"The Time Meteor?" Replied Fumiko. "What's that?"

"Hmmm." The nurse murmured to herself as she walked to the desk that was in the corner of the room and grabbed the chair that was resting behind it. She picked it up and placed it next to the bed that Fumiko was laying on and sat on it. "Where should I begin? It's a long story so get comfortable."

The nurse waited for Fumiko to finish readjusting herself in the bed before she began.

"30 years ago on a day just like any other, the world changed forever. The nurse told Fumiko. "An undetected asteroid entered the Earth's atmosphere. This wasn't like any other meteor however. Instead of burning away like any other meteor would, it got stuck in the atmosphere and eventually, in Earth's rotation as well. But, this is where things start to get strange."

"How so?" Asked Fumiko.

“Well, you understand how the Earth rotates from West to East or, as most people say, left to right?"

"Does it? Well, why would that matter?"

"As I said before, the meteor got stuck in Earth's atmosphere right? Well that's not entirely correct."

"What do you mean?"

" Instead of the meteor following the direction of Earth's rotation, it followed its own. The meteor went from East to West or, another way of saying it,-"

"Right to left." Finished Fumiko.

The Nurse smiled. "Exactly."

Fumiko was still confused though. "Okay, it went in its own direction, why does that matter?"

"The Earth also rotates at 1000 miles per hour or, 1600 kilometers an hour." Continued the nurse. "However, this special meteor was traveling in the opposite direction of Earth's rotation at 10000 miles per hour or, a little faster than 16000 kilometers an hour. It was moving so fast that it actually began, to reverse Earth's rotation."

"How is that even possible?" Asked Fumiko.

"No-one knows." The nurse answered. "However, the impossible, doesn't end there. Along with Earth now spinning in reverse, all of its achievements, went with it."

"Achievements? You're saying-"

"Yes, Earth's progress, or a simpler way to put it, time, started to reverse."

Fumiko couldn't believe what she just heard. "You're joking."

The nurse laughed a little more. "Well just take a long look around the room, or even outside. Does it seem like I'm joking?" She asked Fumiko.

"Well, even if what you're saying is true, that doesn't explain why everything in this place looks outdated. Even if time reversed, the objects like phones, computers, and light bulbs that already existed, shouldn't go with it right?" Fumiko asked.

The nurse burst out laughing. She was laughing so much that tears started to appear in her eyes. "Sorry I-" She tried to collect herself but couldn't.

Fumiko didn't like being laughed at. "Did I say something funny?" She asked the nurse in an irate tone.

The nurse gradually stopped laughing. "It's just that I thought you noticed already." She said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Renia, right? Take better look around, do you see any lights, computers, or any technology?

Fumiko surveyed the room and unexpectedly, found no such things. The only thing lighting up the room was a few candles on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. She averted her eyes to the nurse’s desk. No computer in sight.

"Think back to when you were in your house. Did you see a T.V.? Any wall plugs? You went outside right, did you see any cars parked in the driveways of any homes?"

Fumiko thought back to this morning. She realized the nurse was right. There were no light bulbs in the room she woke up in, only lanterns. There wasn't a T.V., nor did she see any cars outside.

"The meteor circled the Earth nearly 2000 times in a span of merely 20 days before inevitably burning up, according to the scientists who observed the meteor from an observatory." The nurse continued." During those 20 days, technology was literally disappearing from the face of the Earth. It first started with relatively new advancements like smartphones and computers, but later on, cars and trains were disappearing as well. Not only that, but as humanity neared the end of the 20 days, the landscape everywhere also was changing. What was once huge cities, became vast plains, deserts, and many more different types of environments. 100 story tall buildings eventually became small structures that you could barely call buildings. Neighborhoods turned into villages. You could say for each time the meteor made one complete revolution around the Earth, a year was lost and with it, all the advancements we made that year." And at the 20th day, the world looked like it is now.

Fumiko stared at the nurse in disbelief. She wanted to think that the nurse was joking around but everything she said made sense. "What happened when the 20 days were over?" Fumiko asked the nurse.

"Chaos." Replied the nurse." Governments relied so much on technology that they couldn't operate without it. There was no contact between countries anymore due to the fact that there was nothing they could communicate with. The world went dark. Governments broke down, stores and factories couldn't operate so people couldn't live. So of course, riots ensued and it looked like we would destroy ourselves. That lasted for about a year, what historians now call, The Dark Year." The nurse leaned back into her chair. "Luckily, we were able to somehow restore balance and create a new society. Things were looking up, we thought we could manage. But, we overlooked something. Not all pieces of the meteor burned up in the sky. Some hit the ground and implanted themselves into it and remained there undisturbed for a year, the same year The Dark Year occurred. After The Dark Year, out of nowhere, strange structures started to appear around the country. Caves, mysterious ruins, and what we recognize now as dungeons, arose from the ground and within those constructions, monster like creatures. They easily attacked our homes and murdered thousands. We, were powerless."

"Why didn't you guys fight back? You had weapons and the military, right?" Fumiko questioned.

"Unfortunately, no, we didn't." The nurse said painfully. "Remember, the meteor took everything, even our weapons. The military isn't the military without any weapons. We lived in fear everyday waiting for the fiends to come out of their caves and dungeons to attack us. It was a scary time to live in. However, a year later, the meteor gave us humans something too." The nurse opened her right hand and faced her palm toward the ceiling.

"What did it give you guys?"

A flame spontaneously appeared from the palm of her hand. She smiled and answered

"Magic."