As kids, our brains don't know the limits of reality, and they make us dream about anything, no matter how unrealistic it is. Some want to become the main character of their favourite show, others want to become superheroes, and even if rare, some prefer villains. But why stop at one?
Now, while as kids we dream big, we can't keep our focus on only one thing, and we keep changing ambitions. But why is that? There's the chance of being virtually all at once, one day being a hero and the other the villain, next week a mastermind, and later the weakest among the weak. There's only one way to do it: becoming the ultimate actor.
Well, as mentioned above, these dreams are still unrealistic; superpowers and magic don't exist in our world, and so, people can only dream of such settings before returning to the monotone reality. But nothing stops us from creating our own story, even if just in our heads.
Well, at least that's what I thought. I was walking while imagining countless scenarios in my head when I suddenly found myself in a different world. Either I did time travel to the Middle Ages, or this is another world. And I doubt that in the Middle Ages they had fox-girls walking on the streets.
Now, normally, people would panic. I mean, getting transported to a different world and stuff, not knowing if you can ever go back, should really upset anyone… Anyone except kids who played a lot of Caves & Lizards with a background of over tens of thousands of characters. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a kid, I'm barely twenty-one, I'm just a young adult who still dreams, unlike my peers who have their heads full of boring stuff like jobs and girls…
In conclusion, do I care about not going back to my monotone "friends"? Not a bit. Do I care about going back to my parents, who kept forcing me to study to achieve who knows what boring and underpaid job? Noup. Do I want to know why I was brought here? Well, yes, it would be interesting to know, and if it's someone, I want to thank them in person.
That said, I'm currently in a city, judging by the surroundings, it's a big one, probably the capital of something. Which is nice. My current top priority is finding a main event, adapting, and making it twice as "main". If this world is a new stage, I'm going to be its brightest star.
By walking around, I can spot all types of races, the ones you would expect from a classic fantasy setting, with humans making the most populous, and it's not close. I also can't understand what's written and what people speak. Dimensional travel doesn't come with automatic translation, apparently. That said, I think I found the main event I was talking about. I mean, it looks more like a side quest, but it's still worth giving it a shot, though.
—
In the centre of Neverland, a huge crowd of people is gathered. All eyes are projected to a scaffold, several guards around it, all with a cross as arms. Kneeled on the scaffold, there's a single chained girl of otherworldly beauty; she's going to be executed soon. White hair and violet eyes, even in a fantasy world, are an unusual combination.
The guards beneath keep checking around, fully focused on not letting anyone near the scaffold. The ones on top of it keep checking the time, and once it's almost it, one announces:
"People of Neverland, today we are all gathered here to uproot the worst evil of all time. This girl here is nothing more than Lucifer's descendant. Descendant of the one who rebelled against The Almighty, and thus she must be executed by us, the church. Please, watch as we free our world from one of the roots of all evil."
And so the guard nods to another, the latter wielding an axe. The guard moves closer to the girl, reading the axe to hit her neck. He swings with a big motion, more than necessary. Though once completed, the girl was unhurt, and her chains destroyed.
The girl, who was fearing her death until a moment prior, watches the guard doubtfully, and an instant later, she quickly regains her focus and flees, jumping down from the back of the scaffold, too fast for the guards, who are wearing heavy armour, to catch. They still try to run after her, leaving in the area only the two guards on the scaffold
"Why would you do that!?" Screams the guard who previously made the announcement. But the other doesn't respond; he only drops the axe and readies a sword.
"To believe there are people on the Devil's side, betraying the church and the other humans, but if it's what you want, so be it, prepare to die."
Everyone in the crowd could guess the winner of this duel. Roles aren't picked at random. A guard who's chosen to wield the axe during an execution can even be a mediocre one; it wouldn't really matter who they pick for it. While the one making the announcement must be known, the crowd must trust it. Edward is the name, even if the crowd can't see the face behind the helm, they are sure of it from the voice. The most respected guard of the kingdom, who has proven his worth after decades of service and training, making him the most experienced.
Then why? Why couldn't Edward sense any fear from the other guard? His reputation and skills should have preceded him. Is he prepared to die then? Or does he believe he can take a fight with him?
Not caring much, Edward swings his sword, a movement as efficient as it's meant to kill. No one would be able to react quickly enough to stop it… Then how is it possible that it got parried?
The fight keeps going with the same rhythm. All of Edward's attacks are nullified one by one. Yet, the crowd isn't caring about it. That guard's swordsmanship is beautiful, developed to reach the perfection of elegance. It's the opposite of Edward's technique; you wouldn't expect it to compete with beginners, and yet, that dirty but artistic swordmanship is having the advantage against Edward's.
Both Edward and the crowd come to a realisation: the only reason Edward is still alive is that the other guard is allowing it.
—
I swear, this guard must be top-notch; his technique would make pale even the best fencers of my original world. But it also makes her movements extremely easy to read. He is fighting by the book. At this point, I could fight with my eyes closed. When I was studying fencing to grasp the fundamentals of fighting, I watched videos and videos and pros using these same movements.
On the other side, he can't understand how my sword moves because it's the complete opposite. But I have to admit, the only reason I'm able to keep up with him is that I can anticipate his attacks; there's no doubt his sword is far better than mine. I waste a lot of time exaggerating movements, but I mean, in front of a crowd like this, how can I not? All I have to do is keep hitting the correct timing, and everything's going to be fine. I'm even letting the fight last longer to give the crowd the best show they could ever ask for. But hey, time's up, I can spot a few guards running here, I can't pick a fight with all at the same time; better flee.
By changing the way of fighting suddenly, using a sword with the same intent as my opponent, I manage to parry his next attack and kick him down. I don't want to kill him; he doesn't seem like a bad person. I bet he was just doing his job, and that girl was a very dangerous criminal.
I really wanted to pull off some sort of revolution kind of plot, with rebels inside the kingdom and stuff, but maybe I shouldn't have let the girl run away, eh, I'm sure they took care of her already.
That said, I jump down and run, but this armor makes it hard. I plan to leave it somewhere, maybe I can leave it where I left the unconscious body of the guard I stole this from, assuming he didn't wake up and leave. Of course.