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Interlude - Negi Springfield - 05-17-2015
There was no end to the blinding light. The pristine white climate was endless, infinite in its uniformity. Negi couldn't tell if he was making any progress. There has to be an exit...Right? He knew he was dreaming, but try as he might, he couldn't seem to wake up. He had lost track of how long he had been walking. Negi didn't know why he was walking, only that something bad would happen if he stopped. He was tempted to stop, if only to break the monotony. Behind him, a wave darkness flooded the place. It caught up to him, and then he was falling...
...hitting the floor with a loud thud. Negi woke up abruptly. The pain in his side flared up, reminding him of the fight with the orc in the forest. He had hoped it was all a dream, but if it was a dream, it was an extremely elaborate one. He turned his thoughts to more practical matters. Where am I? The last thing he remembered was passing out somewhere in the forest. Negi picked himself up, carefully. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room. There was nothing in the room save for the bed and a small table. Judging from the light that entered the room's sole window, it was some time in the afternoon. Who brought me here?
Negi walked slowly to the door, into a living room. His injuries had mostly healed, but his legs were weak from disuse. How long have I been here for? He saw his cloak hanging on the back of a chair. It was shredded from the fight and its previously white color was stained with blood and grime. Negi thought back to how he summoned his staff and he tried to do so with the cloak, thinking back to how it looked before the fight. After three long minutes, a white cloak appeared. He put it on and exited the house. Outside, he saw some people bustling around. There were others just standing around, staring down at phones. Not one seemed to be older than twenty. Negi also saw neat rows of houses. Most of the houses were painted brown, but some of the houses had been repainted or graffitied with rich vibrant colors that clashed with the overall monotony. One of the teens, dressed in gothic blacks, saw him and came over, introducing himself as Farrell. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Negi. Where am I?"
"This is the town of Ambrosia. Our princess, Guu, brought you here several days ago. You looked pretty bad when she brought you in. What happened?"
"I got in a fight with an orc."
Another teen came up to Farrell and whispered something to him. Farrell nodded and the other teen left. "What's going on?" asked Negi.
Farrell headed towards the forest and Negi followed along. "Patrol. Ever since the adults left, there has been an increase in attacks from orcs and the like. We do live in the forest after all. If you want, you can come along."
"I'd like to come along. What do you mean by since the adults left?"
"They left before Gilgamesh and Guu fought. Don't you know? It was all over the Dataverse a while back."
"The what?"
"Dataverse." Farrell pulled out what looked like a phone. "You know." Negi gave him a blank look. "You don't know? Were you born under a rock?"
"I was brought to this place several days ago by an Omni. I don't remember much of what happened before."
"You're a prime?" Farrell stopped walking and looked at Negi with respect. "Wow. I never thought I'd get to meet another prime." He saw Negi's confusion and explained. "Primes are those summoned directly by Omni. Everyone else is a secondary. Primes are naturally more powerful and can summon anything they want. Are you going to fight in Dante's Abyss?"
"What's that?"
"It's a fighting competition created for primes. Here. I'll show you." Farrell fiddled around with his phone. "This is it." Negi watched the advertisement for the competition. Their slogan - Are you strong enough to survive - struck a nerve. There was voice telling him to join. He had faced down stronger enemies before, hadn't he? Have I? He wasn't sure. And there was no risk of dying, as Omni had promised that he would be reborn. "You might remember something from his past", a little voice in his head told him. That sealed the deal.
"I'll join."
"You better hurry up and get going. I think registration is almost over and you need to get to the gate to register. I'll finish patrolling on my own."
"How do I get to the gate?"
Farrell pointed a small, barely visible path. "Follow the path and you should get there in an hour or so."
"Thanks." Negi called out over his shoulder as he started down the path.