Hi there,

Thank you for reading chapters 1-5 if you have.
if you haven't, I strongly suggest that you read those first as Miscent is a continuing story and this is chapter 6. There are recurring characters.

Chapter 6
― Crystal ―

― ??? ―
Crystal starts to wake up, finding himself in a large, but nice bed, unsure of how he got there. He looks around the room that he currently occupies, and likes the room, but his thoughts gradually revert to the same thought over and over again.

“This room is really nice, but I’d rather be home.”

While looking around beyond the bed, Crystal finds a full length mirror, a window with horizontal blinds, with a white wall base of some kind of material in-between plaster and metal with a sliding door. Moments pass and the apparently sliding door is knocked on, allowing Crystal a moment to respond before it’s opened.

“Uhhh yeah?” The door opens, revealing Ned as he walks into the room wearing something similar to a Hakama.

“Hey, are you OK? You really got knocked out. I’m surprised she didn’t go for me too.”

“Where… am I? The last thing I remember… I was uhhh…” Crystal tries to remember what happened, but his memory is still somewhat scrambled.

“You got thwapped,” Ned supplies elegantly causing Crystal to stare at him, not knowing what to say.

“…Uhhh…Yeah…” Crystal, not knowing how else to put it, agrees as he slowly remembers.

“I got thwapped by that woman. Who was she?”

“That… was-” Crystal interrupts him.

“Wait, let me guess… that was the prophet. Right?” Ned takes that moment to answer his new friends question.

“Yeah, that was her. And before you say anything about her age, don’t.” Ned shudders to himself.

“But, isn’t she old and wrinkled? Isn’t that what prophets are?”

“And that’s why you were thwapped,” Ned says as if the reason was obvious.

“But, I don’t get it. What did I do to get thwapped?” Crystal complains, asking why he was hit by a fan in the first place.

“She’s a prophet, she thwapped you, because you said… well… ‘That’… In her vision. And you just said it right now. She's usually right on the money in her visions, ” Ned comments uncertainly as Crystal continues waking up.

“Oh… wait, aren’t visions only partially accurate or something? Like visions are part of one of a bajillion timelines?”

“Ask her that. But don’t be presumptuous. She’ll know. She’s a prophet. More than that though, she knows how to read people like a book.” Ned gestures his hand, as if he’s holding a ball.

“Come on. You’ve been asleep for a few days.” Crystal stretches in place for a few moments, realizing that he appears to be in a Japanese styled robe, also similar to a hakama.

“What am I wearing? Where’s that outfit I was wearing before?

“You’re wearing a customary Fusoban Robe for guests. Your Elven tunic is in the wash.” Ned looks away from his would be guest in a light blush.

“In the wash? Was it that dirty?”

“Yeah, like a washer and dryer. We don’t just use Magic for everything. Welcome back to civilization.”

“B-But I thought you used a… horse and a cage?” Crystal stares at Ned with a dumbfounded expression.

“Well, yeah, but I’m just dumb. I prefer… hoof-ing it like the old days. It reconnects me to nature and all that. We live in a society that blends Magic and Science to create Magical Technology. Get it? Horse... Hoofing?” Ned half-jokes to himself, but when Crystal doesn't laugh, he waves his hand.

“Do… do you have any pants I could wear?” Crystal asks somewhat hopefully, not liking the robe.

“I had a feeling you’d ask. The maids were against it, but I snuck some into the top drawer next to you. I’ll close the door so you can get changed.”

“Ummm… thanks.” The door closes, and before Crystal can even move, the door opens a crack, just enough for Ned to mention something through the opening.

“Oh by the way. We’re on a time table, hurry up. And before you ask, I didn’t peek.” The door closes once more, leaving Crystal with his thoughts.

“Deja-vu much?” Crystal thinks to himself as he steps out of the surprisingly western styled bed, finding himself in a Japanese styled room. He peers out the window to find a somewhat classically styled Japanese city.

“Huh… I… guess I’m out of the wilderness and into Japan, or at least... something like it.” Crystal takes that moment to analyze his new form despite numerous instances of having to look away, due to indescribable events, he determines that he is indeed a woman now, but refuses to use ‘she’ or ‘her.’ He waits a few moments and opens the door, and walks out of the room.

― Hallway ―

Crystal leaves the room wearing the clothing provided, unsure of what this entire experience may mean for himself, as he walks into the hallway with Ned in his Hakama-like outfit. The floors seem to be similar to a traditional Japanese house, with long wood planks, polished almost to a sheen with the walls and sliding doors practically paper thin.

“Finally, I swear girls take so long to get changed,” Ned says frustratedly as he sighs and begins to walk, causing Crystal to scowl somewhat.

“Follow me. We lost a bit of time there. But assuming your story is true, then you’re probably feeling a lot of foreign new stuff. I guess I should be more understanding.”

