Chapter 1: The Plains Of Tomorrow

'I won't become a perfect example of anything. Yet, it is expected of me to do so.'

Consciousness returns to Kaze, and it comes all at once. His thoughts mostly span from panic to genuine fear. All he remembers is that he fell into something. A hole, maybe even a well. Whatever it was, it was big enough so that his entire body fell through it. And now, he was laying there. In what looks like the eternal abyss of nothingness. It was black, everywhere. Nothing was meant to be here.

He did his best to try to look around. But it was useless, the only things he could see was his own body. Like it was conveniently lit up with an unknown light source. With this in mind, the male stood up slowly from his laying position, supporting himself with the strange floor he was situated on. Near or far, there was nothing but darkness. Was this limbo? Or is it the prelude to hell?

Before he can continue to ponder about where he is and what's happening, Kaze is interrupted by a sudden noise from the distance ahead of him. It sounded like... Voices, a lot of them, speaking at the same time. It felt irritable for anyone who would be anywhere near it. He could not imagine how annoying it would be to step closer or even walk forward in this void to only hear those voices.

But if he's going to get out of here, he needs to do something. He isn't going to be driven to madness, not today. Kaze would take a few steps forward from his starting position. He does his absolute best to drive out any type of contempt or fear within his mind. And he does his best to ignore the irritating noise as well. The floor below him feels like a weird marble material that's smooth and paved like concrete.

After about a minute or so of walking, Kaze could spot something in the distance. A faint light that is distinct by how everything is a void of some sort. Excited by a possible way out of here, the male went from walking to a full-blown sprint. He was completely acting out of instinct now and had no regard for whatever is on the other side of that light. It did not matter if Death himself was waiting there, he just does not want to be in this strange place anymore.

As he ran, the light from far away slowly but surely began to take form as he got closer. The light was bright enough so that he could see what's surrounding it. It looks like a few podiums that were arrayed in a straight line. And as he got closer, the voices from earlier were owly dissipating from his mind. As if the light was warding them away somehow. Well as long as they're gone, it's a pleasant thing nonetheless.

Kaze finally arrives at the source of the strange light. 4 podiums were lined up, candlelight being placed on a separate podium that was perfectly in the middle. On the first podium, a strange blade laid there with its edge facing the sky-or whatever that black ceiling is. The blade itself was a bit oversized for what looks like a broadsword. It also had multiple blue and red features along its hilt and on the blade itself. Kaze was going to take this weapon for curiosity's sake, but he wanted to check the others out first.

On the second, laid a spear that was sitting upright. It had mostly golden and silver features and designs on the handle to the pointing tip. Yet the lethal part of the weapon looked like it was made of silver. The spear looked a bit shorter than most conventional ones, However, only by about 2 to 3 inches. It would make it a bit easier to wield, a different type of advantage than more conventional ones.

On the third, was an orb was floating on the woodwork. Kaze was too afraid to touch it, or even try to interact with it. He has no idea what this thing does, and what it could do. Maybe it's a type of magic that can only be used for certain people? He didn't even want to think about it, and just moved on to the last weapon that could show up.

Last but not least, a humble crossbow laid on the last podium. The framework, however, was relatively plain compared to the other tools of war, the material that was used for its framework at least. But something was different with it's a woven string. It's glowing bright blue as if it is enchanted in some way. It has to be different from a generic version.

After analyzing all of the weapons, Kaze contemplates on which one to pick. If these are here, what purpose do they serve for whoever that stumbles upon them? But then again, there's a chance that it's a trap and that he's going to meet his untimely end sooner than he thought. But if he had to pick any of them, it had to be the sword. It might be the flashiest and probably unwieldy to use, but it looks pretty cool.

But before Kaze could finish giving his thoughts about the weapons that were before him, a supernatural force pushes him to stand before the podium that the spear was situated on. It felt as if a strong current from a river drawn him to that very position. He was confused for a moment, wondering if he did that of his own accord or if there was something else controlling him.

Kaze suddenly felt attracted to the spear, like a presence telling him to grab it. And that's exactly what he does, grabbing onto the handle of the spear with his right hand, and pulling it away from it's resting place. And as he does, he feels like it had been bound there by a type of chain.

But alas, he does not have much time to celebrate his newfound weapon. The podiums would move into a formation, surrounding the redhead. A blinding light would emerge from the area that the podiums created. And a short moment later, Kaze was gone again.

'Rebellion, that's who I am. No matter who you are or what you may be. I will destroy you if you harm me.'

