When I fully awoke and gained conciousness, I was in some sort of old cabin. The ceiling; a mixture of rusted galvanise and what I hoped was wood. Shelves full of relic like books lined the wall nearest to me. I had yet to get up from my sleeping position and so i just continued to let my eyes wander about my surroundings. From what I had gathered, I was on a mountain; inside some sort of run down room. The entire place was styled in Japanese, from the door to the flooring. As I was admiring the room I remembered what had happened and so I instantly tried to jump to my feet, but was met with sharp pain from my entire body. This caused me to struggle slowly getting up. As I was struggling, a calm soothing Feminine voice resounded,

"Please do try to relax. You are in no immediate danger and it would be rather troublesome if you were to over exert yourself and become further injured." 

I turned my neck slightly to the left. I was completely dazed. She was beautiful. I couldnt find the words to describe her. 

She came in closer to my face; my face reddening. She tilted her head to the side, a lock of her elegant golden hair falling to meet her dazzling emerald green eyes. She asked politely,

"Are you ok sir?"

Taken aback by her sudden appearance, snapping out of my stupor I responded absent mindedly, 

"I think so......."

Finally returning to my senses I fell backwards, about to hit my head on the wooden floor. I braced for impact only for my head to be supported my something soft yet strong. I opened my eyes and her cold hand was gently holding my head up with another arm around my back holding my weight up. Her face was now even closer to mine.

"Relax, as I said before; I'm not going to harm you."

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Akira POV:

    I let my emotions get the best of me. A wave of regret washed over me. I couldnt get that dream out of my head, as well as the encounter with the astra in opposition.  It was all so strange and i didnt know what to do about any of these issues. It seemed as though the world was against me and what I was trying to do. Chris was just in a state of overload. He would be back to normal soon with enough rest. Atleast I hope so.

'How am I explpaining this to Reid?'

   My head now clear, I could see that i needed to become stronger. Stronger than ever before. The fastest way to train and power up. I would have tp enter a dungeon. The more beasts Astras slay the stronger they grow. It has something to do with our bodies and cores absorbing the purest form of mana from the dead life form. We also possess access to the 'system' which was a sort of guide of how to utilize our abilities. Since its only been ten years since mana was discovered, not much is known. Normally humans quickly adapt to these changes on earth, but only a certain population have adapted to mana. Our cores being the biggest mystery. It made me wonder what was really possible. Aliens? Gods?

  My main priority now was getting stronger. I changed into my suit and got to the nearest dungeon which was only 'C' rank. I would have to eliminate any who opposed me. I had no other choice for the sake of growing stronger.

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Christopher POV:

   "Saintess Elena? That's your Name and title?"I thought about the fact that she may have been the mana figure. Would I have to fight her to gain control of the blade? Akira's explanation now seemed very vague."So, why are you here? More importantly where exactly are we?" 

"We are inside a mind plain, or what you know it as 'an astral plain'." She spoke as she inspected my physical condition. She was rather close. Her hair was soft and she even smelt wonderful. were all women this defenseless a thousand years ago? 

"I can assure you that I am not defenseless. You pose no threat to me. I have also been told that i am attractive by many men of my time. Your efforts to seduce me will end in vain." She said, as she turned her face away from mines; her cheeks slightly flushed. She was very cute. I was still on guard against her though.

"Is this your plain? Why not change it up a bit? Make it more bucolic? It would suit your demeanor more."

I said this half jokingly, but her expression told me that she didn't find it funny.

she spoke, " I can see that you are very well read and I appreciate your concern, but sadly I cannot change the Landscape of this plain as it does not belong to me." she paused, with a sour expression on her face," only my master can change this place." I was clearly confused, but she looked miserable. " So who is your master?" I looked at her. She returned the same confused look to me." You are my master." SHe then rolled about the floor in a fit of laughter.From the demeanor of a saint to this, I honestly wasn't sure which was worse.

" I accept you, however the knife itself will only accept those with the heart of a hero.", She spoke as if i understood her intructions............

she offered to train me in the astral arts if i would change her scenery as she had gotten bored in this mountain shrine. I couldnt be bribed. Or so I thought.... This deal was amazing. A wry smile curled upon my lips.