“Sorry for being from another world. This body feels so weird… or this place feels weird. I don’t know which.” Crystal frustratedly exclaims as the two travelers once more walk together towards the exit of the house, finding a very fancy car waiting for them.

― Parking ―

They walk out of the house, finding the fancy car ahead of them, despite the car being here, Crystal finds that the area completely boxed the car in, even if the area is somewhat spacious, there are only person sized doors amidst the cement like walls.

“Your city has cars? But I thought… I mean… I don’t understand,” The Neo-Elf says astounded while scratching his head. Ned opens the car door, by pressing a button above the window, resulting in the car door opening, almost like a gullwing, but it retracts inward above the inside of the car, rather than above the car.

“Oh… my god… look at this… Retractable doors… I wonder how it works… how does it work?”

“Get in. How many times do I need to say that we’re on a timetable?” Crystal ignores him and walks around the car, trying to soak it all in and wonders the car works, making theories and in his bewilderment, he bumps into Ned once more having gone full circle.

“Is this a sufficient carriage milady?” Ned smart-mouths off towards Crystal only serving to anger him.

“Stop calling me that! I’m not trans. I’m a guy!” Crystal says indignantly with a frown.

“Yeah yeah, let’s get in. The sooner we get to the prophet, the sooner we can get this over with and you'll be out of my hair.” Crystal's frown deepens.

“You don’t like me much… do you…?” Crystal sighs, resting his elbow on the car's internal door trim, and soon his chin rests on his palm.

“It’s not that, I think, assuming you’re a guy like you say you are, you’re a pretty… cool guy, it’s just… ahhhh come on. It’s nothing,” He says unsure of his own emotions.

“He’s nothing like Noodle…” Crystal thinks to himself as he gets into the car.

― In The Car ―

Ned and Crystal sit on the back seat of the car while the newly realized girl slightly bounces up and down in the seat, grateful that it’s slightly bouncy and cushy. The car by itself, seems like the inside of a limo, but smaller, even with a separator from the back and the front and the doors extend down to the floor, however Crystal’s actions cause Ned to stare at him.

“You’re like a kid, I swear.” Ned rolls his eyes at his friends childishness.

“Look, I don’t know why either, I’m just so… I feel like… oh never-mind, you wouldn’t understand.” The window in front of them scrolls down to reveal a driver.

“Where to, sir?”

“Oh, ummm to the prophet? The wonderful prophet of… Japan?” Crystal says uncertainly causing Ned to look at him questioningly, sizing him up.

“He meant me. In-case you hadn’t noticed, you hardly look like a sir right now with your naturally small Elven Stature, even when wearing pants, or that short hair.”

“W-W-WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?” Crystal says, greatly offended, but doesn't quite know why.

“Just that you’re small. But that’s OK. You’re still growing. Give it time.”

“I’ll have you know that I was practically 6 feet on Earth,” Crystal shouts begrudgingly as he starts to look out the cars window.

“Yeah well, you’re about 5 feet here.” The driver waits for a moment before he coughs impatiently, causing Ned to redirect his attention to the driver.

“Oh, right. Can you take us to my grandmother?” Crystal, enamored with the car, doesn’t hear that the prophet is Ned’s grandmother.

“Yes sir. It’s a bit far, but I can do that,” The driver says boringly.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Of course sir,” The driver says after a long sigh.

“Hey Ned? How are we going to leave? The only doors in and out are person sized.” The window scrolls up, and the car’s engine turns over, as the car lifts up into the air.

“T-THIS… OH MY GOD!! THIS IS A FLYING CAR!?” Crystal nearly screams, but his shout bounces in the cabin of the car, frustrating Ned, causing him to take hold of his ears for a few moments.

“Well, yeah, what did you think we had? Even the hidden Elves city has some kind of a flying car, or so I’ve heard. But don’t quote me on that.” Crystal continues to stare out the window, mystified at the distance they're traveling, and more so, how they're traveling.

“Well… well we don’t where I come from OK!” Ned looks out the window boringly, paying no attention to his friends defensiveness, as Crystal peers out excitedly with various expressions of fear when the car turns.

“I can’t believe this! I’m in a flying car! THIS IS SO COOL!” Crystal almost squeaks in his excitement. Over the next 30 minutes, the car takes varying turns, keeping Crystal glued to the window, until the car slows it’s descent onto the roads, finally arriving at the two passengers intended end-destination.

― Prophet’s Residence ―

They arrive at Ned’s grandmother’s house, and find her waiting outside with some armed guards. The prophet herself seems to have a light tinge of pink in her hair, as she wears relatively modern clothing of a long sleeved tan button up blouse and brown pants with and a pair of reading glasses.

