(A New Distortion has begun. With the Error in the mix, what kind of possibilities will now be open to us? Let us see shall we.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 26

The first thing Sora felt when he opened his eyes was feel something hard press on his back. His body felt slightly stiff as he tried to regain control of his body to any degree. His senses felt heightened as everything around him felt extremely real. Like he had been put into a sensory deprivation chamber and had just emerged from said chamber without warning. Even the act of breathing in air felt like was going overwhelm him with the smell of dew present in the air.

He tried to get his bearings of where he is as he moved a little. He could tell his body was still adapting to his new environment and he had felt very drained of strength. His muscles wouldn't let him move more than he needed to so he settled into a sitting position to look at his environment better and understand where he had been placed. The first thing he looked at was the sky and he was thankful that instead of what felt like an eternal black nothingness, it was a proper night sky, with the stars and the moon scattering themselves all around the sky.

"I see you're awake." A voice called out as Sora reflexively got up his feet to assume a basic fighting pose but immediately grabbed the tree for support when his legs suddenly buckled. Sora slowly slid back down to a sitting position as the person who he could now see as a woman approached him. The way she boldly dressed didn't bother him as she had tied her jacket over her waist to prevent the blood of the animal she was carrying not stain it as she tossed the carcass to a tarp she had prepared.

Sora's eyes scanned up and down, trying to decide if the person in front of him was the person who saved him or was just an assassin who had claimed his would be savior. The woman could tell the person she had saved was tense as she relaxed her shoulder, grabbing a towel to wipe off the blood that was on her shoulders. "Oh calm down. I am not here to murder you or anything like that. I was the one who found you at the state you were at." The woman replied as Sora looked up and down some more, observing the practical functionality of her outfit.

Her short denim pants may seem impractical at first but it was there to stop would be attackers from grabbing her pants and tackling her down in a fight. The strapless black bra she wore seemed to offer her little protection from any kind of attack but the thick jacket she wore on her waist seemed to be adequate enough protect from both the elements and basic weaponry, thus wearing anything more would add potential weight that may cost her in a fight. This told Sora that the woman in front of him was definitely trained in some way.

Then there was the massive golden gauntlet that was at the left side of her arm followed with a simple golden bracer with a spiked elbow at her right arm. The metal pieces seem to suggest that they are all the defensive protection she would need in a fight as Sora decided to clear his throat, feeling his voice strained from a dryness he was now feeling. "Thank you…" Sora said, implying to the woman that he was weak as she sighed and grabbed a bottle and tossed it right towards him, gently hitting his chest with it.

Without a word, Sora grabbed the bottle and slowly uncapped it, checking to see if it was water. The woman could tell that he was exhibiting a sense of caution, something that told her that he himself was trained. "You a mercenary?" The woman simply asked as Sora raised his head at that, deciding not to quickly sip on the bottle of water provided to him. "Former… Freelance nowadays." Sora said, his voice strained and begging for relief from the parched feeling he was having.

"There's nothing in the water. No poison or anything of the sort." The woman reassured as a sign of good faith, she took the water and drank it by raising it up to the air and letting it drop down to her mouth as a gentle stream. This allowed Sora to see the clear water that was inside the bottle that had no sign of tampering present within it. It was then that Sora was given back the water bottle and finally drank the water given to him, his throat thanking him for the relief he was finally given as he felt his ability to talk become better.

"You a Mercenary?" Sora questioned, deciding against straining his voice despite receiving life saving water. "Yup. I am a mercenary through and through. Although I work alone right now." The woman replied as Sora looked up and down the woman, examining for any weapon she might have on her person. Judging from the way she was dressed, she was a hand to hand expert rather than brandishing any kind of Bladed or ranged weapon of sorts.

