Genesis of Arcadia

"I see, you're an Etherean" Sakaguchi said, his tone softening slightly but his hand still resting firmly on the hilt of his katana.

"Etherean?" Arc said again in a bewildered tone.

Sakaguchi sighed while maintaining a calm look. "Ethereans are humans from another world—your world, I assume—who are randomly transported to this one. No one knows how or why, but they appear across our lands, often with no warning or explanation."

In an attempt to understand what he had just heard, Arc blinked. He said, "I see..." even though nothing seemed to be apparent. "So, are there more people like me? Others who've ended up here?" he asked after he paused.

"There were others, long ago…" Sakaguchi said, his voice tinged with the weight of history. "But they are no more. Ethereans only appear once in a century, and it seems you are the one for this era."

He released his grip on the hilt of his katana, the tension in the air easing slightly as he stepped back. His sharp gaze lingered on Arc, as though still measuring him, but the immediate threat had passed. "Now that I've confirmed what you are, I suppose you're not a danger" he added, his tone cautionary.

Arc let out a deep sigh of relief, the tension in his chest easing as Sakaguchi stepped back. For now, it seemed he wouldn't be meeting an untimely end. But his mind swirled with questions, each more overwhelming than the last. "So... I was transported here?" he asked, his voice still carrying a trace of disbelief. "Then, where exactly am I? What is this world?" 

Sakaguchi crossed his arms, his expression steady but thoughtful. "This world is called Arcadia" he began. "Right now, we're in the kingdom of Sunworn, specifically on its eastern edge, within Lydel Forest. The nearest settlement is a village west of here called Ravenrock. It's a modest place but well-fortified for its size. Should you venture out, that's likely where you'd start."

Arc committed every word to memory, his mind spinning as he tried to picture this new world. 'Arcadia... Tyrole... Ravenrock' None of it sounded familiar, yet the names carried an almost fantastical weight, like something out of the games he used to play.

"Arcadia, huh?" he muttered to himself, glancing around the room. Despite the lingering confusion, one thing was clear—he had to learn quickly if he was going to survive.

As Arc was still lost in his thoughts, Sakaguchi's demeanor suddenly shifted. His eyes narrowed, his posture stiffening with alertness. "Stay here, kid. Don't dare to go outside," he commanded in a low, urgent tone, his voice laced with authority.

Before Arc could respond, Sakaguchi moved with lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, he used his Quick Step technique, a blur of motion that had him at the door in an instant. The door slammed open with a creak, and Sakaguchi was gone, vanishing outside the cabin before Arc could even react.

Confused, Arc hesitated, still not fully understanding the gravity of the situation. 'What was that about?' He couldn't ignore the unease that bubbled up inside him.

Driven by curiosity and a sense of urgency, Arc quietly approached the window, peeking through the wooden boards.

What Arc saw outside froze him in place, his heart hammering in his chest. Standing amidst the forest, a massive humanoid beast loomed at least seven feet tall. Its skin was a sickly, mottled green, glistening with a sheen of sweat and grime. The creature's blood-red eyes burned with unrestrained fury, glowing like embers in the dim light.

But what truly terrified Arc was the massive cleaver it held in its gnarled hands. The blade was jagged and worn, yet impossibly large, a weapon that seemed designed to butcher anything in its path. Arc shuddered as his mind conjured the horrifying image of the cleaver cutting down rows of people in a single swing.

"RAAAAAGH!" The beast let out a guttural roar, the sound shaking the very air around it. "Human!" it bellowed, its deep voice carrying both rage and pain. "You dare to kill one of my kin?"

The orc's muscles tensed, veins bulging along its massive arms as it took a step forward. The ground seemed to quake beneath its weight as it raised its cleaver, preparing for a fight to the death.

Sakaguchi stood his ground, his expression unreadable, his hand resting calmly on the hilt of his katana. "You shouldn't have come here" he said coldly, his voice cutting through the orc's roar like steel on stone.

As the orc roared, it charged at Sakaguchi with terrifying force, the ground trembling beneath its massive frame. The beast raised its enormous cleaver and brought it down in a brutal, heavy slash aimed directly at the swordsman.

In an instant, Sakaguchi's hand moved, a flash of steel gleaming in the sunlight as he unsheathed his katana. The sharp clang of metal meeting metal echoed through the air as Sakaguchi parried the blow with remarkable ease. The orc's eyes widened in shock; its strength was at least three times that of an average human, yet this man had matched its might as if they were equals.

Before the orc could recover from its surprise, it roared again, swinging its cleaver in another heavy slash. This time, however, its weapon sliced through nothing but air. In the blink of an eye, Sakaguchi vanished from his original spot, his Quick Step technique leaving a faint ripple in the grass where he had stood.

"You're wide open" Sakaguchi said coldly as he reappeared behind the orc, his katana already slicing through the air. The blade glinted as it slashed toward the orc's back with deadly precision.

But the orc wasn't so easily bested. With a sharp growl, it twisted its massive body at the last second, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. The blade grazed its side, drawing blood but not enough to slow it down.

"Don't underestimate me, human!" the orc snarled, its voice a mix of rage and defiance. It turned to face Sakaguchi, gripping its cleaver tightly, its blood-red eyes glowing with a renewed determination.