CHAPTER 1: WORLD CONVERTER.

ARC I: DISCOVERY – Destiny And Fate

The boy then awoke in a hospital bed and the world around him seemed to have returned to normal. He sat straight-up and looked around him for a sign… any sign that what happened was real… but alas, nothing. 

"Was… that a dream? But that felt so real. Who was she? What were they?" The boy began to question what happened to him in his dream. 

His eyes rang a series of different, dark colors and his memory began to fade as he forgot what he dreamt about. The nurse arrived in the room with boy's family as their eyes began watering. 

His mother ran to him as she hugged him with her tears staining his hospital garment. 

 "Oh, Warudo, don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?!" Warudo's mother began scolding him. He sat there and looked at his father and little sister, confused as to why he was in the hospital. 

"Huh, mom? Why am I in the hospital?" Warudo asked his mother with concern brimming from his voice. They looked at him, confused as well. 

They wiped their tears as his father asked the nurse whether or not Warudo could go home. They nurse took the father outside to have a private conversation with him. They just waited for the father to return. Warudo's father returned with good news. 

"They said Warudo could come home, but we need to bring him back for inspection for a few weeks!" He said excitedly and everyone else followed, except Warudo. 

His eyes were droopy and his chest felt heavier than usual. He felt as though something was missing within his soul. 

His parents discharged him from the hospital and they made their way to the car. They got in and drove off as the car released a large roar and hummed after. 

While on their way home, he tried to remember what happened to him as he then began coughing. 

"You okay back there, Warudo?" His father asked, concerned about his son. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry about me, dad. Anyway… what happened? Why was I in the hospital? Did something happen to me?" Warudo began asking questions, hoping that their answers would correspond with his fuzzy memory and return the missing puzzle pieces within his mind. 

Eerie silence suddenly ringed in the vehicle as Warudo's parents looked at each other. His mother then began to explain. 

"Well, honey… You see, 6 nights ago, while you were sleeping, you suddenly screaming like a maniac. When we came to see what was happening, your nose, ears and mouth were running with blood. The blood was so much, too much to bear. We don't really know what happened to you. We were hoping you could answer that answer." She concluded her explanation and Warudo seemed to become even more gloomier. 

"Oh, I see." Warudo responded as they arrived at their home. 

They got out of the vehicle and made their way inside. Warudo went upstairs to his room and threw himself onto his bed. 

"What was that dream about again? I can't seem to remember anymore. Was it a dream? Because it felt more like a memory. Maybe if I sleep it'll happen again." Warudo began mumbling to himself as he fell asleep faster than a cheetah. Black was his dreams… nothing but black, until… 

"Warudo, it's me, Shiro. Warudo wake up, we're in danger! Warudo! Warudo!" A voice echoed in his head as that voice suddenly transitioned into his mother's voice waking him up for school. 

He jumped out of bed as his mother exited to prepare breakfast. He stared at his chest as his heart was racing faster than a track horse. 

"That voice… It sounds so… familiar." Warudo thought to himself as he began getting ready for school. He dressed and fixed up his hair, then washed his face and brushed his teeth and afterwards, made his way downstairs. 

He sat down at the table as his mother handed him a plate of food, 2 fried eggs with bacon and a rice cake. He stared at the food and realized that he hasn't eaten anything in 6 days. He began eating as the named hummed in his head once again. He dropped his fork unexpectedly as the name slipped through his lips: "Shiro." 

His mother then responded. 

"Oh, Shiro, that friend of yours? Yes, she was really worried about you. She went to visit you twice in the hospital, you know? Is there something going on between you two? Are you dating?" Warudo's mother teased him and giggled as she ate. 

"I don't remember." Warudo answered as his mother looked at him, confused. He then got up as he finished his breakfast and picked up his bag as he headed toward the door. 

"Well, I'm off now. See you later, Mom!" Warudo said as he headed for school. 

He walked on the sidewalk as he watched students from his school wonder off somewhere else before heading to school, even though they were late. He shook his head in disappointment. He then sighed as he remembered how tiring school really was.

School life is difficult, especially if you're a 16-year-old boy with average grades, average attributes and zero friends… or so he thought. 

A young girl, about the same age as him, bumped into him, wearing the same uniform as he was, she greeted him. 

"Hey, Warudo. Great to see you're out of the hospital and healthy again." The girl said to Warudo with an elegant, beautiful smile on her face. 

Her voice was soft like cotton and her body was slim and petite. The uniform fitted her well… unlike Warudo. Her face was like the view of the ocean around the time of the sunset… beautiful and a sight to behold. She had long, blonde hair that blew like leaves in the wind, waving through the air and a girl like her was talking to someone like him. 

