"Uh…What?" Misaki gets in between me and her. "What are you talking about?" I can tell that Misaki is getting frustrated. I interrupt by saying, "Take me where exactly?" I look over Misaki's shoulder, but the girl disappeared. "What the hell?!" Misaki shouted. I flinched and turned around quickly—almost knocking down Misaki. "Watch it!" She shouts.
How did she get behind us so fast?
She just giggles and says, "I'm sorry, how rude of me. Let me introduce myself—My name is Eliza Sternbriar, I am the daughter of the noble vampire family—Sternbriar. We Sternbriars run and manage the city of Cerene in my world." As she spoke she showed her most vampiric feature. Her teeth. She seemed very prideful toward her heritage. "And that world is called, Nuvia."
"Nuvia?" I questioned. Misaki being surprisingly doubtful says, "How do we know you're not lying to us? That was probably just an illusion trick to make it seem like you disappeared." She smirks as if she already caught the little vampire lying.
"Now why would I do that?" She tilts her head slightly in confusion like a dog.
Misaki struggles to talk but she comes out and says, "Because! You're probably some kid who likes to cosplay and pretend like you're from another world—talking about 'a world filled with magic and prosperity'. It sounds like its straight from a Japanese light novel or anime. Like, come on now, you just happen to be at the right time to make us a bit nervous. Ok? Please go back home, kid."
A burst of wind comes out of nowhere from where Eliza is standing. "What is this wind?? This is like being inside of a hurricane!" I yelled to overcome the loud roars of air--it felt as if an invisible wall was pushing us back. Misaki had good footing since she barely moved, but I have a bad feeling about this. The wind suddenly stopped, and her presence felt way heavier than before; she looked up at us and she death glared Misaki. Goosebumps were starting to form on my body and a chill was sent down my spine as she said, "First of all…I am not a kid. Secondly, disrespect me again and I will have your head."
Somehow, the wind stopped, and she released all the tension in the air; it became easier to breathe. Eliza took a deep breath and I looked at Misaki. She was shaking a bit, she seems a bit embarrassed too. I would've doubted her too. I opened my mouth to say something, but Eliza said immediately, "Oh! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you guys. I just…hate being called that, and it is very frustrating since I can't help but look the way I do." She bowed twice in quick succession and I then said, "It's okay! Don't worry about it. We should be one's apologizing. We're sorry, especially this one over here." I point at Misaki and she bows for forgiveness too. "We're just so confused and anxious as to why you have come here. Do you really know anything about our dreams? It seems too good to be true."
Eliza nods understanding where I am coming from and she replies, "Hmm. Let me start by explaining why I am here without any interruptions, please." Misaki and I nodded. It was clear to us that she had some sort of powers residing within her. There was no way wind that strong could've suddenly blown at her command. Eliza walked to the park benches and she noticed that it was wet. She waved her little hand and it glowed; the benches had been dried off completely. I was shocked, and Misaki was too. I whispered to Misaki, "That was so cool" She just rolled her eyes. "Come now you two, I am getting tired from standing."
Misaki and I reluctantly sit down for Eliza to explain. She crosses her leg over the other, you could hear a bit of leather rubbing from her holsters. Eliza points at me and says, "Let's get to the point. I am here for you. Ehh, what is your name? Sorry." I proceed to answer, "Kima, Kima Sayori and this is Misaki." She glances at Misaki and nothing more. It's awkward now, and I am in the middle of it. Ugh. "Kima. That's a nice name. Anyways, as I was saying—I need you, Kima. You are the prophesized savior of Nuvia. You're destined to prevent the inevitable Apocalypse from happening and to also prevent the resurrection of Apollyon."
"What?? Me? Why me? Have you taken a good look at me? I am not a savior or a hero; whatever it is! I can't prevent anything." I become flustered and end up shouting. Eliza raises her eyebrows in amusement and says, "The thing is…you don't have a choice, Kima. I was entrusted by the headmaster herself to retrieve you safe and sound. And I cannot fail. You either come with me peacefully or I will have to drag you there." The atmosphere gets tense, Misaki's silent but she looks at me worried. She's probably wondering what I am going to say. I look away from them to give me a moment to myself.
I take a deep breath and say, "How about a deal? I'll give you my answer when you answer our questions first. Like our dream and how in the world you managed to dry off that bench and stuff. You're really not giving much of a choice here anyway."
She smirks and says, "Very well, but I suggest that you understand what will happen if you do refuse." She mentions with an intimidating tone. She then goes on, "So, I know you are curious about how I did those 'little tricks' on you guys earlier, correct?"
"Yeah, what was that exactly?" I asked.
"It's magic, and not that trash you humans use to deceive one another for entertainment. It is real, and it is inside every single living and nonliving thing in this universe."
Misaki finally talks, "If that's the case…why can't we use it or have not discovered it in the past?"
"Don't be so hasty, I was getting to that part. So, earth indeed has magic, but it's practically nonexistent. Your planet barely produces any. Besides, your race can't see magic with its eye. You must sense it—in other words, feel it."
"But your hand started to glow when you dried off the bench. Why could I see 'that' just fine?" I emphasized.
"Good question—what you saw was magic taking form into what I desired it to be. You can't see pure magic. It's very complicated to explain for now and we would be here all day, but this brings me back to answering Misaki's question. Even if humans have discovered magic; how can humans detect such small amounts of magic and let alone harness it? It's pretty much useless. Plus, if one were to gather enough magic on this planet to use it—it would destroy their body." She said the last sentence in a very serious tone.
