Reika blinked her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw: Out of nowhere, she was floating in the sky in broad daylight.

     EHHHHHHHHHH!?

     The bright rays from the sun, along with the light-blue sky with the thick clouds that were scattered around, the strong breeze of the air as it fell from the sky, and the vast horizon that stretched in all directions filled her eyes.

     Reika gasped when she noticed the spectacular view in front of her, which immediately caught her attention.

     The green scenery of luscious forests as far as her eyes could see, combined with the vast sky above, left her stunned and filled her mind with tranquility. 

     Am I in heaven? 

     After all that amazement she felt upon gazing at the staggering scenery, she noticed something unusual about her situation.

     Wait... There's something unusual about this...

     She looked below her and finally realized that she was in the middle of nowhere, freefalling to the ground.

     "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! " Reika screamed as the speed of descent became faster over time.

     This ain't heaven at aaaaaaaaall!!

     Reika began to panic as she saw how high she was from the ground. The height on where she is now to the ground pales in comparison to the height of the building she fell before. In her mind, this height would definitely kill her once she reached the ground.

     Where am I? Why am I falling for the second time? I thought I was in school just now? What about the first fall? 

     She looked around in panic, still in disbelief and confusion. In her peripheral vision, she noticed something familiar.

     A white shirt? From whom?

     Reika turned her head slowly and was shocked at what she saw. It turns out that the owner of the shirt she saw before was his classmate, Shin Soru, who was in the same situation as her.

     "Shin-kun!? Why are you here? Where are we!?" Reika exclaimed while she was panicking.

     Reika noticed that Soru was too calm about the problem they were currently facing, but she realized there was no time for that. She immediately slapped her cheeks using her hands.

     There's no time for this. I have to do something...

     She calmed her mind and thought of a way to survive. At such a high altitude, it is nearly impossible to survive this fall. 

     "What should I do..."

     As she looked down at what she would fall into, she saw a vast, thick, green forest. She planned that she would land on the trees to lessen the impact and damage caused by the fall from a high altitude.

     "Shin-kun, after you've seen a clear view of the forest below us, look for a tree to land on. Maybe we could survive the fall if we landed on one..."

     Soru, with a calm expression on his face, looked towards Reika.

     "Sure..."

     Reika ignored Soru's words, as she was focusing on which tree she'd land on. As she was choosing a tree to land on, as they drew closer to the ground, she spotted something on the ground.

     Reika saw a large lizard-like animal, along with a wolf-like beast, scattered around the large lizard-like animal. It wasn't visible when Reika was far from the forest's ground, but as they were getting closer and closer to the ground, she saw these beasts more clearly than before. Witnessing these strange animals, Reika began to panic.

     "W-what was that? What are those things? H-hey Shin-kun, are you seeing those strange creatures?"

     Soru responded to Reika as he looked below their feet. Soru saw a large lizard-like monster along with a pack of wolf-like creatures. After he saw those creatures, Soru nodded at her.

     While Reika was distracted, she didn't know that they were falling faster and faster to the ground. As Reika forgot where to land due to the bizarre creatures on the ground, she realized that they would get hit on the hard ground, and they had no time to react any further or choose a tree to land on. Knowing that it'd be their end, Reika slowly closed her eyes.

     Shit... Am I going to die for the second time?

     She thought about what her state would look like when she died from the long fall. She thought that she would be lying on the ground as her entire guts, flesh, and body were splattered like a balloon filled with water and dropped to the ground. Even though her imagination seems exaggerated, it's still the same. No matter how gruesome or not, her death was inevitable. 

     THUD!!

     "..."

     Several seconds had passed since the impact. To her surprise, she doesn't feel pain at all.

     That's it? I thought dying from a fall would be painful?

     I guess the pain is too great for my brain to catch... up?

     Reika felt the warm rays of the sun as a strong stench of odor covered her entire nose, making her sense of smell go haywire. As she was about to puke due to the strong stench, she realized that she could move her body at will.

     I can move...?

