".... no that's not what I…"

"Shut your mouth, lowly mortal!"

The dark figure seemed to writhe with anger as he shouted out visibly annoyed. The foggy sea darkened by a shade and started floating towards the shore.

'Tsk'

Clicking his tongue in protest to the false accusation, Alder regrettably backed off, cautious towards the ominous fog.

"I have already overstepped my boundaries, back off, abominable one. Leave this holy shore, and scramble to Nor. Maybe She will allow you to repent for your sins …."

Sneering, the figure raised his bone-thin arms, pushing the heavy oar into the water. The water easily parted with no resistance. As the oar cut through the water, the water changed again. Like the tree and ferryman, for a second it looked like there were millions of incorporeal figures grasping at the oar and boat in place of the water.

Hisses

Adler contracted his legs and pushed himself further up the shore, horrified at the scene. Everything returned to normal the next moment. Adler rubbed his eyes, ignoring the pain from peeling skin due to friction, his mouth gasping like a fish out of water.

By the time Adler regained his calm, the fog had already enveloped the boat, swallowing the hooded ferryman.

"Token …the token in the sack that Milos gave me?"

Adler reached out for the sac that he had thrown to the side before jumping towards the water. Shaking the sac, out fell the gauze, shirt, token, and canteen.

Adler's gaze fell on his broken and festering left arm. Clutching the gauze, he inched closer to the sea, reaching out to wash his arm. Just as his hand was about to reach past the dense fog it stopped.

"Huh…."

With a nasal grunt of confusion, Adler pushed forward with his hand again.

'Why is there a wall here? A wall of air? The fog?'

Instead of intangible air, Adler's hand seemed to have been stopped by a wall. The fog darkened by another shade as if provoking Adler to try harder.

"Bullshit!!"

Nose flaring, Alder pounded repeatedly on the intangible wall. After a few seconds, he stopped, heavily panting. Breath heavy, dizziness assaulted him, and his eyes slowly lost focus. Adler let his body fall backward onto the stony shore and fell asleep amidst the cool breeze caressing him.

***

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

The sound of waves slamming against rocks shocked Adler awake. The originally cool breeze had now become bone-chilling. It's no wonder why that happened.

Adler looked down on his sorry excuse of clothing. His outerwear was no more than rages, his shirt underneath clearly showed his ribs, and his pants had more holes than a termite mound. All of his clothing was stainless with blood and soaked by the seawater from before

Taking a second to deliberate his next course of action, Adler started ripping off his clothing. Careful around his left arm, Adler stripped off his outerwear, and tore off his shirt, switching it out with the clean change of clothes in the sac.

After switching out his clothes, Alder reached for the token that fell out of the sac. The token was metallic, silvery white in color, and very sophisticatedly engraved along the ring-like outer edge.

'The color, size, and the engraving look similar to the one Milos was wearing as a pendant ….. but the symbol in the middle definitely looks different….'

Alder frowned, if his memory was correct the pendant that Milos was wearing had a weird inverse star along with some other designs. On the other hand, his token featured a pair of pure white pairs of immaculate wings, and a blood-red sword sticking downwards from where the head should have been.

The headless wings floated between the right, perfectly centered to the token. Alder held the token at eye level and carefully observed it from all angles. No matter how Alder turned the token, the symbol in the middle refused to move, firmly staying in place.

"I just have to walk with the token in hand ….. sounds sorta implausible …."

Muttering to himself, the image of the endless scorching path surfaced as Alder thought of walking. Shuddering from lingering fear, Alder pushed himself up. After the intake of the weird sea water and rest in a cool environment, his body's natural recovery started kicking in.

‘Agh, that feels good’

Moaning with satisfaction, Alder slowly stretched, feeling revitalized and assessing the condition of his body. He could feel pain arising from his stiff joints, and he could feel the knotted muscles in his lower body untangling in an electrifying way.

Alder held the token tightly in his hands and headed away from the shore. A line of uncountable half-corporeal human-like figures spreading infinitely from the darkness to the shore could be seen from the corner of Alder's vision. Although curious, he heeded the ferryman’s words and only focused his attention on his right hand clutching the token. Alder's grip on the token grew tighter and tighter until he could feel the smooth edge of the coin digging into the skin.

Seconds turned to minutes, but his surroundings had yet to change. Alder’s face hardened with anxiety. The ferryman had told him the path to Nor, and he did not look like a being who would joke about such matters.

Alder, who was drowned in thoughts, failed to notice the sudden change. The background brightened up, the foggy sea and endless line disappeared, and a tall stone wall appeared before him. The stone wall towered over the land. From where Alder stood, it might as well have blocked out the sky. The wall expanded as far as the vision could see on both sides.

“Halt!”

Alder snapped out of his daze. By now, he had already arrived at the gate. A massive wooden drawbridge-style gate, above a roughly carved moat filled with muddy water decorated the gate.

"State your affiliation!"

