[YOUNG MAN, RESPOND]

[TALK TO ME YOUNG MAN]

“Wha.. who? Who’s that?” (Kiefer)

[DO YOU NOT RECOGNISE THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE?]

“You are the one who sent me to this unknown world? You saved me from my fall?” Kiefer asked in his head, his consciousness floating in a black void.

[WELL… YES… AND NO.. IT WAS I WHO SENT YOU TO THIS WORLD. BUT I DID NOT SAVE YOU. ON THE CONTRARY, I WAS THE ONE THAT MADE SURE YOUR PARACHUTE FAILED.]

“So there must something you want me to do here if you had to go through the trouble of killing me and then sending me here. That’s the only reasonable and essentially logical explanation” (Kiefer)

[AGAIN, YES AND NO. YES THERE IS SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO DO IN THIS WORLD. NO IT WASN’T ANY TROUBLE DOING A TRIPLE DEADKNOT ON YOUR PARACHUTE OPENING LATCH. AND NO, WHAT YOU SAID IS NOT THE ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATION]

“Oh for fucks sake, will you just get to the point already? All this ambiguity in your speech is really getting on my nerves. You may think you sound mysterious with your loud booming voice and unclear explanations, but it’s just pissing me off..” (Kiefer)

[WATCH YOUR TONE YOUNG MAN. I COULD HAVE EASILY KILLED YOU AND--]

“Yes well you did” Kiefer cut him off, feeling annoyed. “You just admitted you killed me to send me here and there was a reason behind it. You must obviously want me to do something here that you cannot personally do, and hence the need for a middleman – me. I am necessary for whatever plans you may have and going by this logic, considering that I have already died once and wasted my life’s work on earth, I hold the cards in this hand, not you. So will you hurry the fuck up and tell me the reason behind your actions so I can get this over with..” (Kiefer)

[….]

[….]

[Fine you win young man.. Geez that’s the first time anyone’s taken that attitude with me. So firstly, I am known as the Balancer. As my name suggests, I keep the balance of the multiverse in check. Now the main reason I killed you and moved you here is because of your research in particle and astro-physics back on earth. The human race is vile and greedy and they were doomed to destroy their planet. However your research, if completed, would have led to the technology that helps humans colonise distant solar systems, terraform planets and continue to spread their vile hands throughout the galaxy. To stop that and make sure human kind wipes itself out, I had to kill you.]

“Ok, I thank you for not ‘BOOMING’ your way through that little speech of yours, but would have preferred if you started with an apology for killing me instead. It’s just basic manners you know. But why not just kill me only. Why bother sending me here, and completely nude too?” (Kiefer)

[I needed your research and analytical skills to help develop this world in the field of science and in the study of magic as well. The humans that grew on the world had poor affinity with mana and the moment anyone with sufficiently high affinity appears, they seem to send that person off to war and the magus ends up losing his life, never getting the chance to pass down his knowledge or genes. As an apology for my selfish actions, I have tweaked a little with your brain’s neural chemical overlays so that language is no longer a problem. You should be able to understand and speak most of the common languages used by the humans and humanoid species in this world. And also, your body should have stopped hurting from the mana induction by now. Lastly, as a friendly tip, DO NOT attempt to go inside the lake anymore. You do not want to disturb Shearwood. She is a nasty piece of work.]

The moment the voice ended, the pitch black void that Kiefer’s consciousness was in immediately flashed bright white.

Kiefer opened his eyes, only to shut them again instantly as the midday sun fell on his face. He felt fine after the night of agony and could find nothing wrong with his body.

“That bastard did mention something about mana and magic, but I have no idea how to use them..” as Kiefer pondered, the same voice boomed in his head again.

[JUST SO YOU KNOW, I CAN STILL HEAR YOU, SO MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!]

“Right right. Let me rephrase, that asshole of a dickhead also mentioned doing something to my brain? And if I recall something about not disturbing Shearwood in the lake? But I swam through the lake last night and nothing happened.. Maybe that fuckface was just messing with me like he messed with my head.” (Kiefer)

[… … …]

“the ‘Balancer’ guy did mention that my body was undergoing mana induction, whatever that may mean, so maybe the reason for the agonising pains last night was from my body being exposed to mana?” Kiefer thought to himself silently.

“If so, it must have been the water in the lake because the water from the waterfall and the cave didn’t seem to have an effect on me. So how do I get water from a safe source to drink?” (Kiefer)

Kiefer decided that there’s no point in thinking about things beyond his control and just decided to get going with his plan. He needed shelter and food, and also a safe source of water to drink. No way was he going to risk going through the pain again drinking from the lake.

He spent a good 6 to 7 hours foraging the nearby forest for sturdy branches and more of the large leafed trees he used the night before. After another hour or so, he has set up a fairly decent albeit a little small shelter to keep him from the sun and possibly rain.

Tired, hungry and thirsty, he sat down in his shelter to take a break, thinking about various things. For now, he started hollowing out a thick wooden branch around 15cm in diameter out with a piece of sharp rock he picked up from the bank. It was going to serve as a cup/ bottle of sorts.

Having taken a break, Kiefer began making his way up the side of the waterfall, using vines and branches as support to pull him up. He needed to collect water before it reached the lake in order to drink and quench his ever present thirst. The sun was unrelenting and the day didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, considering the sun has only moved a quarter of its way across the sky from the moment he woke.

Once at the top, he took a sip of water and sat down, waiting for the pain to come. It never did. Having confirmed that it was safe to drink, Keifer gulped down mouthfuls of water and proceeded to collect some in his makeshift bottle to bring back to the shelter.

“It was easy coming up here, but going back down the slippery rock wall is going to be a pain,” Kiefer lamented, while shouldering his wooden bottle fastened by some vines to his back.

It took him another good hour before Kiefer safely made it back to his shelter safely, but not without a few more small cuts on his palms and feet.

“Seeing as I have no way of hunting at this moment, I’ll just try my hand at magic until night comes. I’ve got enough water to last me till tomorrow, and maybe I might be able to make a meal out of the three-eyed bunny I saw last night.” (Kiefer)

Thinking about Magic, only one thing came to Kiefer’s mind – H*rry P*tter. So he picked up a random twig he found on the ground, pointed it into the distant sky and yelled, “EXPECTO PATRONUUUM!!”