Chapter One: “The Reunion”
(In Asterisk Dimension – Aquarius Section)
“It’s here…”
Somewhere across the universe, there’s a dimension called “the Asterisk Dimension”. A tall, handsome young man in traditional Japanese clothes was staring at a monitor in a dark, gloomy technological room. His golden yellow eyes were wide open, he was holding his mouth in total terror and nerve. His silver hair was covered by a traditional Japanese hat.
“The humans… They’re… they’re in danger!” he said to himself as he could feel his heart bounding quickly in his chest. His heartbeats would quicken as time was passing by. A young, attractive woman came into the room and sat beside him.
“What’s going on, Shiro?” she asked, as Shiro almost jumped out of his seat. He hadn’t even heard her come in.
“What’s wrong with you? You seem nervous. I mean… you’re literally in the precipice of fainting”
“…Hey there, Hana… I… I’m sorry, I just… saw something really unpleasant” Shiro’s voice was wobbly, he could feel himself sweating and shivering and even though he knew he couldn’t, he tried to conceal his concerns. Hana’s purple eyes stared through his soul with a strict, distinctive look in them. She was also starting to worry.
“What’s going on…?” she repeated even more nervously.
“The humans… they’re in danger”
“What are you talking about?! What’s the age limit?!”
Shiro put his hand on his forehead and sighed. A powerful shiver crossed his spine and he started shaking.
“There is no age limit”
Hana gasped and unintentionally glanced behind her, at the exit door. When she looked back at Shiro, he could tell she instantly understood what’s wrong.
“They are all going to die. Every… single… one…”
(In Human World, X56 Dimension – Kentaroku Household)
Hayate was getting ready for his day at university. He was unable to find a job, so he was dependent on his parents’ finances.
“Love, I’m leaving for work! Don’t be late for your classes! See you in the afternoon!” Hayate heard his mother’s voice from downstairs. He grabbed his backpack and ran to the front door on the first floor.
“Yes, mom!” he responded while quickly going down the stairs. Before he would even get down, he heard the door closing. When he went down, he saw his younger brother sitting at the table, on his phone.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Hayate asked and knowing his brother wouldn’t respond unless he checked himself, he stood over him and saw him reading an online novel.
“Reading Three Jewels again?” he murmured and took a few steps backwards. “It’s the third time this week you’re stuck reading it. I thought you completed it so far”
His brother looked that him in dread. “Dude” he answered, slightly offended. “This novel is great, I never grow tired of it”
Hayate side-glanced beside him and laughed softly. “You said the exact same words about A Half Blood’s Magic the other day, Kenji…”
“You haven’t read either of them beyond chapter one or two, unacceptable”
“Ah well, I have no time for reading novels, alright? This is my last year, so I need to focus on my classes”
Kenji stopped reading to look at his brother and smiled whilst softly wheezing.
“You focus too much on your studies. Be careful, you might end up like Beatrice from Three Jewels or Xiongyan from A Half Blood’s Magic”
Hayate left a livelier laugh. “I’m not a novel main character, you dumbass!”
Kenji turned his back and continued reading. “Of course. Your life is so boring – you can’t be compared to these stories, not even if a writer wanted to”
Hayate ironically shook his head and left the house with his hands in his jeans’ pockets.
In his way, Hayate felt an uneasy feeling of something going wrong around him.
Ughh… I really hate this feeling…, he thought. This sickened feeling is stuck upon my chest for a month or so…
He suddenly felt a bump on his shoulder, then he immediately turned behind him and gasped.
“You’re able to see me?” Shiro asked as he rubbed his shoulder which he bumped Hayate with and, with his other hand, he rectified the position of his hat. Hayate took a few steps back and froze.
“Am I not supposed to?!” he screamed and Shiro put his finger across his lips telling him to be quiet.
“You are, but the thing is, only you see me in my true clothing. I’m from a different dimension and I came here to help you. You belong in a group of people that are in danger”
“What do you mean?”
Shiro sighed and glanced around him. “You already know too much, Hidetomo” he immediately put his hand on his mouth, knowing he screwed up with words.
“What did you just call me?! My name is Hayate!”
“I wasn’t planning on sharing too much with you, but… in your past life…”
Shiro’s voice became rough and husky.
“…In your past life, you were my best friend. And his name was Hidetomo”
An awkward wave of silence covered the atmosphere between the two boys.
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