As Miranda walks away with her cape flapping behind her I begin thinking about her words. In war, there are always unnecessary casualties and war crimes. No one has respect for the opponent when it comes to war, so horrible acts being committed are almost like a past since it is war. If I get captured by Hestian soldiers, I assume they will torture me. That's a terrifying thing to think about.
"Hey..." Lara's hand touches my shoulder causing me to tense up. But I calm down a couple of seconds later.
"Sorry, sorry...Just the idea of going to war is extreme for me. I have seen the images and-" I cut myself off and realize I was telling her the images of war from my previous world before I died. WW2, and Civil Wars of different countries.
"I-images?" Lara asks
I have been with Lara for a long time and Arla has been very trustworthy in a short amount of time. If I am going to be drafted which is a big "IF"...I want to tell Lara something that is always on my mind.
"Hey uhm, Arla, Lara...Can you both meet me back at the inn we are sleeping at? I need to figure something out."
"Uh...Sure? We will meet you back there but, please don't do something stupid."
"I won't MUM!" I say playfully walking away with my hands in my pockets.
I got to think of a way to tell them I am mentally from another world. Also hope Lara doesn't think I went a little insane because I nearly maybe died a week ago.
*20 minutes later*
I am walking back down the street to the hotel and I believe I have an idea of how I will tell them about my "hidden" past.
*Sigh*
I open the front door of the hotel and greet the tiger man at the front again as usual and make my way up the stairs. I am nervous for some reason. My experience as a person reincarnated shouldn't affect how I am now, right?
*knock knock knock*
I wait outside the door but realize I have a key on me. I live here for the moment so of course, I have a key. I reach in my hand and the door swings open quickly startling me.
"Coda..."
"Lara...I am ready to tell you something I never really thought about saying."
She gestures to me inside where Lara is sitting on the couch across from another couch with a table in the center. Lara and Arla sit on the opposite end of me and I take a deep breath.
"So...Lara, you've known me for years. Right?"
"Yeah, I probably know you more than most than anyone else does."
"And Arla," I say addressing her now, "You know be decently well for our short time together."
"Yes. But even I don't know much about you. But you don't know much about my history as well. So we are both equally mysterious." she says finishing
"I am going to tell you both something I never told anyone ever. Not even Ariel who found me knows."
They both look at each other and look back at me simultaneously.
"My name was not Coda before, it was Daniel Zhao. I came from an entirely different...universe, world, dimension, or something. Everything is entirely different from where we are. There are only humans. There is no such thing as 'magic'. Everything is done by conventional means. My race was Chinese which is a race of Asians from the continent of Asia. Like over 2 billion Asians in Asia. But I am not sure how many live there now."
They both seem to squint their eyes in confusion but also curiosity. They seemed intrigued by what I am saying since everything I have just said don't even exist.
"Think of the race I was as the Oslims visually. Smaller eyes, black hair most times, In fact, Lara you're clothes and even your weapon have traits and names that from East Asia. A Country named Japan. I died when I was in high school by a random man who seemed to have snapped and decided to take it out on a stranger like me. I died, and without a choice, left my family, and friends from the world I was from."
"You...had a family before you died?" Lara asks
"Yeah, a mother, father, uncles, aunts, and friends. I had decent grades but nothing substantial. But to die on the day I was birthday hit me and then I met face to face...Or not face to face. exactly. But I met some kind of ethereal being or higher power who gave me the chance to start a new life. Sounded like a female. Then with the blackness of the void, a light flickered, and I was a baby abandoned in the alleyways of Arcadia at night. I was in a basket. That is my origin story. This is why I have said in the past 'Coda, no last name' because I never was officially adopted by anyone. As well as the fact I never knew the people who birthed me into this world.
A moment of silence fills the room for a bit and I am unsure how they are receiving the fact I am not from here. I hope they won't start laughing. Or worse, actually begin to doubt me or distrust me.
After about 30-ish seconds of silence and Lara and Arla both looking in different directions thinking, Arla speaks up.
"So...Your real name is Daniel Zhao?" she asks
"Yeah. Or...Well it 'was' my name. I purposefully had my name changed because I wanted to ensure my name was not odd to my race. I chose something exotic I thought but couldn't think of a last name. Also just never was given one either."
