I Woke Up In A Completely Different World!

I was just waking up when I realized that Madelyn was resting her head on my lap, deep in her slumber. I let her rest, we had been sharing stories of our pasts. Though, she didn"t want to talk about her high school days, she did talk about college and work.

Lilith disappears into the kitchen and quickly returns with a gla.s.s of water.

Lilith: "Did you know, having someone sleep so close to another person is usually a sign of trust?"

She whispered.

Does she even trust me? She"s been hanging around but that could be because of the others. It could be as simple as me becoming an unwilling pillow.

Steven: "Does she? I think she would"ve ran away if it weren"t for you all."

Lilith: "Don"t be like that, you"re a good leader."

I"m not a leader in the slightest bit. That t.i.tle seems more fitting to Young Mi. Then again, does the group even have a leader? We only act when we all agree on it. At least, that"s how I see it.

Steven: "I"m not a leader."

We were silenced when Madelyn turned in her sleep. She was now resting on her side and my right arm which I raised, finds it resting on her hip.

Steven: "Just let her rest."

Lilith smiles, and sits on her knees in front of me.

Lilith: "Actually, I wanted to know if the 2 of you wanted to explore the island."

Steven: "Right now?"

Lilith: "Yes."

I"m curious about the secrets hidden in Sefre, but I can"t move around too much if I"m injured. It"s not like I don"t want to or anything. Besides, I was out for a whole month and they never explored it themselves?

Steven: "Didn"t you explore it when I was out?"

Lilith: "No, we were stuck in Mageia Tower."

Geez, I haven"t seen Mageia Tower myself but I"m becoming more and more curious about it. I"m all for it but I"m currently stuck with a girl sleeping on me.

Steven: "Madelyn…"

I nudged her gently and she begins mumbling while half-asleep.

Madelyn: "Mm~ just a few more minutes…"

Steven: "Hey, Madelyn, hey~, come on."

Lilith: "We"re going to explore Sefre, do you want to come?"

Madelyn stretches fully and slowly sits up on the couch. I was kind of starting to feel bad, she looked like she was having a really good sleep when we woke her.

Madelyn: "Ahh~ what… it"s so early too."

Steven: "Come on, sleeping beauty, it"ll be fun."

Madelyn: "Where are you going?"

Steven: "To explore the island."

Madelyn: "Okay, I"ll get dressed."

Madelyn disappears into her room and I"m left with Lilith. It was quiet for a while because there wasn"t anything to say. I essentially had to force myself to feel natural.

Steven: "Well, where do you want to go first?"

Lilith: "Let"s check out Solidarity Spire."

Not a bad start for me, it"s close by. Lilith started to act a bit off from what I know and she looks around the room before looking me in the eye.

Lilith: "Could I ask you a question? And be honest."

Steven: "Go ahead."

Lilith: "Do you truly forgive me?"

Steven: "Well…"

That"s a tough one. This isn"t some Bao situation where we just come to a mutual respect for each other. This is someone that nearly killed me more than once. Though, she"s not the one that got me killed in the end.

I just didn"t know her then…

I have to be better than this and not let my emotions get the best of me. If this is a new life I"ve been given, I don"t want to let it spoil in a pit of bitter and pettiness; justifiable or not.

Steven: "Yes."

Lilith: "Really?"

Steven: "You did save me from your sister Huian"s curse."

Lilith drops her head and starts twiddling her thumbs.

Steven: "Are you alright?"

Lilith: "There"s… something…"

She stammered before Madelyn walks in and cuts her off. She essentially stormed into the living room.

Madelyn: "No, Lilith… come here for a minute."

Madelyn takes Lilith into the kitchen and they start whispering at each other. It was difficult to make out what they were saying and I became very curious because it was pretty sudden that they became stealthy.

Seriously, was it something I did again?

…

(Madelyn"s POV)

Lilith: "I have to tell him, Madelyn."

Madelyn: "He"s not ready yet. How do you think he"ll react when you say "oh, by the way, I killed your friends?"

Lilith: "I… he needs to know the truth, I"m supposed to make things right even if it means…"

Madelyn: "But now"s not the time, Lilith."

Annoyed, Lilith crosses her arms and pouts.

Lilith: "Why do you care?"

Madelyn: "Because you idiots are my friends! And I don"t want to see either of you fighting."

This has been ongoing for some time. Lilith wants to be completely transparent and admit to Steven that his "Earth friends" are actually dead by her hand.

I understand why she wants to tell him but the problem is that there"s no easy way to do it. Then again, is there anyway that makes telling the deaths of your friends any easier?

Madelyn: "Don"t tell him yet, understand?"

Lilith: "Yes…"

…

(Steven"s POV)

Steven: "Oh, are you 2 done? What was that about?"

Madelyn: "Girl talk."

