1 The Adamas

"Welcome."

The voice woke me up. The sky was so dark-red with smoke rising high. I felt my body was in so much pain, as if I had been working hard for a week without stopping.

I lifted my body and looked around, a stifling scene unfolding before my eyes.

People's bodies were lying on the ground, covered in blood, in terrible condition, and emitting a foul smell. Several vultures are already present in this arid land to eat their food.

Two of them approached me because they thought I was dead. I immediately shook my hands to shoo them away.

"There's no point in kicking them out because you won't die from them."

A low voice could be heard clearly from behind my back. I immediately turned around and saw an old man with a wooden stick walking toward me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, getting up quickly.

"You're not in the moment. You're just a stranger who happened to be trapped here," the old man replied, quietly.

He continued walking as if his goal wasn't mine, "How did I get stuck here?"

The old man was silent as he stopped his footsteps. A long breath was heard from the man's mouth and immediately his head turned slowly to look at me.

He did raise his head, but why can't I see his face?

"Because only you can prevent this from happening in the future," said the old man, confusing me with his words full of implied meaning.

The old man was now standing facing me straight. His right hand holding a wooden stick was immediately stomped three times to the ground. I don't know what it means but the land where I stand suddenly shakes for some reason.

The earthquake felt strong and intense. I had to squat, holding hands on the ground to maintain the balance of my body. Then, the clouds covering the red sky began to split rapidly, in a horizontal direction with the old man's position towards me.

"What happened?!" I groaned, shocked.

"After knowing what is happening at this time, make a promise! You will prevent similar things from happening in there!" insisted the old man.

I nodded without saying anything. I was too busy balancing my body rather than replying to the words from the strange man.

He again stomped the wooden stick, but one beat. The ground that had initially been shaken now began to split, open the gap between my two legs until I had to fall into the dark abyss.

The distance of the light began to shrink. The sign was that I fell deeper and deeper. However, I don't know why I don't feel any fear at all. Instead, I felt something warm coming near me, at the bottom of this abyss.

***

"Hey! You must not sleep in this place!"

"WOAH!"

I opened both eyes as my right hand began to hold my face. I quickly sat up from my back and saw a woman standing with a clearly visible facial expression.

She was dressed simply in a long-sleeved sweatshirt and a maroon-red long skirt. Her right arm can be seen carrying out a woven basket filled with fresh vegetables and fruits.

"What? Why can I be here?" I asked, shocked.

"Don't ask me. I don't know you at all," the woman said, lowering her head, pointing at me roughly.

I decided to stand up directly from my position on the grass. As far as the eye could see, I saw that the plantation area was planted with a lot of variegated green vegetables.

And the garden I slept in at this time was forced to be damaged because of my actions. I'm sure the woman snapped at me because of this garden problem.

"Is this because of me?" I asked softly, pointing to some vegetables like tomatoes that had been crushed.

"Of course. You have to pay for all these losses, or I will take you to the police station!" threatened the woman. She didn't seem to mess with her threats to me.

"B-But ... I don't have money," I explained.

"HUH?! Then how do you pay them all?"

"I'll think of a way. What if I help you replant all the time until the vegetables come back to grow?" I proposed.

The woman is getting angrier. Finally, she decided to take me to the police station for trial. At first, I could refuse her decision, but after a crowd of villagers came over with similar facial expressions. I can't refute it at all.

Well, I think this matter will be solved by having a good talk at the police station. However, something that happened really surprised me.

They are uniformly pleasing, with swords tied to the left waist. Also, some of the people I met seemed to be wearing swords, spears, arrows, and objects typical of medieval ages.

"Have I come to the medieval age?"

"What's wrong, Michelle?" asked one of the policemen.

The man walked over from the office and looked at me flatly. He seemed to recognize the woman standing before me, the woman named Michelle, who was carrying vegetables and fruits.

"He has destroyed my garden and he won't to compensate. Are we just cutting off his hands?!" groaned Michelle.

I am in shock. How can a woman decide on punishment as cruel as it is?

"Is that true?" the police officer asked, looking at me seriously.

"Well... it's true, but—"

"Alright. Then let me just cut off his hand," said the man, pulling out the iron sword that immediately drew the attention of both eyes to continue looking at him.

"W-WAIT! Don't you want to hear my explanation?" I asked.

Just as the blade was about to hit my hand, his movements stopped with a glance. Both eyes immediately looked at me meaningfully.

"You have one minute to explain."

"So. I don't know where I came from. What I know is the memory of the great war that killed many people, and I became the only person who could stop that war," I explained, explaining what I remembered in my mind to them in hopes that it could be digested and understood.

It doesn't make sense, but for some reason, the people who took me to the police station showed different expressions. They rounded both eyes with a glance that fell on me, my hunch getting worse at their response.

"Did you meet the old grandfather who walked on a wooden stick?" the policeman asked. I nodded slowly.

They are in shock, making a sound like 'Huh?'. Finally, the policeman holding a sharp sword began to sheathe and untied the knot that shackled my hands together.

"He's one of them. So we must not make him in pain," the police explained, rolling up the rope on his right hand.

"But still he has to take responsibility."

"Alright," said the man.

I was confused by the current events, but suddenly the man's hand began to hit my stomach strongly.

"AKH!"

The man fist made my body lie limply helplessly because I had never been hit by a blow like this before.

"That's the punishment I gave him. You can ask the guild for compensation," the policeman said, deciding not to cut off both of my hands.

Michelle looked disappointed, but she obeyed what the policeman had ordered. Then, from both eyes, the villagers began to leave the police station in groups.

"I'm sorry. You're okay, right?" the man asked, smiling as he stuck out a hand.

"I'm good. I'm just shocked," I replied.

Now, my body stands on an equal footing with the man, the policeman. He introduced himself by the name of Jacob.

"Why did you choose to save me, Jacob?" I asked, curiously.

"Because you're part of them. I can tell through the memory you said just now," Jacob explained, folding both hands in front of his chest.

They? What exactly did Jacob mean?

"They? I'm actually part of what?"

Jacob smiled. The man began to explain who exactly was the 'they' he was referring to and the system that existed in this world.

I listened clearly. There was no other expression besides surprise and anxiety. Officially, my body and soul have transmigrated to another world.

"You're part of The Adamas!"