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In the beginning there was a world called Omniscia,

Above land and under earth,

far in the sky and deep in the sea,

everywhere its peoples prospered.

Four gods gave gifts to provide a blissful peace,

The sky god reason, the water god clear speech,

The land god beauty, and the Hell God a crucial secret

But the one day the Gods will vanish,

and a Demon Lord will rise from Hell to the land above

The only one with the power to end him summoned from a n o t h e r w o r l d.

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Enna muttered these words to herself as Rex's head emerged from the floorboards of the library. Thunder crackled and sparks of light flew in the air around him like fireflies, and Rex began to cough as he breathed in powder from a chalk circle in which he was centered.

"*HACK*! *COUGH* *HACK*!

Rex stared wide-eyed at the girl who stood before him as he continued to rise.

Enna wore a simple white sundress and a slim hint of a smile. One hand was stretched towards Rex, and the other behind her back, holding what seemed to be a glowing stone.

"Welcome to Omniscia. I've been expecting you for a long time." Enna said.

Rex took her hand and the rising halted, his legs still stuck in an invisible ether swirling underneath the library floor. As she kept tugging him, her smile strained then slipped off, and her face slowly flushed red. While Rex felt her touch, her pull was as weak as a ghost's.

"I said... *huff* the Thunder Mage of Omniscia... *huff* welcomes you...

...none can *huff huff* excel my book knowledge *huff* *pant*

...or my unrivaled magical strength!

...though I may be just *huff* average *pant* *huff* physically..."

Rex pushed on the floor with his other arm and popped. And stared again at Enna, who was beginning to flush.

"...Ahh!!!," said Enna. "When you look at me like that, I can't believe you're really here! They said that the 'otherworld' was a fake place, that angels don't exist in this world, that those weren't history books but trashy romance novels. But I knew it! I knew you'd come!"

"Are you angel or a devil?" asked Rex. "Is this heaven, or...?"

Rex looked around. On the desk in the corner a warm lamplight illuminated a smattering of papers, though the library was windowless. Candles cast soft light on the bookshelves, the books themselves spanning subjects from B(eastkin) to H(istory) to M(onsters). Rex considered Hell a world without manga, and this was one, but he had to admit that while the room was dark it wasn't bleak.

"A-a-a-an angel??" said Enna as she twirled her hair. "Me? An angel? If you say so..."

"When I look into your eyes you look kind innocent, so I don't think you're a devil." said Rex. "Maybe this is purgatory,"

"I-i-i-i-in-ocent?" said Enna. "Hahh... hahh... how can you be... so sweet... " Her speech melted into word puddle along with her emotions.

"This probably is purgatory. I didn't feel anything when you pulled on me so you could really be a ghost... can I touch you?" asked Rex, and when she nodded he tapped her wrist. "That's definitely a bone and a pulse, and I think in purgatory too no one would be alive..."

"Oh...? Oh! C-c-an I touch your skin too? I didn't know angels were like this..." Small sparks started to fly involuntarily from Enna's hand and she placed a palm on Rex's jeans . "Your skin is so rough scaly and blue..."

"And you said you were a thunder mage. And there's book here on beastkin, and elves, dwarves, and orcs. So..." Rex thought out loud.

"I got it!" said Rex.

"I get you..." said Enna at the same time.

"I've been reincarnated into another world / you're a poor creature of an Otherworld..."

"Eh?" said Enna. "What do you mean by another world?"

"You summoned me from Earth to this world via a sinkhole," said Rex. "And now I'm in a fantasy world of magic with all kinds of people and destined for a wonderful adventure!"

"'Earff?' Enna mouthed. "You mean that the world that you came from isn't an 'Otherworld', it isn't airy, cloudy, and filled with the songs of powerful yet gentle men who play harpsichords?"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"No. If you live in a city it's actually very rocky and gray."

"So you mean that 'Romantic Legends of the Missing Angel Men of Omniscia' ... is fictional?" said Enna.

"I wouldn't know about that." said Rex. "You know more about this world than I do."

"You would know about it if you were an Angel Man!" Enna wailed. "That book's a fake! You're a fake! What in Omnscia did I summon?"

"I'm Rex, a person - a human, from Earth." Rex smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"A human?" said Enna. "Then that wasn't your skin just now? I had my hand on your pants! Why didn't you say anything?" She furiously flapped her hand. "Calm down. What would Mathilda do?"

She breathed once, twice, thrice.

"Mathilda would say to keep a cool head. Keep cool like a rain cloud, that keeps building sparks inside, that need to be vented. That need to be released."

When she turned to meet Rex's eyes, her eyes were a blazing white. There was a crackling, static, energy in the room.

"Hey Rex?"

"Yeah?"

"In this world there's only one person blessed with the power of using each type of elemental magic. Guess who can use electricity?"

"Probably someone who calls themselves the 'Thunder Mage.'

Rex remembered thinking that if he had to choose to be pepper spray or tasered, he would pick pepper spray. Both hurt like hell but only one of them risked being lethal.

At least I get to experience the fantasy version of a taser, thought Rex. Being hit by a mini lightning bolt is way cooler than a zap from a $10 metal box.

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Rex was now sitting at a round table in a conference room with four other people, his hair sticking straight up.

Mathilda spoke. "Enna, remember my advice?"

Enna nodded, face flushed.

"The exact words please. "

"If I'm as mad as thunder keep as cool as rain." Enna chanted.