The house seems to be somewhat similar to a modern house from Earth, but in better quality with a large cement fence all around it, similar to Ned’s house. The two visitors leave the car, and Ned pokes his head back in to offer gratitude to the driver.

“Thank you for the trip, we’ll be back in a bit.”

“Of course, sir,” The driver says as he unfolds a newspaper to read while Ned is inside. Crystal tries to re-orient himself with the ground struggling to avoid falling over, Ned walks up to his young looking grandmother.

“Granny…” The frustrated grandma knocks him gently in the forehead in response to his apparent accusation of the young-looking grandmother.”

“Come on Edward, do I look like a ‘granny?’” Ned’s grandmother appears as a teenage girl of about 18 years old, much to her chagrin. Crystal walks up to the un-aged grandmother, in an attempt to be respectful, but fearing her retribution.

“Hello honored-” The supposed elder interrupts Crystal harshly.

“Do not call me honored elder. I understand that where you’re from that’s likely to be very respectful, but I personally would rather avoid it. My name is Kana Kaminari. Call me Kana.”

“Kaminari? That sounds familiar.” Crystal puts his hand to his chin as he ponders about where he had heard the prophets name.

“The statue you saw perhaps?” The prophet suggests with a cheeky grin.

“Y-Yeah, those statues were called… ummm…”

“Aiko and Mirai Kaminari,” The apparent elder supplements for the new apparent Elf.

“Yeah them…” The neo-girl mutters, being reminded of the statue’s names.

“Come inside, we have much to discuss.” Crystal and Ned look at each other warily, causing Crystal to shake his head inelegantly as he walks inside.

― Inside the Prophet’s House ―

Inside the prophets house appears to be very ancient in comparison to the outside. Several tarps lay on the ground, rather than carpet or tile, and varying bowls, and cups lay on tables of varying heights.

On the wall hangs a portrait of a pair of cups and an ace symbol, causing Crystal to wonder about if that means something, but soon forgets about it as Kana walks into another room gesturing for Crystal and Ned to follow her.

“Come in here please.” Kana calls to them both, beckoning them further. Soon Crystal and Ned walk into the strange room filled with bowls and sit down at the table opposite of Kana.

“So, what can I help you with? Wait…. Don’t tell me…. You’re looking for…. A bicycle?”

“Uhhh…. Nnnooo? My name is Crystal. Firstly, why did you… ummm 'thwap' me?” The wizened prophet narrows her eyes in a glare as she glances at Ned, and back to Crystal.

“You called me old,” Kana says as if that justified anything.

“But you couldn’t have possibly known that I’d call you that? Aren’t visions like… only possible futures?” Crystal says drawing on their experience in fiction, in things such as back to 1985 part 1, 2 and 3, as well as the Wagon of the Stars

“A possible future though it may be, the other one that I saw, was you being blamed for a bank robbery, then you went to prison for a century,” The prophet smiles in her response as if to say “so there you are.”

“So… you thwapped me hard enough to knock me out so I wouldn’t be blamed for robbing a bank?” Crystal wracks his mind trying to think about if that justifies the prophet's actions.

“And also because… you called me old. Visions are strange things sometimes, but yes. That being said, let’s not call it thwapping. It sounds wrong.” the sage says somewhat humorously. Crystal glares at Ned, who named the effect a thwap before eventually returning his attention to the prophet.

“Kana, I was told that you wanted to see me.”

“Ahh yes. Well Crystal, I know who you are. But I don’t know names. My visions are often clouded in that way.”

“Wait, you’re saying her story is true?” Kana glares at Ned, clearly disbelieving of his idiocy.

“Their story is true, yes.” Kana openly exclaims, exciting Crystal, having someone on his side.

“C-can you tell me what happened?” Crystal holds his chest. His heart feeling like it's beating so hard it might pound out of his chest, making him appear as if he's feeling faint.

“I can tell you some of what happened. Some is shielded even from my eyes. That’s been happening more and more frequently, so when I do see a vision, it’s generally important.” Crystal's hope has not yet been dashed, despite the vagueness of the warning.

“Then can you tell me what you know?” Crystal says quietly, not wanting to ask too much of one of his only allies in all the world.

“Of course dear, please know however, that I don’t know much, I can only see, I don’t hear, as a result, I don’t know many names. After you were attacked, your mother struck her foe with more ferocity than I’ve ever seen, likely exceeding that of my own mother,” Kana narrates, and stares at the fidgeting Crystal empathetically.

“It is very clear to me, that your mother is far more than an ordinary woman, and your sister, much like yourself has the capacity for greatness, even if she blames herself for your accident.”

“Your mother, she…. She’s someone that no one would want to cross in a dark alley, as you humans might say. Though I wonder why she had silver hair. You’re not that old are you?”

