edit 03/04/2021- spelling, punctuation and word flow improved.
"R-reincarnated? Alternate dimension? I, don't think I understand," Bell said uncomfortably.
"I expected as much so allow me to explain. Imagine a dice, you know of dice, yes?" Oranos asked.
"Of course I know what dice are!" Bell almost snapped, finding such a simple question a bit insulting, and completely unrelated to his issue.
"Good, imagine a dice and that the world as you know it is one side of the dice. Each other side is also your world, but just as a dices sides are not the same, these other places are different from what you know, though they do have similarities. Normally the sides of a dice cannot see the others, but sometimes circumstances can make the sides of a dice see the others. Does this make sense to you?"
"Um, so I'm on, the wrong side of a dice?" Bell asked, more than a little confused by Oranos's words.
"Ah, so the reason he knew me, was because he did know me, but in his world then, correct?" Eina asked.
"That is correct Miss Tulle," Oranos said with an approving nod. "Do you understand now?" he then asked as he looked back at Bell.
"Um, I think so. This is not where I came from, but similar, so no one will know me even if I've met them?" Bell asked slowly, making sure he understood.
"Yes, that is correct. And in addition, some things may be different from what you expect, both the laws of this world, and even some people."
"Oh, I see . . . .then, why am I a girl, and a Hume Bunny? I'm supposed to be a human boy!"
"That would be because you likely exist in this world already. When people have fallen into this world in the past, their gender or race, or often both, always change so that there are not two of the same people existent in one place."
"Well, can I turn back? No, can I get back to my world then?!" Bell asked before quickly changing his question.
"To answer the second question, Unfortunately not. There has never yet been a case of a person coming here from another world being able to return from whence they came," Oranos said, shattering Bells hopes with his words. "To answer your first question, that would depend upon the state of your Falna."
"What?"
"Ah. Tell me, what is magic like in your world normally?" Oranos asked almost quizzically.
"Um, some people get magic. I had one spell myself," Bell answered.
"I see. In this world magic is a bit more, common. Most adventurers have two or three spells they know, and as such spells that can affect people for good and ill without causing harm are more common as well."
"You mean there could be a magic spell to turn me back to normal!?" Bell asked excitedly.
"it is possible, yes. However you would need to make sure you do not have a passive ability that would stop such spells from affecting you."
Bell's expression fell apart again. "But, if Goddess Hestia has not come down from heaven yet, I won't be able to update or even check my Falna!"
"What are you talking about? Any Deity can look at a persons Falna if they access to it," Eina spoke up, making Bell spun and look at her.
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. Would you like me to take a glance at your Falna for you?" Oranos offered, much to Bells surprise.
"Yes please! if I mean, if it is not a problem."
"It is not. Come up to the throne and show me your back," Oranos commanded.
In that instant Bell began stepping toward the throne and grabbed the bottom of his shirt to pull it off, making Eina shriek.
"What are you doing! Even if Lord Oranos is a God, a girl does not just pull her shirt off in front of a man!"
"But, I'm not going to stay as a-" Bell began to say, stopping when Eina stormed up to him and began poking him in the collarbone.
"That is no excuse! You have to consider your looks and-"
"Miss Tulle!" Oranos spoke up, silencing Eina and making her flinch. "Do not force him to think of himself as a woman, until we know if he is stuck as such. Understood?"
"Yes sir, I apologize," Eina said with a bow as she took a step back.
"Good. Though Bell, Eina may have a point if the worst comes to pass. Approach the throne and face your back to me and just lift the back of your shirt, please."
Bell silently nodded and stepped up to the throne, each step feeling heavier and heavier as his worry began to grow with his distance to Oranos. Finally at the throne he turned around and reached around to grab the back of his shirt. Lifting it proved slightly difficult, and doing so made the front of the shirt tighten against his chest, making him blush a bit.
"You may lower your shirt now," Oranos said with a heavy sigh after a few seconds of tense silence.
"Um, is there a problem?" Bell asked nervously as he lowered his shirt, stood up, and turned back to face Oranos.
"Yes. For those who fall go our world, their abilities and skills almost always change. Yours it appears, are no different," Oranos said as he waved a hand and created a wall of glowing text. A large amount of it was jumbled and unreadable, but one line in particular jumped out to Bell and made his heart drop.
Personal protection – the one with this ability cannot have their race, gender, mind, Alignment or body physically altered by magic boons or curses. They are also resistant to magical effects and damage.
"wait, does that, mean . . . . ."
"Yes, unfortunately it means you cannot be returned to your original gender, or race," Oranos finished Bells sentence with a solemn nod.
Bell stared at the wall of glowing text that consigned him to his fate, emotions twisting, roiling, and warping inside of him. He couldn't go home to his Goddess or his friends, he was stuck as a Hume Bunny and a girl in alternate version of his world, and now he found he was stuck that way as well! Even his abilities and skills were. . . .wait. "What, is wrong with my skills?" he asked, choking back his emotions.
"They are unavailable as your Falna has been damaged, " Oranos explained. Then, upon seeing Bells confused expression, explained more. "A Falna can be damaged due to some rare magic spells and traps in the dungeon. While damaged, the status will not grow, and all abilities and skills are unusable until the Falna is repaired. This can be done by the Falna's creator, another Deity if the person joins their Familia or by a sufficiently powerful spirit, usually for a price."
