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The City of Xinmae

Aizen crested the final flight of stairs, stopped to breathe for a moment, and looked up at the fifty-foot tall arched portal. Visions of a world unlike his own swirled among the endless abyss  colour. He thought back to the meeting that he had been summoned to not the day before last.

"Aizen, you are among the few whose names are imprinted upon a portal, it is your choice, but it seems fate has destined you to a world other than this one. We cannot say for certain that the world you were meant to be part of is safe, but we do know that it is the right one for you."

He couldn't quite remember the man who had said that, but he knew that he had jumped at the opportunity to be taken to a different realm. His life wasn't good, after being disowned by his parents and left on the corner of a street for most of his childhood, so he thought that he might be able to start anew in this other world.

He walked up to the portal, which as he got closer, seemed to beat like a heart, sending out waves of force that he could walk through, but the trees and grass on the island had to resist the force of. He placed his hand on the portals swirling surface, watching the mixture of purples, blues and reds swirl with images of tall mountains with cherry blossom trees that seemed to stretch into the sky for miles, and images of people in oriental style clothes, yukatas and kimonos walking around the streets of what looked like a desolate village, but seemed to change in front of his eyes to a majestic cityscape, with statues of jade dragons and tall buildings that led the eye to a large, castle that had countless towers and peaks that seemed to defy the laws of gravity and floated around the castle like a halo of towers.

He felt the urge to move closer to the portal and that he did, soon after getting sucked into the portal, landing outside the majestic city, on a beaten path that stretched as far as the eye could see away from the city.

"Hail, visitor. Stop right there, state your name, place of origin and purpose for coming to the great city of Xinmae," Came a booming voice from on of the towers that stood guard at the gates.

"Uhh, Aizen Bai, Earth, I came because this realm is supposedly the one I was supposed to be born into, but I was not," Aizen said, and then he heard the sounds of footsteps running down stairs. One of the doors on the side of the towers opened and a man dressed in breastplate armour with a curved sword by his side in its ornate sheath.

"There was a prophecy, that one who was born into the wrong realm would find himself in his true home, and that his true father would be distraught until he came. I am guessing that you a the person mentioned in the prophecy," The man said.

"I guess," Aizen said, a bit intimidated by the aura of power and strength the armoured man gave off.

"Well then, I think we finally have found the king's son," The man said, before nodding his head in respect to Aizen.

"What? No, there is no way I am a prince in any respect," he said, shaking his head violently, chuckling out of nervousness. "Really?" he continued after a short pause.

"Yes, it seems you are, as the king has been distraught for many years,  hopefully, you can stop him from feeling this way, and bring back the light that was happiness in his life."

The man walks back towards the city gates, gesturing to the two towers. Aizen hesitantly follows behind him as the gates open up, revealing a cobbled path lined with tall houses on either side. the houses look as if they could topple over at any moment, but seem supported by some form of magic. The deeper Aizen follows the man into the city, the more stable and bigger the hosues get, before they reach a large set of gates, and from what Aizen could see through and above the gates, the castle. The gates open again, and the man walks into the castle courtyard, gesturing for Aizen to follow, which he does.

The castle courtyard is full of trees whose branches twist and turn in fantastical shapes, and a path that leads towards two large arched doors, made of a turquoise coloured wood. The man walks up to the doors and knocks, a loud, resonating boom echoing throughout the courtyard. the doors open into a large room, lined with sturdy pillars that go up the full height of the room, which is close to one hundred feet. At the end of the room stands a large throune, with a man dressed in noble clothing sits. The armoured man he had followed through the city leaves, and Aizen walks in, admiring the rooms stunning architecture.

"Welcome home, son," the man sitting on the throne says, before getting up and running towards Aizen, and embracing the poor boy who looks as if he just went into a shock induced coma from the tight embrace. After a few moments, Aizen returns the hug.

"I'm home, Dad."