On Earth,
The evening sky lay low and pale, as though the day itself were exhaling.
The boy walked alone along the familiar road that led home from school, his footsteps measured, unhurried. White hair—unnaturally pale even beneath the soft amber of the streetlights—caught the fading light and reflected it faintly. His eyes, deep and dark red, held no shine of excitement, only a quiet stillness, as though they were windows closed against the world.
His schoolbag rested against his shoulder, light with the absence of books he had already memorized and lessons he had already outgrown. The chatter of classmates had long faded behind him. He preferred it this way—silence, the steady rhythm of walking, the predictability of the road that never changed.
The smell of dust and cooling asphalt filled the air. Somewhere in the distance, a train horn echoed once and disappeared.
Home was close.
He took another step—
But suddenly, the pavement beneath him glowed.
A sudden pulse rippled beneath his feet, sharp and unmistakable. Before he could react, light erupted from the pavement, lines of radiant geometry racing outward in perfect symmetry. A magic circle bloomed beneath him—ancient, intricate, alive—its symbols rotating slowly as if awakening from a long sleep.
The boy froze.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Glowing sigils carved themselves into the air, hovering just above the ground, humming with a low, resonant sound that vibrated through his bones. The circle's light washed over his shoes, his legs, his hands—warm, yet heavy, as though gravity itself had changed its mind about him.
His dark eyes widened, reflecting the luminous patterns spiraling below.
"What—"
The word never finished.
The air twisted.
Space folded inward, dragging sound and light with it. The streetlights bent, stretching into long arcs before shattering into fragments of brightness. The familiar road—the one he had walked countless times—crumbled into abstraction, replaced by a rushing void filled with colorless wind.
His body lifted against his will.
The schoolbag slipped from his shoulder, vanishing before it could hit the ground.
For a fleeting instant, the boy felt weightless—untethered not just from the earth, but from certainty itself. His heart pounded once, hard and singular, as instinct finally caught up to disbelief.
Then the circle flared.
The light swallowed him whole.
And just like that, the quiet road on the way home returned to stillness—empty, unmarked, as though no one had ever been there at all.
****
The light did not vanish all at once.
It peeled away from his senses in layers—first the roar, then the pressure, then the lingering warmth clinging to his skin. When the last fragments of radiance dissolved, solid ground returned beneath his feet with a dull, unfamiliar chill.
He did not fall.
That alone told him something was wrong.
The boy stood within a vast chamber, its ceiling arching high above like the inside of a cathedral. Polished marble stretched outward in pale geometric patterns, reflecting torchlight that burned with steady, unnatural clarity. Massive pillars lined the hall in perfect symmetry, each etched with sigils that were decorative at a glance—and functional upon closer inspection.
He noticed.
Beside him, another presence stirred.
A brown-haired boy stood only a step away, swaying slightly as if the world had failed to arrive all at once. His eyes darted around the chamber, wide with confusion, mouth parting in disbelief.
"W-Where…?" the boy whispered.
The white-haired boy said nothing.
His dark red pupils moved slowly, deliberately—measuring distances, counting exits, mapping lines of sight. He noted the raised dais ahead, the throne set upon it, the semicircle of robed figures standing behind an invisible barrier. He noticed the faint shimmer in the air—a containment field, not a ward of hostility, but of separation.
Observation settled into calculation.
No immediate threat.
Ritual-grade summoning.
At least two subjects—intentional, not an error.
Then, just as smoothly, he let it all go.
His shoulders tensed. His breathing hitched.
His gaze sharpened into something more appropriate—uncertainty, edged with alarm.
"Huh…?" His voice came out quiet, controlled just enough to sound real. "This… isn't home."
The brown-haired boy turned toward him as if clinging to the only familiar thing in the room. "You too? I was walking and then—there was light—"
Before either could say more, footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
The assembled guards parted in practiced unison.
She stepped forward.
White hair fell past her shoulders in a soft cascade, luminous under the chamber's light, as though touched by something purer than mere color. Her blue eyes were clear and bright—so vivid they felt almost unreal, like pieces of the sky carried indoors. Draped in ceremonial robes trimmed with silver and pale gold, she carried herself with a sacred grace that spoke of both holiness and burden.
She stopped several paces away, hands folded before her chest.
"I welcome you," she said, her voice calm, resonant, and unmistakably trained for proclamation. "To the Central World of Elpis."
The guards behind her lowered their spears in unison, armor gleaming as they knelt.
The boy felt it then—a pressure, subtle but present, pressing against his senses. Not force. Not hostility.
Authority.
"I am Sora von Luminous," the girl continued, her gaze passing briefly over the brown-haired boy before settling on him. "The Saintess chosen by this land."
She inclined her head—formally, respectfully.
"You have been summoned from another world."
The brown-haired boy sucked in a sharp breath.
"S-Summoned…?" His voice trembled. "Another world?"
The white-haired boy mirrored the reaction a heartbeat later, allowing his eyes to widen, his posture to stiffen. Confusion flickered across his expression, carefully measured, perfectly placed.
"…This isn't a joke, is it?" he asked quietly.
Sora's blue eyes softened.
"No," she replied. "It is not."
Behind her, the royal guards remained still—silent sentinels sealing the moment into place.
And somewhere deep within the boy's dark red gaze, beneath the mask of a bewildered high schooler, understanding settled in with chilling clarity.
This was not an accident.
And whatever had brought him here had done so with purpose.