Just before the timer hit zero, Vijan sat restless in his cell with his hands tied together by the silver coil OJ replaced with his initial chain. He had his eyes fixated on the coil holding him in place, and thought back to his deal with OJ.

Vijan silently: [Three… two… one…]

As soon as the timer hit zero, a snap played and the door in front of him creaked open. Light from the outside illuminated a small portion of his dark cell.

Vijan stood up and walked his way towards the bright door. Once he got close, he began to hear the screaming of young boys off in the distance followed by thuds and the crunching of grass blades. As soon as he walked out, the bright white light slowly turned into the bright blue sky.

With his head facing the distant clouds, and the gentle breeze softly blowing on his skin, he felt nostalgic.

The thuds came to a stop and everything faded away. He was back in the corridor as if nothing ever happened. He stared at the wall in front of him with eyes, lifeless and drought.

What he thought to have been thuds was a blaring alarm coming from a siren across the hall. The joyful screams and soft wind were coming from the opposite side of the hall, from guards repositioning to windows slightly open.

After a sigh, he remembered what he was supposed to do. Vijan slipped his hands into his pockets and walked past the guards while cloaked in invisibility. He continued to venture around the cellar mindlessly, like a rat in a maze. He had a single target in mind, but couldn’t find his way around.

As soon as he found a long and empty corridor, he saw a young man around his age with his arms crossed and his eyes staring at the ceiling. The blaring sirens were emitting a red light that encompassed the entire corridor.

Vijan tried to walk past the man, making as little noise as possible, and remaining as invisible as air. However, just as soon as he walked by, the man lowered his head and faced straight at Vijan’s invisible body.

Cody: [If you think you’re fooling anyone like that, you need to reconsider your methods.]

Vijan decided to remain silent and continue walking just in case that had been a fluke. Cody speed-walked up to Vijan and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

Cody angry: [Don’t ignore me.]

Vijan disabled his invisibility and looked at Cody with his cold, narrow eyes. The soldier was giving him a similar look, but his playful face didn’t give the same tense feeling.

Vijan coldly: [I don’t have business with you.]

He pulled his shirt away from Cody’s grasp.

Cody: [I doubt that, Hydra Ninja. If you remember anything, you’d know it’s unwise to try and leave.]

Vijan rolled his eyes and stared at the lights.

Cody: [Alright, let’s get started.]

Cody walked past Vijan and continued down the corridor.

Vijan: [Why are you guys doing this?]

Vijan followed.

Cody: [Let’s just say… it’s to get back.]

Vijan: [Back? To where?]

Cody: [When your coil broke, did you see anything?]

Vijan: [I had a weird vision… why?]

Cody: [That vision… is a flashback of your life. Before all of this happened.]

Vijan: [That isn’t possible. I’ve never been to the west.]

The two turned a corner and continued down another corridor. Cody remained silent as Vijan glanced at him.

Cody whispering: [Go invisible.]

Vijan could hear the clinging footsteps coming from the other side of the hall as well. Rather than questioning him, Vijan obeyed and immediately disappeared from sight. As soon as he and Cody turned the next corner, they saw two soldiers guarding a sealed door. Cody nodded to them as he walked by, while Vijan took a moment to see what was on the other side.

The room was easily larger than his, but that also meant the little light from the outside didn’t illuminate enough area. He couldn’t tell who it was, but he had a hunch it was Erma.

Cody aggressively coughed without stopping his momentum. Vijan was alerted and ran towards him. As soon as the two turned a corner, he disabled his invisibility.

This hall led to a single door on the opposite side that led to a staircase. Going up the stairs brought the two to the castle, to where a sudden gust of air blew their way. It would have blown the two off of their feet if Vijan hadn’t put up a barrier mid-way into the attack.

The wind picked up loads of dust, creating clouds of light brown that obscured their vision. Vijan attempted to use his heightened senses but they weren’t picking anything up. He turned around only to notice Cody had disappeared. He clenched his teeth together and put his arms up.