"Cool as rain means not casting bursts of static sparks at people you find disagreeable." said Mathilda. "It's better than striking someone with real lightning, but no one finds it amusing except you. I apologize on her behalf, Rex, if she hasn't said sorry already."

"It's fine, the static didn't hurt." said Rex. "I've had three different people get mad at me today so I'm not phased about it anymore."

"Enna," Mathilda said. "Apologize."

"Sorry..." Enna said.

"...and now leave," said another woman sitting at the table.

"Huh?" Enna said. "I-I-I worked hard and brought someone from another place to Omniscia! Shouldn't I be a part of discussions about my own summon?"

"You did well Enna." said Mathilda. "But the choice of whether or not you should sit here is not mine alone. Gemini?"

Gemini spoke. "A rogue mage who made a snap decision to summon someone from another world and then fry that person's hair... is that someone who deserves to be a decision maker? Even you know the answer to that one Miss Thunder."

"Right now, I agree with Gemini" said the man. "It's at least 2-1 in favor of you going. Sorry lass."

Mathilda waved her hand and Enna left the room.

After Rex's electric encounter with Enna, she had taken him to the 'Obsidian Chamber', a conference room with deep black walls and furnishings carved from rock. When she told them he was from another world, they had all paused briefly, in shock in thought or both, before inviting him inside and kicking Enna out.

Rex looked now at the other three people around the table. Each sat in a simple stone seat that was almost the same as his with one key difference - they had their names carved into their chairs. While he was a guest, these people would always have a spot at the table.

The burly man in the eye-patch was [CALIBAN], and when he noticed Rex look he gave him a roguish grin.

The woman [GEMINI] had no accessories, but she didn't need them to stand out, having green eyes and purple hair. Her feet were up on the table as she stared at the ceiling.

In the last chair was of course [MATHILDA], who, while did she not have an imposing figure, was still larger in build than Rex - but looking much softer than Caliban.

"I'll shed some light on the situation," said Mathilda. "Rex, you are the chosen one from 'another world' who is prophesized to subdue the Demon Lord. Presently you are in an underground castle that we call 'The Buried Caer', which serves as a training ground for..."

"Adventurers." said Gemini leaning in and interrupting. "A highly confidential training ground for adventurers."

Gemini whispered something into Mathilda's ear, then Caliban's too.

"...until ................ secret."

Mathilda frowned, and Caliban looked up at the ceiling. But neither spoke up to disagree.

"I can hear you, you know." said Rex.

"Is super hearing one of your powers as the chosen one?" said Gemini. "I'd love for you to repeat what I said."

Now it was Rex's turn to be silent.

"I'm being honest about that wish. Since you're someone in a prophesy I want you to be strong. We need you to be strong." Gemini finally took her feet off the table. "To continue where Mathilda left off, we believe you to be the person on this paper and we're asking you to fight."

Gemini passed an old piece of parchment to Rex. Cursive words danced on the page until they reached a jagged edge, as if after the prophesy had been written a monster had tried to chew it up.

Rex began to read

In the beginning there was a world called Omniscia...

....

....

....a Demon Lord will rise from Hell to the land above

... The only one with the power to end him summoned from a n o t h e r w o r l d.

"I'll open the floor to our venerable leader to explain it to you. I know what words mean but I don't have as good a head for poetry." Gemini finished.

"Prophesies can be complicated but they can sometimes also be simple," said Mathilda. "This one especially is written in plain language. It gives a history of the creation of Omniscia, which implies this prophecy's importance - that all of Omniscia is at risk. And it says that the person who will stop the Demon Lord comes from another world - and since you are the only person from our knowledge who has ever been summoned, that person must be you."

"Big responsibility for someone so fresh-faced!" Caliban said, laughing. "But you can never judge a soldier from what they're like when they're first recruited."

"But to us you're far more than a soldier or a quester" added Mathilda. "We want you to feel cared for. You're very young, a teenager, still a child. While you have the power to take on the Demon Lord, the prophesy gives no time limit."

"I'm not a kid," said Rex. "I'm ready to slay the Demon Lord - I've been ready for a long time. This is the kind of calling that I've always been waiting for."

"If you find that the responsibility is too much remember that you can always step back." said Mathilda.

"Mathilda's such a good person." said Gemini. "I'll play the bad guy. We have rules here we want you to follow, that you need to know before we send you to the room we've prepared for you.

1. Don't talk to other trainees.

and 2. Don't go up the stairwell."

"What if I don't agree to follow these rules?" asked Rex. "Like I said, I'm here to go on quests, travel, and fight the Demon Lord. I want to be in a fantasy, not a creepypasta."

Gemini shrugged. "Can you take the three of us -" she glanced at Mathilda "or even two of us" - she glanced at Caliban, who avoided her gaze - "or even one of us in a fight?"

Rex imagined leaping on top of the table, seeing their eyes open wide and taking advantage of their split-second of surprise to land at least one blow. To prove himself, he thought, even if he didn't win a full fight.

She held up a hand and smiled, "At least allow yourself some rest before you decide to challenge someone. You'll need the sleep either way - your training begins tomorrow.

"Enna will tutor you about the world," said Mathilda. "I'll make sure... that she only uses history books and not romance novels."

"I'll test you in magic," said Gemini, sneezing. "see if I squeeze any potential out of you."

and I'll be testing you in combat" growled Caliban. "See ya in the arena tomorrow lad."