Okay... that hunger... it's a critical point of that stupid dimension, Alek muttered as he ate the food provided by the automaton. He was trying to distract himself with the television.
-Therbo, turn on the screen and put on the main video game news.
-Right away, sir.
The AI's synthetic voice was followed by the familiar sound of the screen turning on. Alek watched as the newscast began to broadcast.
'Ohhh, come on! Did you see that? The promotion of the new Elder Hando DLC is in full swing, just nominated for best quarterly update. And continuing with this month's Esports, the renowned Van Malikova-'
-Oh, they'll say when I'll get that triple cup! -said Alek excitedly as he watched the headlines. Great.
'He won the monthly triple cup and will be awarded for-'
The newscast was interrupted by an urgent announcement.
'We interrupt this broadcast with new information about the strained relations between Halveth and the Golden Lotus.'
-Hey, I was watching my celebration! -Alek protested, crossing his arms.
The sky was beginning to tinge with shades of orange; it had been nearly two hours since he awoke, and night was approaching in Velmont City, a central city located near the mountainous regions of Johanna's central continent. This planet, of colossal proportions, was home to three supercontinents: Auro, Bodhir and Pastry.
Velmont City belonged to the Halveth confederation, one of the six countries that ruled the vast Bodhir continent. Alongside Halveth were the Golden Lotus, the Holy Cathedral of Osiris, the Sea Monarchy of Soleri, the Republic of Atzero and the Kingdom of Drasvallen. Although they coexisted under a truce agreement in case of invasion from other continents, there was no lack of internal tensions. Halveth and the Golden Lotus, in particular, maintained an ongoing rivalry: while Halveth dominated the continent's rich mineral veins, the Golden Lotus coveted those resources, intensifying the historical enmity between the two.
Alek leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh as he finished his meal.
-Urgh, what do I do? It's only the beginning of the year and I'm already in this dimensional mess? -he muttered, staring at his desk.
After a few seconds of reflection, he made a decision.
-Therbo, send word to my academy that, due to an infectious disease, I will not be attending classes for the next two weeks.
-Understood, sir,' the AI replied. Therbo was a custom AI, a gift from a prestigious programming company that sponsored Alek in his competitions.
The message was sent in a matter of seconds. As the computer screen emitted a faint glow, Alek was silent, trying to organise his thoughts and make sense of what was happening.
'Well, one can only hope it was a one-time experience. Hahaha,' Alek said aloud, trying to convince himself as he took a drink of water.
Nervous laughter filled the silence of his flat, a feeble attempt to dispel the pent-up tension. But just as he took the last sip, something changed. A shiver ran down her spine, a sensation she couldn't ignore.
The glass slipped from his fingers and began to fall, but, against all logic, it never touched the ground.
'What the hell...?'
Alek watched, stunned, as the glass descended with surreal slowness until it was completely static in mid-air. His breathing quickened, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Slowly, he turned his head towards the window, dreading what he might find on the other side.
The familiar landscape of Velmont City was gone. The blue sky had been replaced by a deep shade of dark purple, as if a perpetual dusk had taken over the horizon. In place of the warm yellow sun Alek knew, there now floated a pure white orb, the edges of which radiated shimmering violet hues. The light was not comforting; it was cold and unnatural, bathing the city in an ethereal glow.
But what stood out most was the starry sky that unfurled in its entirety, visible even in the full 'daylight' of that world. An infinite sea of stars twinkled in the vault of heaven, some more radiant than others, forming unfamiliar patterns and constellations. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, as if he was looking at a universe that had never been meant for human eyes.
Alek stood motionless, swallowing saliva, unable to look away from the spectacle unfolding before him.
'Call the devil, and he will come,' he muttered bitterly, remembering an old saying he used to hear as a child.
He looked down at the hovering glass and then at the surroundings outside his window.
-Well... with this, I still can't confirm if the timing of entry is random,' he muttered, letting his frustration seep into his voice. But what is clear is that it wasn't a one-time thing. And, of course, the time lag is still a fact.
He sighed deeply, wearily, and slumped back in his desk chair. The weight of the situation felt suffocating as his mind worked frantically in an attempt to tie up loose ends.
'Mm... how odd,' he thought suddenly. Something was different this time. On his last foray, the world had been full of eerie sounds: roars of beasts, unknown birds soaring through the sky with shrill squawks. But now... nothing. Absolute silence.
Intrigued, Alek got up and looked out of the window. What he saw chilled his blood.
The bustle of the city was gone. The people, the figures going about their daily lives, were there... but motionless. Each of them was surrounded by a faint blanket of energy that pulsed softly, as if suspended in time. There were no beasts, no birds, not even the slightest movement in the leaves of the trees.
'What the hell...?'
Alek could feel his heart beating, and his heart rate increasing. The apparent stillness of the landscape was far more unsettling than any roar or supernatural creature he had faced before. Something was profoundly wrong.
-This is completely different from last time,' Alek sputtered, as a mixture of curiosity and fear spurred him to action.
He left his flat at full speed, taking the stairs instead of using the lift, which didn't seem to be operational in this strange state anyway. On his way, he passed several neighbours, motionless, frozen in time like living statues. A strange energy enveloped them, like a translucent blanket of light.
-Well, at least I'm the fastest in the building now,' he muttered to himself, trying to relieve his growing anxiety with a touch of nervous humour.
He decided to approach a neighbour who used to greet him in the hallway. He stretched out a hand towards her, but, to his surprise, the blanket of light surrounding her rejected his attempt at contact. His finger brushed against some kind of invisible barrier, cold to the touch, like a magnetic field that would not allow him to reach any further.
-What the hell...? -he muttered, withdrawing his hand. He stared at the strange glow that seemed to pulse faintly around it, almost as if it were alive.
Alek took a step back, increasingly aware that the rules of this place had nothing in common with the world he knew. Everything seemed designed to remind him that he was, once again, in a space completely alien to his reality.
Alek let out a resigned sigh, rubbing his temples as he processed what he had just experienced.
-Well, goodbye to that manga plot I read out of curiosity,' he muttered.
The irony of his situation brought a bitter smile to his face. While in manga the hero eventually found clear answers or amazing powers, he felt more like a supporting actor lost in a script he didn't understand.
He turned around and continued down the stairs, determined to explore more of this strange, detained world. With each step, the silence was almost oppressive, broken only by the echo of his footsteps. As he descended, a single question kept echoing in his mind:
-Why me? What am I supposed to do here?