Chapter 1 Next adventure

  Even though I can't see anything in this darkness, even though my body felt the bite of a cold I've only ever felt once in my life.

  My loneliness, the isolation of feeling nothing, knowing nothing, was much worse than the time I've spent locked in that abandoned shrine.

  Even with all that I was still happy, and you know why?

  It's because for the first time in my life, I honored the name given to me by my great grandfather before he left. I was a hero, this must have been how my dad felt every time he imprisoned the guilty.

  Or my grandfather when he arrested those who broke the peace or like my great grandfather when he fought to keep our country free.

  All their stories where told to us with such joy. . . And now I was feeling that same joy, it was the only thing burying my fear, my cold and my lonely isolation.

  “Are you satisfied kid, only beinf able to save one?” The voice was older than me, masculine, talking in such away that reminds me of. . . was it my uncle? But as I looked around, I found no one, in that fearful dark.

  “I am, even though I never knew her name, only knowing she was a beautiful girl in trouble, it’s enough for me that I saved her." Silence appeared, between usband the man as a smile crept upon my face.

  "All my life I didn’t even believe I could save a single person but somehow I did, and I’m happy.” I felt my chest grow lighter than it has ever been, as every word was left my lips each as pure as it could be.

  My mind played off the last time I saw her, after running and screaming as I saw bricks falling from a construction yard, the bricks held aloft by an steel crane.

  I remembered her, looking down at me, with her scarlet eyes filled with strange amusement, her pink lips telling me words I wasn’t able to hear, but nonetheless it gave me greatest relief.

  “You're a childish fool, but I respect your actions and intent, I'll ask you once do you know where you are kid?” I don't know how but I know where I was.

  It was sad that I wasn’t able to see my sister again, as she was the only one I can say still lived in my heart, I just hope she wouldn’t be struck with too much grief.

  “Is this the afterlife mister?” I asked, being respectful as I should have been from the start.

  “Close, this is a corridor, one would go through before the afterlives.” He said as everything came to light, as I stood in front of an older foreign man, the walls of the hallway had dozens of doors, each was a work of art.

  I was awed, the corridor was beautifully decorated, like I was in a fancy western museum, and the man who seemed gentle with his smile, who stood with clothes I’ve only seen people in tv wore, and his height! It was intimidating.

  I didn’t know what would happen next, my uncle was a Christian believing the evil would go and repent in hell.

  While the good would be awarded in heaven, but my aunty and my cousins were Buhist-shinto believing in the veneration and protection of the kami, the respect and guidance of the spirits and in the end, the reincarnation of the soul.

  But me? I never believed any of it! I was satisfied enough with my hours of games, my beloved companionship in manga and the precious and painful times I practiced, traditional kendo with my uncle.

  “Relax kid, I’m here to ask a favor and help you move on to your next life.” His words calmed me down, and made me think he was nothing like those who would visit my uncle's family from time to time, those tall white foreigners.

  “I want to see your world, and in exchange I’ll help reincarnate you to another life,” I was looking at him as he spoke and the only thing I had in my head was.

  “Reincarnation is real mister? Is this like in the manga!?” That made me excited and thought, am I worthy of this? To be given the chance to be a hero, kill demon lords, and fall in love. . .

  “It is real, and I would even let you keep your memories if you want.” He said, giving me an amused smile.

  “Let me introduce myself, you can call me Traveler. I move from world to world, learning as much as I can in each world. But for me to enter a new world I need a vessel luckily you are available.”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer him, as my thoughts spanned around, on the things he said, and still I barely understood anything.

  “I agree, you take over my body, but can you promise something, can you take care of my sister? And when she dies let her soul go to where you’ll send me.” I looked down as I asked him, for a favor I was not able to meet his eyes as I asked.

  “Deal, I will do my best to take care of your sister, and when she dies I promise to send her to where I will send you.” He said as I felt his hands on my shoulder making me look up his eyes were softer than moments ago but then his smile changed.

