It was at that moment, the scenery changed once more.

The 'Knights' and 'Priests' that surrounded me turned to nothingness. A force similar to the one that pulled me over to this supposedly 'Royal' castle once again transported me somewhere else.

After focusing my eyes, I saw that there was a creepy-looking faceless man in a formal suit standing respectfully before me. The world around me seemed both dark and bright, just like the faceless man's clothing… and even his physique.

"And who are you?" I spoke.

It was the first time in eighty years something like this had happened to me, but I chose not to panic. 

It's not like losing composure will help a deadman anyway... 

I have nothing of value that could be taken from me!

I mean, just look at me! 

I'm merely an elderly, decrepit old geezer waiting for death to call- Oh wait, I'm already dead. 

Even if the faceless man in front of me was dangerous or even if my 'soul' is now a captive of some godly entity, there's no reason for me to worry about losing something now that I'm no longer alive.

"'I am a God from another world~'... Is what I wanted to say, but that summary of an explanation isn't quite right." The half-black and half-white faceless man said after thinking about it deeply.

I felt his 'gaze' sharpening moments before he glanced at the world around him. 

It was almost as if he too wasn't sure on how to put my situation into words.

"You probably have a lot of questions for me, so I'll start my story from the beginning, but please be patient with me until I've done explaining." The faceless man was polite and direct with his words.

I decided to say nothing. It wouldn't make sense for me to anger this supernatural entity anyway...

My suspension of disbelief was already broken enough. Meeting this weird guy might as well happen.

"In a world completely different than your own. Two types of ceremonies are conducted every hundred years. One was named the 'Hero Summoning', while the other was named the 'Totem Summoning'.

I know you've read similar tales in your youth at the time you were still in your own world. 

Tales of a Hero defeating a Demon King and saving the known world. 

It may seem ridiculous to you, but the truth is that you were chosen. You were once a candidate to be summoned into this magical world many centuries ago. Just look." The faceless man gestured behind me. His posture and etiquette were perfect.

I turned my head to see that the light and dark world located there was suddenly transforming.

It distorted into something unexpected...!

What appeared before me was a lush world filled with forests and giant mountains. I looked down and saw old civilisations similar to the ones built in my own world. 

This world is definitely different from my own.

I wouldn't be able to explain how I could see two suns, one big and one small, shining brightly in the sky otherwise.

The faceless man didn't interrupt me.

I somehow fell into a deep trance, and curiously observed the breathtaking world around me.

"It's a beautiful world." I spoke wholeheartedly praise after stealing a glance at the faceless man.

Now, I was the one in deep thought. 

If he really wasn't a so-called 'God', why is he so respectful to me: A tool kidnapped to serve the foreigners of this world?

Not only that but there was a lot of inconsistencies in his words... How could he know my past? 

And even if he did, I couldn't understand why he acted so familiar with me despite his high position. 

He didn't introduce himself and instead decided to show me the beauty of these foreign lands.

Why is he going this far? 

I can't wrap my head around it...

"Please tell me more about this alternate world." I said after seeing how magical this world was. 

I almost felt like the liveliness of my youth had restored!

From what I could see in the 'Mirror' the godly entity made: Dragons and Phoenixes lived harmoniously on deserted landscapes. 

Not only that, but they also seemed to have an amiable relationship with other mythological races and creatures. 

I couldn't help but be surprised after seeing that there were many purple-skinned people. Some had these blue lightning tattoos on their bodies and built temples. They seemed to blend in with the varied ancient cultures of species around them.

Hah... This really is an another world alright~! 

I may be unable to tell who those tattooed foreigners are, but they didn't seem to be of the same species as 'Druids'. 

Nothing similar to those human-like beings I saw when I was first 'summoned' to this world.

Just look at their naturally stronger physiques...

It was only after taking a good look at the alternate world through this strange 'mirror' that changed its perspective constantly did I turn around to look at the man behind me.

