Ash woke up. She sneered at the stupid dream. 

"Saving her world, seriously.” She yawned and scratched her belly. 

Later that morning, she was watching a dystopian movie halfway through a big bag of chips when she heard the doorbell. It must have been someone who mistook it for the light switch, again. She ignored it and resumed her film. 

She heard another ringing. And another. 

She sighed and reluctantly slogged to the entrance. She cracked the door open. 

She swore as she recognized the old hag from the park. “You gotta be f—”

“I told you we would meet again,” the elderly woman croaked. She brushed a dumbfounded Ash aside with unsuspected strength and invited herself in. They were now both standing in her living room. 

The old lady extended her hand in her direction. “Come with me,” she commanded. 

“Get lost! I’m calling the cops, for real!” 

The crone smirked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

In an instant, a yellow mist formed and twirled around her. Her skin was glowing with iridescent light. Her body morphed into a dreamy figure, her skin became smooth, and her hair turned light summer blue with long intricate braids that cascaded down to her hips. 

Ash gasped and stared at the now ravishing woman in bewilderment. Her high cheekbones, upturned eyes, and bow-shaped lips made her look like one of those models straight out of a fashion show had it not been for her cosplay-ish clothes. 

The stranger was wearing an ivory tunic underneath a juniper green and brass dress that enhanced her thin waist and long legs. Her garment was lined with brown leather that matched her stylish boots. A pearl-white mantle was hanging from her delicate shoulders. 

Ash swallowed hard. She shook her head to snap out of her trance. “W-Who are you?” 

“My name’s Nessia, the Number One Nymph of House Teshbi,” she replied with a lofty voice. “Frankly, I don’t believe that a lesser human like you could be the Chosen One,”—she eyed her up and down with her icy blue eyes—“but my mission is to bring you to my mistress and I shall fulfill it.”

Wow. That shitty attitude of hers? Major turn-off, Ash thought. 

“Are you talking about that dream? I already said no to your Teshbi last night. What the hell is happening?”

“We’re out of options. You’ve been chosen to restore harmony to our homeland, whether you like it or not. Now, come with me,” the nymph reiterated.

Ash scratched her neck with impatience. “Why don’t you do it yourselves instead of bothering people from another world? I’m not going.”

She realized the absurdity of the situation as she uttered those words. Am I going crazy, talking about parallel worlds and all? Is she even real, or is this some hallucination I’m having?

Nessia jerked her head upward as she recognized the alarming sound. “There’s no time. The portal’s about to close!” 

With her slender fingers, the nymph grabbed Ash by the wrist. She dragged her to the tall dark gateway that had just appeared in the middle of the room. 

The blankets on the sofa, the unopened mail on the kitchen table, the empty bags of junk food littering the floor—they all began to whirl around them, sucked into a miniature storm that had formed inside the apartment. 

Ash protested vigorously, her voice being lost into the deafening squall. It was too late, though. 

She got pulled in and before she could finish swearing, the portal warped and flashed out with a crackling sound. 

After what felt like either a second or an eternity, the duo fell onto wet grass with a loud splash. 

Ash felt sick. She hurled the chips from earlier and coughed, missing the look of disgust on the nymph’s face. 

Nessia clicked her tongue in annoyance. Her formerly spotless attire was now caked with mud. She took in their surroundings. They were in a thick, dark forest. The air was stale and cold and the sky was menacing. They could hear the low rumbling of thunder in the distance. 

“No, no,” Nessia mumbled in disbelief, shaking her head. “We should’ve landed in Joyia, not in Melancholia. We must’ve taken the wrong portal.”

“Number One Nymph, my ass,” Ash said from behind, wiping her mouth. 

The nymph arched her blue eyebrow which was smeared with dirt. “Excuse you, Loser One? At least someone’s doing their job here.”

Ash scrambled up to her feet and reluctantly wiped the thick layer of mud that covered her pajamas and vanilla skin. “Maybe you should consider a change of career since teleporting to the right place seems to be out of your depth.”

