Qiluo Tian Gong first realized she wasn't in her original world when the lid of a trash can was closed on her from the outside.
It was a very ordinary trash can lid. Green, made of plastic, with a non-slip rubber strip around the edge. Once it was closed, her entire world plunged into darkness.
Qiluo blinked in the darkness.
She wasn't dreaming; the magic circuits in her body were still functioning. The trash can lid above her head was indeed a physical obstruction, not some magical seal.
“...Why a trash can?”
She reached out and pushed the lid open with force. The green plastic lid flipped to the side with a dull thud. The evening sky appeared in her vision, a color she had never seen before. In her world, the sky was purple; here, it was a gradient of orange-red, as if someone had crushed the sunset and smeared it across the clouds.
Qiluo climbed out of the trash can and stood in a narrow alley.
On both sides of the alley were gray concrete walls, the ground was covered with uneven asphalt, and a few stubborn weeds grew in the cracks. Beyond the alley entrance was a wider street, and the air carried several scents she couldn't identify.
A loud protest rumbled from her empty stomach. She was starving.
She looked down at herself.
The deep blue robe of the Royal Astronomical Observatory was still on her, its star-trail embroidery on the cuffs perfectly intact. Not a single emergency magic crystal sewn into the inside of her belt was missing. The half-drawn magic array on the back of her right hand had its edges scorched by the magic fluctuations during her transmigration, leaving a faint red burn mark on her pale skin.
Good. At least she hadn't transmigrated naked.
Qiluo took off her robe, folded it neatly, and tucked it under her arm.
Underneath, she wore a simple white shirt and dark trousers, both made of materials and styled like the robe from her world, which wouldn't look too out of place here at first glance. She unfastened her belt and wrapped it around her wrist, the magic crystals pressing against her skin, emitting a slight warmth.
Then she walked out of the alley.
The sight of the street made her stop.
She paused because she needed time to process the information. Low-rise buildings lined both sides of the street, their signs displaying writing she didn't recognize, yet she strangely understood their meaning.
As each word entered her sight, its corresponding concept would surface in her mind.
Language comprehension had been automatically loaded during her transmigration. This discovery made her slightly relieved. At least she wouldn't have to start by learning to read.
People occasionally passed by on the street, dressed in outfits completely different from hers, yet no one gave her a second glance.
A foreign-looking girl in a strange white shirt staring blankly outside a convenience store didn't seem to be anything noteworthy in this city called Tokyo.
After all, this was Tokyo, a city brimming with all kinds of people.
Qiluo retracted her gaze and looked up at the sky.
Then she truly froze.
At the highest point of the firmament, where orange-red met deep blue, a star of impossibly unnatural brightness hung silently. The clouds around it were tinged with a faint, ethereal silver-white glow, as if a tiny hole had been burned through the sky.
In Qiluo's original world, this star was known as the Eye of the End, a harbinger of the world's demise.
The Royal Astronomical Observatory's observation records showed that with every increment of its brightness, the apocalypse drew nearer. Before her transmigration, the Eye of the End's luminosity had already reached a warning level, and her entire world was preparing for the impending catastrophe.
Now, it hung in the sky of this completely unfamiliar world. Qiluo squinted, estimating that it was only just beginning to shine.
It hadn't reached a dangerous level yet, but it was definitely on a worsening trajectory.
“So, it’s not just my world heading towards its end,” she muttered to herself.
Her stomach growled again.
Qiluo looked down at her stomach, then up at the ominous star. The shadow of the apocalypse and the physiological need of an empty stomach engaged in a brief struggle for priority, and hunger won.
She stood by the convenience store entrance for a moment, observing how the automatic doors opened and closed.
The glass door was covered with colorful posters. One of them depicted a chubby white creature with cat ears and a dog's tail, its mouth curved into an overly cheerful smile.
Next to it were words she didn't recognize, but their meaning automatically appeared in her mind: “Magical Girl Meruru Movie Release Commemoration.”
Magical Girl.
Meruru.
Qiluo mulled over these two words in her mind but reached no immediate conclusion. She took a deep breath and stepped towards the automatic door.
The door opened.
Air conditioning, lights, shelves packed with countless products, and a uniformed clerk behind the counter.
Qiluo had read countless records of other worlds in the Royal Astronomical Observatory’s archives, but not a single document had ever mentioned anything like a convenience store. She stood at the entrance, her pupils slightly dilated from information overload.
The clerk lifted their eyes and glanced at her. “Welcome.”
Qiluo nodded and walked in.
She wandered among the shelves for about ten minutes, learning how to use a shopping basket by observing other customers. Then she found the bread section, and subsequently, pineapple buns.
It was a round, golden-yellow bread with a crisscross pattern on its surface, looking temptingly delicious. The packaging read “Salted Butter Pineapple Bun,” and next to it was a drawing of a small piece of melting butter. Qiluo picked one up, squeezed it through the bag, and felt a reassuring soft elasticity.
She had no money. But she had magic crystals.
Qiluo walked to the checkout counter, placed the pineapple bun on the counter, and then took out the smallest magic crystal from the belt on her wrist. The crystal emitted a faint blue glow in her palm, as if breathing.
“I’ll exchange this for it,” she said.
The clerk stared at the glowing little stone for a few seconds, then said in a calm, “I’ve seen it all” tone, “This store only accepts cash or electronic payment.”
Qiluo had no cash, nor did she know what electronic payment was.
She put the magic crystal back into her belt, returned the pineapple bun to the shelf, walked out of the convenience store, and re-entered the twilight street.
Throughout the entire process, her face was expressionless, her steps steady, and her dignity perfectly maintained. After turning a corner out of the clerk's sight, she crouched down and buried her face in her knees.
“I can’t even afford a loaf of bread.”
Her voice was muffled and indistinct, buried in her knees.
About five minutes later, she stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, and began to think again.
Survival was the top priority. To survive, she needed food, shelter, and a legal identity.
She had no currency from this world, no identification, and no knowledge of its social rules.
But she had one thing that most people in this world didn't: magic!
Rate on N.U.
