A Distant Reverie

Chapter 4

Suisei let out a sigh as she sat down on a nearby log. It was dark. The sun had set. The air was quiet, except for the crackling of the embers from the campfire. Carefully, she exhaled, letting her warm breath coalesce onto her frigid hands. The night was chilly. She quietly shifted herself closer to the fire as a cold breeze crawled up her spine.

Marine and Vesper was somehow fast asleep-Suisei had volunteered to take the first night watch as a courtesy towards them for saving her life.

Not like I can sleep right now anyways. She thought as she absent-mindedly gazed at the night sky. Streams of colorful starlight decorated, or clashed, against what she could only describe as a dark abyss threatening to swallow up the sky-it was a sight that didn't exist in her world. Even the constellations looked different. In the space where one would find the Big Dipper was instead a different star formation, one that resembled more of a clock than a spoon.

It really is a different world. Even though she was the one who brought up the idea earlier, she didn't really believe her own words.

" ...A different world?" She remembered Marine asking.

"A different reality. A different...dimension?" She turned towards Vesper for a better explanation.

"A different universe. I guess that would explain why our geographic knowledge didn't match up. We were both right."

"...I love to entertain the idea, but this is a bit too far-fetched, don't you think?"

"Ms. Houshou," Vesper said sternly, "If Suisei's words...no, from what you saw of this smartphone, don't you think news of its existence would have been known to the entire world?"

"...Yes. It sounds too good to be true. Like an artifact blessed by the Gods themselves."

"Right. A device that borderlines the divine, claimed to be made by human hands. That neither you, a well-voyaged pirate, nor I, a scholar of the Great Alexandria Empire, has heard of. And yet, here it is in front of us in the possession of a young lady. Tell me, does that make sense?"

Suisei smiled faintly, staring at the flickering flames. Although they were shocked at first, her sleeping companions seemed to have accepted their situation rather quickly. And yet, here she was, still partly wishing that this was a fascinating dream which she would soon awaken from. Even when she was being chased by a heinous monster from stories and fantasy, her mind refused to acknowledge reality. It wasn't until she witnessed Vesper, a person like her, conjure a mass of flames and command the earth to move with mere words and gesture, that she had to accept the truth-she had somehow ended up in another world. One where magic, miracles that defied logic and physics, existed.

Suisei reached her hands out, bringing it closer to the flames. Warmth seeped into her fingers. Curious, she brought them even closer. And closer. And closer.

Ah. She instinctively pulled her fingers back as the flames grew too hot. A sharp pain lingered at her finger tips. If this was a dream, it was oddly realistic.

Suisei glanced at her hands, staring at the small part of her skin that was partially seared. She could already hear her manager scolding her for being careless. Still, despite this abnormal sequence of events, she found herself oddly composed.

I think a normal girl would probably have cried by now? She wasn't sure, but it sounded right based on her past observations.

Aqua and Miko...they would definitely be bawling their eyes out. That was probably the normal thing to do after her near-death experience. Suisei had grown up a bit twisted however-her emotional circuitry was slightly out of tune. Or maybe it was perhaps she wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this scenario? Transmigration and reincarnation-those sorts of stories were quite popular back home.