The streets were silent, as the siren had stopped just a couple of minutes after their call with the Guildmaster ended. The day was already going into the afternoon, so the surroundings were bathed in orange light, and everything felt really serene; the whole Southern block was probably empty, after all.

The two companions walked side by side, the girl with a confident stride, and the guy unbothered and slightly slouched. Both were looking around, in search of anything out of the ordinary, but the truth was that they had already lost their tenseness, since nothing happened after all.

“I think it was a mistake, just like the Guildmaster said. What do you think?” Lil, as her companion called her, broke the silence in an inquisitive manner, with a finger pressed to her chin as she wondered.

The elf shrugged as he replied. “Beats me… or that’s what I would say. But, I honestly can’t believe there’s a kaiju around.” He answered, his half-closed eyes slowly scanning the intact buildings around. There was no sign of rubble, or smoke coming from anywhere.

Usually, things would be the complete opposite when it came to a kaiju alert, as they tended to be pretty destructive, to nobody’s surprise. “Yeah… it’s kinda weird. Oh well, at least we weren’t eaten on our first mission, hurray!” She celebrated smiling broadly, both arms to the sky as she skipped a few steps.

She was always so energetic and joyful, he couldn’t help but smile a bit too.‎ "Yaaaay.” He joined in a very monotone tone as per usual. As such, she hit him on his arm with playfulness, as they turned around a corner they were pretty familiar with, as they usually hung out nearby.

Both friends unexpectedly froze for a moment at the sight before them. An armored man stood at the end of the road, his gaze fixed on their direction, as if he were expecting them. A chill ran through their backs, as this sudden situation felt like an anomaly, mostly because of how empty the streets had been until now.

The girl quickly tensed up and inspected the stranger, noticing immediately his enormous lance and the greatshield he carried. Her companion also seemed on guard, both were thinking pretty much the same thing.

What was that ominous feeling? But before they could dwell on it, the dread started to fade away, as the unknown blonde man tilted his head in confusion before proceeding to bow to them deeply. The mere sight of that gesture made them relax a bit, since, although old-fashioned, it seemed to be a friendly enough greeting.

They started to approach him slowly, still a bit wary. As they got closer, the girl took the chance to ask the stranger a question, smiling gently. “̷H̷̷e̷̷y̷! ̷W̷̷h̷̷i̷̷c̷̷h̷ ̷G̷u̷̷i̷̷l̷̷d̷ ̷a̷̷r̷̷e̷ ̷y̷̷o̷̷u̷ ̷f̷̷r̷̷o̷̷m̷?”

----------------------------------------

Ascalon had been slowly moving around the block after the people around him started running away, and hadn’t seen another living being for a while—well, aside from a few cats and a dog.

Although he was wary of his surroundings, his curiosity was being picked left and right. There were so many objects and structures that were foreign to him, like steel poles that had started to shine as the sun began to set, or magical glass screens that played moving and colorful pictures.

It was a very strange, but hopeful sight. After all, everything felt so peaceful, quite a stark contrast from the war-torn fields he was so used to.

As he strolled, he felt a presence, two to be more precise, coming from around a corner. He focused on their location in advance, and prepared himself, as they didn’t ‘feel’ like mere townspeople, especially when taking into account the situation.

Before him came two persons into view, a girl and a guy wearing hooded clothing, and both seemed taken by surprise by his presence… or maybe, his appearance? “Ah, once again…” Ascalon spoke to himself, as he tilted his head, somewhat deflated. But promptly banished these thoughts and decided to bow cordially to the strangers; he didn’t want to create any misunderstandings from the get-go, seeing he was still going around with his weapons.

Thankfully, they seemed to understand the gesture, since they started approaching him, the girl smiling and the guy being wary, making no effort to hide it. But Ascalon couldn’t blame him, of course.

The girl opened her mouth, and Ascalon finally heard the voice of a person since he had awoken. “̷H̷̷e̷̷y̷! ̷W̷̷h̷̷i̷̷c̷̷h̷ ̷̷G̷u̷̷i̷̷l̷̷d̷ ̷a̷̷r̷̷e̷ ̷y̷̷o̷̷u̷ ̷f̷̷r̷̷o̷̷m̷?” She asked, assuming that by his looks, he was also sent by one of the Guilds in the city. Mostly because no random civilian would go around with a suit of armor.

But the thing was, Ascalon couldn’t understand a thing of what she had said. His face must have communicated his confusion, as the girl also tilted her head inquisitively. “̷U̷̷hm̷, ̷h̷̷e̷̷l̷̷l̷̷o̷?” She talked again, but of course Ascalon still couldn’t decipher the meaning behind these ‘words’.

This cemented even more the fact that he was in a really foreign land, and he would probably have a lot of trouble when it came to communicating with the locals now. “Can you understand me?” He replied, trying to see if maybe they could. But both the girl and her companion seemed taken aback.

