Kamijou Touma turned around as the ocean came into full view. How ironic that the last glimpse that he would have of this ugly world was a view as beautiful as this. Not that he minded, of course. He had done it. The Star of Bethlehem had been shut down and was now crumbling into the waters below. The world that he loved had been protected. Making his way to the ledge that lay before him, he sat down, his legs dangling off the edge of the ruins. Crumbling bits and pieces of churches began to break off as Fiamma's plans quite literally fell to pieces. The setting sun painted the sky with hues of orange and red and reflected beautifully off of the Arctic Ocean. Nothing more, and nothing less, than a beautiful view. And with that, he took one last deep breath as the crumbling island's velocity took a steep increase, and he smiled.
His work here in this world was done. He could rest.
And as the water rose to meet him, he felt a strange feeling of contentment. As if he knew everything would turn out alright in the end. And with that Kamijou Touma, he who purifies God and slays demons, closed his eyes one last time as the cold water enveloped him and his consciousness left his body...
Only to wake up on a wooden cart moments later.
Shaking the grogginess from his eyes, he squinted and made out the body of a man driving the cart, along with several other carts ahead of them, all filled with people. There were others, who appeared to be guards, riding alongside on horseback.
"Hey, you!" Came a voice from the opposite side of the cart.
Turning to face the source of the voice, he was greeted with the visage of a middle-aged man with blond hair that reached down to his shoulders. He wore a sort of tunic-armour, dyed blue and interwoven with bits and pieces of chainmail.
"You're finally awake! You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, just like us, and that thief over there." The blond man said, causing Touma to crinkle his brow in confusion. Border? Imperial ambush? What the hell was going on? And what the hell was he wearing? Looking down at himself, he saw that his hands were bound for one, but he was dressed in a dirty brown tunic with matching pants and shoes, same as another man in the cart, who Touma assumed was the thief the blond man had referred to. The only difference was that somehow, Touma's shoes had holes along the side and his pants were shredded somehow. Must've caught a nail or something. Such misfortune.
"Everything was going fine until you damned Stormcloaks came along! If it weren't for you, I would've gotten that horse and have been halfway to Hammerfell by now!" The thief exclaimed angrily, snapping the misfortunate Kamijou from his thoughts.
"Excuse me, what's going on?" Touma asked, interjecting himself.
"Poor guy, those Imperials must've hit him hard." The thief remarked.
"He must be scared. Where do you think he came from?"
"Oi! Don't talk like I'm not here!" Touma shouted indignantly. Their conversation was cut short as the carts began to enter a town.
The town had a very rustic feel, further exaggerated by the very ancient look of the civilian's clothing. The roads and buildings were made from cobblestone and everything carried a very medieval feeling as opposed to the futuristic skylines of Academy City that Touma was used to waking up to seeing instead of this. 'What is this, some rural town in England?' The carts soon slowed to a stop in front of what appeared to be a massive guard tower in the middle of the town square. Surrounding it were several people, many of them dressed in armour. In the middle of the square was a man dressed in an executioner's outfit, hefting an equally as intimidating axe. Touma's confusion soon morphed into dread as the people on the carts were directed off and into a line. Their names were called out in a very orderly, yet respectful fashion. As if they were all men about to die.
"Rolof, of Riverwood." The blonde man stepped forward and fell in line. 'Riverwood? What's with this old naming style?'
They called another name, and the thief slowly stepped forward, before making a break for it. The thief ran as fast as he could, but evidently, not fast enough to outrun the arrows that bit into his back. He hit the ground hard and lay still.
Touma was next in line. He gulped.
"Who is he? He's not on the list?" The soldier holding the list gestured at Touma.
"Who cares? He was on that cart for a reason. Stick him with the rest of them." Another, more important looking, the soldier said. Sighing, the one holding the scroll gestured for our unlucky protagonist to move along. Shaking his head in protest, Touma attempted to reason with the guards.
"There has to be some mistake, I don't even know how I got here!" He protested.
"The law makes no mistakes, kid. At least face this with honour, unlike that thief on the floor over there." The important-looking guard said in a strict tone. Seeing no escape at this point, Touma sighed and slunk along.
"Such misfortune."
"Don't worry, we'll make sure your body is preserved well and your remains are sent back to where you came from." The guard holding the scroll said.
'As if that's supposed to help me feel better!' Touma thought bitterly. 'At least he's being polite about it.'
As Touma gathered with the other prisoners, a priest began to say some form of rites, but one prisoner just exclaimed something about "getting it over with" and walked up to the chopping block. And much to Touma's horror, the executioner raised his axe high, and brought it down with a decisive chop, the prisoner spasming for a second as his head fell into the basket beneath him. 'Oh my God, they aren't joking about this!' Touma thought frantically as his eyes darted back and forth looking for an avenue of escape.
