A Brand New World

  “Where am I?” thought Maxwell as he took in his new surroundings.

  He had been strapped to a leather chair bound for death just moments ago and yet now he found himself in an open field.

  The sun was shining and for once in a long time he was able to breathe in fresh air.

  He had forgotten what it felt like to be outside, he’d never noticed how much he missed it. 

  After years of being confined to the darkness the sun was almost blinding.

  As much as he wanted to just live in the moment and take in all the joys that the outdoors had to offer, the question still remained.

  Where was he?

  As if reading his thoughts a mysterious voice answered. “You’re on the outskirts of Arion, just outside The Kingdom of Dulciena.” 

  Maxwell looked around for whoever had spoken to him but the only thing he could see was a small albino cat basking in the sun just a few feet away from him.

  “You still haven’t answered my question” said the cat. “Are you the great hero, Maximus Luminose?”

  Maxwell was stunned for a moment. “A talking…cat?”

  The cat looked at him with a puzzled expression. “What’s a cat?”

  Now that Maxwell could get a better look at the talking “cat” he noticed a multitude of irregularities. Unlike the common feline this creature had two tails and wore a cloth patch over one of its eyes.

  “How peculiar” thought Maxwell out loud.

  Looking around he noticed even more irregularities with the world around him. He spotted two moons in the sky, a fishlike creature the size of an airplane soaring above him and a heard of strange deer with wings and three eyes.

  Once he had a moment to collect his thoughts, he turned to the cat-like creature with an expression that gave nothing away.

 “You mentioned something about a kingdom?”

  The creature’s only response was to flick its ear before licking a paw and smoothing a patch of fur on its head that had been sticking up.

  After what felt like an eternity the creature spoke. “I guess you’re not Maximus after all. I should have known as much when I saw you lying in flesh weed.”

  Maxwell gave a confused look. “Flesh weed?”

  The creature gestured to the spot where Maxwell was lying.

  On the ground were dozens of small red hairs. They seemed harmless as they swished back and forth in the breeze. 

  It wasn’t until he felt the light breeze hit his back that he finally realized the danger. He reached around and felt the large hole that had suddenly appeared in his prison jumpsuit. 

  He immediately got to his feet and moved away from the strange plant.

  The creature burst out with laughter. “Now you’re getting it! those things take awhile but if your not careful they’ll eat all the flesh off your bones.”

  Maxwell had never heard of such a plant. He had felt nothing and yet a patch of his clothing had been consumed.

  From everything he had seen so far it seemed obvious that he was no longer on earth.

  He had remembered reading stories and playing video games when he was younger that had similar plots.

  A person is summoned or reincarnated into another world.

  Usually the person in those stories would become incredibly strong and be surrounded by a harem of love interests.

  Maxwell looked at the creature who was now licking itself.

  Clearly this wasn’t like one of those stories.

  “I’ve never heard of this “Maximus” you keep going on about.”

  The creature paused its licking. “Well you look just like him, except for that scar.”

  “Interesting” thought Maxwell. So he has a doppelgänger in this world. That or this creature was just confused.

  “Can you tell me a bit more about this world? For example how far away is this Kingdom of Dulciena you spoke of?”

  “It’s only about half a days journey north from here.”

  Maxwell looked up at the sun and extended his arm so that his hand was between the sun and the horizon. This may not be his sun but he should still be able to measure how much daylight he had left before sunset.

  The creature burst out with laughter again. “What are you doing? is that some kind of greeting?”

  The creature began playfully mimicking Maxwell’s actions by putting its paw up to the sky.

  Maxwell was becoming annoyed. 

  A part of him considered putting an end to its laughter permanently. Then he reminded himself that right now the creature’s knowledge of this world was valuable.

  “My names Maxwell but my friends call me Max, what’s yours?”

  The creature stopped laughing.

  “My names Rei.”

  “Nice to meet you Rei. If you don’t mind me asking what exactly are you?”

  Rei gave him another puzzled look. “You’ve never seen a nekomata before?”

  “No, I can’t say that I have.”

  A nekomata named Rei. “How interesting” thought Maxwell.

  Nekomata were a type of yokai, a mythological creature rooted in Japanese folklore. As for the name “Rei” it too was derived from Japanese culture. 

  Could this mean that there have been others from earth who have been transported here? Or could this world be the root of all mythologies found on earth?

  Maxwell was becoming more and more intrigued with this new world. 

  What secrets would he discover? And why was he brought here in the first place?

  He wanted answers but for now it seemed his first step would be to visit this “Kingdom of Dulciena.”

  “Rei, would you mind acting as my guide to The Kingdom of Dulciena?”

  Rei narrowed her eyes as if suspicious of his request. 

  Had she sensed something off about him? Could she have the ability to read his thoughts?

  Without any warning Rei dashed at him and leaped over his shoulder.

  At first he was confused but then he saw the serpent dangling from her jaws.

  “Sorry about that” mumbled Rei with her mouth full. “I knew I smelled something funny. You always have to stay alert you know?”

  Maxwell watched as Rei swallowed the serpent whole. If it wasn’t for her he’d surely be dead or at the very least injured. This realization annoyed him.

  “Thank you so much, I am eternally grateful.”

  He hated having to utter such words but he needed to maintain an image of naive innocence.

  “Don’t mention it, we should get moving if we want to make it to Dulciena before nightfall.”

  Rei started walking out of the field and towards the edge of the forest.

  Maxwell followed behind keeping his distance from Rei. 

  She may have saved his life but he still couldn’t bring himself to trust her. For now she was simply a means to an end. A tool to better understand this new world.

    “So Maxwell, what were you doing all by yourself out here? This place can be pretty dangerous.”

  Maxwell smiled to himself as a plan began to take shape within his mind.

  The people of his world may have rejected his gifts but this new world would be different. He’d make sure of it.

  “Actually Rei, I’m not from around here. I’m from another world, and in my world I’m a hero.”