They looked at each other, confused and clearly wary of the knight once again. “̷W̷̷h̷̷a̷̷t̷ ̷d̷̷i̷̷d̷ ̷h̷̷e̷ ̷s̷̷a̷̷y̷?!” The girl questioned his companion, Ascalon yet again in full incomprehension.

”I̷ ̷d̷̷o̷̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷k̷̷n̷̷o̷̷w̷... ̷I̷̷s̷ ̷h̷̷e̷ ̷d̷̷r̷̷u̷̷n̷̷k̷ ̷o̷̷r̷ ̷s̷̷o̷̷m̷̷e̷̷t̷̷h̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷?” The hooded girl’s companion paused for a moment, pondering briefly until his eyes opened wide.

He seemed to have connected some dots, and arrived at a plausible conclusion. ”O̷̷h̷! ̷i̷̷s̷ ̷h̷̷e̷ ̷a̷ '̷w̷̷a̷̷n̷̷d̷̷e̷̷r̷̷e̷̷r̷'?” As the guy replied, the girl seemed to get really excited and fidgety all of a sudden, looking at the blonde man with both curiosity and awe.

“̷O̷ - ̷M̷ - ̷G̷! ̷N̷̷o̷ ̷w̷̷a̷̷y̷!!!” She jumped in place a few times, and Ascalon didn't need any words to understand she was pretty happy about something, and that it probably involved him somehow.

She looked at her companion with pleading eyes, and he nodded, acknowledging something that only they understood. She closed her fist and shook it victoriously, and then started to fiddle with her fingers in the air, making various motions that looked really random to Ascalon.

“̷̷I̷ ̷c̷̷a̷̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷b̷̷e̷̷l̷̷i̷̷e̷̷v̷̷e̷ ̷I̷ ̷g̷̷e̷̷t̷ ̷t̷̷o̷ ̷i̷̷n̷̷v̷̷i̷̷t̷̷e̷ ̷s̷̷o̷̷m̷̷e̷̷o̷̷n̷̷e̷ ̷t̷̷o̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ '̷G̷̷i̷̷f̷̷t̷̷e̷̷d̷' ̷n̷̷e̷̷t̷̷w̷̷o̷̷r̷̷k̷!!!” Her companion smiled a bit, but Ascalon was starting to feel a bit awkward and lost.

He hadn’t experienced before what it felt like to not understand another person, and it was kind of lonely, although curiosity was what he was feeling the most. But before he could delve into these thoughts, some weird floating glyphs appeared before him.

[̷̷Y̷̷o̷̷u̷ ̷h̷a̷̷v̷̷e̷ ̷b̷̷e̷̷e̷̷n̷ ̷i̷̷n̷̷v̷̷i̷̷t̷̷e̷̷d̷ ̷t̷̷o̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷G̷̷i̷̷f̷̷t̷̷e̷̷d̷ ̷N̷̷e̷̷t̷̷w̷̷o̷̷r̷̷k̷. ̷ A̷̷c̷̷c̷̷e̷̷p̷̷t̷/D̷̷e̷̷c̷̷l̷̷i̷̷n̷̷e̷.]

Ascalon looked at the transparent conjuration with a serious and confused expression. Was that some kind of magic? He wasn’t sure, but it was probably the most sensible answer. To him, at least.

He didn’t know how to proceed though, and the girl seemed to take notice of it. She started poking with her finger at the air, making a pressing motion over and over, as she spoke again. “P̷̷r̷̷e̷̷s̷̷s̷, ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷, ̷b̷̷u̷̷t̷̷t̷̷o̷̷n̷!” She said, reciting each word slowly, as if he could understand her that way.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

And it kind of worked, because in his confusion, Ascalon simply mimicked her and pressed on the floating image with his index finger. The image’s glyphs changed, forming a new set of unknown gibberish for him to not understand.