"Informing you about the difference in society and common sense of this mystical world… probably wouldn't be able to help you adapt. Those type of differences are things that can't be explained.

Especially through a few mere words alone.

Instead, I'll inform you of your current circumstances. The reason you're here in front of me… is due to the fact that you can no longer return back to your original world called Earth." The faceless man said in a somewhat serious tone. 

His 'face' showed no signs of mischief or falsehood, as deep within his tone of voice were emotions of pure sincerity.

It was strange how I could read his expression. This was especially true considering how the faceless man in front of me only had an outline of humanoid features... There were no features to go off of…

"I don't understand what you're trying to say." I glared at him with gradually furrowing brows.

My inquisitive nature didn't seem to bother him, nor did the anger I displayed to intimidate him.

"Let me clear up why these 'Druids' and 'Fiends' even bother to summon people from a different world through ceremonies. Only after that will you understand why you can't return to your… 'home'."

That last word of his made me feel a sourness in my throat. It was hard to call that place a 'home'.

Even without personal reasons, I hated unfamiliarity a lot. That was why it was better to go back.

Even if I didn't like 'home', it was better then this.

The world behind the man changed. It seemed to illustrate a story. He continued his explanation.

"I'll try to keep this simple enough for you to understand. In truth, the world you saw was the creation made by the joint effort of two Gods, the Moon Goddess and Sun God. Both these Gods created their own children based on their image. 

The Sun God created the Druids, whilst the Moon God created those known as Fiends.

Everything was peaceful at first, both races were respectful to each other and cared for each other's wellbeing. 

The Fiend Race offered their power to help the frail beings to build society. 

On the other hand, the Druid Race returned their kindness by imparting their innate wisdom. 

However, a change occurred after many years had passed, the Moon God and Sun God had a falling out due to the wars their children fought over petty squabbles.

The Moon God was angered by the Druid Race's greed. 

Similarly, the Sun God was angered by the Fiend Race's savagery. 

They fought, killing each other in the process, and left behind two Divine Swords that held traces of their 'Will' they decreed before death.

The Divine Sword of Eternal Darkness held the decree to eradicate the Druid Race.

The Divine Sword of Infinite Light held the decree to eradicate the Fiends. 

The Fiend Race tried to let their Emperors (Chiefs) handle the Divine Sword of Darkness, but found that none of them had the required strength to lift it.

Those who attempted to do so forcibly had all died with shattered souls. They were sent to the Death God as punishment for their sins. 

The Druid Race had similar circumstances on their side, but the solution their greatest Magician came up with was shocking. He planned to summon a strong being from another world to wield the Divine Sword of Light in the stead of their champions.

They used the magical energy within the Divine Sword of Light to summon a warrior from alternate world, but little did they know that their Magician's suggestion was overheard by Fiend Race spies. 

This allowed Fiends to duplicate the ceremony and allowed them to summon a wielder for the Divine Sword of Darkness. 

The ceremony done on both sides was a success, and a tradition was created from that day forth so that the almighty will of their Gods could be carried out completely.

The wielders were always summoned from your world called Earth. 

Every time they appeared in this chaotic world, the great war between both races would intensify. 

The summoned wielders would be imparted strength by their Divine Swords upon arrival to this world called Sphera, allowing them to become truly invincible warriors of the race they were summoned by. 

The only drawback of this power was the lack of freedom brought by the decree of the two stubborn Divine Swords.

In every hundred years, the summoned Hero and Demon King would lose their right to possess their Divine Swords. 

This was because of the restrictions placed on them by the ones handling their summonings. 

It was most due to the fact that both races didn't want the wielder of their Divine Swords to weaken with age. After all, the swords only gave one enhanced physical limits, not immortality.

A 'wielder' could hold onto his Divine Sword for a long time and even have his/her lifespan augmented by the divinity within their respective swords, yet what it couldn't dispel was age. 

