An endless white plane stretches in all directions with nothing else in sight, sans a stumbling white haired girl.
??? - "W-Where.. Where am I..? I-I shouldn't be here..!"
Despite the strange unnatural ground, the sky radiates a familiar blue, the sun beating down with maximum intensity.
??? - "Agh.. W-What was I doing..?"
Her head feels like it's splitting open as all sense of self is stripped away bit by bit.
??? ~ I feel so.. Has it always been like this?
??? ~ I can't think.. It's just everything all at once.. T-This can't be normal.. I can't..
??? ~ Maybe.. this is all there ever was.. Ever will be..?
??? ~ Who.. -What- am I..?
Clutching her head as the pain exponentially intensifies, she drops to the ground, shoving her forehead to the artificial surface.
She clenches her teeth while her face contorts into an expression of immense pain before-
The ground shatters beneath her all at once, ending the pain, and everything else.
"It's so.."
"Cold...."
A momentary glint appears against the radiant cerulean sky.
All is silent yet the surreal rush of the air over her body as she plummets head-down with an apparent grace unbecoming of someone unconscious.
Seemingly as fast as she had appeared, she plunges through the strata and into the ground onto a rural stone path outside of a village.
Landing with a sound you could be forgiven to mistake for a meteor strike, and with enough force to shatter the rock beneath her creating a shallow crater in the terrain.
When she came to, her gaze was met with a pair of enchanting emerald green eyes staring back at her.
The eyes belong to a certain light-armor clad lass with a somewhat concerned look on her face.
This other girl holds the fallen angel in her lap, glaring down as her expression softens, now admiring the girl's bright white hair that seemed to shine like diamond in the midday sun.
Her own hair was a blazing orange-red, cut perhaps intentionally messy with various cute slightly curling strands popping out here or there, and intense bangs that appeared to swoop in every which way while somehow maintaining some sense of direction and not obscuring her vision.
She brushes some stray hairs out of the girl's otherwise pristine face, she was surprisingly intact for someone who had just fallen out of the sky like a shooting star.
Realizing the way she was looking at the girl brought a slight flush to her cheeks.
??? - "A-Are you ok..?"
Still not fully aware, she simply stares back with a blank expression with a distant, somber tone, a tear rolling down from her eye.
??? - "Woah, what's wrong?"
Only receiving a quizzical look in response.
Still holding the girl's face, she wipes the tear away with her thumb.
??? - "D'you think you can stand?"
The girl nods slightly after a moment of confused consideration.
She moves to help her up, pulling her by the hand.
??? - "Well.. can you talk?"
Girl - "Hh- Hi..?"
??? - "The goddess speaks! So- are you like an NPC or something? I thought we didn't have those.. Some kind of quest bearer..?"
Girl - "A uhm.. what..?"
??? - "A-Ahh! You're a player..! So I'd suppose not then..! Don't look like one I've ever seen anyway. E-Eheh.. Though your entrance was rather spectacular.."
Girl - "E-Ehh....?"
??? - "So, what is your name, m'lady?"
Girl - "Uhhh, I'm- My name is Syr.. I think.."
??? - "Huh, sear? Like a steak?"
Caught off guard by this remark, Syr lets out a brief chuckle.
Syr - "E-Eheh.."
Syr - "It's S-Y-R, Syr."
??? - "Ahhh I see, Syrrrrr.. Hmm, I like it, it's kinda cute."
Syr couldn't recall anyone ever thinking that before, but then again she couldn't really recall anything right now.
Nonetheless, the sentiment makes her briefly uncomposed.
Syr - "Oh! W-What about you?"
The girl gets this instant smug look on her face that makes Syr almost regret asking.
She plants her thumb firmly to her puffed out chest, head tilted slightly to the sky, eyes closed, and says in a bold tone:
"I am the great Huntress Nyrelye aus Wolfram von Eidolor the Third!"
She deflates a bit after saying so, maybe realizing how goofy she just sounded.
Nyr - "Well that's my backstory anyway.."
Mumbling
Syr - 'Backstory..?'
Nyr - "You can just call me Nyr."
Reinflating, her eyes light up in realization.
Nyr - "Nyr, Syr.. Our names rhyme! That's wild, what were the odds?!"
She pauses for a moment to think about what the odds really were, before concluding that it doesn't actually matter.
Nyr - "This is great, I can tell we are gonna get along just fine. We're gonna make the ultimate power duo, I can see it now!"
Meanwhile, Syr watches in bemusement as Nyr chatters about their names.
Syr - "Anyways, um.. Why did you call me a goddess earlier?"
Nyr - "Well have you seen yourself?! That near-holographic, white hair.. I know people have all sorts of hair colors here, but I've never seen anything quite like yours."
Syr grabs one of her sidelocks in an attempt to get a look at her hair.
Sure enough she could see that her hair was indeed an unbelievable white, reacting to light in a rather aberrant way.
