Earth, Somewhere
An unbearable wave of nausea rushes through my body as my eyes slowly flutter open. Before me lies the endless expanse of space, dotted with stars in a pattern most unfamiliar to me, and behind me is a nice few(?) kilometers freefall before I smack into whatever is hiding behind those clouds. One might assume my aforementioned discomfort is because of my impending death, but one'd be mistaken.
D-damn it... Did I make a mistake in the spell formation? It wasn't this uncomfortable last time I travelled between worlds; then again, I didn't have a body last time. I curse myself to a swift death in my mind as the contents of my stomach spill out, leaving a colorful trail as I plummet towards dowards. Once my stomach is completely empty, I grimace in pain, bearing the ache in my belly to spin around facing the world beneath me, a world I've devoted the past millenium of my life to study in the hopes of seeing again. Of course, the moment I face downwards is when I finally hit the murky clouds below.
One serving of clean water to wash the bile from my mouth later and I'm finally greeted with the brightly lit planet that is Earth. Especially notable are those lights, since it seems my beloved new world has decided to greet me by dropping me into the sky above an unfamiliar but rather flashy neon city during the midst of a harsh storm in the middle of the night. A quiet sigh escapes my lips. I was hoping for a more welcome view, like green hills stretching in all directions, or a quiant European village basked in sunlight. Oh well, this is Earth, after all, not that place.
Realizing it likely wouldn't be in my best interests to go splat in the center of the crowded streets below given that the gods have graced me with some stealthy cover, I look around to find a quiet enough alley. Then, as if the laws of physics changed their mind about which direction gravity pulls what, I start falling at an angle with my arms spread out like a kite. Just before my face hits concrete, my body flips right side up, my shoulder-length hair and the sleeves on my robes floating in the air for a moment as my momentum is quickly quashed by a force of gravity pulling my body upwards.
One of my proudest accomplishments as a magician (because of the fun it provides!) has always been my research into the all-encompassing force of gravity. My control of my body's weight and the effects other objects have on it has reached the level where I once won a race flying with dragon. It was even fundamental in my last battle against the frost giants who wiped out my village along with all other northern peoples.
Well, the only reason I ever started studying this branch of magic was to find to cross between worlds; who knew a layman's knowledge of random sci-fi could be so useful?
As my feet touched the ground, any such stray thoughts immediately end as I'm struck with a sudden dizziness spell. Collapsing onto my hands and knees to support myself from falling into a puddle. "I-is this also that damned spell...?" I groan in a meek but notably frustrated voice as I maneuver the mana in my body to find out what's wrong. Which is when I finally realize a key issue that I somehow neglected to consider before.
The density of mana in the atmosphere in this world pales in comparison to the other, it seems. Which would make sense given how not widespread magic was last time I was on Earth. In fact, it's so lacking in comparison to the solid-as-incorporeal-rock density of my own that the world seems content to wrest it out to compensate. Though it pains me, I have no choice to expel mana from my body until only a fraction is left and the dizziness (which is, by the way, a warning sign of much worse things to come) dissapates with it.
I guess I'll have to settle for not being on top of my game until I find a way to increase the mana density of Earth. An underground planet wide managnet perhaps? I chuckle slightly at the terrible pun that's as ridiculous an idea as it is a terrible pun.
Realizing I was daydreaming again, I cough and stand up on my legs, feeling a lot lighter than normal. Quickly spinning to look around the alleyway, I realize it's not as empty as I initially thought, as I find myself face-to-face with a homeless-looking old gentleman staring at me with a gaping maw. No, wait. He's looking at my clothes. I look down at the shabby black robes and worn cloak as a blush covers my face. I probably look like some weird fantasy movie character; well, I guess it's not far from the truth. Giving a quick bow to the man, I throw the hood of my cloak over my head, hiding my face best as I can as I brusquely runwalk out of the alley.
Ignoring the odd looks the strangely-dressed Earthlings give me to the best of my ability (which isn't very well), I look around and marvel at the familiar yet distinct view. It seems cityscapes have become a lot brighter, as each of the skyscrapers and otherwise towering buildings that dot the wide roadside as well as undersides of the elevated roads themselves shine with purple strips of neon lights and advertisements for anything imaginable illuminates the streets. Well, anything imaginable to a person of Earth from my time; not a single alchemist shop, such a shame~. But having said that, what is an "Alaitasal" pharmacy? And this plastic surgeon deals in cybernetic enhancements? The unfamiliar words my brows twitch as I come to a sudden realization as to why everything looks so different from what I remember.
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I quickly grab the smallest and most feeble looking schoolgirl I see and ask in the most tranquil voice I can muster, "WH-WHAT YEAR IS IIIIT?!" What was I thinking; of course I wouldn't come back to the exact time that I died in my previous life. I never kept count, but it should've been a few years since. At the very least.