Suddenly, the dust clouds in front of him began parting, and a little bronze dagger appeared right before his eyes. They were going straight for his head with incomprehensible speeds. Without hesitation, Vijan stopped the movement of the single dagger with his time-stop and stared at it as it rested midair, right in the center of his two eyes.

Thanks to the dagger, the path ahead was cleared of dust and revealed the entity standing on the other side. A lady with shoulder length blue hair complimented by a highlight fade towards the bottom. She was wearing a red-pink shaded dress and a pair of light purple high heels. Her matching gloves and earrings were particularly standing out due to the patterns written on them.

Vijan grabbed a hold of the dagger in front of him, and threw it right back at the lady on the other side. She was quick to dodge by crouching down to her knees. The dust began to fade with no signs of Cody anywhere nearby. Vijan chuckled to himself as he watched the lady stand back up.

The lady silently stared at him and slowly pulled another dagger out of her dress. She began circling around him without taking her eyes off of him. There was fear brimming in her sapphire eyes, and her hands were trembling as if she was looking at a ghost. She became unsteady after witnessing Vijan stop time.

Lady: [Did you set off the alarms?]

Her voice was shaking as she asked. Vijan remained silent and stared at her. Coldly. Cody peeked over from around the corner and watched the two while he thought up an excuse to pick the Ninja back up. He recognized the lady, matter-of-fact, her very presence could potentially ruin OJ’s plan.

Just before Vijan charged towards her with a fist covered in shadowy goo, Cody interrupted by shouting a chant. Though it didn’t do anything, it scared Vijan enough to get him to step back. The ninja and lady turned towards the corner, where Cody walked away from with his hands behind him.

Cody: [How dare you attack the princess, scum?]

He narrowed a glare full of hate and spite.

Lady: [Cody?]

She sounded relieved of his interruption, smiling a little bit as she spoke.

Vijan coldly: [What are you talking about?]

Princess Hilda: [I don’t know how you managed to escape your prison, but you cannot be walking around so freely.]

Cody: [I’ll handle this, Princess. You get some rest.]

Cody pulled out the mana restricting cuffs while walking towards Vijan.

Hilda: [I’d like to accompany you–]

Just before she could respond, Cody dashed towards Hilda faster than she could blink.

The commander forced the cuffs onto Hilda’s hands and pushed her towards the nearest wall. As she grunted from the collision, Vijan smacked her neck with the sides of his palm, hitting one of her pressure points and knocking her unconscious.

Cody silently: [Fuck… this isn’t good.]

He started biting his nails and ruffling his hair as soon as Vijan finished the job.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Cody: [We need to get out of here, quick.]

Vijan: [Where are we going?]

Cody took the cuff off of Hilda’s hand and slid them back into his inventory. He then turned around and began heading towards a long corridor.

Cody: [First we need to get to the roof. After that, we go to your home town.]

Vijan: [Not to put you down, but you won’t find anything there.]

He slid his hands into his pockets.

Vijan: [Everyone’s dead.]

Cody: [Your life in this world doesn’t interest me.]

The two walked up the stairs from the bottom floor and reached the bedrooms. Cody’s goal was to make it to the ceiling where Isaac was waiting for them, but in order to do that, they had to get passed the King’s quarters.

With Hilda unconscious and Alex trying to get into battle, the only obstacles in Cody’s path were Nefrai and Didus. As soon as the two reached the other end of the staircase, Cody demanded Vijan hide his presence. The ninja faded away from sight and followed behind the general with silent steps.

While walking near Didus’ quarters, they overheard a conversation happening between the king and one of his subordinates. Cody couldn’t make out the name from the voice, but the deep, monotonous voice gave off the feeling that he wasn’t to be messed with.

Out of curiosity, Cody pressed his back against the wall beside the handle, and listened closely for what they were saying. Vijan watched, confused and disappointed.

Deep Voice: [Are you sure about that?]

Didus proudly: [When am I not?]

There was a moment of silence.

Didus: [Do not tell the other kingdoms about this.]

Nefrai: [Make arrangements to have her introduce herself tonight.]

Deep Voice: [I’m afraid that won’t be possible in the Northern Territory. Quick travel has been forbidden.]

