"They need you. HE needs you

  "Huh?

  Before I could even process it, an intense but warm light enveloped me, blinding my eyes. I covered them with my arms. Without understanding what was happening... my consciousness faded.

  ...

  After who-knows-how-long—minutes? hours?—I regained consciousness again. The smell of the forest filled my nose. A few seconds later, I slowly opened my eyes, as if waking from a very long dream... In front of me was a wooden ceiling, illuminated by the flickering, shifting light of a fire. I could hear the crackling of burning wood, the whistling of wind through the tree leaves, but apart from that... nothing. No birds singing, no crickets, none of the sounds I would expect in a forest. As if the world itself was afraid of being heard...

  In the middle of the confusion, one question arose: Where am I?

  This isn't my house, nor my friends', nor any relative's. Did something happen and I'm in a hospital? But... nothing hurts... Wait... Could it be... Was I kidnapped?

  That single thought was enough to make my body tremble. Slowly, I turned my head... my gaze landed on the other side of the room. There, seated, was a young man. He didn't seem very tall, black curly hair, tanned skin, and eyes... golden? He wore a black coat with green patterns. His gaze was dark, as though he were watching every single one of my movements. But something else caught my attention. I looked down... In his right hand was some kind of sword... My eyes widened. My heart began pounding hard and fast, my breathing quickened. Before I could even think what to do, he spoke:

  "??: Otihcīx? Axān, aquīn tic?"

  Was it because of fear? I didn't understand a single word... but that didn't matter. I was clearly in danger. Almost on instinct, I jumped out of the bed and ran as fast as I could.

  "T: ! H... HEEELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE!"

  Fear completely took over. I stumbled toward the nearest door and pushed it with all my strength, violently flinging it open. I heard part of the lock break as it flew. In front of me appeared the image of a beautiful forest brightly lit by moonlight, under a sky full of stars—something I would have undoubtedly stopped to admire if I weren't running for my life. But before I could take a single step outside... the young man spoke.

  "??: TLEIN TICCHīHUA? XIMOCāHUA!"

  In that instant I felt my body freeze—not from fear. Something was preventing me from moving forward. I tried to run faster, but I couldn't. After a few moments I realized... I was floating in the air. What's happening? I can't escape? Is this... the end? Tears began to well up in my eyes.

  "T: Please don't hurt me... let me go..."

  My voice sounded broken, resigned to begging for the young man's mercy and humanity—the one standing behind me.

  "??: ?XIMOC... UP! Idiot, do you want to die?"

  My eyes opened slightly in surprise. I... I understood. He spoke in English? No, it was... strange. It wasn't English, but somehow I began to understand his words. Yet they were far from comforting, and his irritated tone didn't help either.

  "T: NO... please don't kill me, please."

  I said between sobs, tears streaming down my cheeks.

  "??: Kill you? What are you...? Just shut up, idiot, and stop crying. You'll attract them if you keep screaming like that."

  His voice was low, barely loud enough for me to hear from where I was. My body turned around until I faced him. I felt the floor beneath my feet again... I lifted my gaze toward the unknown young man. He was extending his left arm toward me, pointing... a stick? I looked more closely. Indeed—he wasn't very tall; I was probably a few centimeters taller than him. He didn't look especially strong either, was slim. I can... Can I beat him? If I fight... I glanced at the sword again. Real or not, I couldn't risk finding out. My eyes met his. He looked... confused, somewhat irritated, and... scared?

  "??: Listen. I'm going to release you, but only if you promise to stay quiet and not run off like an idiot. Okay?"

  I didn't know if he would hurt me—at least not right now. I couldn't be sure, but for the moment I had no choice but to obey.

  "T: O... okay."

  I murmured. Almost immediately I felt that strange pressure preventing me from moving freely disappear. I looked strangely at my own body, moving my arms and legs slightly. What just happened? Slowly a pain in my right arm began to make itself known. When I looked, I saw a wound on my forearm that was bleeding—probably from the door. I brought my other hand to it and a slight grimace of pain appeared on my face.

  "??: You hurt your arm. Let me see..."

  The young man sheathed his sword at his waist and took a step forward, extending his hand toward me. Instinctively I stepped back, bumping into the doorframe.

  "T: DON'T TOUCH ME!"

  "??: Calm down, girl. I won't hurt you. Now show me your arm."

  He stopped when he saw me retreating. It really seemed he had no intention of harming me. With no other options, I decided to trust his words and extended my arm toward him. After a few seconds of him examining the wound, he brought closer the stick he was holding—which, now that I saw it up close, was... a wand? From the tip a warm, faint green glow began to emanate.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "T: Huh?"

  Almost instantly I felt the pain lessen, and in the next moment the wound had completely disappeared, leaving only the little blood that had flowed.

  "T: W... what?"

  "??: Looks like it was just superficial. Now—who are you? What are you doing here? What kind of suicidal idiot makes so much noise? What was that light? Was that your magic? ..."

  I could hear the young man bombarding me with questions, but my mind was still processing what had just happened... What was that? He... brought his hand close, that light appeared, and then my wound... One of his words caught my attention.

  "T: M... magic?"

  Wait—that can't... it's not possible... right? But... my arm, the light, all of this... Is this a dream?

  "??: Yes, magic. Was that 'shooting star' yours? How did you do it? What was it? Or was it not magic?"

  My heart began beating fast again—not from fear, but from growing disbelief and excitement. Suddenly an idea crossed my mind.

  "T: Another world?"

  I remembered all those novels, mangas, and animes about people being transported to another world... and now... Am I in that situation?

  "T: I'm in another world..."

  My eyes began to shine with excitement and confusion as those same feelings coursed through my body, replacing the fear from moments before. Almost unconsciously I started jumping.

