Consciousness returned to Adam slowly. He felt a strange heaviness in his chest and limbs. When he opened his eyes, a sharp white light greeted him. His vision was blurred, shapes unclear. He tried to move his hand, but it didn't respond.
He heard a faint voice from a man:
"Vitals are stable."
A woman's voice followed:
"That's impossible. The pulse returned three days ago, but the brain was… dead."
Adam tried to focus.
'Where… could I be?'
The man said:
"We're not talking about a coma. Neural activity had completely disappeared."
The two doctors moved closer. He could see their human shapes, white clothing, and transparent masks.
The woman said:
"The body was only alive because we kept it that way. There was no consciousness, no response."
Azer tried to breathe deeply. His chest rose and fell slowly, controlled by a machine connected to him.
The man said:
"And yet now… his brain is functioning. The experiment failed. But the body… has returned."
'Experiment? What experiment?!'
Adam wondered inwardly.
His hearing became clearer. The sounds sharpened. Machines around him produced steady tones.
The woman asked:
"Do you think consciousness returned on its own?"
The man replied, resting a hand on his chin:
"I don't know. But what we're seeing doesn't match any record we have."
Adam barely tried to move his head, but he felt weight in his neck. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Instead, a harsh cough burst from his chest. His body shook on the bed, and the machines suddenly grew louder.
"Don't speak."
The woman said quickly as she moved closer.
"Calm down. Don't strain yourself."
The man placed a hand on his chest and pressed a button on the device. The rhythm slowly returned to normal.
Adam breathed with difficulty. His throat was dry, his chest was burned. He tried to speak again. His voice came out hoarse, barely audible:
"I…"
He stopped and coughed again.
The man said firmly:
"That's enough. We're not sure you're fully stable yet."
The woman lifted her gaze to him and said in measured calm tone:
"Azer… listen to me. You need to rest."
Adam froze.
'W–what?'
He opened his eyes wider, looking between them. He said slowly, gathering the voice he had left:
"My name… is Adam."
A short silence followed. They exchanged a quick look.
The woman frowned slightly:
"That's expected."
The man asked:
"Identity disorder?"
She replied:
"Most likely he hasn't fully recovered his consciousness yet."
The man stepped a little closer to Adam.
"Azer, what you're experiencing is normal. Your memory is confused, and verbal hallucinations are common in your condition."
'Hallucinations?'
Adam tried to shake his head, but it barely moved.
'No… I remember. The square. The stick. My name…'
The woman said while writing something down:
"Record that. Unstable verbal response."
The man looked back at Adam.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine soon."
Silence returned to the room, but Adam's mind wasn't silent.
'Azer… that's not my name.'
For the first time since opening his eyes… he felt fear. Instead of facing it, his eyelids grew heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep.
After a time he couldn't measure, consciousness returned again. But this time… the ceiling wasn't white. A vast darkness stretched before him, filled with countless points of light. Colors he hadn't seen before. Huge circles moving slowly (asteroids), and distant glowing bodies in the void (planets).
His eyes widened to their limit.
"W–what is this?!"
His chest moved violently, and a sharp gasp escaped his mouth. The breathing device was still attached to his face. He tried to lift his head higher, and this time his body obeyed.
"This isn't… this can't be…"
He sensed movement beside him and turned with trembling eyes. There was a woman… or something like a woman. Her skin was smooth and silver-colored. Her turquoise hair was wavy and reached her shoulders. Her ears were pointed, her eyes are darker than normal. Her limbs were slightly longer than they should be. Her clothes were tight, made of a material he had never seen before. She was watching him.
Azer gasped again. His body jolted upward as he half-sat on the bed, trembling violently. His hand gripped the metal edge beneath him. His new appearance was different from before. He now had blond hair and crimson eyes.
The woman slowly raised her hand and said in a steady tone:
"Calm down. I won't hurt you. You're safe."
Azer stared at her for a few seconds, his breathing was uneven.
'If she wanted to hurt me… she would have already.'
He lowered his gaze slightly without moving away, then looked back outside with curiosity.
'If this is a dream… it's too complex to be one.'
His fingers tightened on the metal edge as he swallowed hard.
'There's no ground. No sky. So… I'm not standing on anything.'
He kept staring into the vast expanse, and little by little the image began to settle in his mind.
"The light isn't coming from above."
His eyes followed the movement of distant objects, their shifting angles, slow rotations, and the regular spacing between them.
'So this isn't a ceiling or a screen… this is empty space.'
