Chapter 2: Arc 1: Chapter 1

Light flooded into Bianca’s eyes, and something about it didn’t feel quite right.

It was probably still light, and it probably functioned in the same way as she remembered, but the shade, the intensity, the simple feeling of it – none of these were what they should have been.

She had slept in her dorm bed for about a year and a half, and she tended to sleep in the same way almost every day. The mornings were, as a result, very consistent, and she learnt to wake up at the exact right time thanks to the light shining into the room from the windows, though she only did so every few days, when she had a class early in the morning.

That aside, something wasn’t right, so she opened her eyes and saw, first of all, her hand, raised to obscure some of the intruding sunlight.

Her hand looked fine, but what lay beyond did not.

It seemed like thatch, perhaps grass or something of the sort, letting through thin rays of soft light that danced on her skin. She may not recall exactly what the ceiling of her room was made from, nor what shade of white it was, but it was certainly not thatch nor grass.

‘What… Is this…’ she couldn’t form a coherent thought, and instead lowered her hand and looked around, hoping that she would at least recognise the scenery around her.

Instead, she saw walls of unpainted wood, and a wide opening at one side which let most of the light in. She lay on a bed of some other type of wood, topped with some kind of flat cushion stuffed with some material she couldn’t even guess at. Perhaps the architectural style could have told her something about this place, but she knew as much about that as she did about men’s deodorant, underwear or, well… anything to do with men.

Given that she had no male siblings, went to an all-girl school and never even considered dating a guy, that wasn’t surprising.

Aside from her bed – if she could even call it that – there was also a chair on the opposite side of the building, to the side of the entrance, and a table on the wall to the left of the bed. Both were simplistic in design, using the same type of wood as the bed, lacking any paint or fine finish that would be expected of even the cheapest furniture in VIA’s.

This structure was a surprise, but she also noticed that her clothing was unfamiliar. Despite going to sleep in only her underwear, she was now dressed in a drab brown shirt and similarly drab trousers, loosely fitting her body. The shirt had sleeves up to her elbows, and the trousers ended just before her feet, the material clearly lacking the same fine craftsmanship and finish guaranteed by modern production methods. If someone from a rural village was dressed in such a thing, she wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Underneath that, she did seem to be wearing underwear, but it was not what she had fallen asleep in.

A sound, some kind of footstep, forced her attention to the opening to this building, where she saw an elderly man entering.

“Who-”

“Ah, you’ve woken up. Song Ming was getting worried,” the man cut her off, probably unintentionally, then continued once she failed to resume her sentence, “Are you feeling alright? We’ll get some food for you in a while.”

‘What is… what is this? I don’t recognise the name, but it sounds… Enian? Wait, his mouth…’ she felt a chill go down her spine, ‘He doesn’t seem to be speaking Antanian, so how do I…’

“Is something wrong?” the old man asked, his expression seeming entirely genuine, “Ah, you are probably shocked at seeing some strange man greeting you… heh, I’m often called Old Man Song. Song Ming, the girl that found you, is my daughter.”

‘He’s definitely not speaking Antanian, but if I understand him…’ she felt her heart race as she parted her lips again, “Your daughter? W-Where did she find me?”

For a moment, she was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to understand her, and that she would be left within a strange place without the ability to communicate with the people around her. The area she was in was clearly not near her college dorm, and it might not even be in Antania, and if her phone had vanished along with her underwear, then getting a flight out of here and back home might be nearly impossible.

Luckily, the man smiled and said, “She found you out in the wilds, about half an hour from the village border. She had been going there to train, and when she found a strange, naked woman… Heh, I had never seen the young girl so flustered… Ah, to be young again…”

‘NAKED? Outside… outside some village? Oh goodness, I should get a shower as soon as possible,’ Bianca concluded without hesitation, “Uhm, well… What is this place?”

“Xi Village. Have you heard of it?”

