Amadeus woke up to a world of color. As he sat up, a cascade of flower petals fell from his shoulders. He looked around, dazed, but the crisp, fresh air and the sweet fragrance of the blooms immediately eased his mind. Living on Vexis for so many years had made him forget that nature could be this beautiful. He stood up and brushed the remaining petals from his skin, noticing with relief that his headache had vanished completely.
It was time to explore. He felt a thrill of excitement, even as the memories of his first life on Earth began to slip from his grip. Who wouldn't lose their mind a little after killing themselves so many times?
As he began to walk, something strange happened. His feet drifted off the grass. He lost his balance, flailing for a moment, but he didn't fall. He looked over his shoulder and gasped: a pair of crystal-clear wings had sprouted from his back. He had fairy wings.
"Wo-ahahh!" He laughed heartily, struggling to regain his balance. He looked ridiculous, essentially "swimming" through the air and kicking his legs in a desperate attempt to stay upright. He had always been jealous of the winged demons on Vexis who could fly so freely. Now, in this new life, he could fly too. It was crazy.
The little fairies behind the bushes couldn't contain their laughter any longer. They fluttered toward him, shocking Amadeus with their size. "What the—so tiny." he muttered. One of the fairies landed on his palm, making a mocking face at him. They were clearly judging him: How can an adult fairy be so incapable of flying? They began to lead him, demonstrating how to catch the wind. Slowly, Amadeus found the trick to it and began to glide. He was having the time of his life until the sudden, sharp blast of a horn echoed through the forest. The fairies' expressions turned to pure terror. They dove into hiding, dragging the confused Amadeus into the brush with them.
Such a stupid adult fairy! No awareness at all! the fairies thought, though they remained patient with one of their own kind.
The little fairies vanished instantly, turning invisible as they blended into the trees. They waited for their giant friend to do the same, but Amadeus obviously had no such power. The tiny fairy who had mocked him earlier looked at him with growing preoccupation, frantically mimicking an upward flying motion to tell him to get high into the canopy.
Amadeus, realizing the danger, caught on quickly. With the tiny fairy clinging to his shoulder, he soared upward until the forest floor was far beneath him. From his vantage point, he could see strange beasts charging toward the spot where he had been clumsily flying just moments before. These creatures resembled humans, but they were split into two distinct kinds: one was wolflike and ferocious, while the other was serpentine, possessing long, powerful tails.
"Mmh..." He was left utterly speechless. What kind of world is this? He began to guess his location, this had to be Mythara, a planet filled with the creatures of human legend: fairies, beast men, orcs, vampires, mermaids and so on.
He watched from the afar as the two tribes clashed. The battle was fierce, but the wolf-men eventually emerged victorious. They began dragging the snake-men by their heavy tails back toward their village. Amadeus wondered if they were being taken to be feasted upon.
Driven by a reckless curiosity, he began to follow them. The little fairy boy on his shoulder was terrified by the "big fool's" decision, desperately trying to stop him by flying directly into Amadeus's face to block his vision. Amadeus merely chuckled, gently trapped the tiny creature in his palm, and continued his pursuit.
He followed them to what appeared to be the lair of the snake tribe. To his surprise, the wolves didn't kill their captives. Instead, they threw the beaten snake-men in front of their kin. The other serpents hurried forward to retrieve their wounded companions, handing over bundles of meat to the wolves in exchange.
"That looks surprisingly civilized." Amadeus mused. He had expected a slaughter, but this was a ritual of dominance, injuring the opponent until defeat was admitted, and tribute was paid.
He was about to turn around when a shadow lunged from the canopy. A hand clamped around his neck, gripping him tightly. The little fairy on his shoulder shrieked and bolted into the leaves, fleeing at the sight of the Great Saint Karina.
"Who are you? You're not from here." she demanded.
Amadeus saw that his captor was a fairy as tall as he was. She was lean and covered in hard muscle, yet she possessed a fierce beauty. She wore only a simple skirt made of woven leaves and a top crafted from vibrant petals.
"Let go of me first." Amadeus gasped, refusing to struggle to show he wasn't a threat. "I promise I won't do anything."
Saint Karina narrowed her eyes, searching for a lie. When she found none, she loosened her grip.
"Thanks." Amadeus muttered, rubbing his sore neck. She didn't look like a typical fairy at all; she looked like a warrior. "My name is Amadeus. I'm from Earth."
Karina began to fly in slow circles around him, her wings humming. "So, you're a human." She mused. She reached out to touch his wings with clinical curiosity, then suddenly darted forward. "Follow me, human. You're not safe here. You will be killed soon if you stay in the open."
