Same as It Ever Was

[Host detected.]

[Analyzing compatibility... 97% compatible.]

[Conditions are suitable. Initializing Friend System...]

A steady, monotone voice sounded in Ryker's ears as his eyes fluttered open.

Pushing himself up from the cold, hard ground, he shook his head that was ringing from the fall, clutching the bag that had almost slipped out of his grasp when he slipped into that gods-forsaken void.

'Well, *that* was unexpected,' he thought with a groan.

As he stood up, however, he noticed he wasn't alone. What looked to be a dozen or so men in armor readied their weapons only a few meters away from him, crowding defensively around a group of people wearing fancy robes, behind.

<Luo Shuchang! What are you doing here?> a girl standing in the middle of the pack shouted at him with a haughty glare, though he couldn't understand the language she was speaking.

'What the hell is going on...' he thought, as he tried to make sense of his current situation.

Just a few moments ago he was on his way to hang out with his friends downtown, and now he was suddenly out who-knows-where with a large group of strangers.

And judging by the surrounding thicket of trees and vegetation, he didn't seem to be anywhere near civilization, anymore.

'... Damn, am I in trouble right now?'

--

A few moments earlier...

"Aight, I'll be back!"

A tall youth leapt out the front door of a restaurant as soon as his shift was over, throwing on his bag and his favorite red jacket as the cold sea breeze outside hit his face.

"Hey! Be back before dinner!"

A voice followed him out the door. The heavily tanned youth simply raised his hand in acknowledgement at his mother's loud reminder,.

Another day in Greyson Shores, just like any other.

Well, except for the fact that his father needed to have a 'talk' with him, tonight. That only happened every other week, or so.

'Don't think I've done anything *too* stupid lately...' Ryker thought, blowing some loose strands of his dark brown hair from out of his eyes.

Just what could his father want to talk about? And he even had his 'serious' face on, to boot.

'Well, I'll worry about it later!"

As he was (finishing) mulling over his predicament, however, the space in front of him suddenly started warp.

Noticing the strange phenomenon, he slowed to a halt, tilting his head in confusion. Was this some kind of spell experiment gone wrong?

He wouldn't get any more time to speculate, however, before a strong suction yanked him abruptly off his feet.

"What th-!" he managed to cry out, before the anomaly sucked him in and swallowed him whole, disappearing in an instant.

The sudden noise attracted the attention of a few passersby on the main street, who peered curiously into the dark alleyway. However, the only thing that remained was the sound of the soft ocean breeze.

--

Meanwhile, on a mountain side deep in the heart of the Great Zhou Empire...

"Young miss, the tracks stop around here..."

The person speaking was a stocky man in full scale and lamellar armor, getting down on one knee as he addressed a young woman standing amidst a gaggle of well-dressed young men.

The woman didn't even spare the soldier a glance as she nodded briefly, her aloof gaze scanning the surrounding woods for any sign of living creatures.

The scant sunlight peeking through the forest canopy danced radiantly over her fair skin as she looked, her black hair shimmering in cascades down her shoulders.

The most striking of her features, however, were her eyes; sharp, piercing eyes that sparked with defiance.

This young woman's name was Long Meiling, and she was the youngest daughter of duke Long Junfeng, one of the Five Grand Dukes of the Great Zhou.

As for why she had come to the Red Viper mountain range, she had brought her personal guards to hunt for the mountain's namesake, the Red Viper, and acquire one of its fangs.

The other young masters accompanying her had simply tagged along to boot-lick, as usual, and were chattering loudly amongst themselves about who would be the one to bring Long Meiling a Red Viper's fang, first.

"Don't worry, Meiling, as soon as we find that viper, its fang will be as good as yours! You can count on me!"

"Ha, and since when did she have to rely on an oaf like you? Meiling, I will be the one to get that fang for you!"

The young men surrounding her boasted, but she just silenced them with a wave of her hand, her gaze becoming more intense as she spotted something peculiar.

In the air above them, not far from their group, space was twisting unnaturally, growing more and more fierce with each passing moment.

"Quiet. There's something strange happening!" she scolded, drawing her sword from its sheath.

The guard who was reporting to her noticed the anomaly at the same time as she did, and immediately gave a sharp whistle, causing the other guards searching nearby to hurry back to their master's side.

With trained expertise, they drew their weapons and formed a defensive perimeter around the group of little nobles, ready to give their lives for their noble charge and her entourage.

After a long crescendo in activity, the spatial flux suddenly burst with light, and a loud thud followed by an equally loud grunt of pain sounded as they saw a tall figure fall to the ground from the space where the anomaly used to be.

The guards gave each other confused sidelong glances, while the figure in strange clothing lay motionless on the ground.

It seemed to be a young man, but they were more curious as to the source of the anomaly.

To them, the spatial phenomenon had given off telltale signs of a spatial movement technique. They were uncommon in the empire due to their difficulty of use, but they'd seen their fair share of experts who used them.

However, they'd never seen someone execute such a technique so... gracelessly. Had the fellow simply fallen into a spatial rift and wound up here?

As variations of these thoughts ran through their heads, the young man on the ground in front of them started to stir, snapping them back to attention.

Long Meiling, who up to this point had been warily observing the situation, opened her eyes in shock as the youth got up to his feet.

"Luo Shuchang..." she muttered under her breath, recognizing the young man's face.

A face that she'd looked upon so disdainfully for most of her life; the face of her former fiancee.