[̷I̷̷n̷̷i̷̷t̷̷i̷̷a̷̷t̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷ ̷s̷̷u̷̷b̷̷j̷̷e̷̷c̷̷t̷'̷s̷ ̷i̷̷n̷̷t̷̷e̷̷g̷̷r̷a̷̷t̷̷i̷̷o̷̷n̷̷t̷̷o̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷n̷̷e̷̷t̷̷w̷̷o̷̷r̷̷k̷. ̷E̷̷r̷̷r̷̷o̷̷r̷. ̷U̷̷n̷̷k̷̷n̷̷o̷̷w̷̷n̷ ̷o̷̷r̷̷i̷̷g̷̷i̷̷n̷ ̷d̷̷e̷̷t̷̷e̷̷c̷̷t̷̷e̷̷d̷. ̷E̷̷r̷̷r̷̷o̷̷r̷. ̷N̷̷o̷ ̷k̷̷n̷̷o̷̷w̷̷n̷ ̷l̷̷a̷̷n̷̷g̷̷u̷̷a̷̷g̷̷e̷̷s̷ ̷d̷̷e̷̷t̷̷e̷̷c̷̷t̷̷e̷̷d̷. ̷E̷̷r̷̷r̷̷o̷̷r̷. ̷S̷̷u̷̷b̷̷j̷̷e̷̷c̷̷t̷ ̷u̷̷n̷̷a̷̷b̷̷l̷̷e̷ ̷t̷̷o̷ ̷c̷̷o̷̷m̷̷m̷̷u̷̷n̷̷i̷̷c̷̷a̷̷t̷̷e̷ ̷w̷̷i̷̷t̷̷h̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷n̷̷e̷̷t̷̷w̷̷o̷̷r̷̷k̷. ̷I̷̷n̷̷i̷̷t̷̷i̷̷a̷̷t̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷ ̷h̷̷o̷̷t̷̷f̷̷i̷̷x̷. ̷S̷̷c̷̷a̷̷n̷̷n̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷ ̷f̷̷o̷̷r̷ ̷l̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷̷u̷̷i̷̷s̷̷t̷̷i̷̷c̷̷s̷... ̷d̷̷o̷̷n̷̷e̷. ̷S̷̷t̷̷u̷̷d̷̷y̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷s̷̷u̷̷b̷̷j̷̷e̷̷c̷̷t̷'̷s̷ ̷m̷̷i̷̷n̷̷d̷... ̷p̷̷r̷̷o̷̷c̷̷e̷̷s̷̷s̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷... ̷p̷̷r̷̷o̷̷c̷̷e̷̷s̷̷s̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷... ̷p̷̷r̷̷o̷̷c̷̷e̷̷s̷̷s̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷... ̷p̷̷r̷̷o̷̷c̷̷e̷̷s̷̷s̷̷i̷̷n̷̷g̷... Translation complete. Subject successfully integrated into the network. Welcome to the Gifted network, Ascalon Rendland.]

He opened his good eye wide in surprise, as he could now perfectly understand these strange words. The most intriguing thing was that the glyphs were still the same, yet he could read the meaning behind them as if it were his own language.

That was some incredible magic, and really useful at that! “Astounding!” Ascalon exclaimed, and the girl happily started clapping. She looked so excited, bouncing up and down in place—it was honestly a really cute sight to behold.

“You’re hella embarrassing, Lil.” Stated the hooded guy, smiling playfully.

She hit him on the shoulder again, while her cheeks reddened softly. Ascalon noticed then that even if he understood the language, there were some words that seemed to be… different? Hella sounded like hell, but it was a weird context to use it on.

He had much to learn, he thought, as the girl parted her lips again. “E-hem!” She cleared her throat, and stood in front of the knight, beaming a shy smile. “Uhm, nice to meet you! My name’s Lilithra, and this weirdo is Selly—I mean, Selorien!” She grabbed the guy by the arm and presented him to Ascalon, like someone would introduce a pet to a friend.

The ‘pet’ himself simply raised his hand unenthusiastically. “Yo~.” A simple expression, very to the point. Ascalon nodded, a bit taken aback, yet again.

Ascalon took a moment to think and smiled gently, before bowing his head and putting his shield arm to the front of his chest. “Excuse my manners, Lady Lilithra and Sir Selorien, My name is Ascalon Rendland, head knight of Wyrmland’s Citadel and commander of the Golden Alliance of Excadia, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He spoke calmly but his words carried a deep reverence for the individuals before him.

The old-fashioned greeting took the pair by surprise, as they weren’t used to people being so… respectful?

They were accustomed to normal people, but also to a more rowdy crowd, or downright rude bastards. The rank he introduced himself with seemed incredibly important, but it usually meant nothing after coming to another world.

Still, Lilithra thought the blonde man was really cool, although a bit stiff, and Selorien simply wondered if he was just some kind of renaissance role-player. Ascalon, on the other hand, had a lot of things to ask his new acquaintances, but one of these had priority over the others at present. “Pardon me, but may I ask you a question?” He paused, awaiting confirmation from the other party.

Lilithra nodded, and her companion remained looking at the knight, inquisitively. Ascalon took the absence of an objection as a good sign, and continued. “Where… where are we?” The hooded duo looked at each other, confusion had now completely banished from their faces.

They both understood right there that what Selly had guessed before was pretty much on-point: Ascalon was a ‘wanderer’. “I don’t want to deal with this, so go ham Lil.” Said the hooded man, shrugging lazily. The girl on the other side frowned and sighed, but knew deep down that he was just being considerate of her.

