Chapter 4: The Journey Begins

“Is my life so meaningless that I am stuck talking to something that might not even exist?”

“I’d like to think I exist.”

“I guess that’s right, you are speaking of free will.”

“I think I have a free will of my own. If anything, the fact that you can speak easily with them, it should prove to you that I am real.”

“That was more than enough to prove it to me. You once said, ‘I think, therefore I am.’ That was the moment I believed you we real.”

“I said someone else made up that phrase.”

“They are not here, so I will give credit to my lovely wife.” I nod as I continue to walk while checking the map for the last time, putting it away in my pocket. I pull the hood over my head as far as I can to protect myself from the cold wind.

“Why are you wearing a long cloak?” Miria asks me while floating around me.

“Why not? Also, it is the only thing they prepared which has a hood to protect my face. So I have no choice but to wear this oversized piece of sh- I mean garbage.”

“You fascinate me.”

“Also, why are you talking more now than when we were in my world?”

“I am more familiar with the elven languages. It was the first time I was trying to learn a language as complex as yours, so I never bothered to fully comprehend it.”

“Laziness was the reason we could never have a full conversation!?”

“Pretty much.”

“Argh! I thought it was because that was your personality! Was I deceived for all these years!?”

“I don’t think so. You still understood what I said after a while, so it made no difference to me whether I learned to speak properly. I guess it would make me upset if you started speaking like that to me… so I apologize.”

“Ah, it doesn’t even matter you know. I think I am truly head over heels for you. It doesn’t even bother me that I wasn’t able to communicate properly.”

“I love you, Alex.”

“Yeah, I love you too, Miria. Anyways. There really are a lot of storms in this region. Lynn wasn’t wrong.”

“If she is correct, it should clear up by the time it starts to get dark though. It will make resting easier for you.”

“Instead, I will use that time to travel faster. The distance we have to travel isn’t small, nor do we have a lot of time to leisurely wait around.”

“I guess, but won’t you get tired, Alex?”

“Ha! You don’t seem to remember, but a couple days working straight has never bothered me. I may not be strong enough to defend myself if the situation arises, but my stamina is practically endless.”

“We did live a relaxed life in the forest after the first year, so it must have just slipped my mind. I guess I do remember you staying awake for many nights building the small hut and the pen for the chickens, not to mention the work you did on the field.”

“Exactly.”

We walk in silence as the day passes. The wind gradually slowing down and the clouds clearing from the blue sky. The grass now gently swaying as I make my way past.

Mountains could be seen in the distance, a fair distance away.

The sun was now setting behind these mountains, causing a red glow to fall over the sky. Soon after, all light was gone, and I could only rely on my experience of living in darkness to move forwards without falling over.

The glow of the distant stars giving me just barely enough light to see where I was going.

“This world is nice.”

“Yeah. Calm. I feel oddly relaxed when I am here.”

I look around as I continue forwards through the fields of grass. Slowly making my way towards a forest. I think of something and turn to Miria to ask.

“Hey, what happens if I come across a monster? In the other world, I set traps so that wouldn’t happen, but now we are on the move, going in to their territory.”

“Run away?”

I nod my head, not asking anything else.

I stare off in to the distance as the forest seems to move closer and closer.

“Miria… what do lovers do?”

“W-why do you ask?”

“It is the one thing you never taught me about. You told me they existed. My birth parents said it would come naturally when I married… but I am married and I have no idea what we should do.”

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“T-That is natural?”

“I don’t know. Also, why are you stuttering? Nervous? Embarrassed?”

“Well… there are things you do with… i-important parts… but I have no physical form… so I can’t”

“Oh. I think I understand. Mating is it? I see, no wonder we can’t do it.”

“Y-you are too smart for your own good.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. My lovely wife, Miria.”

I take a small break to drink some water from a small stream marked on the map. I look in to the water and see my reflection. For someone twenty years old, I don’t look too bad.

Straight, light brown hair, grayish green eyes, and a relatively normal face structure.

“So, Miria, if you had a physical body, would you do those things with me?”

“Y-yes… maybe… most likely?”

“Okay.”

“Why do you ask that now of all times? There’s supposed to be a certain mood… or so I’ve seen…”

“Miria, you are worrying too much about it. I meant nothing more than to confirm your feelings for me. I also don’t feel the need to be so embarrassed by it when you are talking to me about it. I would feel awkward if it was mentioned in front of a stranger, but we are alone right now, so what does it matter that we talk like this with each other?”

“Quiet for a second, I heard something moving.”

I quickly stop talking and lay on the ground as still as I can, sensing the urgency within Miria’s voice. I hope this is something small. Maybe I could kill it and have it for a meal instead of dried foods.

I look around and see a large shadow move through the edge of the trees on the other side of the river.

It has black fur and large talon like claws coming from paws. It has four identical limbs and walks on four legs. It has a long snout and sharp teeth.

Scary. Not something I want to mess with, nor does it look like I would be fast enough to outrun it.

