Thermal Shock

— Get up!
Akaru’s eyes snapped open.He was lying on the ground in a dark alley. The concrete was hot. The air smelled of smoke and fast food. A black shoe narrowly missed him.
In front of him, Lyana was staring, arms crossed.
— How long do you plan to stay lying there? We’re not dead, so move.
Akaru sat up. Around him, brick walls, electric wires, and posters with strange characters.A loud honking noise blared.
— This… this isn’t Azel. It’s not our world.
— You noticed that, genius? replied Mira, stepping out from behind a dumpster with a plastic bag in hand.
Theo was sitting against a wall, looking lost.
— I think we were sucked in. Through a portal. I don’t get it, but we’re somewhere else. Not just “somewhere else”…
He stood up slowly.
— It’s another world. And everything is way too fast.
A car sped past the alley’s entrance. The engine’s roar made them jump.Passersby looked at them suspiciously. They were still dressed like warriors from another age—capes, boots, leather—while the world around them wore shirts, school uniforms, and headphones.
— We’ll have to be discreet, said Lyana.
— And find a place to sleep, Mira added. I didn’t stay up three nights in a row just to starve in an unknown world.
Akaru looked at his hands. His sword… gone. Only a faint blue glow shone on his palm.He looked up.
Neon signs. A giant screen showed a music video. Girls in uniforms sang against a pink background.
— It’s not just another world. It’s another century.


A few hours later, they sat in a small public park. Theo had managed to “borrow” four bottles of water from a supermarket. Mira had found a map.
— We’re in Tokyo, she explained. In Japan. It’s an island here. We’re in a huge city, and no one knows us. No one believes in magic. No one knows what we are.
A silence fell.Then Lyana clenched her fists.
— So we start over. We observe. We learn. And if this world is in danger… we act.
Akaru nodded.
— But first… we have to understand why we’re here. And what that magic circle wanted.
They hadn’t arrived here by chance.Someone, something, had called them.
And this was only the beginning.