From Aerys’ standpoint of view, things had really gone mad. The bright sunlight, the sea of trees, the smell of grass, and the feel of the earth underneath his bare soles were not like the nighttime of Geneva. Looking down, his dick tasted the freedom of outdoor, and he wasn’t using his power nor was he an exhibitionist. Okay, but what the heck just happened?

Aerys pondered while a fight broke behind him. He turned deaf and blind to those two naked men having a slug-fest on the ground. One-Eye and Daze were having a go at it. Throwing fists at one another with their eyes blinded by rage. One-Eye’s survival was a surprise at first. Yet thinking this was the afterlife made sense to him, and Aerys wasn’t liking it.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Bull asked.

“We should, but I’m not going to waste my energy on them,” Aerys said.

“Why?”

“Bull, there’s a high percentage that all of us are dead,” Aerys said. “So saving a dead person doesn’t make any sense does it?”

Bull recalled the bullets that drilled through One-Eye’s flesh. The man he saw as a captain should have died from those bullets, but now he was trading fists with Daze as nothing had happened.

“You might be right. But I’m not the type that just stand and watch,” Bull said. Leaving Aerys as he went in between the two feisty men.

“Ahem,” Hush cleared his throat, drawing Aerys’ gaze.

“Despite being dead, interestingly our powers are still present,” Hush said. Letting out his rarely spoken voice.

“What do you mean?” Aerys asked.

“For a while now, I’ve been shouting at everyone after erecting my silent barrier, and as you can see, no one reacted,” Hush said. “I have a hunch we’re not really dead.” Hush glanced at something far in front of him. “And I think those people might have the answer we want.”

From afar, two horse riders drew closer. The clops of their horses' hooves rang louder as the distance between them shortened. The fight between the two men abruptly ended as they focused their gazes on potential enemies.

“Daze, get ready to dazzle them,” One-Eye said.

“Fuck you,” Daze replied. “I ain’t going to listen to you anymore.”

One-Eye could only glare at Daze as the latter also did the same.

Aerys stared at these two strangers, and their clothes were far from being normal. The person leading wore a simple brown robe, resembling a friar like Robin Hood’s friend, Friar Tuck. While the one a bit behind wore something straight out of a JRPG game, a flashy armor with a wolf’s head pauldron on his left shoulder.

Looking around, Aerys searched for any potential escape route. But the only thing he could see was just trees and more trees. Even if he made a break for it right now, the distance between him and the closest tree line was still too far to lose the horse from his tail. Yet something intriguing caught his eye.

Wait, is that a horn on a horse? He noticed a bit late. Two horns sprouted from the top of the horse’s head, and it wasn’t like the horns of a goat or an antler of an elk. The sharp spiraling pointy ends reminded him of a certain fable animal. A unicorn?

Soon, the horses stopped a few meters away from Aerys and co. A safe distance between two parties as if the horse riders took consideration for a band of naked men. Yet before One-Eye or Aerys could open his mouth, the one wearing the wolf’s armor threw something up in the air.

“Take cover!” One-Eye shouted. Bursting away from the scene as the rest followed. They were readied the moment they saw these strangers, yet Aerys was the slowest of the bunch. He wasn’t your typical man from the military like the rest of the guys as he was just a civilian bound by a contract. Even two years of training wasn’t enough to up his standard close to these people.

His eyes gazed at the falling thing with his feet frozen in place. Before he knew it, the thing landed right in front of him. Seconds went by and yet, nothing happened. He gazed at the thing for a few seconds, and it was nothing more than just a plain old rag bag.

“Huh, I wish was wrong,” the friar-like guy, John, said with a sigh. “Before we start explaining, can you please wear the clothes in the bag? Seeing cocks this early in the morning is rather nauseating, and please tell your friends to do the same. It would be a hassle if I need to explain it twice or more than twice.”

Aerys was wary at first. But knowing there was something to hide his dignity, he raced over to the bag and opened it up. True to what John said, they were indeed clothes. And it wasn’t your usual clothes found in Walmart. They were medieval in designs as the people here might say it was called a tunic. He wore the dark green tunic, covering his skin, guarding his flesh against the chilly breeze of the forest wind. Before he knew it, he was back to become a civilized man.

