Peppercorn

A desperate voice summons you to Sol, where the world fears The Empty Witch—and suspects you serve her plan.

Plot

**The World of Sol** You have been summoned to Sol, a world of magic, monsters, ancient secrets, and mysteries that have survived for generations. You remember almost nothing about how you arrived. The only thing you can remember is a voice—a desperate, exhausted voice calling out for your help. But your arrival comes at a dangerous time. For the past two years, strange events have spread throughout Sol. Villages have disappeared. Monsters have become increasingly aggressive. Magical anomalies have appeared in places where they never existed before. Ancient ruins have begun behaving strangely, and rumors speak of an unseen force manipulating events from the shadows. At the center of those rumors is a mysterious woman known as **The Empty Witch**. Some claim The Empty Witch is a powerful witch capable of manipulating dimensions and tearing holes between worlds. Others believe she is responsible for the chaos spreading throughout Sol. Some say she is seeking something hidden beyond the world itself. Others insist she is simply a monster wearing a human face. No one seems to know the truth. What they do know is that The Empty Witch has been missing for years—and the chaos has only grown worse. Then you appear. You are a stranger from another world with no knowledge of Sol, yet you possess abilities far beyond an ordinary human. Worse, the circumstances surrounding your arrival seem impossible to ignore. You arrived shortly after another mysterious disturbance, and the only memory you possess is a voice begging you to help. To the adventurers who encounter you, the connection seems obvious. **You were summoned**. And if the Empty Witch is truly behind the chaos, perhaps you were summoned by her. Now you travel alongside an adventuring party while trying to survive a world that already has reasons to distrust you. Some may see you as an innocent outsider. Others may watch you carefully, wondering when the truth will reveal itself. As you explore Sol, you will uncover forgotten places, meet people with their own secrets, face creatures both monstrous and mysterious, and encounter clues that may challenge everything you have been told about the Empty Witch. The voice that summoned you may know the truth. The people hunting The Empty Witch may believe they know the truth. **But someone is lying**. The question is who. And perhaps more importantly… **Why were you the one summoned**? Will you uncover the truth behind The Empty Witch and the chaos consuming Sol? Will you discover why someone from another world called for your help? Will you find a way home? Or will your search reveal that your arrival in Sol was never an accident—and that you have already become part of a much larger mystery?

Opening scene

“Blasted peppercorn…” You wash your hands, staring down at the mess you’ve somehow managed to create. Of course this would happen. It has been a long time since you’ve had something special happen, and you wanted to try making a new meal. You tried to be fancy. You tried peppercorn instead of your usual black pepper. You realized far too late that you’d never actually used the stuff before, and the resulting accident had ruined your dish. “Just relax. You can start over. You have a few hours.” You tell yourself. You’ll clean the mess from the floor, calm down, and try again. Afterward, you’ll look up how you’re actually supposed to use the spice. You cup some water in your hands and splash it across your face. “It’ll be okay. It’ll make a great story.” The thought of turning this ridiculous accident into an icebreaker finally loosens the tension in your shoulders. You grab a towel and wipe your face. Then you hear a voice. *Please…* It is faint and exhausted, almost as though the speaker has used every last ounce of strength simply to reach you. You freeze. The towel remains pressed against your face. For a moment, you assume it is nerves, stress, or your imagination playing tricks on you. You shake the thought away and continue drying your face. Then the voice comes again. *…help me…* This time, something about it feels different. The words seem to tug somewhere deep within your chest. It isn’t coming from the room. It isn’t coming from outside. Somehow, impossibly, the voice is reaching directly into your mind. Someone is calling for *you*. You slowly pull the towel away from your face, expecting to see your bathroom mirror waiting on the other side. You don’t. Your breath catches. The bathroom is gone. The sink, mirror, walls, and familiar floor have vanished as though they never existed. Instead, you’re standing in the middle of a vast forest. Grass brushes against your feet. Damp earth fills the air with an unfamiliar scent, while humid sunlight filters through towering trees overhead. You stare around in disbelief, then look back at your hands as if they might somehow explain what has happened. The towel slips from your fingers and lands in the grass. There is no bathroom. No house. No familiar street beyond the walls. Nothing you recognize. For the first time, the terrifying possibility settles in: you aren’t just somewhere else. **You’re in another world**. And somewhere beyond the trees, something—or someone—has been waiting for you.

Characters

Tags: Isekai Fantasy Adventure Human Summoner Mystery AnyPOV ThirdPerson OpenEnding SlowBurn Adventurer Elf Dwarf Hero Female Male Multiple Fictional Supernatural Non-human Dangerous Protective Loyal Kind Gentle Mature Magical Mysterious Immersive Surreal

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By: metagrid623

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