saionji's grin grew even more ill humored. 

"So what do you say? Think you can throw in your lot with us crazy folks? After all, you're quite mad yourself. And I don't really think you're one to spout nonsense about sacrificing personal happiness for the good of others. Most folks aren't that noble. Help us create a tool for murder and mass destruction and we help you find a way back home. Simple right?"

Dr. Saionji offered his hand while still sporting that conniving merchants smile. 

"Come on lad. I've already laid down the facts for you. We're not doing this purely for just causes. I'm personally in it for revenge. But we're still asking you to be a willing accomplice. Because frankly, you don't have any other choice."

Dr. Saionji was simple and direct. But his words were like whispers from the devil. Even so... 

I breathed in deep and looked Dr. Saionji in the eye. His expression was unfaltering.

I reached out and shook his hand. 

-Chapter 8 End-