“It’s not as simple as it looks! Teleportation requires a lot of mana and great focus.” She paused and sighed with frustration. “Why am I even wasting my breath trying to explain this to a human imbecile?”

“All I’m saying is, if you want to kidnap someone from another world, you could at least do it right.”

“Gods, I’m this close to leaving you here to die.”

As they were arguing, they didn't notice the sinister creatures approaching them slowly. 

A growing number of red eyes gleamed from the shadows. A low growling started to trickle from the nearby hollow trees. 

Ash shrieked as one of the beasts leaped at her. She glanced at it in terror. It was a dire wolf. And its razor-sharp fangs were aiming right at her throat. 

Then, she felt the heat right before seeing a ball of fire hitting it squarely in the flank. A smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The beast got knocked aside mid-air and rolled several times on the ground with its thick fur ablaze, whimpering. 

Ash whipped her head toward where the fireball came from. Nessia had her hand stretched out. The nymph shot another salve at a second wolf who pounced on her. 

“So cool,” Ash uttered in awe. 

“Run!” the nymph shouted impatiently. 

Ash flinched and darted in the opposite direction without thinking twice. She glanced over her shoulder. A dozen beasts were closing in on the nymph. She heard another blast followed by another one. 

But then, nothing. 

She suddenly heard Nessia’s voice behind her telling her to run faster. 

“Why didn’t you take them all down?” Ash puffed. 

“I’m out of mana. The teleportation has drained my pool,” she replied as coolly as possible. But the sweat rolling down the nymph’s forehead indicated that she didn’t anticipate this situation, multiplying Ash’s panic level by three. 

As she hopped above a large tree root, Ash didn’t see the thorny pinkish stalks hanging in front of her and failed at dodging them. The thorns scratched her skin, leaving marks across her face. She winced in pain but she kept on running. 

They hid under a ravine and caught their breath, chest heaving. The heavy thuds got closer. Ash peered up through the mossy roots that stretched out above them. She could see the massive beasts circling and sniffing the ground. Their red eyes looked even more menacing and cruel from up close. 

One of the dire wolves stopped right above her. A long thread of drool dripped from its open mouth and fell onto Ash’s cheek. She jolted and recoiled. She was about to whimper when she felt Nessia’s hand cover her mouth. Both of them huddled, their eyes darting around in fear. 

Then, they finally heard the creatures thud away. 

They both slowly relaxed their muscles. Nessia abruptly realized that she had been hugging the human tightly. She jumped away from her with a look of revulsion as if she had been embracing a giant slug. 

Ash ignored her. She rose up and wiped the wolf drool off her face with her damp sleeve, her nostrils flaring in the process. 

That was when her foot landed on one solitary twig. 

It snapped and the sound echoed from the ravine. Ash froze in place, inhaling sharply through her teeth. 

They heard snarls in the distance. 

“I hate you,” Nessia said, deadpan.

And they were back on the run. 

They didn't know for how long they had been running through the dark trees but Ash was desperately gasping for air by now. She was wheezing like a decrepit old man. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. 

She tripped over a root and fell flat, face in the dirt. She coughed and was ready to vomit her lungs right there, on the wet leaves that covered the ground. She had reached her limit. 

Screw this, they can eat me. I don’t care anymore, she thought, rolling over onto her back. 

The nymph looked back and groaned. She spun on her heels and dashed to her. The snarling was getting dangerously closer. 

Ash waved her hand above her dirtied face. “Leave me,” she managed through her heavy panting.

“Come on!” Nessia shouted at her. 

The nymph vigorously pulled her up by the wrist. She was glancing around frantically, looking for an escape route. 

They had been running for a few more paces when Nessia spotted what looked like the entrance of a small cave in the short distance. She lifted Ash and flung her above her shoulder like a mere towel. 

“What are you doing?!” 

“Saving your sorry arse.”