An Outcast in Another World 02 - Shared Insanity by KamikazePotato

Author:KamikazePotato [KamikazePotato]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

It was Earth.

No. Not Earth. Earth-adjacent. A reflection cast through a broken mirror. Similar enough to be familiar, but different enough to be disturbing.

Buildings that tickled his memories were lined in front of the entrance to Esternard City, leading off into branching paths of paved streets. He saw stores – not open marketplaces. He saw hotels – not inns. The medieval European flavor he’d grown accustomed to in The Village was absent, replaced by the pragmatism of Earth western culture, where rounded edges and aesthetic luxuries gave way to a greater focus on harsh angles and functionality.

It was so, so close to home.

There were some minor differences in architecture. The doors were a bit taller, and the materials used in its construction appeared slightly off-color. Windows were spaced a few inches more to the side, and sidewalks had diagonal lines running overtop them instead of horizontal ones. A person from Earth would have been perplexed by the discrepancies, but if they were distracted – their face glued to their smartphone as they wandered by – they might never notice the differences. It was just a couple steps to the right from looking just like home.

Nostalgic warmth flooded him. It burned.

Rob activated Step of the Wind and ran, leaving Elven cries of confusion behind him. He sprinted through street after street, seeing more and more of the same. Restaurants and shopping malls and apartments. There weren’t any skyscrapers, streetlights, power lines, or anything resembling electricity, but the layout of Esternard City was straight out of the American midwest. Rob’s feet pounded in tune with his heartbeat, his chest letting out frantic breaths that were a step below screaming as he searched through the mockery that was to be his new home.

Had someone asked him what he was looking for, he wouldn’t have been able to answer.

He searched until he couldn’t bear it anymore. Rob tore his eyes away from the suburban street he’d come upon, ran over to the nearest house, and broke the door down. It was locked, but rusted hinges that should have been replaced years ago crumpled easily when battered with fists fueled by 35 Strength and a roaring tempest of emotions. Rob didn’t hesitate before crossing the threshold; whatever was in there, it had to be better than staying outside for one instant longer in that parody of a city.

Rob stepped inside and instinctively fumbled for a light switch, which wasn’t there. He produced a torch from his Storage, lit it, and placed it on one of the braziers lining the upper wall. The faintly flickering flame didn’t give off much illumination, but that would be solved once he found and activated the Light Orbs that every building in Elatra used. Which the building would use, because this wasn’t Earth, this wasn’t Earth-

His breath caught in his throat.

Unblinking eyes swept across the house’s front lobby. It was small, mostly serving as the entrance to the kitchen and several side rooms. What bits of furniture were there

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