The sun had never been so welcome.

A wide smile split Yuuya’s face as he stepped out of the despicable wooden cottage. He was a free man, having been declared innocent by the Judge, Miras. And today was the day he could leave his confinement, the chains holding him back slackening.

Soft grass bent under his bare feet, their tips tickling him. The scent of the forest washed over him as he walked forward, step by step.

Tears came to his eyes as the sun glared into his eyes. But he did not mind, for he was simply overjoyed at finally escaping. He looked back, back at his prison.

It was truly as dull as it was on the inside, an inconspicuous box of wood with a sloped roof. There were no markings, no hints of time on it. It almost looked… brand new.

“Was that?” Yuuya questioned, looking back at Miras. She smiled, nodding.

“It was made especially for an intruder that rudely barged into our territory, awakening a Taotie on his way in as well. The Gigant nest was hugely disturbed, not counting the Taotie’s mud wall that now we have to bring down,” Miras said, walking out front.

“Taotie?” Yuuya asked, his eyes wandering elsewhere. Verdant trees surrounded the prison, with dew tipped grass abundant everywhere. The trees were aged and tall, reaching for the skies. Some bloomed with flowers of wondrous colors, while others bore thick, juicy fruits, their branches reaching for the ground.

“The tortoise, as you so rudely described it. It’s an ancient beast, which mostly hibernates during its life to extend its lifespan. All of the other animals wisely stay away from its grounds, but it permits trees to grow on it. Until you came along, barging in on its space, not even showing it its deserved respect,” she admonished him as she walked, no, gliding as if the ground were air. He was already quite used to the disjunction between her voice and face, attributing it to his head injury.

He looked down, embarrassed, recalling how he had been cursing at the turtle the entire time. He did not comment, instead stooping and touching a blade of grass, enjoying the soft texture.

“Say aunty, what is this Alignment you were talking about?” Yuuya asked, gently tearing off a piece of the grass.

“I was wondering when you’d ask that,” she replied and sat down beneath a tree. Reclining, she continued lackadaisically. “To put it simply, you could say that Earth and Redorias are two independent zones in an unknown space. Sometimes, and very rarely, they pass over each other, and an interworldly portal opens up. That… is the Alignment. Yours seems like an isolated case, or perhaps small incidents of Alignments always happen, and we never noticed it.”

“Redorias?”

“It’s our world, brat,” Miras flicked open an eye at him. “To think you were average up there as well…”

Yuuya started, dropping the grass. “It isn’t like… I… uhm…” He began, trying to find a reply, yet in vain.

“Don’t try,” Miras cut him off, her eyes closing again. “So, is that all you wanted to know? The Alignment? I expected more curiosity from a young interworldly traveler.”

“No, it’s that… I… want to…” Yuuya fumbled with his words, caught off guard by this opportunity to ask anything he’d want. This was Redorias, a fantasy world! The Dragons, the Taotie, the Dreadwolf, these were legendary beasts that were fantasy-like. What else was there here? Were the people here different? Did Elves exist? Did fairies float around, causing mischief? Or did the lords of the underground, the Dwarves exist, pulling on their beards, drinking from tankards? Did Magic exist?

As all of these questions rushed to his mind, he found himself asking only a single one.

“Aunty, is there anything like Summoning that exists here?” A worried expression flickered across his face as he stared seriously at Miras. She simply smiled enigmatically, almost as if she had expected it all along.

“People come to this world alive by two ways,” Miras lifted up two fingers, eyes closed. “The first, and the more natural method, is the Alignment. A coincidental phenomenon. In human memory, it occurred once, more than a decade ago. It was a major disaster,” her eyes snapped open, staring at him, who was covered in cold sweat, “A major disaster that destroyed more than half of a continent. People fell from the sky then.”

Yuuya gulped, recalling how his experience was nearly the same, except there was no ‘major disaster’ other than one to his own life.

“The second,” she lowered a finger, closing her eyes once more, “Is what you’re looking for, the artificial method, a ritual that is conducted almost every five years, with a rather low success rate.” She smiled, “Hero Summoning.”

His doubts confirmed, Yuuya felt a strange mix of fright and relief. Relief that he knew that Shizuka was most probably in Redorias, and not in another world where he could never reach. Or worse, perhaps zapped dead.

Fright, because he feared his own experiences. He had been ‘summoned’ as well. Summoned, to face danger after danger before finally finding some respite. Although for how long, he did not know. But what of Shizuka? What if the summoning had gone wrong and she was somewhere worse than he was? What if the ritual was to summon and fight some dangerous beast, like the Taotie?

“You’re worried for your friends?” Miras queried. He nodded, gulping. Well, ‘friend’. The others, perhaps Hideki he would be somewhat worried about.

“You have nothing to worry about. Our contact with the outside world is a little… iffy, but from former experiences, I can assure you that your friends are in good health. Well, compared to you, they might be living the life of kings,” she added, giggling. “Hero Summoning is a complicated thing, they even borrow the power of Gods to do it, and so anyone who’s summoned will be blessed by a God’s power. You could even say that they are figuratively the conduits of the God’s power.”

“Why do they even… Why do they even need heroes?” Yuuya asked, troubled. It surely wouldn’t be something like-

“To combat the Demons that want to invade, the sworn enemies of humans.”

Yuuya had the urge to curse out loud. Summoning ritual, blessings from Gods, AND to fight Demons?