     She opened her eyes immediately, and she saw Soru reaching his right hand.

     "Get up."

     Reika was left wondering why she's not dead and has survived. Confused, she reached for his hand and stood up while her other hand covered his nose.

     "Thank you...?"

     As she slowly gained her composure, she looked around her body. She has no injuries at all. From head to toe, no blood can be seen gushing out, and none of her bones seem broken.

     "What is happening..?"

     She looked around the surroundings afterwards, and what she saw was unbelievable.

     The large, lizard-like beast were squashed down, as if they were being pressed down by a strong force. The other small wolf-like creatures were also squashed, like the creature from before. 

     While weirded out by the situation, she saw Soru quietly gazing at these creatures. He was calm, unaware of the potential danger if those creatures were still alive.

     ROOOARRR!

     She was surprised by the loud and strange howl that echoed through the entire forest. 

     "What is hell is that?"

     She immediately turned her head to the right, where she believed the frightening howl originated from. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake lightly and the sounds of trees breaking up from the ground are also being heard.

     Reika looked up at the sky and saw the birds fleeing in the opposite direction of where the strange howl originated from, followed by the loud footsteps that shook the ground, as if something was running towards them. As time goes by, the shaking becomes more violent and the footsteps become louder, indicating that the mysterious being is drawing closer to them. Suddenly, the loud footsteps and the tremors on the ground stopped. Reika looked around, wondering where the creature went.

     She looked around her, looking at the trees and the dark shade deep within the trees, and afterwards, the pitch-black shade deep within the forest. The stench of the deceased beast was lingering around, but Reika didn't pay attention to it. While she was looking around, she noticed that the area had turned dark, as if something so large had blocked the sun from above.

     SWOOSH!

     Reika looked up in the sky, and she felt a strong gust of wind coming from the huge object that was hovering above them. The strong burst of wind reached them immediately, and the dust scattered as the wind reached the ground.

     "Cough! Cough!"

     She couldn't see the surroundings and covered her eyes with her right shoulder, as the dust might enter her eyes. She checked on Soru, who she also saw was covering his eyes from the dust. After a while, the dust began to settle. As the view became clearer, she saw a humongous and terrifying creature above them.

     The large creature had wings and two hind legs in its lower body. On its wings, there are huge claws that are embedded at the tips of them. The mysterious beast's skin was ash-grey. As she was looking at its elongated neck, she immediately noticed its glowing crimson eyes, as if it was staring deeply into her soul, which made her legs tremble. She didn't know that it was a monster called "Wyvern".

     The wyvern was quietly flying when it sensed the lizard-like creature, called "Basilisk", and the pack of wolf-like creatures, called "Rabid Wolves" fighting. The wyvern decides to land on the ground far from where these creatures, who were still fighting, take place. The wyvern waited for the fight to subside, as it was so hungry and didn't want to exhaust its energy by fighting these two. Instead, it will wait until one or both of the party members die or become exhausted, and then it will charge to eat them. 

     After a while, using its heightened sense of smell, the wyvern knew that both of the parties had died, but the wyvern felt that something was off. There were other two unfamiliar entities in the area, and when they arrived, both the monsters died. To its surprise, the wyvern became vigilant and quietly crept to the depths of the woods. Using its unique eyesight, the wyvern saw two humanoid figures standing between the splattered bodies of the Basilisk and the pack of Rabid Wolves. The wyvern got furious and angrily rushed over to these two humans. It was angry because it couldn't eat the disgorged monsters anymore. Instead, the wyvern decided to kill these two humans because he assumed that they were responsible for killing its meal and ate them. Though they aren't enough to satiate its hunger, at least they will quell it, even just a little.

     ...

     As Reika observed the wyvern, she noticed that the flapping of its wings became faster than before, and afterwards, she saw that its mouth opened, and a glowing, yellowish-red orb emerged from its mouth. Without a chance to react, the wyvern instantly spit its fiery breath onto them. It lasted for many seconds, and afterwards, the flame from its mouth subsided.

