Everyone starts somewhere, just like a family may begin with nothing.
Like a bird building its nest from scattered straws through sheer effort for their littles, a happy husband and wife built their home with sweat and blood.
In time, they climbed the ladder of life and were blessed with two loving children.
It was a simple story... a slice-of-life, slow-burn narrative centered around a family of five.
A warm, slow and happy life filled with smile.
However, joy is fleeting, gone as easily as it comes.
Reality is cruel, and not every life is allowed a perfect ending.
One moment, a family of four welcomed the promise of another life.
The next, an unseen disaster tore away the two they already had.
Thus ends the prologue of a story about a family struggling to let go of a past that will never return.
"̴T̴h̴a̵t̸ ̷w̴a̷s̸ ̵t̸e̶r̵r̸i̸b̸l̵e̶.̵.̶.̶"̴
For someone abandoned at birth, the young man reading the story felt uncertain after stumbling upon this free novel in the public library of the site he was exploring.
Perhaps him being an orphan was why he couldn't connect with the story, viewing the book as nothing more than an overdramatic tragic tale.
After closing the site and completing all his art commissions, he contemplated whether to use his skills to make a story in the form of a comic, or a visual novel.
Unfortunately, thinking about doing something was far easier than finding the motivation to actually begin.
And so, he found himself drifting through story materials, telling himself he was studying and building a foundation, when in truth he was only skimming random works to pass time.
With a quiet sigh, he lay down, letting go of the idea of adding more work to his plate.
Like every other day, he spent his time playing games and indulging in the small luxuries of a carefree, lazy life.
He wasn't wealthy, but what he earned was enough to allow him to live the lazy life that others often dreamt about. This had been his life ever since he left the orphanage years ago.
"̶I̸f̵ ̵I̶ ̴k̶n̴e̷w̶ ̸a̴ ̷p̸a̷r̴a̸d̵i̸s̵e̶ ̶w̷a̵s̷ ̶w̸a̷i̷t̵i̴n̵g̴ ̴f̷o̷r̷ ̶m̴e̴ ̷o̵u̴t̵s̵i̵d̷e̴ ̸t̴h̶a̶t̸ ̴p̷l̷a̸c̵e̷,̷ ̸I̴ ̴w̸o̷u̷l̴d̴'̷v̷e̷ ̸l̶e̴f̴t̶ ̸a̶g̶e̴s̶ ̴a̶g̵o̴.̶"̸
He barely had any good memories in the orphanage. The older kids often bullied him, and the adults who were supposed to supervise them ignored everything that happened-except when visitors were around, that was when they would suddenly act like good saints.
Two-faced people were the worst.
While he was playing, a notification rang from his phone, forcing him to pause the game. Fortunately, it wasn't one that couldn't be paused.
When he checked, it was another commission request.
«Fish, can you make a full-body artwork for me? Here's the rough sketch and the concept. I'll pay in full-just send me your account. »
He was an artist under the username of -Fish-... and fish had been doing this kind of work even before leaving the orphanage. His reputation online had grown to the point where most clients weren't afraid to pay in full, instead of deposits and partial payments.
After receiving the concept, he gets to work.
It took him four hours to complete a fully rendered piece, background included.
When he finished, he leaned back and mimed a chef's kiss, admiring the result as though it were god's work before sending the work to his client.
Right after he sent the work, another message came in from the same client.
It was short and simple.
«Wake up. »
Nimue jolted awake upon hearing the echoing voice in her head.
"Where... am I?"
The ground beneath her was damp. When she shifted, her fingers brushed against cold shapes of metal and tangled wires.
—What is this? —
She looked down.
Beside her lay metallic structures that is half-buried in the earth.
The twisted frames and broken parts of the object lay rest, almost surrounding her.
It was giant mechanical wreck of a robot, the crusty surface suggested that it's a rusted object, worn down by time.
Even at its current form, it still gives the vibes of something futuristic and high-tech build from the movies she used to watch in her past life.
—? —
The grass around her was wet, likely from morning dew.
She lifted her gaze toward the sky.
It was hard to tell the time due to her disability, but judging by the warmth of what she assumed was sunlight, she guessed it was early around eight in the morning.
Nimue pushed herself to her feet and dusted off her clothes. There were a few damp patches clinging to the fabric, but they would dry soon enough.
—How did I end up here? —
She searched her memories, trying to piece together what happened. Seeking answers as to why she was in some unknown land.
Was she drunk? It couldn't be... At least in this lifetime, she hadn't touched alcohol yet, but...
