{Grassy Field}
My entire body freezes. I don't even realize I am holding my breath until my lungs start to sting, the air in my chest turning stale and heavy. I slowly lift my head, my neck clicking with a stiff, painful pop, and look up.
High above, a mythological creature cut through the gray sky—its massive wings stretching out like a living eclipse. Each flap send waves of air down that hit the ground like a physical disaster. My sneakers slid in the slick, bloody mud, and I nearly go down as the heavy wind tries to rip me off my feet. I hunch my shoulders to keep from being blown backward.
It is a giant black dragon, a mythological creature in fantasy stories.
I stay put, paralyzed, not daring to move a single finger. I try to force my breathing to be slow and steady. I shallow, quiet puffs of air, praying that the thing won't notice a speck like me in the middle of all this carnage. My heart is pounding so hard against my ribs I think they might actually crack.
"What is this kind of creature?"
I mumbled, looking at it, panicking, afraid that it will see me and attack me.
Hope it's not noticed me...
I thought, Stay calm, keep breathing slowly and steadily.
The dragon lets out a sudden, guttural growl that I feel in my teeth more than I heard it. Then, with one massive flap of its wings, it flies toward the mountain peaks in the distance. The wind from its departure nearly knocks me away, leaving me standing there in the middle of the lawn, gasping for air and completely speechless.
The silence that follow is heavy and suffocating. I swipe a smear of grit from my face, my hand trembling so hard that I can't even control it. Suddenly, a massive building catches my eye. In my eyes, it looks like a Kingdom in some fantasy stories.
"What is that building? A Kingdom?"
I guessed, hesitating to go there.
A minute of thinking later, I sigh.
"I guess I need to be safe, so I have to be there... I guess."
I stand up, scratching my head and trying to brush the thick layer of dust off my school uniform, though it just seems to smear into the damp fabric. I start walking toward the massive structure in the distance—the only thing I can call a kingdom. I have been lying on a high, grassy hill, so I have to pick my way down the slope to get any closer. As I descend, my eyes catch a movement; a crowd of people is organized in some kind of formation outside the main gate.
I guess I'll have to talk to them...
I thought. A worried expression on my face.
Hope nothing goes wrong...
As I get closer to the place, I realize something: this place isn't just big; it is magnificent. The entire building is wrapped in massive stone walls that are like a giant shield, protecting whatever is inside the building.
That's definitely a kingdom...
{Kingdom Gate}
As I try to come near that Kingdom and touch the wall, a voice appears from the gate.
"What are you doing, kid?"
I freeze, tense up as I hear someone's voice.
I slowly turn around, seeing two men with silver armors look like knights coming from the gate toward me.
They both wear silver armor and look like twins, with nearly identical faces. The main difference was their hair: the one on the left has brown hair, while the one on the right has dark brown hair.
"I never saw this kid before..."
One of them said, looking at me curiously.
"You are right... What is that outfit?"
The other one said. Look at me like a strange creature.
I'm standing there, frozen at their nitpicking.
It's been a while since I tried to talk to someone...
I clear my throat, trying to talk to two men.
"Oh... Um... Who are you guys?"
Two men look at me and look at each other.
"Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves."
One of them said, and the other came toward me and raised his hand for a handshake.
"We are gatekeepers of the Serenvale Kingdom."
I am surprised at their response.
"So it's a kingdom… but Serenvale? I've never heard of it…"
I stood there, lost deep in my own head, when something finally snapped.
Wait... how the hell do I understand them?!
My brain stall; I stare at them talking, and their language, somehow, those foreign words I'm hearing feel familiar and awkward. It feels like it's my first language and also not.
I try to stay calm, thinking back to those anime where these protagonists just magically know the language the second they land in another world. But in those stories, it is always a God's blessing or some "Translation Automatic" magic that also comes from God or their abilities. It is the classic trope, but listening with my own ears feels weird and awkward.
"So, can you introduce yourself, kid?"
"Me? Oh... Uh..."
I stuttered, not knowing how to answer their question.
Before they could hear my introduction, a voice behind them.
"Hey, gatekeepers, can I get in?"
It's a female voice, soft and gentle, like a quiet breeze in the air.
The gatekeepers and I both snap our heads toward her at the same time. My breath catches in my throat, and I feel my eyes go wide as I take her in. Only one word to describes this girl in my eyes is "beautiful". Her blonde hair is long and bright. But it is her eyes that really got me; they were a deep, captivating blue, sparkling with a kind of intensity that felt like stars or constellations in the galaxy. She looks a little older than me, maybe one or two years older than me.
