Author note:
Hey there! Thank you for giving my work, this is my first major literary fiction so I would love some feedback from you readers! Positive or negative, both will help. Before I ramble on anymore, please enjoy! (Uploads are planned weekly, I am a busy college student after all.)
Imagine for a moment that you are able to go back to any point in the past and live out whatever you could possibly want. Would you visit ancient Rome? Maybe you would have a chat with Queen Victoria. Perhaps you would spend a day as an Ottoman Sultan. Watch out with that one, a day is enough for your brothers to get to you.
For every human, there comes a day when they daydream about the past. Many of us romanticise the past in many ways, thinking of knights in shining armour, honourable samurai, and beautiful princesses. Yet if you were to ask any of the people alive back then, they would most likely want nothing more than a life like ours.
What is it, then, that draws so many of us to the past?
« Nondescript Modern City, December 24, 2023 »
There was a time when life seemed as bright as the morning sun. As time passed, however, this bright and warm light had begun to lose its shine. Little did I know that this light would one day no longer be there to brighten my day, by my own doing no less.
At this point, I barely remember this morning sun, the only thing in my life is the warmth and comfort of my barely lit apartment. Why would I leave this environment? The only reason for me to go outside would be to get food. Otherwise, I would not be able to live and play my favourite games. The outside world has done nothing but hurt me, and I would love nothing more than to never have to deal with it ever again. Why would I need people around me when all they have ever done to me is harm?
Unfortunately, this line of thought has brought back some irritating memories of the past, back when I still worked my ass off for some company that spared no thought for me as a human being. I mean, why would they? They understand very well that they are in a position of power, and there is very little a metaphorical ant like me could do against the corporate structure. I would work some inhuman shifts just to hopefully keep my job this time. Losing my job again would be absolutely horrible.
Besides the miserable work itself, the environment was possibly even more infuriatingly toxic. Every other day, I seemed to receive illicit “offers” to climb the corporate ladder. I could feel my stomach turn every single time. Those disgusting old men were more than hopeful that they could use my position to their advantage. But no matter what, something like that was not something I would ever resort to.
Then one day, I was called to my boss’s office to discuss something important. I walked into an office that smelled of tobacco smoke through and through. The boss looked at me with a particular glare in his eyes. Long story short, he told me that my efforts were well below company standards and that I was to be fired. Although part of me might have been glad to leave that utterly toxic place behind, I could not help but let a tear roll down my cheek.
When I eventually came home, the many tears I did manage to hold back all left shortly after. I hid under a blanket, fearing for my future, with this being the third time I was fired. Wasn’t life supposed to be easy after getting a good degree? It felt like nothing I ever did was enough. Was I then supposed to sell myself out to my boss for a chance at the corporate ladder?
How utterly unfair life can be. No matter what I do, it is never enough. Never.
And that brings me back to the present. It’s been at least a year since then; to be honest, I did not keep count, but I do earnestly believe that at least a year has passed. The curtains are always closed and the only light that now enters my room is that of my monitor. My parents have been generous enough to cover my living costs here. Without them, I would probably be on the streets now.
Oh, that reminds me: It’s Christmas Eve today. Maybe I should buy myself something sweet for the evening. Usually, my parents would host a dinner party, but the sheer amount of dread and shame I feel towards seeing them again is enough to keep me in bed.
While lying down, I took a quick look around my room. The figures and posters of my heroines smiled down at me. You know what? Forget something sweet for the evening. My favorite game is waiting for me. And thus I take place in my more than comfortable chair, ready to spend my time well, hoping to climb to Challenger rank in this online competitive game. After all, why should I leave my apartment now when the sun hasn’t even set yet? It must still be crawling with people down there. What a coincidence that it is people that I wish to avoid.
“Avoid people, huh..." Echoed through my room.
Those words sent shivers down my spine when they appeared out of thin air. Back then, I had no idea what caused those words to appear. At the time of writing this journal, however, it has become more than clear to me.
I frantically looked around my room, still recovering from the massive scare that was being jump-scared by a voice from seemingly nowhere. There was nothing to be discovered. No trace was left behind by this mysterious happening. I was utterly dumbfounded. Thinking it was merely a hallucination of some sort, I returned to my chair, only to find that I had died in-game. What an inconvenience.
“Don’t you think it is about time you get up and do something, dear?”
Definitely not a hallucination. What on this godforsaken earth was happening to me?
“Surely you understand that this is no way for a human to live?”
From this point on, I figured attempting to talk to this voice might well be the correct course of action.
“A-are you real?” Were the only words I could utter, still recovering from a second scare. Thinking back, I must have sounded like such a dork.
I could hear a subtle chuckle as the voice continued to speak in what I could now identify as a feminine voice.
"Yes, of course I am real, dear; why would you be hearing me otherwise?”
