[Kuzon's Story]
*
Kuzon could have sworn he was just right beside Ana a few seconds earlier.
And then Legris Damien used that strange Spell. It blinded him, and then he felt his body being carried somewhere beyond his will.
It was too late to resist by the time he knew what was happening.
'What is going on?!' He thought to himself, feeling drawn into something.
Something completely different.
*
*.
*
"Where am I?"
Standing on a very dry patch of land, I looked around me and saw no one else.
It was a land devoid of life, light, or much hope. The clouds were dim, like it was about to rain, but the air around wasn't cool in the slightest.
Kuzon wasn't concerned about any of those details, though.
His thoughts were fixated on something else.
The wasteland was empty, with no one in sight in his nearby vicinity. Perhaps things would be different if he used Magic, but...
'Something is strange here. The frequency, maybe? I can tell... I don't belong here.' His thoughts echoed within him.
That, of course, meant he had to leave. However, to do that, it was necessary to deciphered where 'here' was, and how to get out.
Still standing in the wasteland, Kuzon began to mull over all that was going on.
'Based on this feeling alone, and the extremely stale particles in the air, this isn't the world I'm used to. Plus, there's currently no place on our planet that has this kind of setting...'
Could this be another planet? It was likely so. It could also be something that Kuzon feared more than the former.
'Is this a different dimension? Damn...' He had experienced his fair share of alternate dimensions, so he understood to an extent.
"Is this perhaps related to that voice I heard before gaining consciousness here?"
Before appearing in this world, he had heard Neron's voice. It told him a simple message;
~Try your hardest. Win 'his' approval. Everyone is counting on you!~
Did Legris really transport everyone to separate realities? And was Neron relying on him to help the others?
'This is complicated, but I think I get the picture.' In all things, Kuzon chose calmness over any other expression.
It was much better to reason one's situation as objectively as possible... even though they were going crazy within.
'Ana... everyone...' His face darkened and he clenched his fist. His heart was racing faster than he could control, a sigh of anxiety, but he did his best to maintain a stable front.
'Whose approval do I have to gain, based on the message?'
Neron was very intelligent and meticulous. Kuzon already knew this. If he said something like this, then it had have some merit to consider.
'That must mean there should be a civilization nearby. Alright then...' Neron's eyes slowly turned golden as his golden energy leaked from out of his body.
"I've been putting off the use of Magic in this world, but let's see how it goes."
Unsurprisingly, it worked just as well. His senses began to spread out from behind his position, passing through miles in the wasteland, and beyond the continent he stood on.
However, still maintaining his desire to reach the closest civilization, Kuzon focused his attention on a cluster he sensed with his Sensory Magic.
"I've found it. A nearby civilization!" A smile formed on his face and he halted his enhanced search.
'I'll talk to the people there. Hopefully, the person Neron wants me to impress or whatever is there.'
Even if they weren't, he would gain the information he needed for the current world he was in.
He still had no idea where he was, after all.
"I have to go home as soon as possible. I'm sure the others are working on other things on their end too. Since they're counting on me... I can't fail." And with a daring smile, he began his journey.
'Wait for me, Ana!'
*
*
*
>FWUSH<
All it really took was one teleportation Spell, and Kuzon was already at the outskirts of the village before him.
He decided to put aside the formal attire he wore for the wedding and instead put on a hooded robe that made him seem like a traveler.
'I shouldn't put on the hood. I'm not here to raise suspicion, after all.' If he showed his friendly face around, he was sure more than a few would be inclined to answer his question.
'Still... this place....'
Kuzon's eyes took in the sight in front of him. Greeting his presence was a settlement that could hardly be qualified as a civilization.
Tents littered his sight, and other than the two ascending poles and the connected signpost that marked the start of the town, there was really no line of separation, or walls that properly covered the place.
It was a bare land, filled with tents and people going about their businesses.
'How many are they? Ah, I see. Almost a hundred thousand, huh?'
They were quite a lot, considering the kind of treatment they were receiving, why would they choose to remain in such a place?
'That doesn't matter for my purposes, though. I should hurry.'
The moment Kuzon took a step past the poles and signpost, venturing into the primitive society in front of him, he was instantly greeted with stares from the people who were going about their business.
'Ah, is it strange for them to have visitors?' He pondered.
However, before he could think too far on the issue, he saw the faces of the denizens slowly warp.
Their eyes turned bloodshot, their bodies trembled, and they instantly jerked away from what they were doing.
'H-huh...?' Kuzon thought to himself.
Before he realized it, the several thousand people in the community were already gathering together, all having the same expression of mixed fear and reverence.
Right before his very eyes, these people—both the grown men and women, as well as the younger ones—all bowed before him.
Their impoverished attires were stained by the dirt of the ground, but it seemed they were hardly concerned at all.
Beads of sweat formed on their faces, and nervous reactions pervaded the ever-growing number of bowing people.
"W-we greet you, and welcome you to our worthless community..."
They really were frightened of him. Kuzon could see it on their faces—in their tired-looking eyes.
But why?
"P-p-please spare the lives of your worthless servants and show us mercy. We are willing to do anything, o' Supreme Midas."
Hearing and seeing all of these, feeling the unexpected rush of devotion and attention from.allmof these people, Kuzon was dumbfounded.
For a second, he became completely blank.
'... What the hell is going on here?!'
*
*
*
[A/N]
I personally prefer this Kuzon's Story to that of Jared's. I'm not sure of you'll feel the same when reading, but I can guarantee it's just as interesting, at the very least.
I'll also try to make it as short as possible.
Thanks for reading.