Xavier stared at the fountain in disbelief. He swiftly moved to the spot where Stephan had fallen. He examined it as closely as he could while panicking, at least. He shook his head and rubbed his face before taking a deep breath.
"Calm down... need to calm down." He let out a light yawn. "Being slightly sleepy is giving me an easier time staying on the calmer side, at least..." He sat on the edge of the fountain and buried his face in his hands.
After a few moments, he stood up and started mumbling to himself. "Should I go back and get Bruce...? Or maybe it would be better to let him sleep and for me to try and take care of this on my own...?" He rubbed his temple and stared back towards the street that would take him to the inn before taking a heavy, deep breath.
"I'm feeling so tired... Stephan should be fine on his own, right...?" He thought back to the battle against the pack of wolves on the forest cliff, where Stephan had stabbed himself when attempting to stab a wolf. He chuckled. "Yeah, definitely not..."
Xavier began to pace back and forth while deep in thought. He did his best to draw connections, but most of them were blanks. That was until he yawned again. After he finished yawning and rubbed his face, the lightbulb finally lit in his head.
"The song... Bruce seemed mostly fine with his energy level up until we started hearing the humming. Stephan, too. He was completely fine until he suddenly wasn't. The same thing is happening to me now, as well. Should I give in...? Is sleeping the answer?"
He stared into the abyss that was an alleyway for a moment. "Haha... Yeah, right. Like the answer would be that simple... My luck would never allow that! ...Unless, it would? It's worth a shot at least, right? ...I definitely look completely insane talking to myself right now."
Xavier sprawled himself out on the cobblestone roads by the fountain. He then closed his heavy eyelids, letting the ambient noise of rushing water guide him into a wonderful sleep...
━━━
Emptiness. If one were to exist in a void, this is how it would feel. Those are the thoughts that crossed Xavier's mind as he fell asleep. But he quickly realized that he was able to open his eyes. And, as he did...
"Am I dreaming...?" He rubbed his face and eyes before checking his surroundings.
It was completely foggy. A misty, transparent fog covered the ground as far as he could see. There was no sun or moon in the sky, yet there was still light that allowed him to 'see' the area around him. He groggily brought himself to his feet.
"Xavier?" The familiar voice of Bruce called out to him from behind.
Xavier quickly turned around and saw his friends standing there. Behind them, there seemed to be the only other sign of life in this uninhabited void. A singular, lively green bush that looked large enough to hide two people if they squeezed together.
As Xavier was about to call back out to his friends, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Within a fraction of a second, he spun himself around and hopped backwards towards his friends. He looked up at both of them and whispered. "You could have told me someone was sneaking up behind me!"
Stephan kept his eyes on the stranger, but still whispered back. "I can barely see anything in this fog!"
"Then how did you see me?"
"I didn't! Bruce did!"
"Oh... right." Xavier turned his head and squinted at Bruce, who simply shrugged in response.
The figure in the fog seemed to be male. These suspicions were confirmed as he stepped closer to the trio, revealing himself. He was fairly tall, although quite lean. His shaggy but clean brown hair was mostly parted to the right side of his face, hiding his right eye. His left eye, however, was a dark hazel color. His well-chiseled face was complemented by a stubbly goatee that looked to be freshly shaven.
His clothing was simple, but fashionable. A long, dark teal coat with gold linings on the collar covered a loose, completely black shirt. His black pants and dress shoes followed the trend of darker colors, but his long, white scarf contrasted that.
Xavier stared daggers at the man, still crouched, while Bruce and Stephan stood unfazed. A few moments passed by in silence...
"Why would you ever come here!?" The mysterious man looked utterly shocked. His voice was well-tuned with a noticeable Eastern accent.
"...Huh?" Xavier tilted his head and slowly began to stand.
The man sighed. "You're either incredibly unlucky or incredibly unaware. Possibly both. No, definitely both."
Xavier narrowed his eyes at the man again. "Where are we? And who are you?"
"...My point is proven." The man let out another sigh; however, this one carried more weight. "You three are currently in the spirit realm. A spirit realm? Something of a realm of spirits... To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure about the specifics myself..." The man shifted his vision to his left in a hint of embarrassment. "As for me... I am Enzio, a traveling bard."
When Enzio mentioned his name, Xavier's face lit up like a puppy receiving treats. "Enzio!"
"...Yes? That is my name." He tilted his head in slight confusion.
"We're adventurers from the guild. We took a request to search for you. And, now we can take you back and get our sweet reward..." Xavier smuggly chuckled to himself. He took a moment to bring himself back to reality. "Anyhow... How do we leave this place, exactly?"
"Well..." Enzio once again shifted his gaze to the side, avoiding eye contact with the trio.
Bruce immediately cupped his face with his hands before letting out an annoyed sigh. Both Xavier and Stephan tilted their heads in confusion, looking like lost kittens on the side of the road.
Enzio shifted his eyes back and forth between the trio and the empty void next to him. He let out yet another sigh. "There's no easy way to say this... We don't leave."
Xavier's eyes shot wide open. "...Huh?"