Chapter 83

Feeling the pain in his whole body, Hisashi jolted up awake. As soon as he did, all the pain went away as if a phantom pain. However, he still sees his body covered in bandages, especially his chest. He quickly removes them and when he's done, he finally gets the chance to look at his situation as a whole.

Feeling something amiss, he discovered that somehow, his ki wasn't activated, a sensation he hadn't felt for years. Hisashi was about to activate it when he felt a tingle in his head. Following that is a voice that isn't him.

'Don't. You'll hurt yourself.' He heard the voice of a woman in his head. But with his distrustful nature that reappeared again after the fight in the Fog of Valley of Death, Hisashi didn't listen.

Just then his eyes widened and veins appeared by the side of his head. Deathly levels of pain hit him making him writhe while gripping his head and hair. It wasn't because of the voice of the woman, but because of the amount of information entering his brain. It wasn't concrete information like knowledge, but the tiniest of detail that is around his surroundings.

His ki isn't the only thing that spiked but also his 5 other senses. He sees the creases on the floorboard or the smallest of dust. He smells the scent of leaves, fruits, and rivers outside and the taste of his own saliva and the seawater that he has ingested hours before. The ever-changing temperatures and sensation of the air whether cold or hot and even the feeling of dust touching his skin. Last but not the least, the voice of hundreds if not thousands of people and their footsteps.

As if being boiled alive, Hisashi can't help but sweat buckets amount of water and release his pain and emotions externally. Scratches and cracks appeared on the wooden floorboard. The bed that he was lying on earlier was now thrown to the side as the walls of the small house he is in are on the verge of destruction. That was when the woman's voice sounded in his mind once again.

'Calm your mind. Control it. Let the information flow in your brain and let me filter it out for you.'

On contrary to what he was supposed to do, Hisashi didn't do what the woman said completely destroying the house. Just then, he hears a sigh and many loud footsteps.

'I didn't expect someone to be this stubborn. Here.' As she said so, a weird energy entered Hisashi's body and he started to lose consciousness once again, only to be jolted back up awake. When that happens, Hisashi loses the painful feeling and his brain starts to recover.

"What just happened? Where am I?" He said to himself. Just then, he sees a group of men in armor and moves his hand by his side. That's when he discovers that his sword is gone. He also noticed that his mana wasn't reacting when he was trying to get some on his dark storage. With a furrow of his eyebrow, he readies to fight them even with his still discombobulated head.

They then form a line while Hisashi waits to move, observing each and every ounce of movement they are making. Seeing one of the guards moving, Hisashi prepares to throw his fist too as his muscles explode in strength. But before that happens, he hears a familiar voice.

"That's enough." It was the voice of the woman in his head. The guards then paved the way as a woman in a white royal robe with a face as beautiful as an angel walked past them. Hisashi also sees her and is shocked… just for a moment before he clenches his fist again.

The woman was exuding a holy and pure aura the neven Hisashi was thinking twice about opposing her. Even when he cannot use his ki, he can feel her overwhelming presence and knows right away that she's different. The woman simply smiled at him before she spoke. Her voice was as holy as her face and her aura that Hisashi almost feel like he was back again on a river after not taking a bath for a month.

"I'm Ariel, the queen of this place. I know you have your question, so… you can put down your fist and lower down your intent. In the meantime, you can join me for tea."

Ariel said as she walked up to him, unguarded. The guards were simply watching but they were ready for the moment that Hisashi attacks or tries to harm their queen. But in the end, Hisashi wasn't able to do anything but simply stand there. Ariel simply walks by his side, moves her hands to grab Hisashi's, and opens up his fist before slowly putting it down.

"There. Don't worry, I mean you no harm." As she said, Hisashi looked her in the eyes which she returned. As if a tamed beast, Hisashi was locked in the moment, in her eyes, and speechless as he simply followed her instructions. She held his hands as they both walked together past the guards and onto the paved road and a big castle, peacefully.

The two sat down at a table and Ariel pours a hot tea for Hisashi and herself. She gently gave it to him as she drinks from her own.

"First, I must apologize. I forcefully took you away from your journey without your consent. But I must do this, for you have yet to know your fate. You should drink some, it's a delicacy you'll only be able to taste here in our world." Hisashi took the cup and was about to drink when he snaps back into himself. He looks at the opaque liquid the queen was calling tea and realizes her words.

"Huh, 'our world'? Where am I? What just happened? Did you use your powers on me?" Hisashi shook for a bit, almost spilling the tea but he collected himself. He looks at Ariel's captivating eyes once again and waited for an answer.

"No, and I don't plan to. I believe that you are a good man. As for where you are, currently, you aren't in your world. More specifically, you're in our world, Geistavana. Also known… as the world of the spirits."