When I arrived in the mortal realm, it was raining.
Before my eyes, a cityscape filled my eyes with new colors. The streets brought my ears new sounds. The humans, new faces.
Even with the downpour, tension, and gloom, this world was a whole lot brighter than the one I had just left.
"This is the mortal realm?"
I had descended into one of many versions of what is known to be the original world, created by the one said to be the oldest primordial. Oldest as in… he's been around the longest, not that time really passes in the Void.
In his world, he is only referred to as "God".
"So this is his world, huh. Nice. Guess it could be interesting to live here for a bit. I'll need to find my way around first…"
I started walking around.
The rain poured down on me, pounding against my chest and shoulders in a rhythmic beat. I could feel the gazes from the people around me.
~Hm? This might be more difficult than I thought. Why are they staring at me? Do I look weird?
I looked back and forth, starting to feel nervous, much to my surprise. I continued walking, picking up my pace.
I soon found myself facing a wall of glass. At least, I assume it's glass, as it was showing my reflection.
I was soaking wet and I concluded that I likely looked like a young teenager to them.
Unfortunately, I couldn't shapeshift like Vessa to fit in better.
Lifting a strand of my white hair, I leaned in closer to the glass. My golden eyes shone with intensity, even in the pouring rain.
Wonder what age they think I am in human years…
Splash. Splash.
I looked to the side, hearing the sound of feet walking through water.
There stood a girl, much taller than I, looking down at me. She held a bright pink umbrella at her side, sheltering her from the rain. In the shadows of that small plastic cover, I could see that her face was filled with concern.
"Hey…" She said to me softly, leaning down to make eye contact. "What's your name?"
Her eyes were pitch-black, like the void I had originated from. Her hair, a pale golden blonde, similar to that of the moon of my ever fleeting dream world. There was something about this girl that calmed my nerves.
I began to open my mouth to speak, but I quickly stopped myself.
~I can't reveal my real name to humans. I need to make a new identity if I am to live in this world.
Hastily, I wracked my brain to think of a name. Putting my hand to my chin, trying my hardest to think of a proper one.
The girl's concern only increased when she saw my expression. She had begun to frown and she reached out and patted me on the head.
"Can't remember? That's alright." She forced a smile, masking her worry with a calm expression. "Do you have a home?"
I could not answer.
I had left my home. There was no way I was going to return to that darkness ever again. Not anytime soon, at the very least.
Concluding this, I shook my head.
"Oh, I see. How about you come stay with me then?" She held out her hand to me, offering her kindness.
"Huh?" I looked up at her with curious eyes. Unsure how to react.
I have heard some stories about humans in other worlds. How they built civilizations, worshiped gods with unwavering faith, or how they would often compete against each other in a variety of events. However, not once did I ever bother to ask for details.
For the soul, no matter the vessel, had equal capacity for both light and darkness.
~I wonder what the mortals of this realm are like…
I took the girl's hand.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Mia. Mia Yuruichi." She replied with a smile, quickly pulling me into the shelter of her umbrella. "Come on, let's go."
She nudged me along, walking beside me as she guided me across the city streets. The flashing lights and blaring horns of the cars and stop lights fascinated me. I had never seen these things before.
In the void, all you ever sit around and watch the flow of energy. It was always flowing randomly without any formula or predictable path of any kind. If you had a world, you'd live close to it, just outside or within its borders, which many gods referred to as the 'Aether'. You'd then watch over it from there, whether indirectly or directly.
"Hey." The girl gave my arm a little pull. "Whatcha daydreaming about there?" She let out a little giggle.
Snapping out of it, I stared up into the girl's eyes. They were pitch black and reminded me of my home.
I wasn't sure how I should feel about that but… it seemed calming somehow.
"Where are we going?" I questioned her. I had no idea where we were.
"We're going to a cafe I work at. I can give you some food there. I'm sure the other gals won't mind."
"Food?"
I gave her a blank look.
~Gods don't need to eat. But… she doesn't know that. Though, I've never eaten anything before…
"Yep! Food! You look super pale. I bet you haven't eaten in days! We need to get some food in ya before you die."
Right… Mortals require nutrition. It replenishes their mana… their life force.
Remembering this, I gave her a nod, deciding to play along. I, too, was curious about what 'food' was like.
"Come along now."
The girl continued to lead me down the sidewalk, making a turn here and there. She seemed carefree, weightless, and tranquil. A presence I only ever felt atop that moonlit ocean dream.
"Hey." She spoke up as we crossed the street. "You remember anything yet?"
~Right… I need to come up with a name. If I remember the language my name originated from… then…
"Yoiyami."
Yoiyami was the name I had chosen for myself.
It was a name befitting of my origins, which were to remain forever unknown to this girl and this world. But also a wish.
That one day, that darkness… wouldn't feel so empty.
"Yoiyami. Huh? That's a nice name." The girl smiled as she looked back at me.
Our feet had arrived on the other side. She spun around, beaming brightly in the rain.
"This is the place!" She announced triumphantly.
Behind her, a large red banner read "Cafe Hape" in golden threaded symbols.
I let out a short sigh. I was relieved that most gods were born with the ability to fluently speak any language they came in contact with.
As a result, many of us primordials are what some mortals refer to as "omni-linguistic". Fitting of gods, I'd say.
"Can you read this sign?"
I stared at her, almost feeling a bit insulted by this question. Reminding myself she doesn't know I'm a god, I calmly replied.
"Cafe Hape."
"Oh good! You can read!"
I turned away from her, thinking to myself.
~Just how young do I actually look?