Project: iaseki

Chapter 1: Golden wings

Lu heard muffled voices mutter among themselves in the dark abyss. They chattered undecipherable words, but Lu was certain he hears them from other human beings.

Am I in heaven, he thought.

Little by little, his consciousness gradually came back. Finally when he came to be, he felt soft cushions supporting him from behind especially on his head.

He opened his eyes and saw blurry lights. He rubbed his eyes then opened them once more to reveal a white ceiling as and his vision eventually focused became clearer. He got up and felt sheets of cloth fold down to his lap, and it was only then that he realized he was tucked in on a bed.

Lu looked around and found that he woke up to a beautiful morning inside a bedroom. The metallic door was far across him and the bed was beside the window where pink curtains swayed along the wind, and shielded him from the warm yet harmless sunlight. However, Lu's eyes were still so sensitive that he had to cover his eyes behind his hand, and at the same time he noticed "0" above an "8" written on his wrist, the two numbers separated by a horizontal bar. He wondered what it meant, if the fraction would ring a bell, but nothing did.

He then looked around and found that the room was well furnished and decorated simply as well. For the most part except the iron-barred windows, the walls were all wooden, as well as the furniture. He looked outside and saw houses fashioned the same way, though each unique. All brown wood, stone-paved paths, not many tall buildings. The simple yet elegant architecture portrayed its masterpieces in a sea of shelters and other structures. If Lu were to describe it in one word, it would be medieval.

The door creaked open and an old man with red hair and pink eyes dropped his jaws before him. His surprise was overtaken by a kind and warm smile as he entered the room.

"Gee, young'un yer finally awake" he said.

Lu looked at his arms, examining the familiar features. "Seeing as everything isn't burning I'm assuming this is heaven?" he said.

The old man laughed. "Ain't know any place called heaven. 'Tis the city of Keirah yer in"

"I'm not... dead?" he asked, checking his hair to see if it was still black. When he confirmed it, he counted his toes. When he was faced with many uncertainties, it became his habit to check all the facts even the seemingly most obvious ones. It was one of the things that made him a great player of Monitum.

The old man walked to the stool on the opposite corner of the small room and sat on it. "Ya sure would've been if one of our carts passin' by didn't see ya lyin' on the dusted floors outside".

Lu started searching his body for any scratches or changes. He thought that his sister must have fired a transportation gun, not a laser gun, and believed that it was the only possible explanation.

"Which among the seven continents is this? Why am I here?" he inquired. Knowing his sister, she'd rent him a whole city such as this one if there was an important reason to.

"Seven? Yer in Faruno, just one among three. Did 'ya hit yerself that bad in the head? Was kinda hopin' yer the one to tell why yer here too" the old man raised an eyebrow.

"Three" Lu whispered to himself. A question popped up in his head but he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask.

Have I been reincarnated in another world?

It was the most plausible truth, albeit he didn't want to admit it. But as to why, and how it is different from the world he used to know, he has no idea.

"What's yer code boy?" the old man asked.

"Code?" Lu asked back.

The old man sighed and shook his head. "You even forgot yer code. Must have been in a bumpy ride, you were. Ask whatever you need and I'll say whatever I can tell"