Nyr - "Not to mention that you just fell out of the sky and landed here with nary a scratch on you. I thought about trying to catch you for a split-second, buuut I figured that might just kill me as well. Heh heh.."
She said that last line with a bit of a guilty smile on her face.
Syr - "I.. fell out of the sky..?"
She looked down at the smashed stone where she had landed and grew concerned for her own wellbeing, yet she felt fine, barring not being able to remember anything about how she got here.
Nyr - "Yyyep. To be honest it was kind of pretty. You were almost glowing somehow as you came down. You're lucky I was here to help you! Or, well, I guess you were fine without me. Heh.."
Syr - "Do people normally survive falls like that?"
Nyr - "Not that I've ever seen anyone else fall out of the sky apropo of nothing, but I can't say they would. You should've shattered on impact, little lady! ..Though obviously I'm glad you didn't. I'll just chalk it up to your goddess powers~"
She said that with such a smirk.
Syr - "H-How..?"
Nyr - "Beats me! I'm not an omniscient being. Hey wait you're a goddess, shouldn't you know?"
Syr - "I-"
Nyr - "Kiddinggg! Anyway, my current theory is that something big-weird happened and you got dumped out at the world center and then just randomly fell here. I'd say you just fell from an airship but-"
Her body language directs her eyes to the sky, as to bring attention to how clear it is.
Nyr - "Empty."
Syr - "Ehh.. world.. center..?"
Nyr - "Hmm, surely you- Wait.. Are you new here?"
Syr - "Umm, where exactly is here?"
Nyr - "Haha! We've got ourselves a bonafide noob here!"
At that, she flung her arm around Syr in a (perhaps too) friendly gesture.
Nyr - "Haha or maybe you just lost your memory from that fall, amnesia or something! But naa that shouldn't be possible here, definitely a noob."
Nyr - "So you've never been here before, and that wacky entrance.. Is this like a prank? Maybe your friends pulling one over on you? Thought it would be funny if they sent you here in spectacular fashion for your first dive? Pun intended."
Syr didn't get the pun, intended or not.
She was just frazzled by Nyr's ramblings, the way she was speaking confused her.
Syr - "I-I don't remember.."
Nyr - "Wait, you really lost your memory then?"
Syr - "Well, I still don't think I've ever been to this place but.. My head feels all foggy.."
Nyr pauses for a moment in a look of deep thought, deeper than one should be able to think so spontaneously, mumbling incoherently and unintelligibly.
Nyr - "But with the.. And the electromagnetic.. The Mindfield rendering.. Full body suspension.. Serverside.. Atomic programming.."
It seemed as if she might continue like this indefinitely unless stopped, like she was stuck in a loop.
Unsure of what to do with this situation, she waves her hand in front of Nyr's face trying to snap her out of it.
Nyr - "Huh? Hm, nope. Can't think of any way this could've happened. At least I've never heard of this happening to anyone before. Your amnesia must be unrelated to the dive.. But then, you don't even remember diving..?"
Syr - "I uhh, hwahh..?"
Nyr - "Well even if you had amnesia before the dive you should still remember the events leading up to it.. So what the heck is going on here..? Maybe the sudden mental shock of your first dive combined with the already existing brain damage caused some kind of amnesiatic relapse..??"
Syr - "I-I have to be honest here, I have no idea what's going on.."
Nyr - "Hahah~ Well of course you don't, you lost your memory, silly~! But don't worry, I won't hold any ignorance against you!"
Syr - "Ehm, t-thanks..?"
Nyr - "Ehe, don't mention it!"
Nyr - "Ooo! But okay, what if it's like that one classic movie and you can only remember like the past couple of minutes or something?!"
Syr - "I-I'm sorry, who are you again?"
Nyr - "[Gasp]"
Syr - "S-Sorry, that was a joke.."
Nyr - "Ohhhahahahah!"
She nearly snorts as she laughs.
Nyr - "Don't be sorry, you goober! I liked that one, eheh. So, you remember how to be funny at least, eh?"
Syr - "Eheh, I guess so.."
Nyr - "But well, alright, let's recap this. Let's say you have some wack brain damage that probably was triggered or something by the dive.. So now you're here with no knowledge of anything or how you got here.."
Nyr - "When I lay it all out like that, this is honestly very troubling.. Am I now responsible for your well-being..? What if you're like weirdly stuck here? Should we just try to send you back? What if someone is worried about you? Is this going to happen every time you dive? Did you even want to come here in the first place? W-What if someone sent you here so they can keep an eye on you..?! S-Should I try to contact someone..? I-Idunno, I-I'm not good with that kind of thing.. What if-"
Syr goes through a rollercoaster of emotions as the worrywort in front of her rattles off what-if after what-if.
She grabs Nyr's shoulders and gives her a little shake.
Syr - "I-I don't think this is very productive..! Even I'm not that worried about it.."
