As the blinding light faded, I gained a clearer views of my surroundings: a room with stone walls. The flicker of torchlight danced along the rough surfaces, casting long, trembling shadows.
I looked down. Etched into the floor beneath my boots was a wide magic circle. It pulsated with a dull, reddish light, each throb sent a soft vibration through the soles of my feet.
I knelt and brushed the dust from my palms, then from the sleeves of my long black coat. As I stood again, the weight of my pack tugged at my shoulders. There was over twenty kilograms of carefully packed tools and weapons inside, all rattling with the movement.
I took a breath and gave myself a quick check.
Coat, boots, gear, weapons, everything was still in place. Nothing missing. Very good.
Also, I was already aware.
I wasn't alone.
Around the circle, arranged in a wide ring, stood a group of cloaked figures. There were two dozen of them here, maybe more. Their black robes hung heavy, hoods pulled low so I couldn't see their faces. Each of them held a staff, wooden and weirdly shaped.
As they chanted, their voices rising and falling together. And the words… I couldn't understand a single thing.
Still, it was obvious who they were.
These were the ones who had summoned me.
But I wasn't the only one they'd brought here.
Somewhere behind me, a voice cut through the chanting, thin and cracking.
"H-hello? Wh-where am I?"
It was a girl's voice.
I turned. Just a few steps away, she stood trembling, barely holding herself together.
She couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen.
Her legs shook beneath a pleated navy-blue skirt, and with every quick, panicked breath, her black ponytail quivered behind her. She clutched the hem of her uniform so tightly her knuckles had gone pale, the fabric bunched in her fists. Her eyes darted around the chamber, wide and frightened.
Then my gaze dropped to the small badge pinned to her chest. It caught the flickering torchlight, just enough to make out the name:
Sakura High.
I recognized it instantly. That school was only a few blocks from my old apartment. Every afternoon, I'd see students in that uniform spilling out into the streets, laughing, crowding around convenience stores and ramen shops.
Now one of them was here.
And she wasn't alone.
Two more figures stood near her, both looking just as lost, just as scared.
The first was a boy, wearing a plain white T-shirt and a pair of black shorts, with a wild mess of red hair. It stuck out in every direction, like he'd walked straight out of a shonen anime.
"What the heck is going on!? You've got to be kidding me… Is this real!?"
He gasped, then clutched his head with both hands.
Next to him stood a shorter boy, darker-skinned, wearing what looked like a pizza delivery uniform, bright red with a logo patch. His black hair was same as the the previous one, a chaotic mess. His eyes were wide, brown, and full of panic. His face was pale, ashen.
"Holy crap! I'm still alive!" he breathed, his hands flew over his chest and arms in a frantic self-check, patting down every inch of himself.
All three appeared to be around the same age as the girl, perhaps still in high school, and all Japanese. Their expressions were full of shock, confusion, and rising panic.
And honestly… who could blame them?
I mean, how does anyone hold themselves together after all that? After being torn from their world without warning, disintegrated in a flash of blinding light, only to reappear somewhere else entirely?
Anyways, I was different.
I stood perfectly still, feeling the cold stone beneath my boots, the weight of my gear pulling at my shoulders. My breathing was steady, my hands hung loose at my sides.
However, my heart was pounding relentlessly, thunderously.
Though, what surged through me wasn't fear.
It was joy, pure joy.
A dark, glittering excitement curled in my chest like fire, impossible to contain, almost maddening in its intensity.
Because after everything, after the years of clawing forward, after enduring every trial fate had hurled my way, finally, I had arrived.
And in that moment, a single name rose to the surface.
"Anna…"
I spoke it softly, reverently, like a prayer.
And then, as the ritual ended, the summoning circle's glow faded into darkness.
_____________________________
Twenty years ago. 2065.
Akihabara, Tokyo — the beating heart of otaku heaven.
The neon signs above us buzzed, casting the streets below in waves of pink, blue, and green. Maid cafés lined the sidewalks, alive with music and girls in frilly maid outfits and animal ears. Nearby, arcades blared catchy tunes into the warm air, and shop windows overflowed with manga and popular anime figurines.
Back then, I was just a twenty-year-old Canadian, wide-eyed, completely captivated. And beside me, bouncing with excitement, was my twelve-year-old sister, Anna.
