"Urgh... Uhhh..." Those were the first noises that Kai made, once he started to wake up slowly. He slowly started regaining his senses and he was first assaulted with a sight, covered in red and it wasn't long, before multiple incomprehensible voices assaulted his ears as well. As his senses started to slowly work normally once again, he slowly tried to stand up, but his aching body didn't make it an easy task for him and he quickly fell, as he slowly rose.
Urghhh... Why does my body hurt so much?
Kai thought to himself, as he felt that his senses were slowly becoming clearer. Of course, he knew that he could take care of this question later, once he got a bearing of his surroundings. After that, he made another attempt at standing up, but he only managed to get into a sitting position, from his previous laying face-down position. But that was more than enough for him to get a bearing of his surroundings.
"What the..." Those were Kai's first words, after spending a few seconds looking around the room itself. The room was a tall and spacious room, with many banners that were hanging from the ceiling, a red carpet that spanned the entire floor of the room and many tall windows, of which he could see the bright blue sky.
Aside from that, there were also a dozen or so people, wearing regal uniforms from an old era, as well as an old man who was wearing a golden crown. Not only that, but there also three more individuals who were in the same state as him, either laying on the ground or having difficulty moving.
"Here they are, our beloved heroes. Welcome, welcome." The old man with the crown exclaimed, as he clapped his hands and everyone else followed along. Kai, on the other hand, was rather confused and decided to ask, after successfully getting up:
"Beloved heroes? What do you mean by that? What is this place, sir?"
"You are currently in the Royal Palace of the Narvonis Empire. Currently located in Narvis, the Royal capital of the Empire." The old man answered with a solemn expression, as he slowly rose from his throne and walked towards him. The old man wasn't very tall, just barely taller than Kai and aside from his wrinkly skin and white hair, he looked as healthy as a bull.
"Beloved heroes and Narvonis Empire? Oh please. This is all some super elaborate setup to probably prank us and then upload it on the internet, although I'll say this. These guys must have put quite a lot of effort in making the set and the costumes." Another man explained, as he looked at the old man with a skeptical expression. As for the man himself, he had jet black hair, silver eyes with a hue of blue and was wearing a set of black clothes and a pair of glasses.
"My esteemed hero? Is there a problem?" The old man asked with a slightly worried expression.
"Forgive me sir, but I'll be blunt about it. I just don't buy this whole "hero" nonsense. Since there are no such things as heroes, except in stories and the occasional news of someone saving someone else from a life-threatening event. So calling us hero in some medieval looking castle, it just sounds like an elaborate prank, or a scam." The man with the glasses explained, as he adjusted his glasses.
"I'll have to agree with the kid, gramps. It's not like I have problems with this and I wouldn't mind going ahead with this entire show, but I have work and I really don't want to be late." Another man, right next to the man with the glasses, added with a tired expression. The man himself looked like he was much older than Kai, probably twice his age and had black hair as well. Kai couldn't help but tilt his head with a slight skepticism, as he gave him a quick stare.
"I'm sorry everyone. I know that this entire situation may sound unbelievable, at first, but I promise you, as the current king, Regis Falsis Melchrom Narvonis the IV, that everything I've said is the truth and only the truth." The old man exclaimed, as he rose with a domineering aura.
Kai still felt slightly skeptical, but the pressure that he was currently feeling from Regis was as real as his dad's pressure when he scolds him.
"Ummm... I-I don't know about you two, but I feel like the old g-gentleman is telling the truth, or a-at least is extremely serious about this." A young girl exclaimed with a nervous expression, after Regis's declaration. As for the appearance of the girl, she had long brown hair and brown eyesAfter feeling the pressure and hearing both the young girl's opinion and Regis's declaration, they couldn't help but be a bit apprehensive about their initial conclusions.
"I'm sorry sir... I still don't fully believe it, but I'll listen about your problems." The young man with the glasses apologized, as he bowed down.
"Sorry as well gramps. I guess I was just a bit cranky with me getting late to my job. If only I could remember the reason why I was late..." The other man apologized as well, before complaining with a quieter voice.
Once Kai heard the other man's whispers, he couldn't help but wonder what got him here in the first place. It didn't take long for him though to go through the memory lane and his stomach churned violently, as he collapsed on the ground.
"Hey, kid... What happened?"
"Dude, what happened!?"
"Young man, what's the problem? Did you eat something bad?"
"Are you sick?"
Everyone around him asked with a concerned expression, but just as they went near him and tried to help him to pick him up, they heard a disgusting noise and a sour smell was slowly filling the room.
"Oi, kid. Kid! Someone, get a doctor, quickly!" The older man requested, as he was checking on Kai's condition and he felt like his stomach was churning a bit, as he stared at the puddle under Kai. Two other individuals in white came as well and quickly checked on Kai's condition, before a light blue light was being emitted from the palm of their hands, that was currently right over him. As Kai was being showered with the blue light, the violent feeling in his stomach had subsided, but he was still shocked and could barely talk.
"Are you alright young hero?" One of the men in white asked with a concerned expression.
"Y-Yh... Yeah... I'm... Alright now..." Kai answered with a sweaty and nervous complexion, as he looked at one of the men in white, who had helped him.
"What... Is this... Cool feeling?" Kai asked, as he was feeling a faint coolness from the blue light, that was slowly comforting him.
"It's a low tier water spell, Misty Relaxation. It's mostly used to provide relief aid and to lessen pain in the middle of battle, but it can also be used to help people endure pain from violent changes in their bodies." The other man in white explained with a calm expression, as he kept the light with his one hand and slowly examining Kai's body.
After around ten or so minutes, the churning feeling had stopped and the shock had subsided quite a bit, but he was still feeling uneasy, especially with the fact that he clearly remembers all the events that led to this point, including the accident.
"Are you feeling better now? The one who was examining him asked, as he finished his quick check of Kai's body.
"Yeah, thank you doctor, or priest... or...?" Kai thanked the man, as he tried to guess his occupation.
"I'm both a doctor and a priest, while he is only a priest." The man who examined him answered, as he slowly stood up and help Kai to stand up as well.
"I'm sorry for that guys. I just..." Kai tried to apologize, but he was stopped by the older man:
"It's alright. This all came as a huge shock and your body probably reacted violently, probably due to this entire situation. It happens to the best of us."
"Heh... Thanks..." Kai thanked him, as he wiped his mouth and decided to think about this a bit later.
"Are you alright young man?" King Regis asked, as he looked at Kai's slightly pale complexion.
"I'll be fine sir. I've dealt with worse." Kai answered, as he forced a weak smile, before adding:
"Right, I don't think we have properly introduced ourselves. I hope you won't mind the late introductions?"
"I would prefer if we could make some introductions as well, but unfortunately, our time for this meeting has almost run out for this meeting, since the summoning takes almost an entire day." King Regis answered with a softer expression, as he slowly rose from his throne and slowly walked past the four of them.
"Prince Archibald, escort the elder heroes towards their lodgings. Princess Marianna, do the same for the younger heroes as well. This meeting is temporarily suspended and will continue at the first light tomorrow." After King Regis exclaimed that, he moved past a tall rectangular door and most of the people around them, slowly followed suit as well.