Get up!

Colt's heavy eyelids opened up, with a distressed gasp escaping his lips.

Abandoned corner stores, broken down cars, cracked streets. Even with the disheveled condition of the university's courtyard, this place was in far worse condition.

"What the hell?"

He ran his blood-stained fingers across the rough gravel of the sidewalk, nearly cutting himself on the numerous cracks present. If it weren't for the building that supported him from behind, he would have been in shambles. He struggled to rise to his feet, but his legs gave out, sending him falling back into the wall.

Giving up on moving for now, he sat against the wall and gave another scan of the area. Cut down tree stumps, flocks of pigeons crowding around the corpse of some mammal. While it was far from normal, he assumed that this place was some sort of city.

Standing a few feet away from him was a dark-skinned young man with brown dreads.

He's wearing street clothes, so I'm not in Heaven!

"Uh...Excuse me?" asked Colt, clearing his throat in the process.

The young man nearly dropped his phone as he turned to face him, "Oh, you're awake."

Pulling himself from the ground, he scoffed at the condition of his torn-up clothes. "Do you know where this place is?"

"Give me a sec." The young man put his phone back to his ear, "He just woke up, what should I do? His eyebrowed furrowed as he let out an enraged growl, "This is why I said that you should have done this instead!"

As the man continued to argue with whoever was on the other line, a wave on uncertainty fell over Colt. Memories from his encounter with that strange woman leaked back into his mind, reminding him of his downfall in the courtyard. To go from that place to a wasteland with a complete stranger...

Am I being kidnapped?

The idea was absurd, but he was willing to suspend his disbelief after his prior incident.

This idiot...He has no idea who he's fucking with!

Missing a wild swing at the young man, Colt stumbled into an abandoned truck and grit his teeth. "I don't know why you're trying to kidnap me, but I'm letting you know right now, it's not gonna work in your favor!'

"What?" The young man sighed, "No one's-"

"Where am I, and who's the guy on the phone?" asked Colt.

His expression dulled as he hung up and put his phone into his pocket, "Look...I'm not trying to harm you. I lowkey didn't even want to save you." He directed his attention towards Colt's mouth, "Look at your tongue, dude. You got attacked by a core beast."

"A what?" Colt turned to look at himself in the reflection of the truck's window, greeting himself with the sight of some pink diamond emblem printed on his tongue. "Where did this come from?"

"It's a marking that proves you were attacked by Fuchsia."

"Fuchsia...Fuchsia...Oh!" Colt shook his head as the info filed back into him, "That's that woman from earlier!"

"She told you her name?"

"Yeah! How do you know her?" asked Colt.

"I'm surprised you don't know her. I guess it makes sense though, you're from the Normal Realm." said the young man as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Normal Realm? Is this some sort of alternate dimension or something?"

The young man sighed and readjusted his glasses, "Look. You'll find out everything you need to know if you come with me. I promise."

Given the fact that he had already assumed that he was in foreign territory, getting some answers would be the best course of action for now.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Colt took a defensive stance, "But if you try anything, I'll kill you."

The young man scoffed and started walking down the street, "Lucky for you, I'm not interested in harming you. Believe me, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"Smartass..." Colt followed behind him. "What's your name by the way?"

"It's Jax."

"That's a badass name. I thought it would've been something like Felix, or Coby."

With a glare, Jax came to an abrupt stop, "Where in the hell did that come from?"

"Probably the glasses, but you don't really look like a nerd now that I think about it. My bad."

"Idiot..." Jax facepalmed and turned the corner, with Colt trailing behind him.

Before long, they reached a large apartment complex. Two tall apartment buildings stood side by side, with a courtyard in between them. There were trees out in front of the main gate, but nothing much else to speak of.

Over the entire walk, Colt hadn't seen a single person.

"Uh...Jax? Does anyone live in this place?"

He looked at Colt and pointed at the building, "Long story short...no."

"Why not?"

"Bro. I told you to save the questions for later..."

"Oh, my bad..."

Jax pulled out his phone and dialed a number, "We're outside..." Raising his tone, he stomped towards the entrance gate, "I didn't bring him in because I didn't know if you were comfortable with a stranger in the building!"

As Jax continued to argue with whoever was on the phone, Colt pulled out his phone, which surprisingly was still working.

It's only 6:20? Damn...And no service huh? Interesting...

"Alright." Jax hung up and walked through the entrance gate, "C'mon."

"What happened to please come in?" asked Colt.

"I'm not your damn butler."

They walked into the doors of the building on the right, and as Colt anticipated, there was a staircase leading up to the highest floor of the building. Lining the walls of the first floor were several room doors, giving the place the vibes of a college dorm rather than a traditional apartment.

Jax opened the first door and held it open for Colt. "Go ahead..."

"Alright..."

He slowly stepped into the "apartment" and looked around to see that he was in a pretty empty kitchen. There was an island, a fridge and a stove, some cabinets, and two stools positioned by the island. It was as if the place was brand new. Just like the city he and Jax paced through, there were no people to be found.

