It was a peaceful winter day, and lines of birch trees covered the surroundings, as a small campsite lay on the snow-covered floor.
A lone green tent stands next to a burning campfire. On a nearby log, a young woman was sitting, while a young man was hunched over.
"Well, that's the pot setup." The young man said as he got up from next to the campfire, dusting his arms and legs.
The young woman then turned her head towards him.
"Jeez, William, took you long enough, dummy." She said, chuckling, as William rolled his eyes.
"It's a first, alright…" He said as he took a seat next to her on a nearby log.
The crunching of snow was heard as William turned his head, spotting two other people wearing backpacks walking up to the camp, both of whom seemed to be bickering with each other.
"Guess Chris and Lily just arrived," Sam said, looking at them.
The two new arrivals took off their backpacks and placed them on the snowy floor.
"Enjoyed the long walk?" Sam asked sarcastically as Chris took out a folded-up tent and began trying to unfold it.
"Nope, snow just inherently slows anyone down. Oh, also remind me again why we thought camping out here was a good idea?" Lily asked as she huffed.
"Because you said, 'It'd be fun! The snow would be pleasant. Who wouldn't like snow?" Remember? Sam and I just brought basic camping equipment." William responded, as Lily just stared with a deadpan look.
"Right. What a genius idea that was. I honestly deserve to die of frostbite." She said
"Given your choice of outfit, I doubt that. You've got three layers already. At this point, you are looking like the Michelin Man." Chris said, chuckling to himself.
"Excuse me?!" Lily exclaimed in mock hurt as she placed her arms on her hips.
"At least I won't constantly be complaining about the cold out here." She puffed as she looked away.
Chris snorted and smiled at her.
"Sure, but what if we need to run from something? No survival sense at all." He said as he nudged William's arm.
"You two would not be able to live out here without us, and this is exhibition A, right here." Sam spoke up, turning her head towards the two.
Chris and Lily both rolled their eyes at her.
"Heh, you all damn well know that I am THE survival expert around here." William said with confidence, puffing out his chest slightly.
Sam snorted as she stared at William.
"Expert? Yeah, right, you spent forty minutes trying to figure out how to set up that cookpot." She said, tilting her head towards the tent.
Chris and Lily then glanced at William with confused expressions.
"Pfft, are you deadass? 'Mr. Survival expert' over here." Chris said as William gave him a deadpan stare.
William rolled his eyes towards him.
"Yippety yippety yap yap! Like you are any different, 'Christopher'." William mocked as he made a mouth gesture with his fingers, while turning away.
As he did, Chris, Sam, and Lily's amused expressions fell into blank stares. Mouths closed with their pupils slowly dilating.
Their silence, permeating longer than it needed to until-
"Such confidence in oneself is truly remarkable…is it not?" Sam, Chris, and Lily all said simultaneously.
William tensed, turning around and saw that all three of his friends had disappeared. The smell of iron then stung his nostrils, as the bark of the birch forest started to stare at him until…
Darkness and Silence enveloped him, as he felt the sensation of ichor smothering his body…
"Is…the…boy…alive…?" A muffled and distorted male voice spoke.
William felt weak, emaciated. Confusion coursing through his brain. He wasn't even able to move his body.
'What the hell…happened…?' William thought in his head, trying to remember, feeling a massive headache spike through his head.
'Wasn't I camping peacefully just a second ago?' He continued, as the pain slowly dampened.
"…condition…stable…" He heard another male comment, their voices still muffled.
He then tried to feel his surroundings, using his right index finger slowly.
'Am I…on a bed…?' William deduced as he continued trying to listen.
"How…did…survive…out…there?" Another male voice said, in bewilderment.
William then opened his eyes, seeing a man wearing strange, winter-themed attire. One was next to him, holding an IV bag, as the other, who was significantly taller wearing armour.
"W-what? Where…am…I?" William said, in a slurred manner. The two men stopped talking to each other and stared at him, shocked.
"Hey, hey, calm down, there, buddy. You look like you were beaten badly." The man said, placing down the IV bag on a metal rack.
"Sir? Please calm down…" The armoured man said solemnly as he held his arms up. Walking towards the bed slowly.
William then glanced at his chest, noticing he was wearing a hospital gown of sorts. Using his right hand to feel it.
"Don't move your body too hard; you must still feel sore around your body." He continued.
"Ok, first and foremost, I have some questions, please try your best to answer them. Ok?" He said in a calm tone, not to escalate the situation.
William nodded his head at the man.
"What is your name?" he asked calmly, as the second man quickly got a clipboard to write on.
'They are recording what I'm gonna say…should I use my real name…or an alias…?' William pondered as he still isn't too sure whether to trust them or not.
'Screw it! Alias it is.' He decided, as he spoke up.
"My name is…Willmer…but I prefer to be called 'Will' instead." Will said, and the lieutenant nodded.
"Do you remember anything before we found you and brought you to this infirmary?" He asked, Will then stared at the man.
Will stared at his right hand before speaking up.
"I…don't all I truly remember is my name, I'm terribly sorry." Will spoke in a solemn tone, trying to remember.
"...It's ok, you will have all the time to try and rediscover who you are here." The armoured man sympathised.
"Final question, have you answered these questions honestly?" He asked in a firm tone, as the other man recording stared towards me.
"Yes…I have." Will answered as he nodded with a resolute expression.
"I see, well then, we will try and make temporary arrangements for you." The armoured man said as he turned towards the other man, who then wrote a reminder on the clipboard.
"Your belongings are on the table across from the bed. We merely inspected it when we discovered you." The man said as he pointed towards William's backpack.
William glanced at his backpack, seeing that he may still have items he can use.
"Due to circumstances, you will be listed as a 'special' citizen, as you do not seem to recall your memories." The man continued on as he slowly walked towards the door.
That was until he stopped and turned back one more time.
"And one last thing…welcome to Belobog, Mr Wilmer." He said as he exited the room.
As William heard that, he started to remember the two men's outfits.
'Belobog? Wait…' He thought in his head.
One was wearing thick black, blue, and white coloured clothing, the strange metal mask, and the familiar 'U' shaped badge on the man's chest. The other was heavily armoured, wearing the same badge as well…
They were Silvermane Guards, from Honkai Star Rail.
"I-I…must be dreaming, heh…right?" William said as he pinched his arm, only to feel a small sting. He then pinched again and felt the same sting.
He began breathing erratically, as realisation set in. He was now in another world, a world he knew was very, very dangerous.
'...Great…of all damn universes to be sent to…it had to be this one.' Will grumbled, scratching his head slightly, frustrated.
The soft hum of the room's radiator was heard echoing throughout the room.
'How will my presence here affect things…I doubt it. I'm as close to nothing in this place.' Will questioned, as his existence here could change Elio's script and the story itself.
'Now that I think about it, was I even get isekai'd in the traditional sense…? I don't think I even died…' He pondered as he tried to recall the dream-like experience he had.
"Whatever that was, it must have been the reason as to why I'm here…" He said, leaning back on his bed.
The muffled sound of wind emanated throughout the room.
'Kinda glad I concealed the truth earlier, at this point it may be beneficial, since I can keep some anonymity.' Will thought, relieved.
He leaned further onto the bed.
"Still…I have to think of my next move carefully if I wanna even survive here." He sighed as he stared out of the window, as snow continued to fall.
William then felt sombre, his expression softening, while watching the snowfall.
"Whatever happens… I need to get back, I have to…"
"...no matter what it takes."