The second to emerge within this world is Idaina, who does not remember how he got here. It was the same sight, seemingly endless darkness, yet he could still see his figure for some reason.

"Well, damn. I.. How..?" He muttered as he looked around frantically, his mind racing and his heart beating quickly. What was this place? A moment ago, he was just... He does not remember anything leading up to this point. He extended his arms out for his eyes to see, and he can see them perfectly fine.

"Hello?! Anybody there?!" He called out, but the sound that came out of his mouth was eventually snuffed out without even being a meter away from him. It was useless, there was no help of any kind that would come fo him now. He was on his own, in this dark world. He stands up and made a whim to suddenly just start walking forward.

"If I can't see a way out, I'll find one!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. Mainly himself, though.

He's heading in the general direction of pretty much nothing at this point and had no idea of what he was doing. Nonetheless, it's like he had a choice of any kind. But before long, he starts hearing voices. Abruptly, at that. It's like the moment he reached a certain point in the darkness, the voices started blaring in his head.

"T-The hell..?" He winced in surprise, clutching his head and trying to block out this sound. Yet this only motivated Idaina to keep moving, and faster, in that notion.

He thought of this as just a nuisance and continued walking. But as he kept going, the voices only grew louder and louder. It was pissing him off, and he wanted to get as far away from that place as possible. So, he quickened his pace into a sprint.

And not before long, he spots a strange light from afar. As he got closer the strange light began to resemble a candlelight, since it had a distinct glow. And it would flicker and move about every so often. And with hope instilled into him now, Idaina kept going. It may be his way out of here, or he's seeing things already. Whichever it is, he could not afford to care at this very moment.

Once he arrived at the source of the light, he sees what the one before had seen. Podiums lined up in a straight line, and a weapon resting on each of them. Except, one weapon was missing from the podium; probably someone has been here and took their pick.

"Someone has already been here..?" He muttered. "It's like picking a class for an RPG, huh?" He deducted with a bit of grin.

And the selection was the same, except one was already taken. Idaina could choose from a strange broadsword that eerily resembles the same weapon a certain set of characters use, a floating orb, or a crossbow that looked like from a fantasy game. A set of very familiar weapons to any fantasy setting.

Yet before he could take his pick on the weapons before him, he feels a strong force pushing him to somewhere. And that was the podium that had the first weapon resting on it. A sword that looks impressive in every sense. It's design and general presence gives off a certain aura of bravado.

Was it telling him to pick up the weapon? Or to interact with it in any way? Either way, he was very interested in the sword. It was generic to choose, yes, but it genuinely looks cool and he wants it in his immediate possession.

"Here goes nothing... Whatever God or Demon thing that's controlling me, this better not be a trap!" He exclaims as he pulls the sword from it's resting place. It took a bit of effort, considering the awkward positioning and how Idaina was only pulling it with one hand.

Once it was out of it's magical or supernatural bind, he immediately had to support it with his other hand. He misjudged its weight and quickly felt the blade dropping onto the void floor. He's never really handled a real sword like this before, and he needed to get used to it, fast.

But before he could even celebrate or feel any kind of excitement from his newfound weapon, the podiums started moving. And for a split second, his body went completely still from the shock.

"W-Wait! Did I pick the wrong weapon?! What did I do wrong?!" He practically yells from panic. Yet, he stays still.

The podiums would eventually shift into the same formation as before. And the same blinding light engulfs the wielder of the sword. And not before long, Idaina was gone as well.

------

"If I like what I see, I'll take it. If I don't, I'll leave it."

Now that Idania was gone, Sanzo took his place awakening into nothingness. A dark and empty void with nothing in it. The young lad slowly gets up on his feet and examines the nothingness around him. He quickly gains an idea of what is happening and gasps in awe. "I-Is this it? Am I finally going to a different world?" He asks himself since there is no one else there he could've asked. But then he realizes that something is missing. "Wait, if I'm going to a different world, where's the hot goddess that's supposed to greet me?"

He truly believed that there was supposed to be a goddess that was there to greet him, so he stood around and waited for someone that wasn't even there occasionally saying things such as, "Hello?" or "Pretty Goddess? Are you there?" Eventually, he concludes that instead of the goddess going to him, he has to go to her.

So he begins to slowly walk into a random direction not knowing where this leads or what lies ahead of him. He was just a total weeb who wanted to see an anime girl. Soon enough, he starts to hear voices in his head and instead of having fear instilled onto him, he felt a sense of "Coolness" believing that he was supposed to follow these voices to lead him somewhere. But instead of following these voices he ends up going further away from them when he saw a faint light in the distance.

