Narcia, the capital of Nur, deserved its other name. The city of gold. It was beautiful. If they had any list of wonders in this world, Ayah was sure Narcia would be at the top with its golden domes and high arches. 

The main street was packed with inhabitants, shoving at each other to get a glimpse of the delegation of the kingdom of Temsia, their long sworn enemy. Guards swathed in red and silver stood sentinel over the crowd. Their bitter faces and twisted mouths spoke volume about their love for the Temsians. One would wonder what they would have done if not for the treaty. They seemed eager for some spilled blood.

“Arrogant dogs,” Shoaib hissed.

“Mind your language,” Harith reproached him. “You’re the crown prince of Temsia. Do not speak such vulgar words… though, I cannot refute them.”

The long road ended at a huge city plaza. Fountains with pretty fire nymph sculptures decorated the square. A huge roaring dragon stood at the center, its wings caught in flight, sheltering half the area with its shadow. Before it, stood their welcoming committee. The warriors at the forefront of the assembly wore the most intricate and lavishly adorned armors Ayah had ever seen. The red dragon crest on their chestplate shone with a faint glow. At the head of the gathering was the king in full royal regalia. 

The king of Nur and Loaye’s protagonist, Aayan.

He took a couple steps forward and extended his arms in a welcoming manner.

“Welcome my dear friend. We haven’t seen each other in ages,” he said in a pleasant voice.

“The ceremony is an annual event,” Harith said in a dry tone.

Ayah rolled her eyes. Can he look any more antagonistic?

Aayan chuckled. “Such a loss, don’t you think?”

The ceremony was a reminder for the losing kingdoms to uphold their vows. But what it truly served as was a way to rob their losses in their metaphorical faces.

Ayah glanced at the both of them. While Aayan was acting friendly and amiable, she couldn’t help but feel the deep animosity the two held for each other.

Amongst the gathering was one man Ayah thought she wouldn’t see for a long time. Loaye stood at the back of their welcoming committee, his eyes widened in shock as they fell on Ayah. She shot him an unimpressed look, and mouthed “later,” when she thought no one was looking.

Loaye looked away, refusing to meet her gaze. Ayah scowled. She had a couple words to say to him. He better be prepared.

“I see you’ve brought an unannounced guest.” The king, Aayan said, smiling at her.

Ayah startled. She willed her heart to still and looked him in the eyes, fighting the urge to ask for an autograph.

He was… glorious. Simply glorious. Worthy of being called the protagonist. His brown hair swayed gently to the morning breeze, his emerald green eyes soft and gentle. His smiling eyes creased further in amusement.

It was then the system flashed its warning.

[Warning : An enemy has appeared.]

Ayah stilled, an horrified look flashing over her eyes before she schooled her face into a neutral expression. Was the system going to assign her a quest now? But the system stayed silent. Except for the first warning, no demands were made of her. Ayah allowed herself a breath of relief. She looked up, and found the protagonist’s gaze locked on her.

“She’s a guest of the kingdom of Temsia. I expect she would be treated as such.” Harith said sternly.

Ayah glanced at him and quirked an eyebrow at his narrowed eyes towards her.

What..?

“Of course. Any guest of Temsia is a guest of ours.” Aayan said as the fine protagonist that he was. “If you’ll excuse me. I still have matters to attend to before the banquet. Asila will show you the way to your quarters.” He motioned to a young maid, who had materialized a few feet behind him.

Ayah eyed her warily.

“Show off,” Shoaib whispered, throwing Ayah an exasperated look, ignoring his uncle’s warning gaze.

Ayah grinned back at him. 

 

Their quarters were a huge mansion to the left of the palace. Ayah gawked at her new room, it was double the size of her whole apartment. She threw herself on her featherly soft bed, reveling in the warm afternoon light that filtered through the floor to ceiling windows.

It’s been a couple hours since they had arrived. A couple hours since she had found Loaye. She had thought he would speak to her at first chance, but the author has yet to contact her. 

Was he trying to avoid her?

She looked down at the flower garden that surrounded the mansion. Silver and dark blue flowers were arranged in a tapestry that formed the crest of Temsia. Golden dragon statues stood sentry over the two entrances. Ayah had an inkling it was deliberate. Dragons were the crest of the kingdom of Nur after all. Nonetheless, it added more beauty to the whole garden.

If she allowed herself to ignore the still blinking notification of the system, she could believe herself enjoying her vacation in one of the finest hotels in the world.

“What now?” She glared at the screen.

[A time limited Quest is available. Would the player like to accept the Quest now?]

[Time limit : 3 Hours]

“Can I refuse?”

[Time limited Quest : Save the crown prince of Temsia.]

“What?” Ayah shot up from the bed. “What’s wrong with him?”

As usual, the system remained silent. Only the countdown of the quest remained on the screen.

She threw on a cloak and shot through the door, startling one of the passing maids. She ran around the mansion looking for him, like a crazed overworked office worker before her morning coffee. But to her dismay, there was no sign of him. She glimpsed one of the younger guards she often saw Shoaib bicker with and tore towards him like the hounds of hell were on her heels.

