Chapter 1: The Space Between Worlds
The smell of the mud was everywhere, with no less intensity no matter which way one turned. It had the dankness and decaying odor of a swamp, but without the variation in scent and scenery both. Before them and behind them, there was nothing but a smooth expanse of mud, not even tracks marking where they had sludged their way through it. Keisuke was starting to get a little discouraged.
"Brother," the boy trudging alongside him spoke at last. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"I don't know," he replied, stopping for a moment to look around and grimacing as his bare feet began to sink into the deeper mud--again. "It doesn't seem like there's much of a difference whatever direction we take."
"I don't like this," the other mumbled. "We need to get out of here."
"I know. We will," Keisuke reassured. "We have to. Mother is counting on us. Now come on." He extended his hand, taking his brother's in his own, and continued his wading through the knee-deep mud.
Time was impossible to keep track of among the mud, with the only distinction from the grayish-brown mud a grayish-blue sky that never brightened or darkened. Keisuke could feel his whole body going numb from the combination of tiredness and the lack of change, and he found himself wondering if there was an exit to this place. Keeping the thought to himself, he found his vision narrowing to the path straight ahead, unable to react to much of anything. Even when his brother finally fell into the mud, unable to walk further, he pulled the boy onto his shoulder, making it several steps himself before he sank, wondering dully why the sky finally seemed to be getting dark.
Have to keep going...Otherwise who's going to save our world?
"You called for me, Mist?"
The woman looked up, smiling as she saw the man who had spoken. "We have new arrivals," she said, gesturing to the large window beside her. "They came through the Gate of Despair."
He frowned at that as he joined her by the window, looking inside. The room inside was bare except for two beds that were as identical as the two boys in them. Both were young and roughly the same in their lean frames and tanned skin pale from exhaustion, the only immediate difference the black hair which was slightly longer on one than the other, pulled back into a short, bushy ponytail. "Is that gate really necessary? They're just kids."
"They're from a world that's nearing the brink," she replied, running a hand along the glass. "For them the need is greatest. They need to have the resolve from the start. You understand, don't you, Nikado?"
He let out a sigh through his nose. "They're my next job?"
"Smart man," she said with a smile before her expression turned serious. "You can ask them about the details, but you haven't dealt with a world this bad off before. They're going to need every bit of purity in their hearts they can get. Ah, looks like they're finally recovering," she noted as one of the boys stirred. "Time to get to work. I'll call for you when they're ready."
Inside the room, Keisuke jerked awake with a start, putting a hand to his eyes at the light in the room which was bright compared to the muddy world they had been in before. Letting out a little groan, he looked around the room, relaxing a little as he saw his brother curled up on the bed nearby.
"Are your eyes sensitive?" a woman's voice asked him, and he turned in that direction, squinting at her. "Give it a minute, you'll get used to it."
"Where are we?" he croaked out, putting a hand to his throat. "Who are you?"
She smiled in response. "There's a bottle of water on the stand next to you, have some. You still need to rest for a little while. That was a pretty impressive journey you made."
He looked to the nightstand, picking up the bottle and opened it, taking a drink. "You haven't answered my question," he said, rubbing the unfamiliar texture against his fingers. "Where is this place?"
A slight sound caught his attention, and he turned to the other bed. "Daisuke?" he questioned softly as the woman watched. "How do you feel?"
The other boy rubbed against his eyes, looking up at Keisuke around the covers. "Good morning, brother. I'm hungry," he complained.
"I'll have some food brought in as well," the woman told them with a nod.
"Who are you?" Keisuke asked her bluntly, a little frustration creeping into his voice. "Where is this? Why won't you answer my questions?"
"You're in the place you need to be," she answered simply. "You came seeking help for your world, did you not?"
"You know about that?" Daisuke said in surprise, sitting up and picking up his own bottle.
"Yes. And I can give you that help."
"You can do that?" Keisuke echoed with a frown.
She smiled again, then made a gesture, the door behind her opening. "I'll leave the rest to you," she told the man in the doorway before exiting.
He gave her a bit of an exasperated look before entering the room, taking a chair and folding his tall stature around the piece of furniture, arms resting on the back of the chair. "There's some food on its way," he told them, tone friendly. "That was a hard thing you two went through; for now you need to recover. In the meantime, we can talk. What's your names?"
"I'm Daisuke," the younger twin spoke up, immediately warming up to the older man's friendly demeanor.
"Nice to meet you, Daisuke," he said with a smile. "I'm Nikado."
Keisuke wasn't as quick to warm up to the stranger. "What exactly is this place? What did that woman mean when she said she can give us what we need, who is she?"
"He's Keisuke," Daisuke added helpfully, pointing to his brother. "He's my big brother."
