Ji-Ho and Meihua alike both held looks of fascination as they wandered within the town. It was a bricked and mortared town, pathways paved in stone. Each building that lined the massive main street had been covered indiscriminately in brightly-coloured flowers.
The vines wrapped around buildings as if they serves only as a canvas to perform against; an artist underneath the morning sunlight. Hundreds of people scattered about the town square, talking and purchasing wares in every corner of the space.
The two had to stand in silence for a single moment, allowing their eyes to take in everything they saw. For a decade they had belonged to a world where society was unheard of within their ears.
Now that they had stood amidst so many people, their hearts sat shocked in apprehension. Ji-Ho, a bit apprehensive to be part of a normal world once more, was still excited by the prospect.
— — I wish you all could see this. You would have liked this, I'm sure, Rohan, Esen...
"I feel... slightly out of place..." Ji-Ho sighed, expelling the weight of her mind as she smiled softly, turning towards Meihua. "Don't you?"
"I'm trying desperately to convince myself that I'm fine, for it seems like such a stupid thing to feel nervous about..." Meihua replied softly in response. "But I'm scared..."
Ji-Ho reached her hand out, offering it to Meihua.
"I'll be brave enough for the both of us, so just hold my hand and cease your worries." Ji-Ho said with an assured smile.
Arbors sat at every section of the square, covered in vines and sprouted bright pink flowers that seemed to wave hello in the face of a spring wind.
The two approached a stall sitting at the edge of the town's square, which featured a bulky bearded man selling fruits.
He was immensely tall, almost so much that the canopy that hung overhead had become too short to house him, and he was forced to crook his entire body forwards constantly just to be able to keep out of the sunlight in the daytime.
"Hello." The man spoke with a big grin upon his face. "You two seem like new faces."
Ji-Ho's mind went blank as she responded.
"Ah, yeah..." She managed to get out.
Her mind, in all of its entirety, had been rewired in opposition of social interaction.
"We're fairly new to wherever this is." Meihua stepped in. "We're not too sure where we should be heading, nor do we have anything to our name as of yet."
The man laughed heartily.
"I see, so you are really just two simple newcomers." He laughed softly.
The man was a figure to be feared from afar. Yet, up close, he was a warmer of hearts.
The man reached forward in his stall, grabbing two brightly coloured apples. He handed them to the two, who accepted them readily.
"Ah, thank you." Ji-Ho said, looking down at the apple in her palms. "We've no money however..."
"Don't worry too much about it. Pay me a visit if you ever return to this spot in the future." He smiled. "I'll take your hello as a thanks."
Ji-Ho stared at the man for a moment, before parting her lips to speak.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Ji-Ho asked of him. "About this world, I mean..."
"Ah, I understand. You want to know about where you've arrived, don't you?" The man spoke. "Then I'll start by telling you of how you should never speak of the world you once came from. Not to anyone."
"Why's that?" Meihua asked of him. "You speak as if you come from a different world entirely."
"It's more than likely that you and I once did not belong to the same world." The man spoke sternly. "It's in such a way that it does not matter where anyone has come from. All that matters is that we are now here. Besides, it's not as if there's a way to differentiate between a person who came to this world, and one who was born in it. It is just common courtesy to keep most of your past a secret."
"I see." Ji-Ho muttered. "How interesting."
"Anyone could have come from any world here, all reborn in various forms... whether as humans, or as something else..." His voice held a slight bitterness as he spoke. "All because of those Gods that sit and watch over us as if we're animals."
"I had heard something talking of those Gods." Ji-Ho spoke. "What did that mean? Why do they all say these Gods are so cruel?"
"Nowhere is purely a world meant to trap up within terrible situations." The man spoke once again. "If you find yourself becoming a Wanderer, simply do not ever seek out that which they call a 'Chapter'. The moment you participate within the God's cruel storybook, is the moment you might feel compelled to complete it."'
He smiled once more. "But you should go now. I recommend you find the Wanderer's Guild. There's quite a bit of opportunity there. You might find yourself stumbling into good fortune."
The two walked off without ever even asking for his name. Perhaps they would the next time they met.
He had spoken of the Wanderer's Guild, that which was spoken of previously on the poster outside of the Town.
It was an organisation that served to create a space in which adventurers and such could have a place to rest, in any majour city they chose to stay in.
As far as Ji-Ho had heard, they would also be able to purchase weapons and armour there, as well as seek out an official position as a 'Wanderer' that would allow them to take commissions from strangers in exchange for gold. Gold stood as the currency of Nowhere, and Ji-Ho and Meihua currently had none.
Ji-Ho and Meihua talked with each other as they walked down the stone pathway.
"This world... it's..." Ji-Ho muttered. "Frighteningly loud."
"That is quite true." Meihua responded in turn. "But I think it is people trying to react in a positive way in the face of a tragic fate. Surely there are other places in this world that are not nearly as bright as this."
"A good point, I suppose." Ji-Ho replied, glancing up at the glimmering spring sky. "Perhaps we started out in a nice place."
"Do you think it will get dangerous?" Meihua asked of Ji-Ho.
"If it does, you will not have to feel worry." Ji-Ho grinned. "I will protect you to my dying breath."
"Well, that's something I know I can trust." Meihua laughed.
Ji-Ho looked towards Meihua. When she would smile, she was gorgeous in Ji-Ho's eyes. It made Ji-Ho's heart flutter, even if only a little bit.
The way her ocean eyes would glimmer under the spring sunlight was particularly heart-grasping to her. She swallowed back the angst of her heart as she parted her lips to speak.
"If ever there comes a time where there is danger, I truly will be the one to step forth." Ji-Ho said. "Perhaps I am not the best when it comes to talking with people, but I know damn sure that I can at least kill a monster or two."
"Monsters? Why do you speak of that?" Meihua asked.
Ji-Ho pondered for a moment, before responding.
"Well, it's a fantasy-esque world, is it not?" She posed. "Surely there's to be a monster or two."
"I hate the idea that there might be monsters..." Meihua sighed.
In the distance, the two could see the towering structure they had come to know as the Wanderer's Guild Office. It was nearly twice as large as the other buildings within the town, for it stood nearly the most important, barring official governmental facilities.
A window had previously appeared, an interface that explained their current position within Godhome.
As far as the two had come to know, the town they stood in presently, [Craithe], was a town that stood within the [Neutral Kingdom], one which sat in the center of the continent placed within Godhome.
There were supposedly six other Kingdoms, but Ji-Ho had not the patience to read through the entire window that had persisted in front of her, erratically waving it away as she walked.
Making their way to the building, they eventually found themselves in front of a massive, towering structure. It had a golden insignia hung in front of it, displaying some sort of illegible symbol. Ji-Ho had assumed it was specific to this world, so she would not have had any idea what it was in that moment.
Opening the building, all Ji-Ho could do was marvel at its massive, lamplit interior.
Suddenly, a voice called out to them.
"Come now, you've just barely made it!"