My name's Lekan. I've been in college for five years.
Not because I'm chasing some double major or anything impressive like that. Nah. It just… happened. I switched majors twice, failed a few classes, and got stuck in financial aid limbo more than once. Life kind of steamrolled me while I was too tired to move.
Now I'm 23, living in my parents' basement.
Still wearing the same hoodie for the third day straight. I think it smells like takeout and regret. There's an old cup of ramen on the desk, and the glow of my laptop lights up the room. The only sounds are the soft hum of the computer fan and the heater wheezing to life.
Click.
I sent off another job application. This is what? Number 379 this year? I lost count around March. It doesn't matter. None of them ever gets back to me anyway. Most times, I don't even get the "We regret to inform you…" email. Just silence.
My fingers hover over the mouse, but I don't click away yet. I just stare at the screen — at my own name in the header of the résumé I've edited fifty times and still hate.
And then I notice it.
A light under my chair.
Not the familiar blue glow of my LED strip. Not the soft white from the hallway or the monitor reflection. This is different. Bright. Flickering.
Warm.
I lean forward and glance down, expecting… I don't even know what I expected. A shorted-out power cord? Maybe my phone charger fried itself?
But what I see isn't anything like that.
It's a soft white light pulsing and growing.
Then the floor vanishes.
All I see is white. My ears are ringing. My head is pounding. I'm wondering where my chair has gone
I start feeling overwhelmed. My heart's racing, my breathing's a mess.
Instinct kicks in.
Square breathing, I tell myself.
In for four. Hold for four. Out for four. Hold again.
It's something my therapist taught me, and right now, it's the only thing keeping me from losing it completely.
As I start to calm down, the white slowly fades. Shapes begin to form through the haze. I hear voices muffled at first, like I'm underwater. Someone's speaking, maybe more than one person, but I can't make out what they're saying.
I blink a few times, trying to focus. All I see are blurred figures moving around me. I rub my eyes, still lying on something hard and cold, stone, maybe?
My vision sharpens just enough for me to make out a huge room, dimly lit by glowing crystals embedded in the walls. The air feels heavy, like it's thick with incense or dust or both.
I push myself up slowly, my body still shaky. As I rise from the floor, the blurs come into focus.
A man sits on a grand, high-backed chair, almost like a throne, at the far end of the room. He's surrounded by guards in strange armor and people wearing robes that look like they belong in a fantasy movie. Weird symbols are stitched into their sleeves and are glowing faintly.
Everyone's staring at me.
And no one looks happy to see me.
The man in the chair clearly the one in charge, lifts his hand, and the room instantly goes quiet.
He says something, but I can't understand a word of it. The language is completely unfamiliar.
I try to speak up, to say something, but no one reacts. It's like they can't understand me either. I wave my hand a little, half expecting someone to acknowledge me, but nothing happens. Just more blank stares.
I'm starting to get annoyed. This whole thing is weird enough without everyone pretending I'm not even here.
Then the man points to a woman in a long robe. He says something to her again, I have no idea what, but she walks over to me without a word and slips a gold cuff around my wrist.
The moment it clicks into place, I feel a strange pulse in my head. A warmth spreads through my chest, and suddenly… I can understand them.
"…now you should be able to hear us," the woman says calmly, stepping back.
I want to ask where I am, who these people are, what the hell is going on, but the words catch in my throat. I'm terrified. So I just stand there.
The man on the throne leans forward slightly, eyes fixed on me.
"I am King Arlof of the Musana Empire," he says.
The Musana Empire.
I guess I'm not on Earth anymore.
What do these people want with me?
I need to calm down and assess the situation. Just listen. Scan the room. Figure out what's going on.
King Arlof narrows his eyes at me.