This created a very long cycle of tradition...

A troublesome cycle repeated hundreds and thousands of times as countless eras passed... 

That is... until the incident where YOU were summoned!

One man becoming both the wielder of the Divine Sword of Darkness and Divine Sword of Light took place." The faceless man stopped his words there and dissipated the realistic illustrations behind him.

The faceless man in front of me gave me a lot of information I couldn't digest it all in one go. 

However, I was still able to instantly make some connections to what happened to me before I arrived here, then began making sense of the present situation I'm in thanks to his words.

It seems the people I met before really weren't humans, but mystical beings called Druids... 

Really…? They seemed so… 'humane'…

Hmmm, that's strange because they looked too similar to me. They didn't look anything like the tree huggers I heard Druids were in my past as a knowledgeable Intellectual (In other words: Otaku).

Well, it's probably nothing special...

It might be that they looked identical to humans due to their similar history and culture. 

The illustrations the faceless man showed couldn't have been fake. He had no reason to lie.

The Divine Swords drawn were also an exact replica of the ones I saw after being summoned.

Not only that, but the Gods who held the swords seemed to be the type who would stubbornly fight to uphold their beliefs. 

Or so I'm told...

One sword seemed like it was glimmering in light, whilst the other sword was so dark that it seemed to devour light itself. What baffles me the most about what the faceless man said is that the two Gods actually fought over such childish reasons.

I understand that the Druids created by the Sun God may have been too similar to humans and thus incited war, but what is up with the actual Gods themselves getting caught up in a war?

He said it was due to different ideals? Really? Is it even possible for such powerful beings, that the faceless man illustrated with his world altering powers, to even sacrifice themselves this way!?

Did they even exist…?

If they don't exist, then why would the faceless man tell me this? The care he's showing towards me seems genuine, yet that in ITSELF is what makes me feel more suspicion towards him. 

I've never had any close friends who HADN'T gone through life or death tribulations with me, so I'm unable to comprehend his reasoning...

Perhaps I'm just imagining it and the faceless man is only being kind. 

You can't judge a supernatural entity like him with regular human logic, right?

My heart thumped wildly. 

I took in what he said, not knowing how to respond. 

My previously indifferent face became stern…

I looked at the faceless man in front of me. The fact that I couldn't return was something that didn't really affect me much as I thought it would, but what he implied in his 'tale' really put me on edge.

He said that the Gods of this world died...!? 

If so, then who's this strange guy?

I think I should've pretended to not have thought of this question. 

To wait until he started introducing himself was quite heart-wrenching... 

Who knows what could happen if the faceless man has a weird temperament? 

What if he could be easily incensed by such obvious questions of this nature?

Meh... It could be that he forgot to introduce himself as well, but that seemed unlikely.

The faceless man seemed to be a lot wiser than one would expect. 

The fact that he has a lot of information regarding me didn't make me feel any safer. 

His actions could mean he read through my thoughts... I could be an open book to him.

Hmmm... Now that I think about it: The faceless man before me never mentioned exactly 'why' he couldn't send me back to my homeland. 

Is it that he can't send me back to Earth now that I died like the others before me, or that he won't?

I can't believe this to be the truth. I feel like he's insulting my intelligence... How can an entity that could bend reality to his will not be able to send me back to my homeland back on Earth?

If I'm going to die somewhere, I want it to be in the country I fought to protect all through my life! 

Although those in power may believe me to be a threat even at this age of mine, that doesn't change the fact that I want my grave to be somewhere close to my fallen comrades-in-arms.

Fine... Let's say he can't send me back for now...  

However, the problem still stood that the even I'm unable to comprehend how I was chosen twice out of the more than seven billion people of Earth in these two summonings. It doesn't make sense!

Was it really a coincidence?

Forget it. Thinking about that now had no meaning anyway. As of right now, I was totally at his mercy.

Let's see what this 'God' will do next…