"Mh…"
Viviana's eyes tightened as she turned her head as she did a soft fragrance greeted her. Her eyelids, previously tight, soon relaxed, fluttered open to reveal the source of the scent. Before her lay a bed counter, adorned with a flower of the most uncommon beauty. Correct her if she's wrong but cores don't usually glimmer brightly. The flowers cast a soft glow that illuminated its surroundings. This blue light pulsed gently, rhythmically, as if the flower breathed a life of its own.
Viviana tried sitting up but her head ached as soon as she moved, "Ugh.." she blinked as her foggy vision now turned clear, what she saw was several beds all lined up in a white bright concrete room. Pillars and flowers on the top bed counter were all placed in the same position. But what got her focus was another person, his back was to her and he seemed not to notice for a moment. His appearance was striking, his golden blonde hair catching the light in a halo of radiance. Clad in a modern ensemble, he seemed out of place in this surreal setting. Why is everything so unfamiliar? What…
Before her mind spiraled into more questions, the man looked over his shoulder. He smiled and Viviana stiffened immediately, she looked cautiously at the man, "Who are you?" Her fist dug into the sheets, "Are you my kidnapper?"
"Woah woah!" The man raised his hands, "That escalated fast ha.." He stretched his neck, "Rest assured I did not kidnap nor did anything believe me. I was simply here to wait for you to wake up."
"Why?" Her tone didn't soften, "Where am I?"
The man just smiled and walked towards her. He extended his hand and said, "Well why don't we find out right now? Follow me."
Viviana stared long and hard at him before she slowly slipped out of the bed and nodded at her, "Lead the way then."
He lowered his hand and did as she said, they walked through the hallway in tight silence, "Soo…" The man coughed weakly, "What's your name? I'm Theodore!"
Viviana glanced back at him, "You don't need to know my name."
"Oh." Theodore's eyes twitched, "Alright then."
They reached the end of the hall and she stopped abruptly in what was in there. It was as if she interrupted a meeting, she counted at least ten people, eight all staying on one side of the room while the other two were on the other side. On that side was a woman with luscious bronze hair and an armored wore man.
Viviana wanted to turn around and leave those people alone but Theodore nudged her forward. She repressed a groaned as she stepped forward to the large group.
The brunette noticed the two, "Ah, great I believe that is the last one? Thank you for looking after her, Theodore."
"It was no problem Lady Seraphina." Theodore bowed slightly.
"Okay," The person from the other side cleared his throat, "I'm a little, no, very confused, what is going on here?"
"I am as well." Another said, "Now that the last of us have finally awakened, I think it is time for you to answer our questions."
"Of course, I'll explain it simply, you all have died." She said with a smile.
All of them blinked, eyes widened, a hand over our mouth, and then outrage, "Excuse me?"
"What do you mean died?! Am I in heaven?!"
"Or is this hell?! Oh gods.."
"Hold your breath, everyone," The young man in armor said, his rough voice echoing through the hall, "One statement at a time," He then leaned close to Seraphina, "My lady, I believe that was a bit too blunt on your part." He whispered.
The young lady chuckled, "Oh my, you are right, I believe a lengthy explanation is what the situation calls for, very well, to answer your question you are not 'dead' or in 'heaven' or 'hell' you are simply in the world of Ethyra, a place where all souls and creations by the goddess, Aeloria, lives in." She explained with clear adoration in her voice, then continued, "When you all died, the goddess revived your souls and transferred you all here. Thus giving you all a new life as chosens."
"So we were chosen by this goddess," The person crossed his arms, "to do what exactly?"
"Nothing," The young man said, "our goddess is a kind and heartfelt deity, she only wishes you to live your life to the fullest as I believe all of you died way far too young to do so.
"Okay cool, next question, if what you said is all true, then why can't I remember my past life? All I remember is my name, that's it, not even my surname.
"Ah well you see," Seraphina said softly, "The reason is unknown as the deity's reasons are far from our understanding, but we do know that all Chosen's memories always come back to them eventually, some may come quicker than others."
The person, a chosen who was lying on the couch freely, laughed, "Oh! I see, I see!" She nodded frantically, and as she did so her head bumped into the sofa's armrest, "Ouch..haha..where are we?"
"Yeah, I second that." The others chime in, "This looks to be a temple house of some sort but where exactly are we?"
"How observant," The young lady nodded, "You all are currently residing in Aurora Glade, a quaint town in my opinion, I think you all would like it here for the time being. Orion, please guide them through the area."
