Japan, Kii Peninsula, in the year of 1178—Kobayashi Hachiman, head of the Kobayashi clan, age 32, was sitting on a boulder in the forest whilst staring up at the glittering night sky. This was nothing strange or different for Kobayashi—he had this as part of his nightly routine since age 18.
"Lord Kobayashi-"
A shushed voice forced the clan leader to turn his head—Nakamura Suzuki, servant of the clan leader and his family.
The clan leader averted his gaze back to the night sky littered with sparkling stars, but this did not stop him from responding to the young girl.
"I thought I had specifically asked you to take care of my niece and nephew's needs and requests? Why are you outside at this late hour?"
Nakamura seated herself atop a fallen tree, the moonlight illuminating a smile chiseled onto her face.
"Your niece and nephew are sleeping. But I could be asking you the same thing!" she smiled, being energetic, just as she always had been. "You're always out here in the forest so late at night, and you don't even give anyone a good reason as to why you wander so late either."
"The clan has many enemies, and that is no secret. I choose to spend my nights outside in the forest to keep the clan safe. We could fall victim to a surprise attack at any given moment."
"Come on, you're the clan leader; you shouldn't have to worry about things like that! You have trained warriors to take care of this stuff."
Nakamura paused for a moment, adjusting herself on the tree she was seated on. Kobayashi, on the other hand, laid back on the boulder.
"You seem really young to be a clan leader, you know?"
Nakamura put her hand on her chin as if thinking to herself.
"Most clan leaders are really old, but you're only in your 30s. Don't you think that you're a bit too young to be leading a clan?"
Kobayashi sighed to himself quietly; he never liked being asked questions, and he would often get annoyed by questions. He finally turned around to look at Nakamura, the moonlight illuminating the face of a young girl with green eyes and long, light brown hair.
"Age doesn't determine one's leadership or wisdom. This clan has been and will forever be my responsibility to protect and lead."
"You've been saying that since the raid when I was only 3 years old...now I'm 16, and you still say it."
"I'd prefer it if you don't mention the raid..."
Kobayashi had a somber look on his face, something unusual for him, and Nakamura took notice of this. She looked at him with sympathy and scolded herself for bringing up something that pained Kobayashi so severely. She looked down and rubbed her arm.
"I apologize for bringing that up, Lord Kobayashi. But you know, you have people who will always listen to you and what you have to say."
Kobayashi exhaled, his breath visible in the cold, night air.
"I have nothing important to say at the moment, nothing concerning the clan."
"There's a lot more than just the clan to worry about. You have a niece and nephew who you barely even see because of how involved with the clan you are."
Nakamura started getting louder as she tried to get Kobayashi to talk about his feelings to her, but he refused to utter a single word from his heart.
"It would be best if you made your way back home and got yourself some rest. You don't want to be tired when the morning comes," he said to her in an attempt to get her to leave so he could have the rest of the night to himself.
"...I guess you're right...Lord Kobayashi."
She seemed disappointed by his words, but, nonetheless, she listened to him. She dismantled from the fallen she sat on, and began to walk off.
"And the real reason I was out here...was because I wanted to know why you're always out here at night. You never give the actual reason as to why you're always out here."
Kobayashi didn't respond to her concerns and stayed silent, gazing upon the heavens.
She turned her head and looked at him "You're a very strange person...Lord Koboyashi," she said quietly before fading into the dark.
Kobayashi was left alone in the forest once again, lying quietly on a boulder with his Katana lying next to him.
He ran his index finger over his right eye, tracing a scar he had since he was much younger. Tracing the scar resurfaced memories of the past, a time when he didn't have the responsibility of leading a clan.
"If, all those years ago, I knew where I would be today, I'd do a lot of things differently..."
Kobayashi closed his eyes, the darkness setting in around him slowly. And just a few moments later—he was asleep, immersed in a peaceful bliss.
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Meanwhile—France, Normandy, 1178. The cold stone walls of a feared lord's manor loomed under a darkening sky as Alexander Webb, a knight, 23 years of age, stood at the entrance. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. This lord's very name was spoken in hushed, fearful tones in fear of being executed for attempting to tarnish their reputation.
Alexander, however, had found himself consuming too much alcohol before his duty, and he didn't care about the consequences for any action he might commit against the lord. Alexander would occasionally catch himself peering into the manor's window by the door and look at the lord's wife. His actions soon caught the attention of the knight assigned to also keep guard of the feared lord's manor, and his colleague raised their voice at him angrily.
"What do you think you're doing? If the lord catches you gazing lustfully at his wife like that, you'll surely be hanged for such foolishness!"
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Alexander brushed off the frustration of his colleague he had just met after being assigned to this job. He didn't fear the consequences of what could happen to him at this moment, even if it meant death.
"This is just a secret between you and me, nobody else. Besides, nobody in their right mind could keep their eyes off of that curvaceous beauty. I know you've had to take a peak at her at least once or twice."
