As soon as I was seen, I leapt from the railing where I had been standing. The world seemed to slow down at that moment, like time itself was holding its breath. The air felt thick and heavy, and for a brief second, I could almost hear my own heartbeat, thumping loudly in my ears. The crowd who were mostly just teachers or visitors below erupted in chaos, their voices rising in a wave of panic. Some screamed in terror, others cried out.
My body was weightless for a second, and in that instant, the sounds of the world—shouts, screams, the wind—began to blur together. It was like I was caught in the eye of a storm, everything swirling around me, yet I was perfectly still. Then, all at once, the wind hit me with such force that it felt like a solid thing, battering against my skin and pulling at my clothes. The sound of it—the sharp whoosh as it sliced through the air—was deafening. I couldn't hear anything beyond the howl of the air rushing past me. I couldn't even think clearly. It was as if the world had disappeared, leaving only the rushing wind and the feeling of free fall.
The ground below seemed to grow closer with terrifying speed. I could see the buildings, the people, the familiar world I had left behind growing smaller and smaller, as if I were shrinking away from it. The world was becoming a blur of colors and shapes, no longer tangible. Everything I had known—my friends, my family, the weight of life—felt so far away. I had come to terms with the fact that I was falling, that this was it. I had made my decision, and the end was finally here.
And then—THUMP!
The impact was unlike anything I could have prepared for. It felt like the ground itself had swallowed me whole, like the earth had turned into a solid mass that crushed my body on contact. There was no soft landing, no cushion, just a violent collision that sent a shockwave of force through every fiber of my being. My body felt like it was breaking apart, each muscle and bone screaming in protest. I couldn't move, couldn't even breathe at first. The pain was overwhelming, and for a moment, I thought I might actually lose consciousness. But instead, something else happened.
A burning sensation spread through me. It was not just pain. It was heat—intense and searing, as if the fire had erupted from within me. My skin felt like it was on fire, my insides being consumed by the flames. It wasn't the kind of pain that could be endured. It was something much more terrible. It was as if every inch of my body was being torn apart, then remade in a process that could only be described as pure agony. My nerves were on fire, my blood felt like it was boiling, and every single cell in my body screamed in excruciating pain.
But then, just as quickly as it had begun, the fire began to recede. A sudden, unnatural coldness filled me, swallowing the heat in an instant. The warmth of life, the vitality that I had once known, drained away so quickly that I almost couldn't understand what was happening. It was like my soul was being sucked out, leaving behind only emptiness. The coldness spread from my chest outward, filling every inch of me, until there was nothing left but a hollow, frozen void.
My breath slowed, each inhale becoming slower and far more labored. My eyelids felt heavier and heavier until I could not keep them open no more. My body went slack, and I felt myself slipping away. The world around me started fading, and with it, my awareness. Everything was drifting away, and I didn't know if I should fight it. Maybe it was easier just to let go. It had all been too much—the pain, the confusion, the emptiness. It felt like the end was inevitable.
"This... This is not so bad.", I thought. Maybe I had finally found peace.
But then, something interrupted my descent into oblivion. A voice broke through the haze of darkness, sharp and urgent.
"Haru! Wake up!"
It was the kind of voice that demanded attention, pulling me from the depths of the abyss. It was familiar, comforting in its urgency, and yet distant. It reached into the darkness, grabbing hold of my fading consciousness. I could almost feel the warmth of the person behind the voice. The voice I had heard before. The voice that had always been there when I needed it. The kind of voice that was unmistakable.
"Haru!"
But it could never be... No... This must be a trick of my mind. Maybe a glimpse from my memory.
And then—SLAP!
The sting against my cheek brought me back. My body jerked upright, the shock of the slap hitting me like a bolt of lightning. I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest, blood rushing back into my limbs. I was alive. My breath came in shallow bursts as I blinked rapidly, trying to focus. My vision swam before clearing, and when the world around me settled, I realized I wasn't where I had been. I wasn't on the ground, I wasn't falling. I was somewhere else entirely.
I looked up, dazed, and saw a familiar face looking down at me. Meiko. I hadn't seen her in what felt like forever, but there she was, standing over me with her brow furrowed in concern. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted as though she were about to say something. But no words came out right away.
