Alex is standing on a bridge, overlooking the water. It's cold and dark outside, the city lights reflecting on the river below. He glances at his left hand, staring at his wedding ring.
He blinks once, and when his eyes open again, he's freefalling from the sky.
It is day again and the world below him is filled with greenery, unlike the bustling city nights of Shibuya, yet despite the sudden change Alex's face remained the same calm it always was.
He spreads out his limbs and clothes as much as possible to slow down his fall.
Once he got closer to the ground he switched to falling feet first, thinking "I will break my legs but at least I might survive".
As he hits the ground there is no impact, as if he was never falling at all.
When he landed all his clothes seamlessly changed into simpler robes resembling medieval times, his ring and all his possessions disappearing In the process.
Alex pats his pockets only to find them empty, then lifts his head up to look around him. He is standing atop of a hill surrounded by green meadows, a distant forest covered in orange beyond it and somewhere in between is what appears to be a human settlement.
The air was crisp and the sunlight just gentle enough, the air slowly fluttering the grass around him.
For Alex who had spent most of his life in Europe this all felt like a familiar sight, yet he could feel a weightless pressure around him, like he was being smothered by water yet still able to move freely.
He sat on the ground trying to comprehend what just happened, running his hands through the grass.
He closed his eyes for a moment, opening them shortly after and finding himself once again in a different place.
Before him stretched out an endless, completely still and clear blue ocean, the sky and clouds perfectly reflecting off the water like a mirror.
Somewhere in that vast dimension shone a sun, gently glistening onto the expanse below. It was breathtaking, yet completely empty.
The only thing to break up the horizon was Alex himself and a small shrine right in front of him.
The shrine was enclosed by 4 white gates on either side, connecting to a canopy above. In the middle of them hung talismans and charms, yet the shrine itself was completely empty besides a statue of a Qilin.
Surrounding the shrine were 8 totems with 2 bells on top of them, slowly jingling in the wind.
Alex stood on the water, not sinking, a deep calm washing over him. The ocean felt like solid ground, though his steps still created ripples that spread across the deep blue below.
Alex walked closer and stood before the altar, looking down at the reflection cast by the structure.
Through the reflection he could see another person standing there on the other side, in place of the Qilin statue, only visible through the mirror cast by the water.
This person looked exactly like Alex, yet his eyes and mouth were set ablaze in blue flames. It sat there cross legged, staring up at nothing. His white hair stood up like more fire, undulating with the wind.
"Hey Laplace, did you send me here? I wanna go back to Japan." Said Alex calmly. The Man in the reflection did not move to respond, yet the information he was trying to convey somehow spawned inside Alex's mind
"It was not I who sent you here, and it is not me who may send you back."
Alex stood there a little longer, looking deflected. "Hmmm, I see, but yeah, I guess if you had wanted to you'd have already done so."
He closed his eyes again, waking back on top of the hill he was on before.
"Laplace won't tell me, so I guess I gotta go find out for myself"
he thought, beginning his trek toward the village in the distance.
Walking into town he says it looks like medieval Europe for the most part, though it looks more properly built and well maintained than the records he'd read of such times.
He tries to talk to one of the people passing by and is surprised they speak in English, at least it felt like so.
His mouth was moving in a different manner but the same words he intended to speak came out.
He hears a commotion from a nearby building, a noise he was all too familiar with.
He enters and sees the nostalgic view of a restaurant, or to be more precise a busy inn. Alex walks up to the counter and asks if they're in need of some more help.
A big Burly man comes up to the counter, proclaiming he's the boss here in this place and asks him what he needs.
Alex responds saying he'd like to work here, stating he has 5 years experience working in restaurants. The Boss asks where that was, to which Alex replies it was in Shibuya, in a restaurant called Wok Dragon.
The boss scratches his head for a second, confused, saying he's never heard of that place, to which Alex responds that it is a far away place East.
The boss affirms it isn't that big of an issue but they don't have a lot of time to decide now cause they're busy dealing with customers, so he said they'll need a quick test.
