Sara had fallen down stairs many times before. She knew the pain, expected it. But what she felt was nothing like that. It wasn’t concrete or metal that dug into her ribs or cracked against her legs. The landing was soft, in the way only grass could be.

She opened her eyes. Brilliant sunlight streamed from an open blue sky. Her head spun. She didn’t know what was happening. She had been falling, but looking around she saw no stairs. There wasn’t even a school. She was outside, surrounded by vast, desolate fields of dirt.

Farmland. Her brain offered the word up. She tasted it, decided it was correct, but still couldn’t accept it.

She stood, taking in her surroundings. Huts dotted on the horizon, their hay roofs shimmering golden. Trees bordered both sides of the world. By the road, patches of sunflowers faced the blazing orb in the sky.

A scream drew Sara’s attention away from the picturesque landscape. Turning towards the sound, she saw Akari pulling herself out of a muddy hole.

“What is this!” As soon as the girl got free she took off running, but fell down when she tripped on a loose root. “Shit. Fuck!”

The bully’s obvious terror added to the surrealistic feeling. Sara watched the girl scramble onto her hands and knees, screaming like she’d be set on fire.

“Where am I? What's happening?”

Sara cleared her throat. Before she could say anything, Akari swung her head around and growled. “You!” She sprinted at Sara, screaming, “What did you do!”

“N-nothing.” Sara took a step back. Her shoes sank into the mud.

“Bullshit you didn’t!” Akari swung. Sara ducked out of the way.

“Maybe we’re just hallucinating. Mass hysteria or something.”

Akari kept swinging, forcing Sara to back away. Sara couldn’t see behind her, so it really shouldn't have been a surprise when she lost balance and was tackled to the ground.

Straddling her chest, Akari wrapped around Sara’s throat and squeezed.

“Take me back,” she roared. “Stop this or I’ll kill you!”

Panic started to rise. Sara couldn’t reason with anyone if she couldn’t even breathe. There was no air. She clawed at Akari’s fingers but couldn’t latch on. The ground started to shake as the world began to go blurry.

I don’t want to die, was the only thought Sara had as her body convulsed with the primal desire for air. Please, god. Take Akari, not me.

The ground shook harder. Sara felt the earth moving. She imagined the entire world quivering as it waited for her death.

She heard it then, the thump, thump of horse hooves. It could be her own heart, she wasn’t sure. The noises grew louder. Akari must’ve heard it too, for her grip slackened just enough for Sara to have hope. But it wasn't enough.

A thundering cry boomed through the skies.

Sara felt her body shutting down. Her fingers and toes had gone numb. She was sure death was coming because she was starting to see her life flashing by.

She saw her parents dressed up in doctor’s slacks on her fifth birthday, in an attempt to get her interested in medical science. She saw the iron gates of her primary school, the once-familiar footpath covered with fallen sakura petals. She saw Yuzuru standing by the road, waiting to walk her home.

She had forgotten those days, days when her half-brother wasn’t annoyingly depressed as he was now. Back then, he was her protector of bullies and doctor of bruised knuckles, someone she looked up to.

As she began to fade, Sara wondered what might’ve happened if Honoka didn't go missing. Would Yuzuru have completed high school? Would he still pick her up from school and pack her lunches?

A jolt shot through her body. Akari screamed but was drowned out by the ground's roar.

The wind was cold on Sara’s skin as she sailed through the air. She sucked in air like she was made from a vacuum. Her eyes opened. The farmland below her had been transformed into a battlefield. Men rode across on a line of horses, their armors shining gray.

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They weren’t looking at Sara, but at the dark shape emerging from the earth.

Sara crashed into one of the riders, knocking him to the ground. The wind once again left her. Gasping, she sat up, only to face the end of a sword.

“A traveler.” The man holding the weapon spat and raised his sword with both hands. “You’ll thank me for this.”

Blood spurted onto Sara’s cheeks. The man dropped his sword, clawing at the black stinger protruding from his chest.

Sara couldn’t move. She stared up at the twisted black limb as it lifted the armored man up and flung him into the air, revealing the scorpion-like creature it belonged to.

“Please be a nightmare,” Sara whispered. “I don’t care if it’s Freudian or whatever. Just let me wake up.”

The monster raised one massive pincer. It was covered in oily fur, which reflected the sunlight like mirrors.

Another squad of riders passed by. A few broke formation to attack the creature, drawing its attention. Sara took this chance to flee.

She ran directionless through the battlefield. All around her, people were clashing against monsters and each other. She couldn’t understand who was fighting whom. Within moments, the fertile land had turned into a hellscape of blood and steel. Horses lay with their necks slashed open, men were strewn like fallen leaves.