"Um...Is anyone home?"

"Yeah, hold up." The source of that expressionless voice soon emerged from the living room.

A woman with tanned skin and short white hair stood in front of him. She wore a comfortable looking jogging outfit, with some house shoes. Her lips were glossed with clear lipstick, and her amethyst purples eyes seemingly floated along.

"You're the kid huh?" she asked.

"Yup!"

That accent...It's...relaxing.

"Okay, let's get straight to the point because I hate slow dragging." She sat down at the island, inviting him over to join her, "How much do you know about this world?"

"This World? Holy shit..." He leaned forward with curiosity beaming from his eyes, "I know I kept saying that I wanted to go to another world, but I meant that in a figurative way..."

"That response tells me that your answer is no..." She slouched and let out a groan, "Damn...I don't feel like explaining this stuff..."

"Jax told me that I can ask you about anything I need to know, so..."

"He did? That bastard..." She sat up and turned to face him completely. "Okay, before you ask, we're in this place called the Seishin Realm. It is literally an alternate dimension from the world you come from."

"So...like an isekai."

"What?"

"It's something from anime, don't worry about it."

She sighed and leaned against the table, "Any more questions?"

He couldn't help but feel bad for her. An endless wave of questions was already swimming in his head, setting up a period of torture for her; However, the questions were important and needed answers.

"Can I go back to the real world if I wanted to?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll take you there later."

"Uh...you're from here right?"

"Duh..."

"Good. I saw some strange looking monsters, and a strange woman. Do you know about that?"

"Actually, that ties into what I was going to ask you." She readjusted herself in her seat, "To answer you first, those monsters and that woman were all core beasts. They're pretty much demons with powers."

"Got it."

"Good. Now...tell me exactly what happened to you. Everything you remember right until you woke up with Jax."

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, "Okay...everything was going okay...right up until I saw Fuchsia."

"You're familiar with her, huh?"

"Not really. She just told me her name before she left. She killed everyone at my school and put some diamond in my mouth before knocking me out." he said.

He frantically jumped up and lifted his jacket. The shock of waking up in an unknown area made him forget all about the injuries he had sustained during his fight with Fuchsia; However, his stomach was spotless, along with the rest of his body.

I'm healed?

"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"Fuchsia roughed me up back there, but I'm all good now."

"I can explain that...but is that all you can remember?"

"Yup. Nothing else."

She raised an eyebrow, seasoning her words with a hint of concern. "Nothing else?"

"Nope."

"That's weird. When Jax found you, he said that you were lying in a field of dead core beasts."

"Wait-I did kill a bunch of them before I was knocked out, but there were some that appeared when I was on the ground..." He sat back and shrugged his shoulders, "I must've taken them out too, my memory's a bit foggy."

"Okay. That makes sense." she said. "The main reason you're alive is because your core awakened as you were dying. The amount of energy that is generated during an awakening can heal any injuries."

He nearly fell out of his seat as he clutched at his chest, "W-What?"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Yes!" He threw his arms into the air and let out a triumphant laugh, "I died-and came back to life!"

"Sort of...Although you technically didn't die all the way yet. Your core just woke up mid-death."

"Still! I was supposed to die, but I'm still here! That means that death can be undone!"

"It's not that simple...but I guess you're right."

He sat back down and looked at his shaky hands, "Sorry...It's just that I've always had this desire to revive the dead. I know it sounds stupid, but-"

"Not interested." Her words cut straight through the joy radiating through the room, "Don't you want to know why I brought you here?"

"That's cruel...but actually, I do."

"Fuchsia has the ability to turn normal organisms into core beasts."

"Really? How?"

"Just like what she did to you, inserting a pink diamond into the body of another."

"A-Am I a core beast then?" A heavy weight came down on his chest, further burying the sense of joy that he had felt earlier.

"I had you come here to see that." She turned to the back of the apartment, and called out, "Yuri, he's all yours!"

A young woman stepped out from the back of the house. She had lengthy purple hair that was braided into a ponytail that ran down her back, and she wore some sort of biker jacket with jeans. Even more than those traits, what stood out the most was her overwhelming scowl.

Furrowed eyebrows, gritted teeth, crossed arms.

"Excuse me? Do I know you?" asked Colt.

Her apparent annoyance was amplified, "What? No!"

"Oh. It just seems like you hate me."

"Shut up!" She rubbed her face, "I don't even want to do this! Out of all the people they could've sent, it had to be me!"

He sat back in his seat and braced himself for whatever was next.

Wait-she said that she brought me here to see if I'm a core beast. What if I am? They're gonna kill me!

With fear fueling his body, Colt leapt from the seat and exploded through the doors of the apartment. He shot through the halls, escaping into the courtyard in a matter of seconds.

When did I get so fast? Probably a result of my core awakening...I should've asked that woman what a core was...

Luckily, Jax was gone, giving him a free chance of escaping.

Where would he go now? How would he survive in this new world? Those were questions he'd save for when he found escape from this dire situation.

With Yuri holding the gate open for him, he ran out into the streets of the abandoned city.