Two fully armored guards stood at ready on either side of the drawbridge. The pitch-black metal armor fit tightly around their frame, and an unconventional helm adorned their head. The helm had no visor, instead it was one piece that slanted downwards narrowing until a point past the chin.

What caught Adler's eye though was the engraving on the guard's pauldron. It matched the symbol housed in the token!

While Adler zoned out, admiring the full plate and examining the symbol, the guards hesitantly lowered their stance and readied their spears.

"State your affiliation!"

Only when the guard had repeated himself did Adler refocus.

"Uhhh … I was told to come to the city of Nor, is this it?"

"Who sent you?!!"

'Why the hell are they screaming when they are only a few meters in front of me …."

Stolen story; please report.

"....The ferryman by the river told me the path to Nor"

The guards hesitated slightly, their alertness noticeably decreasing from Adler's proclamation. If their eyes were visible, they would probably be wide with surprise.

"That ill-mannered ferryman Akvan? ….. then you must at least be a guest. Do you have a token of identification?"

'So that giant figure's name was Akvan …. What a weird name'

"Would this act be the token?"

Opening his clenched hands, the pristine token was openly displayed. The guards, still cautious, craned their necks and peered at the item that Aldet held.

"Indeed it does have Her seal"

'Her seal? The deity-like being that the ferryman described?'

Alder's eyes unconsciously glanced toward his palm.

"Sorry for our previous outburst honored guest, Welcome to the fortress city, Nor"

The guards relaxed and tightened their spears to an upwards position. They subtly moved further to the side allowing for a path towards the drawbridge.

Alder slipped the token into his right pocket and stepped towards the gate. Stopping just as he passed the guards, he asked

"Ummm that ferryman … uh sir Akvan told me to meet the ruler of the first circle"

The guards stared at each other for a second, and simultaneous gulping could be heard. The silence persisted for another few seconds before the guards spoke again.

"We lowly ones don't dare make any assumptions or comments towards Her. We will notify our superiors of your appearance. If it is fated, She will summon you."

Alder slightly nodded his head thanking the guards and headed into Nor. Taking a step through the gate, the city appeared before his eyes.

Contrary to his expectations, the city seemed ….. rather normal? The buildings looked like a mix of medieval, Victorian, and Gothic styles, and the streets were lively with a steady flow of denizens. The confusion is well justified since Alder had only seen weird incorporeal figures, weird plants, and the ferryman with an oppressive aura ever since he stepped into this world.

***

The streets buzzed with noise, as pedestrians walked past. Nothing really stood out. Some people were buying food and necessities from street-side stalls. The entire environment gave off a medieval vibe.

'What is this? A depressed modern man reincarnated into a fantasy medieval world as the stro- ……'

Alder silently mused. Right everything was normal, but that normalness was also offsetting in some way compared to everything that occurred. But …. Alder could not put his finger on the exact source of the unsettling feeling.

Maybe he should try to blend in more closely? Alder walked the street following behind other denizens. A large stall in front, selling strange fruit-like objects, caught his eye. Adler's stomach grumbled loudly. Only then did he realize that other than sips of seawater, he had no other source of substance over the past period.

Stepping out from the flow of pedestrians, Alder stood in front of the stall. A tall man, at least four heads taller than Adler, managed the stall. The man looked down at Adler with a bright smile.

"Mornin, what should I get for you"

The giant of a man said loudly with a deep voice while gesturing to a wooden board nailed onto the frame of the stall.

Adler glanced at the plaque, confusion evident in his eyes.

'I …. can't…… read this, what the fuck"

The plaque was probably some sort of item list with the corresponding prices, but it was written in a language incomprehensible to Adler. The characters were made up of squiggly lines and seemingly random shapes. Alder laughed at himself inwardly, he did not know why he assumed that they were speaking English when he was able to understand what everyone was saying.

'They are sorta like the marks engraved on the ring portion of the token.'

Adler fished out the token out of his right pant pocket, wanting to confirm his theory.

The sun hanging high up in the sky shone on the token as it surfaced from his pocket. The originally silvery white token turned into a deep shade of sunset red as it reflected the sunlight.

"An executor of flames!"

The giant man flinched and screeched in a high voice unbefitting his stature. His body gave the impression of shrinking second by second. Sweat ran freely down his face. If he was not in public, the man would have soiled his pants. The whole time his eyes were glued on the token.

"Please take anything that catches your eye"

"..... I don't have any money on me though"

"N-no money. No money. Please….."

The man stuttered in a strained voice, tears appearing in the corner of his eyes. Acting like a child in a child's body, even Alder felt pity for the first time in a while.

"....... then I will just take this and be on my way ….. by the way, what do you call this?"

Alder scanned the table. A pinkish ball with still flailing tentacles, an orange-shaped object with spikes, and an array of other weird items. Everything seemed disgusting in their own right …. Alder ended up picking up a rather normal-looking, bright red thing that resembled an apple.

"Hiccup … ah, t-that's the gizzard of a Wylie! It's a delicacy for travelers, very sweet!"