"You there! You're next. Up to the block, prisoner." Ordered the Captain. Touma gulped again. Often times he would attempt to run, but judging by the corpse of the thief laying face down on the cobblestone roads, he'd bet all of his pitiful savings that he'd be shot dead before he made it even 20 paces. Seeing no other choice, Touma slowly stepped towards the chopping block.
"I said, up to the block!" The Captain yelled once more, causing Touma to up his pace. Kneeling down at the block of stone, and placing his head in the groove and faced downwards at the basket, which to his horror and disgust, still contained the previous prisoner's head.
'I guess this is the end of this misfortunate Kamijou's story. His head in a basket in a land I haven't even heard of before!'
"Such misfortune."
So as the headsman raised his axe, Touma closed his eyes and prepared for his impending demise. A demise that never came. A piercing roar cut through the silence and the flapping of wings drew ever closer. Looking upwards, Touma's eyes widened in shock as a literal dragon was perched on the tower above him. Staring at the beast above him, Touma could not shake the feeling of extreme dread pooling in his stomach. Bile rose from his stomach and his head was throbbing. One thing that did bother him more than anything else was a bizarre pulsing in his right hand, the Imagine Breaker. This right hand of his constantly perplexed him, and this time was no exception, and frankly, it scared him shitless. He resisted the urge to scream in fright. The dragon let out another roar before beginning its assault by letting loose a stream of fire upon the people gathered in the square. Seeing this as his chance, Touma quickly scrambled to his feet and made haste for the safest looking building he could find. The watchtower that stood stoically above him was looking worse for wear, with cracks running up the sides of the once-mighty building. Turning around, Touma spotted Rolof and some of the other prisoners running for another tower on the far side of the square. Seeing as it was his best bet, Touma quickly dashed for the tower and slipped inside.
"Oh good, you made it out," Rolof said, heaving heavily from mad sprint they had just made. "Jarl Ulfric, what was that?"
The man he addressed, who Touma assumed was Ulfric, simply shook his head. "The end times are upon us, my friend. You! Spiky hair. You were closest to that wyrm. Did you see any distinctive details on it?"
"Uh… it had a lot of black spikes covering it, but it carried this strange presence. I don't know how to describe it… it was… it was like the world was about to end in that very instant." Touma answered. "And my name is Kamijou Touma, by the way."
"Well, it is nice to meet you, Kamijou Touma. If only it could be on better terms." Ulfric nodded in response. "And it appears my hunch was correct. Alduin has returned."
"Alduin?" Touma questioned.
"He's that old monster they used in those bedtime stories to keep the children from misbehaving. Something about a dragon that would eat your soul if you were naughty. I thought it was all just horseshit before all of this, but it turns out he's more fact than fiction." Rolof said grimly.
"The actual legend says he resides in Sovngarde and consumes the souls of the dead. It is prophesized that he will eventually consume the whole world to make way for the next." Ulfric finished. "But one thing is for certain. Nobody in this village will survive unless we get out as soon as possible. The only possible exit right now is to keep going up." On cue, several of the prisoners started up the stairwell, followed by Touma and Rolof… only to be blown into the far wall by an unknown force coming from the wall closest to them. Touma came to a halt in front of one of the fallen prisoners, but as he kneeled down to check for a pulse, he noticed what had blown open the wall in the first place. Peering through that wall was Alduin himself, looking right at Touma. That same dread Touma felt earlier returned but he pushed it down. He wouldn't be feeling anything if he stayed still. But he couldn't move for another reason. There were three unconscious prisoners laying buried beneath the rubble behind him and he wouldn't just leave them. But he was torn between his conscious mind and his bodily reflexes as Alduin reared his head back and breathed in. Acting on pure instinct alone, Touma positioned himself in front of the downed men and thrust his right hand forward.
[YOL TOOR SHUL!] The shout resounded and a stream of blazing hot fire erupted from Alduin's mouth and right into Kamijou's hand. It pooled and massed into a massive ball centred around the Imagine Breaker before slowly dissolving and winking out of existence. His arm began to pulsate and throb uncomfortably, and the pain almost forced Touma to his knees. The Throbbing became stronger and the pain became sharper as the blood beneath the Imagine Breaker began to shift and white light glowed underneath his skin in patches. And then, the feeling stopped.
"Get down, boy!" Touma was snapped out of his daze as Rolof charged forward and utilized a stolen sword to slash right at Alduin's snout. Snorting with indignance, the dragon flew off to terrorize less troublesome prey. Standing up, Touma looked down on the unconscious prisoners before Ulfric stopped him.
"I'll help my own men. Rolof, you and Kamijou will make a run for Helgen Keep while I muster who's left to meet you outside the city." Ulfric commanded, helping one of the shaken men to his feet.
