Page 190 of The Wishing Game

I nod, although I'm not so sure. She seems fine with it, but the more I hear them chuckle behind our backs and purposefully belittle us, the more I wish I could just tell them to shut it. No matter my impulses, though, I'm aware that Thea is right. This is not the place, nor the time.

We continue quietly toward the portal as our turn finally arrives.

Thea grabs my hand and gives me a smile as she urges me to follow her.

One moment we're in P'davi, surrounded by the complex and the other participants, the next we're in a foreign location.

If before we'd been in the middle of nowhere, with a scant few buildings buried in the middle of the woods, now we're in the midst of a bustling street, people walking right and left all around us. What's more startling, though, is the fact that I don't see any of the other contestants around us.

The street is lined with shops on both sides, as well as street vendors supplying different kinds of merchandise. I spot some selling fabrics, toys, jewelry, and food. People are marching from one stall to another to look at the goods, and to my surprise, I can understand everything they're saying as they barter with the sellers to get a better price.

"Five asim," a woman says as she touches a luxurious beige silk.

"Seven," the seller counters.

"How is it that I can understand what they're saying?" I murmur to Thea.

She gives me a sly smile.

"The brew you drank doesn't only give you the ability to survive in any realm, but it also endows you with the ability to understand all spoken languages in the known worlds."

I nod numbly as I continue to stare around.

The pedestrians walk around unbothered, going about their day as if we haven't fallen right out of the sky. But perhaps this is a usual occurrence for them. The men are wearing tunics and pairs of loose pants, with belts fitted around their waists, which hold weapons and small pouches. The women are all wearing long dresses, their bodies fully covered. There's a corset molded to their waists that flows into a long skirt. Some have additional layers underneath, peeking out of the hem with laces and pretty frills. The gowns remind me of Renaissance dresses. Similar to my world, there's an immediate class distinction based on the material out of which the dresses are fashioned. The wealthier ones are wearing silky, bright colors while the others are wearing what seems to be cotton or linen.

"Where are the other contestants?"

"They probably ended up in different areas of the Kingdom. These portals aren't known to be extremely reliable," Thea says as she scrunches her nose.

Turning around, she studies her surroundings.

"We need to go that way." She points east. I can make out some tall buildings in the distance. "I'm not sure where we are now. I haven't been to Gaia all that often, but I know my way around the capital. I'll send a message to Cer to meet us there."

"Send a message?" I blink.

"Uhm, telepathically." She gives me a sheepish smile.

"Right. Because you're deities."

"Almostdeity," she corrects, winking at me.

"Fine, lead the way." I nod at her, and we start walking.

All the while, I continue to study this new world, surprised to see many similarities to mine. But as I gaze up at the sky, I find one glaring difference.

There are two suns.

They half-overlap each other, creating an eerie effect of two semi-circles bound together. Yet the added heat doesn't blister my body, nor does it make me feel odd considering the different environment. So this is why that brew is required. Without it, I wonder what would have happened to my body under this double sun.

"How far is the capital?" I ask after we've been walking for almost an hour. No matter how much distance we cover, the tall buildings we spotted before seem to be just as far away, their shapes marring the horizon.

She purses her lips.

"I'm not sure. We just have to reach there. This is likely just a peripheral town."

"It's very busy for a peripheral town," I note. "Are these people deities too?"

"Oh no." She shakes her head. "Ninety percent of the living inhabitants of Aperion do not possess any powers. They're called s’Aperiotes. I should have warned you." She sighs.

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