After he opened his tired, hazel-colored eyes, Elian was greeted by a blue sky, gently drifting white clouds, and the soft caressing of a light breeze. It took him multiple seconds to realize he was lying on smooth, green grass instead of being stuck in mud or drowning underwater. 

"What...?" He asked himself, sitting up and touching his body, but he could not feel pain anywhere, and neither was his clothes wet. "How...?"

His surprise was warranted as his last memories were of struggling in a flash flood, trying to hold onto a branch with one hand and onto a young boy with the other. He was heading home from college, sitting on the same bus in his regular seat for the past two years. The weather was horrendous, as it usually used to be around these parts of the world when spring came. It had been raining for a week straight, and today was no exception, so he wanted nothing more but to get home, take a bath... and watch a movie. He was about to fall asleep when he was forcefully jolted awake by a loud crash and violent push that launched him out of his seat. 

He couldn't tell what had happened, but the bus had landed in the overflowing river and washed away, and cold, dirty water was rushing into its interior. He acted instinctually, getting out of the rolling steel coffin through the broken windows and swam to the surface. Even then, the strong current was washing him away like a rag doll, and he was helpless to fight against it.

"The kid..." He groaned, remembering it, taking a sharp breath and looking around, but he couldn't see him.

He recalled noticing a branch or a fallen tree; whatever it was, he grabbed at it in the dark, stopping himself from being flushed away. That was when he heard a cry and saw a kid being carried towards him by the river. Without hesitation, he grabbed him, pulled him over, and tried to keep both of them afloat, but it was getting harder and harder. 

"Try to climb atop of it!" he shouted, doing his best to push the frightened boy atop the tree, feeling that he was getting weaker and weaker. He was never athletic or stronger than an average guy. Living alone and eating whatever was the cheapest in the supermarket was not the way to gain the strength of giants either. Yet, at that moment, he managed to help the kid climb up, but his grip slipped at the last moment, and he got pushed under the log and swept away instantly. "At least he may make it..." He thought right before feeling a tug on his body, and everything turned pitch black.

Multiple, quick thoughts flashed through his mind about his mundane everyday life, his dreams that he was hiding deeply so they wouldn't be spoiled by life and experience, and all that he hoped for in his future. All of those were gone, washed away by a raging river. But to where?

"Where...?" he repeated his thoughts, finally standing up. His legs felt shaky and tired, and his body was clearly out of energy. Then he remembered. There were small popping noises that he heard before suffocating to death, gulping down nasty river water. It was like balloons being popped. One... two... three... four... and then here he was. "I'm not wet..." 

True enough, tapping his body revealed that his simple jeans, shirt, and pullover were dry as usual, like his pale skin and shoulder-length black hair. Did he die? He couldn't tell, but he saw five massive and old tree trunks surrounding his body as he looked around. Four of them were empty, but on the fourth laid a weird creature, breathing weakly, its four limbs spread out under it. 

"What is that...?"

He wasn't sure about animals, but he could identify the more common ones. This thing? It was anything but ordinary. It had to be out of this world because it was way too fluffy and cute. It had to be a plush toy or something because it was as adorable as if human hands had designed it. Its body was egg-shaped, the size of a small dog, with bright pink fur covering it, making it fluffier and bigger than it should be. Its tiny paws resemble cats', with little white pads on them, soft and squishy. Looking closer, Elian couldn't see claws attached to them, but that didn't mean there was none... it was best to be careful with wild beasts, even if they were adorable.

"Mhm..."

"Huh?!"

With a quick step back from almost touching it, Elian watched with a racing heart as the fluffy creature sat up, opening its humongous, baby-blue eyes. Watching them, he could see his own reflection; they were too large for their own good. They were way too vivid and intelligent to be of a beast. 

"It worked!" It barked, filled with excitement, looking up at him, making Elian fall to his butt. It... it was speaking. It was speaking as clearly as any human would.

"I can't believe it..." Elian whispered.

"Me neither! I was sure... the ritual wouldn't work..." It continued, its voice suddenly filled with pain and sadness as it looked around before shaking its body and hopping closer to Elian.

"My name is Sakku! Good to meet you, Hero!"

"What?" Elian asked back, feeling he misheard something.

"Hm... did the transfer run into problems? It could be because it shouldn't have worked... Hauh, I don't know how to teach you our language if the magic didn't imprint on you properly!"

"I... I do understand you, but... what is happening? What are you?!"

"Oh, you do? Wonderful! That is a relief, and, as I said, I am Sakku! The last of my kind, apparently..."

"How can you... speak?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I totally forgot, in your world, there are only humans. Yes, yes... Well, welcome to Susaria! It is a different plane of existence than your... what do you call it, ah, Earth! Yes, yes."

"Susaria... different world... what the fuck... I died. Yeah. I did. For sure."

"Oh, no, no!" Sakku continued, shaking her body, patiently explaining, "You are neither in Limbo, Hell, or Heaven! As I said, you are in Susaria now. Your soul and body got pulled over from your plane to ours, passing through the two worlds and granting you the title of Hero!"

"Woah, woah, slow down! Damn it, I don't understand a word you are saying! How do you even know about Earth, Heaven, and all that if you are from a different world?!"

"Because you are not the first to be summoned, Hero! Although... I am afraid you are going to be the last one..."

"What do you mean by that?" Elian asked, feeling his stomach drop.

"I... I will explain it later! Now, we have to start moving. The Transfer Magic could have given away my location, so it would be best if we left, Hero! You are not ready to face the enemy yet!"

"What magic... What enemy?! Ugh... and stop calling me 'Hero' and use my name... It is Elian."

"Um, um! Will do, Elian the Hero! But please... we really need to go!"

"Just... Elian, okay?" He grunted, standing back up and looking at the increasingly anxious little creature. As his eyes scanned his surroundings, he realized they were standing atop a giant hill. Whenever he looked, he could only see green fields and a humongous mountain range towards his left. "You need to tell me everything."

"I will, I will, but... can we go? Please?"

"Yeah, sure. Lead the way, um... Sakku..."

"Gladly! Come, come! This way, Her-, khm, Elian!"

As the little creature began hopping like a bunny, Elian had to start jogging to keep up with her. It was then he noticed that despite being swept away by a river, possibly abducted by interdimensional aliens, and or having pre-reincarnation hallucinations... he was feeling surprisingly well. His steps were light, nothing in his body hurt, and his stamina was way better than he was initially used to. Even if the little creature kept up her current speed, he could do the same all day.

"Something happened to me... she did say my body transferred through some kind of space? What does that mean... and... did it give me powers?"

He had so many different questions that he wanted to ask, but it was not time yet. Whatever happened happened. Even if he died, right now, he was alive, however weird that sounds saying it out. He could only accept what was happening and try to figure things out slowly. If this 'transfer' saved him, then he has to be the luckiest man alive on the planet... or realm, wherever this Susaria was.

Corty

Hey-ho! The first chapter and the first image to show you Elian, our protagonist & the full-sized cover made by Bluemoon8523 (Instagram)!

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