Emptiness
Darkness.
Silence that stretched endlessly.
Ishin floated like a feather without weight, he was in a void where there was nothing. There was no ground beneath his feet. There was no sky above his head. There was no heat. There was no cold. He just felt emptiness.
He hadn't stopped breathing.
But he wasn't dead, he was still alive.
His thoughts were still there, scattered like broken glass - shards of memories glinting with and without attention.
The battle he had faced before.
His anger.
His pain.
His fall and trembling.
One moment—
A voice from the silence.
"Ukaski... only you can save us."
Soft, but hopeless. Echoing throughout the empty space, a deep, painful regret and helplessness filled him.
"The future of this world depends on you.. Please save this world."
Then —
A bright light.
In the distance, it shone like a dying star. It spoke to him.
Ishin focused his eyes in that direction, his fingers trembling.
The light came towards him unexpectedly.
Then —
Booooom!!
---
The Unknown World
Ishin's breath hitched, his lungs felt like they had been drowning for hours.
Cold air rushed into his chest. Fresh. Crisp. But there was something unfamiliar about it.
He was alive.
But where?
Slowly, he pressed his hands to the ground, his fingers sinking into the soft earth. Grass?
His vision blurred, adjusting to the strange glow around him. When it became clear, his breath caught.
He was in a forest—but a different forest than any he had ever seen.
Huge trees with shiny blue leaves stretched toward the sky. Strange flowers floated above the ground, shimmering with soft light, swaying to a silent rhythm. The sky above was a deep violet, and two moons shone with a mysterious glow, one large but dark, the other small but dark.
His chest tightened.
"This... this is not my world. Am I dreaming again, or did Rin cast some kind of spell?"
Ishin struggled to get up, his body still aching from the bruises from his last battle.
"That assassin... did he kill me?"
More importantly—
"How am I still alive?"
His thoughts became a puzzle, but before he could understand anything—
A sound.
A low rumble.
His head jerked in that direction.
Not far away, hidden behind tall trees, was a wooden cart.
---
First Contact
The cart was old, its wheels covered in dried mud. But it wasn't empty; the back was covered with something.
People could be seen behind the cloth.
At first glance, they looked like humans. But as Isshin got closer, his breath caught in his throat.
Demi-humans.
Some had long, pointed ears. Others had sharp, glowing eyes. A few had tails that swung behind them.
His muscles tightened. Was it safe to approach them?
He got close when—
A small voice shouted.
"Please! Help us!"
Ishin's eyes widened.
A little girl peered out from the cage in the carriage, her small hands reaching out towards him. Her silver hair gleamed in the moonlight, and her large cat-like eyes filled with fear.
Ishin's chest tightened.
But before he could react—
BOOM!!
The ground shook.
Ishin turned sharply—
Stepping out of the shadows were men clad in black armor.
Tall, silent. Menacing. Their armor gleamed unnaturally, and Ishin realized it wasn't made of any metal he recognized.
Each of them carried a weapon—smooth, dark, unnatural. Not swords. Not guns. Something else...
One of them raised a hand, pointing it directly at Ishin.
"Grab him."
Ishin's blood ran cold.
"What?! Catch me?!"
Two soldiers gasped loudly.
Ishin barely escaped, backing away. His body was weak, but his instincts were sharp. His hands clenched tightly into fists.
He laughed, his breathing uneven.
"Tch. That's a lot for a peaceful start."
The soldiers attacked.
Ishin, who had whistled and sat on the ground—
Fought to escape from here.
---