  “But, I can’t promise who she’ll be when she does reincarnate, she’ll have her memories, but she could be your mom, your sister again or a lover.” He said as he started laughing as he saw something in my face.

  “Alright! Let’s find a good world to go to, that one is the Star federation, very sci-fi, I recommend it actually.” He said pointing at a door decorated with stars and spaceships.

  “That one is a beast world, very dangerous and high chance to be born as some kind of animal.” He said pointing to a door decorated with animals in gilding.

  And then we went on and on, each door a world I could start anew, and with each door we passed I felt anxiety in me, which door should I choose!

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  Act 2 Hospital

  I woke up, my head felt like a team of horses were running with rickety chariot by an amateur charioteer, as I looked down on my blood soaked shirt.

  And then I raised my arms and I felt their weakness born of immaturity and lack of training, and my hands were so small, they were soft, with thin calluses.

  The memories of today came to me in waves as my head pained me as I assimilated with what the kid gave me as he left for his new world.

  I am now Yukari Shiro and my sister is Yukari Nanami, A child of the land of Yamato, 14 winters old while my sister was 18 springs old.

  We're from a once wealthy noble clan of Yamato, but had declined decades before even Shiro was born, his family broke apart when his father and mother were killed because of a dispute over the family lands.

  Distant memories were hard to recall so I focused on the recent ones as I looked around and saw I was in a morgue as other bodies were laying on steel shining tables, they were cold to the touch and smelled of pure alcohol.

  “hmm, I'm probably in an early modern world, if they have yet to use body lockers or.” I smelled myself and I do not smell too strongly of formalin, just of alcohol and I was not even embalmed or have a tag or other labels.

  “Shiro died in the afternoon, when he saved that foreign beauty, while he was running around town looking for his sister, I should continue where he left off.”

  With my actions decided, I looked around and saw it was already night, as the windows showed a view of a crescent silver moon.

  I stood up and went towards what looked like a storage room, but as I entered I noticed it was actually a break room, with bunk beds, lockers, tables and chairs.

  I opened one of the lockers and saw it was a wardrobe filled with sets of medical clothes, from medical scrubs, rubber gloves, and other things a nurse or doctor would need.

  I took off my blood soaked shirt and put on a white medical shirt, a cloth face mask, a pair of leather shoes and a doctor's white coat.

  I looked at myself in a body mirror next to the door, I was young, the kid was young, I remembered Shiro having dark brown hair but now it's snow white, his sun kissed skin turned as pale as when I was a vampire. . .And Shiro's green eyes turned bright amber.

  But in the end I ignored the changes and with my disguise on I walked out of the hospital, the medical team on standby was basically a skeleton crew and they didn't even have security guards at the exit doors.

  The ones in the lobby of the ward I was in, didn’t even notice me as I left, at one of the side exits.

  I smelled the fresh air, as my body gave off tears that ran down my eyes, as the night took me and I walked and looked around, and then I saw the distant manor Shiro visited this afternoon.

  “It has lights on? Wasn’t it abandoned this morning?” With that question said to no one, I walked towards the manor, as I felt a heat in my chest. . .No, it was actually in my heart, guiding me towards the manor.

  “I wonder what that is?” I said to myself as I walked slowly, as I started to sing, trying to see if magic existed in this world, to see if Arcana could hear me here.

  “In the corner of a street so dim,

  A tiny fire fights to stay within.

  Its glow fades out, then sparks to life,

  A dance in shadow, a trembling fight.”

  Sparks started to glow at the tips of my fingers.

  “Oh, flickering light, you sway and you fade,

  In the quiet night, your rhythm is made.

  A beacon so small, yet you burn so bright,

  In this dark, with your flickering light.”

  As I finished singing that small song, a small ball of fire appeared in my open hand.

  It was weak and its light was much dimmer than the flickering street lights above me, but it was enough proof.

