Chapter 2 - Welcome to Another Side of the World

"Yes, yes! I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

"So you don't need help?" The girl seemed genuinely concerned and gave her hand to help Angga stand.

"It's fine, really! I can quickly stand up. Just a little but–oops. There."

Angga smiled. She also awkwardly smiled as she walked back and disappeared among the crowd. Everyone was still watching.

Where the hell am I? That's that guy's first line of thought. Angga still remembers that she was taking some footage from a tree, and then he suddenly arrived at a place different than before. He is no longer in the small town that he used to know. No matter how far his eyes gazed, his reality was different now.

Or is it?

Angga was looking at the crowd again, which was also looking back for whatever reason. Those gazes made him wonder if something was different about him compared to others. But Angga thinks that they were the ones who were genuinely different! As far as he knows, there are no people to have wings, horns, tails, or something else.

But one thing for sure was that communication was possible between them. Angga doesn't know if they understand what Angga said or vice versa.

"Oh! Yeah, that could be considered as one possibility. So that's why–"

It's because he was spirited away, or so he thought.

So Angga was confident that where he was now was another world or supernatural world. And those ghost sightings that happened all this time were actually people with different physical attributes. When Angga thinks about it, all the ghostly sightings would make sense. 

He nods with a serious face since he has no other presumption about this mysterious phenomenon that happened. Especially when he got transferred here because he would get closer to the banyan tree, which is considered a sacred tree in that neighborhood. There must be a reason why the residents around there respected the tree in their own way.

Basically, Angga thinks that he is not alive anymore since the living can't be in the realm of the astral and the dead.

Angga opened his arm as if he were going to hug something more massive than his body.

"Alright, I'm ready. Angel, the god of death, or the angel of death who supposedly pulled out humans' souls, will arrive soon. It's too bad I haven't reached my goal yet, but it's what it is!"

The crowds surrounding Angga made a murmur again because of that loud exclamation. Some of them started to get interested as something round with different colors could be seen floating around them, as if waiting for what would come next from this weird guy that appeared out of nowhere.

Angga was still in the same pose for fifteen minutes, not moving an inch. When he looked around, nothing happened while the crowd watched him. Until someone was approaching him, coming from the crowd.

"Hey, do you have teleportation spells or something?"

Her voice is a mixture of a soothing, sweet, and energetic tone. When Angga looked over, it was someone taller and bigger than him, wearing clothes with an identical vibe to others. In Angga's perception, her clothes were something exotic, out of the ordinary compared to the fashion sense of his world. Somehow, Angga could clearly see her lean yet muscular arms since she wore a sleeveless outfit. 

She also gave a strong vibe of a lioness since she has a lion ear on her head and a lion-cut hair tied into thin, long hair.

But Angga wasn't ready when the said person suddenly stood close to him as if she moved quickly. Especially about her height since he never met someone as tall as her in his lifetime.

"Woah! I'm sorry. I don't expect you to come close this fast. Urm, pardon?" Angga quickly recomposed himself.

"I'm asking if you have a teleportation skill or not?"

"Huh? What's that? Is that a technique that makes you move pretty fast?" Angga got the gist of it but didn't want to get it wrong.

"Yes! But actually, no. It's not actually moving pretty fast, but you did something, so you instantly changed your position at your desire." The woman tried to explain it as slowly as possible so Angga could understand immediately.

"Ah, I heard about that. Amazing idea. It's pretty neat if you can move instantly without paying for the fares."

"Yes, that's right!" she smiled wide with her eyes almost sparkling. "so, can you show me your teleportation spell?"

"About that, I don't have any idea how to do that. I'm certain I haven't learned about this spell you're talking about."

That woman was still smiling, but her gaze was also confused by Angga's statement. 

"But, I saw you appeared in this spot from thin air!" the woman was almost shouting.

"What, really?!"

"My eyes won't lie! Therefore, I want you to go with me so I can make nice content about you. You know, a teleportation spell is something pretty rare. A legendary skill that no one can learn anymore since it was lost in the flow of time."

"I'm sorry, but what?"

"But we have to go somewhere safe first, or people are starting to get the same idea as me!"

She pulled Angga to move without his consent as her tall figure pushed most of the people here who were curious about Angga's whereabouts. Yet, the guy himself still couldn't process this situation swiftly and was coerced to follow the woman's steps to escape.

Before Angga knew it, they were inside a building with ancient European architecture, sitting in one of the rooms they had with some snacks on the table. Before him, there was someone with fluffy white hair and a pair of twisted horns on his head. Angga was catching his breath since following that girl while being dragged cost him much stamina. He secretly cursed his lifestyle with barely any workout routine.

The sheep-person adjusted his glasses to make sure something. "So, uhh. Who is it again, Clara?"

The tall woman, now known as Clara, smiled wide. A lot of warm, vibrant aura came from her. "He is the one who can do the teleportation spell! I brought him here so he would help us to create amazing content!"

