"Let's do this!" Ae Rin said as she grabbed her sister's hand and signaled each other to be prepared. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath before merging their energies together. Kyou stared at them in surprise as a purple orb appeared right in front of them. The orb slowly grew in size into a whirling void.
"Let's get in, guys!" Iris commanded but Kyou seemed hesitant about it.
"It's going to be fine. We can't hold it much longer! We have to go in now!" Ae Rin shot an alarming glance at Kyou before turning back to concentrate.
"O-Okay, then. Let's go!" They jumped inside the portal just in time to look back to see the portal shrinking back into an orb and then disappearing into thin air.
They shut their eyes tightly as they feel themselves falling downwards and the air clashing with their bodies. When they feel themselves at a steadier state, they slowly open their eyes.
"What the...? It's just a..."
"Just an open field..? Is this all there is to it? Wasn't it supposed to be different from ours?"
They frown in confusion while observing a familiar scene in front of them - an open field filled with bushes, grasses and various trees just like their own world.
"Did we get into a wrong portal or-...?! GUYS!! Look back!!" Iris shouted as she stared in panic at the 'thing' behind them.
"Huh? What is it?" Ae Rin casually looked back to see three men with twisted horns growing out of their heads, running towards Ae Rin. Her face fills with horror as she turns back to them, only to see that they were already running from those creature and abandoning her.
"Did you both just-!? Anyway, I'll just use my power to stop these creatures!" Ae Rin thought to herself as she raised her hand to unleash her power but..it was in vain. There was no impact on the three horned men.
"What the-?! Why is it not working!? Damn me and my power! I have to run!!" She started running as fast as her legs could carry her but those creatures were already catching up to her.
She concentrated on running so much that she didn't notice those three creatures standing right in front of her all of a sudden, which caused her to almost bump into them.
Ae Rin stood there frozen in shock as she knew she would be dying anytime soon. But things went a little differently....
The men kneeled down with smiles on their faces and...
"-Marry me!
-Marry me!
-Marry me!"
The three of them shouted out in unison as they extended their hands towards Ae Rin. Their words made the other two stop in their tracks and look back with wide eyes.
"WHAT?!" Ae Rin's jaw dropped at the sudden proposal.
"This must be some kind of trap of this world. I have to be careful and run away." She thought to herself before suddenly making a run for it.
"Wait! Where are you going, gorgeous? Marry me first!" One of them yelled as they started chasing after her again.
"What the heck is wrong with this world!? Are they insane? There must be some kind of mental hospital or something nearby for these weirdos!" She mumbled to herself as she looked back to see them still trailing after her and pleading her to stop and marry them.
*Sometime after running like a bull*
"Phew! Finally got rid of them." She breathed heavily while sitting under a tree and leaning against it."Looks like I got separated from Iris and Kyou. I hope those two are fine on their own.
And I'm in the middle of some sort of a forest it seems..." She looked around the place only to spot trees and thick bushes all around her.
"I wonder why my powers were not working that time..." She looked down at her hands and sighed. She raised her head and gazed at the calm surrounding and was instantly relaxed by it.
"Well, whatever. Might as well rest a bit after being run around like a rat being chased by a cat...Wait, what? Who am I even comparing myself to? I must have gone crazy..." She sighed again and closes her eyes.
Just after a few seconds, she heard footsteps in the distance. Her ears perked up and her eyes fluttered open almost immediately. She stood up to her feet and grabbed a branch of a tree that was lying on the ground and held it in front her in the direction of the sound. The footsteps grew closer and closer with each step and Ae Rin's grip around the branch tightened. The high bushes and branches of the trees were parted by a pair of wrinkled and old hands. "Oh dear, I must have scared you. My apologies."
An old woman in her 60's emerged from among the bushes and greeted her with a kind and sweet smile. She carried a stick for supporting her frail and old body. She was wearing a full sleeve long frock covering her feet, carrying a heavy sack over her shoulders. It seemed normal, for now. Ae Rin lowered the stick on seeing the old and harmless woman in front of her.
"Are you lost, dear? You look tired." The woman asked in a worried tone.
"Oh, yes. I actually got separated from my friends. I was chased by a few men with.. horns." Ae Rin explained to her.
"Ah, you must be referring to the Carlots. Those are nasty creatures and are not to be trusted. They always do silly actions to make you fall into their traps and when you do, they kill you and let your flesh rot and then eat your rotten flesh - worst way to leave this world, I would say." She sighed and shook her head while staring at the ground with her empty, grey eyes.
"That must be a terrible fate. Are they common creatures out here in this world?" Ae Rin asked curiously.
The old woman raised her head and looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean 'in this world'? "
Ae Rin herself was startled by what she had blurted out of her luckless mouth. "I-I meant to ask if they are common in this area since I'm not from around here...ha..ha.."
The old woman stared at her with a blank expression as if she didn't trust even a single word she'd said but her lips eventually curved up into a smile. "Yes, dear. Carlots are common in this area.. Oh, come to think of it, you haven't told what your name is."
"Oh, my name? My name...of course I have one of those...um..it's Lidia!" She replied with an awkward smile which was not at all convincing.
"Alright, then. Lidia, do you want to come to my place to have a cup of coffee? It's been a while since I had a visitor like you. It would be wonderful if you could come." The woman smiled at her.
"It wouldn't be bad to go with her, right? She's just an old woman. She could be useful too. I need to ask her more about this dimension." She thought deeply and carefully about the matter before nodding with a smile.
"Do you perhaps need some help with the sack?" Ae Rin offered to help.
A panicky and uneasy look washed over the lady's face and she immediately retreated a few steps back. "I-I can do it on my own. Even though I m an old woman, I am stronger than you think."
Ae Rin was suspicious for a second, but then shrugged it off thinking that she was just imagining things.
"Okay, if you say so..." Ae Rin replied.
The old woman lead the path and she followed quietly behind her. After a brief walk, they arrived at a small cottage made of wood. It didn't seem too suspicious but as they entered the cottage, they were welcomed by the foul smell and tattered interior of the house. Ae Rin quickly covered her nose in disgust and glanced at the old woman who wasn't bothered by the foul smell at all. She simply smiled as she placed the huge sack inside one of the rooms and returned back to the living room to join her guest.
"Why does the place smell so bad?" Ae Rin asked the woman. The woman smiled again, "I don't smell anything bad. Please have seat, dear."
Ae Rin was surprised how the old woman could suppress the urge to get out of the house because of the smell. She sat quietly on the chair while covering her mouth but the woman didn't care much. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" The woman asked.
"Just water is fine." Ae Rin replied.
"Ok, then." The woman smiled again & started walking towards the kitchen.
Suddenly, Ae Rin's eyes fell on the woman's feet. A small gasp slipped out of her mouth when she noticed that she had a pair of dark, scarred and big ugly feet.
Right now, only one thing was going on in her mind, "I need to get the hell out of here."
"Then the foul smell was of.." Realisation struck her and she quietly made her way into the room where the sack was kept to clear her doubts. Indeed, the foul smell was coming from the room, which was bathed in blood and the ground was filled with legs, arms, heads, eyes, and brains of children, women and men.
She couldn't believe what she was looking at.
"You shouldn't be wandering around here, dear." A voice called out from behind her.