In the sky above a certain house two beings are floating.
"Is %<₹>₹< ₹^₹>#^?%₹%##₹₹"
"Yes₹₹#₹₹₹%₹₹#?"
As they talk in unknown language they vanished,a bright light appear shortly after
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Somewhere in a forest...
"[Starting]," a robotic voice echoed in the boy's mind.
A boy, around nineteen years old, lay sprawled on the forest floor. He had short, curly hair, vivid green eyes, and wore a green shirt and blue pants. A hiking backpack lay beside his head, as if he had collapsed mid-journey.
"Where... am I?" he mumbled, groaning as he sat up. His head throbbed painfully, each movement feeling like a hammer strike inside his skull. Around him, the trees loomed—familiar, yet oddly distorted, as if plucked from a dream.
"What was that voice? Am I dreaming?" he said aloud, clutching his head.
He looked down at his clothes for signs of a struggle, trying to recall what had happened before he woke. Nothing came to him. The pain was too much, clouding his memory and vision.
After lying still for some time, he managed to sit upright. As the pain dulled slightly, he whispered, "I need to get out of this forest."
He staggered to his feet, used the sun to find a direction, and began walking east. Strange trees stretched into the sky, their trunks bent and colored in unnatural hues. Animals skittered past—some normal, others bizarre. A large rabbit with a single horn darted through a bush.
None of it made sense.
"This has to be a dream... I don't even do drugs," he muttered. The migraine pounded behind his eyes, refusing to subside.
A chill ran down his spine. It felt like something—or someone—was watching him from deeper in the forest. He quickened his pace, trying to put distance between himself and the unseen presence.
Eventually, he found a narrow path that led out of the dense woods. Following it, he spotted a carriage in the distance, heading his way.
"Help! I'm lost!" he called out.
The carriage slowed to a stop. A group of armed travelers stepped down. One of them—a burly man in leather armor, a broadsword strapped to his back—approached.
"Who are you, kid? Why are you out here alone?" the man asked in a language the boy didn't recognize—yet, somehow, he understood every word.
"My name is Mehran Khan. I... I don't know how I got here. I fell asleep at home and woke up in that forest. Can you help me get to the nearest city?" he asked, nervous but hopeful.
The group exchanged glances, speaking quietly among themselves.
"Alright, kid. We're heading back to the city. You can come with us," the man finally said.
"Thank you for your kindness," Mehran replied.
The group introduced themselves. The leader was James, the man in a black robe was Liam, the archer with the longbow was Emily, and the man with two daggers at his waist was Henry.
They looked experienced—adventurers, perhaps. Mehran's head still ached, but less than before. The sun dipped low as they made camp beside the road.
Henry wandered into the woods to hunt. James walked a few paces away, drew his sword, and swung it at a towering tree. With a single, clean strike, the massive trunk split in half.
"Whoa!" Mehran gasped.
James quickly reduced the tree into firewood. The others watched with indifference—it was routine for them.
"I must be dreaming," Mehran whispered, stunned.
Liam stepped forward, extending a hand toward the firewood. His palm glowed orange, and a ball of fire shot out, igniting the logs instantly.
Mehran's headache surged violently. His vision blurred.
"[Providing basic information]..."
The voice echoed again. Pain gripped his mind as a flood of information forced itself into his consciousness. He sat silently by the fire, unable to speak.
Before sleep overtook him, one question remained, looping in his mind: Am I really dreaming...?
Henry returned with an enormous horned rabbit slung over his shoulder. The group glanced at the sleeping Mehran.
"Poor kid must've been exhausted," James said.
"Let's see if he has the will to survive," Henry replied.
"It all depends on fate... if he's lucky," Liam added, his eyes glowing faintly.
As night fell, Mehran's headache finally began to fade.
...............................
Elsewhere, in a dark chamber...
"What do you think?" a cloaked figure asked, the room cloaked in shadows.
"He's different from the others before him. And you remember him, don't you?" another voice replied from the darkness.
"Him... How could I forget? That makes things more interesting. But can the boy survive what's to come?"
"That... depends entirely on him," the voice said, fading into silence.
The figure stood alone in the darkness, deep in thought.