It hardly needed to be said that she had never heard of such a place before. Aside from the Enian-sounding name, the village could be anywhere and one of many with a similar name, perhaps out in the Enian countryside. However, she wasn’t sure what to say, and whether it would be a good idea to be straightforward and honest or to lie and pretend to be something she wasn’t.

“Oh, right, I had forgotten to ask – what is your name?”

“Bi-” Bianca nearly answered honestly before the realisation struck her that her name would also be a blatant giveaway to an aspect of her identity.

If this old man, or anyone in his village, had malicious intent against foreigners – not an impossibility in the slightest, no matter what part of Enia she was in – then her foreign name would make it very obvious that she wasn’t someone from the region. Her appearance ought to be doing that already, but the old man lacked distinctive Enian features, so it was possible that she could get away with a lie if she got lucky.

‘But I never get lucky… save for yesterday’s meeting with Roz, but that’s… no, focus on this…’

She didn’t have much time to think before it would appear strange, but before too long, an idea came to her. It was, frankly, an awful one, but it could buy her time if nothing else.

“Ah… I… I don’t recall!” Bianca claimed in what she hoped was a genuine tone, “In fact, I don’t remember hearing the name of this village before, but if I was found nearby, then I must have known about it, at least…”

“You… lost your memories?”

Old Man Song appeared uncertain, but at this point, all she could do was nod.

“Huh… That’s an awful thing to happen to someone as young as you. I hope I didn’t come off as impolite with my questions earlier, I was just curious,” he said, bowing his head slightly before wandering over to the chair and taking a seat, “Outsiders rarely come here, you see. Usually, they’ll head to Jia Town to the south, or one of the sects to the west or north… Well, perhaps you had meant to come here but encountered danger on the way, so someone might still have found a reason to go to this place outside the decade’s selection.”

‘Sects, selections… Where have I ended up? I hope those aren’t like the cults everyone talked about in the first year of college,’ Bianca could barely grasp the mass of information, but in a way, this was the exact kind of thing an amnesiac might experience, so she was right on point.

The old man certainly didn’t spot any issues, as he looked up at the roof and sighed, “It’s a shame the wilds are so dangerous. Even with the three sects, we’ve never been as safe as those in the Western Continent’s Yi City. I hear that even a common man can live like a king, with guards protecting them and all the food and drink they may desire.”

Bianca’s eyes widened, ‘Western Continent? That could be Ambris, or Thima, but Yi City… where the fuck am I?’

“Do you have a map of the area? M-Maybe I’ll recall something if I get an idea of the land.”

Unfortunately, Old Man Song shook his head.

“We don’t have many maps, and we don’t particularly need them. Though the Dragon’s Fangs are confusing to navigate, we don’t go out there often, and the cost of getting a proper map… No cartographers outside the major sects, none that would go into a random village to provide their goods.”

‘Uh… I’m getting a headache…’ the sheer strangeness of the situation tempted her to shut her eyes and see if she could awaken back in her dorm, but before then, she heard and felt her stomach rumble.

“Right, food. I think that Min Yu should be finished with making breakfast, so I can go and get you something to eat,” the old man inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly and without haste, “Not sure how long it’s been since you’ve last eaten, so I’ll get a warm soup for you. Kong Xi had brought back a fine boar yesterday, so there might be a stew ready for you. Let me-”

“Song Ling, is she… Ah, she’s awake,” another man stepped in at that moment, dressed very differently.

Whereas Bianca and Old Man Song were both garbed in simple cloth of some kind, this man looked a lot less like he came from a local historical re-enactment. His hair was grey, long and loose, but it seemed tidy and clean, and his clothing was also far more refined in appearance. It was some kind of robe, a belt binding it at the waist, ending almost at his feet, with loose wide sleeves. It seemed similar to something she’d seen in an Enian film she had watched, but that was about the full extent of what she knew.

Then again, she was starting to get used to not knowing anything, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. She’d probably figure it out eventually – provided she didn’t wake up in her own room before then.