She was really excited to explain stuff to the stranger, honestly! She promptly faced the knight again and smiled, speaking energetically. “First of all, nice to meet you, Ascalon! Oh wait, didn’t I already say that… Well, anyways! Welcome to the city of New Lumingard!” The girl exuded joy and a bit of nervousness while she opened her arms wide, as if to present the city to him. Ascalon couldn’t help but look around and take in the sights again, following on her actions.

New Lumingard, certainly a name he hadn’t heard before, which was strange. He had traveled far and wide in his quest, but had ever come across anything resembling the name, nor the inhabitants he had seen earlier. “I’m sure you’re confused, but let me guess! Did you come out of a vortex, uh, portal thingie?” She asked, crossing her arms triumphantly as her face formed a smug expression. She was totally sure of this, but Ascalon simply tilted his head, incertitude clouding his visage.

He took a moment to ponder, memories were a bit blurry still. But then answered truthfully. “I’m not really sure what you mean by that, Lady Lilithra. I only remember… waking up in a cellar of sorts.” He explained, trying to remember how he came to be.

Was he truly in another world? Lilithra made a worried expression, and felt a bit embarrassed after all she had said, but was mostly wondering if he was still disoriented. Also, the whole ‘lady” thing was giving her shivers, but in a good way? “Uhm, well… in this world, we get ‘wanderers’ from time to time.” Ascalon realized that the expression had a deeper meaning behind it, especially when she emphasized the word.‎ “Portals and, like, stuff linked to other worlds open randomly, and the people that pop out from them are what we call ‘wanderers’. They wander in, right?” She smiled and seemed pretty content.

It was indeed a concise classification. Selorien was pretending to doze off behind her, something Ascalon was trying to ignore as to not be rude. “I’m sure you’re one of them, you probably just don’t remember! It’s, uh, rare to see someone with their weapons and armor out… But it’s even more strange if they speak in an unknown language!” She lifted her finger in a triumphant fashion, as if she had just revealed some really cool facts.

Ascalon was actually impressed and intrigued by these so-called wanderers, mostly because of the aspect of traveling between worlds. It wasn’t such a far-fetched notion, since he knew Gods resided in a different plane, or maybe even a ‘world’, just like she was explaining.

If he was actually from an unknown beyond, it would explain many things, and maybe he could even go back. “And, well, you just give out that sort of… unknown aura, you know? Sorry, am I being rude?” She asked as she smiled shyly, feeling that she was being overly familiar with someone that she had just met, and that she felt had a more respectful or dignified attitude.

Ascalon smiled warmly, and bowed a bit once again.‎ “You are not being rude, Lady Lilithra. On the contrary, I am deeply grateful for your helpfulness.” He stated as he raised his head, looking at the girl again.

She smiled from ear to ear, hands on her cheeks. She seemed really happy, once again. “He’s calling me a lady so much, a lady!!!” She tried to whisper to her companion, but of course Ascalon could hear it perfectly.

“He just doesn’t know you yet, Lil. But hey, enjoy it while you can, heh.” Selorien replied jokingly, as he grinned. The girl blushed and hit him on the shoulder, again.

Ascalon was taking note of that action, as she did it quite a lot actually, probably a form of affection between the two of them. He took a moment to interfere, as a question was gnawing at his mind. “Pardon me, but, is there a way I could… go back?” Both friends looked at him with a hint of sadness in their expressions and shook their heads, as Selorien took the reins of the conversation this time.

“Not that we know of. Wanderers just kinda end up here and that’s it… Never really thought about that, huh.” He stated, pondering for a moment. This made Ascalon feel a bit dismayed, since he wanted to return to the battlefield—to witness what had happened in his absence.

Seeing his expression, Lilithra tried to change the mood. ‎“But there might be one, you know? Just because we don’t know doesn’t mean there isn’t! Uhm, don’t give up!” Exclaimed the girl, smiling energetically and pumping her fists.

Ascalon nodded in appreciation, and decided to not think much about that matter for the time being. First, he had to get his bearings in this unfamiliar place. The afternoon was on its way out, and the street lights were shining more intensely. The passage of time made Lilithra remember something… They had forgotten completely about the kaiju alert.

She looked a bit nervous, and her eyes darted from the knight to her companion, giving him a knowing look. Then, she faced Ascalon once again. “You should come with us! I’ll explain everything later!” Lilithra exclaimed out of nowhere, in an energetic manner, skipping past him joyfully. Ascalon looked back, and saw the girl extending her hand and making a motion for him to follow.

Selorien sighed, and silently acknowledged that she finally remembered they were on patrol. Such a shame, he was actually having a bit of fun too. He then followed after his friend, nothing he could do about it.

Ascalon gazed at them as they started walking, and didn’t hesitate before deciding to join them. There were still a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but for now, it would have to wait. As he followed the pair, a familiar feeling made him stop and look back, a presence abnormal enough to be felt at a distance, an event similar to when he met the other two. Something was approaching.