"Okay, this is... what am I looking at?"
CHAOS. Pure, unbridled chaos, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Where the hell am I?" Saya's voice trembled as she shakily stood up, her eyes wide as they took in the horrific sight before her. The battlefield was a violent storm of motion—clashes of steel, shouts of pain, the air so thick with smoke and ash that it was suffocating. The ground trembled beneath her feet with every explosion, each tremor rattling her bones.
"This has to be a dream, right?" Saya's hands instinctively moved to her mouth, and that's when she realized—the acrid, metallic taste on her tongue. It wasn't her imagination.
She gagged, almost vomiting as the air around her stung with the scent of burning, smoke, and sulfur. There was no blood, but the atmosphere itself seemed to scream of death.
Falling backward onto the rough, scorched earth, she scrambled for cover. Debris littered the field—shattered weapons, splintered shields, and torn banners whipped by the gusting winds. Around her, broken bodies lay crumpled, not from blood loss but from sheer destruction—burns, fractures, and craters blasted into the ground where soldiers once stood.
The sky above was torn open with streaks of fire as something—no, multiple somethings—hurtled across the horizon. Fiery projectiles streaked through the air, crashing into the battlefield with deafening *booms*, creating waves of dirt and smoke.
'This can't be real.'
A shout cut through her daze. "Hey, you!"
Saya blinked, her heart pounding in her chest. A figure—no, a person—was standing there. 'Where did she come from? She wasn't there a second ago,' Saya thought.
"Huh?" Saya gawked at the stranger, disoriented. The girl looked like something straight out of a medieval fantasy, clad in shimmering silver armor that seemed to glint despite the gloom of war surrounding them.
"A child?" A female voice echoed from beneath the stranger's helmet, laced with surprise.
"Who are you calling a child? You're one too!" Saya snapped, her words coming out more from instinct than actual thought. The stranger was short, probably five-foot-four, but her presence was larger than life.
The stranger scoffed, puffing out her chest. "Hmph. I'm over four hundred years old, little one."
"Four hundred years... what?" Saya's mind reeled, trying to piece together where she was and how she got there. "Just what the hell is going on? Where am I? What's happening?!" Her panic was building again, the overwhelming destruction around her making it hard to think straight.
The stranger gave her a sharp look. "Come with me if you wanna live!!" she barked.
"Why'd you yell?!" Saya shot back, annoyed at the cliché line, though the tension in her voice betrayed her anxiety.
"Can you fight?" The stranger asked, completely ignoring her question. "You've got a sword. So, I'm guessing you can at least hold your own."
"A sword?" Saya glanced down, startled to find a black katana strapped to her side. Her heart skipped a beat. "How did—this is my grandfather's sword! How did it get here?!" Her hands shook as she touched the hilt, her mind racing. Nothing was making sense.
The stranger's eyes narrowed as Saya continued to panic. "You coming with me or not?"
"I'm not following some random—" BOOM! An explosion shook the ground, sending shockwaves through the earth. Saya grabbed the stranger's arm without thinking, her voice trembling. "Lead the way!"
The stranger smirked but didn't waste any time. "Anni!" she called, and from the swirling clouds above, something descended.
Saya's breath caught in her throat as a magnificent creature appeared—a white horse, but not just any horse. It soared down from the sky, its hooves barely touching the ground as it radiated an ethereal glow, its mane shimmering with a blinding light. The aura around it screamed divinity.
"You've got a friggin' pegasus?!" Saya exclaimed, unable to contain her awe.
"I don't know what that is," the stranger replied, chest puffed out with pride again. "But this is my flying horse."
"Flying horse...?" Saya stared at her, dumbfounded, as the stranger gestured for her to get on.
"Now get on!" The stranger didn't give her much of a choice, pulling Saya up onto the creature's back.
"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not ready for this!" Saya's protest was cut short as the horse leapt into the air, the ground falling away beneath them. The wind howled in her ears as they shot into the sky, the speed stealing her breath.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Saya screamed, clutching onto the stranger for dear life.
"Quit yelling!" The stranger snapped.
"No!" Saya retorted, her heart pounding out of her chest as they raced through the sky, the battlefield shrinking below them.
Suddenly, Saya noticed a streak of red chasing after them. Her eyes widened as she saw not one, but four streaks. "What the... are those—"
"NovaSols!" The stranger cursed, twisting in her saddle as she spotted the flaming projectiles homing in on them. "Tch. And they're tracking us."
Saya's panic spiked. "Homing fireballs?! What is this—"
"Hold on!" The stranger pulled the reins sharply, sending the horse into a steep loop. Saya's stomach flipped as they soared higher, the fireballs twisting through the sky in pursuit. Then, in one swift motion, the stranger stood on the back of the horse, unsheathing her sword.
"She jumped!" Saya screamed, her eyes wide as the stranger leapt off the horse, plunging straight toward the fireballs with her sword raised.
With a single, precise strike, she slashed through the air, sending the fireballs scattering. One by one, they exploded in the distance, fiery bursts lighting up the sky.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The sky glowed with the force of the explosions, turning white-hot for a moment before fading.
The stranger landed gracefully back onto the horse, not a scratch on her. She shot Saya a sideways glance, a smirk playing on her lips. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Saya, however, had passed out cold.