     Reika flinched as the fireball hit them. After a split second, she noticed that the flames didn't hurt her at all.

      Instead of burning them alive, the fiery flames didn't manage to burn her skin. Even her clothes are unscathed, without any trace of burning at all. She was confused and looked towards Soru, whom she saw staring at the wyvern, also unscathed from the wyvern's fiery breath. Behind Soru, she realized that several trees were burning.

     What happened just now?  Reika wondered.

     Reika became more confused. She looked behind her, on her left, and in front of her. The trees around them seemed fine; only the right portion of the trees that surrounded the area were burning.

     While confused, she felt a huge gust of wind again and looked above. She saw that the flap of the wyvern's wings became faster again, and she saw that its mouth was wide open, indicating that the wyvern was about to unleash another round of its fiery breath. Without hesitation, she attempts to run in order to avoid the second breath, but it is too late.

     The breath immediately reached them, but as the fiery breath continued, Reika felt that her body wasn't burning at all; instead she felt warm. The burning seemed fiercer than before, but she noticed that the breath lasted shorter than the last one.

     The flame subsided afterwards, and what she saw was shocking. For some unknown reason, the wyvern that attacked them was set ablaze. Its entire body was burning, as if it was being attacked by someone using a flame. The wyvern flew around them, wailing and roaring in agony as the flames continued to burn its body. The wyvern was slowly losing its altitude as its wings were burned so badly. Reika could see the wyvern glowing in the sky, brighter than the sun. After a while, the wyvern hit the ground. She heard a huge slam, followed by ground tremors. She tried to get closer, and she saw that it was twitching in pain as the flames were still burning its body. The heat from the wyvern's flames as it continued to burn its body was still reaching her skin. In an instant, the wyvern stopped moving.

     Reika was shocked by the sudden demise of the wyvern because it had been burned brutally and died. She looked around, suspecting if there were other monsters attacking the wyvern. But only she, the splattered monsters, the dead wyvern, and Soru are on the scene.

     She couldn't utter a word, as she was stunned and confused about the situation. She looked in the direction Soru was standing, but like before, he was unscathed. She saw Soru staring at the burning, dead wyvern, and after a while, he turned around, looking for something on the ground.

     ...

     Soru saw the wyvern that was burning, but he ignored the poor wyvern and turned around. He was looking for something, searching the ground back and forth.

     After a while, he saw a long, thin twig right at the bottom of a tree trunk, far from where he was standing.

     "Ah, found it. "

     He walked to where he saw the twig, picked it up, and walked back, right where he was standing before. A confused Reika stared at him while Soru was busy standing the twig to the ground.

     What is he doing...?

     He held the upper end of the twig while the lower end was touching the ground. After that, he immediately released his hand, dropping the twig and lying on the ground. The upper end of the stick, where Soru touched before, pointed to his right side. Soru looked back, and he saw Reika, still confused about the situation.

     "Let's go, Mitsuha-san."

     Soru started walking towards the direction where the twig pointed to. Reika followed him into the deep part of the forest.

     The forest was dark, with little to no light reaching its bottom because there were thick, large leaves and branches covering the sunlight. The trees, however, are taller compared to the trees they saw around them before. Deep in the forest, you can hear some crittering sounds made by bugs, the fluttering of leaves, and some faint, screeching noises. Soru didn't pay attention to them, and continued to move forward.

     ...

     Reika, still wondering about the situation, tries to calm her mind. She couldn't believe what she saw today. 

     Monsters, strange creatures, magic, and such... Is this what they call another world?

     Reika looked around the deep forest. Everything is still similar to what she saw on Earth. But the monsters she saw before and the strange orbs of fire, which she believed only existed in a world that defied natural logic and rules, exist in this world.

     I thought this thing was just a fantasy, a piece of fiction for otaku or fiction lovers to enjoy. I never imagined this thing was real at all...