"My Jarl, I cannot just leave you here at the mercy of that monster!" Rolof protested but was silenced with a hand from Ulfric.
"It will take more than this to kill me, my friend. Now go, I will see you in Windhelm!" With a wave of his hand, Rolof grit his teeth and begrudgingly nodded before motioning for Touma to follow him.
"Our only way out of this tower is onto that roof," Rolof said, pointing at the opening in the thatched roof of a nearby cottage. "We'll have to jump for it. You ready?"
"Trust me, I've jumped from far higher places than this before." Touma chuckled darkly. Oh, the things his misfortune put him through. Rolof looked on in a mix of confusion and concern as he watched the spiky-haired boy continue to chuckle before shaking it off and jumping through the smoke and into the cottage. Touma, seeing as his companion had just taken the plunge, followed behind. Landing with a roll in the burning house, he quickly made his way outside just in time to see a group of soldiers and prisoners get roasted alive by Alduin, who performed another fly by, this time grabbing one of the guards in his claws. Touma cringed as the dragon flung the poor soul off into the distance. Following behind Rolof, they made their way into a small alleyway in between a house and the city wall on their way to reach the keep. As they began to jog through, an Imperial Soldier, who Touma recognized as the one who had been holding the list before the executions began took notice of them and began to shout something before Alduin landed behind the three of them. "You two! Backs against the wall! Now!" He yelled.
Without a second to waste, the three men threw themselves against the cottage wall and a jet of flames shot past them again. Once again the throbbing in Touma's right hand returned, but the pain wasn't nearly as bad. That didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable.
'What the hell is this throbbing?' He thought as he gritted his teeth. As the dragon flew off, he shook the pain from his arm and began to follow the two men out of the alley.
"Dammit Hadvar, don't try and stop me!" Rolof yelled at the soldier, who Touma assumed was Hadvar.
"To hell with you and you blasted Stormcloaks, you damned traitor!" Hadvar yelled back.
Despite this, the two appeared ready to have a go with each other, Hadvar brandishing his Imperial style shortsword and Rolof grabbing his sword from his hip once more. They both snarled at each other in obvious disdain. Quickly shoving himself in between the two, Touma shoved the two angry men apart.
"Are we really gonna do this now? There's a literal flying death lizard above us right now and you're worried about this? Why don't we get inside first, then we can sort out this pathetic illusion!" The two men relaxed a little bit, though their eyes never left the other as the trio quickly entered the keep. They entered in some sort of armoury.
"Grab whatever you need. We'll have to be prepared if that dragon comes back around." Hadvar said, quickly cutting Touma's bindings. Flexing his sore wrists, the wielder of Imagine Breaker looked around the room for some proper clothing. Opening a chest, he quickly grabbed a better-looking tunic that wasn't ripped, a proper pair of pants with a belt, and a pair of armoured boots from off a shelf. Moving to leave the room, Rolof eyed his figure before handing him something.
"Look, I saw you using that right hand of yours to stop literal dragon fire, but you're going to need something more than that, no matter how powerful it is." He said before sliding a sheathed dagger into his hand. "Trust me, I'm a soldier. You'll need it." Reluctantly, Touma clipped the dagger to his waist and went over to the door, where both Rolof and Hadvar were waiting.
"There's a passageway that will take us under the keep and out into a cave that'll exit the city. Right now, it's our best bet if we want to get out of here alive." Hadvar explained, leading the two through the keep and down several flights of stairs. Above them, they could still hear the dull flapping of Alduin's wings and the sounds of battle. Every so often, there was a loud bang and dust would fall from the ceiling, spurring the group to pick up the pace. Along the way, the group would pass by several rooms that contained various items like healing potions, which further reinforced Touma's belief that he had truly transcended into another world. Eventually, they reached a point where the man-made structure that was Helgen Keep blended into what appeared to be a massive cavern. Looking around, Touma could make out the outlines of cobwebs. Massive cobwebs. White string adorned the walls of the cavern and large white rocks adorned the cave floor.
Moving forward curiously, Touma examined the white objects.
"Hey, what're these rocks?" He asked.
"They aren't rocks." Answered Rolof. "And we have company!"
Quickly unsheathing his sword, with Hadvar following suit, the three was greeted to the sight of several massive spiders skittering towards them. Face evolving into one of shock, Touma took an involuntary step back before he bumping into something… hairy. And the thing hissed.
"Frostbite spiders." Hadvar said grimly.