"Why would it des—" Eliza then cuts me off knowing what I'm about to ask her.
She says, "Why would it destroy their body, right? Because once you have a certain amount of magic within your body—your body will naturally start to rely on it and wants to use it for energy, life, production of cells etc. It starts to realize that magic is richer than the regular energy your body produces and overrides it. It becomes addicted. Essentially, using up all of that will burn you out and without a steady flow of pure magic from the planet to keep you stable for recovery; your body will go into--what we like to call, 'Magic Stasis'. It is said that if you are in MS for too long, you rot away."
Misaki and I just looked at each other to check if either of us understands what she is talking about. Eliza facepalms, realizing that we couldn't process all of that. She looks down to sigh in disappointment and then says, "Long story short…you get magic, your body desires it forever. You run out of magic and if there's no more of it, you die. Did that explanation suffice?" She asks in a sassy way. Misaki responds first, "Yeah, I think I get it now. So, would that mean you can't stay on earth for too long?"
Eliza smirks and replies, "Correct...if I wanted to stay here for a very long time, I could. I just can't use any magic for the time being, but eventually, it will deplete naturally because it is what keeps my body functioning."
She stretches her arms up into the sky and lets out a small yawn, "Oh, excuse me. All this talk has made me a bit tired and I just got here. To wrap things up…I can't really explain the dreams that I overheard you two talk about. I can tell you this though; to me, it sounds like it came from a whole other world. I don't want to say that it is my realm, but it is a possibility. My advice to you is to be more careful from here on out. In Nuvia, this is called a 'premonition'. A warning from fate itself…"
"Can we change this fate?" I ask, and Eliza's face becomes serious.
She says, "Yes and no…You can only prepare for it. It will happen no matter what you do, even if it isn't the exact same way you saw it. You have to face it head on and change/overcome it that way."
"I see…" Is what I could only muster up to say.
"Well, now that you both are informed. It is time Kima. What's it going to be? You better hold your end of the deal…or did you lie to me?" Eliza gets up and glares at me.
I shiver, "No no! I didn't lie to you…hehe" I laugh nervously, I look at her waist, I point at the holster where the pistols laid. "Are those real by any chance?" She nods and says, "Of course they are, why wouldn't they be…? Hey! Stop avoiding the question." She cutely pouts but I start to get a little on edge. I just sigh and try to convince her one last time.
"I'm not strong, I'm nerdy, I don't have any good achievements and no powers. I'm clearly not your savior or ideal guy! I have school, my friends Misaki and Tetsuya would be here all alone. My mother too. I just can't leave this place…you're going to have to find someone else for the job...I am sorry." I finally gathered up the courage to bring reality to her. I spoke so negatively about myself, but it's the truth. I'm not like Tetsuya or an anime protagonist who's destined for greatness. I get up as a gesture to walk away, but Misaki still had something to say, "Eliza…was it? How would Kima be able to save Nuvia? I have a feeling that you aren't worried in the slightest. You spoke very confident about Kima, despite his physique and physical prowess. I don't mind if he goes, but you have a plan, don't you?"
I quickly turn my head to Misaki and say, "What? Misaki…you can't be serious?" Eliza smiles and says, "You're sharp. Of course, we have a plan. I admit he doesn't look like a fighter. But that does not mean it's impossible for him to become one. We will train him in the Arts at the Academy, where he will learn the basics of combat and magic."
Misaki says, "Look, I have known Kima for as long as I can remember. So, I know what he is capable of." She starts to burst into tears and she desperately tries wiping them off, "H-he's the most idiotic, oblivious, and n-nerdiest loser ever." Misaki's face is shadowed by her hair as she looks down and her voice cracks a bit. "But please...take care of him....I-I don't want him to leave, but if he must go--I want to at least know that he is in good hands." She sniffs and looks at me with tears gushing out. I tighten a fist to hold my emotions in, but its no use. My chest feels tight and my eyes get watery. The fact that I don't know how long I will be gone puts on the verge of tears.
"I promise, he will be back before you know it, Misaki." Eliza walks over to her and tries to comfort Misaki. Misaki has never cried for me, so this means a lot. "H-hey Eliza, how do we get to Nuvia?" I cut to the chase, putting on my most confident looking face. She takes a slight pause before answering me. I can tell even she feels guilty about separating us, she takes a deep breath to regain her composure. She walks behind me to put her hand on my back, "Let me know when and I will teleport us by activating the headmaster's spell." I nod saying that I am ready, but before anything happens Misaki holds my sleeve and says in a soft voice, "Please be careful and don't be stupid. Make sure you wake up for school, idiot." She lightly punches my arm and gives me a big smile. I couldn't take it anymore, my valve for tears broke. I covered my face with arm and cried. "Thank you, Misaki. For everything..." She hugs me tightly and I'm surprised, she never hugged me like this before. I hug her back for a while and then I back up to go back with Eliza.
Misaki backs up a few feet and I say, "I'm ready to go." Eliza says ok and suddenly my body starts to glow. Eliza's hand feels tingly and hot, it almost tickles. I can feel my tears evaporating and Misaki starts to wave goodbye, I wave back.
Then, I hear a loud 'Ziiiip' noise and the world turned black…