"Thanks-"

How'd she get over here so fast? I didn't even see her...

"You can't outrun me. So stop this and save us both the trouble." She walked over to him as he froze in confusion. "If you are a core beast, that gave it away right there."

"But I'm not a core beast!" said Colt.

"Then why did you try to run?"

"B-Because, I don't know what's going on."

Now that they were face to face, Colt recognized just how short she was. He had about a foot on her. With him being nearly six feet, she was somewhere in the lower realms of five feet.

I can knock her out...Yeah! I mean-she's a woman and all, but I'd rather throw my pride away than die here! I already fought against death once, so I can do it again!

"Colt-was it?"

"That's me."

"Just relax." She grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground, sitting beside him as she crossed her legs, " I was listening in on your conversation with Dakota, and I'm already sure that you aren't a core beast."

"Really?"

"For one, you don't seem special."

"No offense taken."

"Shut up...Anyways, Jax sent me a picture of your ID while you were knocked out. I couldn't find anything that'd make you special. You're an 18 year old who's enrolled at Sun Top Heights. No job, no special family, nothing. There was no reason for you to be targeted specifically."

"I see." He lowered his head and let out a sigh, "You're right. There isn't a damned thing special about me. I'm pretty much at the ass end of my life, and I'm barely an adult. The only thing that's been keeping me going was a pipedream."

"Is that dream the thing you told Dakota, about wanting to revive the dead?" she asked.

He nodded his head, "I know it sounds dumb, but-"

She let out a sigh, "There's nothing wrong with that...It's a little admirable."

"Thanks...but in the world where I live, being admirable isn't enough. There's just stuff you have to be born with to succeed in that world. I thought I had it, but I hit a wall. Nothing was working anymore, and I was honestly stuck, right up until Fuchsia showed up..."

"I see..."

"When she showed up, I got a taste of a different world. And even though it's way more literal than what I meant, that new world is the Seishin Realm. My first encounter with the Seishin Realm led to me reversing death..." He clenched his hands together as he felt the joy from before swelling within him, "It's just so amazing. I've spent these last few years just surviving, hoping that I'd live to see someone else find a way to do it. But I literally came back from the dead."

Yuri awkwardly rested her hand on his shoulder, as if she were trying to comfort him in the only way she could.

Feeling her soft palm rest on him snapped him out of his trance, "My bad! I just started trauma dumping on you! I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable."

"Nah, you're good..."

"I don't know why, but you made me feel like opening up." he said.

A hint of a smile grazed her face as she looked to the ground, "Oh."

"Anyways-talking about that stuff felt good! And it helped me remember something Fuchsia said!"

"What?" she asked.

"She kept questioning the fact that I was here. I don't know what she meant, but she kept saying it."

"Yeah. Normally, you'd turn into a core beast, leaving no trace of your humanity behind at all. The fact that not only your human body, but human thoughts and memories are intact makes you an anomaly."

"Woah..."

"I need to report this to the higher ups. And don't worry, you'll be safe since you're a human."

"Higher ups?"

"Don't worry about it." She stood up and dusted her pants off, "See ya."

Colt stood up and stretched his tired muscles, waving as she walked away, "Peace."

She's pretty cool...

With the impending danger of death one, he ventured back into Dakota's apartment. Thankfully, she was still sitting at the island, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Oh, you're back."

"Yup." He sat down next to her, "I passed the little test you guys had for me."

"I know." She scoffed as she ate her final spoonful of cereal, "You wouldn't have been able to come back if you didn't."

"Oh..."

I guess that confirms it. If I were a core beast, they would've killed me on the spot. I dodged a bullet there.

"Dakota?"

"Yo."

"While I was talking with Yuri, I realized something. My life was pretty much over in the world where I came from, but I see a future for myself here. Do you think I can stay here?"

She sat her bowl down and faced him, "You don't really have a choice."

"What?"

"To keep it brief, the higher ups are gonna be monitoring you for a bit. You're a special case. The chances of your core awakening right when you die are near zero. Who knows what other effects that had on you?"

"Oh-I almost forgot! Can you tell me more about cores?"

She huffed and stretched her arms behind her back, "Well handle that tomorrow...I'm tired right now..."

"Handle that tomorrow? Are you gonna teach me about it or something?"

"Yeah. You can pick whichever room you want to stay in here, and just tell me later. I'll give you the keys when you do."

"Uh...okay? But I'm gonna need to get my stuff to move in, so can you tell me how to get back to the real world?"

"What?" She stood up and tossed her bowl into the sink, "Just...sleep for tonight! I'm tired!"

"Really? How can you be so lazy? I didn't ask to be dragged here!"

"Ask Jax or Yuri to take you back."

"They're both gone!"

She jumped onto the couch and turned on the tv, "Fine...Find the exit yourself. There are portals that lead back to your world. See ya."

"What the hell? You're leaving me on my own?"

"You're a big boy, go ahead."

He shook his head before walking out of her apartment.

I'm getting lost...one hundred percent...