Heavy. Everything seemed heavy, like metal weights were tied to it, pulling him down, down in to the abyss. The darkness spun, the vortex gradually resolving itself into a gaping maw, accompanied by two beady green eyes that stared out avariciously. A feral wolf jumped out, madness gleaming in its maddened eyes, claws swiping, tearing gashes.

And out of the gash flew a majestic violet dragon, its eyes filled with rage, opening its maw wide. Fire built up in the back of its throat, and a stream of liquid flames shot out, searing hot.

The insects stared, pincers clicking, mouths open wide to reveal jagged teeth.

Everything shattered like a pane of glass as a wooden spike jumped out, the face of a horrific turtle on it, screaming inaudibly as it headed for Shizuka.

Yuuya’s eye jolted open.

Sweat poured down his forehead, gathering there, drenching his head. His entire body was soaked with sweat, sweltering heat burning him. Yuuya lifted his hand, holding his head as he groaned in pain. His eyes fluttered shut once more, tired. His face was buried in soft bedding, moisture near his mouth.

His head throbbed continuously, and his eye itched. Annoyed and half asleep, Yuuya grabbed at his hair, only to meet resistance. His eyes shot open as his fingers explored the covering on his head, which only now seemed to register in his groggy mind. That was what made his head feel so heavy. His fingers went around his hand, to find out a thick cloth binding his head tight, almost as if it would split open if not for it.

He grabbed the knot at the back of the bandaging and pulled at it, desperate to get free of it.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” a quiet voice spoke, shocking Yuuya out of his grogginess. He shot upright, head swinging around, only now fitting the pieces of the puzzle. The voice was oddly structured, like that of a machine speaking.

He had been attacked by the monster turtle, and had fallen into its maw, right before… right before…

His head drooped down, bogged down by the weight. Almost as if he were following the actions of his head, his entire body gave out, smothering himself once more into the soft bedding. This was indeed, better.

A chuckle came from elsewhere, but Yuuya did not bother checking. His mind began wandering, and his thoughts were nearly incoherent.

Once more, he lapsed into sleep.

Yuuya’s eyes fluttered open once more, regaining consciousness. He stretched, yawning lazily. His head was still in the clouds, skipping and jumping above the fluffy cotton candy. Cotton candy was quite delicious, he had to ask the old lady to buy some again…

He held his hand to his mouth, yawning once again. Once more he reached for his hair, and once again he encountered the resistance. A little voice in his head whispered to him, but he paid it no heed. After all, cotton candy was waiting for him.

He tugged at the little knot, harder this time. His eyes had closed already, his mind drifting somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. He wanted to sleep for a few more hours, perhaps wake up tomorrow. The old lady would understand, skipping school for one day was no big deal, the others did it all the time. Even Eiji had…

Eiji… had…

Yuuya’s eyes shot open as finally, he remembered. He propped himself up, gasping. Memories rushed through his head, the wolf, the dragon, the insects,….

The tortoise.

Yuuya reflexively reached, reached for the bandage that covered his head- no, his eye. He looked down, only able to see his left arm. He had to twist to see his right arm, the right arm that struggled to reach past the infinite darkness on his right.

A chill ran up his spine as pain struck up from the right side of his head.

He… He was blind.

Yuuya gagged as he recalled what had happened, the spike running into his eye, gouging his vision, handicapping him. The hateful tortoise, the moving hill, cotton candy…

He grabbed his head, shaking it fiercely. Something…Something was in his head, some sort of smoke that flitted here and there. He couldn’t think clearly… But it helped, it helped alleviate the pain, it helped him to forg-

The creaking of a door sounded out.

Finally, the questions filled his mind as he regarded his surroundings, curious. Someone… Someone had saved him at the time, someone had hugged him. Silver hair that caressed his face… Someone…

Wooden walls surrounded him in four directions, logs of wood seemingly stacked on top of each other. He lay in a bed with a soft mattress on it, with a small table next to his bed. Several bowls were arranged on it, filled with ground herbs and sickly smell of medicine. There were even crushed insect carapaces, but he quickly looked past them, toward the front of the little cottage.

A small table laid near the open door, with a few scattered books on it. He looked past the table, at the open door.

Her hair danced in the wind, as aged eyes regarded him curiously. Wrinkles twisted and knotted around her face, but surely, surely she was a beauty in her prime. She would be as tall as him, and her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Reflexively, Yuuya covered his eye, shielding himself from the bright sunlight. It flooded in intrusively, and her silver hair shone. For some reason, Yuuya’s muddled mind trusted this woman.

She was after all, his savior.

“I see you’re awake,” she said, eyes running up and down his body. Yuuya looked down himself to see that his uniform rags were no more, instead replaced with a simple cotton tunic and breeches. They were pristine, untouched by dirt.

