Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Cloud 9
October 26, 2032. Cedar Forest Path II, Fiefa.

"Are you okay?" A worried voice asked. It was undoubtedly the voice of a girl. My face was buried deep into the blades of grass while my body lay flat on my stomach. I could barely move, every inch of my body aching in pain. Slowly, I tilted my face to the side and tried to look at the girl who was now poking my shoulder with her fingertip. "This should help," she said. I opened my eyes and watched in pure disbelief. The chestnut-haired female opened a blue transparent window out of thin air, navigating the contents inside of it with the touch of her hand. She pressed something on the screen, resulting in a series of other windows popping out in her surroundings. It was incredible. She scrolled down a window titled "slatsyrc - smeti" which I suppose said "items - crystals" from her perspective. Then, the brunette-haired girl tapped on the floating screen once more - in which a crimson-red prism began to emerge and solidify in her hand.

She minimized the pop-up windows with one hand, using her fingertips to shrink it until it was no longer visible. The motion was similar to pinching something or even to the action of zooming in and out of an iPad, I thought. Of course, this place seemed to be far more advanced than simple touch-screen technology. This place was definitely not Earth.

The young woman placed the prism on my back, although it seemed she could've placed it on any part of my body regardless. As she pressed it onto me, I felt it evaporate. At once, the aching of my arms and legs began to disappear. As I suddenly felt stronger like I've never felt before, I sat up and wiped the grass stains off my face. The girl who kneeled in front of me watched and smiled as I shook the dirt off of my clothes. "Are you feeling better?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, a lot better thanks." I replied. "Well that's good! I'm glad you're okay," she exclaimed, clapping her hands in joy. "My name is Mia, what's yours?" Mia was a figure to behold. I've seen a bunch of beautiful people in my life, but there was something about her that made her stand out. She wore an outfit that reminded me of a crusader - a fashionable white outfit embroidered in red, not to mention a red stripe that ran through the entire top and bottom. She looked friendly, and cute. But her style of clothes puzzled me. The fact that she had a belt with a light sword attached to her hip also added to the confusing thoughts I already had in my head. Nonetheless, I didn't worry but simply continued on with the conversation. "Uh, my name's Gabe." "Really? That's a cute name" she replied. Mia dusted off her knees and stood up. "Hi Gabe, nice to meet you" she said with a smile, offering her hand to pick me up from the ground. I grabbed it and she heaved me up to my feet. We were about the same height, except I was a tiny bit taller. "You're not from here, are you?" Mia asked. "Well, I've never seen this place before so... No I'm not." I answered calmly as I scanned my surroundings. "Hehe, I could tell" she giggled. "How?" I asked. "I've never seen this before," she grabbed the front of my black jacket, feeling the texture of it against her fingers. "On top of that, I don't usually see Commons falling from the sky." "The sky?" I thought. That's right... I saw the floating islands, the endless sky; my life flashing before my eyes. I saw the ground knowing that I wouldn't survive once I collided with the surface of whatever place this was, yet here I am. Still alive.

 "Well, I'm not a common, whatever that is," I replied. We started to walk into the dense forest, following the dirt path. Truth be told, I didn't know where I was going, so I simply followed Mia. "A Common is a person who doesn't engage in traveling, or skirmishes, or battles. They're simple people, like cooks or fishers," she explained. "And you can't be a Target; I mean you don't even have a weapon to protect yourself let alone any health crystals in case you get hurt." "And what are you?" I asked with curiosity. "Are you considered a Target?" "Yeah in a way," Mia replied. "But I fall under a different category." She ran ahead of the path then came to a stop and turned around to face me. With a smile she said, "I'm Mia Rose Rias, of Rias Royalty." I stared at her and smiled.

"Royalty huh? What does that mean?" I walked up to her and then continued to walk side by side.

"It means I come from a wealthy family, silly." Mia explained. "A lot of people know me and-" "You have a very high status among others, and they idolize and look up to you." I responded. She smiled. "Exactly. But with that comes high expectations and responsibility." She sighed, her smile fading away from her face harboring into a solemn look of distress. I stopped walking and grabbed the wrist of her hand before she could continue that thought. She came to a stop too and immediately looked at me. "It's alright," I said, trying to comfort her. I wanted her to not worry about the pressure of such a high role. I knew what it felt like, trying to fill in the shoes that were left behind by the family you grew up in. I just wanted her to not think about it. All I wanted was for her to smile. "Everyone has responsibilities, everyone will always expect you to live up to your potential. But don't worry, you're not alone." I smiled, hoping that she'd return me the same thing back. Instead, her cheeks began to turn a shade of pink before that grin I was waiting for finally came out. "You're sweet," Mia then responded. "I'll try to always keep that in mind." We shared the moment for a few more seconds. I thought it would be awkward, just standing there beside a girl I've never met; not to mention that I was still holding her by the wrist. But, for some reason it felt natural. I guess the two of us just got along well. When we finally decided to keep moving, I let go of her and she continued to ask me questions. "Wait, if you're not a Common, or a Target, and there's no way you could be Royalty-" "Yeah, thanks..." "Haha, don't get me wrong - I know every royal family here. And I've never seen or heard of you before so that takes you out of that picture. Hmm... Gabe... Is it possible that you might be..." "I might be?" "An angel?!" Her eyes lit up as her voice was filled with excitement. "What?!" I asked surprised. "You fell from the sky? And I was the only one that saw you for some reason. Then again, unless there were in this realm of Fiefa, no one else would be able to see you. And wait, you're obviously not from here so.. You must be my guardian angel!!" She yelped in sheer joy. I lightly slapped her on the back of her head. "Keep on dreaming Mia." "Darn," she snapped her fingers. "I really wanted one too." I laughed, "is that even possible?" "You never know," Mia replied. We continued on walking. As we took another step on the path, a pop-up window appeared and then disappeared seconds after. It read, "Cedar Forest Path I." Immediately, I decided to clear things up once and for all. "Mia, I have something to tell you." I stated. "That you actually ARE my angel Gabriel?" She teased. "Haha stop this! I'm not an angel." "Well, that's the story I'm going with when people ask me who you are!" "Do what you want," I laughed. "Anyways, I thought I'd finally tell you a little more about myself now that I sort of trust you." "Sure, speak." "I'm Gabriel Delfin, 18 years old-" "I'm eighteen too! Woops, sorry - continue continue," "-I'm 18 years old and well... I'm from Earth." "Earth?" She asked, confused. "Yeah, I'm guessing this isn't any part of Earth, is it?" I responded as I looked around my area. "Well, I've heard a story about Earth... But this definitely isn't part of your world." Mia told me. "I noticed," I answered calmly, trying my best to not freak out and to simply keep my cool. "Well then, where exactly am I?"

She paused in her position and waited for me to stop walking. As I passed her, I turned around and looked at her face to face from a small distance. "You are currently in Cedar Forest I, a realm in the continent of Fiefa." She stated. "There are many realms or regions in Fiefa, and there are several other continents than this." She approached me and stopped right in front of where I stood. "This is the dimensional world, floating in our endless white sky. This, is where I live," Mia gave me a warm smile. "Welcome to Cloud 9."