1 — Sunnaria's World

His gaze travels upwards at the bright, blue sky. The yellow sunlight almost blinds him, but it reflects beautifully on every object in his view, filling it with color and depth. His eyes then look downwards, as he sees the dirt road beneath his feet. It's the first time he looks at what he's wearing, too; Instead of his prim and proper school uniform, he's wearing a patched-up pair of simple shorts and a rough, cut-up shirt. The clothes chafe against his skin, and they seem amateurishly made. There's no buttons or pockets, and they don't stretch nearly as much as any other clothes that he ever wore. On the index finger of his left hand, lies a gold ring with a spherical blue gem in the middle. The intricate piece of jewelry contrasts wildly with the rest of his clothes.

"Where even am I?" He murmurs, and he's taken aback by the sound of his voice. It sounds... younger? Slightly more nasal? He sounds like a bit of a snob. His frame is way leaner than normal, too. His arms and torso have a hint of muscles, but he's mostly skinny and malnourished. He stumbles over as he tries to walk, catching himself on the wall.

'Not familiar with those legs, I assume?' A motherly, feminine voice rings out inside of his head, as the ring in his hand starts to slightly tremble. 'No wonder. Try taking a few more steps to get used to that body.'

He doesn't know why, but he feels compelled to obey that specific voice. He puts one hand on the wall, feeling the roughness of the stone. He slowly starts moving, getting the hang of the size of his body. Not too long after, he's able to walk normally again.

'There you go! You're a natural.' The smooth, calming voice speaks out directly inside of his mind, much like a second thought. 'I knew I picked the right one for the job.'

"What job?" He says, still trying to get used to his new voice. "Where am I, even? Who are you?"

'Darling, don't speak out loud with a telepath. It makes you look crazy.' The voice giggles, and it's the most soothing sound he has ever heard in his life. 'I'll tell you about your purpose here a little later, but you should already know about this place.'

"What are—" He says out loud, before stopping himself. 'What are you talking about?' He starts thinking at her. 'This could be mistaken for the Japanese countryside, but the buildings ... don't really match up. I have no clue where I am.'

'Oh dear, are your memories still jumbled up? Well, no matter.' The voice says. 'I'm Sunnaria, and I welcome you to Orkisdeal, my lost little lamb!'

'Sunnaria? Orskideal? What are you—'

Like dynamite went off inside of his brain, all of the memories flood back to him in an instant. His depressing life in Tokyo, Shinichi and his book, his gruesome fate. He lets out a screech and instinctively grabs his stomach, remembering his organs falling out of his body.

"What... how... what happened?" He says, panting.

'Oh, you remembered? Good. That also explains the difficulty you have moving your current body.' Sunnaria says. 'Go a few steps ahead, there's a puddle right outside this alley.'

He walks cautiously, as the main road comes into view. While where he woke up on only had dirt and mud, this one is laid with roughly cut-up stone, much like the walls of the homes. Nearby, he finds a small body of water. He goes up to it and looks at his reflection.

Expecting to see Akira, the mousy Japanese boy, instead someone very European-looking is staring back at him. Light brown hair in a regal bob cut, with piercing blue eyes that are intimidating even with his confused expression. His pale skin looks like it haven't seen the sun in days, and his upright posture makes him look like someone important, his nose naturally upturned.

'Who... is that?'

Before the voice inside his head could answer, he hears frantic, rhythmic sounds of trotting as he looks to his left, seeing a wooden carriage at full speed on the main street, approaching him at high speeds. He steps back into the alley, concealing himself slightly. The carriage is led by a knight with full, practical european iron armor. It stops close to where he's hiding and the door opens, and another knight similar to the one leading the carriage steps out, followed by a woman with dark brown hair done in a braid over her shoulder. She's wearing a simple black dress with a white apron over her lap, with her white headdress topping off her typical 'maid' look.

"Alright, His Highness shouldn't be far. Let's split up and look for him." The maid says, her red eyes looking frantically around. The knights each walk down one way of the main road, while she inspects her surroundings. She tries knocking at a few of the doors, but few citizens answer her, and they just shake their head apologetically when she asks them a question.

'I think you should help her.' Sunnaria's voice rings in his head.

'Seems like a bit too much effort.' He thinks back at Sunnaria.

'That's not your real reason, is it?' Sunnaria says, her voice like a beautiful melody. 'You're afraid. Afraid of disappointing her, just like you were afraid to disappointing your family and friends. That's why you never even tried, right?'

'Who do you think you are?' He bites back. 'You don't know me.'

'Of course I do! I made humans, silly. I know where all their worries come from.' She giggles. 'And I know you've wanted to change for so long. To try to make people's lives better. But you were too afraid of messing up. Show yourself! I'm sure she won't be disappointed.'

He takes a deep breath in before walking out, stepping into the street while she's looking behind some nearby barrels. He clears his throat to call her attention.

"Hello there. Do you need any help?"

She stares at him dumbfounded, blinking several times with the biggest confused look on her face. Her bewilderment gives way to a big grin, as tears prick the corner of her eyes and she runs over to him, grabbing his hand.

"P-Prince Joezand!" She kneels before him. "I've finally found you!"