"Well...'Coda' might not even be a real name," Arla says, "So maybe your exotic name brings more attention to you than your original name"
"Huh...I never thought about it. But no one ever said 'that's a dumb name' to me so."
"Well, I am glad you told me this Coda. It now opens a large spectrum of questions for me to ask you now."
"I see, and...What about you Lara?"
"I...I am just wondering...Did you not trust me?" she asks with concern.
"That was never the reason why I never told you. It was because I felt that I would've made myself an outcast and I was still very young before I went into a coma remember? So those years of me being dormant I had no way to say anything. And as we were kids I doubted you would believe me."
"So, it wasn't that you didn't trust me. It was you who thought I wouldn't believe you?" Lara asks, still inquiring about why I never said anything.
"Sort of. But it was primarily that I am 'from another world' that didn't seem to matter much in my everyday life. Since most of what I understand doesn't even exist here yet."
"I...See..." Lara responds with a quiet sigh
We sit there for a couple of minutes until Arla stands up and begins to sit next to me.
"So...What is it like to live in a world where magic doesn't even exist?"
"Well, normal really. some societies believe some gods or spirits give blessings or affect their way of life. But more times than not, there is not a lick of evidence saying the Gods of my world ever existed due to science, and as a result, most of the most 'civilized' parts of the world I was from had religion and faith as separate. There was a man named Galileo. I think that was his name. He was a very early-day scholar and astronomer who was more a man of science and logic, than faith and idealism.
"Interesting," Arla says crossing her legs over one another and placing her hand under her chin.
"But the region of which he lived was not. They were ruled by the Church and had the money, the followers, and the influence of a country. Galileo argued that the planet of which Earth was not the center of the universe, but orbited the sun instead. This was deemed as heresy and he was charged. He had no choice but to renounce his statements in fear of death."
"The church of the Sun has been known to do that. A religion formed in Hestia and had people called the Justicars of Light. They would be the enforcers and the law of the Church of the Sun. However, they have not had the same power in recent years since the Beastmen Rebellions. And with Arcadia though allowing freedom of religion, they directly strike down groups of people or organizations that attempt to enforce religious behaviors and laws on Arcadia's citizens. So the Justicars don't go into Arcadia for fear they will have to face charges." Arla says now waiting for me to continue. I guess this is a history lesson between the both of us.
"But it was people like him who helped bring about the idea that 'if we can't go here this way, lefts go the other way to get there instead.' As a result, the rule of faith and religion became getting pushed out and most of the most advanced civilizations are not religion based. Separation from church and state is what was said in my former country. But there is still some religious stuff in the government. Such as the 'Pledge of Allegiance I had to do in school for a while. We had to say at the end 'One nation, and under god, indivisible, and liberty and justice for all'. But most people who have to say 'under god' part don't either worship a god, or worship a different god."
*2 hours later telling my history of the world that was relevant*
"Wow...I will admit when you said you had to confess about being from another world. I was very skeptical and wondered if..." Arla stops before looking at Lara on the other side of the table, "I wondered if Lara stabbing you might've done something you your head somehow. But...It is so in-depth that I find it hard you could make this up in a week. No offense, but you don't strike me as a writer or a poet."
"None taken. I was always a history buff, really enjoyed learning about "the domino effect" that resulted in where we were before. The fact that the Americans came to Japan and forced them to modernize would result in Japan becoming a modernized imperialistic force in Asia. For which the U.S. would go to war later on. Fascinates me."
"I could tell you so much about this world and its history as well Coda, but I am very curious about your world mostly now," she says enthusiastically.
"Well, what about you Lara?" Arla asks her with a light but smooth voice.
"I...I am not sure...I am sorry, but the idea that you kept this from me bothers me but also doesn't at the same time. We have been through so much but it is only now that you say something."
"I...I see...I won't say I understand how you are feeling because let's be real, no one truly understands someone. Only they can understand their own emotions and thoughts."
*Sighs* "Indeed. I always thought of you as weird when we were kids. You were too humorous as a kid. And dumb. And also ugly. Also, you're still ugly"
"Uhuh...Sure. Says the walking vomit puddle!"
"Hmph!" she says turning her head away with her ponytail flailing from the sudden turn of her head away from me.