During my long weeks in hospital, I once watched a documentary about optography.

In short, some morbid scientists researched the widespread belief that the eyes preserve their last view before death. So they forced animals to watch a specific scenery, before they cut their head off. And they even tried it on a human. Thanks to the guillotine.

But it didn't matter if her dancing figure had been the last thing or not. I would recognize her anyway.

In front of me, on that makeshift stage, stood a beautiful girl. Her long, silver-blonde hair flowed down her back, framing a beautiful face. Full, red lips and white teeth. A small, straight nose between her clear eyes. And everything so symmetrical it appeared like a work of art.

Okay. She was a work of art, created by a talented character designer. No need to compare the game’s poster girl with some random NPC.

Her remaining body followed the same standards.

She didn't wear a skirt, but pants and a vest above a shirt. Distinct, more manly clothes. But a fresh style. Not unlike the modern women in uniform fetish. And it worked. Flawless skin covered her bare, slender arms. No dirt, no callus, no blemish. And I knew that the rest of her body would be the same.

Both her long legs and the fair curves made quite an impact in the community, when her first beach illustration emerged. She wasn't overly busty, but the overall ensemble made the off-brand artists go crazy.

And here she stood in this filthy city. Like a diamond in the mud. Completely out of place.

But she was here. In front of me.

Alive.

She looked younger than her statue. Around sixteen? Not older than eighteen, for sure.

But why was she alive?

Her existence proved this world's origin. But it raised even more questions.

But now that I thought about it, such a question had already appeared before.

I touched my face, checked the body beneath my rags, and examined my reflection in the pots I carried. Face, hair color, eyes, body type, and even some of the scars were familiar. But this wasn't my character from the game. It was different.

Just like how I woke up in this world. A different version waking up in a devastated mountain village. A weird mix between the actual character and his unclear background story. Was I... my character’s younger self?

The game's capital was a city without an extensive history. The result of a rapid growth period following the sword maiden's death. Twenty years in the future. Was it just another nameless village right now? A single lunatic introduced the humans’ magic theory. Discovered by the sword maiden in her later years. Even the growth of the mercenary union started with the advent of the players and was rather obscure before.

Did I wake up in the past? Were the misgivings in the back of my head a result of the different time?

There were still a lot of inconsistencies, though. Haithabu's absence in the game, for example. With how grand the merchant's descriptions had been, I should at least remember its name. Sure, nobody memorized the full lore, but such a major force would stand out. And why would the sword saint be in this godforsaken neighborhood? Her lore never mentioned Gladford but began with her as the rising commander of the moon alliance. It didn't add up.

This world was different. It only looked like the game. But I couldn't trust that future event's would play out the same as in the game when the present was already completely different.

But she still stood before me.

Alive.

Breathing.

Wasn't this my chance to make things right? To correct the injustice? A beautiful warrior, taking her last breath on the battlefield. Betrayed. And alone. Between dead friends and enemies.

Could I stand with her?

Fight with her?

Save her?

Even if the future was different, couldn't I still become her shield against the darkness?

And then... would she dance for me? That beautiful dance of her. Just like in the game. All alone. A dance only for me.

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"Hey! You listening?" A voice cut into my thoughts. Hmm? Oh, just Thea. Did she say something?

“Yeah, I listened, I listened.” I hurried to answer. “Spare me the angry glare.”

She sighed.

"You clearly didn't listen to me. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay. I just... remembered something. And that must have distracted me. What did you say?"

"I said, she wears the emblem of the guards." Thea gestured towards the sword maiden. "That’s weird. There aren’t many women in the guards, let alone girls."

Well, duh! She was the sword maiden. The world would be in serious trouble if she couldn't even enter a lowly city guard. Yeah, no way I could say that.

"Maybe she's talented," I opted for some wishy-washy nonsense.

"I think she's a noble's daughter," Thea responded. "Look at her clothes and the endless hair. She’s not one of us. And her skin. No way she trained with those hands. She is only here to entice the men."

"Hmm." I ignored Thea’s blabber. This girl isn't some honey trap. She'll be a million times more important to this world than you'll ever be. Yeah, there was no way I could say that, either. And there was no way Thea would understand. So I went along with it and waited.

Soon, the guards lit torches around the stage, the flickering light reflecting from the maiden’s silver hair. It had become dark, the moon was out, but she was the only star the gathered men beheld. And finally, she opened her mouth.

