First Encounter

Lawrence looked to his left, attempting to visualize the otherworldly creature that had appeared before him in the black void, its words echoing in his mind.

"You're not supposed to be here." He pondered the statement the shadow made, recalling the darkness once more.

It was definitely talking to me in the present. But why? Why did I have to come back later? What game is it playing at?

He wasn't sure what any of it meant, and nothing in Lawrence's memories answered his questions about the shadow or what it was referring to. It seemed he could do nothing else but explore and understand this new world that he, without a doubt in his mind, had been transmigrated to.

Suddenly, he heard the creaking of wood outside the front door, which put him on high alert as he clenched the kukri tightly. He didn't know what to expect, as his heart beat heavily with adrenaline rushing through his veins. The sound of his heartbeat was so loud it almost blocked out his hearing. Sweat began to form around his hands as the creaking got louder.

Someone began fidgeting with the door handle a second before it finally opened. A scruffy, white-bearded older man revealed himself as he swung the door open. He wore a black suit with stripes, as if he were a businessman, and carried a sheathed longsword at his hip.

"Oh! A survivor!" He called out in surprise to see Lawrence standing there, a bit dumbfounded.

"Who are you?" Lawrence asked cautiously, careful not to reveal his nervousness to the middle-aged stranger.

"Yes, apologies, I am Bernard Sogard, retired Exaltan Royal Knight." The man held his hand over his chest, bowing slightly. "You must be Lawrence Blackwood."

There are two ways I can play this. First, the more risky path: I keep up the appearance that I am Lawrence. Depending on who this person is, I can glean something useful from him, specifically information. But I could also pretend to have amnesia, elicit some information about this world from him, and feign ignorance if I made a mistake.

"I'm not entirely sure…" He was still very wary of Bernard, eying him up and down, despite the retired knight's amiable demeanor.

The swordsman was remarkably well-built physically for his age. A few scars were visible on his face, particularly on his left cheek and right eye. Based on his facial expression, he seemed to be the person he claimed to be. However, Lawrence wanted to be sure.

"I see. You must have amnesia, then. We should have you visit a doctor in the Capital."

Lawrence was hesitant to follow the seemingly friendly stranger, but he had no other choice. He wouldn't get anywhere to figure out what was happening if he didn't take this chance. And he would have a bodyguard in case that thing ever comes back.

Nodding slowly, however reluctantly, he followed Bernard out of the house. There was no point in bringing anything aside from the kukri since most of it was ash.

As they stepped outside, Lawrence sheathed the kukri and shoved it into his pants out of sight. Looking up, he saw that they were on a now grayish-brown hill overlooking the burnt ruins of the village razed to the ground. Not a thing was left.

The flames I felt in that void were, without a doubt, a simulation of what happened here. There's no way that thing wasn't involved. Whatever it is…He gulped slightly, feeling the tense atmosphere of sorrow and agony.

It was almost possible to hear the screams of the dead as he stared down at the wreckage and the remains of their homes. It nearly made him sick thinking about what could've gone down that night. A night of terror, he was sure.

Taking another step as he followed Bernard, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He quickly turned and saw a man staring at me from the forest's tree line nearby. They looked nothing like Lawrence's murderer.

Several black bandages covered parts of the man's head, but not completely. A mask concealed his face, but it seemed damaged, as half of it was missing, covering only his left eye, nose, and mouth. He also wore a pure white robe and sandals.

He was startled when a crow suddenly loudly cawed and flew away, previously perched on the house. Lawrence quickly turned back, trying to find the man, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Is something the matter?" Bernard asked, looking back as they carefully descended the creaky wooden remains of the porch.

The Blackwood son shook his head, surmising that the man wouldn't show up again so soon, but a sense of unease persisted as he viewed the vast landscape. Peering in the direction of the blacksmith shop, there was not a trace of it remaining, which brought a feeling of despondency.

"Come on then, it's only an hour's walk to the Capital from here."

----

Langworth Palace, Aerostorm District

"Now's my time to sneak out…" Eva Van Wagner, Third Princess and youngest of the Wagner Royal Family of Exalta, spoke in a tone that would lead one to assume she was preparing to commit grand larceny.

She opened her bedroom door a tiny crack, peering into the hallway to see if any guards were around. Everything was quiet, observing only the assorted paintings of previous family members hanging on the tan stone and gravel walls of the royal palace's interior. Ensuring the coast was clear, she sneaked away undetected.

Not long after, she went to an empty training yard in a desolate part of the palace. Since the construction of a more modern yard, the workers abandoned the princess's now personal training area.

Approaching a stack of hay bales used for bow target practice, she reached into the tight crevices between the bales and took out a thick, visibly worn leather book.

The book was a grimoire written by one of the great heroes of the last war, Silvain. It detailed the fundamentals of offensive and defensive magic, as well as the sigils, incantations, and sequences of hundreds of spells. It was a rare grimoire to come across, long thought to have been lost to time, but secretly kept by the Wagner Family since Silvain was a descendant.

