Disclaimer: Chain Chronicle is the property of GUMI and SEGA. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only characters so far that are of my own are Nova and Erin.

Our World

I was surrounded by white nothingness. Where I was- what direction I was facing- there was confusion. From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. A dark fog was beginning to consume the whiteness. I could hear the faint sound of yelling and metal clashing together as it approached me. A tense, metal chain entered my thoughts and startled me as it broke.

"Hey!"

I blinked and found myself staring at the back of a DVD case. The jingle of the broken chain still echoed in my ears.

"Are you going to buy that or what? You've been staring at it for a looooong time." My sister, Erin, was leaning over my arm to read the back. "I didn't know you were into musicals."

"I'm not but the cover looked interesting."

"Then why were you staring at the back?"

"I started daydreaming."

"Well, I guess the male lead is kinda hot. I'd probably daydream too if I looked at him as long as you did."

I rolled my eyes and put the DVD back. "Yeah, right."

"I still maintain the theory that you're a closet romantic."

"If only."

We walked out of the DVD store and to my car. As we slipped inside Erin turned to me. "You know, you have been spacing out a lot recently. Is everything okay?"

I nodded as I started the car. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Um, I, uh, keep having this reoccurring dream. It's nothing special, but I've been thinking about it."

"What's it about?"

"Well... Nothing. I mean, I just float in this void and then there's this black fog that comes along. When it comes... I can hear yelling and metal-"

"Metal?"

"Like a sword fight or something."

"See! You've been watching Lord of the Rings too much. Why can't you watch normal girly things like chick flicks?"

"I haven't seen those movies in months. Besides, I'd rather watch three movies about friendship and having hope in dark times than some unrealistic romance."

Erin shrugged, "You're missing out."

"Anyway, at the end of my dream, I always see this chain. I always wake up when it breaks."

"Hm, that's weird. Maybe that breaking chain means that you'll finally be free to do what you want." She caught my quick glance, "It's not like I haven't noticed."

"Yeah, well, someone has to pick up the pieces."

"That someone doesn't have to be you."

My shoulders twinged and I pulled the corners of my lips into a tight smile. "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Yeah, sure."

As I pulled in front of Erin's apartment she turned to me, "You know... you can always rely on me. I am your older sister after all."

"Yeah, by eight minutes."

"Eight minutes more of experience makes all the difference in the world."

I rolled my eyes.

"But seriously, if you ever need help, call me."

I smiled, "Will do."

"See you later, Nova!"

"See ya."

When I turned in the street to my house my stomach began to churn. It felt sour like I had eaten a copious amount candy. I pulled over and ran to the other side of my car. The contents of my stomach were soon dumped on the manicured grass. When I was finished I slowly pushed off of my knees and got back in my car.

Before I could close the door I heard the sound of rattling chains. It was 9:30pm. Not late enough for the bumps in the night to be out. I cut the engine and got back out, grabbing my pepper spray just in case. I had no clue why I was wandering into my neighborhood's woods with only my phone's flashlight to guide me. I had a feeling that if I waited for daylight then I would miss something.

I saw a faint purple light flickering on a cluster of blackened and shriveled trees ahead of me. The rattling had stopped and the air was thick with silent humidity. Preparing the pepper spray in my hand, I tiptoed towards them. In the midst of the trees, a purple vortex was swirling in the ground. Paper balls, glass shards, and a random assortment of other objects littered the area around the anomaly.

"What the-"

Chains rattled right behind my head and I found myself falling face first into the vortex.

Tower of Might

"Melchior, what are you doing?" The ginger haired Dilma asked. She hadn't seen her fellow Sage in weeks. It was normal for him to be in his lab, but it always led to disaster when he holed himself up for days on end.

"I'm working on a teleportation spell. Once it's complete we'll be able to deploy our troops as soon as there's a Black Army sighting."

"How far along is it?"

"I've tested out multiple theories, but only one has shown promise." He floated past her on and deeper into the lab.