"Have you asked for his approval?"

Seeing Clara still widely smiled but shook her head made the sheep-person shrug slightly. "Thought so. It's not polite to do that, you know. I think he also got something to say about this."

"Hehehe, I'm sorry~"

The guy approached Angga and tried to shake hands. "The name is Aleid, and I'm sorry that Clara was doing as she wanted without really thinking about it again. I'm one of those Satwa people, just like Clara."

"Oh-right! I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry, hehe. My name is Clara."

"I-It's alright. I'm Angga. Nice to meet you. What do you mean you guys are Satwa people?"

Aleid and Clara glanced at each other before he came back to Angga. "It's the common thing we know. Do you have amnesia? Didn't they teach you at school?"

"They didn't. The only species I know is a human. Or do you consider ghosts or aliens as a people, too?"

Aleid replied, "Ghost is one thing. But alien as a people is my first time hearing that."

"So you telling us that this alien people is an abomination that's free to punch? They're similar to monsters?" Clara joined the conversation.

"No, Clara. Don't mess up this conversation further than this," halt Aleid. "But it's weird to know that some people don't know about Satwa people like us. Have these people lived in a cave with a hibernation spell for fifty years or so?

"Time out, time out!" Angga crossed his arms with both palms clenched, "Alright, I get what you meant. So, if that's what kind of 'people' you're talking about, then I'm a human–wait, am I still looking like a normal human?"

Angga stood up to look for something while Aleid and Clara watched him curiously. No matter how Angga walked around, a mirror was nowhere to be found until he stopped at the window and checked his faint reflection.

His nose, eyes, and ears were normal, and no weird things appeared on his body. It's safe to assume that Angga is still human, just like he was.

Clara tilted her head. "What are you doing?"

"I just want to check on something. But all is good now." Angga laughed awkwardly.

"But, a human, hmm. It's my first time to hear that one. Are you similar to the Pijesak people? Because just by your looks alone, you're similar to some of their people." Aleid was still putting his arms folded on his chest while observing Angga.

Angga shook his head, totally in confusion. Still, all of this weirdness exhausted him too much. So he sat back to his initial place, on the sofa, while relaxing his mind.

Yet his head is jumping to every place to gather every presumption possible. If he did not die and he was stranded somewhere, which wasn't an afterlife, that means he was spirited away. The appearance of animal people, pointed ears or scally people definitely made sense because the land of the supernatural is the home of aberrants who appeared as a ghost sighting in Angga's world. That's what Angga learned throughout his life, just like the other people, believing there was another side of the world that lived together alongside the human world.

"...alright, I get it," said Angga to himself, which alerted Clara and Aleid, "to be here means I'm not respecting the border that the supernatural beings have set. Ghost or evil specter, if that's my fate to live alongside them, then I'll accept it!"

Clara can hear Angga's grunt for his determination to face his new life. She laughed in response to the human's outlandish behavior until now.

"Hey, are you treating us just like those ghosts or monsters? That's rude. We're living being here, and later, we will die. But being a ghost? We're not wicked enough, so our souls will wander and hurt others."

"Hehe, Aleid. You tell him!"

Angga was still processing the meaning of Aleid's words hard.

"Hmm, this is difficult. Seems like our communication isn't working. I'm sure we can speak and listen to each other, but still, there's an invisible wall blocking our understanding."

"Ah, I know! If there's a wall, then it's our job to break it, right?"

Clara quickly grabbed Angga's hand and dragged him again somewhere.

"If you don't understand what we are and what kind of place this is, then I'll just need to show you!"

That lion girl spared no time for Angga to respond as they were going somewhere outside. Aleid gave a relieved sigh as he witnessed Clara's antic today as well.

During their walk, they passed various kinds of people that Angga had never seen before. Those are sights to behold in his eyes since he didn't expect to see this kind of scenery at all. It was a unique and exotic phenomenon while weird-looking people glanced back at him simultaneously since a tall girl dragged his left and right until her step slowed.

"I don't know if there are more kinds of people outside this town or this kingdom. But as long as we can communicate, then nothing else won't matter!" the girl enthusiastically said.

When Clara let go of Angga's hand, he could now see it by himself a different kind of view that was found nowhere in his world. Even the setting sun won't fade away the beauty of the diversity of this place.

There are shops everywhere with lamps made of some otherworldly substance, yet they are pretty warm and seem harmless. Every people were busy with their business and trying to negotiate their prices. There was also a street performer who did a fantastic stunt that Angga couldn't guess how they managed that feat except that magic was in play. So many different kinds of people gathered in one place as they enjoyed the current atmosphere.

One thing in common between en masse was a floating orb that moved at its own pace around each person there.

"Welcome to the Canau's town center, where we live earnestly to find our own resources by any means, as long as it's fair and square."

Clara's sweet grin welcomed Angga, the stray human who came from another world.