Nyr - "Y-You don't know enough to be worried, you have amnesia, remember.. You.. do remember, right..?"
Syr - "Yess I remember!"
Nyr - "Phew.."
Nyr - "Alright, well, based on all the factors, it's probably fine to just take it easy. No reason to do anything right away. Let's presume you intended to come here since it's the most likely option. So then, it should be fine if we just, you know, play the-"
Nyr ~ Wait.. On second thought, this a rare opportunity..
Syr - "Uhhm, hello..? Play.. what..?"
Nyr - "O-Oh! N-Nothing..! Don't mind me, okay, I'm just a weirdo who's brain malfunctions sometimes, eheh..!"
Syr - "O-Okaaay.. I guess I can relate.."
Nyr - "I suppose I should just start by explaining stuff about this place to give you some context. I assume you need it anyway, right? Unless you do remember this place?"
Syr - "N-No.. I don't think so.."
Nyr - "Alright so where were we? Yeah, world center. Ok so, this place is called the In-Worlds. Stupid I know, but it's because the ground here is actually on the inside surface of the celestial orb we live on, or, I guess in, rather. Why it's plural, 'worlds', don't ask me. The 'World Center' is the point in the middle of the sphere. And that's where the 'sun' is, where it always is. Overhead wherever you are. Who knows how gravity works here. Maybe the sphere walls are really thick, but personally what I think is that the sun actually has anti-gravity."
Rather than immediately reject this absurd news, Syr simply looks up.
Syr - "Then why can't I see the other side?"
Nyr is amused by her logical reaction.
Nyr - "Ha, the world itself is far too big to really see to the other side through the atmosphere. At least I think it's still called an atmosphere, it's still a sphere of air, even if on the inside.."
Nyr - "Anyway, the curvature would be fairly noticeable if there weren't so many trees around blocking the view."
Syr - "Mm.. The trees.. Something is odd about these trees.."
Nyr - "Hmm, well, I suppose typically you'd think a tree should be green, yeah..?"
Syr - "Oo.. Yeah..!"
Nyr - "Ah, so it would seem that kind of memory is still in-tact. Makes sense, you can still speak and stuff also. But well, normally trees are green I guess, but this area is known for its large and luscious dark pink forests! That's why there's a luxury village built out here, where this path leads."
Syr - "Ohh, it is quite pretty.."
Nyr - "Hyup, but anyway, if we go somewhere high up and clear we should be able to really take in the view of the curvature, especially as the atmosphere gets less thick as you go up. When you can see that under the right circumstances it's really like nothing else you'll ever see.."
Nyr - "Maybe I could show you sometime, you know, like, together.."
Syr just stares back at her with her vacant look.
Nyr - "I-I just think it'd be fun to show a noob for the first time! That's all.."
She blushed slightly at the idea that Syr might have thought going to see a beautiful landscape together sounded romantic, but of course it was her that thought so.
In reality, Syr was just dazed by this girl's ability to go on about things, and trying to process all of what she had said.
Syr - "I.. I think I'd like that..? You seem.. nice.."
That came off a bit cold, but she just didn't know how to express herself right now.
It's possible she doesn't remember how.
But it didn't matter because all Nyr heard was an acceptance to her 'date' proposal and a compliment on her personality.
Nyr - "Great, I can't wait! I-I mean, I think you'll enjoy it. Heh heh.."
She laughs awkwardly trying to play off her excitement.
Syr - "So then, is it just always day here?"
Nyr - "Oh, what? Right, the world. Uhh, well the sun, or the thing serving the purpose of the sun anyway, dims and brightens on a cycle. So we still have to deal with a nighttime, so-to-speak. Oh! Speaking of which, it'll be getting dark soon. I really have to get going and complete my quest here before it gets completely dark out or else it's going to get really bad. But you.. I can't just.."
She looks like she's frantically trying to figure out what to do about this situation.
Nyr - "I know! Why don't you come with me for now, you can help me on my quest. We're a far ways away from any real town out here, and the path can be somewhat dangerous. I don't feel comfortable leaving you out here alone.. Once we're done, I can take you back to town with me and we can get you some real gear. I'll give you a solid upgrade, on me!"
Syr - "Eh, gear..?"
Nyr - "Ahhh.. It should become obvious soon enough. I-If you wanna hang with me, that is.."
Syr - "I see.. Well, thank you then. I would very much appreciate not being left out here alone.. In the dark.. Somewhere I've never been before.. Cold.."
Nyr - "Sheeesh.. Putting it that way I really never had a choice here.. E-Eheh..! But, no need to thank me, don't forget, you're helping me on this quest!"
Nyr gives her a sly wink.
Nyr - "Come on, let's get going. The quest is to check out this abandoned village. There have been reports that it's haunted and we have to get to the bottom of this!"
Syr - "E-Ehh.. Right..!"
And with that, Nyr set off down the path with her fresh companion in tow.
End of chapter one