Dilma followed him, having an inkling that whatever he had discovered couldn't be good. If there was another explosion they'd have to up the Academy tuition to pay for the damages. She noticed a purple vortex floating in the air and strong white lines underneath it.

"So that's why it's been so quiet lately. You put a seal down to prevent backfire."

Melchior scoffed, "Just who do you think I am? Who knows where I'd be sent to if I left it to its own devices."

"What have you discovered?"

"I've found a way to send things somewhere. I don't know where it's being sent to, but nothing has come back. Something must be jamming my magic otherwise those items would be back."

"In other words, it's currently connected to another continent?"

Melchior bobbed his head, "Or another world."

Dilma's eyes widened, "Another? Melchior-"

"I know. I know. I'll close it once I'm done with my research." The Sage smirked, "Besides, Black Troops can't get in here without my permission."

"This is no time to be joking."

The Sage opened his mouth to retort but immediately stopped. He inched closer to the portal, careful not to cross the lines containing it.

"What is it?" Melchior didn't answer. His eyes were focused on vortex's edges. Then he saw them waver.

"GET BACK!" He tackled Dilma to the floor just as the vortex exploded in a bright light.

The blast went over their heads, rattling the many objects in Melchior's lab. Thanks to the seal, there was no significant damage, but both Sages felt that something had changed. The slowly picked themselves off the floor and looked around. Dilma was relieved that they wouldn't have to raise tuition, but she couldn't put a finger on the emotion that was churning her stomach.

"AHH! I'll have to start all over again," Melchior complained.

"I don't think now is the time to worry about that."

"It's not." Both sages turned to see Fatima approaching them with a scowl. "Thanks to you a radical has entered this realm."

"A radical?" Dilma inquired.

"It's already interfering with the fate of this world."

"What kind of interfering are you talking about?" Melchior asked.

"I don't know." Fatima shook her head. "I can't see anything clearly connecting to it but whatever it does... It will leave an impact for better or for worse."

"Then we need to find it. Melchior, I'm leaving you in charge of this."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it."

Holy Kingdom

I hit the ground with a thud. My phone and pepper spray flew out of my hands. "Ow," I moaned as I stood up. What was that? As I looked around I realized I was no longer in my neighborhood. Instead, I was out in the middle of nowhere where I could see for miles around me without any obstructions. Where am I?

The bright moon above gave me enough light to go on without my phone. I noticed a humanoid figure and grabbed my things. The old advice about not talking to strangers rang in my mind. Advice I would've heeded in a different circumstance.

"Excuse me!" I yelled as I ran towards it. When I got right behind the lumbering form I observed that the figure was covered in fur. Uncertain, I took a few small steps back. "Excuse me?"

The silhouette turned and growled at me, revealing bright red eyes. I pressed down on the pepper spray. The monster let out a bellowing roar and knocked me off my feet. The spray flew out of my hands as my butt hit the ground. It staggered in front of me, furiously rubbing its eyes. I scooted away from it, too terrified to get up.

The creature caught my escape and towered above me. It raised its arm for a strike, claws glinting in the moonlight.

I closed my eyes and covered my head. "H-HEEEELP!"

I felt the rush of air as the creature's claws bore down on me. An odd sound rung out through the air. I stayed still... waiting. Metal scraped on solid material. All was silent outside of my protective ball. I couldn't detect any movement. I slowly uncurled myself, wincing as I felt blood trickling back into my cold limbs.

A man was standing where the monster had been. He was staring at me, face devoid of expression. I noticed the clawed toes of the monster beside his feet.
The man showed no sign of moving and I wasn't sure of what to say. After moments of us silently blinking at each other, I had to say something. "D-did you kill it?"

The man nodded.

"Thank you. I was really scared that it was going to be the last thing I saw." I slowly rose to my feet and looked around. "Um, do you know where we are?"

"A few miles out from the Vice Capital."

