Lordsbane

The bitter sunlight was already shining brightly on the couch where I had been sleeping. Reluctantly opening my eyes, I shielded them with my hand and glanced at my phone screen.

9:59 AM. When did I start waking up before my alarm? Have I developed some kind of biological clock…?

Halfway through lifting my head, I suddenly recalled the strange dream I had. That feeling I experienced—was it fear? I had never been so terrified for my life as I was in that nightmare.

As I slightly raised my head, I saw two tall figures in dark silhouettes. The sharp edges of their armor caught the sunlight, though they stood in the shadows.

"So it wasn't a nightmare after all."

"Oh? Were you hoping we'd disappear?" Ennerd chuckled. "That tiny thing that unlocks doors—what did you call it, a key? There were doors it couldn't open, and I tried to force them with my mind, but all I had to do was jiggle that little handle! How did you people even come up with such things?"

Placing my feet on the floor, I sighed. "In a world without magic, we survive however we can. Please, don't shout in the house—you'll wake my little brother."

Aurion watched me thoughtfully, listening to my weary voice and noting my disheveled appearance.

"You really don't want the small human to know about us, do you?" Ennerd mused.

"Of course. First and foremost, I wouldn't want his little mind to break from the sight of you two. His carefree life is the only thing I have left."

I stood up from the couch, took off my t-shirt, and headed to the bathroom.

"Oh, so you do have something to work toward!" Ennerd teased, noticing my toned body. "I thought you were completely weak."

After washing my face, I ran my fingers through my hair, fixing it.

"I train a bit in my free time—combining the useful with the enjoyable."

"Hmph. So you bulk up—what then? You humans are weak and that won't change. You should just sit at home and eat till you grow fat."

"Close the door!"

As I got dressed in my university uniform, I stated, "In our world, money rules everything. That's why we study from an early age, then start working as soon as we grow up. That's how we earn for a living."

"Study just to work? Hah! That's pure madness! Now I'm truly grateful I was born a higher being."

Ennerd, leaning against the wall with a smug posture and arrogant tone, was starting to irritate me.

"Look closely," Aurion said, gazing at the window. "The sunlight has filled the entire room."

At first, I didn't get what he meant, but then I recalled that their world had no sunlight. In a way, I even felt sorry for them.

"Yeah…"

At that moment, the door to the next room creaked open, and a small silhouette appeared, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Brother, who are you talking to?"

In the blink of an eye, both knights vanished from sight. Their reaction speed was incredible—they had been right beside me just moments ago.

"I… was talking to a friend on the phone."

Rin yawned and added, "Oh, I see. I thought we had guests."

"What guests?" I smiled. "The only one who ever visits is Uncle. We don't have anyone else but ourselves."

"That's true. Well, I'm going to wash up—otherwise, I'll fall asleep standing."

"You have school, so don't stay in there too long!"

As the bathroom door shut, I covered my face with my hand. That was close…

After leaving the house, I arrived at the university gates in about half an hour. The moment I stepped inside, I heard Ennerd's voice in my head:

"Let me guess—every day you walk into this building, sit through hours of lessons, and when the sun sets, you ride back home on your metal beast? And you humans call this life? Look around, it's full of weaklings living in the same cycle. They all look the same!"

"You're comparing two completely different worlds," I responded mentally.

As I sat in class, listening to my professor's monotonous lecture, I got too comfortable—nearly dozing off. Even with supernatural beings thrown into my life, I was still the same person as before.

Would my life really keep repeating itself like this until my last breath?

Pushing aside my bleak thoughts, I decided to focus on their world instead.

"So who forced you, beings of great power, to enact a code with the angels from the Celestial Realm?"

"The decision to end the war was made by the Order of the Hand, the so-called guardians of justice between worlds."

"They see themselves as righteous," Ennerd scoffed at Aurion's explanation. "They believe they are the law. Nonsense. All they wanted was an excuse to brand us as villains."

"It makes sense, though," I mused. "By the logic of higher beings, an ancient war should have ended in the complete annihilation of one side."

I hadn't expected it, but being able to talk to them mentally was a gamechanger!

Aurion added, "The Order of the Hand are knights clad in polished golden armor. Yet they've been silent for ages… And they were our only link to the Ancient Gods."

"The Ancient Gods?" I raised an eyebrow. "You haven't mentioned them before."

"We haven't heard anything about them since the codex between worlds was established. Even our memories fail us at times, just like with you humans. It's been millennia since we lost contact."

"To think… You've lived for so long. That's incomprehensible to a human mind."

Still, I found myself genuinely interested in their stories. A small, unnoticed smile appeared on my face.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when my groupmate girl suddenly called me out.

"Hey, Tatsuya-kun! Stop counting sheep, the bell rang a while ago!"

No way—how did time fly by so quickly? I had been too caught up in my conversation with the Shadows.

Looking up, I saw my class representative—a cute girl with a small frame and enchanting eyes. Her chestnut hair was admired by the entire faculty, and she carried herself with a dignified air.

"Yeah, I just got lost in thought."