"May I know the name of the woman who saved me?" Sora questioned as he figured he might as well know what is going on. "The name's Bullet. What about you." The woman, Bullet, simply answered as Sora scratched his head. "Sora...Sora Minakaze." Sora said, figuring no harm would be done if he just gave her his name. "Sora huh… give me a second." Bullet said as she went towards her rucksack and began to rummage through it for something, eventually pulling out a mini ars magus powered laptop as she quickly searched through some databases for data.

"Well… at least you're not in the NOL Criminal database… or any kind of database that is under NOL circulation." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but sweat a bit hearing that. He remembered being told he was an Error, someone who was not meant to exist so he did not know the extent of how much of his actual existence was erased at this point… whatever that meant. "I guess I am just that good at hiding my identity… or the NOL is not as interested in me as you thought." Sora said, feeling a bit more confident in his ability to speak now that he could feel liquid rush through his body.

"Indeed you are…" Bullet said simply, putting the device away as she decided to focus on preparing her meal for the night. "Look I am a busy woman and I can't really afford to take any detours right now. I'll take care of you for the night but by tomorrow I am leaving for the nearby hierarchical city to get my own stuff done." Bullet said as Sora was surprised to hear that. His would be savior was going to just abandon him as soon as he was alright. Even for Sora, he couldn't help but find that a bit cold.

"Well… can you at least give me a bit of an idea of where I am?" Sora questioned as he figured if her plan was to abandon him, he might as well figure out where he was and where he could go. "I'm heading towards the Ikarugan states. My first stop is Akitsu-Ko." Bullet explained as Sora was surprised to hear that. "Akitsu-Ko huh..."Sora said, his mind wondering what he should do as Bullet looked at the ragged looking man as she decided to ask.

"So tell me your story. Why do you look like the way you do." Bullet questioned as Sora remained quiet a bit, pondering how he should answer that question. "… You wouldn't really believe me if I told you the truth because it's really ridiculous." Sora said as Bullet couldn't help but scoff at that. "Please what do you take of me? A fool? I am not that much of an idiot, just try me." Bullet said, confidence on her face as Sora couldn't help but sigh a bit, realizing that telling her the truth might be the best way to get to her his current situation.

"Well… currently I have been plopped in the middle of nowhere after having a near life and death battle against beings that I barely understand. I am labeled something I don't have comprehension of and I suspect that the people that want me dead are probably chasing after me right now… so yeah my day has not been the best… or is it even a day at this point." Sora said, sipping more of the water carefully to hydrate himself as he could see the deer with headlights expression Bullet was now giving him.

"O...Oh okay big man. There's no need to speak in such vague terms. You got to be fucking with me right now." Bullet said, slightly in disbelief with what she had just heard. "It's the truth. As much as I want to truly believe it's nothing but make belief fiction." Sora said, expressing his disappointment in his inability to speak something as lavish as he had spoken as just a white face lie with just a look to the side and a slight tilt to his head that he used his only arm to support.

"You...You really are serious huh…" Bullet said as Sora simply nodded his head, his mind already prepared to fight this woman if he had to. Bullet herself could see how guarded Sora had become and realized that her constant questioning and now her doubt about his events is now making him wary. She knew that she had to defuse the situation quickly otherwise she would have to fight a one armed man in the middle of the forest and that may present it's own set of dangers.

"W-Woah alright. I'm not interested in fighting you. It's just hard to believe is all." Bullet said as Sora took a small deep breath, glad to see that for once, he didn't need to get into a fight right away, especially since he lacked basic weapons and was drained of crucial energy. "In all seriousness though, I need your help. Can you bring me with you to Akitsu-Ko? If you do so, I should be able to head towards Otsu from there." Sora said as this made Bullet's eyes widen.

"Wait a minute. Otsu? As in Akitsu-Otsu?" Bullet said in surprise as this made Sora wary about what he had just said. "N-No? I mean the 1st free city of Otsu." Sora said as Bullet quickly took out her laptop and quickly pulled out a map of the world for Sora to see. His eyes soon widened as he realized the reason for Bullet's swift action. On the map itself was the Ikarugan Federation and Bullet had zoomed in towards the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Ko and the 10th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Otsu.

