A Not So Pleasant Evening

Huff. Huff. Huff. My chest roared, my hands clutching the edge of the bed and warmth trying to break through my lips. Shit!

I hit the hardwood floor strong enough to bruise the soles of my feet. The door swung open bashing against the wall, but that doesn't matter now. The toilet! It lay at the end of the hallway with a giant sign reading ''WC''. My body felt as if it were burning hotter than before, like an eruption waiting to happen.

With a kick the door nearly snapped off its rusty hinges. The violent scent flowed through my nostrils, causing the build-up vomit to release just as I reached the wooden box that was the toilet. My throat felt as though it was seconds away from leaking the fiery liquid through the seams of my throat. Drops of warm vomit sprayed against the side of the box, escaping the main stream and flowing into the toilet.

A few steps echoed from the hallway before a gasp enveloped my whole body like a hug. Her hands supported me as I weakly fell back against the carpeted floor. I couldn't make anything out about this girl aside from a very familiar scent that overpowered the smell of the faeces and piss. She held me close and tightly, her hands not wavering for a single second. A jolt sent her arms further up lying on my shoulders as I touched her arms. In the darkness, I couldn't see very much but I could feel the muscle definition that she was hiding beneath the thin cardigan.

'It will be alright Casper. Just vomit everything bad out.' Her gentle voice caressed my ears as if they were enveloped by feathers. A soft voice was a rarity where I come from, so to have one this close to me is comforting. I felt drowsiness wash over me as she sang a little lullaby into my ear, rocking me back and forward gently. I can't fall asleep just yet, I have to at least get back to my own bedroom and have a good night's rest.

'Let's head back to sleep, we really should get some rest. I'm sure tomorrow there will be a lot to do.'

She peeled away from my shoulder, and this time I was able to get a clear view of her face veiled by the darkness of the night. Her eyes sparkled from two stray rays of light coming from down the hallway and bouncing against the mirror. A pair of dark eyes sitting on a dark expression silently staring at me, seemingly checking me out for something.

'Very well, let's go to sleep.'

Her arms ripped off, though I felt as though they had wanted to remain there a bit longer. I didn't mind that, it had been such a long time since I've felt such a warm embrace. In my mind, I swear the thought of asking for a few more minutes in her embrace crossed, for just a split second.

I took the lead walking back towards the only opened door that seemed to be on its last nail. There is a chance that I might've kicked it too hard, I'll have to pay the landlord tomorrow. For some reason, though she followed me very closely behind me, this is getting creepy. I've had enough of women for a while after Elena took my life. But that ended in something I've only heard before in media from the east, a concept of being transported to another world by dying.

'This is my room so you don't need to follow me anymore, I'll be fine so make sure you also get plenty of sleep.'

She stared at me quizzically as if I said something strange, her face quickly growing worried as she reached the palm of her hand against my forehead. Is she taking my temperature?

'How could you say something like that to your own sister? Is it because of your fever or have you finally started going through your rebellious phase?'

Sister? I never had a sister-

Wait!

I rushed back to the room where a mirror was standing against the far wall. In it stood a man I'd never seen before, mimicking all of my actions as if it were trying to fool me. I grabbed the rim of the mirror, staring intently back at the person there. But it seemed that the only person staring back was me. What the fuck happened?!

'Casper, your fever seems to be really serious, please get back into your bed. Stay home tomorrow, I will tell Renny that you are sick and can't come out to look for a job.'

She rushed to my side, supporting me by latching onto my arm and guiding me to my bottom bunk. Was this also here? I don't remember a bunk bed being in the room when I woke up, or maybe I just rushed out far too quickly. Tomorrow I will use the time I have to learn more about where I am and what this world is. There is plenty of information to process from the swirling memories in my head, that seemed foreign but yet so familiar.

'Ah, sorry sis, I didn't mean to worry you. I'll take your suggestion and stay home tomorrow.' I knelt in bed as she moved the blanket to make way for me. She quickly tucked me in and placed a kiss on my forehead. My cheeks were ablaze as she intently stared at me as if waiting for something.

'What does sis mean? And where is mine?'

Yours? Your what?

Ohhh. Hell no.

She stared at me, her face had the same stoic expression it had been before, but somehow I felt as though she was pleading for something. Is this really how this family operates? Very well, I'll play along for now. I can't fall in love with this guy's sister, but I can't have her growing suspicious of me either.

I pushed myself from the comfy bed and pressed my lips against her forehead. A minuscule smile flashed on her face before climbing the wooden stairs at the far end of the bed. Each step creaked as if it hadn't been maintained in several years. Though what can you expect from such a run-down apartment where you don't even get a private restroom?

'Sleep well Casper.'

'Rest well.'

I heard a slight humming, similar to what she sang earlier for me. Its familiarity was off-putting, it was as if I'd known this otherworldly tune all my life despite only being here for several minutes. The wave of drowsiness from earlier brought its second wave, trying to overwhelm all my senses like an ocean crashing over any rock. Slowly my eyelids could no longer bear the weight and shut for good.

