I fell on my ass on the ground. Face first. Hurt like a bitch but nothing too major, no broken bones or nose. I rolled on my back on this fresh serene grass. A breeze kissed my hot skin. Freezing me almost instantly. The sky wasn't blue with puffy cotton ball-like clouds. The sky was a brooding grey. Its sun hiding behind but lit enough to tell it was daytime. Scattering gentle snowflakes down on my face.
'Snow in the middle of May? That . . . cant be right.' The thought alone made me sit up. "I'm . . . Not . . . Dead?" I was positive I was going to die from that mirror. Speaking of the mirror — I twisted my head nearly all the way around to see the mirror but it was nothing but snowed tall grass as the eye could see. All except the buildings in the distance . . .
I rubbed my eyes in belief that I was hallucinating. Only . . . I wasn't. In the distance was a village that seemed to be out of medieval times.
"No . . . No, no, no, no, no . . ." I was no longer in Japan.
I WAS IN ANOTHER WORLD!!!
'That's right . . . That spider demon dragged me into the mirror . . . The spider! It has to be dead right?' I twist my head around again to my foot. It had no webbing, probably dissolved from the weird teleport space place. I saw no spider demon in sight. "Phew," I said in relief. Everything was clear.
"YOU MORTAL WENCH!!!" I nearly choked on air seeing the spider demon limping, moving. Squelsh. "Oh, you have got to be shitting me!" I swear my luck is shit because the damn bitches upper legs grew back!
I pushed myself back on my feet, ignoring my body screaming at me to stop. Destination for now: That village in the distance. 'My bag! Ah-Ha! My bento too! Thank fucking god!' I was so happy to see my things that I seriously wanted to cry. There was no time for tears now! I snagged my stuff off the grass and I ran from the demon. Again.
Every muscle of my body was aching. The adrenaline was wearing off. 'You would have more energy if you hadn't skipped breakfast, moron.' I swear I ridicule myself more in my head than anyone ever could.
I was no athlete. Makoto was the athletic one. She was in the archery club for crying out loud!
Makoto could survive this kind of crazy shit. She knew how to use a bow and make one from scratch! Okay, she had to do that last one for a final grade — still. I was not cut out for any of this other world adventure stuff! I'm a simple office worker who organizes, prints files, overlooks files, and makes sure they are sent to the right people!
This is now my predicament.
Being chased by a spider-angry demon in my fucking pajamas in a whole other world that was beyond the mirror!!!
My stomach hurts from all this running and having no food in my system. I hate running. I hate being hungry. I hated all of this.
Why do good things always happen to good people, huh?!
I did nothing wrong!
If it wasn't for this stupid necklace I would have been able to go home! I would be able to go back to Makoto and eat breakfast with her! I would have called in sick and enjoyed a day for myself! Skip work for once! We could have been having our fun dinner with Inoue and Jirou!
"I AM GONNA KILL YOU FOR RUINING MY BEAUTIFUL FACE AND GET THAT STAR!!" The demon was hot on my tail.
"Oh you were hideous to begin with!" I stumble but manage to keep my balance, trying not to fall. "I would have given it to you if I could! It isn't my fault the damn thing won't come off!" I said in between my pants.
"THEN I WILL JUST HAVE TO TAKE IT OFF YOUR CORPSE!!!" Tew. The fucking demon started to spit out its webbing at me again! I tried dodging them as best as I could. I was using my ears to indicate where the giant arachnid was aiming at: my left or my right.
I was doing good for a while until I stupidly tripped over a rock. Typical. The only benefit that did was make me avoid another ball of its webbing that had been aimed at my back. I forced myself back on my feet and tried making a right toward the village. That idea was a bust when the fucking thing spat out a bigger webbing ball in front of my shoes.
Making me go to my left into this forest. 'Fucking hell!! I was close to the village! Oh come on!' It was fucking freezing. My chest was hurting from panting from all this running. It was getting hard to breathe. It was getting even harder to keep this running up. My legs were going to give out any second if I stopped anymore.