"Greetings, my fellow humans," she began her speech. A soft voice, girlie, but still enticing. A sound befitting her body. Like an innocent bud. But everyone knew it would bloom into an alluring flower.

"I stand here in times of dire straits. One might even call it a grave peril. Not only to us, but to the whole human race. And so I ask to speak to all of you." She stopped. Her eyes wandered across the crowd. "Those nobles in their mansions call you filthy, kick you out of their houses, and laugh behind your backs. They teach you to look at the ground and be quiet. To swallow your pride and obey them. After all, you are nothing but worthless waste!"

Once more she gazed at the crowd. Most of the gathered men were farmers from outside, now grumbling in resentment.

And in response, she presented a dazzling smile.

"But when I look at you, I see heroes. Men who defy the odds and wrest their food from these barren lands. Men who mock the weather and survive the harsh frost in the winter. You are not like those nobles who hide themselves in their mansions, shivering in front of their chimney. And you are not like those greedy merchants who sell their fellow humans for an insignificant piece of metal."

She raised her voice, clear and strong.

"No, what I see are warriors, fighting for humanity each day of their life. I see merchants selling not humans but hope to us in the cities. And I see nobles and sovereigns, subduing the land and claim a future for all of us. Each and every day."

"As if you worked for one day," Thea muttered beside me. Yeah, ignore her. Just ignore her.

"And to those heroes, standing proud in front of me, I came in my time of need. Because my life is in danger. Because your life is in danger. Even your beloveds' lives are in danger. And I don't want to crawl before those nobles and bow. I don't want to place your lives into their hands. Because they didn't help us before and they won't help us now. No, they'll just sit in their mansions, hiding from the world, and wait for us to die. So I have nobody but you, oh heroes, to ask. Please hear me out."

With that, she slowly bowed before the crowd.

"A few days ago, a hunter brought a horrifying report. Leprechauns. A giant horde of leprechauns, drowning the fields, destroying our homes, and stealing what is rightfully ours. A massive flood that buries anything beneath it. And we are the only ones standing in their way. No noble, no merchant, no mercenary. Only we can stand between them and our homes, between them and our loved ones, and between them and our future. Oh fellow humans, we are in grave danger."

"But there is also hope for us. Gladford's ruler, our beloved Freiherr Houdin, has heard our pleas. Our cries of powerlessness. And so he responded in kind and took gold coins out of his own pockets. Not shoddy iron pieces like those merchants pay for your hard-earned goods. Not lowly bronze pieces like those the other nobles buy your life with. Even silver pieces, able to buy you a carefree life, weren't enough. No! Our Freiherr took out gold coins to empower you!"

"As if," another objection from my side. "I bet, he never saw a gold coin in his life."

I sighed. Not worth a rebuttal.

"And with his gold coins he walked to the blacksmiths, to the tanner, and to the merchants," the sword maiden continued. "He bowed his head in front of them, pleading for your lives. And they beheld his honesty, they understood his volition, and they responded to him."

"Every clang inside the smithy is a weapon forged for you. Every piece of leather becomes a suit of armor, worthy of a hero. And even the greedy merchants sold their food, turning it into rations. Thanks to our lord, the Freiherr Houdin, we can fight those leprechauns. Thanks to his generosity, we can defend our loved ones with our own two hands. And thanks to his mercy, we can fight without worrying about the harvest."

She stopped. And the crowd became quiet, waiting for her next words.

"I understand, everyone here has a home he wants to return to," she continued. A soft voice, a mere whisper. "And it is so easy to turn your back and run away. To barricade inside your home and hope only the others die. They scare all of us. I am scared. But if we don't stand together, they'll kill us one by one. And we'll die alone. Between our dead loved ones. Not even a grave remaining… But!"

She once again raised her voice.

"But I don't want that end. I am scared. Even I want to run away. But I don't want to see our villages soaked in blood. I don't want to see all of you die a pointless death. And, more than anything, I don't want to bury my hope for a better future and hide away. So I decided to fight! I am weak. I am scared. And I don't know what I can do. But it is better than giving up. So! My heroes! That is why I stand before you. In times of great need. And ask you to fight with me!"

She finished, bowing once more under the thundering cheer of the crowd.

I sighed.

This was it. The beautiful sword maiden, calling for battle. My chance to stand beside her.

"I think that's destiny," I muttered to myself.

"Huh?"

A weird sound from beside me.

And Thea staring at me in silence.

One second.

Two seconds.

Five seconds.

Before she understood my word's meaning and opened her mouth.

"Are you an idiot?"