  “Magic exists here, Arcana can hear me. . . Only problem is this body isn't a very good Arcane conductor, well it’s fine I know how to fix it.”

  With that said I continued to walk, good thing Shiro left his luggage at the manor or else I would have needed to pick it up in the hospital death storage or worse in a police station.

  As I walked, I kept singing and conjuring small bits of magic, feeling the soft touch of the universal law of Arcana, and hearing her giggles at my awful singing, but as I walked for some reason the warmth in my heart kept making me walk faster, like I needed to be somewhere soon.

  Act 3 Manor Pov ???

  At an old manor house two floors large with balconies and the architectural furnish of old England sat upon a forested hill, an electrical light was turned on in one of the upper room.

  It was a dining room, a simple long table easily able to seat a dozen guests dominated the room, as the fireplace burned, warming away the night's gloom.

  Only one sat at the table this night. She was fair of hair, her eyes scarlet, her noble dress was raven, with ash white frills, she was a noble at first sight.

  “Did you enjoy your meal, mistress?” A soft voice asked, the girl was dressed as a bowed tied maid.

  “Yes” the answer was curt, as the fair lady was lightly pressing a napkin to her delicate pink lips.

  “I’m very grateful to you mistress.” The maid said, as she gave a bow befitting someone well paid.

  “Letting myself and my brother live with you, was such a kind act, I will do my best to repay you my mistress.” She said excitedly as her large breasts dips.

  “I’ll introduce him to you when he arrives, mistress!” The maid’s blue eyes shone at her words.

  “There’s no need, you do not need to waste time, in such frivolities, let’s keep things as they are.” The fair lady said, simply as the maid cleared the table, and another smaller maid entered with a cart of tea and biscuits.

  “Yes ma’am.” The maid said as she finished cleaning the fair lady’s table her plate had only small bits of cords.

  “Please excuse me, mistress, have a good night.” That maid said as she left the room, as wolves howled in the distance, as she had her tray in hand close to her tits.

  “Fluga. (Goodnight Nanami)” The small maid said in passing as she entered the dining room, with her tea party cart in hand, to a silently window gazing fair lady, as she looked towards the night’s crescent moon and woods beyond.

  “Fluga fluga, fluga! (I think the boy would come soon, I like him I hope he’ll come and serve with me and Nanami!)” The small maid said happily as she held a tray of tea, in fine porcelain.

  “You're quite right, he should be here soon.” The fair lady said as she grimaced, at the sound of the distant howls as she gave her respond.

  “Fluga? (Do you not like your new pact princess?)” The small maid said a word as if it was a question.

  “A pact? Hm, don’t be ridiculous Flenna, don’t group me in with those vampires.” The princess said, and then took a sip before continuing.

  “However desperate I may be to refill my court, I would never sink to their level.” The fair princess spoke as she pressed a hand on her reflection in the clear window.

  “What kind of king would enter into a pact with their subjects?” The princess said to her small maid, as she took another sip of her tea as she pointed it out towards her soulless table.

  “Fluga!(Didn’t he save you my princess?)” The small maid said in one word, but meant many more.

  “Don’t you agree my Flenna? Anyone graced by even the smallest drops of my flaming royal blood, should at the very least have a proper bloodline, or some sort of a notable achievement to their name.” The princess finished her tea, placing the cup on the tray as sadness tainted her eyes.

  “A boy who had rushed to his certain death, over a few bricks of stone. . .unthinkingable.” Her face softened at the memory.

  “Fluga? (Then why revive him princess?)” The small maid asked with a single word, as she placed the tea set down on the table.

  “Indeed, why did I do it? Hmm. . .” The princess gave a small chuckle to herself, as she thought of a reason, as a memory was suppressed.

  “Let’s call it a whim of kindness. . .” There was a pause after her words as she breathed out a long tired breath, and looked up.

  “I should have expected as much, they had a moon here too.” The princess ended as she gazed at the silver crescent moon.