A short gasp left his chest, but this time it wasn't from fear. It was from excitement.
"Space!! If I'm here… that means I've gone beyond everything I knew."
He looked at the device on his face. Slowly, he reached up, unclipped it, and pulled the breathing mask off in one motion. A slow smile spread across his face. He looked again at the silver-skinned woman, his eyes shining with strange relief.
He laughed and said:
"Finally. It took longer than I expected."
The woman frowned and stepped half a step forward.
"What did you do?"
She asked cautiously.
Azer waved his hand dismissively, looked back at the stars, then said calmly:
"Nothing dangerous. I was just making sure this is real."
He looked at her again, his smile widened.
"Looks like I was finally abducted… by aliens!"
The woman froze.
"Abducted? What are you talking about?"
Azer laughed again:
"It's the best explanation."
He pointed outside.
"An advanced place, technology I don't understand yet, creatures that don't look like human… and no one is trying to kill me."
His voice lowered, calmer:
"And very far away from those ignorant people."
The woman stared at him in confusion as Azer suddenly jumped up with clear excitement. His feet landed firmly on the ship's floor, as if he had completely forgotten that he had been bedridden moments ago.
"This… is amazing."
His smile widened even more, and his voice rose:
"Finally! Finally something worth waking up for!"
The woman stepped back instinctively.
"Calm—"
But Azer didn't hear her. He lifted his arms slightly and looked at the stars again, his voice is shaking with honest excitement:
"No village. No scrap. No empty faces staring at me like I'm a weirdo!"
He suddenly turned toward her, his eyes are shining.
"Do you know how boring it is to live in a world that doesn't want to change? Of course you don't."
He took a deep breath, then said more calmly:
"If this is a dream… I don't want to wake up."
The woman pulled a small device that's similar to a phone from her pocket. She pressed a single symbol, then raised it beside her face.
"This is the medical unit."
She paused to listen.
"Yes, the Crown Prince is with us inside the vessel."
She glanced quickly at Azer, then continued:
"His condition is stable. His consciousness has fully returned."
A brief silence.
"We'll reach Raxel planet within an hour."
She ended the call and put the device away. Azer, who had been watching her with curiosity, suddenly froze.
'Crown Prince?'
His eyes widened, then he smiled.
'No… wait. Crown… Prince?'
He burst into loud, disbelieving laughter.
"Wait, wait."
He said, placing a hand on his chest:
"Did you say Crown Prince?"
He took two steps forward, then spun around himself with clear excitement.
'So it's not just space. And not just an advanced civilization. But… a kingdom.'
His voice rose again in triumph:
"That explains everything! The abduction, the lab, the ship… of course!"
He suddenly stopped, raised a finger as if reaching a brilliant conclusion, and said with confident amusement:
"Let me guess. I will arrive on a strange planet, a majestic people will welcome me, then they will discover I'm the chosen one. Then I will get a princess from another planet… beautiful, smart, forced to marry me to save her kingdom!"
The woman stared at him for a long moment, then slowly exhaled.
She said in a low voice:
"Azer. Since when do you act like this? You don't even joke. You didn't laugh like this before. Your current behavior… doesn't match your personality at all."
A short silence followed, then she said firmly:
"Stop this immediately. This is not the time for jokes."
The smile slowly faded from his face. He looked at her for a few seconds, then tilted his head slightly. After a moment, he spoke with sudden calm:
"I… don't know you."
She froze.
"What did you say?"
He shrugged lightly and replied simply:
"I said I don't know you. And I don't know why you're acting like we know each other. The first time I saw you was minutes ago. On a ship overlooking space I've never seen before."
The woman clenched her fist slightly.
"Azer, this isn't funny."
He replied calmly:
"I didn't say it was funny. I'm just telling the truth."
A heavy silence settled between them. Azer looked away and took a deep breath. Suddenly, as if the excitement vanished all at once, he slowly walked back to the medical bed. He sat down and ran a hand through his hair without thinking, brushing it back, trying to calm his head full of possibilities. When he lowered his hand, he stopped.
Between his fingers… was a strand of hair. It wasn't brown… it was blond. He stared at it for several seconds, unmoving.
'Huh?'
He raised his hand again and slowly touched his hair, then pulled a small lock and looked at it. The same color. He suddenly stood up and moved quickly toward a nearby reflective surface. He stepped closer, lifted his head, and stared.
It wasn't the face he knew. His new features were sharper. His skin is lighter. His hair is blond, his eyes are different… not belonging to the boy who was beaten in a village square. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, and he screamed.