A lot of thoughts flashed through my mind as I searched inwardly for an answer. As much as I wanted to keep my cynicism and prevent myself from falling prey to some elaborate scheme… something in my gut was telling me to hear him out.
The cushion under my butt felt soft, the iced coffee taste exactly like I remember it, and I can fell the rattling of my chest when he talks. These are all genuine sensations. I pinched myself to be sure and winced at the pain.
I have never believed magic was real. But I am undeniably in another place, I doubt any drug would make something this vivid… and ridiculous. I quickly reined in my thoughts as I saw the old man across from me raise his eyebrows.
Damnit, I forgot he can hear my thoughts. I regained my composure and asked the first and possibly most important question, "So… who exactly are you? Are you Isadora's grandfather?" He sure didn't look like her at all.
"In a sense, yes. Through the soul space we are connected with all our descendants. We can share memories and knowledge, as well as power. She is from my family line, though many generations apart."
"Hmmm…" I took a sip of my iced coffee as I took this new information in, "So the bookmark she handed me had some kind of power that brought me here?"
I remembered the weird vibe I got from that scrap of leather. He seemed to be amused at me calling it a bookmark.
"Aye." He said with a smirk.
"Is my soul damaged? Is that why she sent me here? Is that how you are going to heal me and my legs?" I asked eagerly, as the reality of this situation settled in. I would do anything, spend anything, to get my life back. I will be believe in the impossible if it makes the impossible happen.
"Not quite. Yer soul is fine. Better than fine- you have quite a bit of vitality."
"Vitality? Hah, yeah I guess." I replied. What a weird word to choose…
"Nay, it's different. The vitality we speak of is the life force within your soul. Most people on earth have 60% vitality in their souls, in other worlds they range up to 200%."
"Other worlds?" I asked, "Are you talking about like the multiverse, like in comics?"
"Hmmmmm…" His deep voice again shook my chest and he murmured thoughtfully. "I'll put it like this. What you speak of are like pages in a book, each page it's own reality within it's dimension, and the book is the earth. What I speak of is a great library."
"…!"
"And you, my dear, Mika, have been placed in the wrong book."
"What do you mean?" I asked him. 'Wrong book'? Does he mean I'm on the wrong planet?
"Isadora recognized that your soul was different as soon as she met you. You don't appear to be a transmigrator as you have no memories of another world, however…"
"However..?"
"You don't belong there, girl. 'Truck-kun' as you called it, was sent to send you back. When that didn't work, we had no choice but to summon you here."
"Wait! YOU hit me with that truck?! YOU..?!" I lost my words in the shock and anger I felt. Some supernatural Viking dude saw fit to play god and messed up my life!
"An unfortunate situation, Aye. We underestimated your vitality and you survived. However, I can forcefully send your soul where it belongs… but there are conditions."
"Will I still be paralyzed?"
"No. your soul will be placed in another body, which will look and feel like your own. It will be more hardy, to accommodate the strength of your soul, however."
"Okay, so what are the conditions?" I asked, skeptically.
"First," He stated as he held up one finger, "We will need your permission to allow another soul to enter your body."
"Why?" I asked without thinking
"We have another situation where a body was destroyed before the soul was ready to move on. We would like to place it in your vacant body once you move on."
"Sure," I shrugged, "It's not like I will be using it. What's the second condition?"
"Secondly," he held up another finger, "You must call me sensei when you ask for my help." He said with cheeky smirk on his face.
"Sensei?" I asked, as I laughed inwardly, "seems a little odd to call someone as…great as you." I said as I looked at his gargantuan sized body. When I hear the word sensei, I imagine some old, skinny, greying samurai dude… not a hulk sized Viking.
"You WILL call me sensei if you want my help." He bellowed, his voice rattling my very bones. There was a powerful aura emanating from him that made him seem even bigger, or maybe made me feel even smaller.
"Sorry, I apologize if I offended you…" I looked up and met his fierce gaze that somehow seemed to be urging me on. I sighed and continued, "Sensei."
Immediately the oppressive atmosphere dissipated and he resumed sipping from his tiny tea cup like nothing happened.
"That's better." He said with a smirk.
I inwardly rolled my eyes and asked, "So how do we do this?"
"The totem," He gestured towards my lap, and I noticed that the strange bookmark was there. "That will guide you towards your next destination."