“W-What happened to my body?” Crystal blurts out dismissing the parts he isn’t ready to hear.

“Your mother took your collapsed form to a hospital and you were taken into emergency care. But the damage was… extensive.”

“Did anyone else get hurt?” Crystal asks carefully, concerned about Julia and Noodle.

“No one other than yourself had been harmed due to your sacrifice and your mothers actions. Your mother seems to be aware to some extent of what has happened to you, but not where you are, though I’m confused as to how she would surmise that you were summoned to another world.”

“Your body on Earth is in intensive care, and not even your mother can visit you at least yet.”

“D-Did my mother know there would be an attack?” Crystal pleads, swallowing his words. For several moments, the woman does not reply, knowing that the information may do more harm than good.

“No, from what I’m seeing, but she intended on leaving the day after in an attempt to locate the one who would have attacked you.”

“You said ‘You humans?’ Aren’t you human too?”

“Not quite I’m afraid. My family has traces of human beings in us, but that’s all.”

“So… I really am on another planet?” The prophet looks deeply at Crystal, contemplating what to say.

“Yes, you are on a different planet, more than that…. You’re likely on a different plane of existence.” Crystal again looks at Kana with confusion, not sure what she means.

“So, what are they doing now? How can I get home?” The prophet looks at Crystal with a gentle look, contrasting to her former piercing and confused gazes.

“There are 2 ways to return home, at least from what I understand. But keep in mind, I am not an expert. 1. You would need to do what you came here to do. Or… 2. You would return to your body, if your present form were to… die. But, you would remember nothing, you would be in excruciating pain.”

“Wait, why? What do you mean?” Kana bites her bottom lip slightly.

“Crystal, your shoulder and chest have holes in them, and you may need some form of breathing assistance for the rest of your life.” Kana taps Crystal’s shoulder as one of the locations of a gunshot wound.

“But I mean, I’m right here! I’m breathing fine!” Crystal says not quite understanding that their current form and their body on Earth are two very different physical beings and soon Kana gives Crystal his options.

“The way I see it, you have two choices. Consider this a dream, and wake up. If you do this world will fade from your mind like a nightmare, or do what’s necessary to save yourself.” Crystal weighs the two options, as if holding them in the palm of his hands.

“If I ‘do what’s necessary’ then I’d be healed on Earth?” The wizened figure, despite looking like a woman in her 20s, eyes the apparent young woman before her like a great sage might.

“It’s not always that easy, but I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

“I want to go home, and I know it’s really childish to say, but I want my mom… I know that it’s really selfish. But I want to go home.”

“As one would in your situation. That’s completely normal.”

“But, if I’m here for a reason, I have to know. I could never look at myself the same way if I gave up.” Crystal sighs to himself, clearly disrupted by this revelation of choice.

“Technically, you wouldn’t know that you had ‘given up’ as you say.” Kana says, giving Crystal some idea as to what might happen, if they give up.

“No, I would know, I wouldn’t know why I know. I wouldn’t know what I gave up. But I’d know it’s probably important.” Crystal glares downward, as if shamefully imagining what would happen if he did just give up, picking option 2.

“But, I don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to do. Can you help me to find out what it is?” For the fourth time, the wizened figure stares at Crystal with an almost un-perceivable thought.

“I can’t. But I can direct you to a place that you can go to possibly find out.” Ned steps up towards his young looking grandmother interrupting her.

“Grandma! You can’t be serious!” The prophet lightly thwapps Ned in the face with her fan, causing him to stop in his tracks, as he holds his face, groaning in mild pain.

“You would need some supplies, and you would need to go far to the north. To the same mountains that Aiko ventured to, in order to hide the Glaive of fables long past.”

“Who were Aiko and Mirai anyway?” The room becomes so silent that a pin drop could be heard and Ned has a feeling of dread so profound that he fears the oncoming explanation, while his grandmother bounces in place.

“Oh no, you shouldn’t have done that.” Ned slaps his forehead at Crystal, as if a genie was released from the bottle, causing him to step back, checking his watch. Kana pulls some drapes that flow to the sides revealing a large board of various people, like a conspiratorial detective might have. The board shows many names, with old illustrations of varying people ranging from ‘Takashi’ to ‘Aiko’ and beyond.

“Weeeell, we think that Aiko was a half demon, born to the demon god Amun, and the Messorem Tiresias. This granted Aiko a strong sense of morality but also of foresight.” Kana taps her board with a pointing stick, and soon time passes while Kana gives a history lesson on Aiko and Mirai, as well as of the world around them.

― Several Hours Later ―

As interested as Crystal is in the world’s past, he has to ask questions from time to time, and soon evening falls while Ned bumps his head against the wall, having heard this explanation many times.

“And that is the known story of my mother and father.” Kana finally finishes her very expansive explanation.