"Ah!!" The cliffside of where I ran collapsed and slid me down with the fallen pieces. I groaned as I stumbled to get back up. My pajamas were wet from the snow and dirty from the dirt. "YOU CAN'T HIDE!! I CAN SMELL YOUR BLOOD!!! I WILL FIND YOU!!!" The spider demon's voice echoed near where I was. 'Shit!' I touched my forehead and saw there was blood. 'Must've been from earlier when I fell and got dragged to this fucking place.' I wiped it off on my pants.
I turned to my left and covered my mouth to not make noise. I kept quiet and hid behind a thick tree that concealed me for now. I stuffed my bento box in my bag while rummaging through it to find something, anything, to use against this thing. Again. 'I only have 3 pens and the demon spider had 8 eyes. It won't be enough. I have a lighter but no beauty products!' I couldn't find anything else in my bag.
"THERE YOU ARE!!" I yelped and jumped out of the way. For a second I could have sworn I saw a weird orange color around the spider, only for a split second. The spider demon landed where I once was. Dodging by a landslide. Literally. I slid on the ground like some baseball star. I pushed myself up. Forcing one foot in front of the other.
"Ugh! Will you stand still and stop running!" I heard it groan in annoyance. I went another way and it webbed a tree. Bringing it down in front of me. Forcing me to run in the other direction. It continued to do that as I ran. Making an obvious trap. It planned to lure me into a corner and end me once I was left with nowhere to go.
I fell for it anyway. Why? Because what else could I even actually do? I had no weapon to fight with. I had nothing to buy me any time. I was vulnerable and weak as a rabbit against a mad hungry wolf.
"Shit!" I dodged another falling tree and it gusted me by an echoing dark place. 'A cave?' I had my hand on the wall of this cave entrance. My gut churned and I moved away from the wall. A good thing too as I escaped being almost webbed for the billionth time. Stumbling over my own two feet. Landing on my ass, dropping my things on the ground.
The demon spider crawled its eight-legged ass toward my direction. "Finally. You stopped moving. I like a good chase but not when I am hungry." Their golden disgusting eight eyes blinked. I could see my reflection in them. Along with the pendant glimmering slightly in their irises. I tried to give up but I couldn't muster any muscle to move. They were heavy as stones. My body had given out. There was no energy left in me I could invest to run. I only kept scooting myself backward with the little fight I still had left in me.
It snickered, "Now," it began while webbing my foot as it spoke. "Stay still while I take the Star off your corpse." It started to try to drag me once again while laughing at its early triumph.
I reached and grabbed my bag, dragging it along with me . . . I don't know why I did . . . It wasn't going to mean anything once I died . . .
That was when I sensed something behind me. I turned my head but all I could see was darkness. All I could hear . . . Was silence. The demon spider had stopped laughing. They stopped dragging me in general. I glanced back at the spider demon and they were . . . terrified – no – petrified.
I took my chance to sit up and wipe down my bag. 'My hands . . . They're shaking . . . My whole body . . . Its shaking.' I was scared of the spider lady but I wasn't trembling before. My entire body was telling me otherwise. . . My gut churned . . . Not from the spider demon . . . From whatever presence lurked within this cave . . .
"This . . . This cave may belong to you! But I found her first!! I FOUND THE STAR FIRST!!! ITS POWER IS MINE!!!" They raised their giant leg and swung them down toward me. Full intent on plunging it into my chest. when an inhuman roar came from the depths of the cave. It was a familiar sound, I couldn't put my finger on it. It isn't like I could really listen either. Bust an eardrum otherwise. I also was dragged out of the cave because the spider demon was blown out of the cave. Dragging me along with it since I was still webbed by the foot.
"SCREW YOU BOTH!!! IT'S MINE!!" The spider dragged me in one hard go to be underneath it "ALL IS MINE!!!!" They yelled, barely over the loud roaring of whatever creatures lurked in the cave's darkness, They brought their terrifying can-kill-you-in-one-go stinger down at me this time. I pulled my bag to put over my chest and stuff inside of it fell.
