The strange hooded figure pulled their hood down, revealing a woman's face. She was unbelievably beautiful; naturally rosy cheeks, long and straight brown hair that went down to her back and brown eyes to match. Her lips were glossy but it seemed natural, not to mention she had a smile that could kill, her body matching the shape of an hourglass perfectly. Despite her beauty, both of the young men were suspicious of her, though they weren't aware they were currently standing right beside one another, staring at the same woman.
"Do not be afraid. I am not your enemy." Her voice was soft and quiet, though they could both hear it clearly, and it also had a bit of an echo to it.
"Who are you?" The two boys said in unison. They both jumped and turned to look at one another.
"F?!" Riku L. shouted in shock.
"You're..." Riku F. stood there, puzzled.
"As you can see, we are in a space where your two realms cross, but not just anyone can enter this place." They both looked at the woman as she started speaking. "I allowed you both to enter this space so I could speak to you. I imagine you must be very confused, but being such bright and intelligent young men, I imagine you've figured at least some of what's going on on your own?" She smiled and tilted her head to the side lightly as she questioned them, causing both of their cheeks to turn a faint red and turn away from the genuine compliment.
"I-I guess you could say that..." Riku L. spoke up, looking at the space around them
"Yeah..." Riku F. replied as well, doing the same as Riku L. The space around them was small, and they were surrounded by mist, only a small, but comfortable amount of space between them all. The ground below them was just a white slate, and the sky above them made it look as if it was night time, but you could very clearly see the bright stars and various other features of the universe.
"I'll start off by saying some things you've figured out are true, and some are wrong. What you've guessed correctly, mostly, is that you two have switched bodies and that you receive notifications on your devices whenever something major happens to the other." The woman spoke.
"T-That's all we've guessed correctly?" Riku L. spoke up.
"That's only the most obvious things... The rest of our theories were wrong?" Riku F. muttered to himself.
"There are several things you've hypothesized incorrectly, as well as private theories you've kept to yourselves. You both so far are the only ones who have switched bodies that can contact each other between these two planes of existence, and Riku F, you can still use magic even in Riku L's body." Both of their eyes widened at her statement, but she continued with the list. "As for you, Riku L, if you do awaken magic, it will not be the same as Riku F's. Now, questions before I continue?" She smiled.
"What do you mean I can still use magic? I'm in-"
She cut Riku F. off. "You may be in a different body, but your soul remains the same, does it not?"
"Then if that's true, how do you know I'll even be able to use magic?" Riku L. asked.
"All beings have the ability to awaken magic in the right place. The reason you can't awaken magic very well in your world is because there is very little magical energy in your world, practically none, so it's nearly impossible to awaken any. However, if one who has already awakened magic moves into a world such as yours, they will still be able to use that magic, albeit on a lesser scale."
Riku F. thought of several things, having no further questions. Riku L. on the other hand, did. "What kind of magic will I have then?"
"I know many things, but I cannot tell you the future." She replied.
"Can you tell us who you are then?" Riku F. spoke up suddenly.
"I'll get to that in a moment, any other questions?" They exchanged glances before staring at the woman silently.
She nodded before speaking once again. "The reason why this has happened was another thing you guessed, but merely put it off. The reason you both have switched bodies is because your realms, your two worlds, your planes of existence, whatever you wish to call it, have crossed. This phenomenon is called Cross Worlds. Because you two are so similar, this phenomenon caused you to switch bodies. You're both so similar to the point where you've both grown tired of the ways of your worlds. Riku F. wishes to live a simple life without having to fight every day and Riku L. wishes for a world with more excitement instead of continuing to go through the same boring routine every single day in his 'normal, everyday, boring' world, as he puts it."
The two Rikus both looked at each other, speaking in unison. "What is wrong with you? Why would you wanna live in a world like that?!"
The woman giggled once more. "You see what I mean by similar?"
Their cheeks reddened once again from embarrassment and the two turned away from each other.
"I guess..." Riku L. mumbled.
"Whatever..." Riku F. muttered.
The woman giggled. "What you're thinking may be correct Riku F. There may be others in that world who do possess magical abilities, but you'll have to discover that for yourself." Riku F. said nothing, but nodded as confirmation.
"Let's move on shall we? Who I am; I'm a deity of sorts that can travel between worlds. It's my job to make sure that people who switch bodies, like you two, know what's going on. I also linked your devices so you could speak to one another. I can't tell you my name unfortunately."
"So you're saying you're a god?" Riku F. asked.
"Goddess." Riku L. said, correcting him.
"I am not a god nor goddess; I'm not at that level, but they do exist yes. I am more of a demigoddess."
"I'll believe it when I see it." The two Rikus spoke in unison, making the woman giggle once more.
"Very well. But do know, there are other entities on F's planet that will be able to sense the change, and once you awaken your magic that'll only prove their suspicions, so do be careful, Riku L. These beings will have various intentions..." Riku L. nodded slowly at her words, sweating a bit, but he felt a bit excited as well, feeling as if his life was going to get even more exciting from here on out.
"I'm assuming some of these beings will also be able to move across worlds?" Riku F. spoke up, still looking lost in thought.
"No, the only ones who can cross between worlds are beings like myself and the gods who rule over those realities. The only one who really has anything to worry about is Riku L."
"I see... So as long as no one finds out I have magic..." Riku F. muttered
"Correct, you'll be in the clear." The deity smiled. "Though I imagine there will be some smart magic users in that world who will be able to figure you out eventually. There are also those who can sense magic."
"I figured as much." F. sighed a bit. "But the peace will be nice while it lasts."
"So is there anything else?" Riku L asked.
"Yes, there is one more piece of information I must give you." They both looked at her curiously. "You are both able to switch back into your original bodies at any time, but after a total of 18 months, you will no longer be able to. After that, the worlds will no longer be crossed and you two won't be able to communicate with each other after that. The same applies to the body swapping process."
"S-Seriously? Well...I guess that's a long time to make our minds..." Riku L. muttered to himself.
"I see...and that's the last piece of information?" Riku F. asked.
"Correct." The woman replied. "Oh, but first." She walked to the both of them, pressing her palms against their foreheads. They stared at her, confused, suddenly being enveloped by a minty green aura. The wounds they had from their fights slowly faded, both of them feeling good as new. "Now you can keep up with your training."
She smiled at the both of them, causing them to blush yet again, both of them having the same thought. "She really is a goddess..!"
Riku F. turned away. "Can we go back to what we were doing now?"
The woman giggled. "Very well, I'll send you both back now. I'll be watching you, so if you wish to enter this realm again, just go to the places you're in when you are back in your worlds and I will pull you in, but only if you are alone." The mist surrounding them all swirled around the two Rikus and quickly disappeared.
When the mist lifted around Riku F, he was staring at his reflection, standing in front of a glass pane of a really tall building. He looked up, trying to read the company name. "Artemis..." His eyes narrowed
Riku L. was on a plateau, and there were several people in the distance, training with wooden swords. He could hear someone yelling, assuming it was their instructor. They all also had light training gear on; white long sleeved shirts with vests, leather gloves, and shoulder pads, as well as similar colored pants with knee pads and leather boots. He noticed several other groups with several other types of wooden weapons; spears, axes, daggers, dual swords, greatswords, anything you could think of really. Though there seemed to be nothing related to magic here. "I wonder why none of them are using any magic..."