“Edelstein,” Kevin muttered those words as his eyes were twinkling in amazement. Walking down the street of Edelstein, his head couldn’t stop glancing around from left to right.

The buildings were made out of stone and precious minerals, with sparkling stones still gleaming even when underground. The architecture didn’t resemble any of the building-style back on earth which only further his interest. But something bothered him. Everywhere he looked, there was not a soul in sight. The streets were empty and the buildings unoccupied. His curiosity got the better of him.

“Why are the streets empty?” he asked.

The elf-like lady didn’t say a word as she remained silent as if she was a mute. The cold reaction was enough for Kevin, he shut his lips as he followed her from behind.

The closer they reach the center of Edelstein, the livelier it got. He finally saw the citizen of this other world. These people had platinum blonde hair and porcelain white complexion similar to his savior. Even if there was any difference, it was only subtle in-term of the shade of their hairs. These elves-like people were doing their daily businesses, trading with shop owners for daily essentials. It was more or less the same like what Kevin saw on the television screen and in the movie theatre.

Being in a real-life, fantasy is really different.

But then his heart dropped. He noticed these people were avoiding him. It wasn’t him acting like a big shot or feeling self-important but he sensed the gaze of these people directed at him. It was similar to the gaze of the elf-like lady that saved him as if he was an uninvited guest. No, to be more precise like a hateful enemy entering their house.

They avoided him like a plague and it boggled his mind. He wasn’t much but he did consider himself a pretty good man with good character but receiving these negative reactions really poked something in his heart. Kevin was getting uncomfortable by the second but knowing there was no way out of this, he tried to ignore it. He tried his best faking a calm expression until both he and the elf-like lady reached their destination. Kevin narrowed his eyes as the sight of the castle in front of him felt rather familiar.

I think I’ve seen this before.

His head tilted to the side as he racked his brain trying to figure it out. The huge castle gate opened as two armor-clad alvas greeted the two. Again, Kevin received the cold glares from these two knights. One of them even had his hand lightly gripping the handle of his sheathed sword, readied to take it out at any minute.

Kevin’s hands started shaking. This whole situation didn’t make any sense to him. His instinct was telling him to run but not right now. What he needed was answers, answers for why he was here.

He steeled his heart and followed the elf-like lady silently into the main courtyard. For a big castle, the place was quite desolate. A few were sneaking around taking a peek at the new guest of the castle. Scorn was visible on their faces which only pushed that pain deeper in Kevin’s heart.

Passed the courtyard, the duo entered a huge door stepping inside the great hall. Kevin couldn’t help but felt the grandeur of the great hall. The aesthetic felt alien yet felt medieval at the same time, a blend of unlikely things that produced quite a magnificent result.

At the far end of the great hall, a number of people were discussing. They were more or less the same but Kevin saw one or two of them slightly older in appearance. Yet his eyes were attracted to the person sitting on the throne made out of trees. It was hard to say whether it was man-made or it just grew like that. The person sitting on the throne dressed rather modestly in a pale green cotte, a medieval outer garment. More or less similar to a dress.

Kevin also saw the golden leaves wreath on top of her head. Yet even gold paled in its attractiveness compared to the beauty of this lady sitting on the throne. Her eyes dazzled in a pale golden hue and her hair was the obvious difference between the people he had met. Auburn brown hair draping over her shoulder that reminded him of autumn.

Then their eyes met and neither didn’t glance away.

“Elders, Tyeria is here to report,” the elf-like lady introduced herself while slightly bowing with her hand resting on her left chest.

The group of people who were discussing turned their attention to Tyeria. Yet the moment they saw Kevin who stood beside Tyeria, the look on their faces changed for the worse. But neither one of them spoke out loud about their discontentment except for one.

“Filthy apes, stink like a pile of schumutz suidae’s manure,” said one of the elders.

No one else said anything and Kevin knew that verbal mockery was fine-tuned towards him within this great hall. To be fair, he didn’t felt much from that cuss considering how weak it was. He didn’t even know whose manure the elder just spoke about so he definitely wasn’t affected by it.

Yet someone else intervened on his behalf.

“Gunron, are you mocking me?” the melodious gentle tune of a voice escaped from the lips of the lady sitting on the throne. Her voice might sound carefree yet the intention beneath it was far from it.

“No, my queen,” said Gunron as he was quick to kneel towards the queen.

“The person you just mock is my personal guest. You mocking him is literally insulting me directly,” said the queen.

Gunron, who was kneeling was sweating like mad. He didn’t even dare to look directly at the face of the queen.

“I apologize, my queen, that is not my intention,” said Gunron. Deep down he was hoping he would be forgiven.

Unfortunately, once a mistake had been done it wasn’t easy to escape such a thing.

“Your apology is misdirected, the one who deserves it is the one who you mocked,” said the queen.

Gunron’s face contorted much to his disgust. Yet he couldn’t do anything about it other than to suck it up and faced it.

He turned to Kevin while his expression turned stone cold.

“I apo…” Gunron’s word was cut off by the queen.

“I can sense your malice Gunron,” said the queen.