"Mei?" My voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper, but it carried the weight of everything I had just been through. I stared at her, trying to understand how she could be here, how any of this could be happening. I had just been on the roof. I had just—
"What's going on?" I mumbled, my mind still clouded with confusion. "Why are you here?"
She didn't immediately respond. Instead, she motioned for me to look around. I followed her gaze, and what I saw made my stomach turn.
I wasn't where I had been anymore. I wasn't in my school, or anywhere I recognized. I doubted this was anywhere in Japan. The ground beneath me wasn't concrete or wooden—it was smooth, polished marble, the kind of surface that gleamed in the light. Massive golden pillars stretched high into the ceiling as high or even higher than the Tokyo tower, so tall they seemed to pierce the skies. The ceiling was impossibly far away, as if I were standing inside a building that had no end. Strange markings covered the pillars, glowing faintly with an ethereal light, almost like runes from a forgotten language. But the language was Japanese. The air smelled weirdly comforting, like incense, but with a richness that was almost too thick to breathe. It was... Otherworldly.
"Where are we?" I whispered, the question barely leaving my lips before I heard a voice from the front of the room.
I looked around in disbelief to find a group of women standing at the front of the room. They wore robes of white with gold laces, their faces serene and distant. They radiated an aura of power, of purpose, of something far beyond the ordinary. But it was the woman at the center of the group who caught my attention. She was very tall, very beautiful, with glowing tanned skin that seemed to shimmer in the light. Her robe was of pure gold colour, woven from some material that looked like it had been spun from the sun itself. Behind her stood several other women who were not as beautiful as her but beautiful enough to put to shame any other women I had seen, each with vibrant, unnatural hair colors—emerald green, deep violet, and dark blue. Their eyes glowed, and I couldn't help but feel an unsettling sense of awe as I looked at them.
The woman at the center raised her hand, and the room fell silent. Her voice broke the stillness, calm yet commanding.
"I greet you, our saviors," she said, her words echoing through the hall. "Our messiahs."
The word hit me like a punch to the gut. Messiahs? Me? I wasn't anyone's savior.
"Who are you?" a voice called out from behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was a girl from the same juvenile center I had been at—someone I had barely known. She had been locked up for killing someone powerful, her own father, who turned out to be a politician.
"You are in the world of Euphoria," the woman said, her voice ringing out clear and strong. "A world far larger than Earth. Unlike your home, this world is built upon magical mana. Magic is real here. It governs everything. Some of you may recognize its principles from the stories of your world— Legends, Folklore, Comics, Manga. But this is no fantasy. This is real."
The words sank in, but it didn't feel real. Magic? A whole new world? It sounded insane, too far-fetched to even consider. Yet, the evidence was all around me—the glowing runes on the walls, the energy in the air, the people with powers I couldn't begin to understand. This was no dream. It was no fantasy. I knew it because just like she said, I was already quite familiar to the concepts thanks to my father's mangas.
"And you have been summoned here for a purpose," the woman continued. "I am Irene of Goltairine, who serves under the goddess Liimain of Euphoria. You have been chosen to save this world from destruction. Demons, humanoids, and other threats have pushed the humankind to the brink of ruin. You were summoned here to help us resist. You have each be granted abilities suited to your nature. This world needs you."
Her words settled over me like a weight, but they felt like a lifeline. A second chance. It had to be.
I wasn't sure what came next, but the one thing I knew for certain was that I was alive. And this new life, this strange place, this Euphoria... it was my second chance.
And I wasn't going to waste it.
Irene continued, "But before all, you shall be assessed. Firstly, as I said, You have been granted abilities best suited for your own nature. Furthermore, you can see the abilities and stats by waving your hand and saying -[STATUS]-. This would reveal the status to you, this would include your statistcal data or stats like your health points, mana points, etc. It can also be used a ledger to see what skills/abilities you have with its description showing its details. You can furthur chant -[REVEAL]- to show the stutus to others."
As instructed I chant the spell -[STATUS]-. A transclucent holographic screen appears infront of me.