Amadeus, knowing all too well that her warning was likely true, flew close behind her. "Do you know why they're after me?" He asked, desperate for a hint.
"You're an Anomaly." Karina replied without looking back. "You shouldn't exist. That's why they want to kill you."
"Mmh... kill?" Amadeus frowned, thinking back to the black-uniformed men. "But from what I've experienced, they just wanted to capture me."
Karina glanced back at him, her expression shifting to one of deep intrigue. "Then it seems the situation has changed once again."
They flew for a while until they found themselves in front of a giant tree glowing with magic.
"Oh, of course." Amadeus remarked, laughing at the sheer cliché of it. "A legendary giant tree that acts as the mother of all life?"
Karina only nodded, her expression unreadable. She dove toward the canopy, plucked a single purple fruit from the Mother Tree, and beckoned him to keep moving. They continued their journey well into the night.
Amadeus was amazed once again. In Vexis, there were always those purple clouds blocking the sky, but here you could clearly see the Milky Way. At some point, he saw transparent fish flying in the sky, and sometimes he could see giant jellyfish moving gracefully through the air. He tried to touch one, only for his finger to sink into something cold but soft.
Eventually, the forest gave way to a vast, shimmering sea. Below them, merfolk surfaced, pointing up at the pair. Karina descended toward them. "Greetings, Saint Karina. How may we be of service?" asked one of the mermen, who looked like the leader of the group.
So she is a saint and not just a warrior? Amadeus thought.
"Please retrieve a 100-year black pearl for me," she asked with a smile.
"Of course, Saint Karina. Everything for you." The merfolk dove into the depths after a quick, curious glance at Amadeus.
That black pearl was, in fact, a very rare treasure; only kings and queens can ask for if needed, as the black pearl is made from unborn baby mermaids.
It rarely happens that an unborn mermaid dies inside the mother, and the only way to remove them is with the help of a spiritual jellyfish. It is placed on the mother's womb, teleporting the unborn child into its own semi-transparent body. When that happens, the jellyfish never returns the dead child; it conserves it for 100 years, turning it into a miraculous pill.
When Karina explained the process, Amadeus felt his stomach turn and he flatly stated. "And you want me to eat that?"
"If you don't do as I say, I will personally kill you." Karina replied, her aura suddenly turning cold and murderous.
His answer was a violent, wet slap from a massive tail. The merman from before had re-emerged, delivering the blow before presenting a Black Pearl the size of a football. Amadeus stared at the pill wondering how on earth he was supposed to swallow something that large.
After taking the pearl and thanking them, they flew once again toward another direction. Amadeus was already tired as hell as he learned what it meant to have a wings ache. Luckily, their final destination was a cave with a typical hole on the top to make the moonlight hit a pool in the middle of the cave. "This is hilarious, really; I can't take this seriously anymore." he said.
Karina ignored him and walked closely to the pool. She squeezed the fruit, making the juice drop down into the water, turning the color of the water a deep red. Somehow it started to boil, and hot steam started to come out of it.
Amadeus broke into a cold sweat, ignorant of what was about to happen to him.
Then Karina threw the black pearl into the boiling water, turning the color from red into a black that didn't reflect the light of the moon anymore.
"To keep it short since everything looks cliche to you: from the essence of life of the mother tree and the essence of death of the pearl, this will make them confused about the anomaly of your existence. It will keep a good part of your soul dormant and the less powerful part to be your daily life energy. Then, when in danger, it will switch to the powerful one. So, you are part fairy and part human, right?"
Amadeus was at a loss; what was that thing about souls and energy? "I'm pretty sure I'm just human."
"Do you know what an Anomaly is?" Karina asked calmly. She could see the boy was truly clueless.
Amadeus shook his head. tures, but since you're saying that they want to capture them, then maybe they found "An Anomaly is born when two different races have a child." she explained. "Two different types of blood create a creature more powerful than either parent. Long ago, they started to hunt such creatures. If you say they want to capture you now, perhaps they found a way to absorb that power—though that should be impossible." Luckily, the soul of a living being is more difficult to handle than it seems.
"Okay, but how can I be half fairy? There's no fairy on earth." Amadeus asked, trying to digest the weight of her words. Finding out the reason why they were after him and that he was somehow a half-breed explained this kind of power to him.
"Then I hope that the next time we meet, you will know what you are, little child." Karina smiled at him. "And I'm sorry, you can't be here yet. Next time, I'll gladly show you around this world."
While saying so, she shoved him into the pool. By doing so, Amadeus died the very same day he arrived there.
When Amadeus woke up, the only word he could think was "Bitch!"