Nikado chuckled, raising his hands. "Calm down, Keisuke. There's no danger here. I'll answer all your questions. Let's see...this place doesn't really have a name, because it's not a world. Most of the time we just refer to it as the 'Heroes' Nexus'."
"And what does that mean? What do you mean, it's not a world?"
"I'm getting there. I probably shouldn't have started with the hard question," he mused to himself, giving his long ponytail a tug. "Let's just say it's a place outside of worlds like yours. This place is full of people who help others save worlds. That's why you came here, isn't it? To save your world?"
"But what can you do?" Keisuke continued, his brother toying with the bottle.
"I'm a trainer," Nikado explained. "I help teach people how to draw out their power within in order to do what they need to do."
"You mean like magic?" Daisuke asked. "I know a little magic. My aunt taught me. Ah!" The bottle he had been playing with dropped from his hands, bouncing on the floor. "It didn't break!"
"It's not glass, if that's what you're thinking," Nikado told him. "There are a lot of unusual things you'll encounter, in this world and others. And yes, among other things. When you've recovered, I'll be taking you on a trip through a few worlds to help develop your potential. Now, why don't you tell me a bit about your world and your circumstances? I need to know what to expect."
Keisuke took a deep breath. "There are monsters in the sky, Mr. Nikado."
"Just Nikado is fine," he said. "What kind of monsters? Why in the sky?"
"They're...monsters. Big hairy beasts and reptiles with lots of claws and teeth who go around trying to kill people unless we kill them first," Keisuke said with a frown, not sure what other kind of monsters there could be. "I don't know why they're in the sky, they've always been there. But Mother says they've not always been there. There used to be a barrier to keep them out, but it's been...leaking."
"Leaking, huh," Nikado mused to himself. "Is that it? Just the monsters?"
"My aunt told me that a bad man was letting them into our world," Daisuke added.
"That's just a myth," Keisuke told his brother.
"No, he's probably right," Nikado said with a shake of his head. "A barrier can weaken over time, but more often, darkness like this is caused by the actions of people."
"Why would a person deliberately let monsters in to destroy our world?"
"For a number of reasons that make sense to him or her, I'm sure." Nikado shrugged. "Evil is a part of human nature. It's a part of the nature of everything, really. Light and dark."
"Mr. Nikado," Keisuke questioned. "Who was that woman from before?"
"Just Nikado, please. You mean Mist? She's my boss," he said with another shrug. "She pairs me up with people that need my help. She probably knows better than even me what you two really need and how to get it. But, she does like her air of mystery," he added with a chuckle. "And she doesn't like making things easy. So it seems to me that you two need some way of restoring the barrier keeping your monsters out, and possibly to face off against whoever's causing the monsters to come into your world. As I thought, we'll need to prepare you for combat," he said, mostly to himself. "We can talk specifics later once I know where we're going. Ah, that sounds like food approaching," he said, opening the door and accepting a couple of trays. "This will get your strength back quickly, so be sure to eat it all. Even if you don't know what it is," he added as he saw Daisuke's unsure expression at the tray.
"Why are you doing this?" Keisuke questioned as he accepted the tray.
"You don't think I'm doing it out of the kindness of my generous, loving heart?" Nikado laughed. "Because it's my job. I have my own reasons, as well. This place exists to do things like this. Can't let evil run around without a fight, after all. There are plenty of people willing to cast aside their fear and stand up to a dark and menacing force. We just give them the tools to win."
Keisuke fell silent, keeping his thoughts to himself as his gregarious younger brother chatted with the man, eager to tell him about their world and family. Nikado laughed and returned the conversation easily, but Keisuke noticed how sharp his eyes were as he listened attentively to the details of their home, and how he offered little information on himself.
He didn't remember falling asleep, only waking up later to find that the lights had been dimmed to be comfortable for sleeping without being completely dark. "Not very trusting, are you?" Nikado said gently, placing a hand on his forehead.
Keisuke swatted it away. "I have no reason to trust you. Maybe you are here to help us, but I don't think you're telling us the whole truth. You're not what you seem."
"That's fine," Nikado replied as he retreated to his chair. "You don't have to trust me for anything other than what I'm supposed to do. And very few people are what they seem to be. At any rate, I'm not going to hurt you in your sleep or something, so just rest for now. There will be time to think things through later."
After Keisuke had finally fallen asleep, Nikado looked up as the door opened, Mist entering the room. "I have the passage ready for you," she told him, touching his arm. An intricate pattern lit up on his arm with an orange glow. "You'll be leaving for Morahetai as soon as they're fit enough."
"Morahetai, huh," he reflected thoughtfully. "I figured as much. It's been a few years since I was there."
"You've probably realized this, but the situation on Omamine is more complex than it appears," Mist told him seriously. "Keep an eye out for things you won't expect. They're going to need a lot of help to save a world like that."
"I'll keep that in mind."