“I’ll bring some food for her, so if you could keep her company for a while, I’m sure it would help her. She’s lost her memories, you see, so she’s probably feeling lost,” Old Man Song explained to the man, “A person like you ought to be able to make anyone feel safe, heh.”

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“Lost her memories? That’s awful. I will make sure to clear up any confusion she might have,” the man replied, turning to Bianca, “My name is Lin Shuming, and I am responsible for security around here. If you are ever in danger, you can call me on me or anyone that I have trained… or the sects, when they come around.”

“… Thanks?” she wasn’t sure how trustworthy he was, but it wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter.

He looked to be a 1.8m tall guy, clearly fit and athletic, while she was 1.62m, rather light and certainly not at the peak of physical strength or fitness. She could defend herself if she had pepper spray or something of the sort, but with just the clothing on her, she could do nothing at all.

Old Man Song rose from his seat and departed, while this Lin Shuming took his place. He stared at her for a while, and she simply stared back at him, because she wasn’t sure if she would somehow anger him with a wrong movement. It wasn’t impossible, given that she knew little of Enian culture, nor of the culture of this particular part of that country – if she was even in Enia, and not in some other land that appeared similar from her uneducated perspective.

“So, you say that you’ve forgotten some things?”

“Actually, it’s… kind of everything. I don’t remember my name, or where this place is, or where I was… Listening to you two, it’s almost like I’ve ended up in some other land altogether.”

“You have no memory of the Eastern Continent?”

“Um… How many are there?” Bianca asked.

“There’s the Western Continent, and the Eastern Continent. You remember neither of these?” the man asked again.

‘Aren’t you missing one? Is there no Central Continent?’ she had certain questions for him internally, but she couldn’t ask any without making it clear that she wasn’t being entirely genuine, so she said instead, “N-No?”

Lin Shuming nodded, “I see. In that case, you don’t know about our Xi Village, either.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Well… That is truly unfortunate. I cannot confirm this myself, of course, but so long as you don’t cause any trouble, I will not make things difficult for you. Even if you are lying, I won’t object.”

“… Sure? Who did you say you were again?”

“Lin Shuming. You can think of me as the guard captain, even if I only have two or three people under me,” the man chuckled to himself, stroking a short grey beard growing exclusively from his chin, “I’ve been at it for thirty years, and in that time, there hasn’t been a single incident within our village! I’m proud of that, and I want that to continue.”

“Heh, you shouldn’t deceive the young girl,” Old Man Song returned, prompting Bianca to notice that her own senses must not be as good as she remembered, as both of them seemed to show up without making a sound until they entered the building, “It’s the sects that keep us safe.”

“I never said that I was responsible, old man,” Lin Shuming was quick to defend himself, “Still, I’ll be keeping an eye on everything. If anything goes wrong, just call my name.”

With that, he rose and stepped out of the building into the bright sunlight hiding the outside from Bianca’s eyes, at least while her eyes were not accustomed to the brightness outside. Meanwhile, Old Man Song approached her with a wooden bowl, within which lay a wooden spoon and a mixture of things that she couldn’t even attempt to name.

The mixture was steaming hot and smelled edible enough, so she accepted the bowl from him.

“What’s this?” she asked, just to be sure.

“Some boar, some herbs. Beyond that, you’d have to ask Min Yu,” he replied, also passing along a piece of dry, grey bread, “You can also have this, if you wish. Baked yesterday evening, so it should be fresh.”

On one hand, she was being given strange food by strange people that she shouldn’t have been anywhere near. Really, she shouldn’t have been in whatever country or continent this was, nor should she have been speaking with people in a language she had never learned nor spoken before. None of what she was doing made any sense.

On the other hand, she found her stomach rumbling and her mouth watering at the food before her.

‘Had I been asleep for three days or something? I shouldn’t want to eat this much if it was just a day, but…’ she swallowed the saliva accumulating in her mouth, ‘Fuck it. If I get food poisoning or something, it’ll be worth it.’