“Wait, Ned, didn’t you say that people THINK it was thousands of years ago?” Crystal glares at his cohort, not sure if he’s remembering correctly.

“Yes, that’s correct," The prophet claims broadly and with some large amount of price before Ned can answer, contesting this claim of hers.

“But Aiko was your mom…?” Crystal confusedly asks once more.

“Yes, that’s also correct," The prophet once more proclaims. Fidgeting with some cups nearby, stacking them briefly, rims on top of rims.

“So then you’re…. Thousands of years old?” Crystal asks skeptically, as he starts to wonder how much of this is in his head, and mentally counts the strange oddities that he’s experienced.

“Well… I mean..." The supposed young woman stammers to herself.

“If you want to put it that way, I’d prefer saying I’m thousands of years young, thank you very much,” The prophet says somewhat miffed by the accusation of being old, but lets her distaste go, in favor of attempting to help Crystal with their quandary.

“So… how does that relate to me?” Crystal, again in his confusion, attempts piecing things together, but isn't able to before Kana answers the question.

“Aiko and Mirai had a unique experience back a few thousand years ago. Not that anyone believes me.” Kana glares at Ned who refuses to believe that she’s actually thousands of years old, let alone the daughter of the two saviors of the world.

“Here's the gist though Crystal. I theorize that Aiko and Mirai were what I call a Blending. And I think you are too. Admittedly, I don’t have another word for it. But it’s where someone from another world, inhabits the body of someone here. Or vice-versa. The two are then blended, as much as can be. This can only happen upon the death of those here however. During the Blending itself, the body is healed of all injuries. So let’s say that Ned here died.” Ned’s saliva goes down the wrong pipes, causing him to gasp, breathing in deeply.

“Let’s not, and say we did,” Ned says uncomfortably, despite this complaint however, Kana continues her explanation.

“So then someone else, let’s say, another Ned. Who fancies himself a knight let’s say.” Crystal chokes on his saliva in response while laughing, and imagining this example literally.

“So let’s say that this other Ned, then occupies this Ned’s body. This causes the body to be fully healed due to the energies of the universe coalescing and all that kind of good stuff.” Crystal continues imagining a big bad monster smashing potato soldiers in armor, that end up coming back to life.

“So you’re saying the reverse of that happened to me? I … died on Earth and was summoned here into a dying body and here I am?”

“Do… my circumstances change what body I go into?” Kana looks at the concerned Crystal like a mother would to her daughter who just ‘danced’ the whole chorus of a movie ending.

“No dear. Your… sister’s request held no bearing on your current form in any way.” Crystal breathes a sigh of relief.

“H-How much do you know?” Kana takes Crystal's hands into her own.

“I know enough Crystal. I know what you may have ended up doing if you had never taken your sisters request, and what she may have done. That she would not be the one here instead of you. even if she had been in the same situation. I fear that for her, it would have been far more grave.”

“And no Crystal, you’re not special in the sense that ‘Only you can save the world.’ But you are important.” Crystal looks up at the woman, tears welling in his eyes.

“So what do I need to do?”

“Far to the north, in the Grand Temple of Ice and Snow, is a cave, it was previously owned by my mother. She had many adventures of her own, whether with, or without my father. It was originally meant for leisure, but she repurposed it to protect the cave. In the old days, it would take you to the lake of Requiescence. However it is sometimes called ‘The Lake of Remembrance.’ Or a cave instead of a lake. Once you’re there, you may rest and dip your hand in the waters, and find why you are here.”

“How far north?” Crystal asks, scared to actually know the answer.

“You would want to go about 25 districts worth.” Crystal turns somewhat pale, thinking of that as about 50 miles.

“Can I take one of those flying cars?” Crystal grips their hand lightly, hoping to find out what he needs to do, hope springing from his eyes.

“Flying Cars only work in the residential sectors because of an artificial power grid using magnetics. They won’t work in forests, mountains or otherwise,” Ned pipes in, hoping that he can convince Crystal not to go head-first into danger.

“What else do I need to know? Ned?” Before Ned can answer, Crystal remembers something that he said before.

“What did you mean by bandits and thieves do things with Elves?” Ned panics slightly, as Kana takes hold of her trademark folding fan.

“NED! What did you tell them?!” Kana prepares her folding fan for Ned’s evening thwappening.

“Nothing! I mean… I MAY have let it slip that Elves are highly prized.” Kana groans frustratedly at her idiotic grandson, rubbing her temples.

“Crystal, this is far from a perfect world. Slavery unfortunately does happen here in Fusoba, not so much at all in Heimr though. It’s completely outlawed in this city. But outside, you may not be protected. You have to be careful. Your being an Elf, and having blue hair like a cloud in space or the ocean is very taunting to thieves and bandits. You’re at risk, everywhere you go outside. Even other cities. Depending on which city, they may even make it legally required to have an owner.”

