4: A New World

"Half-bloods? What are you even talking about?" Jack asks.

"That's what all of you are. I'd imagine you're all pretty confused, but let me help your friend first." The dark elf says as she walks up to me.

She gets super close to my face and starts sniffing me.

"Umm, is everything alright?" I ask as I couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Wow, I guess Kira wasn't lying. Every single one of you smells like our kind, even though your appearance says otherwise." The dark elf says as a dark aura starts engulfing her body.

What the hell is going on? Since when does magic actually exist? Everything about this place is hurting my head! It's almost as if we aren't…

"Scavian art: Dark Push!" The dark elf says as she shoots a dark aura that moves the tree off of my foot.

"Woah!" Jack says.

"Haha, I knew magic was real! All of my friends can eat it!" Mari says.

"Unbelievable!" Sachi says.

"Thank you! You saved our asses back there!" I say as I manage to get on my feet.

"Glad I showed up when I did, otherwise I never would've heard the end of it from Kira!" The dark elf says as it's clear she's relieved.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce all of us! My name's Jack! The rest of them are Crow, Mariella, and Sachi." Jack says.

"I'm Layla! We all better get move on before some of his buddies show up. The ugly thing got blood all over my new hood… " Layla says as she starts walking ahead of us.

"Hey wait a sec! You still haven't explained to us what's going on or where we're even going! We need some answers!" Jack demands.

"Ugh, we don't have time to stand around and talk! We're in the darklands which is home to some nastiest creatures in Goliath! I'll explain more as we head back to the capital!" Layla says.

"Goliath?" I ask.

"That's right, you all are in the land of Goliath! Now pick up your step, I'd like to avoid as many confrontations as possible." Layla says.

"Can we really trust her?" Jack whispers.

"I don't see why not, she did save us after all!" Mari replies.

"At the very least she's strong enough to protect us, I'd bank on that for now." Sachi says.

"I've lived a hard enough life to know when someone is a dishonest soul and she's not one of them. I say we follow her!" I say as Jack sighs really hard.

"Alright." Jack says as we all run after her.

We finally get out of the dark forest and find some roads. It seems wherever we are, cars haven't been invented yet. As we continue to walk we see another dark elf driving a carriage with a three-headed horse.

"Huh?" The Elf says as he stares at all of us like he's seen a ghost.

"What's his problem?" Jack asks.

"He's probably never seen your kind before. Before today, I hadn't either. But life is just full of surprises I guess." Layla says as she starts fiddling with her short sword.

"You mentioned that we're in the land of Goliath. What did you mean by that?" Mari asks.

"Yeah, everything here is so unnatural that I'm starting to doubt my own sanity." Sachi says.

"Every four years, Adora brings her chosen children to our cursed land. It's said in the ancient text that her children will one day put an end to the Colossals. Personally, I don't believe in the whole prophecy, but clearly, some of it is true." Layla says.

A fantasy land with magic, dark elves, and an ancient prophecy. How original…

"So wait, are we not on earth anymore? Jack asks.

"Earth? You mean like the ground below us?" Layla asks, her face full of confusion.

"Wait do you know about America? The U.K? Japan? Australia?" I ask as Layla looks even more confused.

"Ah, that's right. Kira said that all of you would have hazy memories… " Layla says, as it seems she's hiding something.

"We can still get home right?" Sachi asks.

"I don't know how to tell you all this. But whatever world you knew from before, you died in it… Adora reincarnates dead souls into our land and gives them a second chance at life. I'm sorry, but there's no way for you to go back to your original world… " Layla says remorsefully.

"Huh? Wait you're joking right? This must be a mistake!" Jack yells, his voice full of frustration.

"We died? This can't be real… " Sachi says, as her eyes start tearing up.

"One of the side effects of being reincarnated is some memory loss of your previous life. I'm sure if you all dig in deep enough though, you'll start to remember." Layla says, as I slowly start to remember what happened.

"That's right, I was almost home and then I fell." I say as all of the memories rush back into me.

"So, I didn't imagine that! My house really was on fire and I didn't make it… " Sachi says, as she falls on the ground crying.

"No! Damnit! Jacob is going to be all on his own! I have to get back to him!" Jack says as he punches a tree.

"You guys already heard what she said, we all died. Let's just be lucky we've been given another chance… " Mari says, as she seems like the only person okay with this.

"Bo… I hope somebody will take care of you. I was a horrible owner, you deserved better than me." I say as I couldn't help but feel sadness.

"I'm really sorry… I know it's a lot to take in, but we need to get you to Vortiyas as fast as we can. This land is massive and dangerous! None of you will be able to survive unless we get you as prepared as possible." Layla says as she helps Sachi off of the ground.

"Understood… I'll try not to be a burden." Sachi says as she wipes her tears away.

"Jack, we gotta keep moving!" I say as I pat him on the back.

"I know, Jacob would never forgive me if I didn't take advantage of this second chance! Still, none of this feels right. I feel like I lost a part of myself… " Jack says, his eyes filled with pain.

"I know what you mean… I left behind my whole family. I never even got a chance to say goodbye." Sachi says.

All of this a lot to take in, especially for a group of teenagers. I spent my whole life alone, hoping that one day I'd be able to have a semi-normal life. But now my life in that world is over and I have to accept this new reality.

I have to start all over again and try to survive in a world that's ten times more dangerous than my original one. Will I finally be able to achieve my goals? Will I finally find a real family?

"Hey! Earth to Crow!" Mari says as she shakes me.

"My bad, I spaced out… What's up?" I ask.

"Let's get a move on! Layla says we're about 30 minutes away from the capital!" Mari says as she grabs my hand.

"Gotcha!" I say as I managed to smile.

I'm sad that I won't be able to return back to my original world, but maybe things will go better in this one?