The Rules of Nature

The sensation was unlike anything that Conrad could even begin to express. The fact that he was even conscious and able to process this experience in the first place was, he suspected, the work of Nana herself. The human mind cannot fathom how a soul is able to experience something without a brain to accompany it. Who amongst us can explain what our spirits feel after we die?

Conrad was in the midst of experiencing, in essence, how it felt to exist as pure energy. The only way he could describe it was by highlighting the warmth of it all. Like a ball of flame and light, untethered to his five senses, barring touch. Nana had touched down, hovering just above the dirt, though Conrad had no means of knowing that they had arrived at their destination yet.

Nana smiled, glancing around the surroundings. Upon exiting the other end of the portal, she had arrived at an isolated countryside road. The skies were heavily overcast. The lack of stimulation was so apparent that it seemed almost intentional. And as she well knew, a young pauper was about to pass by at this very moment.

Sure enough, a moment later, a man in his 20's turned onto the road Nana was waiting on. His clothes were deeply tattered, blond hair disheveled, and face smeared with filth. To call him rundown would be a severe understatement. The youth was so caught up in his own exhaustion that he did not even process Nana's presence until he was a mere ten feet from her, about to pass her by.

He glanced up, confused, noting her figure in his peripheral vision. As he watched Nana, a feeling of sudden comfort and reassurance doused his brain. His shoulders slumped, facial features relaxed, and for the moment, everything seemed alright with the world. Nana softly stroked his cheek, smiling.

"You need a break, dear boy. You tried so hard."

Nana held the lad steady and gestured at him. Immediately, his soul was removed from his body, just as what happened to Conrad. The pauper's soul and Conrad's soul hovered gently behind Nana. With a single wave of her hand, Nana took Conrad's soul...and moved it into the pauper's body. Conrad gasped, eyes flying open, and breathed deeply, staring up at Nana.

After a moment, Conrad began to look around, fully taking stock of the setting they were in. After relaxing somewhat, he spoke. "Nana, where have you taken me? The last thing I remember seeing is you pointing at me in the library, and..."

He froze. Something was off. His voice sounded extremely different. Looking down, Conrad took note of the clothes he was now wearing. But it was more than that...his hands, too, and even his height were both different than what he was accustomed to. Nana had been taller than him back in the library too, but now the gap felt even larger.

"Nana, you did something, didn't you? Before I woke up just now, I remember feeling warmth. But I couldn't see or hear anything. And now my body's changed. What's going on?"

Nana released Conrad, allowing him to stand unassisted. She floated back, and snapped her fingers, materializing a full-length mirror in front of her. Conrad studied himself thoroughly. Blond hair, ragged clothing, hair and face a mess. He breathed deeply, steadying himself by force.

"Nana, why did you change my body like this?"

"That's not your body, Conrad."

Nana dismissed the mirror, and summoned the soul of the pauper into her palm. Conrad stared at the glowing ball for a moment, confused. "What's that supposed to be, Nana?"

"A human soul. You were like this as well, just seconds ago. That warm feeling you mentioned experiencing was what one feels as a soul, separate from any body."

Conrad blinked. He stared into the warm, pulsing orb, and after just a brief moment, understanding dawned on his features.

Nana grinned. "Good. Glad you caught on."

"Nana, what about mine? Where's my body? Do you have it?"

"It's back in your world, with Nicholas. I'm sure he'll take good care of it."

Conrad nodded slowly. "I don't like the idea of Nicholas having to bring my comatose body back to my father. But I do recall you saying that you'll make sure my father understands what happened in the library."

"Indeed. Don't worry about your attendant. All he needs to do is lug your husk home. You, my dear boy, have far greater trials on your plate to worry about. After all, you did agree to my proposal."

"I did. This is a high fantasy world, right? You mentioned something like that. But it just looks we're off in the European countryside or something like that. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear I'm still on my planet."

"Not a bad observation. Yes, this place does feel remarkably similar to what you're already used to. Grass, trees, dirt, cloudy skies, etc. Just because a place is different than what you're used to doesn't mean everything single thing has to have changed."

She smirked over at Conrad. "Why? Would you have preferred me to pick you up and fling you to Mars?"

"No. Thank you."

"I can assure you that Mars would have felt much different than where we are now. Much more exotic."

"That's fine. I'll pass."

"Why not? It could even be fun."

"It would be fun before I left Earth's atmosphere and froze in the vacuum of space."

"You're such a spoilsport."

"No, I'm just trying not to die from getting thrown to Mars."

"What if I caught you before you collided with the planet?"

"Oh, that's perfect, that would fix all the problems that resulted from being thrown to Mars."

Nana laughed, tearing up slightly, as did Conrad. "You may be a reckless, ignorant young man, Conrad Walters, but I'll hand it to you, you banter well."

The two of them shared one last moment of peace before Conrad's problems arrived to eat him alive.

The two heard an aggressive snarl off in the distance. Whirling around, Conrad spotted an approaching wolf, teeth bared, staring at him. His expression immediately swapped from entertained to panicked. His eyes snapped over to Nana.

She shook her head, once again easily figuring out what he was thinking. "Remember what I told you in the library, Conrad. There's a dagger at your hip. Let me see your will to preserve yourself alive. I'm not getting rid of that wolf for you, nor bringing you back if it kills you."