“I… uhhh….” Crystal stammers to himself as he doesn't know how to take all this.

“Think about how you want to do this. You have all the time you need.” Kana shakes her head, and walks towards the conspiracy board about her family with the intent of putting away her toys.

“M-Magic is a thing here right?” Crystal asks, trying to find some way to make things easier on him and his quest of great importance.

“Well, yes… but very few actually know how to use it. Even I don’t know much of it’s use.” Kana puts her hand to her chin, wondering why that is despite her age as Crystal wrenches her from that train of thought.

“Can you teach me what you do know? Aren’t Elves supposed to be like… really talented in Magic?”

“Ned? What do you think? You’ve been outside the city more than I have.” Kana stays the fan blades of her thwapping mastery, but feels like she may regret it.

“Well, I’ve never actually seen Elves use Magic. They have actually been more talented in martial arts than Magic, but they aren’t particularly strong.” Crystal arches an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that.

“Why are they usually prized then? Physical labor?” Crystal again brings his hand to his chin in thought, wondering what Elves could be useful for with regards to slavery.

“Mostly as mates actu-.” Kana thwaps Ned with a resounding noise seemingly knocking him out, before he can finish his sentence. Crystal’s mood immediately sours at the trail of thought that Ned was going in, and finally understands the direction he intended on going.

“I… I mean… why?” Crystal yet again turns pale, understanding what Ned meant while Kana stares at the young man before her once more, in an entirely new light endlessly intrigued by his innocence, and wondered how far that might inhibit him.

“Have you never… considered anything like that? Having children?” Crystal brings his hand to his chin, thinking about if he’s ever had an interest like that. Despite his contemplation, he comes to the conclusion that he hasn’t ever thought of that subject in the slightest without provocation.

“No, I guess… I’ve never been interested. Unless someone else brought it up, I never had any opinion at all to be honest.”

“Very intriguing…” The prophet mutters to themselves a little too loudly, causing some display of annoyance from Crystal.

“Why? Is that weird?” Crystal asks carefully, not wanting to frustrate the wizened sage-like prophet.

“Oh, no reason especially. I want you two to spend the night here, think about what you want to do about this journey, and let me know your decision in the morning.” Kana starts to pack up for the evening, placing cups in their correct spots, as Crystal again interrupts that train of thought.

“K-Kana? Can I ask you something? I’m not asking you to decide for me. But… I’m genuinely looking for advice… what do you think I should do?” Kana stares at Crystal, folding her arms.

“I can’t, and won’t decide for you kiddo. That being said… I suggest whatever it is that you choose to do. You do what you think is right. That’s what my mom would do at least.”

“So… Magic is an unknown. Nobody knows why I’m here. I could be enslaved if I leave the city… but to know why I’m here, I have to go to the north.” Crystal tries to take hold of his hair in desperation, but finds it’s too short.

“But wait…. Didn’t Ned say that Magic and technology were blended here? Ahhh whatever, it was probably a slip of the tongue…” Crystal thinks to himself as he remains hard pressed on what he should do.

“That’s the gist of it. Like I said, this isn’t a perfect world, also you may want to go to the remains of the ancient fortress on Mt. Ishitani to the west to pick up some maps.” Crystal bumps his forehead onto the table, scared for his future, wondering what to do.

“C-Can I ask you one more thing before we stop being Super Mega Serious?” The prophet laughs at the idea of not being super mega serious as Crystal said.

“Yes Crystal, what’s wrong?” Crystal grips the hakama-like uniform he currently wears.

“Ned said that Male Elves that look like me…. They’re even more rare than female Elves.”

“He implied that I should just say that I’m a girl.” Kana glares at the unconscious thwapped young man on the ground while rubbing her temples.

“When will he learn to shut up? Yes. That’s true, while I think that saying such things would make things somewhat easier on you, that is your choice. We would respect your decision.” Crystal claps his face a couple times before realizing that he doesn't know what to do.

“I… don’t know what I should do…”

“And that’s OK. Take your time. Follow me up to the guest room. I’ll get you made up in bed for the night.” Kana smiles at Crystal, and just before she summons her maids or butlers, Crystal asks an innocent question.

“You’re… putting makeup on me? For when I’m asleep? Or did we have an argument and I didn’t see it?” The prophet doesn’t know if Crystal is obfuscating stupidity, but decides to err on the side of caution, that he simply doesn’t know what “to get made up” means, and begins to ask him quite plainly about if he knows what it means.

“Do you know what ‘To get made up’ means?” The foreigner shakes their head as if oblivious to the dual nature of the term.

“It means, to get made up for the night means, to get your bed ready for sleeping in.”