The spoon was rough and rather uncomfortable to use, but it was still a spoon, so she made do with it. Her first scoop of the mixture was clearly too hot to consume right away, so she quietly blew on it for a while and spent her time contemplating her current situation. Obviously, Bianca had very little understanding of what truly occurred beyond this room, this small structure that she had woken up within, but she refused to be completely passive in whatever happened to bring her so far away from home.

All such thoughts vanished when she finally tasted the stew, or soup or whatever it was.

‘… I must not have eaten in a year! My goodness, this… this is rather tasteless, compared to what I’m used to, but at the same time it’s so filling!’ she exclaimed within her mind, quickly filling her spoon with more and eating it up with less hesitation, ‘If this is poisonous, then I am completely fine with that… well, not really, but…’

She couldn’t think of anything reasonable, so she just shut up – mentally – and continued eating, eagerly devouring the stew as quickly as her own body was able to handle it. Somewhere in the back of her head, she knew that eating too much and too quickly if she truly had hungered for months wouldn’t go well for her, but it appeared like her body wasn’t opposed to her feasting, at least for the moment.

Old Man Song also appeared to be wary of this, but when he saw her doing just fine, he also relaxed, leaning into his seat.

Time almost flew past while she ate, and so Bianca felt as if she had finished in moments.

“This… I would ask for more, but I think I’m full,” she said, the feeling coming to her gradually, “I will thank Min Yu the moment I see her, so, uh… what does she look like?”

“I’ll introduce you to her when I bring you around the village. Since you don’t recall where you’ve come from, you won’t have a place to leave to for now, so we can let you stay in the village for a while. I’m sure we’ll find a room or even a small home for you,” the old man said with a smile, “Try standing up. If it’s not too difficult, I can give you a small tour right now.”

Although she was still wary of the place, she couldn’t refuse. A look at the village, the climate and whatever else she could spot could give her a hint as to her location, whether they had internet, and whether anyone happened to have a phone with which to contact her family, college, country of origin or even a local organisation that could help her get back. If necessary, she could always play it off as her memory returning to her, so it wouldn’t cause suspicion.

“Sure, let me try,” Bianca agreed, putting the bowl to her side and turning, placing her feet onto the floor.

As she tried to stand, she found that while her legs felt a bit stiff, there seemed to be no major issues, even when she took a step forward and looked over to the old man, who rose and headed over to the entrance, stepping out after he made sure that she was following.

There was some footwear by the side of the entrance, a simple sole with some material bound across it to contain the foot, which she put on after a moment of thought. Given the quality of the shack Bianca woke up in, there only a small chance that she would be coming out to nicely paved roads and what not.

She followed him, and as she crossed the threshold of the building, her eyes adjusted to the blinding light of the outside, revealing quite a sight to her.

Numerous buildings made of wood and thatch were arranged across a hilly landscape that stretched out further than she expected. There were easily a hundred buildings in sight, if not more, but what lay beyond all them, to the north and west, stole away her breath and threatened to never give it back to her again.

In those directions, on tall mountains surrounding a deep ravine, were vast structures that rose high into the air, with amazing architecture lined with shining gold and other materials. Two clusters of these buildings were to the north, even the nearest of the two seeming to be kilometres away, and the other was to the west, almost obscured by another towering mountain with sheer edges and plenty of grass and foliage growing from flatter regions.

It was an impressive sight, but what concerned her was that she had never heard of such a place in her twenty-one years of life. No video, no documentary, nor even any rumours of a mountain range as vast and as tall as this, and certainly none with structures that seemed straight out of a fantasy story.

That, combined with the oddity of her current situation, the seeming difference in language, and the Western and Eastern Continents that she had never heard of, put a concerning thought into her head.

‘This… is this some kind of… other world? S-Surely not, right?’ she stood in place, her mouth agape, ‘Right?’

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