Didus hastily: [We can make arrangements to allow a bypass.]

Deep Voice: [I want to remind you, having her around could be dangerous.]

Nefrai: [We know, Ranger! Quit stalling and get to it.]

The footsteps heading towards the door grew louder by the second. Cody panicked in place as he had nowhere to hide and an impending doom heading his way. Vijan rolled his eyes after placing a hand on Cody’s shoulder. From his touch, Cody joined in on the invisibility, but he didn’t know.

As soon as the door opened, Cody stared at the six foot man in curly black hair and skin rich in melanin. He was dressed in a black, sleeveless cloak, over a brown vest with a gold belt holding them together. His clothes were torn apart, and his eyes had a red tint, like he had been in tears. Upon stepping out the door, he looked down at Cody and Vijan as if he saw them standing before him. With narrow, cold eyes, he released a heavy sigh and walked down the corridor.

Cody sighed in relief as the man walked away. Perhaps the man didn’t mind Cody’s eavesdropping, or…

Cody turned to Vijan and noticed his hand over Cody’s shoulder. He smiled softly and chuckled.

Cody: [Thanks.]

Though the two could see each other, anyone outside of Vijan’s touch couldn’t see a thing. He had hidden the presence of the two, practically making them completely invisible.

Cody nodded his head forward, signaling the two to continue onward. The stairs to the third floor weren’t too far from there, and from there, only a few staircases until they reached the roof.

As soon as they reached the roof, Vijan released his grip on Cody’s shoulder and revealed their presence. Upon opening the steel door, the two were greeted by Isaac sitting on the white marble edge with his body near the ledge and feet resting on the rock platform underneath. The cold breeze blew on him as he heard the door behind him creek open.

He turned around and saw his brown-haired partner alongside their target, the Hydra Ninja.

Isaac cheerfully: [Took you long enough.]

Cody laughing: [We had a problem with the princess. The royals are also planning something.]

Isaac: [Okay, so you got the box?]

Cody: [Of course.]

Cody opened his inventory and began searching for an object while Isaac turned to Vijan and politely nodded. Vijan didn’t know what was going on and was weirded out by the fact that a general is treating him like a regular person. After some thought, he decided not to respond and kept his raised confused expression.

Cody pulled a machine the size of his head out of thin air and slowly dropped it on the ground.

The machine was made up of a black metal that gleamed in the sunlight. There were strange patterns scattered around the box that resembled magic circles, and etched drawings that resembled man.

As soon as the box touched land, a green light emitted from four several holes on the top of the sleek box.

Vijan turned his confused gaze away from Isaac and towards the box.

Vijan: [What’s that?]

Cody: [Supposed to be a device that opens a portal of some kind. Y’know, this plan isn’t my idea. All OJ told me to do was to grab this box, you, and bring both of you to the roof.]

Isaac: [I’m in charge of opening the box.]

Vijan: [Doesn’t it bother you two that he isn’t telling you anything?]

Cody: [We’re in no place to talk. The man is letting us keep our jobs as long as we follow his orders.]

Isaac walked up to the box and crouched down. He caressed his finger against the top of the machine and began whispering a few words.

Cody: [We know the end goal, and that’s all that matters. I’ll do anything to get back.]

Vijan: [I haven’t known you for long, but I know you wouldn’t kill someone. You panicked several times on our way here.]

Cody murmuring: [Not everyone is a fucking serial killer.]

Vijan: [You don’t need to be a serial killer to not be a pussy.]

Isaac: [How about we stop this pointless banter and focus on what’s ahead of us?]

Isaac stood up and threw a hand into his scruffy hair. His heavy sigh created a cloud of breath that flew to the sky. The temperature around the three quickly decreased as the box clicked open. Like a futuristic box, it released a ton of colorless smoke that was glued to the now chilling rooftop.

The three took several steps back from the machine and waited anxiously for whatever was inside.

Suddenly, a hand popped out from the inside of the box, and grabbed a hold of the corner. The three took another step back in shock. A second hand reached out of the box and grabbed a hold of the other side, then a head of curly hair followed.

