The air was thick with tension, Reiji fixed his eyes on a monster before him.
A bear-like rabbit squeezed him with its paws.
Reiji steadied his breaths, forcing himself to stay calm.
Not far away from them was a girl, she lifted her hand in the air.
Then she started chanting, "Sekhemu Netjeri, shamru'an Khema'nu Ani'i sagkot hotepu. Suedjet!" (Sleep!)
A shimmering bubble floated toward him.
*POP.
His eyelids grew impossibly heavy.
The pain vanished.
His limbs loosened.
His head drooped.
Darkness swept over him.
"Am I dead?" The thought flickered weakly.
No.
He was still dimly aware.
Conscious of movement.
He was being carried. Draped over the giant rabbit's shoulder like a sack of grain.
The girl's calm voice drifted beside him.
"Maa'ka Tani inanaka?" (Do you think he's the same?)
He slipped deeper into sleep again.
After some time.
Seconds?
Minutes?
Who knew?
But, he stirred again.
Her voice reached him once more, thoughtful, speculative.
"Ani shepra'an Nebtawi'n tapus Tani hanggang dulogwi." (I'll take care of the Nebtawi Mark on him once we get back.)
"Naka shepra'e Tani, kasi ini'naka Khemterra'lin uniraka." (We should understand him. These Earthborns are unpredictable.)
"Who… are you…?" he muttered.
But the darkness pulled him under again, heavier than before.
He tried to resist.
He tried to wake up.
He tried to hold onto anything.
But the harder he fought, the deeper he sank.
He floated in an endless void... weightless.
"What is the meaning of my existence?"
"How small and insignificant am I?"
"Will I uncover the mysteries my father never could?"
The questions echoed as he strayed in the empty world.
Then,
A vortex roared open behind him.
The void twisted, spiraled, and pulled him in like a star collapsing into itself.
He tried to scream.
but the darkness devoured him whole.
All of a sudden, he heard a voice that echoed softly, almost right next to his ear.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
His eyes snapped open.
He gasped for air and jolted upright.
"Why are you here?" the little girl's voice faded in the background.
Then froze, realizing he was lying on a bed of soft fur, framed by rough wood inside a small, rustic hut.
Stone hearth crackling softly at the center, shelves with jars and herbs along the corners.
Warm sunlight streamed through the windows, gently blinding him.
A cool breeze enveloped him with the rich scents of soil and wood.
It would have been tranquil.
If not for the glowing white bindings locking his wrists and ankles together.
"What?"
He squinted around, trying to piece together memories through the haze.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the massive rabbit creature crouched silently in one corner of the room.
Adrenaline surged.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But the bindings held tight.
He forced himself still, though his wide, frantic eyes betrayed him.
He kept his gaze locked on the massive rabbit.
"Calm down, will you? If we wanted you dead, you wouldn't be sitting comfortably inside a hut."
A voice came from across the room.
The little girl.
Her casual tone only made his panic spike.
But realization hit him.
"Wait—" Reiji's eyes widened, "did you just speak my language?!"
"No," she said flatly. "I'm speaking Paragian."
It took him some time to relax.
He breathed in deeply, exhaled sharply.
"This has been a success for whatever you're trying to achieve. What ever you say, I'm I believe. But why me? Where am I?"
"I don't owe you an explanation, and even if I do, it seems you've already created a scenario in your head."
"How can I not? This thing you're playing me for is affecting my mental health!" he snapped.
She said nothing.
She just stared.
Reiji scoffed.
"Enough with the games, untie me and let me go."
She remained silent and emotionless.
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
He thought that this had to be some elaborate simulation.
He'd either been abducted, drugged, or dropped into someone's twisted project.
"I like things like this, I know I'm an easy target for having no ties. But you could've asked for my consent instead of kidnapping me!" He snapped.
Bobbin's huge ears perked.
The little girl stroked them and whispered, "He doesn't seem to be defiled. Maybe it just… personality?"
"Personality?" Reiji grumbled.
"I'm surrounded by lunatics, what do you expect? If this is just a prank, you can let me out now."
"First, we're not crazy. Second, you walked in here, so you can walk yourself out."
He laughed sharply. "Not Crazy? With effort to show armored army riding lizards… sure."
"That's just a common drake," she said without blinking.
"Right. A mythical creature, little girl."
He wanted to applaud the realism– definitely a high-budget simulation.
"They're not mythical. But Bobbin here could be considered one."
"I don't care. But what I care is that you call that a walk in? That giant mascot you call Bobbin attacked me for no reason. Pretty sure he broke some of my bones."
"You hurt Bobbin first," she said bluntly. "Don't act like Bobbin is the problem."
Reiji inhaled through his nose, slow and deep, resisting the urge to scream.
"What?" she asked, completely unfazed.
"You've got a lot of attitude for someone who barely reaches my waist."
The little girl crossed her arms.
"Hey, mascot man," Reiji said toward Bobbin. "Great job on raising this child, that is good parenting."
"His name is Bobbin," the girl answered instead.
"Right. And he can be considered a mythical creature, yes?"
Reiji called Bobbin once again.
"Hey, mythical animal Bobbin-"
"You talk too much," the girl interrupted with a sigh. "I'm starting to regret bringing you here."
"Funny. I'm wondering the same thing. Why am I here?"
The little girl smirked.
"You always find something to say, don't you?"
He continued muttering under his breath.
The girl turned away. "He's not ready yet. We'll try again next time."
"Try again next time? Stop treating me like a test subject! Don't you know who I am? I'm Kokoshi Reiji, known as the Devourer of Histor-"
Bobbin stomped forward and shoved a massive chunk of meat straight into his mouth, cutting him off mid-rant.
Then the rabbit simply walked out of the hut.
Reiji gagged.
Muffling his furious complaints behind the meat.
The little girl pointed a finger towards a bowl of water.
"Crawl over there if you want. I've had enough of your talk for today."
The hut's door slammed shut, leaving him bound, gagged, and humiliated.
Outside, he heard her voice faintly.
"I can't stand it, Bobbin. He talks like a goblin."
Reiji spat the meat out onto the floor.
"I can still hear you! And at least release me from these bindings!" he yelled.
From outside.
"I already did. Stop complaining."
Reiji blinked.
He looked down.
The bindings were gone.
"What an apathetic little girl…"