Though his face couldn't be seen through the helmet covering his head, his voice made it clear there was a grin plastered onto his face.
"You were drinking before starting your shift, weren't you? You're truly blessed to even be alive with such carelessness! I've had to put up with this tomfoolery for 4 hours now!"
Alexander only laughed about his colleague's anger. Though Alexander almost never acted like this, especially in his own career, he couldn't control himself once intoxicated. But he was always a pervert, his lustful thoughts always controlling his actions; alcohol hadn't changed this part of him at all.
"Who even says tomfoolery? That's the most absurd word I've ever heard in my entire life!" Alexander said as he laughed.
Alexander's colleague finally had enough and groaned in frustration before his exchange of words with Alexander came to a halt.
"I see somebody's upset," Alexander said before his laughing stopped. He yawned and sat on the ground, starting to feel tired.
"Tell you what—" he looked up at his colleague, "I'll buy you as much alcohol as you want, as many drinks as you can imagine, all on me, just let me take a rest for a while and don't tell anyone about it."
The knight, who was standing beside Alexander thought for a few moments. He then sighed in frustration, but agreed to the terms.
"Fine. But if you don't keep up your end of the deal—"
"Yeah, I've heard this before."
The knight looked down at him condescendingly, his condescending gaze being noticeable, even through his helmet.
"I heard your father is the entire reason you have it so easy on your duties. You've always been a spoiled brat your entire life, haven't you? It's quite detectable through your obnoxious behavior. You're no better than an animal! You should—"
"You complain way too much..."
Alexander cut the fellow knight's words off and closed his eyes. In the following moments, Alexander's consciousness would be absorbed into the infinite darkness, sleep.
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"Huh? Where am I?"
Two sleepy voices asked the same question in their perspective languages. One man, who was wearing a helmet and armor concealing his appearance, seemed to be concerned about what was going on and where he was. Another man of Asian nationality, who wore black robes, had brown eyes and dark brown hair, and he carried a katana sheathed at his right side; this man seemed more curious and cautious about where he was located, compared to the man in armor. What am I doing here—a thought was shared between the two who then looked at each other. This place they were in, it was an infinitely expanding white area that was completely empty, not even a speck of dust existed here.
The man in armor noticed the man in black robes. He approached the man in robes and attempted to introduce himself.
"Hello, my name is Alexander Webb."
The man in black robes stared at the man in armor, Alexander, in confusion. The man in black robes had not understood a thing Alexander said. The two men spoke two completely different languages, came from different parts of the world. And the man in black robes seemed too cautious to even attempt to introduce himself in his perspective language.
"Are you going to say something or what? Do you even hear what I'm saying?"
Alexander was starting to grow impatient and sighed. He believed that the man in black robes might've been deaf, or maybe he was being difficult. The silence only increased Alexander's frustration, sighing in annoyance at the man in front of him.
"Hello—" a loud voice echoed across the empty area, snatching the attention of Alexander and Kobayashi. The voice had caused Alexander's frustration and impatience to dissolve, and his feeling of frustration and impatience was instead replaced with a tinge of fear. The Asian man, on the other hand, had a blank, unreadable facial expression. The two turned their gazes to the origin of the voice.
"Webb Alexander—Kobayashi Hachiman."
Their attention was brought to a man, roughly middle-aged, short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, covered from head to toe in the finest of clothing and accessories. He had an aura of seriousness, but one that struck fear and anxiousness into both of the men in front of him. The two were afraid of this man, only Alexander expressed his fear while the other man, Kobayashi, suppressed his fear. The two wondered how this man knew their names—how he could figure out their identity. Kobayashi fearfully and somberly considered his clan was killed by one of its many enemies, Kobayashi now being held captive by whoever orchestrated the act. Alexander wondered if perhaps this was some sort of execution or punishment for staring at the Lord's wife lustfully.
"Who are you? What do you want with me, with that man over there?" Kobayashi asked the mysterious man.
"I have many names, but you may call me Johan," he paused and looked at Alexander who was shaking in fear.
"Please don't hurt me, Johan! I swear, I just took a few glances at the lord's wife, that's all!" Alexander exclaimed quickly and fearfully.
But Kobayashi noticed something strange—he understood Johan perfectly, but it seemed Alexander had also understood Johan perfectly. How could this be—Kobayashi asked himself. It was clear the two spoke completely different languages, yet Alexander showed he clearly understood what Johan had said.
"This is why I hate humans..." Johan sighed at Alexander's pleads to not be harmed. "As I clearly stated previously, you may call me Johan. I am the second living being to be created by The One True God, created to protect all life for eternity. I have authority over all of creation, along with the first and third of The One True God's creations—however," Johan began to sit down, and a seat rose from the ground the moment Johan was in sitting position.