Her answer was sudden and serious. It made me believe the opposite and more concerned that it involved me somehow. I don"t know what I"m doing, but I can"t apologize or fix anything if they don"t communicate.

Steven: "…Right…"

Well, it"s not my problem then…

Madelyn: "Alright, are we all ready?"

Steven: "Let me get my coat."

We stepped out into the island when the sun was barely rising and continued down the road. At Solidarity Spire, there really isn"t anything interesting except for the Spire.

Madelyn looked into the trees, curiously drawn.

Steven: "See something?"

Madelyn: "How far in this forest can we go?"

Steven: "It"s an island, so not far? Let"s find out."

Madelyn takes lead and we head deep into the forest. It didn"t bother any of us over the possibility of getting lost. In fact, I believe in the off chance that we do, we could simply keep going until we"re on the other side and circle around the beach until we find the Spire again.

Madelyn: "Oh, look a river!"

We walk down a tiny hill and see water running down to our left, around some small rocks, and disappears when it goes closer to the beach. There was a small wooden bridge that arched over it and I walked on it with Lilith to see the full extent of the river.

Steven: "A river on an island? Is that possible?"

Lilith: "Uh, this is more of a rocky stream, you guys."

This certainly doesn"t look small enough nor is it big; maybe she"s right. I laughed at my own ignorance and Madelyn tried playing it off.

Madelyn: "I knew that."

Steven: "It looks like it heads all the way to the ocean."
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Lilith: "Let"s follow it to the source."

We cross the bridge and go up the stream. It wasn"t long until we found a pond with a small artificial waterfall. It looked so much like a garden and there were a few benches around where I sat.

Lilith: "This has to be a kind of botanic garden!"

Steven: "It"s beautiful."

Lilith: "It is!"

There were ducks that walked up to me, probably thinking I was going to give them food. They were friendly, which was unusual for the kinds of ducks I"ve known. They"d run when I got close to them, but these ones act really familiar with me.

Madelyn sat down next to me and we both see 2 separate groups of turtles. One was coming out from the water and the others were jumping in. This pond is pretty diverse with the wildlife.

I"ve never felt this relaxed in a while. Not since I was with Kanna in Everhand. I"m flooded with memories of our time together. I miss my master, it"s only been 2 months and it feels like it"s been years.

Madelyn: "Steven? Why are you looking so sentimental?"

Steven: "Am I still dead and have ascended into heaven?"

I jested.

Madelyn: "If you were dead: would you feel this?"

She pinched my forearm and twists her fingers sending me through a burst of pain.

Steven: "Ah-ow!"

Madelyn: "Pfft, ahaha~!"

I raised my hand in a threatening manner only to have Madelyn do the same but with a smile. She then reached for my hand and puts her weight on it, keeping me from lifting it back up.

Maybe the pond was also keeping Madelyn in a good mood. I"ve never seen her be so playful!

Lilith: "Hey, is that Mei? I thought she left!"

Lilith points in her direction, and we all look. It was her, but not the one they were thinking of. Mei"s doppelganger was sitting on a bench across the pond and looked both lost and sad as she stared into the water.

Steven: "That"s not her, that"s her doppelganger."

Madelyn lets my arm go.

Lilith: "Really? She looks so much like her!"

Steven: "Let"s go say hi."

As I was about to move to her, Lilith tugs on my shirt.

Lilith: "Is she trustworthy?"

Steven: "Hm, no? She did help me in a fight, so I can"t completely go against her. You"ll cover me if something happens?"

Madelyn: "Well, if it"s so much of an issue, we can watch from a distance."

I nodded.

The girls hide behind a tree and I nonchalantly walk up to the doppelganger. She didn"t appear to notice me and I could see a bag of items next to her on the bench.

Steven: "h.e.l.lo."

Odd-looking Mei: "Steven, you"re really alive?"

Her eyes widen with the sudden revelation.

Steven: "No… well, yes? They brought me back as a Wight."

Odd-looking Mei: "You don"t look like one."

Steven: "Neither do you..."

My only evidence was my arm being in the sling, which I tried moving but really couldn"t. It was like my arm was numbed on purpose to keep me from using it.

Odd-looking Mei: "I"m sorry…"

Steven: "I don"t blame you."

Odd-looking Mei: "But, your arm."

Steven: "If my arm worries you, could you use healing magic?"

Odd-looking Mei: "No, your arm was numbed with magic for a reason. Let it heal."

Lilith and Madelyn walk up behind me, seeing her as less of a potential threat. The doppelganger immediately recognizes Lilith and calls her by name.

Odd-looking Mei: "Lilith?"

Lilith: "I… that"s me."

Madelyn: "You look like Mei. So… you"re the doppelganger?"

Odd-looking Mei: "Who… are you?"