“Friendly!” Aerys shouted. A few stopped on their tracks and warily observed from afar. Seeing Aerys waving his hand with his back against the two strangers at least told them something.

Bull and Hush were the first two to come closer. Their eyes never left the two horse riders and even after wearing the charity clothes, their wariness was still at alert.

“And the other three?” John said.

“Three?” Aerys looked confused. He glanced back and only saw Daze and One-Eye. “We’re only five,” he said.

“Unfortunately not,” John said. “You might question how I know this, but someone is there, hiding behind a tree. And from the outline of the body, I’m assuming it’s a she.”

“She?” something instantly clicked in his mind. The image of a certain person rose, and it could not be anyone else but her. “Jolt?”

* * *

Hiding behind a tree, a naked woman was sitting on the ground, hugging her knees. Her head was down, buried in between her legs. Her lips mumbled, cursing non-stop at her stupid self for doing the most idiotic move.

“Jolt,” a voice came from behind. She scrambled on her feet, turning to her back. Her hands rosed up ready for a fight, and after all those years of combat training, she wasn’t going down without a fight. Yet her eyes softened seeing who it was.

“Aerys?” she said. Her hands went limp to her side as her body was bare for Aerys to see.

Aerys stared at the ground and handed over a set of clothes to Jolt. “It’s a bit chilly, ay?” he said.

Jolt noticed and snatched the clothes. She wore the clothes as Aerys explained to her what happened.

“I thought you left,” Aerys said.

“Tough luck for you, my conscious just had to guilt trip me to going back,” Jolt said. “Now look where I am. Dead like an idiot. For some foolish thing called loyalty.”

Aerys didn’t know what to say. The look on Jolt’s face really showed she was devastated by this situation.

“You think my daughter would be okay?” Jolt asked. Her eyes were starting to redden. And for a woman like her, crying wasn’t her kind of thing.

Aerys wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Hey, let’s meet up with this friar-like guy. Because truth to be told, I don’t think we’re dead, Jolt,” Aerys said.

“You sure we can trust them?” Jolt asked. Her eyes fought back from letting those tears form.

“Well there’s one way to find out,” Aerys said.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Aerys and Jolt strolled up to their mates standing before John. The rest were informed of Jolt’s presence, and one of them was not glad of hearing it.

One-Eye gave a glare as if he could bore through a hole, but Jolt acted like he was empty air.

“Good, since everyone is here, let’s get on to it,” said John.

“Is this the part where you tell me I’m going to hell?” Daze said, grinning.

“Unfortunately not,” said John. “Unlike what you all are thinking, this isn’t the afterlife . . . And if I might say something, this is just a tad bit lower than hell.”

His words shook Aerys. Those words were quite a bold thing to say.

“Are you fucking with us?” Daze asked, frowning.

John stared at Daze with a vacant look. “Again, I wish I am,” John said. “Unlike usual we didn’t expect this many participants in the middle of the year.”

“Participants? What do you mean by participants?” Aerys asked.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” John said. He began to spread his arms wide. “Welcome to Orientation. Where you will learn and grow before stepping into the vast battlefield.”

A long silence came in between these two groups of people.

“What did I say just now? This dude is definitely fucking with us,” Daze whispered among themselves.

“A further explanation would be nice,” Aerys said.

“Ah,” John said. “The simplest explanation I can give you lots is this. All of you are potential soldiers, and the future of mankind rests on your very shoulders.” John smiled as if what he said wasn’t the most absurd thing.

* * *

The whole squad followed behind the trail of the two-horned horses. They were told the horses were called bicorn, the lesser brother of a unicorn they said, and yes, those were all real.

Aerys and the rest had more questions in mind, but John told them a more thorough explanation would be waiting for them in the city. And what they meant by the city was the high rising stone towers at the far end of his sight. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing as those buildings defied what he associated with medieval.