"Ah i can't remember"
Her last clear recollection was leaving the academy party and falling asleep under a tree—
And then... Just as she struggled to remember, a wave of pain suddenly exploded behind her eyes.
A sharp, piercing headache tore through her mind, so sudden and intense that it nearly sent her collapsing back to the ground.
"AARghh!!!" she screamed in pain.
—Why does it hurt? —
—Why? —
—What... happened...? —
—Was I attacked? Did I hit my head? Is that why I can't remember? —
Her breath grew shallow, and heat flooded her body as sweat beaded on her skin.
Then, just as she was clutching her head in pain, something warm dripped down her nostril.
—...I'm bleeding? —
Nimue raised her hand to her face. When she pulled it back, her fingers were stained red.
She wiped the blood away with her palm, smearing crimson across her fair skin. Although she couldn't see it, she could feel that what she had wiped from her nose was definitely blood.
Before it dried and became sticky, she summoned a sphere of water using her magic.
It floated in her palm until she released it, allowing it to flow. Just like that, it began to pour.
The stream poured endlessly, far more than the small sphere should have been able to produce.
She slipped her hand beneath the cascading water, rinsing the blood away.
Once her hand was clean, the water sphere collapsed, plunging straight down and splashing against the ground.
A small puddle spread beneath her feet, darkening the soil where she stood.
She looked around looking for clues.
—Weird —
It was truly weird.
A confusing situation where she didn't know how she ended up in a strange place full of ruined machines.
What's weirder was that the lack of mana in the environment, and the mechanical structures surrounding her were things that simply did not exist in her world. The closest thing of these machines from that fantasy world would be golems.
If she were to describe her second world, it would be one of sword and magic. A medieval age where castles or towers stood in place of skyscrapers, and where horse-drawn carriages served as transportation instead of cars, a world of magic shaped civilization just like those fantasy stories.
Seeing mechanical ruins like these lying scattered across the land made one thing clear — something was very weird...
That in itself was very much evident but...
But at the same time, she felt happy wearing an expression she couldn't quite control.
—Why? —
The structures before her were similar to things called Gundam, but in real life. So, the shock and amazement were beyond from what she can explain even though what she can see is just 3d outlines of the world.
These things were cool, and even if not an active machine. Just being near it gave that satisfactory feeling that she had achieved something that others couldn't.
Nimue simply admired the ruined machines.
Ince there's no trace of mana in the environment, and none on these metal structures either. That alone dismissed the idea of them being golems.
—Was i perhaps in another world? — added last —Again —
Still, Nimue resisted the urge to jump to conclusions without much evidence in hand.
They could have been ancient artifacts from a lost age... or perhaps creations left behind by someone like her — a reincarnated soul who had once lived in a different world.
Or maybe just like those stories in her first life. Perhaps she simply traveled into the future by some unknown means.
Slowly, she walked toward what appeared to be the head of the massive machine, hoping to find some kind of clue.
That was when she saw a warning sign of some sort by the nape, a thin metal plate just dangling loosely with a few visible outlines of letters that is written in a language she is familiar with, even when only few fragments of words remained, it was a tongue only spoken from her past life.
—Caution—
—use in case of emergency—
As she examines it, a voice of unknown origin began to whisper in her ears.
The words were indistinct, slipping past her before she could grasp what is the words that being said.
— Who's there!? —
Startled, she spun around as her hand cut nothing but air.
