Awakening in a New World

I awoke in a dimly lit room, the soft glow of a crystal on the ceiling casting a gentle light across the walls. The scent of incense hung in the air, its soothing aroma calming my racing thoughts. My body felt incredibly heavy as if gravity had something against me.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, taking in my surroundings. The room itself was simple yet its contents were serene, adorned with intricate tapestries that depicted scenes of nature and mysticism. It was a stark contrast to the chaos of my own room that I had left behind.

Just as I began to wonder where I was and how I had ended up here, the door to the room swung open, and a figure entered. My breath caught in my throat as I saw an incredibly beautiful person, their features androgynous and ethereal.

The very attractive stranger approached me with a graceful stride, their eyes filled with a wisdom that seemed far beyond their years. "Welcome," they said in a melodic voice. "You have awakened."

'Now that's an odd way of talking.'

I struggled to find my voice. "Where am I? Who are you?"

The stranger smiled, their gaze gentle yet penetrating. "I am a guru who has lived in these mountains in solitude for many years. As for where you are, you have crossed into a realm beyond your own, fell through a place where the boundaries of reality blur."

I took a moment to absorb this cryptic information. "A realm beyond my own? Does that mean I'm not in my world anymore?"

The guru nodded, their long, flowing hair cascading like liquid silver. "Indeed, you are no longer in the world you knew. Your journey was not just a physical one, it was a transcendence of boundaries."

Beckoning me to lie down and seeing no reason to go against someone who had been treating me, I watched as the self-proclaimed guru held out their hand and concentrated, their hands emitting a soothing energy wave that ran through my tired body. It was like the world's most zen spa treatment, and I was soaking it up like a sponge. The sensation was akin to a gentle massage of the soul, and I couldn't help but let out a contented sigh.

'Waah, this feels quite nice.'

Your condition remains fragile." he remarked, his voice tinged with sympathy. "The disruption caused by traveling through an unstable rift has left a profound impact on your energy flow. We must continue to work on restoring your balance and vitality."

'Energy flow, balance?'

My head was spinning with questions, and I blurted out the one that weighed on my mind the most. "Do you know what happened to me? Do you know about the Vanishing?"

The guru's eyes seemed to bore into my soul, and I felt an irresistible urge to speak the truth. "Although I don't know of this Vanishing you speak of, I have already answered your first question. You experienced what we call 'Jagat yatra'. Translated, it simply means world travel. It is a phenomenon of randomness, a journey through the unknown. You fell through the cracks of your own world and emerged here. Fret not, you are not the first. Just like you. there have been others in the course of history who have achieved this transcendental feat of crossing worlds."

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With a momentary silence, he continued "These cracks between worlds used to be an exceedingly rare phenomenon. Scholars have wasted their entire lives in search of one to sate their curiosity. But these cracks never remain stationary, appearing and disappearing without any patterns and so, many have tasted despair. But in recent years their appearances have gotten more..... frequent than before."

As the guru's words settled over me, I couldn't help but feel a sense of surreal disbelief.

The guru continued, "All ‘yatris’ or rather travelers who arrive here are touched by the whims of fate. They come from different worlds and carry with them the potential to reshape the destiny of this realm."

'Reshape destiny? Is that not something reserved for heroes? No way..isekai?'

I blinked, trying to process the enormity of what I was hearing. I swallowed my words and chose to play along for now. "So, what's my purpose here? What am I supposed to do?"

I don't know why I was asking such questions to this man whom I have just met a couple minutes ago but he seems like a wise sage character. Perhaps I should follow the tropes and pester this mentor-type for answers.

The guru's lips curled into a mysterious smile. "Your purpose will become clear with time. For now, you must rest and recover. The journey you have undertaken is not without its toll on the body and spirit."

I straightened up my back as much as I could despite the pain. I joined my hands together and bowed to him. "Please teach me guru. I am willing to learn."

"Very well call me guru from now on. We shall begin as soon as you are able to. I promise you it is going to be very tough but also rewarding. Rest for now, I will arrange some books to be brought here and soon we will work on bringing your knowledge up to the level of your fellow junior disciples as well."

The guru soon left so that I could rest and I was all alone in the room. As I lay back on the comfortable bed, the events of the past two years and the accident that had brought me here seemed like distant memories. But in the back of my mind, the mystery of Vanishing still lingered. I had left behind a world gripped by fear and uncertainty, where people just disappeared into thin air. It was like the world's worst game of hide-and-seek.

'Why was it happening? And was there a way to stop it? Was Vanishing referring to this ‘Jagat yatra’ the guru spoke of, or are they different? Was Vanishing a natural phenomenon? Could the people who had vanished simply be a case of falling through the cracks like me? From what I heard from the guru just now, cracks are supposed to be rare occurrences even if they have gotten more frequent than before. Could it all be intentionally orchestrated by someone? Is it like the Hero summoning from those Isekai novels? But the number of vanished are in the hundreds of thousands for that to be the reason. That many heroes would only cause chaos with all the power grabbing and politics. Perhaps the chance of surviving a summoning is very low. If my appearance here was due to someone else’s plans to summon me then will they come and find me? Could there be a tracker placed on me or even worse a curse?'

Too many questions raced around my mind.

As I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, I experienced the same dream again. The same dream that I had been having ever since the incident at the river.

'Not this again.'

I was falling, surrounded by an abyss of pitch-black darkness stretching infinitely in all directions. The emptiness was suffocating, and I felt utterly alone. The only company I had was a single, enormous eye that watched me from a distance with an unwavering gaze.

I heard the sound of something cutting through the air from somewhere far above, like a sharp blade slicing effortlessly through fabric. The noise reverberated through the void, a sign of impending danger. Something was approaching, something fast and titanic in size, though I couldn't discern its form. I could not move. My body felt too heavy. All I could do was to continue falling and hope against all reason for some way to survive.

As I continued to plummet through the dark abyss, a sudden burst of warm light pierced the darkness. It came from below, a radiant light that seemed to beckon me with a promise of safety and comfort. The light bathed me in its soothing embrace, and the darkness that had been closing in on me began to recede.

The feeling of warmth and security washed over me, and I knew that I was safe, at least for the moment. However, I could not help but feel like something had touched my back for the smallest of moments.