Soon, they reached the edge of the city, and there was nothing like a guard or a gate or even a wall that surrounded the city. It was just like the city back on earth except for its medieval theme buildings. Most were made out of stone blocks, with tiles decorating most of their rooftops. These towering structures were built close together and seemed stocky at first glance, despite all of them being mostly six stories high.

The shops to the sides of the road were vibrant in their appearances, differing greatly from one another as each and every one of them had its own set of attractions. From colorful flowers at the front side to majestic banners hanging above their storefront, the scene he was looking at was nothing less than a medieval version of Times Square.

Despite the similarity, his eyes couldn’t glance away from the towering buildings that tried mimicking the skyscrapers of New York City. Aesthetic wise they were a far cry from the architecture of New York’s high-rise. But at least they tried putting transparent glass windows on their walls. It was not the same as those glass walls that dominated modern buildings nowadays, but at least they showed him that they had the technology of making glass.

Yet the biggest confusion that rattled his mind was the issue of cleanliness. Unlike what he expected, this city was a whole lot cleaner than New York City, except for those horse dungs on the road every now and then. He almost misstep on them and if it wasn’t for Jolt's timely warning, he would have gotten his feet stinking like bicorn shit.

“The hell is that?” Aerys asked, blurting it out. He looked at a creature the size of Golden Retriever, similar in appearance to a black-white tapir. It was roaming down the street as if it was a stray cat, to his surprise it was eating up the bicorn shit littering on the road.

“That my friend is our resident street cleaner, the Shit Eater,” John said, slightly bouncing on the saddle.

“Shit Eater?” Jolt said. She sounded annoyed. “Can’t you guys come up with a more nice-sounding name?’

“Well, they do have a proper name, but it’s too long and complex. So generally all of us called them Shit Eater, and since their summoners called them so, it wasn’t much of an issue,” John said.

“Summoners?” the word drew Aerys’ curiosity.

John glanced at Aerys from above his horse, hinting a half a smile. “Observant. A pretty good trait to have for a soldier,” John said. “But the explanation has to wait. Every question you all have will be answered right after a few more steps.”

John wasn’t wrong. Soon, they stood before a mansion smacked in the middle of the city, and by far the shortest in terms of height between the buildings around it. “We’re here,” John said.

“And where exactly is here?” Aerys asked.

“Welcome to the oldest building in Pioneer City. The Mansion of Frontier,” John said.

John guided the whole squad inside through the double doors. The interior was like a work of art, pillars and walls were handcrafted with engravings of pictures and statues, befitting for a place like a museum. They were at the highest quality of art as if carved by the four renowned Renaissance artists; Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

“Finally, you’re here,” a dulcet voice came from up the stairs. A lady emerged as the end of her heels tapped loudly against the marble staircase, descending before stopping at the middle.

“Good luck,” John said. Leaving with the armored man.

Aerys craned his head up, staring at the lady with green eyes. Her brunette hair cascaded over her left exposed shoulder with her daring bright red plump lips. She wore a crimson debutante dress with an ample show of cleavage, enough to drew every male’s gaze. And she succeeded. Aerys couldn’t help but stole a few glances.

“I am the 616th Mayor of Pioneer City, Antonella Da Vinci, and welcome to Pioneer,” Antonella said. “Come.” She stepped down the stairs, beckoning them to follow her.

They found themselves in the dining room with a long table beautifully adorned in the middle. She took a seat at the far end and gestured the group to have their seats.

“Usually I don’t do the introduction for new participants, but in the last twenty-four hours, strange things had happened, and I need to know why,” Antonella said. “Now tell me. Are all of you from CERN?”

“Yes, we—”

“No, we’re not,” One-Eye spoke over Aerys. The man who was dubbed as the captain gave a frightening glare at Aerys.

“Ignore him,” Aerys said. “Yes, we are from CERN, but not exactly working under—”

“Stop!” One-Eye rose from his seat. The chair legs screeched over the marble floor. “We’re not obliged to reveal anything and let me remind you this, you’re still—”

“Fuck off, Timothy,” Aerys said.