◇─◇──◇────◇ ◇─────◇──◇─◇

'H-huh.'

I rubbed my eyes trying to clear away the torpor before steadily stepping on the cold wood floor. Its coolness ran up my legs all the way to my abdomen, my body shivered before I forced my torso up. It was only about two steps before I reached the carpeted section of the floor.

Sitting at the base of the giant window was a desk that seemed to be in relatively poor condition with various chips and scratches spread across the wooden surface. On top of the desk sat a covered glass of water, this is probably what she gave me to drink earlier.

I wrapped my hand around the smooth surface of the glass before taking a big swig. It crawled its way down, baring its icy fangs and scrapping its way down before reaching my stomach. How the hell can this water be so cold when we are inside?!

It didn't take long before my eyes got hooked onto the green moon beaming directly through me. A light so holy that it illuminated the darkest corners of my heart. This is the first time in several years I've seen a full moon like this, not that they were green on Earth. I couldn't help but try to take a picture.

My hand probed around my trousers searching for the rectangular object I was so accustomed to having. No…Don't tell me that….There are no phones in this world!!

Shit. How do people in this world talk from distance then? Or what do they do in their spare time or while they eat? How can people not watch something while they dine here, that is simply barbaric!

Ghhaaaaa.

I lightly bumped against the wooden desk prompting a drawer to pop out. Looking at where it jutted out from, this was a hidden compartment that was housing what seemed to be a journal. The cover is bound in leather and a dark solidified sludge. It wrinkled similarly to human skin but the texture was off, there was no way this was from a human…thankfully. As a sports professor, I know how skin feels the best!

The pages flicked by almost creating a moving image, surely I was just imagining from all the exhaustion. I placed my finger on a random page that contained a crude drawing of a giant circle with various symbols spread around the circumference. At the bottom a title unfamiliar to me, not in English but something familiar. I could read it surprisingly but it was a sight to behold. ''Summoning Circle''

Woah! Like one of those stories, I heard about from old friends? That's kind of insane to think about, wait till they hear this….

I'm never going to see them again, am I….

No! If there is a summoning circle then there must be a way to be transported back to my old world. I just have to figure out the parameters of this..ritual? What the hell even is this? Some of that satanic shit maybe.

No matter! A fire has been lit up in my heart, enough to inspire hope and passion to travel back to the previous world. Or at least…find Luxia. But if she also has been sent here then she wouldn't look anything like what she did. So I have to look for that lecherous personality!

Though for now, I'll have to get some rest and collect information on my situation. This girl mentioned something about Renny, is he some sort of friend of this Casper? I have a feeling I will have to cast Jacob aside and focus on my life as Casper for the next while, as much as I dread that. And this body is severely underworked, with zero muscle definition. That makes sense seeing as he is a language major.

Well for now some sleep wouldn't hurt, or at least it will knock off some of this headache that accompanied the memories. I shut my eyes for what seemed to be several minutes before I felt my consciousness be ripped away from me.

◇─◇──◇────◇ ◇─────◇──◇─◇

'Hello, Jacob.'

A man dressed in exactly what I stared at in the mirror stood in front of me. No, rather, he floated in this infinite white space. His eyes were hidden by his hair before finally tilting his head up revealing the two star-shaped pupils. His mouth was an ever-lasting smile that remained plastered the whole time.

'H-Hello, Casper.'

He giggled to himself. Before starting again, this time with more intonation.

'You accepted your fate quite quickly, haven't you? Well, that doesn't matter, I've come to you to repay my debt.'

Debt? I've never even met this creep in my life. The only repayment I want is for him to get the fuck out of my head.

'I can read your thoughts, and I understand your confusion. My payment will be information about your current situation. As I'm sure you've noticed this unfamiliar world. I'll tell you this, I brought you here.'

'Y-you brought me here?! You brought me to this strange fucking place??!'

'You are correct, now let's get onto our main topic as our time is fleeting. Notice how my form is slowly becoming more translucent by the minute. So peel your ears if you want a chance of going back to your world.'

Fine. I decided to listen to this lunatic's claims, no matter how outlandish they may be.

'Great, love the spirit. Now the reason you have been brought to this world is none other than to stop the eleven major cults from dominating the world and rising to omnipotence. Once you reach a certain stage in a Londra you will be able to see ''Her''. If you see a girl with stars for eyes like mine and draped in white hair, I suggest you try and catch her.'

That cleared up nothing. Any more information to dish out? At least where I should start?

'Perhaps dig up some records at the library on the Lodras, you never know what you might find. Teehee~'

Did you seriously just wink at me?! I'll snap that neck of yours before you can speak again-

'Uh oh, seems as if my time is up for now. I'll chat to you later, think more on what I said to you.'

'No, you don't you little shit!-'

'Buh bye~'