.̷̡̨̢͉͇͎̱̲̞̯̟̲̖̭͉̙̪͎̲̱̼̫̞͇̦̠͍͐͐̾̾̂̚͝
.̷̡̨̢͉͇͎̱̲̞̯̟̲̖̭͉̙̪͎̲̱̼̫̞͇̦̠͍͐͐̾̾̂̚͝
Y̵̧̧̡̛̛͇̺̱̳̩̜̠̰̯͉̺͓͇̰͍͈̭̣̣͎̯̤̝͒̃͂̓̇̅̍̀̆̈́͋̈́͌̑̇̇̂͛͌̈́̐̆̚͜͜͠ͅo̷̡̨̧͍̺̲̲̹͎̱͉̟̝̠̺̰̮͍̣̥̘̖̰͈̯̖̓̒͋̎̉̀̓̑̍̑̀͌͌̑͜͝͝͝ͅú̵̞̯̼̫͌̾̎́̿͌͊͐́͑̾̒͛̕̕͠͠ ̶̢̧̰̬̖͕̭̙̗͇͍͓̟͍̳͇͊̆̈́̑̆̿͜ḑ̷̛̳̖̖̺̬͉̤̪̼̗̟͎͙͉͓͎͉͉̺͇͈͉̠̞̘̥̜̗̏͐͆́̃̏̑̃͠͝ͅö̶̧͕̼͈̰̮̭̰͇̫̻̖̻͓̜̤́̈́͗̆̓̂̔̀̋͋͗̆͂͌͘̕̕͜͠͠ͅn̴̦̪̠̻͓͍̯̜͔̟̉͌'̷̨̨̧̡̗̜̟̮̮̺̩̪̲͚̹͇̭̼̣̼̝̼̟̤͍͂͑̌͂̈́͆̈̎̓̔̔̈́͑͌͐̆̂͑͂̄͝͝͝͠t̶̛͕̺͒̓͌͛̓̄̋͒̅̀̿̾̽͛͠͠ ̸̧̢̛̲͕͎͚̤͓̱̜̦̑̎͂̉̅͋̎̑̆͆͊́̓̐͗̂̅͊͂̔̈́̍͋̉͂̍͐͑͘b̵͔̅̄͑͊̓̐̀͆̓̅̽̋̔͒͐͛͂͒͐̽̔̈́̊̄̎̍̆e̶̢̧̢̢̱̬͉̝̠͚͖͓̙̫̞͇̳͖͚̙̬̣̦̼̯̞͖̠͖͌̓͂̄̈́́̐̑̎͒̀͒̀͆̀̈́̾̏̽̽̀́̒͐̚͝͝͝ͅl̸̘̭̂̽̒̓͋̎̓̆̏̎̈́̃̑̽̿̓͊̓̇̂̑̚̚͝o̴̮͔̖͕̘̘͙̎̐̐́͋̇͂̚̕̚n̵̢̤͆̄͊͛̅̊̎͐͛̀͑̈́̀͘̚͝͠͝g̷̡̧̨̯͈̻̳̥̱̹̱̥͚̥̗͈̮̼̞̮̓͂̐̔͐͒͐͌̎̅̐̎̒̓͐̄̀̉̌͐̓̌͆̉̈̋̈́̊͑͜ ̶̖͕̭͔̦̹̦̑̇̒̓̆̓̚͠͝ḩ̷̞͉͖͕̩̪̹̯͓͔̰͍̔̉͂̀̑̉̒̓̚͘̚ë̷̢̢̡̼͉̳̭͈̹̦̹̻̯̼̗̱͙́͆̀͋͛͛̎͑̐̈́̈́̽̋̉̓̌̚͜ŗ̵̧̖̘̰̘̭̹̜̪̲͆͛̍̌́̋́̔͊̂͐͌̑̄͊̊̕͘͜͝͠ͅẻ̴̛̤̻͖̦̦̼̖̪͔͕̰͓͈̼̆͒͌̾̓́͑́̑̀̒̈́́̈́̅̑̇̾̀̿́̓̚͘͜͝
̸̜̮̳̗̫̗̩̝͇͍̰̪͇͔̙̙͍̐̎̀̾̽̑̄̍̈́̀͌̈̀̆͝͝͝Ÿ̵̧̻̝̖̲͕̜̗̘͕͙͍́̈́̐́̑́̽̓̔̚͘ͅo̸͍͍̻̔̃͊̿̍̈́́́͛͆̔͂̄̉̈́̔͠͠ư̷̧͇̝̅͂̔̎̽̄̀͋̂̓̑͌͆́̈͛̓͗͛̿̈́̿̊̿̐̈̚͘̚'̶̡̨̦͎̭̺̲͉̫̲͖̻̜͇͚̮̰̥̟̹͈̭͉̳̥̭̰̩̥̥́͐̏̑͌͐̈̒̈́̎͋̈́̓̒́̒̔̀͒̚͝͝ͅr̶̢̡̧̛͕̪̺̫̦̟̠̬͚͇̙̣͕̦̩̼̖̠̣͍̦̬̆͒͊̓͑̂͑͂͜e̵̛̦̫̠͎̦̲͖͚̾͊̔͆̊̋̈́̿̉͗̇̀̅͆̔̾̓̌̈́̃͛̊̓ ̷̡̮̗̫̺̤̮̫͔̰̲͓̙̦̭͌̓̾̽̒̏̈̑͒̏̀̈́͋̈̐̄͑̓̌̓̈́͑̓̈́͘͜n̸̨̹̠͖̖̊́͂͌́͑͐͆̈́͐͠ơ̵̡̲̲̘͍̺̭͓̘͖̥͈͚̙̲͖̽̃̓́͊́̃̿̌̎̏́̓̿͂̃͐̾́̄͗̆̾͊̂̆͘͝͝t̷̡̤͉̱̞̜̲̥̺̜̯̓̂̊̊͆̋̆̍̿̚ͅ ̷̡̱͎̬̹̝̼̩̇̿͒̀͆̏͠s̸̡̛̯̘̭͚̭̹̪̹̮͓̯̝̯͉͉͔͚̮̣̦̳̊̒͂̾̔͋͛̋͑͛͒̄̅̋̅͂̃̿͛̅̀̆̍͗͝͝͝u̸̡̯̟̟̱̗͙̫̬͍̳͓̠͂̀̉͋̉͛̇̈́̚ͅp̷͎̼̘̤̩͉͉̩̻͉̀̓̽̽̄̈́͆̑̀̚ͅp̸̡̡͓͔̯̠͍̜̞̯͔̪̻̿̏̐̈̂̕͝ǫ̸̨͈̬͇͇̣̱̣̭͕̯̫̘̯̳̞͇̣̓̄̆̈̐̀̆͂̋̑̃̓̆̋̐͛̾̒̿̅̓͘ͅs̶̨̡̟͍͖̜͎̝͈̱̠͇̺̮͖͖̭̗̭̩̞̋ͅẹ̵̺̹͎̲̘̑͗̈͐̋̊͋̚͠͠ḍ̶̨̼̠̹͉̤̪̝̩̘̞̦̰̗̈̀̐̏̇́̑̓̆͑̅̓̓̉̈́̉̊̌̈́̈́͐̕̕͜͝͝ ̴̡̡̢̩̠̩̙̦̯̰͈̩̥̹͐̈́͑́̈́̀͒͝t̴̬̣̃͗̓̓̾ǫ̴̡̧̨̰̝̥̦͕͓̐̂̋̌̑͜͝ ̸̮̣̩͔͂̃̏́̓̎̂̈́̓̀̌̍̒̀̎̽̀̍̍̿̊͐͛͘͠b̶͔̖̎̅̽̾͗̕̚͝ė̷̛̹̂̔͊͊̓̍̌̉͑̈̅͗̊͐̽̈́́̾̄̽̕̚͘͠͝͝ ̶̨̨̡̲̟̬͍̣̙̗̟̳͚̗̼͖̪͈͙̯̥̞̙̤̈̽̌͒̓͐̎̂̀̈͛̒̋͌̂̇̍̾ͅͅh̷̺̬̜̠̖̃̓͒̆͊͆͂́̇̽̓̋̓͑̅̍͂̕̕͝ȩ̶̢̧̡̗̖̻̫̩͇̦̹̙̯̗͉̦̹̠̯̮͖̭͚̖̿̀̓͗̀͒͜͜ͅͅr̶̞͕̃̎͐̎̕ḙ̶̛̮̤͉̖͆̅̔̅́͂̓̈́̓́̔́̄͐̄́̈͗̏͛͊̓͗̈́́̕͘̚͝
.̷̡̨̢͉͇͎̱̲̞̯̟̲̖̭͉̙̪͎̲̱̼̫̞͇̦̠͍͐͐̾̾̂̚͝.̷̡̨̢͉͇͎̱̲̞̯̟̲̖̭͉̙̪͎̲̱̼̫̞͇̦̠͍͐͐̾̾̂̚͝
The whisper echoed faintly as it grows weaker with each passing second.
Only then did she realize that the sound wasn't coming from around her —
It was coming from inside her head.
And slowly, the voices faded away.
"What was that?"
When the silence returned, she was put in a deep thought thinking of what it could be. But her situation comes first so she leapt onto the highest point of the structure. From there, she scanned her surroundings.
All she saw were more ruined machines scattered across the green plains. Each different in shape and size.
It was like looking at an ancient battlefield that is almost healed from the scar of war.
Unfortunately, her disability only allowed her to see through limited distance, so she then started to put more power in her eyes, and her area of vision began to expand.
"Where is this place exactly?" she muttered.
It didn't feel like her world.
Then she looked up, sensing something from high up.
High in the sky loomed a bizarre massive structure that is impossible to ignore.
It resembled a colossal spacecraft by the outlines alone.
It was drifting, a slow flight sailing through the clouds.
—I might actually be in different world.... again —