Episode 2: A World Too Familiar

Episode 2: A World Too Familiar

The sun was too warm. The breeze too soft. The sky too blue. Sora blinked.

He wasn’t at the convenience store. No blood. No pain. No… anything that made sense.

Instead, he stood on the edge of a vast wheat field that shimmered gold under a sky full of unfamiliar stars. The road behind him was cobbled, not concrete. He could hear the distant howl of something not human.

Sora turned slowly in place. “What the hell?”

His clothes were different. Gone was the uniform shirt he wore to his part-time job. In its place: a soft, ash-blue tunic, strange patterns stitched at the hem. There was even a small pouch swinging from his waist—full of pebbles?

A flicker sparked in the air beside him.

Ding!

A semi-transparent screen blinked to life, hovering midair.

[Welcome, Sora. You are now connected to SYMBI: Synchronized Memory-Based Interface.]

“Wait. This is that novel. The one… with Aizen and Naoya…”

His pulse skipped. The novel his friend forced him to read. The world where two best friends lost everything. The one that made him cry.

And now, he was in it?

[Notice: Your soul has been reformatted and bonded to this timeline. Body generation complete. Base identity established.]

Name: Sora Origin: Unknown Shard Status: Civilian Sync Level: 1% Skill Set: NULL Emotional State: 87% Confused. 12% Fear. 1% Hope.

“Hope?” Sora scoffed. “You’re generous.”

[I’m Symbi. Your assigned support interface. You’ll need help if you plan to survive.] [Suggestion: Begin integration by locating shelter or known characters. Current coordinates suggest proximity to the North Forest near Riftvale.]

Sora’s mouth went dry.

This was really happening. And if the plot stayed the same, then soon… those two—Aizen and Naoya—would meet, rise, and eventually collapse. Just like the novel said. Unless he could stop it.

The grass shifted near the treeline. A low growl rumbled from the shadows.

[Warning: Minor beast signature approaching.]

Sora instinctively stepped back, heart hammering.

“I don’t even know how to punch properly!”

[I suggest you run. Now.]

He didn’t need telling twice.

He bolted down the path, pebbles jangling in the pouch at his hip, thoughts spiraling.

If he was really in this world…

Then maybe—just maybe—he had a chance to rewrite their fate.

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Let's pick little bits of episode:03...

Branches slapped his arms as he ran. The growls behind him grew louder—closer. Sora’s lungs burned, legs trembling, but he didn’t stop.

“Just a beast,” he thought, “just a beast—whatever that means here!”

He turned a sharp corner around a thicket of trees and slipped. His foot caught on a root, and he crashed hard onto the forest floor. Pain exploded across his elbow.

The pouch at his hip spilled open, pebbles skittering into the dirt.

The growling stopped.

Sora didn’t breathe.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the dark. The creature—low, wolf-like but wrong—crawled forward. Too many teeth. Not enough skin.

He backed away, heartbeat deafening.

“This is it. Episode 3, and I die before meeting anyone.”

Author Note;

I’ve read so many “reincarnated into a novel” stories, I started wondering—why not me? And then Sora appeared, crashing into a fantasy world with zero survival skills, questionable luck, and a support system that’s 90% sarcasm. Let’s hope he survives Episode 3.

(Or at least learns to punch.)

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