Chapter 2: The World of Red Earth
THE world was draped in an all-encompassing veil of darkness. Like a draft in an old house, the wind would blow with a faint howl, then fade like fog and begin all over again. It was like a herd of ghosts gliding across the ground.
Her body was stiff and hurt all over. The arm she’d slept on was completely numb. It felt like she’d landed on a rocky surface.
Yura opened her eyes with a groan.
It was no dream.
She really was lying on rocky ground. When she tried to move her hands, her fingers touched dirt.
She tried to sit up but couldn’t.
Her arms and legs felt like they’d turned to rubber while she slept.
What is this place?
Before her was a large rock that could serve as a pillow. Yura crawled over to it, grabbed on, and somehow pulled herself up.
As far as her unfocused eyes could see was a bleak, reddish landscape.
Yura’s mouth dropped open. Her mind, which had only just started working, immediately grinded to a halt.
The land before her was rocky and not much else. The sun that climbed up over the wasteland burned bright and dyed the area in crimson.
It was a barren world, with no sign of life, and where the air was thin.
“…Where is this?”
A sudden gust blew by and Yura hugged her chest, grabbing her shoulders.
That was when Yura finally realized her body was actually cold. Her limbs hadn’t merely fallen asleep; they’d frozen. Her entire body had gone numb in the cold.
“It’s…cold? Why…?”
The wind mercilessly struck at her back, covered only by a thin blazer. It felt as if the wind would shred the thin protective cloth. But when Yura tried to huddle up to shield against the merciless gusts, a vivid memory cropped up in her mind.
The balmy rays of the May sun. Students heading to school having switched to short sleeves. The breeze that blew against the school’s stainless-steel windowpanes was the sort that felt like it could blow through your very core.
Looking down at herself, she’d just switched over to her long, thin-sleeved uniform. Even so, the air around her was cold enough to be more fitting for October.
Where am I?
The air around her was wrapped in the light of a twisted reddish dusk.
Looking upon the tired sun, a vague realization dawned on Yura, and she suddenly realized that it was, in fact, the morning sun. The last traces of night clung to the edges of the sky. It was daybreak.
She felt like she’d seen this sprawling wasteland on some calendar.
She raised an arm and wiped her face on her sleeve leaving a trail of bright red. The dusty wind had coated her face in red clay, as if she’d patted her face with powder.
She pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and thoroughly wiped her face. As she did, she slowly began to calm down.
“How did I end up in a place like this…?” she muttered blankly as she watched the dawning sky. She couldn’t remember at all how she ended up there. All that existed at the edges of her mind was fog.
But she could say for certain that she’d never seen this place in her life.
Not the skies. Not the ground. Not the wind blowing against her.
Yura tried to push back the questions bubbling up in her mind like sparkling water.
That’s right; this has to be a dream, she assured herself.
But if that were true, why was she still so horribly cold?
In dreams, she never actually realized she was in one.
Yura thought it over, pulled herself together, and tried to stand up. However, she was consumed by dizziness and fell back down, flat on her face. She felt such horrible pain behind her eyes. And she began to feel nauseous.
On closer inspection of her surroundings, she wasn’t in fact sitting on a vast spread of land but a narrow, fixed area. It was almost like a little road that’d been intentionally constructed and maintained.
There were several sets of tracks, like those left by tires, on the ground.
While Yura had been staring about, the area around her brightened. The sky steadily faded into pale blue. The previous ominous light seemed to have faded.
In the distance she could hear a sound approaching. Like the sound of wheels scraping against the ground. She heard something like footsteps accompanying the wheels. The encroaching noise grew steadily louder from behind her.
Yura did not turn and merely fixated on the sky.
This was an extremely strange dream, one she’d never had before.
It was a sight she was sure she’d only see in some foreign country.
I hope I remember it when I wake up.
The sound drew closer and more distinct. She was starting to make out the sound of what was likely several large animals.
At that moment, loud neighing rang out from behind her.
Yura spun around in anticipation before instinctively crying out.
Where there had been nothing before, now stood a uniformed regiment of horses and people in black. They all appeared to being carrying spears.
Yura let out a scream and tried to scramble to her feet. However, her legs had grown numb in the cold, and she collapsed on the spot. The ground seemed to quake as she hit it.
One horseman suddenly broke off from the rest and charged forward. One after another, the others followed.
They began to gallop in a circle around Yura.
The cavalry of horses let out a loud cry and continued to circle her.
The horses neighed, as if in warning, and before Yura knew what was going on, their clamoring hooves had her completely trapped within their circle.
Yura froze in shock. Her voice retreated and wouldn’t respond.
What in the world—what is this? she wondered, fidgeting.
At that moment, the unidentified group closed in on Yura and turned their spears mercilessly down toward her.
With her mouth open, yet unable to scream, Yura gazed up at the numerous spearheads pointed at her. The ones surrounding her were all soldiers in iron armor. The spears trained on her were sharp enough that their tips alone could probably lop off two or three fingers.
Just seeing those lustrous black spearheads was enough to send Yura to insanity’s door. The hands clasped around those spears were thick and sturdy.
They were like well-made, extra-large tin toys.
What is this?
After a long moment, when the reality of the situation finally hit Yura, she broke out in a cold sweat.
Even though this was supposedly a dream, she couldn’t wake up.
Restlessness welled up inside and her breath caught in her throat.
She felt like a naked, weak rubber doll in the midst of all these armored figures.
“E…eeyagh!”
Unleashing a scream even she considered pitiful, Yura cowered on the ground.
The scream was the last sound her voice made before vanishing once again. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her pounding heart.
Ohh, this must be a dream! If it’s a dream, then let me wake up. Please!
However, she failed to wake up.
Yura reared her head back and, with every bit of strength she had, pounded it on the ground.
Wake up. Wake up, Yura. Wake up, you sleepyhead!
It hurt. And still, she couldn’t wake up. That inexplicable pain only worsened her confusion and intensified her fear.
Her panic only worsened in her flimsy attempts to calm herself down.
This is a dream! It’s a dream. A dream, a dream, a dream…!
Unsure of when those spears would finally skewer her, Yura began to sob.
Seeing her cowering and trying to curl up like a pill bug, the one soldier reaching out for Yura immediately pulled his hand away. She continued to cry.
S-Someone. Help me. Tomo-chan…
“Lower your weapons.”
Yura stiffened upon hearing that voice. At the same moment, she heard something being pulled back. She didn’t have the courage to look up, so instead, she kept her hands over her head and sobbed.
This dream is so weird… Why can’t I wake up?
As if to pull her from her insistent thoughts, something landed atop Yura’s shoulder. She gasped in surprise.
Trembling, she tried to focus. It didn’t feel like iron. It was…
It’s a person’s bare hand.
The person who had grabbed Yura’s trembling shoulder tried to stand her up.
She felt something gently press against her back. The smooth touch caught her off guard.
“Stand up.”
An unexpected voice commanded into her ear. It was an unfamiliar male voice. It was a calm and comforting voice, cool and resonant.
When he saw no reaction, he repeated his order again. Yura huddled herself up tight.
Listening closely, she focused as well as she could on that voice.
Who is he?
His voice carried no hint of a threat.
Maybe I can trust him?
His voice carried a haughty resonance Yura had never heard before.
When Yura still failed to move, he spoke again.
“Can you not stand?” he asked.
Prompted by his voice, Yura looked up.