Air Stride

 I don’t know what exactly I expected to see, but it probably wasn't supposed to be this. A standard isekai story, you'd expect to see green forests, medieval towns, things like that. But that could not be further from the truth of the landscape before me. 

Towering, decaying, structures of metal reaching towards the blackened sky like the bony hands of undead gods filled my vision. A dead silence hung in the air as twisted simulacrums of nature had been in the process of consuming what was likely once a great citadel. In the far off distance, I could see twisting, undulating, hazy mass peeking out above massive walls.

I turned around at the building I just came out of, it wasn’t just any church, it was more like the skeletal remains of a once-grand cathedral. Strangely enough, it was contained on what seemed like an island connected to the main landmass via an ancient stone bridge. I imagine that in the heydey of this place, hundreds if not thousands of worshippers would come here to pray to whatever deity oversaw this region.

There were no gods anymore, no worshippers, just… silence.

This whole place was like a scene out of a post-apoc setting, though with a hint of fantasy elements. I was both in awe at the sheer vastness of the region while also feeling a pit growing in my stomach. Was this… like the isekai stories I’d read about?

Wait, this was no time to stare in wonderment! I frantically looked around and spotted the wayward thief trying to drag my bag over the bridge!

“H-Hey, get back here!” I called as I broke out into a sprint, my chest heaved and my muscles burned, the tell-tale signs of a shut-in who hated physical education with a passion rivaled only by- “WOAH!” My metaphor would have to wait, as I had to skid to a stop before I fell straight to my doom.

In my rush to chase the fairy, I had almost completely missed the hole in the bridge. Cautiously, I peered over the hole, down below was nothing but the inky blackness of the ocean and jagged rocks. Just a few steps more, and my time in this world would’ve been over.

I watched as the fairy’s lead on me continued to increase, my bag was slowing her down, but with this hole here she could’ve been moving at a snail’s pace and she’d still be able to escape eventually. If I didn’t do something soon, I’d either be stuck on this, relatively, small patch of land with no supplies or she’d get away with my stuff!

…

I wonder… could I make that jump? It didn’t seem too far, but it was still a lot farther than I’d been able to jump in PE classes, I could tell just by looking.

Or, maybe I just never had to try before. This was crazy, but it was the only option. I ran back as far as I could, then knelt down into a sprinter’s stance. I’d seen enough times in person and in manga, so I’m sure this was the right stance.

I wasn’t really a physically active student, so I just did the bare minimum. But this is different. This time, I had something to obtain. And besides, this is a fantasy world after all… and yeah, I embarrassed myself before, but that time was just a simulation. This time it’s the real deal, and you know what they say… you never know what you’re capable of until a post-apocalyptic isekai fairy steals your bag of half-eaten supplies!

I kicked off from my stance and ran full-force towards the hole, in my mind I thought I must’ve looked pretty awesome as I leaped with all my might towards the other end of the bridge. Hands outstretched, ready to grasp the edge!

I could see it! I was gonna make it!

I was so close now!

It was gonna be a really narrow ledge-grab!

…I missed. The edge of the bridge had passed my head as my hands flailed hopelessly trying to reach the ledge but came up short.

‘Eh? Wait… I… missed?’

I just descended, dumbfounded, as the realization began to hit me all at once.

‘Am I really gonna die like this?! After I just avoided a death flag!’

The world felt like it was moving in slow motion as I plummeted to my doom, and I couldn’t decide if that was a mercy to allow me to say my prayers or a cruel joke to prolong my suffering.

In vain, I tried to do one last thing to lessen the impact of my death. I shut my eyes and then I felt the emptiness of non-existence.

…

…..

………….

A light within the darkness began to shine and overtake my senses, as the sound of a ringing bell filled the silence.

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I fell, my back hitting the soft grass. Frustration. Embarrassment. This was a simple technique that everyone learned, yet the nature of it eluded me.

I curse, I kick the platform, I contemplate throwing my weapon across the sky. This weapon. Passed down for generations, now came to me, did the previous wielders also struggle with this?

Why did they not share their wisdom with me in this moment? Why did this blade come to be in my possession. Guilt. Others more deserving should’ve taken up the mantle. Sadness mixed with anger.

A man appears next to me. No, not a man, I know him, he is my mentor and my great-uncle. He is a man who accomplished great things. Does he see me as a disappointment to the family name, does he regret taking me as an apprentice? His expression is hard to read.

I ask him to tell me what the secret to this lesson is, and as usual he gives me a cryptic story instead. Annoyance. Why could he never just give a straight answer?

He says that it is like I am trying to force my way against the current, that I need to become like air and let go. Don’t think, feel, listen to the guidance of the ancients rather than try to talk over them.

Exasperation I have heard these words a thousand times. So, maybe it’s time I tried it. Don’t think. Feel. Don’t try to force things. Go with the flow. Let the wisdom of the ancients flow through me.

Silence. Stillness. Calmness. I hear it. In my head, an image takes shape, a feeling that this is the path. I stand before the chasm once more. Fear, anxiety, worry, I can’t do this.

No. Calm. Peace. No hesitation.

I’m soaring through the air, falling once more, but I feel something this time. I’m falling slower. Something slowing my descent. I can control it. Move it. Push.

A force against my back propels me forward. My feet touch the ground, and I open my eyes. I did it. Air Striding, I did it. I look down at my weapon, I see the glow. Pride. Have you accepted me now?

=========

…

…..

……

My eyes slowly blinked open, I had cheated death again. But, I had absolutely no idea how.

I was no longer falling, instead it seems like I had managed to grab onto the roots of a tree sticking out of the cliffside. “Ha… hahaha.” I let out a dry, weary laugh; it stood in stark contrast to how much I wanted to cry.

‘But wait… how did I survive? I was free-falling, but… somehow I made it to this side and managed to grab something. Was it momentum, luck, or…’ I gazed down at the rocks below, my makeshift footrest slowly eroding, sending specks of pebbles down into the inky void. And in my vision, where I’d stored it in my belt, the hilt-shaped object. The grooves engraved in the shaft glowed briefly before becoming inert again.

“Was… was that magic? Did I do magic or-”

The root creaked and I realized that this was not a time to linger! Climbing without equipment was dangerous, but you know what else was dangerous? Falling onto jagged rocks.

So, being as careful as I could, I began to ascend the rocky cliffside, hoping beyond hope that if there were a god somewhere out there that:

A. They’re not mad at me for kicking down the door to their holy temple.

B. That they’d be so kind as to NOT make me lose my footing.