As he walked closer and closer to the light the voices were slowly fainting and Sanzo felt as if he was doing something wrong but decides to continue following the light up ahead of him. After walking for quite a while he got close enough to see four podiums and a candlelight. Two of the podiums had nothing in them while the other two had something else. One of the podiums had a magical orb floating on top of it while the other one had the very same crossbow.

The weeb thought that he could be cool if he had picked the crossbow rather than be a mage who had to rely on "mana". He quickly reached for the crossbow while saying "Screw that magic I wanna be a cool ninja with a crossbow!" But before he could even reach or go near the weapon, he was quickly pushed back by a strange force and placed in front of the mystical orb.

"Well, that sucks. Are you sure I can't take that sweet crossbow?" He asks whatever had pushed him as he reaches for the crossbow once again. And this time, instead of getting simply pushed, his hand felt a strong force hit it downwards as if something had slapped his hand. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. "Getting hit by nothing sure hurts." He had talked for far too long so he felt a strong feeling to touch the orb.

Sanzo slowly grabbed the orb and before he could say something, he was quickly removed from the place.

'I will do my duty. Not for my own sake, but for the others around me.'

Last but not least, Mitsuna was the last to enter this realm. It was completely unchanged from the other visitors, and the layout was pretty much the same. Mitsuna would react to the whole ordeal in a jolt, quickly shuffling to his feet and looking around frantically. He swore that he was playing a video game about being a janitor a few moments before, and now, he's here.

"Where's my mop? Why is it so dark..?" He asked himself, slowly advancing through the darkness with no idea of what he's doing, or any idea of what to do in that matter. He finds himself in a strange dark realm, not having a mop in his hands, and he could not see a thing besides his body structure below.

"May as well look for my mop! I need it for whatever that can pop up here!" Mitsuna proclaims as he continued to advance through the darkness. It was a bit of an odd choice to have a cleaning tool as a motivation, but it works regardless. And like those before him that have arrived in this place, he encounters the voices that would test an individual's mettle. It was simply annoying, and Mitsuna thought so too.

Instead of going away from the voices, the aspiring janitor would instead go near the voices, or what is the source of these sounds. It may drive him insane, or simply make him go deaf from the sheer amount of noise that's being jammed into his ear every few seconds.

The voices grew louder, and so did his excitement as he saw a podium in the distance. He quickly sprints to it in curiosity, and was confused about what he saw.

A podium that was giving off a dark and somewhat sinister aura. A glow of a distinct purple or violet was radiating from the entire woodwork, and it looked creepy if a normal person would look at it. What's more interesting was resting upon the podium: a huge battleax was standing upright, it's metal and curvature was composed of a strange black metal. This looks like a rare item if anything.

The first thing Mitsuna wanted to do was pick up the polearm but had a better idea. If there was a type of God or higher being that was governing this place, what would happen if he knocks the podium over? No, he wants to try it out.

Pretending that someone or something was watching him in the meantime, he feints that he was about to grab the battleax by the handle. But as his palm was about to make contact with the handle, he repositions it to quickly shove the podium forward, enough force to knock it over outright.

Expecting to hear a loud metal thud and was about to laugh hard for 5 minutes, he clutches onto his stomach in participation. But to his disappointment, the podium and the polearm would visibly disintegrate in front of him. He tracked its movements, and it looked like it sank to the bottom of the ocean.

"Oh, that didn't wor-" He was cut off by the voices suddenly dissipating. It's like the podium he messed with was linked to the voices, and now he just got rid of them for good. Mitsuna simply shakes off this thought and continued walking forwards to any type of exit at this point.

Mitsuna would then come across light and an array of podiums in the distance. This didn't give him the same uneasy feeling as the last encounter with a podium, so he decided to investigate.

As he got closer, he noticed that his speculations were indeed correct. These woodworks were a lot more calming and normal. The male also saw that there was a crossbow that was rested upon the last podium within the lineup. If he had to guess, the other platforms had weapons or even items on them.

"This does not look like my mop. But I guess it's useful." Mitsuna shrugs as he went up to the podium that had the crossbow on it. He uses both of his hands to pick it up, feeling as if there was a type of binding that was applied as he finally sets it free.

"Well, time to get out of the-" He was cut off once again, but this time it was by the platforms that quickly surrounded Mitsuna. He tries to go in between them but quickly gets thrown back by a strong force. And as he falls back into a heap, he was already engulfed by the light.