"So... Where do we go from here?" Emika asked, her voice shaking. 

Kaya could hear the heartbreak in her tone. She was afraid too, all of them were. Stuck alone in a dark forest with only the crimson glow of the moon for visual aid. When it had dawned upon them that they weren't a part of some sort of video game, the real panic set in. Mahiro sat alone, removed from the group with his head between his knees, Kaya could see his back shaking and knew he was silently crying. She couldn't blame him in the slightest, even she felt the lump in her throat and the burning urge in her eyes. If a link got them here, maybe a link could get them back home, though after scanning her surroundings, she doubted they'd find any sort of electronics in the wilderness, if at all. There was only one thing they could do. 

"We pick a direction and go," Kaya replied, "Who knows, maybe we'll find something."

Emika climbed to her feet and brushed the dirt from her skirt, "Doesn't seem like we have a choice."

"No, we don't."

Kaya made her way over to Mahiro and placed a firm reassuring hand on his shoulder. He froze for a moment and sighed, reaching his arm over his shoulder and placing his hand atop hers. 

"C'mon, Mahiro. We can't linger around here anymore."

"I know," He sniffled and climbed to his feet, "Sorry... I just didn't know what else to do."

"Hey, It's okay. Don't fret about it."

The three of them stood side by side gazing out into the abyss before them. A cold breeze slithered between the trees, sending a chill up her spine and for a moment she considered staying where they were. The forest was intimidating, the color scheme didn't help either and the place looked like hell - Literally. One step further would feel like an accomplishment, her body seemed to beg her to stay in place, planted to the dirt but she forced herself forward, walking blindly into the unknown. She heard Mahiro and Emika follow close behind, one step at a time.

---

The further they walked in, the easier it became. Mahiro seemed to have calmed down a bit, Kaya could hear him cursing from behind her as he stumbled over tree roots and sudden dips in the terrain. Emika walked in between, she breathed heavily with each one sounding more shaken than the other. They couldn't see a thing, just darkness and their eyes wouldn't focus at all. Kaya, being at the front had to raise her arms forward in front of her like a classic zombie, trying desperately not walk face-first into a tree. That happened once already, the laughter caused by it seemed to lessen the tense feeling that loomed over them but only momentarily. 

Suddenly she heard some leaves crunch to her left and she jumped back, startled. 

"Stop," Kaya whispered and heard her companion's footsteps stop in an instant. 

Mahiro lowered his voice, "What is it?" 

She hushed him and listened. She heard something beneath the chirping crickets, something low and deep like the hum of a car when left idle. It was coming from her left, where she heard the footsteps, was it a person? Or something worse? Kaya took a few slow and deliberate steps back and between some bushes, she saw something. A pair of glowing red eyes staring back at her and getting increasingly closer. They had no weapons, no means to defend themselves. Whatever it was, it was likely going to kill them there on the spot and then it'd be all for nothing, no way home, not even a chance to try. 

The low hum she heard before was a growl, that became increasingly obvious when a beam of crimson light pierced between the trees, exposing the creature before them. It looked like a wolf but larger, with jet black fur and large yellow pointed teeth. It began to snarl as it approached them further, it's pointy ears lowered back and ready to lunge at them. Kaya didn't know what to do, she was just a simple girl who liked being alone in her room, not a fighter or a warrior, she was nothing - worthless. 

She heard leaves rustling to her right and a coarse voice shouted through the void towards them.

"Get down, now!"

Kaya didn't hesitate for a moment, neither did Mahiro or Emika, they dropped to the ground. She planted her face into the dirt and covered her head with her arms and waited. Suddenly she heard something pierce through the air above her followed by a whimper and a thump then there was silence. She glanced between her arms towards where the wolf had been to see it lying still, gargling on its own blood and a lone arrow protruding from its neck. 

"What the fuck was that?" Mahiro shouted, "Holy shit."

"Get up," The same coarse voice called from the abyss, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

The three teens complied and rose to their feet, hands raised in surrender. 

"Put them down, I told you I wouldn't hurt you."

They lowered their arms slowly and from the shadow emerged a man. He was roguishly handsome with a patchy stubble and unkempt shoulder-length brown hair that shone pink in the crimson moonlight. He was dressed in a thick black leather coat that hung from his muscular form and wore a simple white shirt beneath it. A tattered green cape blew from his back in the cool breeze and the quiver for his arrows shook along with it. The quiver was so large that it almost reached the belt on his waist where she noticed a dagger was sheathed on his hip, the tip of the scabbard caressing his black patchy pants slightly. 

When they stepped into the light, Kaya noticed his eyes widen in surprise. Clearly he was unfamiliar with the style of attire they wore, or so she thought. The man seemingly shook himself from his thoughts and frowned.

"It's not safe out here," He nodded to the wolf's limp corpse, "You're lucky it was alone otherwise you'd be dead and there would be nothing I could do to stop it."

"Thanks for the save," Emika blushed.

In the corner of her eye, she could see Mahiro scowling, "Yeah, thanks. Who are you?" He asked. 

The man simply shook his head and slung his bow over his shoulder, "No time for that. We need to get somewhere safe, I have a cottage nearby, we can talk there."

Kaya didn't trust him, she had an odd feeling about going to the mysterious man's home, especially since Emika and she were both girls, they had to be careful with who they trusted. Glancing around again, silently hoping for another option, she saw nothing and knew that the three of them had no choice but to trust the man. Soon after coming to that conclusion, Kaya heard the distant howls of other wolves echoing through the forest. Now she was absolutely certain that they had no choice but she was determined to keep an eye on him, not just for her sake but for her friend's sake as well. 

