In a dark forest, a young girl is sprinting in panic, glancing behind her in an attempt to see if her pursuers are still hot on her heels. Just as she believes nobody is chasing her, an arrow comes flying and lands squarely in her shin, causing her to let out a yelp of pain while she tumbles onto the ground.
She winces as she begins to gain her bearings while checking her scraped knees and impaled leg. Quickly making a decision, she breaks the arrowhead off while also ripping the rest of the arrow out. She grimaces in pain as she pulls herself up, showing how the wound slowly closes up, only as she's limping away the heavy sound of metal footsteps and yells gets louder.
"THE DEVIL IS OVER THERE?!"
"AFTER IT!"
The sound causes her to look back in panic, her reptilian-like eyes turning in that direction, causing her to miss the branch sticking out of the ground. She loses her balance once more as she tumbles her to a clearing which reveals this to be a dead end. Shakily, she feels for the wound on her leg, and to her relief it's been fully healed now.
"Nowhere to run now?"
The calm voice shakes her back into reality as the cold blade slashes her back, searing it with what feels like magma.
"GAH!"
Tears stream down her cheeks as she clenches her teeth in pain, she fearfully looks over towards the masked crusader who flicks the blood off their sword. Just then, paladins burst out from the tree line, quickly forming an enclosed circle around the edge of the cliff edge.
"May the goddess above forgive you for your sins."
The crusader begins to walk over towards the girl, raising the sword high, only for it to swing down as the girl's eyes and horns light up in dark red, as they expand out like a flash.
The area is covered in light, then silence and darkness, only for an explosion large enough to decimate a town to go off, causing massive destruction to the cliff and forest.
As the small girl's charred body, with smoke still lingering, is flung away from the resulting blast.
_________
{My name is Alex Morningstar, a 17-year-old boy who has no friends and has nothing going for him. Hm, oh right that doesn't really matter right now. My life came to an abrupt conclusion due to a speeding vehicle. Should've known better as life's always dealt a bunch of bad luck.
The annoying part is that my 'head' feels like it's pounding even though I shouldn't have or feel one… Unless Hm… maybe it's like those novels I read, where I get to reincarnate in another world… and there's a bunch of hot Demi-humans and stuff…
…
Okay maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but I'd rather not focus on how my now non-existent head feels like it's pounding!}
"Goddess above, hear my prayer, let your divine light save this young child, Healing."
{Hm? What was that? If I can hear that person's voice that means I must be alive and by the sounds of the language, it's in a different world! So cool! But strange how I understood it… maybe it's a power I have?}
"Hm, this texture feels different… These are horns!?"
{What's this person yelling so loudly for! Ugh…}
With sensations returning, a massive wave of fatigue rolls in, causing them to lose consciousness once more.
———-—-A couple of hours later—————
{Ugh… so tired…}
I squeeze myself further into the covers in an attempt to make myself comfortable only to freeze up.
"I'm… on a bed?" Opening my eyes, I find myself in a little room, with a candle by the bedside. Groggily sitting up, a white light flashes across the room, as I meet face to face with a lady with cat ears on the top of her head.
"Why are you here, and is the disaster in the Valencia Empire your doing?"
I then feel the sharp blade pressed against my throat as her eyes narrow to slits.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about… what is this Empire you're talking about?" She tilts her head, confused as I then notice her tail wagging left and right.
"I don't understand… Is this demonic tongue?" Her confusion is evident, with her sword pressing against my throat more, causing me to wince at the slight sting as blood trickles down.
"O-Ow! F-First put down the sword, please!" I whimper at the burning heat against my neck as I raise my hand and gently move the blade away. She blinks, before guiltily moving away as she moves the sword onto the bedside, she then tenderly checks the wound on my neck, confirming it's ok, she then looks at me with interest. With her intentions being so obvious. I nod.
She begins closely look, poking and prodding me with interest, gently pulling and rubbing as her gaze morphs into an expression of care, and she gently wipes the blood away.
"You're no different than any other child… I-I apologize for acting rashly. I just…." She guiltily apologizes but then shakes her head as she remembers a detail from a moment earlier.
"Unbelievable… me threatening a child who doesn't understand." I gently take her hand in mine, causing her to flinch back slightly only to relax as I give her a reassuring squeeze.
"You surely have your reasons for acting that way so… how about we just leave that behind us and focus on now." I show a toothy smile, her eyes go wide but she then smiles as well, pulling me to a little hug.
She pulls away, turning to the bedside and grabbing the plate of food on the table and gently handing it to me. I look at it carefully, examining what looks like a blue colored steak with green juices dripping from it and next to that is what looks like a loaf of bread.
She looks at me eagerly, seemingly excited for me to try it as she takes out what looks like a book and quill. I look back at the food and first pick the normal looking piece of bread and take a bite. It easily tears away as I slowly chew, tasting the slight sweetness that I remember.
I turn towards the blue steak and take a small bite, as the juices spill out from the meat as I take a bite, I'm surprised at how it tastes like a seasoned steak. I quickly finish the meal and weirdly find myself full but still hungry, looking over at the lady I find her quickly jotting down notes with a smile as she then slams it shut and looks at me affectionately.
Ruffling my hair, she takes the plate and leaves the room, leaving me to sit on the bed with nothing better to do than look around the room. The room is filled with bookshelves and some small paintings. Moving to the edge of the bed, I see the carpeted floor, making me curious as to how it would feel.
She walks back in with a smile and comes to my side, quickly sliding her hands beneath my arms and around my back as I'm then lifted up with my arms instinctively wrapping around her neck. I look at her with confusion, but she just gently boops my nose with a smile as she walks out of the room with me in her arms.
As she walks through the house, I see the other rooms, with one being more noticeable as it seems to be what looks like a lab. She slows as we seem to enter the living room, I notice the light shining through the closed windows as she then opens the door in front making me turn and look, my eyes widen as I see how otherworldly the trees and flowers look.
The sunlight shining down gives the alien looking forest a otherworldly beauty that has me frozen. My shock causes the lady to giggle as she affectionately grabs my cheek to shake me back awake. She lowers me down while taking my hand in hers.
"I'll take care of you… if you want. So how about staying with me?"
She motions with her hands as she speaks, awkwardly trying to make me understand even though for some reason I can already understand her. I squeeze her hand as I nod and the worry on her face melts away into a smile.