AI: Artificial Isekai

As the dormitory is close to the city center, we are almost immediately thrust into the rowdiest part of the festival, even if it's still relatively early.

We are walking through the not yet crowded streets. They are getting there though, with more and more people seemingly joining in.

The collective mood is festive and cheery. A few days of rest and reflection. But mostly eating, drinking, and partying.

Eventually, we arrive at the city's central square. The empty space is transformed into a maze of pop-up food stalls. Thick smoke and steam from the cooking are nearly obscuring the clear sky. The smells are mixing into an indecipherable aroma of plenty. A single gust of wind changes the symphony into an entirely different one. Cuisines from all over the Union—and the wider world—are represented in full. The choice is limitless.

We spend a better part of the day debunking that last statement. And I appear to be wrong. Though the limit is me and Nexen. Even my purpose-made body struggles to contain the vast amounts of calories. A marvel of bioengineering decimated by a teenage girl. I never stood a chance.

Erysis takes advantage of our weakened states and drags us over to one last place. This one is, mercifully, relatively closed up and a ways away from the chaos. I guess she chose it so we can rest up, and digest.

As the sun goes down and the sky changes color, we regain our strength, like mythical beasts following strange rules. Though there is only one real beast amidst our ranks.

Said beast directs a riddle at me. Will my life depend on how I answer? "What's with all the groaning? Don't be so dramatic."

With great effort, I brave its terrible roar, "Is it just me, or are you eating a lot more than normal?"

She blushes. "Haven't people told you not to comment about stuff like that?" She purposefully avoided mentioning parents. What a good friend I have. "For your information, it's due to training more. Takes a lot of energy." She grins. "It's all your fault too. Showing us up. Now I have to work even harder." She sighs playfully.

I give Nexen a look full of pity, much to her annoyance.

"I was promised other entertainment," I say.

Nexen takes over, "It should be time soon. You are going to love it, Lucius. They always put on an amazing show."

Erysis finishes her latest meal. "I try one more thing on the menu and we go."

The next destination is marked by the flow of the crowd. We are trapped by the current and have no other choice but to flow. Slowly, a wide building comes into view. The outside is pretty plain—just empty, gray walls. It's the inside that counts. An amphitheater of epic proportions, big enough to accommodate everyone that is headed there. There are no markings to indicate what the showing will be, and I do not try to find out. Some things are better off as nice surprises.

We buy three tickets and head in. Once we are situated, I examine the space. Rows and rows of seats, filled with people of all ages. It might not be able to fit the whole city, but there's easily enough capacity for fifty thousand. In the very center is an empty pit of sand at least sixty meters in diameter. No set. No props. Oh. Uhh. Now I am kind of scared to check what it is we are about to see. Let's hope Erysis isn't hungry for things other than food.

Thankfully, the mood does not appear to be the bloodthirsty kind. And soon, someone walks out to the pit. His arrival signals the crowd to start quieting down.

Once he is sufficiently satisfied with the volume, his voice rings out, magically amplified for all to hear, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Welcome to a very special Summer's End production. We have a series of short, original plays—written by members of your very own Harthes Troupe—that are sure to drive the heat away." He waits a few seconds, his words the final catalyst for total silence. An unnatural silence. All sound around me is muted, gone. There is only his voice, "Please, enjoy." With a deep bow, he blinks out of existence.

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Enormous golden letters appear in the twilight sky—'A Dragon's Desire'.

When everyone has had some time to read them, they explode into blinding light. The brightness does not recede, instead, it pushes back the twilight and brings back the day. Even the sun hangs high, though its beams do not bring warmth.

Where there was once only sand, there is now a thriving village—its size reduced for the scene. Farmers are tending the fields, taking care of their crops, collecting the veritable fruits of their labor. Their houses, their clothes, their tools, even their methods—archaic. And even without my advanced sensors, I can hear their voices as clearly as if they were talking right in front of me.

The scene shifts, everything drags to the side, like someone just moved the whole world. We are now looking at a simple stone wall, manned by sentries, looking out into the distance.