“Does my lady require anything?” 

“Shoaib, where is he?”

“His Majesty is attending an official meeting with the other monarchs. We’ll notify him of your visit as soon as he returns.”

“No need. I’ll find him myself.”

According to the guard, the meetings were held in the assembly hall in the castle. But as she expected, her status of guest wouldn’t allow her entry into the palace. One of the sentries sent her a disgusted look and politely shooed her away.

“System, do you know of any other path to the assembly hall? Don’t you have a Map or something?”

[Generating a Map momentarily…]

Ayah clicked her tongue. “Say so from the beginning instead of letting me run around like a lunatic.”

A small map materialized in front of Ayah, with two small dots. A green representing her, and a red for her target, Shoaib.

[There might be some slight discrepancies between the system’s map and the current locations.]

Ayah nodded. “As long as it gets me there, I don’t care about anything else.”

“System, there’s another house instead of the passage you showed.”

[There might be some slight discrepancies between the system’s map and the current locations.]

“Your map is outdated, you mean.”

[Correct.]

“Just… how long do you think it has been outdated?” Ayah narrowed her eyes at the numerous buildings and paths not present on the map.

[The system’s map is currently 197 years and 8 months and 12 days old.]

Ayah gawked at the numbers.

[The system is urging the player to finish the Quest before the end of its time limit.]

“What do you think I’m doing…” she grumbled.

She squinted at the map. Was there any path that could have Withstood two centuries of renovation?

It took her a whole hour to find her way through the maze that surrounded the royal castle, with its secret passageways and forgotten pathways… All of that while evading the sharp eyes of the castle’s personnel. She was nearly discovered once by one of the maids. Only the head buttler’s scolding of hurrying the drinks over to the hall had saved her from the frantic woman’s keen eyes.

It was a double save. Seeing as the maid was heading to the hall, Ayah followed after her. And true enough, she found her target. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and slithered inside the royal garden, hiding behind bushes and statues. It wasn’t long before she found Shoaib muttering angrily to himself, heedless of his surroundings, unaware of the black figure that had materialized behind him.

There wasn’t enough time. Ayah wouldn’t be able to reach him.

She summoned her sword, and with a silent prayer for the weapon to hit its intended target, she launched it into the air. It made a whooshing sound as it sped towards the black clad man, narrowly missing Shoaib’s head.

The assassin ducked back, but the blade still managed to nick him in the shoulder. He jumped a few feet away from the crown prince and leveled his eyes, the only visible part of him, at Ayah.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Shoaib glared at the assassin, his sword already drawn. “This is a violation to the seven kingdoms treaty. Surrender yourself and I might show you mercy.” 

The assassin held his sword up, a telltale sign of rejecting Shoaib’s orders. Shoaib lunged at him and the two swords met in a shower of sparks. Shoaib swung his sword at the man’s head, but the assassin ducked back and brought up his sword to stop Shoaib’s next strike.

They kept at it for a while. Ayah watched with amazement as the two danced around the stone pathway, sparks flying around them, and a slight breeze picking up each time Shoaib waved his sword.

But even Ayah, who wasn’t a real warrior, could see the difference in power. The assassin was faster and his strikes more powerful. It wouldn’t be long before he overpowered Shoaib.

The assassin flung Shoaib’s sword away, it landed in a clatter next to Ayah’s feet. He swung his sword down, and for a horrifying second Ayah thought it was over. The sword struck the ground destroying the stone underneath and sending crackwebs a couple meters long.

Shoaib fell hard against a steel bench. He struggled to his knees and retched.

This was the power Shoaib was fighting against…

[Item found : Storm Blade. Would you like to collect it?]

Ayah eyed Shoaib’s discarded sword and whispered a hushed yes. The sword blinked out of existence and appeared in her hand.

The assassin lunged at Shoaib’s prone form, his sword held high. Ayah braced herself and used her newfound speed to get to Shoaib before him. She had less than a second to appreciate the slight increase before her arm was screaming under the weight of the assassin’s power.

Her Crescent Blade skill was ineffective before him, but it helped in putting some distance between them. She readied her stance and launched herself at him, her Slash skill in effect. He parried her with ease.

“You’re fast, but still weak,” he said before he swung his sword to the side.

She stopped his strike, but the force of it sent her a couple feet sliding on the ground. Their speeds were somewhat equal, Ayah was glad she had used her stats point on it, though Ayah wasn’t sure he was using his full power. Maybe he wasn’t, who knew. But speed wasn’t the only thing Ayah advanced.

She could feel the muscles in her arms straining and the sword hilt groaning in her grasp. She took a deep breath and swung the sword to stop the assassin’s strike. His sword shattered into million pieces in his grasp.

He flung himself away from her raised sword, and regarded her with a shocked gaze.

“Impressive,” he murmured. He took out a small golden dagger and leaped at her.

The two weapons met with a loud clang. Unlike his sword, the dagger was sturdier. Not even a crack appeared on its surface no matter how much power Ayah used. This must be the limit of her current level, she thought. She needed to level up.