“Oh… what about Ned?” Kana looks around, realizing that Ned is still on the ground, seemingly as if waiting to be taken to his room upstairs.

“Oh… right…” Kana claps her hands gently and rings a bell causing a couple of butlers and maids to enter the room.

“What can we do for you, madam?” Kana breathes deeply, having told him before that she doesn't like being called old.

“Don’t call me that please, you know how I feel about being aged like that.” The lead butler sighs before rephrasing his question.

“How may we be of service… pretty… young… miss?” The butler struggles to get the words out, but once he does, Kana smiles in glee at being referred to as young, even if under duress causing Crystal to stare in bewilderment at the conversation before him, as he wonders what exactly could possibly cause this kind of situation.

“Can you please take my grandson upstairs and get him made up for the evening after his… uhhh…”

“Evening thwapping?” The butler supplements gracefully after a few seconds of silence.

“No… let’s not call it that. It sounds wrong.” The young looking prophet shivers to herself.

“But is that what we should be doing?”

“Yes, take him upstairs please, and get him tucked into bed.” Kana requests before turning her attention back to Crystal.

“Of course, young miss,” The butler says impatiently, struggling to make the sounds come out of his mouth.

“Thank you as always. I’ll make sure to make the staff some breakfast tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to, as always, young miss. It is very appreciated Ma… young Miss,” The butler says as he catches himself.

“It’s the least I can do.” The ‘young’ prophet turns back to the apparent young lady in front of her.

“Now where were we? Oh right, yes! Come with me.” The two walk up the stairs to the second of three floors, adding to the wonder of how Kana can afford this house.

“So… what do you do…? Professionally I mean.” Kana looks at Crystal, surprised that he has any interest in her professional life, especially given his circumstances.

“I’m a politician by night and I work with a group of restoration archaeologist by day. Yeah, I know, it’s not always really fun, and there are so many books or movies that exaggerate what I do. I was my mothers direct child, named after an old friend of hers. So I guess my mother’s initial immortality passed on to me. Trust me, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Translation being, I don’t need sleep. But oh my god is it nice when I can get some.” Crystal stares in confusion at the politician-archaeologist causing her to laugh as he tries to verbalize the question of how that works.

“So… why was Ned at that ruin? Do you know?” Kana stops and places her hand on Crystal's shoulder.

“I sent him there for you.” Kana says with a smirk, as her guest attempts to piece yet more puzzles together.

“Wait, how did you kno- Oh…. You're a prophet,” Crystal half interrupts himself as he realizes the truth.

“Now you’re catching on,” Kana says with a laugh as she leads Crystal to the guest room, with the intent of letting him sleep through the night, peacefully and at ease.

― Guest Room ―

Kana walks into her guest room on the second floor of her house, as Crystal follows carefully. He observes that the room seems to have a very light shade of yellow for the walls, with a cabinet inside the wall, a large bed with drapes above it, and silk-looking blankets as well as a large mirror. She prepares Crystal’s guest room, along with some pajamas and clothes for the following day.

“Now then, I’ve left some pajamas and clothes for tomorrow on this seat. There’s a bathroom over there, and I’ve also prepared a midnight snack for you in-case you need it.”

“Please make yourself at home.” Crystal looks bewildered at the kindness shown to a stranger such as himself, somewhat worried of overstepping boundaries that he's unaware of, boundaries that are common to this world, but not to Earth.

“Why are you… being so nice to me?” Crystal asks, curious about why a stranger would be so kind as to invite him into her home.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” In Crystal’s eyes, he’s somewhat skeptical, but can’t think of a single ulterior motive of why she shouldn't be nice, or trust him.

“No, but I mean-” Kana interrupts Crystal with the dreaded ‘mom-tone.’”

“Are you planning to try to harm me in my sleep?” Crystal stammers, unsure why she'd think that.

“No, I wouldn’t do that! I was raised better than that.” Crystal stops talking for a few moments, trying to understand why Kana is asking this.

“Are you planning on stealing anything? I mean, granted there isn’t much to steal in the first place.”

“No, But-” Kana again interrupts Crystal.

“Are you intentionally planning on doing anything bad?” Crystal tries to get it across that that's not what he meant, but he's stopped at each turn.

“No but-” Kana once again interrupts Crystal, trying to make a point, that his staying will create no quandaries.

“Then theres no problem. Sleep tiiight. Or is there a problem?”

“Look… I just…” Crystal sits on the somewhat comfortable bed, and Kana soon follows suit, sitting next to Crystal as he unloads his thoughts weighing on his mind.

“When I was on Earth, I was a man, and I wasn’t really the most manly of men, in fact sometimes I only acted a certain way because I saw it as the default. But now, anything I knew is gone. My family is gone. Everything I’ve ever known is gone, and I don’t even know what I’m doing here.” Crystal groans to himself frustratedly.

