Another world, Celeste

Prologue

Ughh.

I internally groan while moving my body to the side. It's not a good sign to wake up with a massive headache. I don't remember what happened after I blacked out on the terrace while watching the meteor shower. My effort to remember anything afterwards makes the headache even worse.

What time is it? My phone is usually right next to me. When I blindly reach out my hand to search for it, my nails feel like they're digging through dirt. Moreover, I only realise it now but the floor doesn't feel cold but slightly moist which means I'm not on the terrace and my face feels warm and there's a strong scent of lavender in the air.

My eyes flutter open to a clear blue sky. I quickly sit up to see I'm surrounded by thick trees and in the middle where I'm sitting looks to be a secluded meadow. Where am I? Did I sleepwalk from my apartment or something? No way. I live in the city. There's no forest or park nearby and I'm still wearing the clothes I wore last night - a white shirt and blue pants. I retrace my steps; yesterday was Saturday, so I stayed home doing laundry and catching up on my backlog series after a long week of tiring work. The company I'm working at recently landed a big project which means we've been working overtime and now it's finally over. For the past month, I've been too busy with work, leaving me no time in catching up on my hobbies and see what everyone else has been up to. While scrolling through social media, there are a bunch of posts about a meteor shower sighting that evening. I immediately jump out of bed to look at it. I thought it was a perfect way to celebrate on a job well done, but then my memory after that becomes fuzzy. I hadn't had anything to drink since my fridge is practically devoid of food apart from takeouts and instant food. Maybe all the build-up stress and lack of sleep have taken over me.

Ping!

My phone. I scramble my hands on the grass around me until I found it. No signal. Out of range. The screen is showing a video message from a person named Selene. I don't remember having a person with that name on my contact list. I tap the screen the see what it's about. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen is shown on the screen. Her long silver hair looks silky, it makes me want to reach out and touch it. Her flawless white skin compliments her pink ruby eyes. I've never seen anyone with eyes like that. It could be contact lenses. That's not important right now.

"Ah, ah! Hello, Natsuki. My name is Selene and I am the goddess of this world," she says.

Goddess? I must still be dreaming. Right, ha, ha. Even my fake laugh is not convincing. I think I must have watched too many fantasy series for one day that it's affecting my dream right now.

The self-claimed goddess continues, "Before I say anything else, I will clarify that you are no longer on Earth. This is another world I created. It's called Celeste." Her glowing expression suddenly changes to looking apologetic, "You see, a power rift happened and a meteor landed at where you stood back in your world and you died. I'm sorry for my negligence."

Selene, the beautiful goddess bows her head on the screen and continues her explanation, "The power rift occasionally happens to let out the excess mana being accumulated in your world where magic is not accessible. It usually occurs every few centuries or sometimes decades as a natural phenomenon, like a typhoon or a volcano eruption. This time it was a meteor shower. Somehow the energy got attracted to your soul and diverted its course to you."

My trembling hands drop the phone to my lap. I'm still in my twenties. There are still things I want to do, like travelling to the list of beautiful places worth seeing. Heck, I haven't had any romantic relationship with a man worth boasting to my future grandchildren. Now I won't have the chance to. As if to escape the truth, I try calling anyone on my contact list despite not having any signal. Nothing. Text message. It couldn't go through. Strangely enough, I can access the internet but it only lets me through a search portal site. I curse. I can't even use social media to send a direct message for help. I pinch both my cheeks and arms. It's a reflexive move and yes, I feel the pain and now both my cheeks and arms are red.

Ping!

Another video message from Selene. I reluctantly hit play.

"Natsuki, please calm down. Take a deep breath." 

Selene tries to calm my nervous state. I follow her instruction and my mind calms down a bit. 

"I'm very sorry. What happened could not be prevented and so, I brought your soul to this world instead. It's what you call a fantasy world where magic and monsters exist." 

Her apologetic face changes back to a beaming smile. "In order for you to easily adapt and live here, I boosted your status and skills so you wouldn't have to worry. As a bonus, I altered your appearance slightly once you leave the meadow. Don't worry, you will change back to how you originally looked whenever you return to this place. No one in this world has black hair and eyes like yours. You can also look forward to my presents later on. You'll like it very much."

I can't even rebuke whatever she's saying as I'm still in the middle of processing all this. If this is a fantasy world, does that mean that exists too? People with tails for legs. That would be my childhood dream coming true. I hope this world is not stuck in the medieval era stage like how it's usually written for this kind of genre.

"Oh, and one more thing," the goddess says. "An advice, the sages are the most trustworthy. When you're in trouble, seek their counsel. Well then, until the next time when an opportunity arises. Natsuki, live well."

Her last sentence, she says it with such a heart-warming face. 

I unconsciously respond to her words, "I will. Thank you, Selene."

I wobbly stand up, phone in my hand. The trees rustle and the wind once more carries the scent of lavender in the air. When I gaze at the sky, the sun is setting. The blue sky is fading to a yellow and pink hue. Just when I am about to leave this place, a shadow hovers over my head and every hair on my body immediately stands up.

I'm dead. I'm so dead.