Mahoko

Prologue

Earth: 11/19/2005

One evening, as the moon rose in the sky, a young man walked down a desolate street. The clothes on his back were all he had. His money was gone. His loved one was dead. His life was ruined, torn to shreds by the awful fate that God had prepared for him. Why did it happen to him? Did he deserve such a fate? What would he do now? It had been a month now that he had lived in poverty. There had been no one to assist him, for a rumor had gone about that he was cursed and those around him would die. Life, as good as it sometimes was, had given up on him.

He stared up into the moonlit sky and cried out in anger, "What have I done! Why am I forsaken?" And as his anger turned to sorrow, he bowed his head to the ground, hiding his tears from the moon. "Give me another chance," he sobbed. "Just one more, and you will see..."

Why does thou despair? Are thou lost?

The man snapped his head up looking for the source of the voice. "Who... is it?" he said.

Does thou have no hope in the future? Does thou want to start anew?

He made a full circle, only finding the company of the night. "Yes... my life is hopeless... now who are you? Please come out if you wish to help me." he said.

If thou could leave this world, would thou do so?

The question surprised him, and reminded him of what the world had done for him. His anger returned, the fury for those who did nothing to help him in life. He turned his face, once more, to the sky and shouted, "Yes!"

Thou decision has been noted. I am pleased to welcome thou to Mahoko.

"What? Mahoko?" the young man asked and none too soon as the ground beneath him vanished and he plummeted in to darkness. As time seemed to slow, he stretched out a hand toward the moon trying to grab it as the sky above vanished from sight.

͏

Mahoko: 1432˹֕ 14 ֔ 22

Darkness, the feeling of free-falling through the air, into the never ending chasm that had appeared out of nowhere. Until he saw light. The lights of cities, towers, and cars filled the space beneath him. He was falling, straight towards the rock hard cement roads that the cars race back and forth on. And suddenly, it was as if everything slowed down. The young man felt heavier, and as he passed one of the taller buildings, it seemed as though it was expanding, Then he saw another, one that seemed to be contracting, shrinking. On the road, some vehicles sped up to the point where they were only blurs of light while others slowed down to a crawl.

The ground was approaching. He tried to shout out, but nothing came out of his mouth. Right then he noticed that the whole scene was silent, as if everything was in a silent film. Except everything was wrong, everything was contorted. What was happening? Then, just before hitting the ground, another gaping hole appeared... and he was engulfed in darkness once again.

The young man found himself sitting him a dim room. He didn't know how he had gotten there from the fall. It was a small circular room, with benches protruding from the walls. There was a door, with a small glowing orb of light floating above it. Then, he heard voices and the door opened up and light burst into the small poorly lit room.

A man in a white lab coat stood there in the bright light. The young man shaded his eyes as he tried to get a better look. Brown hair, glasses, he looked like one of those American professors he had seen in videos.

The lab man walked forward, extended a hand towards him and spoke something that the young man couldn't comprehend. He backed up, fear asking him the questions: Who is this person? What does he want with me?

Suddenly, he noticed that something wasn't right. His arm. He looked at his arm in shock. It was gone, replaced by a gruesome, large claw that seemed to be made out of iron and steel. The light from the doorway glinted of the shiny surface confirming his fears. His voice trembled as he spoke, "What is happened to me?" even though he knew that the lab man wouldn't understand him. His eyes were wide with fear, and then he felt a light touch on his head. The lab man, as the young man was so focused on his hand, had walked up to him and had prodded him with one finger. Then the man spoke some more incomprehensible language again.

"Young man, are you alright? I assure you that there's nothing to be afraid of here."

The understanding of the lab man's speak surprised him. He forgot all about his arm, and for a moment, he stared at the lab man. "How can I understand you all of a sudden?" he asked. "And where am I?"

The lab man smiled, "Its called magic." The man paused and held out an open palm in which a glow of light suddenly appeared. "You are in a world called Mahoko now, young man from another world. You can call me Slater. I'm here to introduce you to this new world." Then, once again, Slater extended an arm towards the young man. "And what is you're name?"

The young man smiled grimly, "If this is another world indeed, would you mind if I created a new name for myself?"

Slater chuckled. "Of course not. Then what is it that you wish to be called?"

The young man's face lit up. A chance at a new life. It was just what had been promised to him before falling into the darkness to this new world. Once again, he would be able to dream, and have a future. "Call me Tao," he said, and laughed. "Its always been a dream of mine to remake myself and I'm going to take the chance and do so. Tao... Kazuto."

"Very well... Tao. Please follow me." said Slater. He turned around and headed out the door, with Tao right behind him. They walked down a white-washed corridor that seemed to close in on itself. It curved to the point where it was as if they had walked a whole circle from the point where they had started. But after a time walking, they came to a double door which Slater promptly entered.

Tao cautiously followed through and found himself in a large room, encircled by a row of nine wooden desks. At each desk sat a person, but not all of them were human. At the far left, there was a cat-like lady, with ears and a tail. Next to her, Slater had taken a seat and after him there was a demon judging from the horns and bat wings. Two more humans sat in the next seats, and along with the other non-humans, Tao noticed a fairy, centaur, dwarf, and a dragon. Tao was surprised that his composure hadn't broken already, he really was in another world.

Then Slater stood up and spoke. "I would like to introduce everyone here to Tao Kazuto." Heads nodded in Tao's direction. "Brought here by the Portal, and blessed with a magic of transformation," Slater turned and set his eyes on Tao, "The first human from the Other World, and as prophesied, the human who will become a God. We welcome you to Mahoko."