William stood captivated by the serene beauty surrounding him when suddenly, a faint sound disrupted the stillness. The soft splash of water behind him made him instinctively summon a grey energy blade, prepared to strike down any threat. But as he turned, what he saw made him freeze, his blade trembling slightly in his hand.
Rising from the crystal-clear waters was a girl, her every movement seemingly in harmony with the nature around her. Her long, wet hair floated weightlessly, catching the sunlight and shimmering like strands of liquid gold. The droplets of water on her skin sparkled like tiny diamonds, tracing the curves of her delicate, pure white complexion. Her eyes, a mesmerizing shade of blue, locked onto William's, widening with surprise and a hint of anger.
As she emerged further, the water around her began to dance, swirling gracefully as if obeying her unspoken command. The liquid gracefully formed itself into a flowing dress, wrapping around her figure like a second skin. It clung to her form, accentuating her ethereal beauty, and shimmered with a frosty glow that seemed to chill the air around them.
In one fluid motion, she summoned a frosty white sword, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and pointed it directly at William. Her gaze was fierce, filled with an icy anger that contrasted sharply with her otherworldly appearance. Yet, even as she prepared to defend herself, there was an undeniable allure in her every movement, a captivating grace that held William's attention.
For a moment, William found himself lost in admiration, his breath catching in his throat. The thought of this stunning, formidable girl existing in such a dangerous world seemed both absurd and fitting. The energy blade in his hand wavered, his determination momentarily faltering as he marveled at the scene before him.
"Who are you, you perverted bastard?" The girl's high-pitched, anger-filled voice snapped William back to reality. He blinked, momentarily disoriented by the sudden accusation, and pointed at himself, bewildered. "Me?"
"Yes, you, peeping bastard!" she retorted, her voice laced with fury as she swung her sword. The blade sliced through the air, releasing an arc of icy energy that surged toward him.
William instinctively countered with his own grey energy blade, slicing through the frosty attack and reducing it to a harmless powdery mist. "Wait! It's a misunderstanding! I don't even know how I got here!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in a gesture of peace as he noticed her preparing to strike again.
"Do you really think I'd believe you, you peeping bastard?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. With a swift motion, she waved her sword, conjuring a flurry of frost lances that shot toward William with deadly precision.
William leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the icy projectiles. But as he landed, the cold realization hit him: he was still naked. His face flushed crimson as he realized that his naked body was now on full display before the furious girl. "Oh, fuck," he thought, mortified, as he tried to cover himself, his shame only deepening under her piercing gaze.
"I stand corrected; you're not only a peeping bastard but also a shameless one!" the girl shouted, her voice dripping with contempt as she directed the frost lances at William, now mid-air.
William hastily summoned death energy, forming a dark, shadowy armor around his naked body, which quickly solidified into a sleek, black combat suit. As the frost lances closed in, he spun in mid-air, creating platforms beneath his feet by kicking off the air, propelling himself upward with agility.
Dodging the frost lances, William swiftly conjured countless death lances, each one pointed directly at the girl. She froze in place, her eyes widening as she realized the sheer number of lethal projectiles aimed at her.
"What are you?" She asked, his voice steady as she observed him closely. While her hair began to shimmer, gradually changing from a deep blue to an icy white. Noting this transformation, William's mind raced. 'So her talent is related to some kind of ice transformation,' he thought, canceling the death lances as they vanished into thin air, revealing they were merely an illusion.
The girl narrowed her eyes, her gaze locked on William. "What do you want?" she demanded, her voice edged with suspicion.
"As I said, it was a misunderstanding," William replied calmly. "I don't even know how I ended up here. I was just going for my first dive into the Parallel World, and the next thing I know, I appeared in this lake."
"You're saying that on your first dive, you ended up in someone else's territory? What kind of joke is this?" she asked, her tone laced with suspicion.
"Who knows?" William shrugged, raising his right hand to show her his wrist. "See, I don't have any death marks. This is my first dive," he explained, displaying his wrist. In the Parallel World, when someone dies during a dive, a mark appears on their wrist. It's usually incomplete, representing one-third of the total mark, and when three marks form, it signifies their final death.
The girl looked at his wrist carefully, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized it. She even came closer, holding his hand and examining it thoroughly to see if he was hiding anything. She poured some sort of energy, likely Sila, over his hand to check for any concealed marks.
But nothing appeared. Satisfied, she nodded. "You're telling the truth," she acknowledged as William gave a small shrug in response.
"So, this is your territory? You chose an area like this?" William asked, looking around at the beautiful, lush forest that surrounded them. It was clear she had made this forest her territory.
"None of your business," she replied curtly. "Come with me," she added before leading him out of the cave.
As they exited, William saw a circular forest surrounded by a decaying, red-hued environment on the outside. It looked like a piece of life-filled land in the middle of a wasteland—a stark contrast, like a sanctuary in the midst of hell.
"So I was really teleported to somelese territory" William thought lookin at the surroundings.