There was something else about the dagger, each time it banged against Ayah’s sword, a slight humming reverberated through the blade. The assassin tilted his head at Ayah, his gaze fell to the humming dagger then back to her.

“I found one,” he said in an eerily calm voice. “Little rabbit walked into the slaughter house with her own feet.” he singsonged.

Ayah grimaced. Was there no one sane in this world?

“This makes my hunt so much easier… and so much boring.”

The guards that were stationed at the entrance of the garden, rushed forward, swords drawn.

“What’s happening here?” One of them yelled.

“Assassin! Get the assassin!”

The assassin flipped backwards. He bowed to Ayah. “We shall meet again, my little rabbit.” Then disappeared in a shower of smoke.

[Congratulations! You’ve completed your Quest!]

Ayah coughed, rage building inside her chest. Rabbit? She would skin him alive.

She turned to Shoaib who was sitting, leaning heavily on the broken bench. She kneeled in front of him, handing him his sword.

He glanced at Ayah, his eyes lingering for a second on the Temsian crest on the front of her cloak. “You shall be rewarded for your actions.”

“Heh, no need.” Ayah shrugged.

Shoaib gawked at her. “Ayah?” he whispered.

“The one and only,” She slightly lifted the hem of her hood, grinning at him. Then executed a sloppy bow. “At your service your Majesty,” she said before she sprinted away from the royal garden. 

She evaded the hurried footsteps coming from inside the palace, stopping only when she noticed her runaway author. He was at the end of the rushing personnels, so it wasn’t that hard to rush to him, grab him by his ceremonial robes and dart away to the other side of the building, away from prying eyes, and dump him unceremoniously on the ground. His back hit the wall with a muffled thud.

“Wha…?” He hunched to the side and started retching.

Ayah grimaced. She should be more careful when using her speed while carrying other people. It might be her stat, but it didn’t mean others would be accustomed to it. 

She stood over him, her arms crossed over her chest, and her leg tapping on the ground.

“We met at last.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Have you been avoiding me?”

He hesitated. “No? Why would I?”

“Then why haven’t you contacted me yet? I’ve been waiting for hours.” 

Loaye avoided her stern gaze. He looked down at his robes, and brushed non-existent dirt from them. “I am a magistrate. I have my duties to attend to.”

“Not today.” Ayah glared at him.

He sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. 

“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? Were is this place?”

Loaye paused for a moment, eyeing her. Then sighed. “The world is larger than your space agencies think. Other worlds don’t exist outside earth, but in other dimensions.”

“So that’s where we are? Another dimension?”

“That portal you so foolishly followed me through is an interdimensional pathway. It links other worlds to each other. My world and yours are but one of many.”

Ayah’s eyes widened. “You’ve been to other worlds?”

“Some of them.” He shrugged. “Yours is the most similar to ours.”

“What were you doing there?”

Loaye looked to the side. “Research,” he muttered.

Ayah narrowed her eyes at him when he refused to elaborate more on the subject. But she suspected it had to do with all that savior spiel the system was so attached to.

“How did you end up with them? Don’t you know who they are” Loaye asked.

“For someone who had vanished into thin air the moment you arrived here, you sure think you can condemn my decision to try and stay alive.” 

“He’s the general of Temsia. A dangerous man.” Loaye insisted.

Ayah huffed. “Yeah, sure. He only saved my life a couple times, and we yelled at each other a couple more. He’s really dangerous.”

“He’s the Dark Lord’s heir.”

“And I’m the empress of Morr.” Ayah shot him an irritated look. “No, seriously though, you gotta admit you were exaggerating a tad bit about him in your novel.” She put her hand over her hip. “And really Loaye? I thought your story was a product of your own imagination. I guess you’re in need of a little title change here, a historian would be more like it.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Though even that should be put in question.”

Loaye huffed. “I needed a way to make a living in your world. It’s not my fault you people gobble anything that seems the least bit fantastical like you’re eating bread.”

Ayah sighed. She ran her hand over her face. “Let’s just… get back on track. Can you help me go back?” Ayah stared at him. 

“... I guess…?”

Ayah punched the wall behind him, creating a palm sized dent in the white polished stones. “You guess?”

Loaye flailed his hands around. “While I can get you back ther− there’s something that you need to know first.”

“What?” Ayah scowled at him.

“The portal is closed now.” He held a placating hand in front of him when Ayah’s scowl deepened. “But it will open in five years.”

“What do you mean?”

“It opens once every five years,” Loaye sheepishly said, warily eyeing her closed fist.

“You gotta be kidding me. I have to stay stuck here for five years?”

Loaye’s shoulders sagged. “You shouldn’t have followed me. I clearly remember telling you to leave.”

Ayah groaned. She was stuck here… for five years? Could things get any worse?

“Anyway, that’s not important. What’s important is figuring out what we’re going to do with you. You can’t stay here. That’s a whole rat’s nest of problems.”

“Worse than being stuck here?” Ayah snorted.

Loaye gave her a sharp look. “More than you can imagine.”

 

---

 

Author’s note:

Hi guys, thanks for reading! :)

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