Although still slightly startled from before, the giant's merchant spirit was still very much alive.

Alder instantly blanked out. Gizzard? An organ of a bird? Sweet? Are they even speaking the same language? Dogshit!

Ready to throw the gizzard away in disgust, Alders's eyes met with the merchant. The giant man's eyes were positively beaming, very satisfied with the choice of the young man in front of him. As if his reaction had never happened before, he smiled pleasantly, except snot and tears still clung to his face. His burdensome smile deepened as if asking for Alder to give the gizzard a try.

'To discard or not discard, that is the question…..'

Sighing with regret, Alder retracted his hand, and his hand pulled the gizzard to his mouth nonconsensually.

" haha… ha..ha"

Alder laughed dryly

***

Long story short, Alder did manage to eat the gizzard. Viscous, sticky, sweet, red fluid flowed out of the gizzard, as Alder bit into it. Surprisingly it did not taste like meat, despite its disgusting description. If he had to describe it, the gizzard had the texture of green plum, and the flavor of a mix between a jackfruit, apple, and peach.

***

After his weird encounter with the weird stall owner, and satiating his hunger slightly, Alder continued wandering around.

As expected, most of the buildings had plaques written in a foreign language, probably the name or description of said building.

When Alder strolled into a decently sized building that resembled an inn of sorts, the receptionists, customers, and other wandering people screamed in harmony like they practiced beforehand. Crying and running away in a chaotic fashion ensued. It seemed like everyone now knew that he was the owner of that strange token.

'Word sure spreads fast. I wonder which son of a gun ran around needlessly flapping their mouths."

Alder grumbled and lamented silently. He then exited the building and tried going into the building directly across.

Chaos arises

After this occurred more than a few times, Alder could not do much but scratch his chin and refrain from stopping near any stall, building, or person.

‘So this is homelessness …… wait, maybe this is worse than homelessness …. It's like homelessness while having leprosy or something’

Alder looked up to the sky. The sun was still high up in the sky, showing no sign of hiding behind clouds. The radiant sunlight continuously showered the city. Alder was positive that at least half a day had passed since he entered Nor, and when he arrived the sun was already in full view. By conventional standards, it must have already been nine or ten at night, yet darkness did not fall.

Tired from the antics of the denizens, Alder entered a shaded alleyway and sat down, leaning against the wall. Overcome with drowsiness, his eyelids became heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep.

***

‘Where am I?’

The last thing Alder remembered was falling asleep in a dark alleyway, but somehow he is now standing in a building. Looking around, the building's interior design seemed like those of a palace. The windows were lined with red velvet curtains, the corridor illuminated with tall candles on intricately designed holders, and the walls featured a singular row of paintings.

Confused and alarmed, Alder cautiously moved towards the window. The velvet curtains were pulled back, revealing the beautiful glass windows. Peering outside, Alder could see the city of Nor, recognizing some landmarks, like the town square.

‘I did look around before, but there was nothing like this building tower over the city ….’

Alder turned from the window and started exploring the painting hanging on the walls. The paintings were old and chipped, but they were so realistic that the drawn figures seemed to move.

The first painting depicted a beautiful contrast between a giant of light and a giant of darkness. The second painting showed the separation of the surrounding light into equal portions, floating above the palm of the giant of light. The following painting showed half of the light falling into the darkness. Unnoticed by Alder, the flames of the candles had started swaying, and there seemed to be a gentle breeze flowing through the corridor.

The remaining pictures depicted chaos. Utter chaos. Light and dark were entangled, creating messy blobs of incoherent images on the canvas. Alder continued walking forward, enamored by the paintings. He stopped. There were only two more paintings on the wall, following the subsequent chaotic images. The second painting returned back to equilibrium as one drop of light entered the darkness. And the very last painting was weirdly enough, empty.

Alder frowned. From the flow of the paintings, they seem to tell a story through time. But if that is true, then what does the empty canvas depict? Still, deep in thought, Alder realized that he had already neared the end of the corridor. A massive rose gold double door stood in front of him as he centered himself.

As if possessed, Alder reached out to the door. The moment his finger touched the warm metal, it swung open without resistance. A large room, no, a large hall appeared beyond the doors. Alder cautiously entered with small steps. The moment he fully entered beyond the reach of the open doors, they slammed shut.

The airflow stopped. The walls trembled. The candles dimmed. Like the sound of arctic wind through a forest of chimes, the majestic voice of an absolute being reverberated through the empty halls.

“Kneel, oh pitiful but hateful sinner”

The voice commanded absolute authority. An immense pressure pushed down from above. Alder fell to his knees, his head pressed firmly to the ground, and his hands spread out in prostration. His broken left arm crunched when forcefully straightened, and then lost all feeling Blood flowed from his seven orifices, as the pressure increased. The voice continued coldly

"Murder, Manipulation, Slothfulness, and Excessive Lust"

"How do you plead?"