She is wrapped in heavy gold and silver armor that looked impossibly clean compared to the dirt on my sneakers. It feels like we were standing in two different worlds. She, a shining statue of a warrior, and I, a kid in a normal and common school uniform. She also wears a light blue skirt. My gaze drifts to the center of her chestplate, and I feel a weird, cold jolt of recognition.
Right in the center of her chestplate and shoulder is a gold sigil: A sword pointed down like a cross. A sword with two wings beside it. Somehow, I got attracted to that sigil.
She notices me, who is standing behind the gatekeepers.
"Who is tha—"
Those two gatekeepers cut her off.
"Lady Alice... You can get inside the Kingdom."
Both of the gatekeepers said, hiding me behind their back.
That female knight ignores them and pushes them aside to see me.
As our eyes meet, a strange, sickening feeling shot through me. It isn't just a look; it felt like a physical connection, a heavy weight pressing against my head. My head starts to throb, and for a second, my vision blurs until the battlefield around me vanished.
Suddenly, a scene flashes in my mind. I see a woman collapsing onto the ground, her body hitting the ground with a heavy thud as rain hammering down around her. I strain to see her, my head screaming for the important details and information about that woman, but I can't even see her face. Something blurs her face.
The information feels like it is being shoved into my head from nowhere. I blink, trying to catch my breath after that experience. I am still standing there, staring at the blonde woman in the gold armor. I have seen her before, but I don't know anything about her. But that strange feeling is still there, a familiar feeling I never felt before.
Do I know this girl? What is this kind of familiar and weird feeling...?
The others looking at me, confused, until that female knight spoke up.
"Hello there! My name is Alice Valoria, and I'm from the Holy Knights. It's nice to meet you! May I ask for your name?"
Alice Valoria? A foreigner?
Alice looks at me, standing there, not responding to her question, and she asks me again.
"Hey? May I know your name?"
Her words snap my thoughts.
"Oh... Sorry..."
I apologized and started answering her question.
"My name is Zin Fortis."
I said, a little bit embarrassed, because my name sounds weird, and I haven't talked to someone for a long time.
"Zin... Fortis...?"
She was mumbling my name repeatedly.
"I never heard this name before. Where are you from?"
She asked curiously.
"Me? I'm... from another world, I think. I don't know where I'm at right now."
I said casually, not knowing the gatekeepers and Alice's expression had changed.
Alice's face darkens, turning to the gatekeepers.
"You two, go tell His Majesty and other guild leaders about this, NOW!"
She said with no hesitation; the request was like an order, a command.
Those gatekeepers say no word, understand her, and quickly get inside the Kingdom. I turn and look at them curiously.
"Where are they going?"
I mumbled quietly so that only I can hear it.
Somehow, Alice hears it and silently staring at me.
Minutes later, the two gatekeepers returns. One of them carries an old fiber rope, rough and worn like it has been used countless times before. The other held a large brown leather sack, it's large enough to fit one or two watermelons. They walk toward Alice to report something to her, their voices low enough so I can't able to hear them.
"Everyone is already inside."
One of them said, getting approval from Alice.
"I will go inside; you guys take care of that inside."
She said, going inside the Kingdom.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Both said, turning their attention toward me.
Before she steps inside the Kingdom, she pauses and glances back at me. For a moment, her gaze soften.
"Everything will be fine… I'm sorry, for being rudeness."
Her voice is soft and gentle, almost reassuring, like she truly means it. Her eyes lingers on me, studying my expression as if she is trying to ease whatever fear she is there, as if she can somehow close the distance between us with just that look.
"It's how we greet someone special like you."
After that, she turns and walks inside.
I stand there, frozen, her words echoing in my head as I try to make sense of everything happening around me.
Special...?
I thought something about this feels wrong.
A faint shift behind me.
Before I can react, one of the gatekeepers holding the rope step in close. I feel something rough brush against my wrists and tighten.
"What? Wait, what are you doing?!"
Panic surges through me as the rope cinched tighter. I try to resist, but it is useless as they tie it tighter each time I resist.
The other gatekeeper says no word and puts the large brown leather sack over my head to limit my vision.
"WHAT?!"
My voice comes out louder this time, sharp and desperate as panic takes over.
The air inside the sack feels thick, suffocating, and every sound outside becomes dull and distant.
This is like a nightmare... like hell...
I thought, sighing dejectedly.
Then, through the muffled silence, I hear them.
"Hope we get praised after this."
One of them whispered.
"Me too."
The other replied.
They are talking while doing something.
My thoughts spiraled.
Praise? For What?
Suddenly, I feel myself lifted.
"Wait- what?! HELP!"