The Eternal Mother: A Tale of Love and Loss in Another World - Chapter 1
A month earlier, Eri Kurokawa, in her 9th month of her pregnancy, woke up in an empty white room. "Where am I…?" She wondered. The only thing she remembered was that she slept in her room in her house in Yokohama after her long day of work. She was confused as to why she ended up from her bed to this empty room.
"Finally awake, aren't you?" A voice was heard suddenly. Panicked, Kurokawa was shocked to hear that voice without even knowing her current situation. "Who's there!?" She exclaimed while looking around trying to find the unknown intruder's voice. There, a well-mannered young adult with white hair and gray business clothing came out of thin air.
"Did I surprise you? If so, I apologize." The man bowed. Kurokawa was at a loss for words about what just happened. "Um…" She started to say. "Where… are we?" She asked. "I'm glad you asked, ma'am. We are inside what you called the soul transferring room." The man explained. She couldn't believe his words, but thought that it's better than having her questions left unanswered. More importantly, she didn't even know who this man was.
"And… who are you?" She asked. The man smiled. "I'm an entity that sends souls of those who lived a tragic life in their world to other worlds. And as you can tell, I'm totally different from the god you worship." He explained who he was. "Now then…" He started saying. "Do you remember anything before ending up here?" He asked. Kurokawa became hesitant. "Well… The only thing I remember was lying down in my bed before I began to sleep… Other than that, I don't know…" She began explaining.
"I see…" The man said. He sighed in worry. "I'm afraid to tell you this, ma'am, but after what you said earlier, you ended up dead in your bed." He explained. After hearing this, Kurokawa was shocked and nearly ended up passing out on the floor. Seeing this, the man panicked and looked worried and rushed over to Kurokawa. "Oh no! Hang in there, ma'am!" He said.
While grabbing her out by the back, the man used his magic to summon two comfortable chairs and a table. There, he laid Kurokawa down on one of the chairs and used his magic again to summon water-filled cups just for her. Some time later, Kurokawa regained consciousness mostly for drinking water.
"I'm sorry, mister… I was so shocked that I nearly fainted." She apologized. The man smiled in relief. "There is nothing to apologize for, ma'am. It's natural to hear such things mostly in the afterlife." He said in a low voice. He then cleared his throat. "Moving on, I would like to ask you something." He said. Being confused as to what he was going to say, she wanted to hear about it. "What is it, sir?" She asked. "If I told you that you were going to have a second chance in life, would you take it?" The man asked in a serious tone.
Hearing this question, Kurokawa was having doubts whether it's okay to believe the man or not. But suddenly, she remembered her abused childhood life up until her miserable, overworked life. She took a deep breath. "And if I say yes…?" She asked. The man giggled upon hearing that. "Then you, my good lady, have made the right choice." He replied. "Now then, are there any questions you have before we get to the process of soul transferring?" He asked.
Kurokawa wanted to know better what this whole 'second chance' thing the man talked about is. "If it's okay, can you please explain what this whole 'second chance' thing is?" He asked. The man smiled. "Very well. Allow me to explain." He started. "For this second chance, you will be transferred to another world based on your preferences." He explained. "Do you have any preferences in mind?" He asked.
Kurokawa remembered that she was fascinated by fantasy novels she read as a child. "Um… Do you have a world where there are swords, magic, dragons, and towns set in the medieval to 16th century?" She asked. The man smiled. "Of course, and the world that matches your preferences is named the Anchored Archipelago." He replied. "This, if you don't have any objections, will be the world where you will have a second chance of living." He explained. "Any other questions?" He asked.
"Well, I feel like it's going to be a dumb question, but what will I do in the world I'm transferred to?" She asked. The man giggled "You might think that question is stupid, but it's an interesting one." He replied. "The truth is, it depends on who you want to be based on the goals you made up in your world. For example, if you want to be useful to everyone, then in the other world, start by doing any tasks, from doing nothing much to being needed by someone important all while living life the way you want." He explained. Kurokawa sighed in relief as she was glad to ask that question.
"Will I use any spells when I get to this world?" Kurokawa asked. "You have an infinite amount of magic when you go to this world, but I'm afraid you have no choice but to learn how to use them, either by textbooks about magic or being taught by someone in the other world." The man explained. Kurokawa was confused by his explanation about spells. "Meaning…?" She asked. "If I get to use terms from video games in your world, you have unlimited magic points, but the only way to use spells is by leveling up." The man explained. Now Kurokawa understood his explanation.
"Well, that's all I need to know. Thank you very much." Kurokawa said politely. "Oh! Before we can do that, do you happen to have any requests?" The man asked. Kurokawa was confused by this kind of question. "Requests…?" She carefully asked. The man cleared his throat.
"That's right. Here, you can make requests to me and I'll grant those requests to make your second life easier. Of course, you will automatically speak the language and know the knowledge of its culture." He explained. "Does that catch your attention, ma'am?" He asked. At first, Kurokawa didn't seem to have any, but thought to herself that, if she doesn't want to live like her previous life again, then maybe making requests doesn't hurt.
"Well, I'm not proud to be so demanding, but…" She said. The man smiled. "Rest assured, ma'am. Whether you're demanding or not, any request will be granted." He said. Kurokawa sighed in relief.
