"Yeah, yeah. Okay, big brother." My voice was young at the time.
He was the only one who truly loved me—always caring and protecting me. I cared for him far more than my snobby, careless parents.
It wasn't because my brother was less strict. He actually raised me better than my mother and father.
My parents were against my imagination.
They never loved what I created and just tossed my projects aside and said. "Go find a real life." It's reality. They wanted me to be their "perfect little angel," but… even though I tried my hardest, my parents were never satisfied.
My father was so strict that he abused me after I hit him and said, "Give up your dreams and die."
A burden that stuck onto me and ruined it. When my mother caught me playing outside with my brother, she would slap me. If I disobeyed her, she would refuse to feed me.
My brother tried to tell and report our parents, but they were so wealthy that they could just get away with it. So instead of going outside, we would secretively seclude ourselves from society and make our own fantasies.
"Wow, your characters are so vivid! You're an artist, Chloe!"
My brother supported my fantasies. He loved the idea of escaping into our own world. He even made it a game and surpassed the wealth of our parents.
"This is amazing."
When I was little, even with our abusive parents around, we would play outside and roleplay in secret. He was energetic and popular.
Despite our having a bad academic status, my brother was smart enough to raise me without my parents.
He knew that when they had struck blood on my face after their judgment, he immediately left the house and took me with him. My brother was even old enough to drive this thing called a car, drive us to a place called an Airport, and escort us to the country of Japan.
. . .
Chloe looked at the sun mark on Asahi's clothes, her gaze lingering before she commented with a low smile.
"That's why I felt so familiar with your name, Asahi. It's a word from that same place. They even call the country the Land of the Rising Sun."
Asahi's gray eyes widened in realization as he understood what made Chloe so happy with his name. It was a name from her world. He remained silent as Chloe continued.
"When I left my birth country for Japan, I felt at ease, at peace, that now I don't feel controlled. Just like what that girl did in this world, my brother would teach me the language of that nation, Japanese, and then introduce me to all this new stuff."
A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she remembered.
"It's the first time I've ever felt welcomed by strangers."
Asahi turned his head down and tried so hard not to well up a tear.
"..."
Chloe took a deep breath and continued as the peaceful, welcoming rays of sunlight emerged from the clouds.
When my brother learned that we both had this horrible virus, we were forced into separate quarantines and never saw each other again. My heart hurt when I learned my brother had disappeared.
It's exactly what I felt when I was summoned into this world. I roleplayed alone. No one understood. But that green-haired girl, whose name I forgot, was almost like him.
She taught me some of the language and about this world. She didn't believe in judgment. She only saw me as a normal child. I can't imagine what it would be like if my brother had ended up here.
.* * *
As the flashback faded from Chloe's mind, Asahi clenched his fists and muttered.
"So... that's why you were happy to find someone who could speak. No wonder your clothes are messed up." He covered his mouth in shock. "If you say you're okay, I won't try to enforce it." Asahi glanced at the book, still confused about Chloe's origins.
"Do you still need me to teach you the language? O-Or are you okay? I heard you have been taught some. But..."
Her tone became calm as she pushed through her muffled sobs.
"I-It's fine. I think I remember now."
Asahi leaned in a little closer, waiting for her answer.
"A-Are you sure?"
"Yeah... I thought I lost my memory, but now that I'm here, I can remember those years with that girl."
"Okay..."
* * *
Meanwhile, a silver-haired man moved swiftly across the field, dodging geysers. He wore sleek short hair, black attire, and had fair skin. He watched as he crossed the ravine and struck at creeping creatures.
As he did this, he remembered something he thought was impossible.
"She's here. I… I can't believe it. She was right in front of my face, and now I'm separated from her. Why is my memory so deteriorated? It's as if I weren't summoned to this world."
The man who said that called himself "perfect." Asahi and Aletha had met him before.
It was a young man who had an earring attached to his pointed ears.
He was no other than Ubel.
As he watched the waterfall pour into a pit, Ubel noticed fresh footprints in the dirt. Shaking his head in disbelief, he realized something important.
"Sister, I can't believe it… You're really here. I thought you were still at home. Thank god. I wish I remembered sooner, but something stops me. It was a force that grappled in my mind, until now."
Gloom overcame him, paired with barren regrets. The faded azure lace on his eyes glimmered as he inventoried his surroundings.
"Just a couple away."
While he walked over, Ubel's sharp gun-metal blue eyes focused on the goopy creatures. He seized his wooden blade and unleashed another strike to his right, cutting through the trunk of a tree as sweat jumped out of his face.
(CLANG)
A powerful cut sent the tree falling into the pit. Chunks of wood rained on his face and the creatures. They all backed up and screeched.
"HISS!"
"Perfection doesn't come from judging. Perfection doesn't exist for anyone. You're only better when you believe you are perfect. And of course, I don't believe even my characters are perfect. At least this world is a fantasy rather than an underworld. It's almost like heaven."
Adrenaline thumped in Ubel's heart while he lifted his arm and unleashed an onslaught of four holographic wolves to attack the screaming creatures.
"NOW!"
The silver wolves dug their nails into the creatures' skin. Rapid strikes flew across the cliff as he attacked the animals again.
"Chloe, for how long has it been since I have seen your face? I wish you could have witnessed me living my dream in this fantasy world. It's almost like we have envisioned, but even greater."
He ran across a vast expanse and then stumbled, tumoring down the hill.
"Though I made friends here, I still feel alone. Take a look at how much I have grown. Are you proud of me? Of course you are."
As he followed the creatures toward an open field, Ubel clenched his fists.
"You know, Chloe… I wish you could have seen our fantasies come to life. It's… a lot stranger, and this world is almost like our imagination."
He took a breath and saw Asahi and Chloe running from a dark creature. He chuckled and sheathed his blade.
"Now I know you're here with me as well. After all these years of being alone, now you can see the warrior you wanted me to be."
Chloe glanced over, nearly catching Ubel's gaze.
She quickly turned away, thrust her hand into the dirt, and used its magical essence to reform and shape it.
"That's how magic should be. Perfection doesn't come from judgment, I realized. It comes from our thoughts. Our parents were hypocritical; they were sent somewhere else. Don't worry about them; They deserve their punishments."
Ubel released a sigh and pushed his gray hair back.
"Time is quite short now, I don't know where I have been, but now that I remember. I can finally prove our parents wrong. Just know one thing, sister. Our virus within us is not a curse, but a blessing."
Ubel shrugged his shoulders and walked away from Chloe.
"I don't want to surprise you too quickly. I want you to figure out the magic that resides within that "disease" or blessing given to us, without my help. I know I have raised you and helped you throughout your whole life, but I want you to fend for yourself for a change."
As he passed through the bushes, Ubel's final words echoed so loudly that Chloe could barely hear him.
"Perhaps, this will be the first time that you can finally teach yourself, Chloe?"