"Who is this?" I muttered. "That can't be right... Am I dreaming?" Why am i a girl?
I pinched myself, feeling the sharp pain. I was sure I wasn't dreaming. Everything felt too real.
What really happened? Why do I look like this? All I could remember was having a talk with...
Suddenly, I remembered what PUNK_MASTER25 said. His words aligned with my situation. After he sent that message, I found myself in this place.
[ I applaud you for the recreation of my story, but I'm not satisfied. You had your chances; now I'm giving you a challenge. ]
So, is this the challenge? What should I do? And why am I a little girl?
There was one more thing he said.
[ Maybe you can change their dark fate. ]
What did he mean? Change what?
My thought was halt when suddenly, the hut door creaked open. I turned to the sound and saw a man in full iron armor. He looked like a knight, with a very familiar emblem on his chest.
He looked at me, his eyes widening in shock. Suddenly, he screamed, "THERE'S A SURVIVOR HERE!!"
He quickly moved to my side as I tried to scramble away. I still didn't understand what was happening, and amidst my confusion, there stood a man in armor.
"It's okay, you're fine now," he assured me, his voice gentle, as if he were trying to calm me.
As his hand reached out to me, I hesitantly reached back. He lifted me gently into his arms. The armor made it uncomfortable, and I realized how much smaller I was-probably the size of an elementary school kid.
"You're not injured, are you?" he asked.
It was strange; I understood every word he said despite the language being foreign to me. Somehow, by a miracle, I could comprehend him.
I nodded to indicate I was fine. His face twisted with remorse behind a forced smile. He carried me out of the hut, and what met my eyes was a scene straight out of a nightmare.
Giant bodies of monsters lay strewn about, buildings and houses crumbled and burned down, and multiple human corpses were scattered across the ground, piled up by other knights. The knights began burning the corpses, and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
"Don't look," he said, covering my eyes.
I was horrified by the scene. This was something I would never have see on Earth. I hadn't noticed it, but I was trembling.
"It's okay," the knight carrying me assured me with a smile as he took me to the back of a carriage.
An old man approached us. He was dressed in lighter armor, with a balding head, a mustache, and a thin body. From his demeanor, he seemed important.
"What's the status, General?" he asked the knight.
"We have checked all corners of the village. The monsters wiped the village clean," the knight replied.
The old man looked at me. "So, one survived... This is a tragedy. I must report this to His Highness."
"Don't worry sir, we're departing soon. Just finishing a few things," the knight reassured him.
The old man left toward a small tent, and then suddenly, something exploded. Rubble flew everywhere as soldiers screamed.
"MONSTER!! KILL IT!!"
A gorilla-like monster rose, releasing a deafening roar. Its massive, hard body easily mowed down the village remains, even the ground was powerless against its might.
The knight looked at me. "Stay here, I'll have someone tend to you," he said with a reassuring smile before running toward the monster.
I watched his back as he went into battle, unable to tear my eyes away. He unsheathed his blade, which suddenly burst into flames. With a single stroke, the monster's head fell to the ground, its flesh so thoroughly burned by the fiery blade that not even blood poured out.
"Amazing," I whispered, momentarily thinking he was cool.
After the quick subjugation, the knight spoke to one of the soldiers and helped take the injured to a small tent. It seemed to be their medical area, but where was the equipment?
Then a man in a priest-like robe approached the injured soldiers. He prayed, chanting something, and his staff began to glow. After a few seconds, the glow died down, and the soldier stood up, all his pain gone.
What was that? Magic? If there's something I'm familiar with in the world of fiction, it's fantasy magic.
Everything had been weird, and though I hadn't seen much yet, what I had witnessed so far told me I wasn't on the Earth I knew.
Is this what they call transmigration? Transported to another world?
I looked around. Beyond this ruined village was a thick forest. Looking up at the sky, I saw small lizards and giant birds flying overhead.
Why am I here, PUNK_MASTER25? If he's able to do this, then is he some kind of god or something?
No matter how much I think about it, I really believe it was him that brought me here. At that time, we were talking about << Shadows of the Shattered Veil >> a story that he gave a bitter finale.
[Maybe you can change their dark fate.]
Remembering that message, I couldn't help but feel fear. If I'm right, then I'm probably inside that novel. But which character?
When I looked in the mirror back in the hut, I didn't recognize my reflection. It was a new face. An extra, perhaps?
"Poor girl, she's the sole survivor of the monster invasion," I heard someone talking behind the carriage, discussing the cause of the village's destruction.
"And she's so young too. Tsk... I can't even imagine how my son would fare in life if I were to die right now."
If I remember correctly, the story begins with Derion and the monster invasion-the first calamity that happened in the country of Qweldom. The village of Gunta was reduced to rubble, and all life was lost, except for Derion, his sister, and his crippled father, who escaped through the vast expanse and darkness of the forest.
If I'm right, then by now they should be meeting the traitor's son, Hailim of the Sand, who will save them and trains derion to become a great warrior.
Now I need to make sure if I'm really in the world of "Shadows of the Shattered Veil" or not. Though I said that, I don't really know how to make this approach.
At the perfect time, a young boy came to the carriage and told me, "Sir Evan told me I'd be accompanying you for a while. You can call me Areb. May I know your name?"
Oh right, my name... "Gi- " I stopped midway.
No way! My name sounds weird for this world! And would I just say my name like that, in the form of a little girl and with a male name?
The boy looked at me, confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.
After a few moments, I hesitated before speaking. "I'm Ruth."
If I remember the story right, there were no survivors in the village, so it should be fine if I made up a random name. No one is going to find me, that I know. That's because I don't remember this face and the fact that there were zero survivors in the original story.
"Well, Ruth, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
His head tilted a bit, confusion playing on his face. "Hmm, weird..."
"What is?"
"Nothing." With that, he suddenly climbed into the carriage. "Please excuse me."
Should I ask him? It wouldn't be weird if I asked, right? A resident of this country, and somehow I didn't know the name of my own country. Well, in a sense, I'm a foreigner-physically, I belong here, or at least this body does.
"You don't need to think hard. I'll tell you everything you need to know."
Huh? This guy, Areb, just suddenly spoke as if he read my mind. But something was different about him.
"It seems I left you with too many questions. You know me as PUNK_MASTER25. Here, you can call me Fulgur. I'm neither a mortal nor a god. You may know me as an observer."
So I was right, he isn't human.
"As I told you before, they failed to give themselves the ending they deserve. I said that because I do not draw their fate-they are the ones making their own fate. I'm merely showing their story in your world as a book under the guise of a simple fictional story."
"So the reason I-?"
"Yes, this is the challenge. Well, it's more of a mission. You can decide to go back to your own world and enjoy your accumulated riches. The choice is yours. I'm giving you a chance to relive everything-to have the ability to change this world's fate in any way you want. Your choices will affect the entire history of this world, and granted that you do badly, chances are that you might suffer more than this world's residents."
"Then why-?"
"As I told you, the choice lies with you. You can either choose to play the story or leave it as it is."
I see, well, I don't want to play it so-"Let me g-"
Suddenly, the carriage flew into the air, turning over. All I remember was screaming, guarding my face before hitting the ground and blacking out from the impact.