"Did the view from the window mesmerize you that much? Don't even think about skipping class—you'll regret it."

"I got it, I got it. I'm coming."

"I'll wait for you in the cafeteria. Let's eat together today."

As I nodded, I heard Ennerd's voice in my head:

"Who's that woman? What a golden treasure! Are you enjoying her company at night?"

"Just shut up," I muttered, packing my things. "You'll never meet women like her in your existence."

The last class of the day was P.E., and honestly, I wouldn't have minded skipping it, but I didn't want to disappoint Tsubomi. As class rep, she had covered for me more than once, so I owed her at least that much.

Aurion, Ennerd, and I were sitting on the far seats of the huge stadium where lessons were being held, glancing at the faceless students playing various types of athletic events.

Meanwhile, the crimson sun was already in full swing clinging to the views of the Knights of the Underworld.

"Why not have fun with them?" Ennerd wondered.

"I've never been interested in those activities. In lieu of them, I usually choose to screw off home."

"You're a lone wolf? It seemed to me that being part of the community was always the primary goal for humans. there's no I in team, so you'd better find some like-minded people, and maybe life will be more pleasant."

"But as you can see, instead I'm having a dialog with a supernatural being. Everyone has their own standards. I almost forgot, there's one thing that's been bothering me for the past hour... Are you as strong in this world as you are in yours? Do our laws of nature not reject you?"

Aurion replied thoughtfully, "Clearly your Earth presses on with immense power."

He summoned a long iron sword from his hands and added:

"The Sword of Aution, given to me as a gift, could improve and change its shape depending on the power I had. As can be seen, it now looks like a regular sword."

In what sense is it an ordinary sword? It's as long as me!

"A warrior who loses his weapon is no warrior at all," Ennerd frustrated. "If your strength inherently affects your weapon, then consider you're fighting with a toothpick now. That is inexcusable."

"I am not a warrior—I am a knight keeping the hearth of the castle. The war has been over for millenniums, wouldn't you, a warrior, know that?"

"So you are much weaker in this world? And that is changeless?"

When I wondered, Aurion, looking at me with his fiery eyes, replied:

"Thy case can only be changed by honoring one's current ruler."

"So, when I receive the honor of being considered your 'lord', that's when you will become stronger?"

"That is correct. It is part of our pact, the laws of which remain the same in all dimensions."

"But why do you refuse to consider me your lord?"

"Smoothskin," Ennerd stared at me intently, "you are incapable of even standing up to us. What kind of ruler are you?"

Eyes wide, I finally accepted the fact that the nature of these monsters was the opposite of ours. These creatures will not accept me as a lord as long as I am weak. 

Aurion only looked at me, inanimate.

Tsubomi, who had finished her match at the arena, was coming up the stairs to check on me. As she lifted her sight, she was a bit puzzled, for it seemed to her earlier as if I was sitting with two other silhouettes. 

She approached me and asked: "Tatsuya-kun, are you alright? Why won't you play a match with us? You can't sit alone forever..."

"Thanks for your kindness, Tsubomi-tyan."

I heard Ennerd squealing in my brain.

"Why doesn't she call you by your name? Are you humans so insecure that you're embarrassed by the ordinariness?"

Thinking of the words Ennerd was telling me about my pitiful loneliness, I stood up from my seat.

"Alright, I'll play a match with you."

"Wow...! I didn't expect you, I thought you'd refuse. You're starting to slowly change, Tatsuya-kun."

She smiled at me, and a slight redness appeared on her cheeks, I think from joy.

Starting to change? So be it. It's better than sitting in one place.

In the evening, I was already home. Ennerd asked me to turn on the game console, and while I was explaining to him that the battles in this game are not real and that the characters in it don't jump out of the TV, he had already gotten on my nerves.

"Why is there only humans in this game? I want to be in the shoes of some powerful being."

"Here, pick this one."

Aurion watched silently at the window. The silvery glow of the moon illuminated his body, and the flashes from the car headlights kept reflecting on his cuirass and fading into nothingness.

I started a game match against Ennerd. This game was a duel between two characters. Truth be told, as much as I tried to teach him the joystick, he still found it a drag.

"Hey, how does your man do that weird somersault?"

"You point the stick at the left arrow, then the right arrow and press the X button."

Ennerd got angry every time he lost a lot of health. Accidentally pressing a few buttons at the same time, he used a super strike that made his character perform a series of sword slashes on me.

"Ha ha, take that!"

He seemed to like it. You could tell by the look in his eyes of flame that he's fascinated by the battles, even though they're in a video game. I wonder what would happen if I turned on some documentary about medieval warfare to them? 

As Aurion turned his gaze to us and started to say something, Ennerd yelled furiously.

"To hell with this fight! It would've been different in life!"

With that, he swung his massive arm around and threw his joystick away.

I tore off the couch at that second and grabbed the joystick, leaping towards the wall. The shadow knights seemed greatly surprised by my reflexes.

"You don't break anything in my house! And when will you stop yelling? At this rate, my little brother will suspect something amiss."

"Ah... Good... You got it."