The crucial thing on the map that was missing was the 1st free city of Otsu. The fact that this one city, the city he had made his home for so long was gone told him he needed to readjust his mindset. He was no longer in the world he came from but in a completely different world. Sora could only stare in shock as Bullet could only absorb the look of shock that was on his face and realize that his crazy story might have some truth in it after all.

'Dammit, I was planning on losing this guy the next day but if he's truly lost as he is saying he is then I would be most likely leaving him for the wolves to devour him.' Bullet thought as she scratched her head at that, wondering what she should do at that moment. Sora took a deep breath before finding the strength to stand up and approach the animal she had slain. "Thinking about things right now won't help us in our current situation. Let me at least prepare this for dinner, that's the least I can do for you saving me." Sora said as he at least had the strength to prepare the meal in front of him.

"H-Hold on. I don't trust you to handle the meat in your condition." Bullet said, trying to stop Sora from doing something brash. It was at that moment she felt a brief presence come from him as Sora looked at her with a small smile on his face. "You can trust me. I have no intentions of poisoning my savior now." Sora insisted as he stretched his arm for her to see. "Besides if I wanted to poison you, I would need two hands. Also I will be borrowing your survival knife so there's no way for me to actual poison the blade to taint the meat." Sora explained, trying to reassure to Bullet he had no ill intentions.

"If you want, I can prepare the carcass with you looking right at me. I just want to repay the kindness you have decided to give a man like me you know." Sora said bluntly as Bullet racked her head over the offer, while she was happy to butcher up the meat and cook it herself, being given a rare opportunity to stretch her legs and not think about how she was going to not accidentally char the food too much that it was inedible sounded like a good idea too. She bit her lip and racked her head for a bit before making her decision.

"Fine but don't do anything weird alright." Bullet said as she reached towards her rucksack and pulled out a simple knife, tossing it towards Sora's way as she noticed Sora catching said knife with ease. She had tossed said knife without much care because she had heard Sora say that he was a former mercenary and didn't really think about it much, only last minute realizing that Sora had only one arm and thus it was quite reckless of her to do something like that.

Yet the way Sora reacted to the knife and instead of freezing up and actually grabbing it from the air without a hint of hesitation present in his face, that definitely confirmed the tale he told that he was in fact a former mercenary. He then began to dispatch the carcass in front of him, his hand swift with the knife in slicing the edible parts of the meat into manageable sizes. While she had done the important parts such as gutting and removing the fur, she would have had some trouble butchering the creature, let alone with just one hand.

Soon Sora had the animal broken down, the saddle of the animal now roasting on a fire while Bullet handled the rest of the pieces Sora had managed to break down. "You really weren't kidding when you said you were a former mercenary." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but nod his head at that. "If you cannot eat what you cook, you're more likely to die. That's basic survival 101." Sora explained as Bullet couldn't help but nod her head at that.

"That's something most mercenaries are taught when young. Sure rations are good and all but nothing beats a piece of meat you cooked at the open fire you made." Bullet replied, trying to ease Sora down with some slight conversation while getting to know the man a bit more. She had originally planned on leaving him but seeing the way he reacted when she showed him the map told her that she should at least see him off at a place that would take care of him for a bit before he went on his own way.

"That sure is the truth…" Sora muttered as he continued to stare at the flame, carefully observing the meat and ensuring it was cooked to an acceptable standard. He still felt weak and hoped that by eating this meat, he would have enough strength for the rough journey that would be ahead of him. If he could, he would have paid Bullet for the meal but since he now realized he was at an alternate timeline, he probably has no access to any kind of funds or connections at the moment. Regardless, none of that mattered, all he needed to do was just try to get back to Makoto by any means necessary.

