_??????? ??????

_Planet Caldinus I / General Duvalle Military Hospital / Caldinus Interplanetary Army Base

[_PRELIMINARY BOOT UP SEQUENCE INITIATED... 20%... 60%... 80%... BOOT UP SEQUENCE COMPLETE. EXECUTING MAIN DIRECTIVE.]

[_DIVE CAPABLE BIOLOGICAL WAVEFORM DETECTED. VERIFYING PERMISSIONS. VERIFICATION COMPLETE. REQUEST FOR INITIAL TEST DIVE ACKNOWLEDGED.]

[_REGISTERING BIOWAVE PROBE DATA. 10%... 40%... 90%... DATA REGISTRATION COMPLETE.]

[_PREPARING VIRTUAL BODY... ERROR! ERROR! QUANTITY OF AETHER SATURATION IN THE ATMOSPHERE EXCEEDS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED VALUES.]

[_CROSS-REFERENCING VALUES GATHERED FROM ONE-OFF PROBES IN THE MOST RECENT 347 MEGACYCLES. SEVEN QUERY RESULTS FOUND. COMPILING DATA... DATA COMPILATION COMPLETE.] 

[_EXECUTING OPTIMAL ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON GATHERED DATA... ADJUSTMENTS COMPLETE. VIRTUAL BODY CREATED.]

[_DUE TO LACK OF RELEVANT DATA, SEVERAL FUNCTIONS CANNOT BE ACCESSED AT THIS TIME. DIVER, PLEASE TAKE HEED. AN UPDATED USER MANUAL SHALL BE SENT TO YOUR INBOX. PLEASE ACCESS IT UNDER THE DIVER MENU SECTION.]

[_LINK WITH A.T.R.D. PROGRAM INITIATED... LINK COMPLETE. DIVER, PLEASE DO YOUR BEST TO GATHER RELEVANT DATA IN ORDER TO PAVE THE WAY FOR THE EVENTUAL RETURN TO THE MAIN TEMPORAL LINE. AS THE EXTENT OF INVADER INFLUENCE IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN, DIVER SHOULD EXERCISE UTMOST CAUTION.]

[_DIVE PREPARATIONS COMPLETE. TEMPORAL COORDINATES LOCKED. INITIATING TEST DIVE... GOOD LUCK, DIVER. GLORY TO THE UNITED MILKY WAY FEDERATION.]

[_DIVE STARTS IN 3... 2... 1...]

***

_System Linked Bio-Probe / Temporal Shift Function Fully Active / Diver I.D. - 'Ryuu Creed'

_Location: Currently Unknown / Preliminary Survey Recommended

"Ugh... My head feels like it was hit by an Orc Lord's warhammer or a ten ton hover-truck... What time is it anyway? I need a drink."

I muttered complaints while feeling a massive headache and tried to open my eyes.

"Eh?..."

Oookay... That's weird. I can't seem to open my eyelids. Scratch that; I can't move my entire body at all. I can't even feel anything! What's going on? What kind of shit am I in again now?! 

No. Wait. Calm down. In times like these, it'll do no good if I panic. I mean, I kinda experienced dying already. Twice. Can't get any worse than that.

Okay. Deep breaths... 

"Holy—? I can't even fucking BREATHE?!!!"

Riiight... Now I'm panicking! What the hell is happening to me?!

Wait! Maybe I'm still in a dream. I did doze off in the hospital earlier. I just need to wake up, somehow. 

Lessee... How about I pinch myself awake? Or maybe I should start by moving my toes or something?...

"How the hell am I even supposed to do those if I can't even feel my body, dammit?!!!"

...

Wait up. I never took note of it earlier, but I've basically been screaming my lungs off the whole time. If I can't feel my body, how the heck am I actually screaming?

[_APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY, DIVER REGISTRATION #1265A. DIVER I.D. REGISTERED AS: RYUU CREED. VIRTUAL BODY ENVIRONMENTAL INTERFACE FUNCTIONS ACTIVATING IN 3... 2... 1...]

"What the—?"

My vision was suddenly restored. 

What first greeted my eyes was the magnificence of nature. Countless trees of different kinds stood tall upon a majestic looking cliffside, overlooking a deep valley below. Various species of avian creatures flew in the skies above the valley.

There sure were a lot of them. This place could be heaven for bird watchers. 

Hey, look at that. There's even a wyvern. That's rare...

...

...Wait.

...Wyvern?

A sudden roar was followed by the simultaneous sounds of flapping wings. Different feathers of myriad colors and shapes fell to the ground as the other avian creatures fled upon the arrival of the vicious looking wyvern. It circled the air and continued to roar out. It might be trying to attract a mate.

And the only reaction I managed to let out at this point was...

"...Eh? EEEEEEEEEHHHH!!!?"

_End of Book 1