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Gunron calmed himself down and appeared emotionless on the face. Once more he apologized.

“I…” yet once again the queen cut him off.

“Vanquish that hatred Gunron or else…” this time Gunron buried deep whatever hatred and disgust he had towards Kevin.

Gunron flashed a smile.

“I apologize for my crude words,” said Gunron as he slightly bowed with his hand resting on his left chest.

“No, it’s fine,” Kevin said. He didn’t mind at all but something begged the question. Why did these elves-like people gave such hateful glares at him?

“Leave me be with the guest,” said the queen.

The elders and Tyeria stood there motionless with a blank inscrutable look on their faces.

“I’m sensing defiance in your inaction,” said the queen. The moment she glanced at her subjects, all of them shivered in their boots.

“My queen, we take our leave,” one of the elders took responsibility.

The elders left but Tyeria still remained, she stood there staring at the queen. Her undying responsibilities wouldn’t let her begone leaving the queen alone with this stranger from another dimension.

“Why are you still here Tyeria?” the queen asked.

Tyeria bolstered her courage as she humbly gave her reason.

“For the sake of your safety my queen,” said Tyeria.

“Safety?” the queen asked. “are you mocking me? Do I look like I need your protection?”

Her gaze turned into a glare and the atmosphere turned for the worse. A heavy aura dropped on their shoulders. Tyeria dropped to her knees as her lungs had trouble breathing.

“Ugh,” Kevin too experienced the same thing.

He was on the brink of losing consciousness as he scratched his neck trying to gasp for that last bit of air.

A few seconds later, it was gone. The pressure went away and the refreshing fresh air filled up Kevin’s lungs. He was able to breathe again. His eyes stared at the sight of the queen and a sense of terror and awe was embedded in his heart and mind.

She’s strong.

One thing for sure, Kevin made a mental note not to mess around with the queen.

“Leave Tyeria, before my unneeded wrath befalls on you,” said the queen with her gentle voice.

“I obey,” said Tyeria. She got up while holding on to her flank and left the great hall.

Then there were two. Kevin fidgeted around as it got awkward for him. The stare coming from the queen felt like a police scanner trying to find a fault within him. A minute later, the queen stood up.

“Follow me,” the queen said.

Kevin didn’t hesitate as he followed her from behind.

Going through a door at the back of the throne, Kevin entered a small garden with lush floras with beautiful flowers in all kinds of shades. A few fruits were seen, an oddity he might say since some were rather familiar but in a different color. He didn’t know whether they were ripe or not.

The queen took a seat at the garden chair with a round wooden table in between.

“Have a seat,” said the queen.

“Thank you… Uhm, my liege,” Kevin didn’t know the appropriate words in speaking with royalty but he gave his best shot trying not to offend the queen.

“No need for such thing, you may speak comfortably as you normally do,” said the queen. A gentle smile hung on her face as she was amused seeing the antic of this man.

Kevin took a seat as his eyes wandered around while avoiding the sight of the queen. His fingers were tapping his knees while his right leg couldn’t stop shaking up and down. While he was nervous and unaware, a tree started to sprout from the ground and as the tree branches grew closer to the table, Kevin finally reacted in surprise as he jumped out of his seat.

“Woah,” he said.

He saw the tree branches forming two wooden cups before cutting itself up leaving it on the wooden table. A second later, the tree branches formed into a wooden jug before a leaf spiraled itself forming into a tube. Much to Kevin’s surprise, water flowed out from the tube-shape leave filling up the jug. In the end, he stood there staring the whole time until the tree that sprouted returned back to the ground as if it had never existed.

The queen poured the clear pristine water into the two wooden cups as she gestured with her hands.

“Have a drink,” said the queen.

Kevin carefully took a seat and sipped the water a bit and his eyes went wide.

“This is good,” he said. He glanced at the queen and bowed his head a bit. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t think he would exclaim that loud over simple mineral water. But he couldn’t lie, just a sip was enough to re-energize himself as if the fatigue and stress he felt over the whole day went away disappearing into nothing. He chugged it all down as the thirst he felt was quenched, leaving him satisfied.

“Edelstein’s Spring Water, a delicacy that’s hard to resist,” said the queen as she too took a sip. She gazed at Kevin devoid of any hatred or malice, different from her people.

“Qirien is my name, Queen of the Vindtra. May I know yours, stranger?” she asked.

For once Kevin was comfortable sitting there. For the first time, at least the queen didn’t glare at her like the rest of her subjects.

“I am Kevin Wang,” said Kevin. “Just a normal guy, trying not to be as clueless as possible.”

Queen Qirien smiled a bit and Kevin couldn’t help but felt his heart beat faster. Butterflies in his stomach you might say, or in a way, his heart fluttered a bit. Who could blame him since a drop dead gorgeous woman sat just across him. The beauty of this woman was definitely beyond Tyeria’s.

“Do you know where you are Kevin Wang?” asked Queen Qirien.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I showed up out of sudden in a forest and a huge boar came attacking me if it wasn’t for the elf… I mean the good lady from before, I won’t be sitting here right now,” said Kevin as his eyes shifted around after mentioning the word elf.