The explanation of Johan's power and authority had struck fear into both of the men, Alexander falling backwards in fear and Kobayashi barely being capable of containing his fear at this point. The announcement of a powerful being, such an ancient life form, would certainly instill fear into the bravest and strongest of warriors to ever exist. Even Kobayashi, known as the strongest and bravest warrior in Japan, struggled to maintain calmness in the presence of a higher power as Johan's.
"I regretfully confess I'm in need of help at the moment..." Johan continued, "one of the first universes to be created is falling apart, the laws and rules applied to infinite space becoming nullified. Something—no, someone is tearing apart the laws keeping balance and harmony in that universe. And with me and my allies occupied by other responsibilities in other realms, us nor the servants my brethren created can keep up with every pressing matter. However, I fear the worst—this evil person plans to unravel all of creation, permanently destroying everything created by The One True God," Johan pinched the bridge of his nose before finishing. "I need the help of you two, that is why you are here."
Johan sighed in frustration after explaining why these men were in his presence. Johan was clearly not a fan of humans, even if he appeared to be one himself, but it was clear he felt obliged to carry on his duty of keeping creation and life safe.
"Why us? Why not someone who is strong, more powerful? I am just a regular human, and that man over there doesn't seem so special either."
Kobayashi looked expectantly at Johan for an answer, and Alexander started to calm down as he realized Johan displayed no ill intent towards him.
"Your souls...are special," Johan began to explain, "ever since conception in the god realm, a realm outside of existence itself, where The One True God creates life—your souls were made to be the most perseverant of their time. You were made to grow stronger and live out the full potential that lies in humanity." Johan stood up from the seat underneath him, and he extended his arms outwards to the two men in front of him.
Alexander began to grow dreadful and anxious once more from the sudden action of Johan.
Johan laid his hands on each of their foreheads and exhaled silently.
"I pass unto the two of you the original spoken language of humanity so you may communicate with the humans of the world I will send you to. The languages you formerly spoke will no longer be spoken by the two of you, the knowledge of your language completely erased from your minds. This world I send you to is the most lively, the world with the most potential and hope left in the destruction of its universe. I wish you two the best of luck."
With Johan's final words, the two closed their eyes as the 'original spoken language of humans' was transferred into their minds, and their consciousnesses faded ever so slowly.
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"What's with all of this fog?"
Alexander and Kobayashi awoke in an area covered densely with fog, completely unaware of their surroundings. The two were left in confusion—why was there so much fog? They were completely lost, unaware of where to even go. They couldn't know where they were even walking in this mess. The two stayed still, not even moving a centimeter. Alexander was the first to take a step.
"If you're not going to do something, I'll just find my way around here myself."
The moment Alexander took a step, he fell like a shooting star and grabbed Kobayashi's arm out of pure instinct, Kobayashi tumbling down with him.
"What in the saints is happening?!" Alexander exclaimed angrily as they fell to the earth like at supersonic speed. The moment Alexander looked around, he noticed something—it wasn't fog they were in just a moment ago; it was clouds—the two were previously standing on a mountain that pierced the sky.
"Somebody help us!" Alexander shouted for help, but there was no sign of any other people in the area other than him and Kobayashi.
"Relax yourself, for your fright will make this experience far worse for you," Kobayashi said calmly as he took a moment to examine the surrounding area around them—a mountain base surrounded by trees, the numbers of trees being comparable to grains of sand at the ocean. However, there was not a single body of water around the two men who were getting increasingly closer to the ground each passing second.
"How am I supposed to relax when we just fell off a mountain?!" Alexander started crying to himself as Kobayashi rolled his eyes at Alexander's reaction to the situation.
"I'm sure we won't die. Even if we do, you won't have to worry about it being painful."
"How's that supposed to make it better?" Alexander asked while crying.
Before Kobayashi could answer, the two made contact with the ground.
"Ow..." Alexander groaned in pain and held his side while Kobayashi stood up and checked to see if his katana was still with him, which it was.
"Where's my armor?" Alexander began frantically looking around for his armor, finding not even a single piece present.
"I don't even have a sword! How are we supposed to survive now?!" Alexander asked Kobayashi, his voice dripping with frustration and anger.
"Relax. If we can survive a fall like that, I'm sure we can survive far worse. Besides, it's not like we're completely unarmed. I have my katana. I was known for being very skilled with this."
"What's a katana? I don't even know what that is."
"This is a katana."
Kobayashi unsheathed his katana for a quick showcase, causing Alexander's eyes to widen in fear of being struck. Kobayashi then sheathed his sword after a few moments.
Kobayashi began to walk away calmly, as if the two hadn't just fallen off of a mountain and survived, as if everything was normal about this situation.
"Are you seriously going to act like everything is normal here? Some man just sent us to another world, and you don't care a bit about it?"
Alexander rushed up to Kobayashi, who seemed fine about the whole thing.
"Overreacting and getting angered by what just happened isn't going to solve anything. I'm sure we'll soon be faced with greater problems than falling off of a mountain," Kobayashi told Alexander calmly.
The two walked into the woodline surrounding the base of the mountain, and began their journey to find civilization.