     As they were walking, Reika heard leaves fluttering from a distance. The fluttering became louder, which made her feel scared. She tried to get closer to Soru, but she was surprised when a large, dark creature appeared on her left side, and the strange shadow immediately pounced right where Soru was standing. 

     "Eek! " Reika screamed out of fear.

     She immediately fell on the ground, as her legs were trembling in fear. She saw a strange shadow with glowing red eyes on it, which turned out to be the wolf-like creature she saw before, the Rabid Wolf. 

     A... A wolf!

     Reika was scared, as the rabid wolf bit Soru's upper body. She thought it would be the end of her life.

     Out of fear, she closed her eyes, hoping the situation would end soon, while thinking about if Soru would survive or get eaten alive. She couldn't help because she was weak and powerless to help him. 

     Moments later, she opened her eyes, wondering why it was silent, and was shocked by what she saw just now. She saw Soru was still standing, and there was no blood or guts coming out of his body. He was still intact, without inflicting injuries, as if his body was entirely made of steel. The confusion she felt before came back, and she was even more baffled by the strange phenomenon she saw this time. Without her noticing, the rabid wolf immediately collapsed. 

     She immediately snapped out of her thinking after she heard the loud thud from the ground. She saw the bizarre situation of the rabid wolf that bit Soru. She immediately stood up and walked towards the dead monster. Fearing that the monster is still alive, she remains vigilante around the corpse.

     She saw the monster's upper body being torn in half, as if it had been bitten by something. What's more confusing was that she didn't see any monster that possibly attacked the rabid wolf, and only canine creatures would inflict this kind of injury.

     She held her mouth, trying not to barf, as she saw the guts starting to gush out from its torn body along with the purple blood, and the stench was extremely foul. She tried to forget the gruesome scene in front of her by turning around, and she saw Soru, tidying up his uniform. After he fixed it, Soru started walking again, as if nothing had happened.

     She quietly followed him, while thinking about the situation. She was baffled by Soru's strange behavior as they encountered those monsters.

     Right from the start, when they were still falling, she noticed that Soru remained calm and composed without the slightest change in his expression. Even after they managed to survive the fall with no injuries or broken bones, he simply didn't care at all and acted as if nothing had happened.

     The way he stared at those creatures who died, he was totally unfazed, despite the fact that those creatures don't exist on Earth...

     Reika remembers the time when the Wyvern attacked both of them. The fiery flames should have killed them. Instead, the wyvern was burned to death in their place, even though the flames came from the wyvern's mouth. Despite all of those, as confusing as they may be, Soru didn't show any signs of confusion at all. 

     Did he anticipate that all of those things were bound to happen? Even at the time when he should've been bitten in half by that wolf-like creature. Instead, the wolf died in his place, as if it had been bitten in half by a canine creature...!

     Reika stared at Soru from behind as she followed his steps.

     Shin-kun... Is he hiding something from me...?

     Reika looked around, and she saw several creatures that looked like wolves lying around. They have the same situation as the rabid wolf that was killed before, being bitten and torn in half.

     Judging from his strange behavior... I think he knew something and was hiding it from me. But given the strange nature of those monsters' sudden deaths, I don't have any solid evidence that he had any involvement in it...

     Reika moved faster in order to catch up Soru's pace.

     I'll try to ask him-

     "Ah, Shin- "

     Reika hadn't finished her question when Soru stopped all of a sudden. She bumped her head on Soru's shoulder.

     Ow!

     "Here we are. "

     Reika wondered what Soru was referring to. Still holding her forehead, she moved around and stood beside him in order to see the place. After being exposed to the dark environment for a long time, the bright light was too much for her eyes, and she was surprised when the light reached her eyes. She immediately covered it with her right hand in order to block the irritating light.

     After a while, her eyes finally adjusted to the lighting. As her vision became clear, a spectacular scene welcomed her. Reika was mesmerized and slowly dropped her hand. In front of them was a vast plain covered with grass. The sky was light blue, and few clouds were seen above. There was a narrow path in front of them, leading to a wall made of logs. She saw smoke rising from inside the wall of logs. It was a village.