Sitting next to his grandmother, who was sleeping peacefully on her bed, Akira just watched her, a smile on his face.
"I'll be going to Europe tomorrow. For the medication you need. I just wanted to see you one last time before returning." He whispered, not wanting to wake her.
He knew how difficult it was for her to fall asleep, so even if he was leaving tomorrow and he couldn't say goodbye, he didn't mind; her health is more important than saying goodbye.
He sat there for a long time, staring at her, a tender smile on his face.
***
"Are you ready, son?" David shouted from behind the wheel.
"Yes, I'm ready. I'll see you all when I'm back," he said, giving his mom and sister a big hug.
"Make sure to stay safe, okay?" Ina said, a worried expression on her face.
Akira nodded, then turned toward Sarah. "Take good care of Grandma and Mom and Dad, and make sure you land that job after the internship," he stated, a teasing smirk tugging at his lips.
She scoffed, tilting her head away with a dismissive snort. "I'm the older one, you know! I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll see you when I'm back," he replied, giving her a pat on the head.
While she tried to act tough, Ina saw the silly grin she had on her face and giggled a little.
Then Akira stepped into the car. "Ready when you are, old man," he said, reclining his seat and closing his eyes.
***
As the plane touched down in Rome, Akira exhaled softly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The long flight had left him stiff, but there was no time to rest. He had a mission to complete.
Exiting the airport, he signaled to a cab; putting his luggage in the trunk, he sat down in the back.
"Where to, sir?" the driver politely asked.
"The Solivita Research Institute, please." Akira replied, grabbing his phone.
"Mom, Dad, I've arrived safely. I'm on my way to the institute now," sending a quick message to reassure his parents, he put his phone back in his pocket.
He looked out the window, mesmerized by the beautiful scenery., solely focused on the variety of houses and the atmosphere. He was mesmerized; even though his family was rich, they had never traveled because his parents were always working or they went on fishing trips.
So this was Akira's first time traveling to another country, and even though he couldn't stay long, he would make sure to thoroughly enjoy it.
"Sir, are there any spots you recommend visiting? Or any restaurants?" Akira asked.
"Is this your first time here?" the driver replied.
"Yes, it is, and I did not do any research. So I know basically nothing." Akira said.
"Aha, then you have to visit the Pantheon and the Colosseum. Those are the two most visited places, and they're spectacular. But make sure you book tickets, or you won't be able to enter." the driver said.
"Thank you. Huh, where'd he go?" While thanking the driver, Akira saw him vanish.
He blinked. One moment, the streets bustled with tourists and locals; the next, emptiness. No footsteps. No chatter. Just an eerie silence pressed against his ears, as if the city itself had been swallowed whole.
Stepping out of the car, Akira looked around frantically only to not find a single other human around.
"What's going on?" he said, looking around nervously.
"Hello? Anyone here?" He shouted, running around to see if he could find anything or anyone that could explain what was happening.
But nothing; it was like he was the only human in the city at the moment. Then he grabbed his phone and dialed his dad's number, but there was no answer as well.
"Why now? What's going on!" He started to panic, in a foreign country all alone, and he had no clue what was happening.
He punched the numbers into his phone again, calling his dad, but it went straight to voicemail again. He muttered a curse and tried his mom's number. No answer there either.
He looked around a couple more times and still not seeing anyone, he opened the GPS app and entered the address of the institute.
"I'll just go there and see what happens, I guess." He muttered, making his way to the institute.
Then he saw it, in the sky stood a woman.
The woman was draped in a flowing gown and a glimmering necklace. She was sitting on a chariot drawn by two mighty cats.
"What the hell? She's sitting there in the sky? How..." Akira just stared at the woman.
The woman feeling the gaze of someone on her looked around and then she saw him, "Oh I didn't expect a mortal to be here. But I heard that mortals could not enter into Gods dimensions." a captivating smile spread across her face.
"So he must be either a mage or maybe even a God slayer." Upon that realization a fire lit up in her beautiful eyes.
"Go over there." She commended the cats.
When Akira saw her coming towards him he wasn't sure what to do but one thing was for sure, this was not a good sign. He needed to get out of here and fast.
Turning around he ran full sprint in the inner city hoping the woman would ignore him and go about her business.
But of course she had other plans, and wasn't going to let him go without sating her curiosity.
"Go!" she commanded the two cats and they appeared in front of Akira the next second.
Akira stopped running standing still like a deer in front of headlights, not sure what to do now.
"Um, I don't know who you are but you must have the wrong person." he muttered, looking around frantically for an escape route.
"I don't know why you are running away like a coward, but you couldn't have entered this space without having some strength." the woman said a smile on her face.
"So let's test out the strength you posses." she declared, her graceful smile twisting into one of pure madness.