"90€? Damn, that's expensive. What kind of idiot would pay this?" I muttered to myself as I scrolled through the game shop, my frustration bubbling. "Why do they keep getting more and more expensive? And this isn't even a special edition its just the normal game!"
I kept scrolling, grumbling under my breath, until something caught my eye. Fruit Frenzy? The name stood out in the sea of overpriced titles. "Hmm, this looks interesting," I mused, finally feeling a spark of excitement.
Bing!
Just as my cursor hovered over the purchase button, my microwave chimed from the kitchen. The sound reminded me that my instant curry was ready. My stomach growled in agreement, and without a second thought, I pushed back my chair and headed for the kitchen, already imagining the taste of the curry.
I knew it wasn't the healthiest option, but who cares? It was cheap, delicious, and quick. "Healthy food's overrated anyway," I said aloud, grabbing the steaming container from the microwave. All I needed was to fill my stomach and keep myself fueled for the night.
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BAM!
A sharp, sudden noise echoed as I dropped my curry. My eyes were locked on the bizarre sight in front of me. What is going on? My feet had barely crossed the threshold into the room when my brain couldn't comprehend what it was seeing.
Where my table used to be, there was now… a portal. It was swirling, dark, with shades of blue and red. It seemed to suck in the very air around it, like it was alive.
"No, no, no!" I thought in despair. My brand new 3090 GPU and i9-11900K processor, which I had just spent over 1400€ on, were gone - swallowed up by the portal. My heart sank as I realized my expensive setup had vanished without a trace.
Should I get closer? My curiosity got the better of me. Slowly, I took a few slow steps toward the portal, my feet moving of their own accord.
Then, out of nowhere, I felt an invisible force pulling at me. My body jerked forward faster and faster until I had no control. Within seconds, I was drawn in, sucked into the portal, like I was being yanked into a vacuum.
"FUCK!" I screamed, but it was useless. The pull was too strong. All around me, I saw a blur of stars, streaking by like I was traveling through space at impossible speeds. I could still breathe, but everything else seemed impossible - my body felt weightless, like I had no control, no grip on anything.
Time lost all meaning. Was I in this for a minute? An hour? A year? I had no way of telling. I was just floating, tumbling through whatever this was, my mind numb to the passing moments.
Then, I saw it. Just ahead of me, a glowing vortex began to materialize. It was different from the portal I'd come from. My mind screamed at me. I need to get there.
Without thinking, my body, almost as if on instinct, moved toward it. My limbs followed as if guided by some invisible force, drawing me closer to that vortex.
The next thing I knew, I shot through it and crashed into something solid like a ground. Something hard and real. My body hit with a jarring thud, but it didn't matter. I was finally out of whatever that was.
But where was I now?
I slowly tried to get to my feet, using my hands for balance. My eyes darted around, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
I was in some kind of bathhouse. Before me, there was a large pool, but that was all I could make out. The mist in the air blurred everything beyond it. The fog was thick, and I could barely see anything else. Behind me, there was a wooden door and a stone wall.
"Laia? I told you I don't need your help," a sultry voice called out from the fog.
"Laia?" it repeated, this time more sharply.
I need to get out of here. The last thing I wanted was to be seen as a pervert. I moved toward the door, eager to escape. Just as my hand reached for the doorknob, a sword shot out from the mist with lightning speed, striking the door just inches away from me.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my bath?" the female voice demanded again, this time with fury.
I turned around quickly and stammered, "Would you believe me if I said I don't know how I got here?"
The woman I could now see raised an eyebrow and sneered. "I don't think so."
Without warning, her figure flickered and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, she reappeared right next to me. A hand shot out, gripping me by the throat. My feet left the ground as she lifted me effortlessly into the air.
She was using only one arm. This woman, no this monster was insanely strong.
"You want to live?" she asked, her voice as cold as ice.
I tried to nod, but the pressure on my throat made it hard to breathe. Everything was happening so fast. I hadn't fully processed the situation. Was it shock? Fear? Whatever it was, my body knew one thing - it wouldn't survive if I made a mistake now.
"I really didn't ... come ... here on my ... own!" My words were choked and broken, but I managed to mutter them out.
The woman's grip tightened slightly, but then she paused. "You're not lying,".
Finally, her hand let go, and I dropped to the floor with a thud.
Cough, cough.
Slowly, my breathing returned to normal, though I could still feel the remnants of her grip tightening around my throat.
"You say you didn't want to come here. I believe you," she said, her voice still cold, but tinged with something like curiosity. "There's a barrier, after all. Someone as weak as you couldn't possibly have entered on your own. And if there had been someone strong behind you, I would've sensed their presence. But yours... it appeared out of nowhere."
Weak? I didn't mind being called that for now; it was true, after all. But now that I had some space, I could think more clearly. Should I tell her the whole truth? I wasn't sure. From her strength, it was obvious she wasn't ordinary. And this place likely wasn't Earth. Maybe things like this weren't uncommon here. But if that were the case, would she use me for experiments? I shuddered at the thought, my body growing cold at the possibilities.
But maybe... maybe she knew what had happened to me. Or at least understood what this portal was.
Fuck it, I thought. Better to tell her the truth - just leave out a few things.
"Like I already said, I don't know how I got here," I began, my voice steady. "A portal appeared in front of me, and I got sucked in. Then... I felt an impact, and now I'm here."
Her eyes scanned me carefully, studying my body language as if trying to gauge whether I was lying.
The silence between us stretched on, until she spoke again, her voice calm but sharp, "Let me test something."
Before I could react, she moved close to me again. Her hand reached out. My body tensed instinctively, trying to back away, but she stopped me with a softer tone.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," she said, her voice gentler now, as if trying to soothe my fear.
Her hand rested lightly on my head, and she closed her eyes.
Now that she wasn't looking at me, I had a chance to study her more closely.
She had long, crimson hair that cascaded down her back, and a face that could only be described as angelic. Her skin was pale and flawless, with delicate features - white teeth, a small nose, and a slender face. Her body was mature, with curves that demanded attention. Her bust was provocatively displayed, and her wide hips added to her alluring presence.
She wore a simple white robe, though it struggled to contain her... generosity.
I couldn't help but feel a little out of my element as my eyes drifted back to her hand, which still rested on my head. My heart pounded, and my mind raced. What was she doing?
Shortly after, her voice resounded once again, this time with a hint of joy. "You finally arrived."
I froze. Finally arrived? What did she mean by that? It felt as though she had been waiting for me, but for what? The words didn't sit right in my mind. What was going on here? Was there some bigger plan at play? Or was I just some pawn in her world?