Embers Ad Infinitum - Chapter 73 - Imagery Destroyer

'Nina?'The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.Me? Not so lucky.The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.“Why did you do that?” she kept asking, over and over. “Why would you do that?”I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.“Kofi, stay with me, okay?” she was saying. “You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming.”

Shaman, a normal teenage girl falls asleep on the eve of her 18th birthday like any other night. She awakens to find herself in an unknown place in an unfamiliar body with an unhelpful voice in her head.

On top of that, she has gained fox ears and a tail, she also seems to have memories of this new world and the body she finds herself in. Unfortunately not all of the memories are clear and she must rely on this rpg like system in her head to both unlock these memories and guide her on a path home.

As she explores the world she finds that it is somehow both modern and old, with magic permeating every day life. Architecture reminiscent of the 1700s clashes with modern day conveniences enabled through magic.

Will Shaman be able to make use of her knowledge of video games and novels to take advantage of her rpg system in this new world? Or will she be dragged down and entangled by the darkness of the world around her as she searches for the truth behind her circumstances? Many eyes are upon her as she takes center stage in this new world.

Heaven and Earth serve as the guesthouse for all living things, with Time being the sojourner since time immemorial.

As with the difference between dreaming and awakening, the distinction between life and death is diverse and confused, and changing.

What awaits us beyond time, once we have transcended life and death, heaven and earth?

When disaster struck, Ling Mo knew that the kinds of zombies depicted in doomsday movies would in fact, be totally different from reality…