Madelyn: "I"m Madelyn."

Odd-looking Mei: "You"re Madelyn King? You look so different than what I remembered."

Madelyn takes a small step back and hides behind me, uncomfortable with how familiar the doppelganger is behaving towards her.

Madelyn: "I never met you before."

Odd-looking Mei: "I understand… I"m not the same Mei you are familiar with."

I don"t see her as a threat as the others do, she did help me in a sense. So in an attempt to make her appear as less of a threat, I go ahead and pat her head. It seemed to have worked, for Lilith at least, as she stood close enough to be at her side.

Steven: "See? She"s harmless."

Lilith: "Alright, but her name though. It"s weird calling her by my sister"s name."

Steven: "Well, what do we do?"

Odd-looking Mei: "You can… you can call me Rayna."

Steven: "Rayna?"

(Odd-looking Mei is now Rayna.)

Rayna: "Yes, it"s a name I used before."

Rayna seemed like an odd choice. I never would"ve a.s.sociated the name with a redhead. Either way, I can"t argue with it.

Steven: "Can you tell me why you"re so glum, Rayna?"

Rayna: "Because… I haven"t had the privilege of something going well on my own terms for a while."

That"s something I can relate to.

Steven: "You and me both."

Lilith: "Rayna… what brings you here?"

Madelyn becomes a little less concerned about Rayna and sits next to Lilith on the bench.

Rayna: "My husband…"

Lilith: "Husband? Where is he?"

Rayna: "Right here."

She grabs my hand has me caress her cheek. I was immediately put off by and wanted to back away, but I was stunned by her calling me her husband. Me, a husband? I never saw it as a possibility. Older women might be my kink but this is pushing it.

Rayna: "I have your things right here."

Steven: "My things?"

Rayna: "Well, yes, minus the armor. They confiscated it. Master Isaac allowed me to do so; I wanted to bring it to you. But, I was worried if you were still asleep, so I chose to wait a while."

Rayna really did have all my things, like my money and journal before I left Shouyi. Even the pocket watch was in here, still ticking away. It was reading 06:46, close to when everyone else should wake up at; which is at 7.

The watch had to be enchanted to still be ticking for this long.

At the bottom was what really drew me in.

Steven: "Look it"s the sword!"

I drew the sword from its sheath and inspected it. There were no kinks or cracks anywhere from my last fight. Someone also must"ve cleaned it because there wasn"t any stains of blood or dirt. I gave it a few extra swings to make sure nothing fell loose before sheathing it and putting it back down.

Lilith: "Oh, I know those swords! My family gives jians to warriors that outperform what was expected of them."

Rayna: "I remember that… you really impressed me. It"s not common to find someone that could poison a corrupt government official so easily."

Steven: "Eh, could you not say that, please? I don"t want people thinking I"m a murderer."

It"s really odd hearing her be so familiar with things like she was just there. I guess I should be used to it because hearing gossip from Yuuna was pretty much the norm. She had loose lips herself and a habit of chatting up her customers. Because of it, I knew strangers more than I should have.

Her kind demeanor made her friends very quickly. Though, she would rather spend time with her Alchemy and her daughter; she was still popular.

Rayna: "Steven?"

Steven: "Hm? Oh, I impressed you?"

Rayna: "I can show you…"

She raises her hands and flexes her fingers.

Steven: "Your hand?"

Rayna: "I can show you our memories; it"ll be like a theatre play."

Although I"m curious about how we came to be, it is a bit intimidating to go through the memories of someone else. What if I forget my current self and become the one Rayna married? What kind of person was I even?

This is actually making me more curious than scared.

Steven: "Alright… we can do it in a few."

Lilith: "You can tell us how Steven became your husband."

Madelyn: "How would it work? You married Steven but came back in time… would he still be considered your husband?"

Steven: "Now, hold on a minute… I don"t want to be rude, or mean, but I"m not married. Never have been."

Rayna gasps, and covers her mouth. Tears streaming down her eyes over her m.u.f.fled cries. She was looking at me like I betrayed her, which made me feel a bit guilty.

Madelyn: "Ohh! Look at what you did!"

How am I the bad guy?!

Lilith: "What do we do, guys?"

Madelyn: "Don"t be sad, Rayna, I"m sure you can find that spark again."

Steven: "Look, I"m sorry… you saved my life. Or, you kept something horrible from happening. I should at least thank you for that."

Rayna slowly begins regaining her composure, and wipes away her tears.

Rayna: "Sorry… I didn"t mean to cry. It"s just… I"m stressed and hearing you talk like that… hurt me."

Steven: "Stand up, Mei, err, Rayna. We"ll go to the cabin and you"ll show me those memories "like a theatre play" and we can work from there. Would that make you happy?"

Rayna: "Yes."