"Then I have at least five requests. First of all, is it okay for me to transform into a wolf whenever I have to walk much longer? Second, do you have any dresses that are deemed fit for combat? Third, is it okay for you to make my body superficial without affecting my babies inside me? Fourth, do you happen to have a weapon called a straight sword with um… throwing knives? And finally, Is it okay to convert my life insurance of 3 million yen into the other world's currency?" She asked those questions. Hearing those questions, the man didn't expect such requests, except for the superficial one, but had no doubt the power to grant those requests. He cleared his throat first.
"For your first request, I'm afraid I can't grant you such power." He replied. "But would having wolf ears and a wolf tail be satisfied?" He asked. Seeing no problem in that, Kurokawa nodded. "Sure. As long as those parts belong to a wolf, I don't see any problem." She replied. "Then it's settled." The man said.
"As for your second request…" He said while snapping his fingers, summoning a closet with dresses inside. "Please take any amount of dresses you need." He said. As she got up, Kurokawa walked towards the closet. She then opened the closet and inside, there were fancy light dresses. As she looked at the design of any dresses, she became hesitant to choose which dresses to pick, until she looked at two dark blue and ornate light dresses, both with different designs but the same model. She both picked those two dresses and closed the closet. "Those two dresses should do it." She said. The man smiled. "Then it's settled." He said.
"As for your third request…" He said. "I forgot to mention that while you're in that world, even though you don't feel any difference, your body will be much stronger exponentially in addition to having exponential magic power with no risk of having your babies inside you feeling different. This means that your body will be hard to break or tear apart while your babies are safe inside your womb." He explained. "Does it suit you?" He asked. Kurokawa was in complete agreement. "If it means being in total safety, yes!" She exclaimed. "Very well." The man said.
"As for your fourth request…" He said while snapping his fingers again. This time, there are three swords from the Anchored Archipelago that fit Kurokawa's description. "Please take a look with those three swords and choose which suits you." He said. While taking a look at those swords, just like dresses, Kurokawa was hesitant which is better for her. Until the one she picked up looked like a blue krypton sword whose blade is only at the left edge of it. There are also two throwable kunais with the same color as the sword that comes with it. This weapon hardly looked like a rapier, but she still took it nonetheless. "This one… I'll take it." She said. The man smiled "Very well." He said.
"As for your fifth and final…" He said. "I really hate to object to it, but isn't 3 million yen too much to convert it into the other world's currency?" He asked. Kurokawa knew that this question would come up sooner or later. "Well… If you convert it into another country's currency from my world, you will notice that it's not that much…" She explained. The man was surprised to hear such an explanation from someone who isn't familiar with economics. "Oh? What makes you say that?" He asked.
"For example, if you convert 1 euro, it's roughly equal to 130 yen. But it depends on how the currency changes over the years." Kurokawa explained. "I see… In that case, would 30 platinum coins that are worth 100 000 yen each coin be enough?" The man asked. Kurokawa was so surprised to hear such an amount of yen converted into one single platinum coin. At first, she was hesitant whether or not she wanted to. But now that she thought about it, she didn't ask about how the currency in another world works.
"Um… Can you first explain how the currency in the other world works?" She asked. "If I may…" The man replied. He first cleared his throat, then summoned 1 platinum coin, 1 gold coin, 1 silver coin, 1 bronze coin and 1 copper coin with just a finger snap. "In the other world, the currency's name is Ando, and it works just like japanese yen, but the inflation is excluded." He explained. "About the coins here…" He started. "One copper coin is worth 10 Ando. One bronze coin is worth 100 Ando. One silver coin is worth 1 000 Ando. One gold coin is worth 10 000 Ando. And lastly, one platinum coin is worth 100 000 Ando." He explained the worth of each coin one by one.
"I see…" Kurokawa listened to the man's explanation. She was really convinced on how it works thanks to the "no inflation" part the man explained. "Then yes, I would like to have 30 platinum coins, please." She said. The man chuckled while summoning a bag that contained 30 platinum coins. Kurokawa grabbed it, along with the dresses and the sword. "I forgot one thing." The man said. "What is it?" Kurokawa asked. The man turned his smile into a serious face.
"I want to warn you that even though you will be sent to it, this world is intolerant to those who came from another world." He explained. Kurokawa had no idea why he would explain.
"So… Would you be able to stay alive in the other world on your own?" He asked. Kurokawa was hesitant to be sent to the other world. "Well, If I want to live my dream life, then I'll do my best to deserve it." She replied. Even though the man seemed to be worried about her, he let out a smile. "Very well. If that's what it takes, then I have no objections to your reasoning." He bowed. Kurokawa nodded and shook his hand. They then hugged each other's hands.
"Thank you, sir. I'll make this life a memorable one!" Kurokawa exclaimed. Suddenly, Kurokawa began fading away, surprising her. "Why... Am I fading away?" She asked with little worry. The man then pointed his finger on the ground, which looked like a map of the other world. "You will be sent to a dangerous forest, in order to not make any suspicions around you when you arrive in another world." The man explained.
"Well then, what should I do when I arrive in another world?" Kurokawa asked. "Go to a church in a nearby town and pray. I'll explain the details about the other world when you get there." The man explained. Kurokawa then nodded upon hearing the man's explanation. "Very well. I'll do it then. I'll see you later then." Kurokawa exclaimed while waving her hand. She then disappeared from the man's eyes.
After Kurokawa disappeared, the man stood up. "Well, that was an interesting soul. Bitter, tragic, but interesting nevertheless." He couldn't help but impress Kurokawa's enthusiasm because of her "special" tragic life in her world.