"Here, that corner is empty, go make something good while we work on the other orders." Orders the Boss before going back to cooking. Still, with his back turned he yelled out: "Don't mess up any of my good knives or I'm cooking you next!"
Alex doesn't have his usual ingredients but good food can be done with anything.
He made seared pork chop with mashed potatoes and a pan sauce. There is no wrong way to cook that, so even if their tastes differ they couldn't possibly complain.
"Edna we need 3 more specials for table 5, get to them soon! Alaster how much longer for those stews I told you about earlier?" Yelled the boss from across the kitchen. "I haven't gotten to them yet, I was busy with the porridge." Alaster answered.
Alex sat there with his finished meal watching this unfold, thinking it'll grow cold before they can taste it, yet as he observed the rest of the kitchen work he was reminded of the fact that inside kitchens it is not one singular moment that defines your worth, but rather your consistent effort.
Alex's face calmed down even further as he sat deep in thought:
"What can I help with while not getting in the way? That red headed girl there is doing something I don't know anything about, the boss is serving customers up front and I don't know what to help with there, meaning the one I can best help now is the blue haired guy in the corner."
He thought, dashing between the furniture.
"You just start the next thing you need to work on, I'll be here to watch these pots."
Proclaimed Alex as he touched the blue haired man on the shoulder. Alaster hesitated for a second, debating if he should let him help.
"Ahh what does it matter?! It's too simple for him to mess this up"
he thought, telling Alex he'll trust him for now. Alaster jogged over to a second wood stove, lighting the wood underneath with a flick of his hand, Alex thinking he's gotta ask about the magic after this.
The day marched forward, Alex helping with whatever he could along the way, eventually though, things slowed down enough for everyone to catch a breather, completely forgetting all about the meal Alex had made.
Edna leaned back in her chair and sighed, thankful the rush was over. Alex yawned heavily, stretching his shoulders far beyond where normal people are able to.
He then spoke up, asking if they're still gonna eat the food he made earlier, saying it's gone way cold by now.
The Boss came up to the plate, grabbing it with one hand and holding his other hand just above it, the sauce melting back down and the smells reappearing.
As he laid it back onto the table he grabbed forks and spoons for everyone and sat down himself.
"Alright well, it's cooled and we had to reheat it but it's still good I bet."
Said the boss, urging everyone to go take a piece, pointing at Alex;
"You also"
Alex faced turned into slight disgust as he took his first bite, yet everyone else seemed to love it. "Whoah how'd you get the potatoes so fluffy?"
said Alaster, stuffing his face.
"Try pushing them through a sieve instead of just mashing them outright, and consider adding lots of butter and milk, way more than you think is appropriate at least."
Responded Alex, eating very quickly.
He got up to finish whatever cleaning had to be done, keeping himself very busy. "Hey come sit down, did you even eat? Let's take a break for now" said the boss.
"Yeah, I eat fast, and I'm not tired enough to need a break."
responded Alex, frantically wiping down every surface. He dashed around, cleaning up whatever he could, taking out pots and pans to clean under them aswell as clearing out shelves to do the same to them.
Edna and the others sat there with confused looks on their faces, The Boss standing up and stopping Alex
"We've already cleaned that part and all the customers left for today, you can calm down a little now."
Alex stared blankly at the boss, not saying anything.
"You got the job, you don't gotta worry so much, so go sit down with us and once we're all rested up we'll finish whatever we need to finish, ok?"
Said the boss in a calm voice. Alex has a few more moments of silence before he rubs his hands against his face, calming himself ever so slightly. "Do you need a place to stay? As long as you work here you can stay in one of the rooms above. Alaster, show him the way."
Alex followed Alaster up the stairs and into a room with a single bed and a desk, the floorboards creaking as they went in.
"Here's the key to the room, if you need anything just ask Mr. Carmin, he also stays at the inn overnight."
Said Alaster in a gentle voice.
"Who is Mr. Carmin?"
asked Alex.
"Oh he's the boss, but it's tiring to call him boss all day right? We're gonna drink a little downstairs if you wanna join us."
"I don't drink"
"… I see, well…good night then."