“That thing is something we want nothing to deal with, on my mark, run through the river and in to the forest, it is looking for you on this side of the river.”

I nod my head, careful not to make any sound at all. I wait for a while and hear the monster attempting to cross the small stream.

“Now!”

I get up and run across the stream as fast as I possibly could. I jump the stream, avoiding the loud sounds I could make by going through the water, and land quietly on the other side.

I sprint towards the forest and keep running.

I weave through the trees like a skilled bird flying away from a predator.

“Like usual, you are skilled at escaping.” I see Miria float up beside me, passing through trees like they don’t even exist.

“I don’t know if I should see that as a compliment, but thanks anyways… I guess.”

After a while, I slow my pace back to walking speed. The sun was finally starting to rise again, the world around me slowly warming up as the golden rays of sunlight make their way through the thick layer of trees.

I sit on the ground and grab a leather skin that was designated for cooking water. I empty the water into a hardened clay bowl and place it over a small stand made of sticks. I light the sticks on fire after creating some heat by carving a small hole in a large log, then rotating a small stick within the small hole. In the end, I got fire.

I pour some dried oats and a powdered white substance in to the bowl after the water heats up.

“I really hope that is a powdered milk of some kind and not some drug to kill you.”

“I wasn’t worried about that before… I hope you are aware of that.” I sigh as I look down at the bowl of oats.

“It is a luxury breakfast compared to some of the things you ate in the other world.”

“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Those grass seed breakfast things I made. Gross.”

“I could have guessed that by the intense vomiting.”

“True, but you know. This is milk powder.” I say after shoving a spoonful in to my mouth. Of course, I was given a carved wooden spoon.

I wonder though. Even in my world, things like metal were common, why are they not used here? The technology to make giant walls was there… or was I just given trash?

“I think you may have been gypped when they were giving you stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing. Maybe the food is also normally a lot better than this as well.”

“You thinking of deserting the wind spirits? Maybe live in another forest? You won’t have to go far.”

“Nah, I’ll follow this through. I’ve already started, and maybe this world spirit thing will help us both. It might help me figure out what you are a little more, maybe it will help me finally learn magic.”

“Wishful thinking.”

“I don’t usually see myself as a pessimistic person. It was only that one time you know. I was scared of dying you know. I’m sure it is a natural reaction.”

“It is. I have seen it before.” I sense sorrow from Miria’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” I silently look at my bowl of oats.

“No, it’s quite alright. I have you now.”

“I will always be here for you if you want to talk. I might not be able to hold you when you are sad, but I will be able to talk to you, and at the very least, listen to what you have to say.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

“It’s my job as a husband.” I smile as I finish up my breakfast.

I get up and clean my stuff using the smallest amount of water possible. I stretch my limbs after packing everything away and continue to move after referencing the map using the location of the mountain range as my guide.

“In my first world, the one I was born in, there was a lot of fighting.”

I silently continue listening to Miria, making sure that I hear everything she says… which is odd if I think about it, her voice is inside my head already.

“It is the world I learned the most in. People hating each other because they were slightly different despite being of the same race. There was no unified language, and the one that was supposed to be well known was just known because it was forced upon others after wars.”

“That’s a lot to learn in ten years.”

“I was given twenty years at first, I was given the option to reject it as well. However, there was no one telling me this… I just felt it. After the first world I was born in, it was every ten years.”

“Ah, so my calculations were wrong. You are only thirty-five then!”

Miria laughs slightly and smiles at me. She looks sad, but happy that I am here as well.

“As well as the race to see which group of people could make it to the other planets within their solar system first.”

“That actually sounds interesting. You’ve taught me about solar systems, but seeing them would be interesting. I don’t know if I will live long enough to find a planet with technology advanced enough to explore planets far away.”

“Who knows? Maybe this planet will give us that chance. We have been here for a very short amount of time after all. Maybe you will get that chance sooner than you think.”

“That would be fun.”

I walk until I get to the base of the mountain, nothing more to say, the trip was silent.

I look up at the mountain and check the map. On the map, there is a small path that will lead to the area where the world spirit is going to appear. I then look back to the mountain, sure enough, I see a small winding path about three hundred meters up.

“That’s the path we will take to get to where we need to go. It seems we are going to be early.”

“Almost a full day ahead of schedule. I guess they didn’t account for you to run a huge distance as well as not rest. You barely even at anything.”

“Hey, I had those dried meat things.”

“I believe those hardly count as meals. I guess they do the trick though.” Miria sighs as she starts to follow behind me.

I walk up the steep incline grabbing with my hands as I go up. I make it to the path and smile. It was a long climb.

I take off the large bag and stretch my back. The sun was starting to heat me up, so I remove my cloak and sweaty shirt. I replace it with a clean one, but not before Miria makes a whistling noise, teasing me.

“One day, Miria, one day, I will make you feel embarrassed while removing clothes!”

“I’d like to see you try!”