War. Sara’s mind brought up the word but still, she refused to comprehend it.

“Beware your right!”

Sara looked up to see an armored rider bearing down on her, just as another charged from the right. The two got to her at the same time. She rolled out of the way, arms over her head. She heard a thunderous bang. A horse screamed, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.

She straightened herself and turned. One of the riders was dead, a decorated longsword sticking out of his chest. His mount reared off into the fray, reins flailing behind it.

Sara felt cold. Tightness wound around her throat. She felt Akari’s hands as if they were still there.

The surviving knight dismounted. He was clad head to toe in shining steel. A flowing blue cape rippled from his huge shoulder pads.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, pulling out his sword from the dead man’s chest.

Sara didn’t know what to say. She shook her head.

The knight reached up and flipped open his visor. He had deep blue eyes and eyebrows so thin they looked traced. Looking Sara over, she thought there was a hint of a smile on the man’s full lips. “I am Prince Jamie Stryde of Cold Castle,” he said, holding out an armored hand. “Come with me to safety.”

A shout made them both turn. Another horseman approached, swinging off his mount before the animal even stopped.

“Lord Prince Jamie,” he said between pants. “The tide is against us. The vanguard has been broken.”

“Where have my archers gone?” the Prince demanded. “They were supposed to thin out the Tachelm boy’s charge.”

“Routed, Your Highness,” said the rider. “The Prince of Skulls cut them off at the hill before they could even get into position. The rest were slaughtered by Blight Beasts.”

“Goddess damn that boy,” Jamie cursed. “And goddess damn the Blight Moon.” As he started issuing another command, clouds of dust erupted across the battlefield. Hordes of dark-shaped bodies crawled out from the ground, some as large as buses. The creatures pounded the tiny people around them to paste, regardless of what colored armor they were wearing.

Jamie turned to his rider. “Sound the retreat. We’ll have to hold them off by the river.”

The rider bowed quickly, then mounted his horse and charged off, unhooking the goat horn from his belt.

Sara could just about distinguish the sides now. Prince Jamie had a blue cape. His men flew blue banners. They seemed to be fighting people who were clad in red. But with the sudden introduction of so many monsters, the war had devolved into a mindless massacre.

Jamie grabbed hold of Sara’s wrist. “Come. If you want to live, ride with me.”

“W-wait,” Sara said. “My… acquaintance.”

“Is likely gone,” Jamie said. “The Prince of Skulls takes no prisoners, and neither do the Beasts. There’s nothing any of us can do.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Sara insisted. “We came together.” She didn’t know why she cared. A few minutes ago, it was her or Akari. It could be because Sara's bully was the only thing left from her reality, and she feared that by losing that piece, she wouldn’t be able to discern truth from hallucination anymore.

And that was what this world was - a mirage. It had to be.

Awwooooo

Awwooooo

Two long blasts of horn cut through the chaos. From the dust, a rider emerged brandishing a curved blade. He came at Jamie, screaming, “For the Prince of Skulls!”

“Watch out!” Sara gasped.

Jamie pulled her out of the way, lifting his own sword up in a backhand slash. The blade caught the rider’s horse in its chest, biting through the steel plate. The horse crumbled, taking its rider down with it.

Jamie advanced on the fallen rider. The man’s legs were pinned under his dying horse. He raised his hands up and started to beg.

“Prince Jamie, mercy!”

Jamie plunged his sword through the man’s neck, then twisted.

Sara’s legs went weak. Reality came crashing down. She didn’t why it took this long, but finally, it all felt real. There was no explanation. It was real.

Jamie wiped his blade before sheathing it. He took off his helm. The wind picked up, moving his limp blond hair across his cheeks. He had a gold stud in one ear, which shone in the dusty light. Mounting his horse with a flurry of blue cape, the prince held out his hand for Sara once more. “I’m not going to wait.”

Sara cast one last look at the battlefield. The dust was tinted with the screams of the dying. She took Jamie’s hand. “Her name is Akari.”

“Then remember it in her honor,” said Jamie. He spurred his horse into a gallop, heading for the hills. Sara clung to his waist. She heard people shouting. Glancing back, she saw red riders pursuing them.

A second later and she’d have been run down.

Claws struck out of the blood-stained dirt, snapping at Jamie’s horse. The prince whipped the reins, commanding his mount to leap over the pincers, onto the safety of the road.

Sara buried her face in Jamie’s cape to drown out the cries behind her.

“I’m sorry, Akari,” she whispered into Jamie's hot armor. “I just want to go home.”