I didn't know how it happened. It didn't make sense at all. It couldn't, could it? The last thing I remembered was being in my room. I was at home, having just gotten back a little later than normal. There was a boy in my class; Kenta.
He had asked me to meet him behind the school after class ended. I knew what he was going to say, but all the same, I went anyway.
"Aya-san, I-I've had feelings for you for a long time..."
I knew it.
"I think everything about you is amazing. The way you're so smart, and kind, and stylish, and you care so much for your friends. I couldn't help falling for you..."
Stylish? I didn't understand why he would think I'm stylish. Everyone wore the same uniform. At most, on some days I wore a red, or blue ribbon in my hair that my mom had given me, or maybe my backpack strap could be seen as that because I attached a tiny figurine of a happy squid with a pink body and two tentacles holding tiny spatulas."
"So, I was wondering..."
I already knew my answer.
"Would you go out with me?"
I blinked, and waited a moment to make it seem like I was thinking.
"Kenta-kun, I really appreciate you going through the trouble to tell me how you feel..."
"No, it wasn't any trouble at all! infac-"
I had to stop this now. "But the problem is, I'm just not interested in dating right now."
He froze for a moment.
"You don't have to lie to me. You like someone else, right?", he said.
"No, that's not it."
"You're lying!"
Honestly, there wasn't. I just wanted to get home. I didn't understand why it was when a guy was rejected they automatically jumped to the conclusion that it had to be because of another guy. It never really made sense. The fact was I just wasn't interested in him. I had never had a boyfriend before, so of course I could always try dating just to see what it was like, but when I thought about all the time I would have to spend getting to know him, and making time to go out, it would all be time that cut into actual time I used to relax. Time that I needed. It was hard enough trying to juggle a part-time job on top of having to go to school, and it wasn't any easier that the only one I could find was an hour's travel there, and back from my house. Most of the days were busy there and by the end all I'd want to do is pass out in my bed or relax by, watching movies, online videos, or playing some online games.
The game I liked was an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game). I spent a lot of time on it with friends I made in the game. There was something about the idea of being able to be whoever you wanted to be, and exploring the world at your own pace that struck me as amazing.
In it they had just about everything you could think of, and you could find a style to play which particularly suited yourself. You could buy clothes for your character, items, go on quests and adventures, or just do nothing. Monster slaying was a big part of it.
While exploring the world around you, you would often run into monsters who would attack you on sight. It was one of the reasons that you would want to form a good party with other players who specialized in different attributes and abilities from your own, so your party could have a good variety of support in case of an emergency.
I played a cleric character because I liked the feeling of being depended upon and the idea being able to heal whenever someone needed it, and the support role often didn't have to fight in the front, which gave me a lot of leeway when it came to mistakes. I felt roles like that where I could support from behind were where I shone the brightest. I liked the idea of being able to be the thing that protected my allies and gave them the confidence to not hold back when taking on difficult tasks. So when I woke up in this new world it was a huge blow to find out that wouldn't be possible.
I had just closed my eyes for the night. After that I don't remember what happened. I don't even remember if I dreamed. All I knew is I was shivering, it was cold, and I was no longer in my bed. When I opened my eyes I saw a ground made of stone, and directly a head of me was a row of many different feet wearing dark boots made of a leather type material. I held my arms and that's when I noticed it. I was naked. I instantly became terrified.
The room seemed to be made entirely of stone and was dimly lit. There was an odd greenish glow that seemed to be fading in and out emitting from a giant crystal that seemed to be embedded in the ceiling.
"It seems this one's a girl too.", I heard a voice say.
I tried to cover myself even for what little good it would do, and started backing away as quickly as I could to the nearest wall behind me, while still on the ground. Had I been kidnapped? Was this some kind of a prank? I didn't know anything, and I couldn't think straight.
I looked up only to see the faces of many older looking men, some with grey hair, some with none at all, and others who's faces seemed to be hidden just behind the darkness of their hoods on the robes they wore.
"Wh-Who are you people?! What did you do to me?!"
"Ah, miss, not to worry, all will be explained in time.", one said.
"I ASKED YOU WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE!" I screamed. I was terrified, and I could feel my heart racing. I wanted to cry, to scream, to do something. Anything. I didn't know who these people were, or what they did to me while I was unconscious, but I just wanted some semblance of and idea to make sense of things.
Was I kidnapped? Where they some weird cult that were planning to kill me? Is that what those robes were for? There had to be a reason for this.
"Miss, please calm down...", another man said.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?! Don't you fucking tell me to calm down! What the fuck did you do to me?! Where are my clothes?"
I was getting angrier, and angrier. I knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it was the only thing that game me some semblance of a feeling of control after waking up in that state. It was something I needed.
That's when a woman stepped forward. She was wearing a robe with the hood up, but I could tell she was a woman by the way she moved and the slight curvatures of her body the cloth clung to.
She was holding a cloth like material in her hands, which she draped over me.
"M'lady, I'm sorry if we've frightened you, but please, I beg you let us explain.", she said.
Her voice was soft but reassuring.The moment she spoke I began to feel a bit better. I'm not sure if it was because of the blanket I now had for some comfort, or the fact that there was actually another female, which made me feel a bit less alone in a room full of creepy old men, but I continued to listen.
"You have been summoned by divine right, of the Holy Guardians to protect this world as one of the Incarnated Saints of old."
I tensed up again. She was crazy too, I thought, and I was becoming more scared all over again.
"What are you talking about? Nothing you're saying makes any sense! Please, just let me go home!"
"M'lady, please. All shall be explained to you, but for now let me bring you out of this place. Your other comrades await your presence."
"Other comrades? I don't understand..." I could feel my eyes beginning to water and I started to cry.
The woman took me gently by the arm and began to lead me outside.
The men in robes all parted ways on each side for us to pass and I gripped tighter on the woman's arm, moving closer to her.
We exited into a brightly lit hallway. It looked like the hallway of some sort of high class european estate. I'd never seen one in real life, but from movies, it was the closest thing I could think of that seemed familiar. As the doors closed behind us I could hear muffled chanting begin in the room.
W-what are they doing in there? I asked, looking up to her. She was only slightly taller than me at 5'5, but the way I clung onto her like a child holding onto their mother it felt like she could have be the tallest thing in the world.
"They're starting the summoning ritual again."
"Summoning ritual?"
"Yes, to summon the last of the remaining Incarnated Saints to arrive."
"I don't understand..."
"Not to worry, we'll be explaining everything, but we must wait for the last of the saints to arrive. Until then, we have prepared a room with food and amenities to satisfy you until we can begin the briefing.