“I… Where… Who…” A multitude of questions rushed to his mouth and all that came out was an unintelligible mess.

She did not reply, instead shutting the door, cutting off the sunlight. Only wisps of sunlight from the edges of the cottage slipped in, illuminating it enough. Accustomed more to this, Yuuya properly regarded his savior now.

She ignored him, instead pulling out a chair, seating herself in it. She crossed her legs as she regarded him for a few minutes. Yuuya understood, he was not to speak. He looked away, instead inspecting where he was, curious.

“So,” she began, and Yuuya turned back to her.

“So,” she repeated.

Yuuya started, rubbing his eye, sure that he had seen an illusion. Either that, or his vision was delayed. With teary eyes he looked at her, who looked back at him with a smile on her lips.

“You are not from here,” she began, “Outsider, I feel it’s better to call you.” She folded her arms over her knees, coolly staring at him. For once, Yuuya began to feel nervous. But some part of his head told him to be cool, and to just be honest, for that would keep him safe. He had no idea how to respond, or even begin. And what he was seeing… surely that was because his head was muddled.

She nodded toward her silence, and instead reached back towards the table, pulling a book towards herself. With long fingers she flipped it open, rapidly searching for some unknown page.

“I’ll be asking some questions, and you’ll be answering them,” she said, and Yuuya nodded in understanding. But his mind was filled with confusion. Was the damage to his brain so severe?

“First, your name? Where are you from? How did you get here?” She fired off, not looking at him in the slightest. She merely rested her chin on her hand as she read her book, seemingly disinterested.

For how could her voice be so disjointed from her lips? What she seemed to be speaking, was entirely not what Yuuya was hearing. No, it wasn’t even a delayed voice, the movement of her lips did not match what he heard even remotely.

“I…” Yuuya began, his head hurting has details churned around his head. He was immensely confused by all that happened, beginning from the teleportation. Forget it. It was better to speak about it, perhaps that would help him understand more as well.

“I’m… Yuuya. Yuuya Nakajima…” Yuuya croaked out, his voice hoarse. His throat felt sore, as if it hadn’t spoken in days. He coughed, trying to clear up his throat. “I’m from… Japan.”

He looked up, warning in his eyes as he stared at the calm woman. She had not even flinched, seemingly unsurprised by what he had said.

“You haven’t told me where you’re from,” she said, flipping page. Her attention was completely on the book, and Yuuya almost wanted to thank her for it.

“I… I swear, what I’m saying might sound crazy, but I swear it’s true!” He said, not wanting to be labeled crazy by her. Of course, that was what would happen either way, most likely. He cleared his throat as he prepared himself for what he was to say.

And he spoke. Hesitantly at first, but it flowed smoother as he went on. He spoke of how his friends had disappeared in the lightning circle, how the golden spot had pulled him in. The wolf that chased him, the river that saved him. The war of dragons, the bathing in Dragon blood. The insect nest and his fleeing from it. He did not want to hold back, as if there were a voice in his head that urged him to go on, to open up. He wholeheartedly agreed, because as he spoke, his headache lightened considerably .For once, he was able to regard what happened as a bad memory, he did not have to live through it again.

For now.

“-and… and then I was saved by…” He stuttered, not knowing how to finish. She closed her book and looked up, grey eyes evaluating him and his story. She remained silent as she examined him. Yuuya fidgeted, nervous.

She sighed, snapping her book shut.

“So, will you be telling me the real story anytime soon?” She said, and Yuuya froze. Nervous, he stared at her, who had turned cold. The wrinkled face seemed filled with icy fury as she glared at him.

“I- I’m sorry?” Yuuya gulped, not knowing what else to say. “I didn’t-“

She bowed her head, chuckling. “A golden spot in the air sucked you up? And the golden spot dropped you here? In this forest? You saw dragons fighting? You survived a Dreadwolf’s attack by jumping into the Reijler?” She laughed uproariously, before her laughter slowly died down. Her face changed as she regarded him, suspicion clear in her eyes.

Panic rose in Yuuya’s mind, because he had no idea how he had provoked her. He had simply spoken the truth, and it seemed like this black star would crash on his head for it. He had escaped from the sea, only to end up in lava.

“That’s rich, brat,” she finished, getting up. “You will stay here until you confess, confess who else made it in, and where you’re from.” Having said that, she turned to leave, her long white dress swishing with her. Silver hair danced around as she left.

“N-no! You can’t! I have to get back to Japan!” He yelled. Yuuya scrambled out of bed, hand reaching out toward her.

The door slammed shut in his face.

Yuuya banged his fists against the door, crying out helplessly. The smoke aggravated him, wanting him to expel his emotions without holding back.

“I have to get out… I have to save… I have to save Shizuka… She’s helped me so… She might be scared…” He murmured, voice weakening. His fists slackened as he dropped to the floor.

“I have to…”