Darkness... That was all the young Haruki Mimasaka could see. Not a single life; not a single matter; not a single familar thing can be seen in Haruki's vision.
All there was beside darkness was his body, floating like he is in space. It appears that wherever Haruki has gone too is not somewhere near or somewhere he is familiar with. He's body is not awake, yet his conscious is. All he could feel was the feeling of floating in deep empty space.
He wasn't sure about what he should do; he wasn't sure if he should panic or not. Just the thought of floating in empty space for all eternity frightened the young man, hence why he is pushing his limits right now, even if it might take a toll on his body or even if it hurts his mind he was still trying to wake himself up.
What is this? What is this? What is this? If this is what everyone meant when they said that you shouldn't reach the light when your at death's door, then this is more tougher than I thought... There is no light to reach, but instead my consciousness is slowly trying to sleep. Just trying to remain awake is tiring, it hurts my head... Dammit, this is way scarier than trying to reach for the light.
With his entire mind and heart on it, Haruki continued to remain awake. Though it is unknown what would happen once his consciousness slept, Haruki still didn't want to risk dying. In his thoughts, once he finally woke up from nightmare he would go back to his home; he would see his friends: Homura and Asahi and finally buy the game the three of them have been waiting for. Not only that, but Haruki also wanted to see what happened to the mysterious hooded-figure that stabbed him, and also to check if the child that he saved was in safe hands.
Those thoughts is what filled him with determination to stay awake, as his determination continued to strive to beat his sleepiness he finally felt something move on his body.
It was his mouth, he was smiling without a reason, probably that smile on his face appeared now that he is the victor to whatever force is trying to put him in eternal sleep.
"You're quite stubborn aren't you?"
Haruki's eyes opened up as soon as he heard that mysterious voice, as soon as his eyes opened up his vision was blurry and his head suffered from pain that can never be described. "Who are you..?" Forcing his body to speak, those were the only words that came out of his mouth.
"I go by many name... Some are unremembered by many, and some cherished by many..." The man, whose voice can be described as like that of an angel moved closer to Haruki. It wasn't clear on Haruki's vision what the man looks like, but he could feel his presence was overwhelming unlike the people in his entire life. The man touched Haruki's head and began to pat it slowly but with care.
"If you've slept this wouldn't happen to you, but don't worry... I can help you ease the pain." The man hands let out a green light, as the light touches Haruki's head he slowly felt the pain going away.
Haruki's eyesight returned back to normal and his headaches soon dissipates, with Haruki's eyesight finally returning back to normal he saw the bright green light coming out of the man's palm. He was in utter disbelief of the sight, Haruki was not sure on how to properly process what was going on before him. This scene of the mysterious man's palm glowing with a mysterious light that came out of nowhere reminded Haruki of his dream before he was killed.
The dream that showed his past... And it was this exact dream that made him feel an indescribable feeling that he could not describe, it was a feeling of disbelief at first but it has hints of belief. It does not make since in Haruki's mind of what he has seen in his dream, normally, he would not believe in such a thing since it was nothing but a mere dream, yet even so that dream has since been stuck on his mind when he was running on the streets.
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Now that dream where his so-called real father showed up and performed a miracle like this exact same mine made Haruki wonder what fiction is. Is fiction just what everybody says that it is nothing but a concept made by the humans imagination? Or is it perhaps that these so-called fiction that humans have thought of in their minds are just hidden away from humanity's sight?
"What was that..?" Haruki asked the mysterious man with a tone filled with fear, yet has interest of what he has seen.
"That my friend is what people call magic."
"Magic? So, magic are real?"
The word magic is nothing more than an entertaining concept made by the human mind to fill other people with joy. The word "magic" is only something you can see in a fictitious book or show, yet for Haruki Mimasaka who loves media like these is shocked at what he has heard. It's normal for people to wish for magic to be real, but the human idea of common sense is what made humanity think that magic is only seen in media.
"Magic is indeed real my friend, it has always been real..." The man offered Haruki his hand as he tries to think of a way to stop Haruki from doubting that magic is not real. "Even before human society was created, the phenoma called magic is has been present."
Haruki who was still in shock accepted the man offer, he stood up with his mouth wide open from disbelief. "I can't believe magic is real..."
"Now my friend, let us leave this place at once. I want to show you something."
Haruki followed where the man was headed too, as he walks behind the mysterious figure he was able to see what the man looks like.
He was a tall man with tanned skin, he has snow-white hair that is shoulder lenght, his body was covered in a white coat that appears to be maade out of wool. What made Haruki curious about the man is that he is wearing a blindfold, yet he is able to see the path he is headed toward too. He start to wonder how the man was able to properly see his surroundings, but asking him that question is not an option for Haruki, for he he doesn't want to say anything rude to the mysterious man.
"Haruki..."
"Yes sir?!" Haruki tensed up upon hearing his name, he does not know what he did for him to be called out, or perhaps he is just being cautios of the presence of the man.
"Do you have any idea where we are located?"
"No, I don't..."
"If you have to take a guess, what would your answer be?"
"What would my answer be?" Haruki looked around at his surroundings, from what he has observed he is in a lushy forest right now. But Haruki thought that that answer is not the answer the man is looking for, if he has to take a guess in where he is right now there is only one answer that came to Haruki's mind.
The foreign flora all around the forest and the weird-looking animals, one of the first thing Haruki has seen when walking in the forest was a butterfly that seems to be made out of crystals. Upon seeing that butterfly and also the plants around him, his guess in wherre he is right now is already clear. "This is another world right?"
The man smiled when he heard Haruki's answer. "You could say that, but what if I say that this place is somewhat located on Earth. What would your answer be?"
"Located on earth? I don't understand..." From all the manga and novel Haruki has read, one of his favorite genre in fiction is the isekai genre or also called as another world genre. That's why his immediate conclusion on the man's question is that they're in another world, but it appears Haruki was mistaken.
A different world from where he originally came from, yet it is still locate somewhere on earth. That made Haruki confused, he was doubting the man's response, but he knew that the man is more knowledgable about the place so he could only respond to the man's second question with silence.
"Look over there." The man pointed in front of them, it was the outside of the forest.
Haruki stepped forward and there he saw an entire empire. Like the one he has read in fiction and the one he has heard in history, it was a real empire. With a large castle that can be seen even in the forest, it is also surrounded with massive brick walls, and not only that but there are guards around the castle patrolling with weapons such as swords and spears. The citizens are also old-fashioned, their clothing has no brand and they mostly wear clothes that looked ragged or that looked basic.
As Haruki kept on observing, he was unable to speak; he waas stunned you could say. What should have been a place that can only found in the past or any sort of fantasy book is right in front of him. Unable to contain his excitement, his mouth was wide open and his eyes were sparkling like the stars at night.
"Welcome, Haruki Mimasaka." The mysterious man went in front of Haruki''s sight, his arm was spread forward like a flying bird, and he is smiling in joy as he started talking. "My name is El... El Elyon. And welcome to the place humanity calls Hell!"