He took deep breaths, calming himself down. It didn’t necessarily mean that it was the usual novel plot. After all, that was what he had expected as well, being ‘summoned’. But all that greeted him was not the love-filled stare of a princess, but the avaricious stare of a Dreadwolf.

Immediately, worry blossomed in his gut. That idiot couldn’t kill flies, much less sentient demons that threatened humanity itself. As expected, he had to find her.

“Aunty, can you get me to wherever they did the summoning?” Yuuya asked, troubled.

Miras opened her eyes, startled. “What? Bring you there?” An amused smile appeared on her face as she regarded his serious demeanor. “Brat, do you even know where you are?”

“Seeing as I only just found out that this place is called Redorias, I’m pretty sure we’re just five miles from the coast,” he responded off-handedly, mind elsewhere. How would he get there? If Miras didn’t help him it would be impossible. But perhaps there were others, or maybe some traders? He had no money however. He could ask for a loan from-

A clear sound rang out as something smashed into his head. Yelping, he rubbed his head, casting an accusatory glance at the perpetrator, who was similarly glaring at him.

“You brat, I haven’t even let you free for an hour and you’re already this audacious?” She grinned, reaching for another rock. Yuuya panicked, only now realizing what he had said.

“N-no aunty, that was just me daydreaming, I wouldn’t dare be disrespectful again, I swear. If aunty wants me to climb hills of fir-.”

“Alright, I get it. Quiet,” she cut in, nevertheless pelting the rock at his arm. He cried out, jumping away from her. “Either way, I’ve lost interest in talking now. You’re free to roam about, but I’ll be here, so don’t wander around too much. Unless…” Her voice trailed off threateningly.

Yuuya watched on strangely as Miras climbed up the same tree and reclined on one of the thicker branches. Although her balance was astounding, her eyes were half shut, seemingly almost asleep.

He cautiously took a step back, observing closely for any reaction. She barely moved, only her chest moving up and down from her snooze. Not willing to take the risk, he slowly wandered off, making sure to stay close enough. He wanted to run away, run away to any nearby town and perhaps find someone willing to get him to where they did the Summoning. But Miras seemed quite temperamental, and he did not want to test the devil’s bottom line.

Instead, he ran around her.

He ran with all he could, pushing his legs to the limit. He ran around the tree Miras was on, but giving it a wide berth so that she wouldn’t be disturbed.

Where he’d usually took three strides he took one, excitement pumping through his veins. Sometimes he’d lose balance, unable to see anything on his right. But almost used to his blindness from running around in the cabin, he persisted, albeit with quite a lot of stumbling.

He was flying, flying through the forest, his legs like that of a cheetah as he jumped and dashed, weaving with ease through the forest. It had only been two minutes before his lungs were beginning to become winded. But the sensation was reaching his head as he laughed uproariously. This was the fastest he had ever run in his life, if he had ever.

He leapt up, grabbing onto a branch. Swinging, he launched himself forward, the rewarding surge a drug to him. He jumped over a small stream, running alongside it as he jumped from bank to bank. Eventually, he reached a small basin of water, grinning. The slippery stones would make him slip over them with his feet being bare, but he leaped.

Inhaling, he jumped over an edge of the basin, and kept running. Simply to run.

He suspected that it was the concoction that made him so good with just five days of training, no matter how intensive it was. It was simply impossible for a human to improve so fast, unless that human was in Redorias.

Perhaps the people who had come to Redorias in the First Alignment had been like this as well, exhilarated from the simple joy of their body’s improvements.

Adrenaline surged through Yuuya as he laughed uproariously. Although his body screamed from the sudden exertion, only shortly after being tired out from the exercise he had done, he laughed. He laughed because finally, some of his worries had abated.

He was safe, for now. Shizuka was most likely safe as well, and no doubt, in an even better condition than him. Not just that, he even had a lead. He only had to convince Miras to escort him there.

Otherwise, he had to flee.

The desire welled up within him as he looked to his right. The thick trees spread out, almost welcoming. He only had to run now, and he could reach some town. Perhaps there were smoke trails, nearby civilizations, something.

But a foreboding feeling came over him as he looked back, back towards Miras. She had warned him to not wander too far. Perhaps the suggested danger was from her, or perhaps from beasts that surrounded them. He had no knowledge where he was, after all. With such little known, he could not easily risk it all in an endeavor based on a possibility.

For now, he had to know more.

He headed through the forest, back to the basin of water that the stream poured into. Smooth rocks protected its banks, only fine soil at the floor of the basin. He stooped down, washing his face with the clear water. The cool water was cleansing, washing away his sweat. A part of him wanted to clean up fully here, but the rational part of his mind told him not to ruin this basin.

The ripples cleared, and the gleaming sunlight revealed to him a face.

The face stared back at him, brown eyes staring into his. Black hair hung from his scalp, longer than the old lady would usually have allowed it. The face was leaner than before, revealing a strong chin. Like plantlets, hair had begun sprouting above his lips, and a few at the tip of his chin.

The face grinned at him, and he could see the shoulders of his reflection, considerably lighter. He leaned in further only to-

Splash!

With a loud splash he fell in, bouncing up from the basin floor. Coughing and sputtering, he emerged, wiping the water out of his eyes as he chuckled. The little stream poured directly onto his damp hair.

“Well, so much for not ruining it,” he laughed, climbing out of the basin.

Sopping wet, he walked back to his cabin, the smile still persisting on his face.