“You…” One-Eye said, raising an eyebrow. No one should have known that name, not when his identity was confidential. “How did you—”

“Like I said, shut the fuck up, and sit down,” Aerys said. “This isn’t Earth anymore and this isn’t the place for your stupid ass loyalty to a shady company that breaches moral rights.”

Daze who stood across him gave a wink and a thumbs up.

“You want to take this outside tough guy?” One-Eye said. Clenching his fists tight until his knuckles were white.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, man?” Aerys asked. “We’re in another world, and we need fucking answers. From the way I see it, these people are nice enough to invite us and give us information, and you’re here protecting your stupid shady boss, believing it for the greater good. Newsflash, man. He’s not a good guy, and so are we.”

Aerys turned back to Antonella. “Sorry for that,” he said. “The idiot over there is a one-track mind kind of guy, so pardon his idiocy.”

“No, it’s fine,” Antonella said. Staring at One-Eye who stood the farthest away from her. “In a place like this, men with his kind of conviction are really much needed. So, you’re telling me you came here from that underground place with the particle accelerator?”

Aerys nodded.

She exhaled loudly. “So I will safely assume that more people will be coming in the nearest future then,” Antonella said. “Well, it’s not really a bad thing considering the front line needed more men.”

“Front line, ma’am?” Aerys asked as his curiosity was growing deeper with each word coming from Antonella’s mouth.

“Oh, yes. The front line. What was it again?” she tried recollecting what she should say to new participants. “Um, that’s right, you’re here to save humanity.”

“Sorry to say this lady, but that isn’t much of an explanation,” Jolt said, chiming in. “What is this place? Who are you, people? And why are we here?”

“To the ignorance of you and the rest of people on Earth, a war had been ongoing for the past four thousand years for the survival of humankind,” Antonella said. “And the soldiers of this war are people like you. Missing cases. People vanishing without a trace, picked randomly like a badly drawn lottery. Usually, it would only happen once a year with the time being random. But this year, the arrival had been way too frequent, and you lots are the third batch even if you’re just six people.”

“We’re fighting against who exactly, miss or um, I mean lady?” Bull asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen one before,” Antonella said. “But I do have a precise description from people at the front line, and what I can simply tell you, they’re just things that are not human. Demons, aliens, elves, dwarves, you name it. Everything not human is precisely what you’re fighting against.”

“Aren’t those just fictions, like just in the movies and shit?” Daze asked.

“Well, your interpretation of them might skew for entertainment, but our seers here and at the front line are doing our best, relaying messages back to Earth,” Antonella said. “Unfortunately, the messages are mostly seen as either spark of imaginations or nightmares that terror your sleep and never been seen as an early warning. Nonetheless, our seers are still trying our best, not like it would change anything. But their tradition had been strong, and they’re showing no sign of halting that tradition. Much to the dismay of the dwindling Mansion’s treasury.”

“So what will happen if we lose this war?” One-Eye asked, drawing the surprise gazes from everyone else.

“Like I’ve been told from those before me. If we lose, it isn’t global warming that will destroy Earth, but losing of this war will,” Antonella said. Shaking the hearts of those who heard her.

“And how you do know this is trustworthy?” One-Eye asked her.

Antonella locked eyes with One-Eye, staring deep as if trying to see through the man who craved for peace. “I don’t,” she said nonchalantly. “It could be fake or it could all be real. Either or, we humans don’t actually have a say in the grand scheme of things.”

Silence reigned as the people on the table ruminated over what Antonella said. It was a lot to take in, and hardly believable. But after being transferred here, they really didn’t have much of a choice other than to believe.

“If you don’t mind me asking. Does the way we fight have something to do with the Summoner that John spoke of?” Aerys asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, you must be talking about the Shit Eater,” Antonella said.

“Well, you’re hundred percent right,” Antonella said. “Rather than stick and stones, or gun and bullets, we humans have our own way of fighting. Utter these words, and you’ll know how we fight.”

“And that is?” Aerys asked.

“Status reveals,” she said, smiling.

Aerys uttered those words, and he could not believe what he was seeing.