But something else caught his attention… her eyes. She had large blue eyes that glowed in the reflection of the sun and those eyes reminded him of his dream. 

"Who are you?" Warudo asked her as she looked at him confused and a bit hurt by his words. 

"What do you mean? It's me, Shiro." It seemed almost as if time stood still when she answered. Those words repeated in his mind twice over: "It's me, Shiro." 

He grabbed her arm as he pushed her against the wall that was behind them.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? You were in my dream twice. You killed one of those things… the… the Soul Thieves and you saved me. What's going on? Why can't I remember anything?" Warudo began bombarding Shiro with questions. 

She just stood there against the wall, flustered and her face bloodred from the blushing. 

"Huh, can you let me… go, please?" She asked him as he looked around and people were staring at them. He quickly let go of her and apologized. 

"Look, Warudo. I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm your friend, remember? We met at the entrance ceremony at school and we started talking because our numbers were right next to each other's. Mine was 980288 and yours was 9802…" She began trying to restore his memories. 

"… 89." Warudo completed her sentence as she jumped in the air and rejoiced. 

"Yes, yes… you remember!" She shouted happily, but he was still gloomy. 

"I don't remember all of it though… Come on, let's go to school." Warudo said as he began heading toward the school. She followed behind him, cheerfully.

As you can expect, their school was colossal. It was a prestigious, pre-college high school with a million students from all across the world. Warudo and Shiro were in the same class and sat next to each other. Every male coveted Warudo for being friends with a beauty like Shiro and every female disgusted at the sight of Warudo for being a friend of such a popular, well-liked girl. 

Warudo, however, didn't really give a damn in the first place. 

At this point, he was glad that he had a friend. Unlike everyone else, Warudo didn't care about Shiro popular stature or her attractiveness. He liked her for the person she was and the fact that she cared for him. 

Their homeroom teacher walked into the class and slammed her books on her desk, silencing the class. 

"Good morning class, I am Ms. Tanaka and I shall be your new homeroom teacher. Well, as you all know, we will be starting our second term in this year and this will mean the beginning or the end for you first years, because mid-terms are coming up. I would like you all to introduce yourselves to me, so I could remember your names. I don't want a speech, just your names, okay? Stand and present yourselves whenever you're ready." Ms. Tanaka proceeded as the class began introducing themselves. Warudo watched them one by one before it was his turn, knowing when he introduced himself, someone will retaliate with a snarky remark that nobody asked for. 

He sighed as it was Shiro's turn. She raised as she proceeded to announce herself. 

"Morning, miss. My name is Shiro Ren. I am 16 years old and it is nice to meet you." Shiro presented herself smoothly as she bowed. The teacher nodded as she signaled Warudo to rise. 

Warudo stood up and sighed. 

"My name is Warudo Konbata. I am 16 years old and I am looking forward to learning from you." Warudo presented himself with a slurred, tired voice. However, unexpectedly, no remark was made. He bowed as he then took his seat.

The teacher began her lesson and 5 minutes into the lesson, Warudo heard Shiro's voice calling him once more. 

"Warudo! We need you!" The voice rang in his ear like a grenade and his head began to hurt. Nevertheless, he did not respond to the pain. He just sat there as those numbers came to him again, repeatedly. He then muttered the numbers: 980289. 

Then, suddenly… the world around him reformed. The light felt different on his skin as his eyes adjusted to it. He looked at his hands. They were his hands, but they looked and felt different, like snake scales and his lips felt dry as though he didn't have anything to drink in days. 

It was that world, but this time he felt more conscious than the last. The apocalyptic realm of the Soul Thieves and the world with her. 

"Finally, you're awake, Warudo." That girl that rescued him said as he laid in a bed. 

"Sh-Shiro?" Warudo asked, confused. 

The girl smiled as she held his hand. 

"Yeah, it's me, Warudo." She replied, smiling with tears forming in her eyes, but she held them back. 

He stared at her, amazed, because this Shiro was different from his world's Shiro. She had short, black hair and her body seemed more muscular. 

She rubbed her eyes and realized that she needed him for something. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed. She then began leading him out of the room as they found themselves outside. 

"Come on, the leaders want to discuss matters again." She said as she walked on, her facial expression suddenly seemed more serious. 

"The leaders?" Warudo questioned, confused once more at what's happening to him. 

"The S.T.R.A.T. Leaders. You know, those group of people who think they own humankind now. I don't get why they hate you so much though." Shiro said as they came upon an advanced skyscraper, a building so tall you couldn't see the top and with technology so innovative, it made his world's tech look sloppy and backwards. 

