Beguiling encounter

Blinding hues of red and blue lights flashed, and the loud, piercing sound of sirens filled the air. The murmuring sound of the spectators added to his headache. The throbbing continued to escalate, numbing all the other senses.

“Why…a…rrrr…so loud?”

His words were slurred, mostly limited to his mind. The pain penetrated every inch of his being, blurring his vision, demanding that he give in to rest. The faces of the noisy agonizers distorted; slowly his lids lowered and lowered as his body felt numb. Lifting in a deep slumber, with his senses finally giving him the peace he craved.

“………..”

His rest was short-lived; in the dark void, he could hear voices from the other side. He took a step towards them, and the sound of splattering water echoed with each step he took. Unconsciously, he continued taking step after step. The smell of mould and wet sand filled his nostrils, creating a blur reminiscent of rain. He knew he loved the smell of it.

He finally stopped walking, though it was obscure, and he was able to make out that it was a door. The place where he stood was dark, though there were splashing sounds. He reached for the knob. Why am I even opening this thing? His thoughts finally returned. Though he had forgotten about his inevitable death, he remained certain that he always wanted a retry of life; that was his longing desire as soon as his brother perished.

He had spun the knob, and there he stood, leaning against a wall. He blinked, taking a few steps away from where he stood. Before he had the time to process his surroundings, a girl’s voice called out to him from behind. Turning around, he saw a brown-haired girl. She said something, but the words were unrecognisable. She looked at him with gleaming eyes, awaiting a response. He decided to rely on gestures; he lifted his hand to his head in his mind, hello. He waved his hand from left to right How are you? Finally lifting his index finger, he pointed in every direction. Where am I?

The girl stood there in bewilderment; her expression changed.

“Can you not talk… or are you still unable to comprehend?”

A female voice echoed within him; he knew that it was in his head, for he was experienced in talking to himself. But this voice was not his, but hers. He looked at the girl who stood there looking at him. Noticing his expressions, a gentle smile took over her face.

“I am sorry; I shouldn’t have mind contacted you.” She took a step towards him and tilted her head; every move that she made was gentle. Reaching out to him, she took his hand in her small palms. “I know you are scared… because this is a completely new world, but trust me, you will love it here.”

Her blue eyes shone, she left his hand, and took a step back. Closing her eyes with a bright smile, she raised her hand. The wind blew with her dramatic expressions. The words she uttered next would feel dreadful if he were to hear them again, if paired with such purity.

“Welcome to Star Awesome.”

“Star awesome?”

He realised the words she uttered were not in Japanese yet familiar to him. In his actual world he had never heard anything of this sort. But as long as he was able to communicate, he was at peace. Another warm smile was presented to him. 

“I am glad you were able to grasp onto the star area language.”

“Star area...does everything here start with ‘star’?”

“N-no, there is the moon area and, um, the demon land, and, um, the lands in the star area also don’t initialize with the star.”

She took a moment to think; taking a few steps back, she closed her eyes, and the palms of her hands began glowing, and a comforting white light surrounded them in the blink of an eye. Flowing together, moving peculiarly, the light, which seemed more like water, displayed before him a map. He was too mesmerized, and he slightly jumped back to reality as he heard her

“My name is Philomena, and what is yours?”

“I am Ren.”

“Well, Ren, this is a fantasy realm, or you could say a dimension… the one you are probably from, lacks magical abilities…… This flat dimension contains no universe but some stray non-orbiting planets and three major areas.” She took a step forward and pointed at the magical map she had created, tracing her fingertip along what seemed to be an enormous land. She looked at him.

“This is the star area, where you are… The Star Area is an enormous kingdom with many sub-kingdoms and their rulers.”

He wasn’t understanding much of it; the whole dimension thing reminded him of relativity theories in physics, and that just took all the magic out of everything.

“U-um….Philomena, can we skip on all that….. I have watched plenty of isekai to understand the basics… I was summoned here as a warrior to defeat the demon king, right? Hmmm, I do wonder how I came here. I can’t even recall what I was doing, but I am glad I am in a fantasy world……. I am sure things are going to be epic here at least.”

The lightning disappeared; she looked at him confused, slightly diverting her eyes to the left, and then she looked back at him longingly.

“Oh hey! Grandma”

The two of them turned around and saw a white-haired girl. She was about as tall as he, and her voice was slightly heavier and more mature compared to Philomena's. She walked up to them, and there was one thing that stood out: her legs. She reached out to Philomena, wrapping her arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders. Philomena opened her mouth to speak, but the other one covered her mouth. A smug look took over her face; leaning into Ren while keeping a grip on Philomena, she touched her nose to his.

Ren went into a state of heavenly shock; his entire life, he was in the wrong world. This anime trope was all that he desired, all that he deserved—

He was shocked when he heard

“Stay away from her.”

The taller girl took Philomena by the hand and waved him bye, and the two vanished into thin air, leaving Ren alone.