"My name is Derone," says the dauntless man.
"I take it that’s not the name you’ve answered to for most of your memory." The man’s brow furrows as if deep in thought.
"My old name, my real name, is Derek. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you my situation…"
"Oh, but I think I would, friend, as I believe I am in a very similar situation. If I may ask, what continent are you from? North or South America? Europe?" Derek suddenly focuses on me intently, a vague hope glowing in his eye.
"You mean you’re from my world too? Thank God! I thought I would never find someone from where I was from!" He explained his story: in his life he was a grizzled Vietnam War veteran who was killed by a sudden stroke. Before he could cross the Veil, a bright white rope pulled his soul into this reality, and he was reborn into a new body for the purposes of his summoner.
"I am so sorry. You have been robbed of a proper spiritual journey. Count yourself lucky, however, that your soul has not been doomed." Derek looked up at me as if he wanted to ask a question, but I suppose he swallowed his curiosity. "If you die now, in this world, I’m not entirely sure what will happen. If the lesser gods of this world have some sort of higher plane established for the souls of the dead, you will probably end up there, kept from Heaven or Hell for all of time." Derek looked concerned at this prospect.
"So God is real? If he is, how could he allow something like this to happen to us?" The question spiked deep anger in me. I hadn’t thought about that before. Was this intentional? Did he abandon us? Was my soul being doomed part of his "grand plan"? I suppressed my anger and answered,
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"I do not know. All I know is my goal is to find Heaven. A secondary goal is to find practitioners of the magic that did this to us and either make them stop… or kill them all. But first, I know of one’s location to the South of here. I’d wager it’s whatever town you just came from. I intend to ask him some questions. I implore you to accompany me on my journey." Derek seemed to consider the prospect for a moment.
"Alright, sure. I’ll go with you. I also happen to know the woman you’re talking about. Her name is Cecilia. She’s a known summoner. I’m sure she can answer whatever questions you have. As for dealing with her, I’d ask you to deal with her peacefully. I have a personal connection with her."
"Dear friend, that was the plan to begin with."
----------------------------------------
Near midday, we arrive at the town that supposedly houses this "Cecilia". This town was different from the last; bigger, more populated, and I could sense some sort of magic barrier surrounding it. Interesting. This time, there is a line going to the gate. I get odd looks from people passing by. That’s when something catches my eye. That person… there’s something off about them. Their ears… they’re pointy. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised humanoid races exist in an infinite multiverse. If I had to guess, it’s an elf. I make a mental note to study this later.
Before I know it, the carriage in front of us enters through the gate and we arrive at some sort of toll booth. Derek dismounts gif horse and says to the toll operator, "Two men and a horse." The toll operator looks is over and pauses when his eyes reach me. His eye twitches, which I infer is either fear or resentment. After a moment, he says,
"That’ll be 30 gold." Looks like even this place uses the gold standard. I chuckle to myself at such an absurd premise. Derek hands over some coins and some guards open the gate for us. As we enter, I look back and see the toll operator talking to another guard inside the booth and pointing at me.