Shiro said the code once again as the door opened for them. They walked inside. Everybody within the building began staring at Warudo and the whispers among them sounded audible to him as though he was right there in the conversation. 

"Hey, Shiro? Do I have like… superpowers?" Warudo asked due to his confusion. 

"Well, yeah. You are our only hope against the Soul Thieves after all. You have super hearing; space permeation and another power you said you couldn't explain to us yet. You were always an ambiguous guy, hehe." Shiro replied to his question as she giggled and they came upon a circular device in the ground. 

Shiro began typing in something as she instructed Warudo to stand within the circle. 

"Another question… Why is everyone staring at me?" Warudo questioned as the people still stood there staring at him. Shiro entered the circle and stood next to Warudo. 

"Weird, it seems as though you lost your memory, but they'll figure it out. They are staring at you because you lost against a Soul Thief for the first time and you were unconscious for 6 days." Shiro answered Warudo's question and his eyes widened. 

Six days here as well. It began seeming like a theme to him. 

"980289" Shiro said as the circular device transported them to an office.

"So, he finally woke up, huh?" One voice said whilst sitting in an office chair.

"So, did he talk yet?" Another said at a coffee table whilst pouring himself a cup.

"I hope he did for your sake, Shiro." A female voice said, sitting an office chair as well.

"Well, I brought him here so you could ask him those ridiculous questions." Shiro responded angrily as the one getting coffee went back to his chair.

"Who are you and why am I here? What is this about?" Warudo said confidently without fear. The people in the chair look at each other in disbelief.

"So, he lost his memories? Well, Konbata… We are the Soul Thief Resistance Agency and Technicians. We specialize in wiping out the Soul Thieves from our world and you, K-8D7, used to work for us, until you went solo. You were here to answer some of our questions, but alas, you seem to be useless once more." The female voice answered Warudo's questions.

"Nevertheless, can you tell us what you experienced? I have a hunch something is wrong here." The one drinking coffee asked Warudo as he sipped on his drink.

"Well, all I know is one moment I'm in the normal world and went to sleep and the next moment, I was dreaming that I was about to get eaten by a Soul Thief when Shiro rescued me and then, I was back in the real world again. Then, I said those numbers Shiro said and I was here again in a bed. I don't know what the hell is going on here." Warudo answered the man as they all looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Maybe, this was the ability K-8D7 was talking about." The other man gestured as a discussion began amongst them. 

Shiro looked at Warudo, surprised mostly at what he just said. After the discussion, the three of them decided to introduce themselves.

"Well, in that case, I think we should present ourselves. I am Haruno Nishida and I am one of the founders and chairmen of S.T.R.A.T. We first met two years ago in a fight with three Soul Thieves. We almost lost our lives that day and that is the day I decided to create this agency. I asked you to join the board, but you rejected me." The female chairman introduced herself as the one drinking coffee followed her example.

"I am Saru Gorei, second chairman of S.T.R.A.T. We only met about 7 or 8 months ago and you made one hell of an impression. You held a sword to my neck and threatened me. However, that's all in the past, Konbata." He said as he sipped on his coffee again. The third one rose to introduce himself.

"My name is Furata Yoshimura, the third chairman of the Soul Thieves Resistance Agency and Technicians. I am also the Head of Defense and Arms, the division Nishida wanted to give you because of your knowledge of weapons and Soul Thieves. We only met two weeks ago." He said as he then took his seat.

"Hey, Shiro… I think we should go now." Warudo spoke as he turned around, standing in the circle. Shiro looked at him concerned as she also turned around.

"Okay, Chairmen... I hope we never see each other again." Shiro said her goodbyes to the chairmen as they grinned and scoffed at her.

"980289" Shiro spoke as the device transported them back down. 

Warudo began walking out with a face of anger and decisiveness. His face was shadowy and Shiro seemed a bit freaked out.

"I have to go, Shiro. I'll be back in three days, okay? I remembered something and I have to go figure it out." Warudo said with that same face, however, Shiro had seen that face before. She just nodded as they left the building and came upon the building where he woke up.

"Can you carry me to the bed?" Warudo asked of Shiro. She began laughing.

"I'm not that helpless, frail girl from 2 years ago, Waru. I mean just look at these muscles." Shiro spoke with a smile and confidence whilst tapping her bicep with her hand. Warudo chuckled as he sat down next to the elevator.

"I think I figured out what's going on, but I have to find out what all the messed-up puzzles mean. I'll see you soon, okay?" Warudo explained as he closed his eyes. Shiro looked at him and smiled as she bent down on one knee and rubbed his head. 

He then opened his eyes to see what the matter was, as Shiro's lips pressed against his. In that moment, it felt as if his heart melted like ice in her palm and several memories of them together raced through his mind. In that moment, he felt… love before she pulled away.