That seems like an entirely unreasonable argument. People with paranoid schizophrenia would surely be inclined to agree with me. They can hear voices talking to them most of the time, so why shouldn’t I be able to?
“Well, there could be a myriad of reasons as to why I am hearing a voice from seemingly nowhere, maybe I’m finally going insane."
“Well, I suppose that is fair enough,” the voice said. “But I assure you that I am no hallucination!”
I resist the urge to say that that would be exactly what a hallucination would say.
“Okay, so who are you, and why are you talking to me?”
"Well, it would be no fun to just tell you like this, would it?” the voice said in a slightly smug tone. “How about this? Follow me to my realm, and I will tell you who I am and why I contacted you!”
This smells fishy, no matter how you look at it. But to be completely honest, my curiosity is getting the better of me. Who on earth could be talking to me through some seemingly invisible connection? It makes no sense at all. And well, what do I have to lose from following her? There is nothing here that I would be so attached to that I couldn’t bear to lose it. But on the other hand, this could totally be a setup. So maybe it’s bett-...
Before I could finish my thoughts, an unfamiliar grin appeared in my mind.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Before I knew it, my otherwise always-underlit apartment was engulfed in an inferno of bright yellow flames that made for a truly divine spectacle. Luckily, the flames did not hurt a bit. It did, however, leave me rather blinded by the light. In an attempt to not lose my eyesight, I quickly held my arm in front of my eyes and closed them shut. Fortunately for me, this was quite effective at blocking the light. The only unfortunate part was that I now had no idea what was actually happening.
“You can open your eyes now,” the now familiar voice stated while slightly giggling.
As I opened my eyes, I was simply awestruck. No words could properly explain what I saw in front of me. In place of my dark apartment, I was now a mountain that appeared to be the top of the world. All around me were lush, green flatlands that were only interrupted by the occasional streams and rivers. Forests straddled the landscape, and to top it all off, the sun was rising in the east. It was like nothing I had ever seen, not in the last few years at the very least. It actually felt rather uncomfortable. In my depression, I had always preferred the darkness, and yet here was the sun shining upon my skin for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
It took me a while to truly take in what had just happened to me. Wait… surely this isn’t a setup for an Isekai story, right? I’m pretty sure this isn’t hell, and I don’t believe I’ll be going to heaven either. Would that make this purgatory or a fantasy world?
Then a figure that I could swear was not there just a second ago appeared before me out of thin air, much like the voice. And unsurprisingly, this figure spoke in the exact tone that the voice had previously addressed me in.
“Welcome, Lucy,” the figure said cheerfully. “Welcome to my realm.”
Before me stood what looked like a young woman dressed in clothing that would look right at home as endgame gear in a JRPG. She gave off light like the sun that shone so brightly right next to her. To be completely honest, I was slightly flustered by her beauty. Wait, did she just say my name?
"Yes, I did,” she said after letting out another giggle.
“Did you just read my mind?”
“Oh yes, I would be quite the failure of a goddess if I could not, don't you think?”
A goddess? What on earth is she talking about? Goddesses don’t exist; that would be absolute insanity. We live in a world governed by science, and a godlike existence has no place in such a world.
“Science is a beautiful thing, but sadly, it has strayed you humans away from our existence. The more you got to know about the workings of the universe, the more you thought you could explain everything without us.”
“Us?” I questioningly mumbled. “Are there more of you?”
“Oh yes, there are hundreds of them, each more forgotten than the other. But that is not important right now.”
Although I would consider this perhaps the most important discovery in human history, I’m curious as to what she would consider more important.
“Lucy dear, don’t you think you have let your life slip out of control?”
What is she going on about? I let my life slip out of control, you say? I did what I could to steer towards a good future, yet here she is telling me it’s my fault my life ended up like this. Is she trying to piss me off?
“I’ll admit your life hasn’t been without struggle, but it seems you have truly given up on everything now. There is so much to discover out there, yet all you do is stay holed up in your tiny space. That’s no way for a human to live.”
“Do you think it’s strange?” I sneered at her. “For as long as I can remember, the world has been trying to fuck me over.”
“Whilst I do think life has been harsh on you lately, I also firmly believe that you still have a bright future ahead of you."
“What would you know about my life? You’re apparently some goddess, so I can’t imagine you have struggled like that.”
“The life of a goddess isn’t that idyllic either, you know. But leaving that aside, I can help you get your life back on track in a way only the gods could.”
“But I don’t even know your name or anything about you; why should I believe anything you’re saying?"
"Oh, how improper of me!” the goddess almost seemed surprised at herself. “It seems proper introductions are in order.”
The goddess briefly closed her eyes, only to promptly open them again and exclaim the words that would change my life forever.
“Lucy Blanchet!” she said in a loud and confident manner. “I am the goddess who goes by the name of Hiru, and I have a once-in-a-lifetime proposal for you!”