One of the young men—if you can even call them that, barely high enough to look over the parapet—is lazily resting his head on his hands and those in turn on the stone. He gives the occasional glance, but more of his focus is on keeping awake.

Suddenly, his eyes widen. He lifts up, gazing forward. He finally recognizes something, something he shouldn't have. His body stiffens in shock.

But he fights the stupor, and calls out with all his might, "Alarm! Raise the alarm!"

The young man rears back and conjures a ball of fire. With a clumsy throw, he launches the spell into the audience. The moment it hits an invisible boundary, the fire disperses into nothing. His attack was the signal, and soon, a rain of spells follows. Even to my inexperienced self, the magic looks rough, unstable, weak.

My prediction turns correct, as a mass of shadows soon crashes against their meager defenses. But instead of toppling the fortification, it is propelled back by a glowing shimmer that quickly disappears.

The attacks stop, giving the audience a moment to study the monster. An amorphous churning of shadow and darkness, taking vague shapes of various beasts but never collapsing into a single form.

And then, a fireball hits the shadow, burning away a bit. The monster rushes forward, but at the same time, another hundred join. They all strike the wall, a terrible shaking, cracking both the shimmer and the stone. They strike again and again, the powerless spells unable to fell even a single enemy. Finally, the shimmer shatters, and so does the wall, and so do those on it.

The sky turns dark, consuming the scene with it, sparing us the carnage that is to follow.

A single ray of light illuminates the scene, starting from one side and climbing to the other—a new day is upon the village.

There is hardly a house still standing. The fields are razed, and the crops are gone. The villagers... Not all are there to greet us again. Their eyes hollow. Their words gone. Only silence.

The scene once again slides to the wall. Or what is left of it. A futile attempt at reconstruction, just a pile of rocks. People are trying to rebuild, haste and desperation in every action. They know they will be too late. But one face in the crowd of hopelessness shines bright. A beaming smile nourishes all around her. Pushing them further.

The sun moves in the sky, the work not even close to done. A thump is heard at the edge of the scene. And then another. More monsters are here. But there is no one to cry in alarm, their approach unseen. Our brave sentry is no more.

The monsters stampede forward, a wave of darkness, threatening to consume all in its path. Our heartening heroine is the first to see the advance. She claps her hands and the shimmer returns.

The first strike staggers her back. The second, puts her on her knees. The third... never comes.

All the monsters have stopped and are looking up. The fear evident even on their misshapen heads. A shadow darts across the ground, too fast to discern its shape. The monsters take a step back. The people watch in confusion. But not our heroine. No. Her head is lifted to the skies. The smile never having left her lips.

Finally, the third crash comes amidst the horde of shadows. A great explosion of fire and heat blows the darkness away in an instant. The day is saved.

A great beast huffs out a cloud of smoke and fire. It twists its giant head toward the village and takes a step forward. Every single person is frozen in abject horror, afraid to make a single move, or they might also suffer a fiery death. But it's not every person. Our heroine takes confident steps forward and toward the great beast.

Until the two meet. The great beast lowers its head from up high to look the woman in her eyes.

Our heroine finally speaks, her voice a beautiful song, "I thank you, O Savior, for vanquishing this evil."

The beast replies, her voice a sweet whisper in my ear, and everyone else's, "You are most welcome, little one."

"Please, we don't have much, but we must reward you. Come. Join us. Be our guest."

"How can I refuse such a kind invitation."

The dragon lowers herself even further and then explodes into impenetrable mist. The mist slowly clears, and in front of our heroine stands a tall woman. Her hair orange and flowing, like a waterfall of fire. Her eyes shining and deep. A long black dress hugging her form, dragging across the dirt.

Our heroine gasps. "My lady, you will spoil your dress!"

The dragon laughs, almost a hiss. "What do I care about these rags, easily outshined by one such as you." Before our heroine can answer, the dragon takes hold of her hand. "I seek no rewards, little one. Your company is more than enough."

As they walk back to the wall, now surrounded by movement, the scene fades into black.