Shrieking a little, Touma jumped back to his two companions, who had both prepared to strike against their eight-legged adversaries. With a quick leap forward, Hadvar slashed down on one of the first spider's front legs, separating the limb from the rest of the body. He then followed up with a swift stab to the thorax, ending the oversized arachnid. Not to be outdone by his Imperial counterpart, Rolof slashed hard at the face of another spider, which hissed in pain. Sidestepping the consequent attack that took the form of several lashing legs, Rolof flourished his sword, raised it, and plunged it down into the spider's head. Touma, meanwhile, stood on the side. His dagger was in his hand, but after seeing how brutally those spiders had been dispatched, he honestly didn't think he had it in him to kill something like this. Alas, his hero complex was getting to him again, considering the biggest thing he'd killed up to this point was an overly fat mosquito. Then again, he really didn't have time to debate morals when a massive bug was charging you with the intent to eat you alive.
Dodging the first attack, Touma gave the spider a hard boot to chew on by slamming his new armoured shoes into the mandibles of the spider. Hissing once again, the spider charged our hero once more but compared to what Touma had faced, it might as well have been moving in slow motion. Readjusting his grip on his dagger, he charged forward and stabbed the spider right in the face, all the way down to the hilt. Removing his weapon, Touma stabbing the offending spider once more in the head to be safe. Retrieving the weapon once more, Touma took stock of the situation. Around the room, there were several more spiders moving in to attack his group. That's when he felt it. That throbbing sensation in his arm. The white motes of light returned to the surface of his skin as it began to itch and writhe. A bright orange light grew from beneath his right palm, and from the moment he saw it, he knew it was bad news.
"ROLOF! HADVAR! GET BACK!" He yelled. As the two men retreated back, there was a large glowing coming from Imagine Breaker that evolved into a bright flash. An ethereal voice rang out throughout the cave. It was deep but had an airy feel to it. But it carried power. Immense power. Power far beyond what any of the three in the room could comprehend. One thing they did know was that fire was now bursting from Touma's palm.
[YOL TOR SHUL!] Out of Touma's right hand burst forth a spiralling pillar of flames that consumed the spiders in front of him, burning them to nothing but smoking ashes.
"Kid… what in the blazes was that?" Hadvar asked slowly.
"By the Nine…" Was all Rolof could get out. Touma himself was equally shocked. Last he checked, the Imagine Breaker never shot fire. Quickly shaking the shock out he turned to his comrades.
"We… should get going. With my misfortune, this place will probably be dropping giant snakes by the time we leave." They all nodded. Leaving the now burnt and charred cave behind them. Eventually, the cavern fed into yet another cave, which appeared to be the exit, but alas, Touma's misfortune had to put in the last word. On the way out, the poor boy tripped over a rock and slid down a slope that led into the cavern, rolling and hitting his… sensitive regions on several rocks before ramming right into a mass of brown fur. Needless to say, the mound of fur wasn't happy.
"A cave bear? Helgen never gets any cave bears around here! Especially since foot traffic has been higher here." Hadvar remarked as he and Rolof watched our misfortunate Kamijou run back and forth in the midst of a futile attempt to reason with the cave bear.
"Now now, Mr. Bear, this misfortunate Kamijou-san has had quite a rough day, and is terribly sorry for bothering you! Please! I'm not tasty! STOOOOOP! I GET BITTEN ENOUGH! SSUUUCCCHHH MMMIIIIISSSSSFFFOOOORRRTTUUUUUNNNEEE!" It's funny how somethings can change in an instant, especially when Touma's around.
In light of several misfortunate events, including being transported to some bizarre world, a recently attempted execution, a dragon attack, a cave full of giant man-eating spiders, and a near mauling at the sharp-clawed paws of a cave bear, Kamijou Touma and his two compatriots finally escaped the ruins of Helgen. Exhausted, the trio sat down in the shade of a crag of rocks. They all tensed for a good long while when they heard the thrum of wings passing above them and off into the distance. It appeared Alduin had his fill. For now.
"Alright. I think we should get moving." Touma said and began to stand up before he was stopped by Rolof.
"Wait. I still have questions. About that hand of yours." The man said, slowly getting to his feet.
"I'll explain everything I can to the best of my abilities soon. First, we should get out of here. We're right in the open, and frankly, I want to get out of here fast in case that dragon - Alduin, was it? - Comes back." Touma reasoned. This is when Hadvar stepped in.
"There's a town down the road. My hometown, and it's Rolof's too. It's a little logging town and traveller's stop called Riverwood. My uncle owns the smithy there, so we should be able to stay there without many heads being turned." Hadvar said. Rolof nodded, somewhat begrudgingly, in agreement. Touma saw no reason to complain. Hell, he'd only been in this world for the better part of a couple of hours.
"What a mess I've gotten myself into. Such misfortune." Touma sighed to himself. "Alright, let's do it. Lead on."
So without further ado, the group grabbed their belongings and started down the road to Riverwood, where answers would hopefully be found, and the story would really begin.