Everything in this moment seemed to have slowed. The spiders and the roaring became still with the air as the reality of my demise was settling in: I was going to die.
Either by this spider or whatever was behind me. There was no way of getting out of this . . .
"You said "I love you" and "bye" to Makoto at least . . ." my consciousness tried to reassure . . . The world felt desolate . . . Empty . . .
. . . I worked so hard for the life I had and gave everything to let Makoto and I live a decent life . . .
Where did I go wrong? I did the best I could . . .
Was it not enough?
Is this really it for me . . ?
I stared up at the stinger with tears escaping down the side of my cheeks. Soon it was blocked by my phone that flew in front of my face, slow. Slow enough for me to see my phone's lock screen. It was a photo Shirakumo took of me, Makoto, and Eri facing the camera with fireworks shooting behind us during last year's festival. Our hands in the air, gesturing up at the fireworks. Bright smiles on each of our faces.
Eri was in the middle of her cute cat-themed kimono that Aizawa and Shirakumo shopped a whole day for. Makoto was in this beautiful rabbit-themed kimono that I made just in time for that festival. I was in regular clothes. I didn't have time to make mine.
Heck. That never mattered. Not as much as Makoto's reaction to the kimono I made for her. Makoto was so infatuated, so happy, so excited to put it on. She never looked so beautiful as she did that day . . .
"Let's match next year!" She begged and I promised her we would . . .
"Mako . . ." I caught my phone in my hand. Holding it close to my chest. Time resumed ". . . I'm sorry . . ." I closed my eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" I opened my eyes at the spider demon's confused shout. The stinger was near my chest but it was being pushed back by the angelic white hue I recall from back at Inoue's antique store. I glanced down and the light came off from the North Star pendant's iridescent crystal. Making this white-light see-through shield, preventing me from my deadly end.
"HOW?! HOW CAN A PUNY MORTAL LIKE YOU BE ABLE TO WIELD ITS POWER?!" They screamed down at me. 'It's . . . protecting me?' I felt this surge of energy coming through me. Pumped from the pendant. I took my gaze away from the pendant and back onto the spider demon.
"I don't know . . . and I honestly don't care . . . But . . ." I say, shoving my phone back in my bag. I glared at the demon. "I . . . am . . . not . . ." I say each word as I push myself back up on my feet. The shield getting bigger and brighter. Pushing against the spider demon. "GOING TO DIE BY THE LIKES — OF — YOOOOOOOU!!!!!!" I yelled with all my chest. The spider demon cried out in agony as it was disintegrated into smithereens from the light.
The light surrounded me with its warm embrace. Swirling me twice before it rushed up into the dark gloomy sky. Its light shimmered with the hidden colors of a rainbow within. I could feel its incredible power.
Power I wanted to stop but it just kept going. "Okay, that's enough you pendant. . . Come on now! Stop it!" I put my hand over it, nothing. I tapped it, nothing. I smacked it a few times, nothing. I was now — beginning to panic a bit. I felt the power draining the little energy I had left. I was not sure of the limits or its capabilities. I wasn't even sure if this thing was safe. It felt ethereal, however, the power it let out gave me a bad gut feeling.
After I kept shouting "Stop!" repeatedly for a good 2 minutes while running around the same spot like a headless chicken — it finally stopped. The light dimmed. My energy . . . Gone.
I fell on the ground on my back. Staring up at the hole in the clouds. Feeling the ray of sunshine hit my face. I didn't even shutter at the cold winter wind hitting my face. I was motionless.
"Over here!" An unfamiliar voice called out from the distance. I couldn't move to see. I only felt their footsteps on the ground floor. Multiple footsteps to be exact. 'Huh . . . The roaring stopped . . . Wonder . . . Why'd . . . it stop . . . ?' That was the last thought I had before I blacked out.