"So I . . will have to join another Familia if I want to still be an adventurer?" Bell asked as he fell to his knees, prompting Eina to come up behind him and make sure he was okay.
"A spirit could also Mark you and that would repair it as well, but in essence that is correct," Oranos stated with a nod.
Bell leaned forward, placing his hands on the ground to stop himself from hitting his head to the floor. Tears began dripping to the ground from his face. "I, what am I. . . . supposed to do? I know no one, I have no Familia, no friends, no money. . . . nothing!"
"That, is up to you," Oranos said simply. "But in essence, you have two choices available to you. You can either give in to despairing about your situation, insulting the work you put into your life thus far as well as the hopes and respect of those who helped you throughout your life! Or, you can use this as a second chance and keep moving forward as all Adventurers must!" Oranos declared as he stood up from his throne, an Aura of his strength bursting away from him as he did. "You died in your old world, so will you give into despair, or will you use this as a second chance? Decide your future, here and now!"
Tears still fell from Bells face, but his mind was Galvanized by Oranos's words. Yes, he was not home and in a strange situation, but he was an adventurer and he wasn't going to forget his Goddesses, or his grandfather's words!
Even if some of his grandfather's words could now be a little bit, strange to consider with his body the way it now was. Or was it her body now?
Pushing the confusing facets of the situation out of mind, Bell sucked in a deep breath and lifted his head to face Oranos. "I chose to become an adventurer. I was, not strong enough, but I won't let that stop me now! I, I will move forward, even, even with this uh . . .b-body," Bell declared strongly. Though his voice broke and became clearly uncertain and anxious by the end.
"Your answer is strong and filled with feelings. Good, you will need that sort of resolve," Oranos said as he sat back down and scowled. "I will not lie to you. Those who fall to our world have it hard, especially those whose gender and races changes together. You will have to relearn things, and learn things you never needed to know."
"I will do my best!" Bell declared as he stood up and wiped an arm across his face, brushing the tears away.
"So it appears," Oranos said simply as he looked at Eina. "Miss Tulle, please make it so that the guild will be providing assistance to this individual so that they might get back on their feet!"
"Understood. In what way?" Eina asked as she pulled out a small notepad.
"That, is the main issue, " Oranos said as he looked back to Bell. "First of all, you should choose a new name to go by as your old one may cause, undue confusion."
"Uh, oh. I see. . . then, I guess what Eina, called me earlier? " Bell said, sounding very upset by what Oranos said.
"Hmm, Bella I assume?" he asked, earning a nod from Eina. "It will do, but you will need to decide upon a family name at some point as well. Now, I know you will want to go back into the dungeon to keep your mind off things as most people in your situation would, but I will have to disallow that. If you go in the dungeon right now, you will be a danger to yourself."
"I need to repair my Falna first, right?" Bell guessed.
Only for Oranos to shake his head. "No. Before repairing your Falna and even considering going into the dungeon, you need to get used to the fact that you have changed. Race, gender, your bodies build and the difference in your muscles and bone structure. You need to get used to your new form Physically, and eventually mentally. The proven best method of doing this is by living life."
"What? But I have no money!" Bell said in confusion.
"It was not said you would not receive assistance," Oranos said with a shake of his head. "The Guild will provide you with a stipend per week. Enough to find room and board, with a little extra for buying personal effects such as clothing. This will not be free however, as you will be required to pay interest on the stipend once you have found a job to earn your own money."
"But if I could go into the dungeon-" Bell began to say, until Oranos raised a hand.
"You would need your Falna repaired for that, and you will not be allowed to enter the dungeon for at the very least a week of having a job so there is no denying you are comfortable, or at least understanding, of your body. This is for your own good."
Bell wanted to yell, complain, argue, something! But the expression on Oranos's face made it impossible. As did the logical side of his thoughts. If his body did not move how it should, he would die after all. Getting used to his new form did make sense, but a part of him still thought that it is was more an excuse to embarrass him than anything else.
"I, understand," Bell said after a few more seconds of silence. Resigning himself to the situation, and remembering that being on the Guilds bad side could be counterproductive to getting back into the dungeon.
"Good. I understand this is hard for now, but it will get easier as you get used to things again," Oranos said in an almost reassuring tone. "Now then, Miss Tulle will set you up with the stipend and other things you will need."
Taking that as a sign, Eina stepped forward and touched Bells shoulder. "Can you stand?"
"Um, y-yes," Bell replied as he did so, blushing a bit as he got another solid view of his bust.
"Then we should head back up," Eina said with a smile as she turned to Oranos. "I am sorry for taking up your time, Lord Oranos."
"Nonsense, you went above your duty to help someone when it was not required of you and I respect that greatly. And you, Bella," Oranos began, using Bells other and perhaps new name, and making him flinch at it. "I know this is hard and difficult, but things will improve for you. I look forward to seeing what becomes of you in the future!"
"Um, thank you then," Bell said to Oranos as Eina led him out of the room to the dark stairway, her mind filled with thoughts on the information just acquired and what it would mean for the future.