As she walked, her sneakers tapped out a restless rhythm on the pavement, her ponytail swinging like a metronome behind her.
This trip was everything to us, a long-dreamed plan finally made real. It was our big chance to make memories we could hold on to.
…
"Jack! Jack, c'mon, look at this!" Anna called, grabbing my sleeve.
She pointed eagerly toward a nearby display window. As she looks at me, her blue eyes sparkled behind her bangs, reflecting the neon lights.
"It's a limited-edition Miku figure! We have to get it! Please! This is the last one!"
I laughed, stumbling a little as I tried to keep up. "Anna, that's what you said at the last three shops! My wallet's on life support!"
"Pleaseeee!"
"Alright! Just one more figure!"
"Yaaay!"
Ahhh. damn it!
Anna was too cute. There was no way I could say no to that face!
And just like that, we bounced from figurine shops to claw machines to themed cafés, and so many other places.
It was, without a doubt, one of the happiest days of my life.
Like a fun little bubble, I was floating upward, my heart full of joy.
But then, all of a sudden, the bubble popped.
The dream turned into a nightmare.
And happiness… turned into pain and grief.
…
On our way home…
The familiar hum of Akihabara faltered.
At first, it was subtle. Conversations dulled. The distant chime of arcade music faded into a murmur.
Then, without warning, a violent gust of wind howled through the streets.
I shivered.
"Huh? It's… cold?" I muttered, my breath escaping in a ghostly plume.
It was the middle of summer. The air had been thick with heat and the scent of grilled street food just moments ago. But now, the temperature had plummeted, the atmosphere thick with an unnatural chill.
And then, snowflakes.
Snow.
Falling softly, silently, against the backdrop of flickering neon.
Something was wrong.
But before I could process what was happening—
"JACK! HELP!!!"
Anna's scream ripped through the frozen air, sharp with terror.
My heart lurched.
I spun around, and my blood ran cold.
Beneath Anna's feet, a circle of glowing runes had materialized, its symbols searing into the pavement. The radiant markings pulsed with a golden light so intense it burned into my vision.
A magic circle.
Oh no…
"Anna! ANNAAA!"
I dropped everything and lunged toward her.
I moved forward, sneakers scraping against the pavement, arms reaching, desperately, franticly. Every part of me screamed to move faster, to get to her, to pull her out.
But then—
SLAM!
Something invisible slammed into me.
Hard.
It felt like hitting a steel wall at full speed. My body jolted back, the breath ripped from my lungs. I stumbled, barely staying upright, pain flaring in my shoulder.
Still, I stood back and reached out, but then my hands pressed against something solid.
A barrier.
"NO!"
I shouted, pounding my fists against it.
"ANNA!"
But it didn't move!
I hit it again, and again, and again. My fists thudded against it. I kicked it, I slammed my shoulder into it, I clawed at it until my knuckles split open, smearing my own blood onto it.
But still… nothing.
It didn't crack.
It didn't even fucking flinch!
Meanwhile, Anna stood inside the circle, frozen in the glow. Light crawled up her legs in thin, golden tendrils, curling like chains.
Then she started to flicker.
Her image stuttered, as if reality itself couldn't hold onto her. One moment she was solid, the next she glitched, like a corrupted video file, blinking in and out of existence.
Her eyes locked onto mine, wide and terrified.
Her mouth moved, slow and soundless.
I read her lips.
"Jack… help me…"
Just that.
A fragile, trembling plea.
And it shattered something inside me.
"I'm here!" I cried, pressing both palms flat against the barrier. "I'm here, Anna! I'm right here! Hold on!"
But it didn't matter.
No matter how loud I screamed, no matter how hard I fought, that damned barrier held.
Unmoving, unbreakable!
And then, the light surged.
A blinding flare of gold erupted from the circle, bursting outward in a wave of intense energy. Wind howled. Magic screamed.
For a second, there was nothing but white, a flood of searing brightness that devoured the world. I had to raise my arms to shield my eyes.
And then—
Silence.
The light blinked out.
The magic faded.
And so was she, so was Anna.
I lowered my arms.
Where the circle had been, where Anna had stood, there was only empty pavement now.