"O-ohh, I see." I nodded, "Where is that?"

I could've sworn I saw his right eyebrow lift. It was such a small movement that I wasn't sure. "You don't know?"

"No".

"This way." He turned on his heel and strode past the monster. From this angle, I could see a sheathed sword strapped to his left side.

"Thank you."

He nodded.

The plains around us were dark and silent. Clouds had started to gather around the moon, barely giving us enough light to walk by. The man's pace was fast. I hadn't noticed it at first, but now it was becoming difficult to keep up.

"Oof!" My foot caught on a stone and I began to stumble. I saw a flash and I was stable again.

"Are you okay?" The man removed his arm from my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry that I keep troubling you."

"It's fine." He stepped away and continued forward.

The moon rose higher in the sky, periodically revealing itself from behind the clouds. A large silhouette rose out from the shadows of the plain. As we approached we came across a large gate with knights standing guard on both sides. They eyed us as we passed but didn't move. The road before us was well lit and people were milling around. Loud laughter was coming from a pair drunks sitting outside a tavern.

"Huh, I thought we were entering a castle from the outside look. No wonder why those guards let us pass."

"They recognized me."

"Would they have stopped us otherwise?"

He nodded.

As we passed the drunks they went silent. Their faces contorted in disdain as they looked at the man. It wasn't just them either. Wherever we walked by we would leave a wake of silence.

"My name's Nova. I probably should've mentioned that earlier."

"Indou."

I heard a clatter behind us. The two drunks were staggering after us.

"Hey! Heeey! Girrrrl! Yer not... yer not from 'round here."

I inched closer to Indou. "No, no I'm not."

"Whaddya doin' with a mur-der-er-errrrrr?"

I glanced at Indou. 'A murderer? I don't get that impression.'

"Hey! Ogre! We're talkin' to ya!"

Indou yanked me in front of him just as a bottle shattered a few feet in front of us. If I had still been beside him I would've been hit. I looked up to thank him, but the words caught in my mouth. It wasn't his icy, blue eyes or the intricate tribal pattern that crawled up his skin that surprised me. It was the single, curved horn protruding from the center of his forehead.

His gaze shifted from me to the men. His hand inched toward his sword as the men took out their weapons. I put my hand on his arm and shook my head. "They're not worth it Indou. They're trying to get you in trouble."

"We're just try'na purge our town of a murderer."

"Yeah, he'll gut ya in yer shleeep!"

"Oh, shut up!" I grabbed Indou's wrist and tugged him along.

"Hey, we're not done!"

"Too bad. We're done," I yelled back.

Only when the drunks were far behind us did I let go of Indou. "I'm sorry about pulling you along. If I hadn't I would've ended up punching them in the face."

Indou blinked at me. "Why?"

"Because I think you're a nice person."

He tilted his head.

"I've barely just met you and you've gone out of your way to help me. So, there's no way in hell that I'd just stand around and let them treat you like that."

He nodded and began walking off. I wasn't sure if I should follow him. Guilt was gnawing at me, telling me I was taking advantage of him. A shadow fell over me.

"Huh? What's up, Indou?"

"Okay?"

I wasn't sure what he was asking but answered despite myself, "Y-yeah, I'm okay."

Indou led me to the front of an inn. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to pay for a room and I didn't want to rely on Indou more than I already had.

"Um, I think this is where we should part ways."

Indou tilted his head.

"Well," I dug in my pockets and drew out a twenty dollar bill, "I don't think this will buy me a room."

Indou took it and inspected it under the lantern by the door. He shook his head as he returned it and motioned for me to follow. We passed by the reception desk and headed upstairs. Indou unlocked a door at the end of the hall and pushed me in.

He gathered some sheets and pillows and made a nest on the floor. When he was finished he sat on it and pointed to the bed. "Sleep there."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"We can switch."

He shook his head.

It wouldn't have mattered where I slept. I fell asleep as soon as I flopped down on the bed.