“Hmmmm well… did you have a girl… or a guy that you liked back home?” Crystal sits on the bed laying down, and Kana soon follows, leaving Crystal to wonder if the prophet next to them already knows about Julia.

“I had a girl I met, and we were going to go on a date or something on Thursday! I don’t even know what it was going to be…” Crystal groans frustratedly while covering their eyes, almost creating suction between their palms and eyes.

“Thursday? What’s that?” The prophet asks in genuine curiosity.

“It’s a day. There’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was a Friday, the day of the prom, so I was going to go out with her tonight probably,” Crystal says trying to do some mental math.

“Hmmm. What did you like about her? It’s OK, you can say her physical features.”

“I… actually didn’t care about her physical features. I know most guys would say ‘Oh her chest’ or ‘Her hips’ or something.”

“Hmmm yeah, many would,” Kana supplements curiously, wondering what the visitor will say next, ever curious about Earth and it’s customs.

“But to me, I found her personality intriguing.” Crystal smiles, thinking about Julia's sparkling personality.

“What did you find interesting about her?”

“She and I genuinely liked this game. Anima Power 6. It's about-” Kana cuts off the story before he can get too far into what Anima Power 6 is about.

“A game? What’s that?” She says jokingly, implying knowledge belying her visual age.

“Ummm In this case it’s a video game. Like… something you’d interact with on a telev-” Kana interrupts once again as Crystal didn’t catch that she was joking.

“I know what you meant. I was joking.”

“Oh… OK… so I was at the prom and she was the only one who recognized me for being me.”

“Well, if you’d like, I can attempt to peer into the Earth to see what she’s up to.” Crystal holds his hand up, as if to say to stop.

“But that would invade her privacy!” Crystal all but shouts outward towards Kana, giving her pause as she considers Crystal's request.

“Then I’ll let you know if I see her, but I won’t ‘Intentionally go looking’ does that sound fair?”

“I guess… but I’d prefer she tell me herself.” The wizened prophet puts her hand to her chin, curious about how that would happen across such great distances.

“Regardless, you should get changed and go to sleep. You’ve likely got a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Oh by the way, I’ve also set a mirror over there for you, in case you want to look at your hair or whatever.” Kana points to the mirror in the far side of the room.

“I… was about to ask for one. Thank you…” Crystal says shyly, trying to avoid thinking about the clear differences between his two forms, opting to focus on the surface details, like his hair.

“Yes, I know dear. Sleep well.” The prophet gives Crystal a brief hug and then leaves the room, closing the door. He waits the briefest amount of time, instinctively reacting to all the times that Ellen would open the door just a crack to say something and then half-slam it closed again and he almost expects Ellen to come out of nowhere, but nothing happens.

“I wonder how Ellen’s doing…” The new girl sighs, taking hold of the mirror on the nightstand, finally getting a clear look at his face and hair. Crystal sighs, seeing the uniqueness of his hair. His new almost button nose, ever so slightly puffy cheeks, freckles and chin. From every angle, there was no trace of his former self.

“I guess I should have expected that I wouldn’t see myself,” He says more frustrated than even he expected.

“I guess I should practice how I’m going to refer to myself.” Crystal stands up, off the bed, and steps into the middle of the room, away from any furniture for at least a few feet, as he starts mockingly acting scared, trying to be quiet as he starts mocking the bandit from the previous encounter at the former campsite cage combination.

“Gir hur hur, I’m a big scary bandit and you’re a girl Elf.” Crystal then spins around to the opposite side of the fictitious villain.

“Nuuu not me, I’m not that kind of g…. I’m not that kind of g…” Crystal groans, opting to spin around back to the bandits spot.

“Not that kind of what?” Crystal spins back around to be himself.

“Uhhh I’m not that kind of…” Crystal sighs heavily.

“Sigh… this isn’t working.” Crystal flops on his bed, frustrated that he can’t refer to himself as a “girl” even when in mock examples, it simply doesn’t feel right. He stares at himself in the mirror, realizing that his chest is sore from his flopping on the bed, and that he needs to be more careful and introspective.

“I’m not a girl. But I’m not a guy anymore either. I never liked guys or girls like ‘that’ either. What should I do?” Crystal soon decides to change clothes and get ready for bed, and walks over to the pajamas left for him. He unrolls the pajamas and finds them to be a somewhat silky feeling, brown and red set of striped pajamas. Over time, Crystal changes into his pajamas, carefully, wondering what happened to their previous clothes. Despite the length of time it took to change, Crystal finds that the pajamas are very free fitting, and they feel like what Crystal expects silk to feel like as he crawls into the guest bed, and soon stares at the ceiling, unconsciously making out shapes from the residue of the ceilings formation.

“Good night Ellen… mom…”