  "T: I'm in another world, I'm in another world..."

  I laughed—laughed too loudly—clutching my chest. My heart was beating so hard it almost hurt. Remembering all the fantasy stories I had read, my mind began to soar.

  "T: Wait... that means I must have some special ability, right? Or I must be super strong... STATUS!... uh... ?Status!? Ahhh..."

  I tried hard to open some kind of ability window, inventory, anything—but nothing happened.

  "??: Another world, stat...? Idiot, I told you to be quiet."

  The young man's voice snapped me back. I returned my attention to my current situation. A stranger stood in front of me. I didn't know his intentions or where I was, but... he had healed me, and so far hadn't hurt me, so for now I could trust him... right?

  "T: S... sorry."

  I lowered my voice and stood still.

  "??: That's better. Now... could you start answering my questions? Who are you?"

  He looked much more relaxed, his face showing genuine confusion and curiosity. While being bombarded with questions again, I took a few seconds to think about my answers.

  "T: My name is Titlauili. I... don't know what I'm doing here or how I got here. I don't know anything about that light either, and I... come from..."

  I hesitated for a moment. Is it safe to say I come from another world? Will it be seen as something bad? Are the people here xenophobic? Will he even believe me? After another couple of seconds of doubt, I finally made the decision.

  "T: ...I... come from another world... I think."

  "??: Another world?"

  I let out a short, nervous laugh.

  "T: This is incredible, this is impossible... this... this is wrong... has to be a dream... right?"

  When did I fall asleep? Think: You were with your friends, the light, and then... nothing... I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. 1:00 a.m. I opened messages, tried calling my mom... no signal. The young man watched me, confused, while I desperately searched for answers. Nothing fit. Everything felt too real—the damp forest smell, the cold on my skin, the weight of the phone in my hand... I was awake. Even though the situation was absurd, it wasn't a dream. So... it's real? No... it can't be real. If this is another world... then my parents, my brother, my friends... my life... My eyes slowly opened as the initial excitement dissolved.

  How did I get here? Will I go back? Can I go back?

  No, this can't be real. No matter how real it feels, there has to be an explanation—a lucid dream, a hallucination, something... My thoughts began to spiral without pause. The world spun, my vision narrowed, a high-pitched buzz filled my ears, my hands tingled as I clutched my head... Breathe... I can't... When I realized it, I was crouched on the cold wooden floor, trembling, hyperventilating, crying.

  "T: I'm dreaming, this isn't real, this isn't real..."

  I repeated over and over, trying to get air into my lungs. Air entered, but it didn't reach anywhere. I lifted my gaze toward the young man in front of me. He can do magic—he must be the one who brought me here, right? Then... he can send me back...

  "T: PLEASE I WANT TO GO BACK, TAKE ME BACK PLEASE..."

  I cried and begged as I approached him, trying to reach him, dragging myself across the floor because my legs wouldn't respond.

  "??: Don't you understand what—?"

  A loud sound came from outside the cabin—a mixture of a snake's hiss and a roar.

  "??: Damn it... stay here."

  As if by instinct, the young man quickly drew his sword, pointed his wand at me, and in an instant the sound disappeared. He ran out, leaving me alone inside the cabin. I tried to follow him but when I ran forward I collided with... something. There was nothing, but it felt like a wall in front of me. I tried running in another direction, but it was as if I were trapped inside an impenetrable bubble. Seeing myself trapped...

  Questions without answers kept appearing one after another. I hugged myself in a futile attempt to calm down, and suddenly... light vibrations on the wooden floor caught my attention. I looked up through the broken door. Suddenly... "something" flew out, followed by something enormous that seemed to slice through the air. Flashes appeared as more things flew out. I could feel their impacts through the wood. I couldn't see them clearly, but they seemed about the size of a full-size pickup truck. They faded into the darkness of the forest, I wanted to keep watching, but before I could understand what was happening, my eyelids grew heavy, the world blurred, and I fell...

  "T: Huh...?"

  I was on the street with my friends. We were laughing. Christmas shopping bags hung from our hands as we chatted about our plans for the new year.

  "??: Seriously, you're such a nerd, Titla. You even brought your study stuff." —one of them said, smiling— "Having a dream like that... you know, once you leave we're really gonna miss you."

  "??: Yeah, you're abandoning us. Just promise you'll visit whenever you can."

  The other added, pretending to be dramatic even though her eyes gave her away.

  "T: There's still three years left, and it's not like I'm going to the lunar base—" I laughed "—whenever I can I'll visit you, or you can come visit me and we can travel around Europe together."

  I opened my arms to try to hug them, but when I was about to touch them—nothing. As if they were made of smoke... Again and again I tried to touch them.

  "??: Daughter... you forgot to say goodbye."

  The voice came from behind me. I turned. My mother, my father, and my brother stood in the distance. Immediately I tried to run toward them.

  "T: M... om...? No... wait... no... don't go..."

  I ran. They moved farther away. I ran even faster, but I didn't advance. As I watched my family and friends get farther and farther, I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Until finally... a light blinded me and I woke up with a start.

  "T: MOM!..."

  I sat up abruptly, hand stretched forward. A tear fell. In front of me was that room again... and him, sitting across from me, arms crossed, watching me. It seemed he had just woken up not long ago.

  "??: You're way too loud."

  He looked a bit irritated and had dark circles under his eyes as if he'd been awake all night. When I became aware of my surroundings again—the room, the presence of that young man, and the fact that I had just woken from a dream—it only confirmed what I feared... This is real. I really am in another world. The feelings of sadness, fear, and uncertainty returned, and the questions flooded back in. But perhaps because of exhaustion, this time I was a little calmer. I stayed silent at his words, looked away, and stared at my hands as if they weren't my own.

  "T: Am I dead?"