Chapter 1: A Second Try, Do Or Die.
Within an average city live hundreds, even thousands of people: all bustling around, each going about their own individual and unique life; the lawyer is on his way to prevent a false murder accusation, the kid fights in the streets to protect his family, the woman works tirelessly to provide food for her children.
The world is a giant and intricate place, with many lives simultaneously intertwined yet also separate. However, not all of these are so remarkable or even relevant to others.
Inside a small apartment on a quiet street, Pheo sat on a couch; an absolutely unremarkable man by all means. And he was very aware of that, for being remarkable is exactly what he wished to avoid. As a child, the only goal Pheo has ever had was to simply be "someone". Physically average as well, he had black hair, blue eyes, and somewhat short with a height of 5'6 (ca. 168 cm). His statue was slightly wide, but he was fit enough not to be considered chubby.
Regardless of whom, he just wanted to matter, that was all he ever wished for. Yet here he was, awake at 6 a.m., preparing for an office job for which he had not a single care. He changed into his bland suit and stared at himself in the mirror. All he felt was disappointing misery, his very presence tasted like a stale potato chip. He sighed as he muttered to himself, "I wish I could try again."
In truth, that's not what he intended to say. He wanted to inspire himself, to be hopeful:
"Maybe eventually."
"You still have a chance."
"It'll be fine."
All these phrases circled around in his head, Pheo so wished to convince himself they were true, but to no avail. He shook his head violently, trying to force himself to snap into it.
With a long sigh, Pheo grabbed what he needed and walked outside, only to be met with a depressingly monotone city and the sun shining a little too bright into his eyes. It is almost comical how depressing his life could be at times. He stared at the ground and began his trip to work.
As he stared at the solid concrete, paying no mind to the many individuals walking to and fro around him, he couldn't help but contemplate. Thoughts circled in his head endlessly: what he could have been, what he should have been, what he should have done, and most of all, how he will never get to, and that he can never try again; such is the harsh cycle of life.
However, he managed to try to uplift his spirit by reminding himself:
"At least you are free from it"
Still wrapped up in his thoughts, Pheo failed to pay attention, as he suddenly saw the ground below change from the almost comfortingly usual sidewalk to the alien side of the road. He kept walking for a few seconds before the realization hit him. He looked up in panic, frantically checking around him, and just as he feared, there was a car speeding far too fast to stop in time.
For a moment, it felt as if time slowed down, as he stared at the impending doom in front of him like a deer in headlights. At this time, the thoughts in his head ran so rapidly that he couldn't even comprehend what a single one said. However, as his death neared inch by inch, the last thought he heard before the final breath was a simple yet a powerful one:
"Well… Okay."
And then it happened: a crash, an unbearable surge of pain, and then it all went dark…
"A second chance? Hmm… I suppose another wouldn't hurt."
Throughout the endless void of nonexistence, those words rang out clear as day. The soft, tender voice serenaded Pheo's ears in ways he did not know were possible, yet what it said was endlessly confusing; until it all went to white…
Before his eyes were even open, Pheo could already feel the warmth of the sun touching his skin, caressing him with a welcoming embrace. Finally, he managed to open his eyes and as Pheo got accustomed to the light, he started to take into his surroundings.
Pheo found himself laying on soft and dewy grass. Though he was usually repelled by dirt, he oddly wrapped up in a rather heavenly feeling of comfort as his body rested in the gentle hold of the almost perfectly green grass, glazed with morning dew. He stretched and let out a long sigh. Pheo couldn't help but smile: for a second he almost considered closing his eyes and resting like this. However, before long his memory flooded back and with it so did thousands of questions.
He sat up and looked around, observing the endless grassy plain. It was magical, like that of a fantasy world in TV shows and books. Though as much as he enjoyed the view, Pheo realized he must prioritize his focus on the most pressing matter at hand…
How did he get here?
He began to frantically search his brain, recollecting his current memories. He was able to grasp hold of his vivid memory of death, and the even more recent memory of the voice of a goddess or an angel saying something along the lines of a second chance. Having combined that with where he was now, brought upon only one possibility…
"DID I JUST GET INTO ANOTHER WORLD?!" He screamed out in an ecstatic excitement. His heart began to race and adrenaline kicked in as the thrilling playful attitude, he thought faded long ago, returned more invigorated than ever.
Though as his excitement faded he began to think more critically:
"Wait, but can I even survive in this world? I better have gotten a strength buff." He grips his fist into a tight fist and slams it into the ground in the hope that he had grown stronger.
To Pheo's surprise, as his fist made contact with the ground, there was an unfamiliar loud thud and a crater formed under his fist: just big enough for Pheo to curl up inside as an almost perfect fit. He stared in awe at his power, as an excited grin creeped slowly across his face.
He jumped up declaring to the world "HELL YEAH I CAN WIN THIS!" But immediately covered his mouth, realizing he probably shouldn't announce himself to every creature in the area. With a sigh, Pheo recounted all the initial information needed before he began to act:
"What type of story shall this be? Well, I suppose I'm free to do whatever I want. I may not be the strongest in this world, but the power I already possess should allow me to do so many things I never could. But before I get ahead of myself, I need a plan… I'll go find a small village and do quests to gauge my relative strength, get some armor, and finally…" placing his hands on his hips, he let out a small laugh with a confident smile…
"I'll become unstoppable and unbound!" Pheo yelled arrogantly before covering his mouth, he looked around as simple grass plains seem to stretch on infinitely to the horizon in every direction. Pheo span around about six times in confusion before picking a random direction and walking away…
The walk seemed near endless, stretching on for hours upon hours. Eventually, he reached a forest, but there were still no sign of a village. The moon began to rise as Pheo collapsed on the hard, cold dirt in defeat and groaned, "I'm so hungry-y-y. Where the hell am I?"