"Good luck, Waru." She said as he sat there, stunned. His mind returned to him as he uttered the numbers.

"980289" As he ended those numbers, he returned to his world in his bed and as his vision returned to him, a voice said something to him…

"We're not dead… we're with you, Warudo. Don't screw this up. You're the last one." The voice said as Warudo suddenly jumped out of his bed and this world's Shiro sat on a chair looking at him. She smiled and hugged him as he laid on the ground.

"You're awake. Stop scaring us like this." Shiro said as she almost began crying. Warudo wrapped his arms around her as he realized what's been happening.

"Shiro, I have to tell you something, but can you promise me that you won't think I'm crazy or tell anyone?" Warudo asked of Shiro as they both released the hug simultaneously. Shiro nodded as Warudo stood up and sat on his bed. He began explaining everything to Shiro.

"I have been travelling to a different world and I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. This world… it's like ours, but twelve times different at the same time. You were there, but you had black hair and you seemed more muscular. What I think happened was, the me from that world died and my soul shifted to his body. In that world, there are these things called Soul Thieves. They supposedly steal the souls of humans and eat their bodies afterward. They can take the forms of humans and blend into what is left of society. When I came back just now, I heard a voice and I think that it was me from that world. He said that they're not dead and that I'm not alone. Also, that I'm the last one. That world is broken, Shiro and for some reason I feel like I'm the only one that can fix such a dystopia… like it's my destiny or fate, if you believe in that type of thing, which you probably don't." Warudo explained to Shiro. She was in scepticism.

"Well, that kinda sounds a bit to hard to believe, don't you think? How do expect me to believe you, Waru?" Shiro questioned, suspicious of Warudo's explanation. 

Warudo sighed as he lifted his right hand to the side and it seemed as though he pushed it through reality itself. It was as if his hand disappeared into thin air and ripples surrounded it. 

His hand and half of his forearm pierced through space itself and reached into a different place, a different country, city or even a different world. Silence entered the room as they stared at each other. Shiro's eyes shrank as she stepped back and her jaw expanded. She began breathing faster and faster through her mouth as Warudo pulled a fish out of the ripples as the air reverted back to its normal state.

"Wh-Wha… Wh-Where? H-How? WHAT…!!" Shiro almost screamed in fear of what she just witnessed. Warudo then quickly jumped and pushed her against the wall as he closed her mouth.

"Shh… Don't scream… Now do you believe me?" He whispered in her ear as her eyes expanded again. She nodded her head as he slowly retreated. She calmly collected herself again. She inhaled and exhaled and looked at him and that's when she noticed the look in his eyes. He was serious, no jokes.

"Okay… I believe you, but how do you plan on saving that world?" She asked him, more interested in what he is saying now. He smiled and chuckled lightly before he slowly began laughing. 

She looked at him confused at his laughter.

"What's so funny?" She asked while moving toward him. He stepped back and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Well, you just got so serious all of a sudden, it was funny." He said as she blushed and punched his arm.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" She said to him as she scoffed and sat down on his bed. She crossed her legs as she looked at him once more.

"Yeah, I know. Honestly, this only started happening six days ago and I had to find out what was happening first, so I don't know what to do as of yet. I first have to figure out what I'm facing, because my gut tells me it's not just the Soul Thieves. I told the other you I'd be back in three days and as far as I know, time runs the same in both worlds. The six days I was unconscious here, I was conscious there or at least existed there." Warudo explained to Shiro as she nodded and looked to the floor and began blushing once again. She looked to the side as she stared to fiddle with her hair.

"Hey, uh… Warudo? How do I look in this other world?" She asked as Warudo commenced the rubbing of his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Well honestly… you look hot. Still short and still fierce, but sexy and cute at the same time. Like that one anime character in Dungeon Monsters.  Oh… and that you also kissed me." Warudo said whilst smiling and chuckling, he blushed as well. Shiro looked at him, surprised.

She gasped as she just pulled the cap of her hoodie over her head. Warudo looked at her and stopped his yammering, rubbing his head.

"Sorry… if I offended you somehow." He apologized as she smiled and stood up. She looked him straight in his eyes.

"Well, Warudo. I want to help you." She said to him, standing like a soldier in a salute position. He smiled and rubbed her head. He agreed to her advance and she rejoiced.

 I don't know what destiny is or if it's true and I don't truly believe in fate… but this feeling… it's unexplainable. You know one of those feelings you have like you were meant to do this, like you were born for this specific thing. Well, that's how I feel. I don't know what I've gotten myself into or how I'm going to finish what I started, but I'm going to do it and I'm going to win!

-ACT 1 END-