The stranger chuckled softly, adjusting Saya so she rested more comfortably against her chest. "You've got your old man to thank for this, Saya," she muttered, a soft smile hidden beneath her helmet, as they flew onward through the sky, leaving the chaos below.
////
"Ugh..." Saya slowly blinked her eyes open, the dull ache in her throat pulling her back into consciousness.
"What a crazy dream that was. As if I could ever end up in another world. That stuff only happens in novels and anime," she muttered to herself, groggy and half-disbelieving the chaos she'd just experienced.
Stare~~~~~~~~
"But it felt so real... my throat still hurts. And I never even got that weird knight's name," she wondered aloud.
"It's Nero," a voice casually replied.
"Hm?" Saya's grogginess evaporated in an instant.
"..."
"Oh crap... it wasn't a dream, was it?" Saya facepalmed, the reality of the situation crashing down on her.
"Why do you sound so disappointed?" Nero asked, her tone carrying a hint of amusement.
"Well, that's because I'm from another world and I woke up in a friggin' battlefield with nothing but my grandpa's..." Saya stopped mid-sentence as a realization hit her.
"Wait, where's my sword?" Her voice grew more urgent.
"It's right here. You really didn't want to lose it, impressive grip strength," Nero remarked, casually handing her the katana.
"Whoa..." Saya finally took a proper look at her surroundings—and more importantly, at Nero. Now that the helmet was gone, the figure before her was far from what she'd expected.
Dazzling golden hair cascaded down Nero's back, glinting faintly even in the low light of the tent. Her skin was flawless, a pale, unblemished surface that seemed almost too perfect to be real. And those eyes... calming, a shade of blue that could either pacify or pierce, depending on her mood. But perhaps most striking were her ears—long, pointed, and unmistakably elvish.
"...An elf?" Saya thought to herself, incredulity mixing with fascination.
Nero's oversized armor clinked lightly as she moved. Despite the battle-hardened aura she carried, there was an air of... adorableness that Saya couldn't quite shake.
"Adorable," Saya noted, her tone flat.
Nero's eye twitched. "The hell?"
"So, where exactly am I?" Saya decided to steer the conversation somewhere more productive, ignoring Nero's reaction.
"Well, you're in a tent," Nero replied simply, reclining back on a chair.
"I can see that. More specific, please," Saya groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Oh. Then you're in my tent," Nero said again, her voice casual.
"Seriously?" Saya facepalmed for the second time in less than five minutes.
"You're not getting a better answer. Right now, you're in a tent, among other tents, in the middle of nowhere... battlefield, remember?" Nero said, settling back further into her chair.
"Oh, yeah..." Saya's eyes wandered around the 'tent,' if you could even call it that. It was more like a mobile palace. The space was twice the size of her room back home, with rich tapestries lining the walls and a ceiling high enough to make her forget she was inside anything temporary. Saya had woken up on an overly decorated bed that could fit five people, and just across from her was an extravagant kitchen setup complete with a refrigerator and fully stocked pantry.
'This isn't a tent. This is a luxury suite.'
"So, you want to tell me who you are?" Nero's voice snapped Saya back to reality, cutting through her silent amazement.
"Oh, right... I'm Saya Chiffon," she answered, still a bit dazed.
"And where are you from?" Nero's gaze was steady, though not unkind.
Saya hesitated. "Quite far... like really far. You could say it's another world entirely," she trailed off, unsure how that would land.
"Oh, so you're from the Plains then?" Nero asked, tilting her head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"The Plains? What's that?" Saya blinked, confused.
"Other side of the Red Sea," Nero replied nonchalantly.
"Why's it red...?" Saya started to ask, then shook her head. "Never mind. It's probably blood or something."
Nero smirked. "You catch on quick."
Saya groaned, frustrated. "Okay, back to the topic at hand. How do I get home?"
Nero's expression softened, but there was a weight to her gaze. "I... I don't know." Her voice was firm, but there was an edge of uncertainty.
Saya sighed heavily. "Well, that's got to suck."
Nero leaned back in her chair, her armor making a faint *clink* as she stretched. "Yup."
Just then, the heavy curtain flung open—though Saya swore it hadn't been there a moment ago—and a young man hurried inside, saluting Nero with a sharp gesture.
"Miss Nero!" he shouted, urgency clear in his tone.
"Hey, Dulu, what's up?" Nero said casually, stretching. "Are we done yet? I'm getting bored."
His name's *Dulu?* Saya let out a soft chuckle at the sound of it.
"I'm afraid the vanguard hasn't returned yet," Dulu replied, his face serious.
Nero frowned. "How are they still having problems? I already took out their command," she muttered, rubbing her temples.
She stood up, her armor clanking with a strange elegance. "Let's go, Dulu." She glanced back at Saya. "And you."
Saya froze.
"We'll talk when I get back." Nero pointed at her before turning back to Dulu.
"Open up," Nero called to no one in particular.
"All right," came a voice from outside. As if by magic, the tent's curtain seemed to reappear, parting once again to reveal the outside world.
There it was again—that eerie, vanishing curtain.
'Where does it keep going?' Saya thought to herself, still baffled.
"See ya," Nero waved casually, walking out with Dulu by her side.
Saya watched as the curtain closed behind them, only to vanish into thin air once more. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the now empty space where the entrance had been.
"What the hell…" she whispered, thoroughly perplexed by the tent's strange magic.