He grabbed a nearby stick and a rock, "I saw this in a movie once." he muttered before attempting to sharpen the stick with the rock, only to break the stick and crush the rock on accident.
Pheo sat for a moment staring at his failure before wailing and throwing both the demolished stick and crushed rock and huffing. However, his childish tirade got interrupted by the sound of a rustling bush. He immediately stopped and focuses on listening, "It's very faint, but I can hear slow walking in a circle, wait… AM I GONNA DIE?!" The fear and general lack of safety caused the lurking beast to decide that now was the time to attack, and a comparably small wolf jumped out of a bush.
Thanks to Pheo's enhanced abilities, he was able to turn his head in time to see the wolf. On pure instinct, he accidentally kicked its head, sending it flying into a tree and making an audible crack. Pheo stared at his body, impressed and excited by his power, but equally scared of what they just did to the poor creature. He immediately rushed to the wolf, inspecting it panicked, "No-no-no, how do I treat the wolf? I wish I listened to my mom's ramblings about veterinarians."
Pheo scrambled to wipe off the blood from the injury when then hit the tree and massaged the part where he hit the wolf as it laid unconscious yet breathing.
All of a sudden a chorus of howls rang through the night behind him, he turned frantically, hardly able to be any more panicked. In front of him stood a pack of at least 6 wolves and behind them resided a giant wolf, that was the size of Pheo standing up. Pheo slowly and cautiously stood up with a nervous laugh while preparing to zigzag through the forest at the drop of a hat. "H-hey, you know I really meant no harm. I was just caught off guard and all. And honestly it was just an accident you know. I'm really sorry. I've been sweating for a day now I haven't taken a bath and- and-" Pheo continues to ramble on, knowing it's not going to get through to any of the wolves.
So he stopped and took a deep breath. Pheo stared at the giant wolf, bracing himself as he witnessed the sheer will shining through its eyes; that would look cool if it didn't signal his own death. Pheo took a deep breath in, "I'm not outrunning a wolf so…"
He took a fighting stance and charged forward, "COME OVE-…" Before he could finish the sentence, the largest wolf was already mere inches away. Pheo watched as he stared death in the eyes from an intimate distance. However, just as he had prepared for death yet again, a cold and serious yet beautifully elegant voice rung out through the piercing darkness of night:
"Oceans roar, winds blow,
Elements under my control,
Pay your heed, obey my need,
Bind the vicious beasts:
Chains Of Beelzebub!"
As that command rang out, suddenly all the wolves within an instant were chained to trees by golden glowing chains. The giant wolf, however, ripped out the tree it was attached too and charged again. This time, a woman in a blue cloak with a hoodie appeared in front of Pheo. She was the owner of the elegant voice, under her appeared a blue magical circle.
"I see you're quite resilient. I have some respect, for both you and the wolf." as she said as her cloak seemed to float a bit as she radiated a mystical aura, raising a blue magical shield in front of her. She encased the wolf in a magical box and slowly walked towards it, holding up a staff with a blue crystal ball on the top that glows brightly. As the wolf stared into the enchanting staff, it fell unconscious nearly instantly.
Pheo was left frozen as he stared in awe at the absolute power and mastery he had just witnessed, "I don't know if I'm more attracted or inspired." he mumbled under his breath.
The mage girl let out a soft sigh and giggled a little as her voice became much more casual, "Well I appreciate the compliment, you aren't bad yourself. Took out this small one yourself?" she said, slowly walking towards it as her hand glowed with green energy, presumably healing it. Pheo nodded and let out a nervous laugh, "I didn't mean to really hurt it that bad though" he muttered with an anxious smile.
The mage finished healing the wolf and released the chains as all the wolves immediately fled. She turned to Pheo. She had black raven hair and bright purple eyes. Having met her gaze, Pheo felt as if it pierces through his very soul. Besides that, due to the cloak, he couldn't see much aside from her face. To his surprise, she gave him a gentle bonk on the head with her staff, "That's not even the most important detail anyway. Do you realize you're standing on a soon-to-be battleground? You need to get out before you get killed. Maybe you're strong, but not one-man-army-strong."
Pheo tilted his head in confusion, "Huh… War? What's going on again?"
The mage put a hand on her own forehead in utter disbelief at this man's cluelessness.
"How do you NOT know about the giant continent-wide war going on?!"
Pheo could only sit in confusion as the old, rusty gears in his brain struggled to turn.
The mage groaned before letting out a sigh, "Alright, listen. You seem hungry and tired. I'll take you to a tavern and an inn. And then I'll explain everything. Just follow me." the mage said before walking in a direction Pheo realized to be the same one he was going to.
He put his signature confident smile back on, things were looking up for him. Moved to another world and with a powerful mage woman? Couldn't get any better.
"Let's go!" Pheo proudly declared before attempting to follow, however not long after his body gave in to the hunger and fatigue and instead of stepping forward he simply raised his leg and immediately face-planted passing out…
Author: Izzy R.
Editor: Alice Mangold
Cover by: Camille Dubois