Chapter One: An Extraordinary Journey Through Time
“……”
Inside an ordinary Japanese wooden house, a young man with silver-white hair sat, draped in a white cloak. Beneath the cloak, he wore a kimono that seemed oddly familiar—or, more precisely, a shihakusho.
“...How did it come to this?” the silver-haired youth sighed, helplessness written across his face.
What on earth was happening? How had he ended up in this world so inexplicably?
Who was he? What was his name, his origin, his talents... He couldn’t remember any of it.
Indeed, this silver-haired youth had somehow traversed into another world.
Though so much was lost to him, he had a vague recollection of how he’d arrived in this strange place...
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“All bodily indices normal...”
“Internal organ functions are stable…”
“No injuries are visible on the surface…”
“Experimental research project officially commencing.”
Blinding lights, snowy white walls, figures in bizarre clothing, each wielding unfathomable instruments…
This was the scene that greeted the youth when he awoke from unconsciousness, before his journey between worlds.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on here? Some sort of scientific experiment?”
He awoke to find himself lying on an examination table, being manipulated at will by these strange beings. The sensation—ugh, it was beyond uncomfortable.
“Oh? You’re awake?” A figure clad entirely in silver, even their head enveloped in a hood, with only two oversized black visors showing, and a body that was thin and almost childlike, appeared in the youth’s field of vision.
“Where is this place? What are you planning to do to me?!”
“Please, don’t be alarmed, friend from Earth.” The oddly dressed figure made a calming gesture, trying to soothe his agitation. “We mean you no harm.”
“Oh, you mean no harm, do you? Do you think just saying that will calm me down? Wait… What did you just say—Earth?” The youth’s furious outcry halted as he caught a troubling word.
“Yes, that’s correct…”
“You’re… not from Earth?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“We hail from the Z55 Nebula, twelve million light-years from Earth, here to study the physiological structures of different species living in the same universe.” The being—no, alien—explained serenely, revealing their origin and purpose.
“…”
“…”
Since the youth had awakened, this was the first time silence had descended upon the place.
“No, no, no, no, no!!”
A pained scream echoed through the laboratory. Whether these aliens had ears or not, they comically clapped their hands to the sides of their heads.
“No! I don’t want this!” The youth struggled helplessly on the examination table, but with his body restrained, his efforts were futile.
“I haven’t even fallen in love, never married, haven’t even held a girl’s hand! And now I’m going to die here for no reason? Nooooo!”
“…”
“…”
All the aliens looked on helplessly as the youth wept on the table. Though their faces were concealed, the atmosphere made their exasperation clear.
“Um…” The alien who had spoken before timidly raised a hand, “There’s no need to be so agitated… Our research is simple and won’t harm you.”
“Won’t harm me?” The youth, teary-eyed, glanced down at his utterly exposed body and wailed, “That’s not convincing at all!”
“There’s nothing else for it…” The leader gestured, and another alien fetched an instrument resembling a monitor, connected to something like a miniature vacuum cleaner.
“Whirr…” The alien pressed the vacuum-like device to the youth’s body, moving it from top to bottom.
“Ahhh! Don’t kill me! Don’t—huh?”
Feeling no pain, the youth’s cries ceased as he watched the alien fiddle with the device on his body.
“See? Not painful at all, right?” The leader approached, pointing to the instrument. “We’re only scanning your body and taking a small blood sample to study your biochemistry. There’s no threat to your life.”
“Uh…” Though there was no immediate danger, the youth felt deeply uncomfortable. To be so blatantly made a subject of scientific experimentation—it defied description.
“Report: scan complete.” The alien handed several transparent films taken from the device to the leader.
“Now, we’ll take a blood sample, then the experiment is over. Please relax, friend from Earth.” The leader glanced at the films, then picked up something resembling a syringe, setting the films aside.
With a faint hiss, the alien inserted the needle into the youth’s body. Strangely, though he watched the syringe pierce his skin, he felt nothing at all.
Alien technology was truly advanced.
“All done.” The leader extracted the needle and poured the blood into a container.
“Friend from Earth, you are free to move now.” With that, the alien released his restraints, returning him his freedom.
“Um… about…” The youth, eyeing his naked body, gazed pitifully at the aliens. “Clothes…”
“…Very well…” Unable to withstand his sorrowful look, the alien, sweating profusely, handed his clothes back.
“Is this… the inside of a UFO?” Now dressed, the youth observed his surroundings with interest. With danger gone, his nerves eased considerably.
“Yes, this is the interior of our spacecraft.”
“You said earlier you’re from twelve million light-years away? How did you get here?”
“First, we use MAXDE rays to pierce a hole in space, then stabilize the opening with TELLEDS lightwaves. After setting our destination coordinates, HERED lasers protect the ship, allowing us to travel through space.”
“…” The alien’s explanation was clear, but each technology he mentioned was far beyond anything on Earth. If a planetary war ever broke out, Earth would be destroyed in an instant.
“How long does the journey take?”
“In Earth time, about ten seconds.”
“…”
Earth was truly a dangerous place—perhaps it was better to throw in his lot with the aliens…
“Well then, we must be on our way,” the leader conferred with his companion, then turned to the youth. “We apologize, friend from Earth, but we must leave soon. We can only return you to the surface.”
“What? Already? That was so brief…” The youth was disappointed; it was rare to meet aliens, and rarer still to be taken aboard a UFO. The experience was all too short.
“Rest assured, we will seek you out when we next visit Earth.”
“Well, there’s nothing for it…” the youth sighed, hoping the next time wouldn’t be too far off.
“Please, come with me.” The guide gestured politely, signaling the youth to follow.
“Goodbye, until we meet again, friend from Earth.”
“Goodbye, alien friends.” Waving farewell to the leader, the youth turned to leave.
The alien pressed a spot on the wall, and a portal-like door opened, revealing a view of the ground far below.
“Um…” The youth swallowed nervously. “Do I have to jump from here?”
“Yes.”
“How high is this?”
“Fifteen thousand meters above ground.”
“…”
“Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Rest assured, with spatial teleportation you’ll be back on the ground in a blink, without harm.”
“…” The youth realized the aliens would not take him back themselves; he had no choice but to jump.
Fifteen thousand meters… hopefully, he wouldn’t die…
Whatever—fortune favors the bold!
To have been abducted by aliens, it was worth it in this lifetime!
“Yaaaaaaaah!” Clutching his head, the youth leapt from the doorway.
“Report!”
“What is it?” The leader turned, mindful that the Earthling had just departed and there was much to do.
“An unstable spatial vibration has appeared. Our departure may be delayed.”
“A vibration? Now?” The leader hurried to the observation deck, peering through the clouds at the ground, scratching his head with a slender arm.
“This is bad…”
Spatial vibrations signaled instability—attempting interdimensional travel now risked ending up in another dimension entirely. Such vibrations were rare and unpredictable; this Earth youth, abducted by aliens and now caught in this rare anomaly—was he lucky or unlucky?
“Ahhh!”
As he plummeted through space, a sudden violent tremor struck. The youth screamed and instantly lost consciousness…