The girl screams something about me being a pervert, much to chagrin. "Rude kids these days..." I grumble to myself as she shoves me. Before I can complain though, I see a somewhat out-of-place flash of light from her hands and a coldness spreads through my lower body. Looking down curiously, I find my legs to be encased in a block of ice. "Chantless ice magic at this level? From a kid no less? No wait, there shouldn't be magic in this world at all." Completely forgetting about the girl running away, I easily shatter the ice with a single pulse of mana before picking up a shard and finding, much to my surprise, there was no mana within.
"It's not magic?" I stare at it in confusion, a bit indignant that I have no idea what it is. Before I have the chance to store it away, though, it shatters in my hand in response to a very loud siren sounding out in the sky. Looking up, my mouth is left absolutely agape as what appears to be a metal golem nearly thrice the height of any Earth human lands and a fancy coat of arms on it's chest with a loud bang on the street which cleared out rather quickly at the sound of the alarm. I'm left in stunned silence, staring down the rather menacing machine as another pair of slight smaller giants on either side of me as well as 20 people-sized people wearing some bulky futuristic armors. Huh, everything seems to be covered in the same strips of purple light as the city itself; way to keep things color-coordinated, guys!
"I-is this the legendary mecha?! They don't look as fancy as they did in anime, though." I commented out loud as I look back fondly on my old Earth days. The first mecha responds by lifting it's arm towards me, palm opening up to reveal a wide gun barrel. It seems my attitude annoyed the pilot, but that's still really cool-looking.
"Foreigner, how do you cause mischief here! How did you get into the empire without an ID?!" An irritable woman's voice echoes from within the metal hull.
"How can you possibly know I don't have an ID? Do I need an ID to be here? Actually, what mischief? Where is this? Who am I?" I quickly try to change my game and play the amnesia card, but it's probably too late for that, judging by the ominous purple light that begins gathering in that literal hand cannon pointing at me. "I, uh... I fell from the skies?"
My decision to obediently comply somehow doesn't turn out well either. "Immediately arrest him!" The woman with anger issues shouts as the cannon fires off, a ray of purple light shooting at my legs. Luckily, the great me is a step ahead of the curve as always and I start falling immediately upwards into the skies. Most of the little foot soldiers watch in confusion, but the girl in charge seems to have a decent head on her shoulders (or she's just too pissed off to question my ability to fly) and lunges at me faster than I can flee, planting a solid punch to my abdomen.
I cough up blood, conviniently splattering it onto the damned hunk of metal's helmet and I rocket backwards through the air, slamming into the wall of a nearby buildings. I quickly free myself and look down at the mecha from the sky, breathing heavily. "Fuck, I don't have enough mana for my usual enchantments... I could've died if not for my protective amulet." I look down at the shining necklace hiding beneath my robes, now covered in cracks. "Oi, little girl! I thought you wanted to arrest me, not kill me!" I shout in frustration as I start flying away as quickly as I can into the skies over the city.
I guess it's time to use that. Haah, I haven't had to use my signature escape technique in some thousands of years. I grab the amulet and tear it off my neck, before doing the same to the two plain bronze bangle I wear around my arms. I hold them up before my face and spray a bloody mist from my mouth, coating all three of the items before turning around to face the mecha that's uncomfortably close. However, I just smirk and stick my tongue out-- perhaps a bit immaturely-- as I toss the bangles in front of me. The amulet disintegrates in my hand as a nearly transparent blue bubble surrounds my body and the bangles start shining as well.
"BURST!" I shout excitedly, my lazily drooping eyes expanding wide open as I clap my hands together. Just on queue, the light irradiated from the bangles becomes blindingly bright shortly suceeded by a very satisfying boom; however, I don't get much time to enjoy such a cathartic explosion. Everything goes dark as I'm knocked unconcious, my giant bubble shooting off into the distance faster than the eye can follow.
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A few minutes later, on one of the city's many airborne roads, a very expensive giant metal hand crawls out from a pile of rubble, shortly followed by a badly dented very expensive mecha. The previously brilliant purple lights covering it have dimmed as it slowly kneels on the empty street and a hatch opens up, allowing for a tall, tomboyish girl to fall out, panting in exhaustion as she looks back at the damaged machine before sweeping her short, curly black hair from her face, glaring with sharp eyes at an orb inside as a crack slowly spreads across it. When it snaps in half, the girl's somehow repressed rage also snaps as she punches the metal thing's crotch and lets out a scream loud enough to rival the explosion itself. "AAAAAAAAAAH, FUCK YOU!"