Cody’s body tensed up as he watched a human make its way out of the small machine. The proportions of the box compared to the human didn’t make any sense.

As the head was slowly raising, the puffy cheeks and light brown hair of the person inside became more apparent. They had narrow, menacing brown eyes shot straight at the three, but primarily gazed holes into Vijan’s chest.

They continued to raise their body out of the box using their upper body strength, and sat on the box upon getting out.

The person from the box was a girl, short and plump. She was wearing a light brown, sleeveless overcoat and a silver dress underneath that reached just under her knees. For shoes she had a pair of brown boots that matched the design of the coat, and black, see-through leggings.

While keeping her sharp eyes on Vijan, she scratched them one at a time to clear her vision. A few moments later, she widened her eyes and looked at the others.

???: [Where am I?]

She averted her gaze from the boys and looked at her surrounding area. From the roof of the Leviere castle, she could see all across the capitol city. The reflection of the blue sky on every individual building, along with the two suns beaming their light on her, surprised her.

??? whispering: [The fuck?]

Cody confused: [That’s our line.]

The lady turned back to the three and shook her head. She had multiple questions shooting left and right in her head, and none that had a concrete answer.

The three boys watched her move in shock. A moment later, Cody turned to Isaac.

Cody: [Did you summon her?]

Isaac: [All I did was open the box. I didn’t know she was inside.]

???: [Isaac!]

The girl called to Isaac, completely catching him off guard. How did she know his name?

???: [What’s going on?]

Cody: [Excuse me, but I have to ask.]

His interruption surprised the girl.

Vijan: [Who are you?]

??? raising her voice: [Who am I?! Just because you’re a freshman doesn’t mean you can disrespect me like that!]

Cody silently: [Freshman?]

He raised his head and confidently looked the girl in the eyes.

Cody: [Where were you before coming here?]

???: [Leaving the store. I took a step out, and appeared in a white room.]

Cody smiling: [So you’re from the real world.]

??? confused: [What?]

Isaac: [What’s your name? How do you know us?]

The two generals were getting excited from hearing her responses even though they didn’t know who or what she was. Slowly, after getting enough evidence, they came up with a theory as to what just happened.

According to her, she went by the name Fiona Taylor. Isaac and Cody were friends of hers, while Vijan was a lower class man that had recently graduated to a freshman at her school. The way the three look now compared to in the other world confused her at first, but she put two and two together rather quickly.

Moments before arriving in this world, she was at the local grocery store buying fruits and meat for dinner. After purchasing her items and walking out the door, she was suddenly transported into the white room, where she waited a minute until the ceiling suddenly opened up.

Vijan had no idea as to what was going on, but Cody and Isaac were ecstatic.

Vijan confused: [So you’re from another world..?]

The concept coming from her didn’t make much sense to Vijan and only sounded like he was listening to a couple of kids fantasizing of a possible reality. Traveling to other worlds is unheard of, with Tietus being the only known hunk of terrain in the galaxy.

Fiona: [I guess you can say that. OH!]

She suddenly screamed.

Fiona: [Is this like what happens in aneme?!] (AN: Anime)

Vijan: [I don’t know…]

He turned to the generals.

Vijan: [Why did you guys need me here?]

Cody: [Well, that’s because we’re going to the Lost Town of Marinosa! A.K.A, the birthplace of this iteration of you.]

Vijan narrowed his eyes, annoyed to hear that he had to explain a second time.

Vijan irritated: [We won’t find anything there, so there’s no point.]

Cody: [We’re going to restore your memories, dude. Only problem is, that box was supposed to spawn a portal.]

Fiona and Isaac had been in a conversation, but upon hearing Cody, she turned to him.

Fiona: [You don’t expect me to apologize, do you?]

Cody: [I’d sure as hell appreciate one.]

Fiona turned her head and ignored him.

Cody: [Looks like we’re walking.]

Isaac shouting: [Walking?! You mean none of you have quick transportation?!]

Everyone stood silent and watched him groan.

Fiona: [You’re embarrassing yourself, Isaac.]