"So… Tell me more about the group you were with." Bullet questioned as Sora sweated hearing that. He knew the name of the group that he was with, he just didn't know how Bullet would react if he actually said the name. "Well… let's just say they were a bad group of people. They taught me how to fight and live but they crossed a few borders that I was not comfortable with and I left as a result." Sora explained as Bullet nodded her head at that.

"I see… I heard of mercenaries who often leave their groups due to differences within the group. I understand that at least." Bullet said, able to tell that Sora was being reserved with his choice of words, not wanting to go any further into things that are sensitive to him. "Well… sorry to hear that things didn't really pan out with them." Bullet continued, deciding to end the conversation there as Sora simply nodded his head at that. "Agreed… if only things didn't go as crazy as they did…" Sora said to himself, looking at the fire.

"The meat should be ready, you can take it out of the fire right now." Sora said, pointing at the meat with his finger as Bullet followed his cue and pulled the meat out of the fire. While she has eaten her fair share of cooked meat and rations, but the smell of the meat in front of her was much better than anything she ever had. "You truly are an expert. Thanks for the meal." Bullet said, cutting the meat into manageable pieces and placing them in front of Sora with a leaf acting as a plate.

Before Bullet could eat her meat, Sora made a small gesture to stop her and took a piece of meat from her leaf plate and ate it in front of her. This was a final gesture of goodwill, a way of showing to her that he had done nothing wrong to the meat as if he had, he would have been poisoned violently at this point. Bullet couldn't help but find this gesture of goodwill both surprising and unnecessary as she had already gotten used to his company, realizing that if he really wanted to hurt her, he could have already when she handed him the knife. Still, she couldn't help but appreciate the gesture as Sora lifted his leaf plate towards her, offering a piece of meat for her to eat.

"You know you don't need to do all of this you know." Bullet said as Sora nodded his head. "I know I don't need to do this, but at the same time the first step towards a proper friendship is to show no foul play. Especially when we meet under bizarre circumstances." Sora explained, his explanation making sense for Bullet as she took a piece of meat from his plate and ate it in front of him, the two now able to enjoy the fruits of their combined labor.

As the two continued to eat their meal, Sora continued to observe the fire, letting it be the way to let his mind linger for a bit as he wanted to figure out his own next course of action. He had figured he had dropped down to a random place but now finding out he had just fallen down to another world entirely, he needed a way to find his way back home. Home to where he should be, where Makoto was waiting for him. That should be his main goal but for the time being, he should find someone who would be an expert in the actual concept of traveling through worlds.

"What's on your mind?" Bullet questioned, breaking Sora from his thought as he shook his head for a bit before bringing his focus back to Bullet. "Sorry. I was just thinking about something is all." Sora explained as Bullet couldn't help but scratch at that. "I know...I was asking more about what you thinking is all." Bullet rephrased as Sora looked at her with a bit of a surprised look on his face before a slight blush came on his face, realizing he was just repeating what she had asked.

"S-Sorry… I was just thinking about something and just repeated what you just said." Sora said, rubbing his forehead greatly as Bullet sighed. "It's fine. If you're thinking that hard, there's clearly something on your mind right now." Bullet replied, giving Sora a sigh of relief as he decided to say what he could say. "I cannot help but wonder what I should be doing right now. I don't really have a clue of what I can do right now." Sora said, giving as much information he could at that moment.

"So you don't have anything to do at the moment for the time being huh…" Bullet said as Sora felt a sensation rush up his back, as if telling him that Bullet was about to suggest something to him. "Then why don't you at least follow me into the city. I am pretty sure you can find work with someone of your qualification." Bullet said as Sora felt his back tingle at that moment, his senses telling him that this was probably a chance he needed to take.

"I mean… you didn't find me in any database right? Do you really think any job agency will accept someone like me in the first place?" Sora said, trying to lay down some facts for Bullet to consider as while he did appreciate the support she wanted to give him, he also had to temper her expectations a little. Bullet herself realized that Sora did have a point with what he said, he was essentially a person that had no information available for him. So any qualification he might have meant nothing without any way of verifying the information.

