Alex slowly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar place.
He blinked a few times to get accustomed to the light coming through the window before he decided to sit upright.
A slight movement however reminded him that his body was still a bit stiff due to the events of last night.
The memories of the night before were blurry at best.
Thinking back, the last thing he recalled was getting choked to death by that strange man.
So how did he get here?
Once again, he turned alert.
'Nyx.'
He called out inwardly but no response came.
Realizing that he was alone, Alex resorted to taking note of his surroundings for the time being.
He took the time to survey the area before realizing that he was in a hotel room.
Though its appearance was quite different from what he was used to on Earth, there was no mistake that it was a hotel room judging from the facilities he saw.
"How did I get here?" he muttered weakly.
The exhaustion he felt wasn't just physical.
Physically, mentally and spiritually… Alex was completely drained.
At least he wasn't dead… he used that to console himself before taking a moment to breathe.
If Nyx allowed me to be brought here, that means, I'm more or less safe here… for now at least.
It's best to get acquainted with things first.
With that, he exhaled softly before realizing that apart from his memories from Earth, there were two others present.
One was of the dead body Nyx had Alex replace and the other, the muscular man that tried to kill him.
Taking a moment to consider, he decided to leave the muscular man for now and focused on the dead body.
Since he was meant to replace the man, he needed background information on the fellow.
"His name is also Alex, an Investigative journalist for the Morning Weeklies," Alex muttered as he immersed himself in the memories.
"A younger sister and an older brother… lost his parents at a young age, loves writing and solving mysteries… speaks two languages, and has a mentor, Arthur Sanders."
Alex quietly noted down the important points while sifting through the memories.
Thinking back now, the language spoken by the muscular man from yesterday was called Enochic, better known as the language of the Empire, originating from Emperor Enoch, the founder of Zion Empire and its first Emperor.
It was also one of the two languages he was familiar with, alongside Razan, the ancient dialect of the original inhabitants of Ra'as ( The Western Continent ).
Pursing his lips, Alex pondered his options.
One was to keep up the act as the original Alexander for the time being while the other was to create a new persona… But what were the chances that those that knew him wouldn't notice if he opted for the second option?
As Nyx said, he had to acclimate himself properly to the world before attempting anything crazy.
There had to be a reason a powerful being like Nyx would say that.
Though curious about what would happen if he didn't, Alex chose to listen to Nyx.
Once he was fully familiar with this world, it wouldn't be too late to make his plans then.
"Ugh, it's quite bothersome." Alex sighed exasperatedly before a warm smile crept up the corners of his lips as a certain image flashed in his mind. "But I guess it's worth it as long as I can get back. "
Just as Alex began contemplating how best to approach 'Alex's family, there was a sudden knock at the door, catching him off guard.
Alex glanced over before muttering softly. "Who's there?"
No response came as the doorknob was turned and two figures walked in.
A middle-aged man dressed in a brown jacket and khaki trousers with shoes and a hat accompanied by a lady with a boyish haircut, wearing similar attire to the man, while also adding a brown scarf to the mix.
At a glance, Alex could tell that neither were ordinary people.
Pursing his lips, he asked. "Who are you?"
The middle-aged man was the first to answer as he pulled out a badge with the image of two swords in an X shape with a shield in the background.
"My name is Ambrose and this is my partner, Natasha. We are members of the Department of Defense. We were hoping to speak with you about a few things."
"...How may I help you, officers?"
"We…"
"Natasha!" Ambrose called out, cutting off the lady.
Letting out a sigh, he remarked. "We are here to speak with you about the events of last night."
"Last night?"
"Indeed. Mr…"
"Regulus. Alexander Regulus."
"Alex, would you be willing to recount the events of last night…in detail if possible?"
"I don't understand officer. Did I do something wrong?" Alex inquired, still wary of the two.
If Nyx were present, he wouldn't be worried but since it wasn't and the two people before him possessed an aura that he couldn't read, he had no choice but to remain cautious.
At the first sign of trouble, he'd bolt without hesitation.
The events of last night had told him one thing… this world was not normal and someone like him would die if he wasn't careful.
Ambrose glanced at Natasha for a moment and upon receiving a definite nod from her, turned to Alex.
"We received a report of an attack at a residence in Chelsea Square last night, a story building owned by a Mr. Stenton, Apartment number 68…. You must be familiar with this apartment, yes?"
Alex pondered momentarily before nodding slowly. "Mn…that's my home."
Just as Ambrose's expression shifted, Alex revealed a terrified expression.
"Wait, that's my home!... You said it was attacked!"
Immediately, Ambrose's expression turned back to normal as the reaction he got from Alex was to be expected.
Meanwhile, Alex sighed inwardly at his slip-up.
Due to keeping his guard up, Alex momentarily forgot that he was supposed to be acting as well.
Any mistakes and judging from how Ambrose reacted, things would turn bad.
Thankfully, he caught himself early and corrected his mistake.
"Indeed it was. Your elder brother, Douglas is missing and your sister, Emily is in critical condition at the hospital."
"This… How did this happen?"
"That's why we are here, Mr. Regulus," Ambrose replied. "Your family was attacked by monsters and it is our job at the D.O.D. to deal with such rogue lifeforms."
"Please, you have to do something. You have to save my brother and bring the perpetrators to justice!" Alex's toes curled underneath the duvet as he cried out.
"Mr. Regulus, please calm yourself." Natasha finally spoke up, her voice quite pleasing to the ear.
Ambrose concurred. "Indeed, we need you to remain calm."
Sniffling, Alex nodded. "Okay, I'll try. So what now?... Why are you here?"
"Well, you see, one is because instead of being at home, you were at Evergarden and when my partner rushed over to your location due to a tip-off, she claims to have sensed the presence of an Evil god in the area."
Alex seemed perplexed as he muttered in fear. "Evil god?"
"Indeed, Mr. Regulus, dangerous entities capable of causing widespread destruction." Ambrose remarked as he took a step forward, his expression slowly turning menacing. "So tell me, do you happen to know why such an entity made an appearance at your location?"
"This…"
"I ask that you do not lie, Mr. Regulus, my partner and I are quite adept at sniffing out the truth." Ambrose warned.