"Lead on," Kaya said sharply. She wanted to give off the impression that she didn't trust him but the man didn't seem to react to her tone and instead simply turned and waved for them to follow him. 

The three marched through the forest behind him, the man knew the place rather well and admittedly Kaya felt exceptionally more safe with him leading the group. It was clear that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness as he led them to a trail which they followed between the shadowy trees and bushes. The man didn't speak much and neither did they, he simply kept his attention on the trail ahead as he played with the bowstring over his shoulder. On occasion he would stop them dead in their tracks and listen closely to the variety of sounds the forest brought, only moving forward when he was sure it was safe. 

After they had been on the trail for what seemed like forever, they arrived at a small clearing and she heard the trickle of water from a nearby river. At the center of the clearing stood a small wooden cottage, it looked old with the wood splintering off at the ends and it creaked in the wind. The straw roof seemed as if it were barely holding together as if it would collapse in on itself at any moment. Through the dusty glass windows, Kaya saw an orange glow of firelight. She longed to be by the fire if for a moment, to be able to see and feel its warmth seep into her pale and cold skin. She had to remind herself to be on her guard, now that they were here, anything could happen and she had to keep an eye out for red flags. 

The man made his way over to the splintered door and opened it with a creak, waving the three students in. Once they had entered a small hallway by the front door, she noticed the air was thick and the dust was ticking her nose. She tried her best not to sneeze and closed her eyes for a moment. The cottage was mostly dark, like one part of the place had been left forgotten. The firelight glowed under the door to her left and thankfully for her, that's where the man led them. Inside, she noticed a lone bed sitting on the far left of the small room, its sheets slipping to the floor by its side. A decaying wooden table stood ready to break in the right corner, the remains of a meal sat upon it and seemingly had been left untouched for some time. The man sighed and took a seat in an equally decaying wooden chair that sat in front of the crumbling stone fireplace and for a moment, seemingly forgot their presence. The three of them stood by the door awkwardly, waiting for him to speak. 

"You're going to have to take that uniform off tomorrow," He said bluntly. 

"What!" All three of them exclaimed at once. 

"No, you perv." Emika pouted, folding her arms and looking away from him. 

The man, for a moment, didn't seem to get what the problem was but Kaya watched as his intense expression slowly shifted to one of realization. He suddenly raised his hands in front of him and shook his head. 

"Oh god, no, no. Not like that. It's just, wearing that uniform, any uniform will get you killed."

"So you know this is a uniform then?" Kaya said as she leaned on the wall behind her. 

"Yes, I do," He replied, leaning back into his chair, "I've seen dozens of you guys get killed all the time."

"So what then," Kaya muttered, "You're going to kill us?"

Mahiro leaned on the wall next to her in silence and observed the exchange happening before him. 

"No, I'm not going to kill you," The man said, "I'm going to help you."

"Why?" Kaya asked.

"I've done this a few times before. I knew you were coming, they all start here and most die to the wolves before they even know where they really are."

Mahiro leaned into Kaya's ear, "I think he's telling the truth."

"You didn't answer my question. Why would you help us?"

The man's expression softened and he shifted his gaze from them and into the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes, "Because I got here the same way you did."

"You're kidding?" Emika blurted in disbelief. 

He shook his head, "Sadly, I'm not. I arrived here ten years ago with three strangers who grew to be my greatest friends."

"What happened to them?" Kaya asked. 

"They're dead," He said softly, she heard his voice quiver, "Most that arrive here die at the gateways. There are more than one and luckily for you, yours hasn't got the lords men waiting to kill you the moment you arrive."

"So you got the email too?" Mahiro started, still leaning on the wall, "These gateways, they act as a spawn point, that's what you're saying right?"

He puffed out his lower lip, "More or less."

"So why is the lord killing the people from our world when they arrive?"

"Because of the E-mail," The man answered, "He knows that the heroes will emerge from the gateways and bring upon his downfall, so what's a better plan of action than simply killing them the moment they arrive."

Kaya began pacing the room between the bed and the door, making as much sense as she could of what she was hearing. This man, he was from her world and had been stuck there for ten years. He never found a way out, he accepted his fate but it was clear that he still hadn't made peace with it. 

Mahiro's eyes flashed and he stood up straight, "Do you think if we defeat this Lord of Souls guy that we can get back home?"

The man laughed, "You three wouldn't stand a chance. Your best bet is finding more of your kind but I've traveled this land for a while before setting up here and I've never found a gateway that isn't guarded by his men."

"But there has to be more. Some that he hasn't found," Emika said as she sat on the floor beside the man. 

"All you kids are more and more naive every year that you come. What the hell is going on back home," The man sighed, "Look, the quicker you accept the fact that you'll never leave here, the easier it is."

"No, I refuse," Mahiro shouted, "We will find a way home, you can bet on it."

The man frowned and shrugged, "Well I've got nothing left to lose, so the best thing I can do, is head into town at daybreak and get you all something to defend yourselves with," He studied Kaya's uniform for a moment, "And something a little safer to wear."

Kaya frowned, it all seemed a little too good to be true, "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, only that if you do find a way out, you bring me with you."

"I suppose so."

"Good enough for me. For now, though, we should rest. There's some spare beds across the hall."

The three of them nodded and approached the door, Emika glanced back at the man over her shoulder. 

"I-I was wondering, uh. What's your name?"

"Damn, sorry, I forgot to even introduce myself. My name is Toma Hikari."