"Then that means we will need to find another way of getting into the city huh…" Bullet said as Sora nodded his head at that. "I mean… sewers are one way but there's no need for you to follow me down there. I can pretty much handle myself out there." Sora said, hoping this would be enough to say to Bullet that he is grateful for the support she wants to provide him but at the same time it was not going to be as easy as she was making it out to be.

Bullet herself was thinking about what Sora had said. She could understand the reasoning he was given her and now was framing the question less of a practical problem but more of a moral problem. She could easily leave Sora behind because it seems like he was able to take care of himself just well enough if she gave him some food and the knife to protect himself. But at the same time, he barely wore any sort of protection and he was missing an arm, two things that if a random thing in the sewers were to attack, he may not last long.

'Way to put me on the spot… Hmmmm…' Bullet began to think as she decided to place herself not in her shoes but in the shoes of someone she trusted a long time ago. What would he have done in this situation instead? That was how she had framed the situation in front of her as Sora could see the cog turning in her head but decided to say nothing and allow her to think. Sora decided to respectfully not say a word, allowing the woman to think as he could feel the need for sleep hit him all of the sudden.

"I see the points you are making… But regardless, I still want to help you at least. It's the least I can do for you helping me to make the meal edible at least." Bullet said as Sora smiled hearing that, feeling sleep start to rattle him even more as his head visibly swayed in front of Bullet. "Shit, you're still weak huh? Fine why don't I take the first shift and watch for the night. Got to make sure no wild animals come crawling towards our camp now." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but nod his head as he rested his body on the ground once again, next to the fire as he stared at it for a while before finally closing his eyes.

...Letting sleep take over him after having the first decent meal/human interaction in his life….

SORA POV

Sleep… The last time I experienced this, I was in the middle of what seemed to be an all out war between the NOL and every single one of their most wanted criminals in Kagutsuchi. I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy as I barely know the difference between falling asleep and being forced awake in a constant black area. I try to focus on the fact that I need rest but I can feel my body actively fighting the urge to fall asleep, to let my mind rest.

"...urry…" A voice spoke as it made me stir awake. My eyes opened and instead of seeing the forest that I was just at, I was lying down on a metal floor in what felt like a laboratory. The sounds of footsteps stepping were all around me as I got to my feet. Is this really a dream? Like one of those lucid dreams I read from those books some time ago? Or is this another world I had managed to find myself in. Regardless, standing around would do me no good and there appears to be commotion coming from further ahead so that is where I should head off to first.

"We cannot miss this!" Another voice shouted, clearly with glee. Geez with how excited they sounded, I would have thought I was going to bear witness to the birth of some deity in front of my eyes. Oh who am I kidding, with my luck recently, that's probably what is happening right now. The only question I have right now is why are the sounds of excitement coming from a laboratory like structure and why does that not make me feel easy inside?

I decided that making loud footsteps would be a bad idea and thus I decided that silence was the best option despite being horrible at stealth operations. Avoiding any metal railings that would rattle if I were to take a step on them, I made my way further down towards the source, my mind racing with questions as to what is going on here. Where on Earth have I managed to find myself in and what am I going to do if the thing they start worshiping starts attacking them instead.

"Hurry! We got to stabilize everything before we lose it!" Another voice shouted sternly, the men shouting immediately in agreement as I couldn't help but shiver at the experimentation that was happening around my ears. Just what could it be? I have to admit, a part of me was curious as well as to what is going on. I shouldn't be but their enthusiasm felt infectious. I wanted to see for myself what they were trying to do and why I was in this weird place.

"I'm trying! I barely got things under control!" yet another voice shouted as the more voices I heard, the more I was beginning to think that this was truly a big deal that was happening. I took a deep breath, wondering if I should continue approaching towards the sound or try to find a way out of here. "It's almost done! Just one last step!" A final voice shouted as that was enough for me to decide to at least peak and see what is happening. As much as I had a bad feeling about what was happening.