"The only sure way to cast a spell is to create a strong mental image of what spell you want to cast. An incantation further strengthens that image enough to cast it, as long as you have the required mana and affinity to the Trace…" She read aloud to herself before flipping to the next page.

Nodding contently, she set down the grimoire briefly, focused on one of the target dummies in front of her, and held her hand out. "Loch of Tranquility, allow the tide to sing and wash away all that is evil!"

A small bubble of water manifested where her palm was, shaking violently before the shape dispersed and splashed the ground, causing her to sigh again.

She'd read the grimoire a dozen times, trying to train herself to become a mage, but she couldn't manifest her mana any more than that.

An attempt at a beginning spell of each of the five main Traces, she could only do Aero and Aquaiem, but even then, they were poor and laughable attempts at casting spells. Despite her shortcomings, she refused to give up, even if, in the back of her mind, something was telling her she had no chance.

However, her life was uninteresting, but she refused to be ordinary. Her father had discarded many books about magic in the palace, making it difficult for her to become a mage, but she knew he couldn't get rid of Silvain's grimoire.

"Princess Eva! What are you doing?"

Startled, the young royal quickly turned around and attempted to hide the grimoire behind her back as Lord Pericles, governor of the state and her father's close friend, approached.

"Ahh, Lord Pericles…a pleasure…" She replied sheepishly, trying to appear calm, her grip on the grimoire tightening.

Pericles stood tall in his dark navy blue suit, his demeanor distinct and noble as he looked at the princess. He was essentially a mirror of her father, often seeing him more than King Eraindale himself.

Noticing her odd behavior, he leaned to the side slightly, seeing a bit of the book sticking out. "What is that behind you?"

"J-just a book for studying…"

"Hmm…" He quickly approached her, grabbed the book, and held it in the air as she tried to take it back. However, due to their height difference, their attempts were futile, and she gave up with an annoyed stare.

"What are you doing with such a priceless artifact? Not to mention an important heirloom? Are you practicing magic again?" He asked sternly, examining the grimoire from all sides.

She could feel herself becoming increasingly overwrought. Unable to speak, she fidgeted with her hands behind her back and averted her eyes.

"You know how your father doesn't want you to do such reckless things, especially when things are so tense with the people now, Princess Eva."

The princess had no rebuttal and took the scolding head-on, quite accustomed to it throughout her entire life.

"I'm putting this back in the library where it belongs and telling the guards to keep you away from it. Don't do extreme things that'll hurt your family's legacy by misbehaving."

The Lord of the State began to walk away before stopping briefly, causing her to look up. "Set aside these buffoonish ideals and be who you were born to be, a member of the distinguished Wagners." He resumed his leave, his footsteps becoming too soft to hear as the princess stood alone in the training yard.

----

The pair had been walking for half an hour, cresting a hill, and reached the top. Lawrence stopped in amazement at the sight in front of him.

I thought I'd only see settings like this in Master of the Keys or Final Travel's Beginning. However, this is more akin to my favorite video game, Feldin Necklace.

There was a lush landscape of trees, a towering mountain range in the distance, with waterfalls, and the thing that stood out the most: a gigantic city surrounded by tall stone walls that stretched for dozens of kilometers. Thousands of buildings inhabited the area within the walls, with a palace on a small hill overlooking the town. Next to it, two humanoid statues stood, one with a sword plunged into the ground and the other with an open book.

"Whoa…"

Bernard's bag stopped jingling as he turned around. "Seeing the capital isn't bringing back any memories?"

Lawrence shook his head no solemnly, playing along with his story. The retired knight quietly sighed before they resumed their journey. It was still quite a way away. From where they were, Lawrence could see the long dirt path to the front gate. Some travelers were as small as ants.

"So, what are those statues?" The young man asked, breaking the brief moment of silence as they descended the hill.

"The founders of Exalta more than a thousand years ago were Cain and Abel."

Those two names were the same as two prominent figures from Abrahamic beliefs, so this world did share parallels with the Old World. But how many? And why?

"Abel founded our dear Agarian Church to help those in need of assistance, and Cain created the World Sentinels to protect the people from the world's darkness. They eventually formed into the Holy Knights Court. But both the Church and the Sentinels became united and created the Holy Venator Order, a more centralized group to kill demons and vampires."

Demons and vampires?! So, those things exist here? He folded his arms and fell into a deep thought as he walked silently behind Bernard.

In most transmigration stories, the main character usually talks to some deity to explain everything, but of course, that unfortunately would make things too easy…I suppose it doesn't matter now, but three main questions keep popping into my head: How did I get here when I died, and why? What happened to the Blackwood family? And what was that creature he saw in Lawrence's memories? So, I guess four questions technically.

A caravan passed by carrying several large wooden barrels in the back as the pair exchanged greetings with the driver.

With any luck, I'll find more of what I need to know if I return to Leidhal, but I don't think I'm in a position to do that right now.