I felt as if I were floating in water.
I couldn't see anything, and no sound reached my ears.
It was strange, because I was in a state of stillness and serenity.
I didn't feel my body, or anything at all.
The only thing I felt at that time was freedom.
And although this feeling was intoxicating and beautiful,
everything has an end. Something incredibly strong began pulling me toward it.
I tried to resist, but it was useless.
It felt as if I had pierced some kind of wall, something intangible yet definitely present.
Then, directly after, a small point of light appeared in front of me.
I felt as if someone was calling me, and I began to float or swim toward it.
The light gradually grew brighter until it completely covered my vision.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't, so I tried to move my hands, but it was useless.
At that moment, I had no limbs or body at all.
So, I kept moving forward, even though the light was burning me.
I tried to resist the pain and continued.
Finally, the light gradually faded and disappeared completely.
I returned to the previous darkness, but this time it felt different.
Because I could feel my calm heartbeat.
And I could feel my limbs, which were unable to move but were definitely there.
"Ah!"
I opened my mouth to speak, but I felt difficulty because my throat was dry, and my vocal cords seemed to have not been used for a long time.
This situation was strange, but I was calm nonetheless.
I didn't feel any tension or fear, only anticipation.
Tap! Tap!
A strange sound entered my ear that I didn't recognize.
But instinctively, I knew that the situation was about to change.
I saw out of the corner of my eye a line of light.
But it wasn't like the radiant light before; it was more like illumination.
Then, I glimpsed something in this light, something that was definitely waiting for me to reach it.
So I gathered all my willpower and tried to move my feet.
But, even after trying, they didn't move an inch.
"Phew, again."
I took a deep breath, clenched my teeth, and began commanding every nerve in my body to move my feet.
Then, my feet began to tremble slightly and moved slowly forward one step.
"Good, again."
This time, I focused on my other foot and it moved a little.
Although I had only moved two steps, I was sweating heavily as if I had been doing intense exercises.
"Hah, hah, what the hell is happening? Where am I? And who am I? I don't even know my name."
My voice was slightly hoarse and strange.
But I felt it was familiar; this was my voice after all.
After resting a little, I began moving forward again.
Small step, then another small step, until I reached the place where the light was coming from.
There, I noticed that what was blocking the light was a large door.
I raised my arms with difficulty and pushed the door with all my strength to open it.
Creak!
A disturbing creaking sound came out as I pushed, indicating that this door hadn't been used for a long time.
The light entered my eyes, making me close them slightly in discomfort.
Finally, I saw what was in front of me.
I saw a very large courtyard of sand, like a small barren desert.
There was nothing in it except a small pond in the middle containing a small amount of water.
"Where am I?"
Unfortunately, there was no one to answer my questions.
I began moving forward toward the pond because I felt very thirsty and wanted something to quench it.
It took a long time to reach it due to my weak body, even though the distance was only a few dozen meters.
My body could no longer bear it and I fell to the ground.
Fall!
"Cough! Cough! Dirt got into my mouth, damn it."
I coughed up the dirt I had ingested and began crawling with my trembling hands toward the pond, which was now only a meter away from me.
I stretched my hand toward it and took a large amount of water and put it into my mouth.
At this time, I didn't care whether the water was safe to drink or not.
I just wanted to silence my protesting body.
The water splashed everywhere and on my clothes as I drank greedily as if I had found the best meal ever.
"Phew, this is refreshing. How is it possible that such clean and cold water exists in the middle of this barren desert?"
I lay on my back to rest a little and saw the blue sky, which looked a little strange.
"Why does the sky look like this? As if it's not real."
Before my questions increased, a strange gray screen appeared in front of me.
It floated before me and followed my field of vision wherever I moved.
Some strange words were written on it, which I did not remember, but I instinctively knew how to read.
[Welcome to The Garden Of The Last Rulers. This place was designed to prepare the rulers for their great mission.]
"Garden what? And what's the story of these rulers?"
[Please awaken the other rulers to begin the first mission.]
The strange screen did not answer my questions, but it gave me words that made me feel even more confused.
"Other rulers? I don't see anyone else here."
I began turning right and left, searching for anyone, but I found no trace.
Instead, I found four doors similar to the one I had just come through.
"Perhaps they are sleeping inside these rooms like I was before."
Since I did not know the answer, I decided to see for myself.
I got up from the ground, but this time I did not suffer as before, as I felt my body had gained some energy.
"Hmm, my healing rate is fast; this feels unusual."
I moved toward the door that I saw was closest to me.
After a few seconds, I stood in front of it and reached out to pull the door open.
The exterior light illuminated the darkness in the room, and I saw what was inside.
There was a man who looked to be in his early twenties, standing on his feet with his eyes closed as if asleep.
He had dark blue hair and sharp facial features.
His body was covered with a white shirt and black pants.
As I approached him, I noticed he was slightly shorter than me.
"Okay, how do I wake him now?"
I looked to the side, but I saw nothing in the room except this man.
I reached out and shook his body slightly, but he did not wake, so I did the thing I thought would work.
Slap! Slap!
Two slaps on both sides of his cheeks made him immediately open his eyes and look around in confusion.
"Ughhh, that hurts."
The man tried to lift his hand to touch the place that hurt him, but he found that his body could not move.
"Huh? What's happening? Where am I? Who am I? Oh my God! Am I kidnapped? Hey! You! What did you do to me?"
Panic was evident in his eyes as he looked at me with a bit of fear.
"I'm also in the same situation. I woke up here and don't know anything. Try to calm down a little and think of the last thing you remember."
"Huh? The last thing I remember? Hmmmm, I don't remember anything."
His lips trembled slightly as I looked at this man blinking innocently.
"Oh my God! I don't remember anything! And why can't my body move at all?"
Panic was taking over the man in front of me, so I did the only thing I thought would solve the situation.
Slap!
His right cheek was now red from my repeated slaps, and he looked at me with wide eyes.
"Calm down a little."
"You bastard! Why did you slap me? You could have just told me to calm down."
A slight smile appeared on my lips after hearing his words.
"Okay, I don't know why, but I wanted to do this."
"Huh? Son of—!%%@^%"
I put my finger in my ear because I felt it would tear from his random and numerous curses.
"Okay, okay, calm down a little. Let's get out of here first."
I approached him because I wanted to help him walk, but I noticed his body trembled slightly once I got close to him.
"What are you going to do, back off!"
I ignored his trivial protests and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, try to move your body. I'll help you so you don't fall."
The blue-haired man exhaled the breath he had been holding and nodded in agreement.
We began walking slowly because his body was weak, and after some time, we reached the center where the pond was located.
"Drink some water and rest for a while. I'll go wake the others."
"The others? Are there other people besides us?"
The blue-haired man nodded in slight confusion at my words as I pointed toward the remaining doors in the room.
"Look at this, there are still three people behind those doors."
Then the blue-haired man finally noticed that this wide circular space contained five doors in total.
"Do as you wish. I'm feeling exhausted; I'll rest a little."
I sighed slightly as I saw his indifferent posture, whereas not long ago he had been screaming like a frightened child.
And so, I moved toward the other doors.
At that moment, I didn't know that this day would be the beginning of everything.
The beginning of the path that all five of us, whom we met on that day, would walk together.