As the sounds got more and more frantic, I began to hear the sounds of machines whirring and steam venting. Whatever they were trying to do, it was truly draining a lot of power as the lights above be flicked several times as the building was struggling to produce adequate power to maintain the experiment they were clearly trying to do. It was as if they were trying to summon or create something that shouldn't be made.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" I said to myself, muttering quietly as I finally found a place where I can observe from a distance. It was a shitty location to see anything of importance but I was trying to not get spotted mainly because I can barely tell if I am in a dream or not. I would rather barely get a glimpse of something rather than find a spot and immediately alert the entire place of my presence. I just hope I would be able to see the climax of this crazy experiment.

"We're Almost there! A bit more power and we will be done!" A man, probably the lead scientist shouted as I could feel the intensity in the air as the scientists were scrambling to try and finish their crazy experiment before things blew up in their face. Sparks flew and nearly struck me from where I was standing as I managed to accidentally slip myself out of my hiding spot as I could finally get a proper glimpse of what they were doing and they were doing was probably very illegal.

In front of me, a couple of control panels that were manned by a couple of scientists as they feverishly tried to control the situation but it was clear that they were failing. A few others were scrambling all over the place, some trying to contain the situation while others were already preparing for the worst case scenario. Yup, that is definitely a shit show that was happening in front of me. But the scramble of the scientists in front of me mean nothing with what I saw next.

A tomb, a coffin, something you put bodies in was just floating in what seemed to be an empty space of void. Just what could be inside there to warrant such a presence? I just hope that there's not an actual human body that was inside said coffin and it was just empty, acting as some sort of catalyst for this experiment. Whatever it was, energy, what felt like Seithr was beginning to build around the coffin, something the scientists clearly were not prepared for as they began to scramble to control it, desperately trying to not have it explode on them before it was too late.

"Fuck me…" I muttered as I realized I had spent too long here and I needed to leave now before this thing clearly blows up and kills everyone in the area, including me. As I turned however, I immediately felt lightning strike my back as I felt myself freeze, unable to move as I felt numb all over. What had just happened, I was just about to get out of here but now I couldn't even move a muscle. "Sir! We can't control it any longer! We're going to…"

Before I could finish listening to what he said, the coffin like I had feared, blew up. The seithr collected from said coffin came rushing out in a massive wave of energy that slammed all over the place. Control panels exploded as people were tossed all over the place. I couldn't help but feel a sickening feeling grow in my stomach as I myself was take off my feet by the massive wave of Seithr surging all over the place. I slammed my head on what felt like a hard metal fence as I felt my consciousness fade in an out as soon as that happened.

When my eyes opened again, I could see that the observation area had been completely ruined, the scientific equipment destroyed beyond repair and groups of scientists ripped apart by the blast, their blood and guts scattered all over the place. I would shiver at such a gruesome sight but I felt my consciousness continue to fade in and out as I struggled to focus my eyes on what was beginning to emerge from the coffin. I tried to stay awake for as long as I could but the blow I suffered made it too difficult to actually see who was coming out. But there was only one thing I could see as my consciousness finally faded.

…. A singular hand, and a person emerging from their own Lazarus cave to embrace the life given to them…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING IN THIS FINE DAY!? Man the first year comes and goes yet again. I can never get used to the fact that January comes and goes as fast as it does. I honestly wish it would hang around for a bit longer. To let us enjoy the days a bit more. Alas that is not how time works and we must respect time if we wish to live our lives to their fullest. I just only hope to produce stories that will continue to make you all happy.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP SORA MINAKAZE WILL TAKE!? WAS WHAT HE EXPERIENCED JUST A DREAM OR REALITY ITSELF!? AND WHAT ABOUT THE MERCENARY BULLET? HOW WILL SHE FIT IN THE PATH THAT HAS BEEN LAID IN FRONT OF SORA!? The only way to find out more about these series of events, is to keep on reading when the next series of events lay themselves in front of us.