As I grabbed the bookmark, or totem as he called it, The scene around me started to swirl.
"Best of luck to ye!" I heard his deep booming voice as colors swirled around me, and my vision became brighter.
Suddenly, I was surrounded by warmth, light, and a mosaic of colors. I felt free and light, I looked around and saw that my body was gone, I was nothing but a ball of light!
I'VE BEEN SCAMMED! He didn't give me another body after all! That sly old man! If I could, I would go right back there and… Wait, what could I do? I have no arms or legs.
I sighed as I thought to myself, 'I guess I should try going in a direction?' Maybe I will find something or someone to help.
Suddenly, I felt like I was being pulled towards something; frightened, I tried to escape in the other direction. I bet that cheeky old man heard me and wants revenge! I tried and tried but eventually I was pulled against my will. As I turned my gaze towards the source I was blinded by something even brighter than me!
The brightness forced me to close my eyes and I tried to shield my eyes. Silly me, I have no arms! 'How could I forget', I thought sarcastically. But somehow my eyes were shaded. I opened them and saw my arm in front of my face.
My body!!! My precious body! I was ecstatic in this moment. That gave me a real scare. I looked around to see I was laying on a grassy hill with the sun blaring down on me. I was forced to close my eyes again due to the brightness of the sun. Remembering the words from the old Viking Sensei, I cautiously tried to wiggle my toes.
'please work… please work…' I half thought and half prayed.
They moved! My toes work! I wanted to look down at them and see for myself but it was too bright and my eyes hadn't yet adjusted. I tried to move my legs as well. The movements were stiff and clumsy and it was difficult to get them to do what I wanted; and they felt as heavy as concrete blocks. It took all my concentration to just bend my knees. But they worked!!! I was so happy I started crying.
Some leaves nearby rustled, I didn't pay it much mind since I was too preoccupied. It's probably just a bird or a squirrel anyways.
I felt something sniffing near my ear, like when I used to have a dog. Surprised, I looked to my right and saw a huge wolf-dog staring back at me. It didn't seem hostile- in fact, it looked kind of cute. Granted this thing was huge, but those puppy dog eyes made me melt. Maybe this new world has animal companions, like in novels! Maybe I can tame this big dog!
I looked around with my eyes squinted while blocking the light to make sure it's owner wasn't around. I saw and heard no one. I looked back at this big dog who was now sitting up and looking at me like he understood. I also sat up… however that's when I realized that I was butt naked.
…!!!! VIKING SENSEI HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! At least leave me some clothes!!!! I almost cried again.
The wolf dog seemed to be eyeing my naked body, but it's just a dog. Probably trying to figure out where this human came from. I reached out to pet him but he was way too big. As if he understood, the dog lowered its head for me to pet it. His fur was soft and he had big purple eyes. Peculiar, but adorable.
"what a sweet boy." I smiled. I always had a soft spot for animals. Then, the dog moved even closer - in true big dog fashion, he must think he's a lap dog. I started laughing as he pushed me over and stood over me. He licked away the tears that were still on my face and moved on to my neck. His tongue was prickly and tickled me; I couldn't stop laughing.
I closed my eyes, turned my head away, and tried to push the big lug off me. "Silly boy, that tickles!"
Suddenly the fur under my hands turned smooth and the shade that was provided by this massive lap dog was gone. I tried to peek through squinted eyes to see what was going on.
The dog was gone and was replaced by a man! I nearly balked in surprise.
He was larger than an average human, without a doubt. His huge, ripped body, made my tiny frame seem even smaller. I was staring at his chest when I opened my eyes, I turned my head upwards to look at the face of whoever this was.
He had white hair, large purple eyes, and a devastatingly handsome face which somehow also looked innocent.
"Call me Marshall." He simply said, in his buttery smooth voice. Like it was totally natural to jump on a random woman in the woods!
I overcame my speechlessness and tried to regain some dignity. "Excuse me, Marshall," I emphasized his name in a sarcastic tone, "but could you kindly get the hell off me?!" I tried pushing against his chest but he wouldn't budge.
He emitted a deep growling sound and I felt the rumbling of his chest under my fingers. I looked up, completely shocked. His eyes had darkened and I felt something pressing against my abdomen.
Oh no…