For some reason he felt, the word elf seemed like a taboo to these people.

“You are quite honest to tell me such a story to a stranger,” said Queen Qirien.

“To be fair, I don’t know anyone here and I was told this isn’t my world,” said Kevin.

“Tyeria told you?” Queen Qirien asked.

“Only that bit, other than that I don’t know anything,” said Kevin. His head tilted down as a lot of things went through his mind. Most of all, the life he had before he was shot.

“Do you seek an answer to why you are here Kevin Wang?” Queen Qirien asked.

“I do,” he said. He turned his head to Queen Qirien. “Yes, I do.”

“I am the one who called you, Kevin Wang,” said Queen Qirien. “I am the reason you are stranded here in this foreign world.”

Queen Qirien didn’t mince her words as she straight up dropped the bomb on him. Kevin’s eyes started to shake, he didn’t know what he should felt right now. A jumble of emotions was spinning like mad in his heart as he didn’t know how to respond to this revelation. His clench fists were shaking on top of his knees but then it stopped as he heard what Queen Qirien said.

“But to be fair, I did save your life,” said Queen Qirien. She took a sip of the water as she was calmed and collected.

Kevin stared at Queen Qirien with ridicule in his eyes. He didn’t understand why she had the audacity to proclaimed that she had saved him. Honestly speaking, she outright kidnapped him to another world.

“Do you remember the last thing that happened before you arrived here?” Queen Qirien asked.

Her question made him think. He remembered he was shot by a street gang.

“The last thing you remember is the scene of your death, am I right?” said Queen Qirien. She was confident in her words as if she didn’t do anything wrong.

Kevin focused his hearing, listening to every word that came out of the queen’s mouth.

“If I am right, then did I not just saved you from death?” said Queen Qirien.

Kevin couldn’t stand it anymore as he stood up and shouted.

“But how can you be so sure?!”

He did the unthinkable even after taking a mental note not to go against the queen.

“I am sure because that is the limit of my capability,” said Queen Qirien. “The karamic arts of transmigration is difficult as well as overbearing, it is a lost karamic art that is hard to master as well as to tinker.”

She took another sip of water before she continued.

“To use this karamic art on a living healthy person is far beyond my capabilities. Unless that per…” her trailed off into silence as her lips were tightly sealed.

“But what if you’re lying?” said Kevin as the denial was strong within the depth of his heart.

Queen Qirien didn’t say a word and stared at the desperate eyes of Kevin. She then picked one of the golden leaves on her wreath and placed it on the table.

“Let the Angel of Law and Order be the witness of this contract,” the moment she spoke, the golden leaf brightened releasing golden waves.

Kevin stared at the sight frozen in place, he didn’t know what to expect from this sudden event. He felt wary about the intention of the queen.

“I, Qirien daughter of Nelavier pledge my honesty and my life on to this statement. I will only speak the truth and only the truth to Kevin Wang the recipient of this contract. If I dare spoke an ounce of a lie, let my life be the payment and death for the end of my tale,” said Queen Qirien.

Then the golden leaf floated in the air before turning into golden rings intertwined with each other. Numerous eyes opened on the body of the ring and a resplendent set of golden wings emerged behind these rings as if they were one body and soul. These eyes cast its glance at Kevin as it spoke.

“Do you accept the contract Kevin Wang?” asked the Angel of Law and Order.

Kevin was left speechless not knowing what else to say to this. The situation went from zero to a hundred in a matter of a few seconds. He thought things true and took a glance at the queen. He saw her resolute eyes as well as her action of doing this stunt. Like they always said action speaks louder than words. Then he decided.

“I do not,” he said.

“Then it is done,” said the Angel of Law and Order.

The golden light disappeared as the golden leaf fell back on the wooden table. Its golden color faded away revealing the natural green of the leaf.

“Why did you refuse?” asked Queen Qirien. She was baffled by Kevin’s action. She then asked, “Do you not seek the truth?”

“I know you spoke the truth, it’s just I’m in denial about all of this,” said Kevin as a solemn smile hung on his face.

“Or I’m just a really good person,” said Kevin.

“Why so?” it piqued the queen’s interest.

“You know, you shouldn’t sign a contract with death as collateral that easily. One thing I learned back on earth, a contract should benefit both sides and not just the other,” said Kevin as he let out a smile. A smile that signified that he had let go of the past.

“You amused me, Kevin Wang. I do not know if you are kind, or just being foolish,” said Queen Qirien. The end of her lips curved upwards as her eyes softened.

“I prefer not to be the cause of someone’s death and you may just call me Kevin,” said Kevin.

“But if you don’t mind me asking, for what reason am I being brought here?” Kevin put the past behind him and looked towards the future. The moment he asked the question, the warm smiling on Queen Qirien’s face disappeared exchanged with her expressionless face.

“Before I tell you the reason why you are here, you must know something about where you are. This is a world unlike your own which you called earth, This is a world called Dunia and a calamity has befallen on it,” said Queen Qirien.

Kevin who listened with calm, felt his heart constricted as a familiar word didn’t escape his ears. As if it was the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle, the word Dunia completed it all.

It can’t be…