The young man, Orion, bowed, "Yes my lady."
With that the lady Seraphina left, her footsteps making a quiet tap throughout the hollow temple.
Orion looked back at the crowd and gestured his hand back and forth, "Come with me chosens."
Some of the crowd glanced at each other, skeptical while a peculiar chosen stumbled and fell off the couch, "Oof..I'm okay!" She quickly rose up and approached the man, "Lead the way guard man!"
"Well alright." Another murmured soon the other followers Orion throughout the temple, Viviana included.
As they are walking Viviana thinks to her default, this is a joke, someone is fucking with her. There's no way all that crap that came out of that lady's mouth was real. She's dead, and there are gods, and there's a world named Ethyra. There's just no fucking way and this is all just a delusional dream. On that note..
She glanced forward, seeing all these people walking before her. Each has various looks from hair, outfit, eyes, and body language. What kind of dream has this many people in it? A nightmare is what.
She sighed as they walked out just outside of the temple where before them was stairs down the quint town Seraphina described.
'Quant town..' as if this town was anything but quaint. Viviana's eyes scanned the horizon she followed the group down the temple steps. From this elevated vantage point, Aurora Glade resembled a jewel nestled within the heart of a garden. Bioluminescent flora cast a serene glow over the environment, painting the scene in hues of blues, greens, and purples. Buildings of roofs that mimicked the curve of flower petals glowed softly, their translucent walls casting a light on the cobblestone streets below.
"Wow.." The other stared in awe
"It's beautiful."
Orion simply nodded and continued downstairs, the others followed.
"So, it's cool that your giving us the grand tour and everything but.." The snow haired started, "..what exactly…well what I mean is..the concern I have is just—"
"Where are we going to sleep tonight? To eat?"
She snapped her finger, "Yes thank you."
"Fear not everyone, the temple will assure you of all the equipment you may need to get started, you stay there for as long as you want and there's enough room for everyone."
Everyone sighed in relief, "Oh that's so thoughtful, thank you for the place to stay in."
"I was actually thinking of camping but that works too."
The chosens and guard finally reached the end of the stairway. The town is bustling with chatter and movement, stalls and houses everywhere and so many people.
'Well this is just great.' Viviana sighed, 'First I'm in the middle of Ethyra no where and now I have to be roommates with strangers..'
Orion continued to walk them through the town, where they saw buildings melded with the landscape, their structures emerging from the trunks and branches of towering trees. Tree houses spiraled around trunks, connected by bridges that danced with the wind, while stalls crafted from woven branches and leaves offered goods from canned foods to exotic and beautiful herbs.
They all 'aah and 'ooh' while Viviana lounges behind. A bit impressed by the architecture, she has to admit it was very pretty for the eyes and the tension in her shoulders lessen as they soon come across another stall.
This stall, in particular, had a workshop connected to it, in the stall itself featured shelves made of smoothly polished wood that curved organically and filled with jars containing luminescent liquids that shimmered in every color imaginable. Bundles of herbs hung from above, their fragrances mingling in the air, while crystals pulsed softly with an inner light. Viviana stared at the pretty items but then saw something out of place, little symbols floating above the items. She reached out to them but her hand phases through it. She blinked, and then the symbols ceased to exist. As if it wasn't there at all.
"Ah, fresh new Chosens I see." Viviana turned her head and saw a man existing the building. He bore the attire of an artisan—clothes dyed in soft earth tones, accented with subtle patterns. His hair, a cascade of silver was tied back. In his hand, he cradled what appeared to a globe, only this globe was encasing a flower, its petals, a vibrant blue, their glow a soft counterpoint to the twilight around them. It was the same flower Viviana saw in the room in the beginning.
"Ooh!" The particular Chosen pointed at the globe, "What's dat?"
The man chuckled, "This—" He lifted up the globe, "—is a Gleamglobe."
"Fitting," Viviana murmured.
"It's one of Aurora Glade's most unique specialties," The man continued, "we often share trades with it, and today we celebrate with them during the Cromatix Festival. I'd say you all are rather lucky to have spawn on this particular day."
'Oh to have died? Yes very lucky indeed.' Viviana thought.
"And I assume you're the primary maker of these Gleamglobes?"
"Am I what this small town calls a Gleamweaver, and the only one..for now, at least."
"So how'd exactly do you make this pretty globe?" The Chosen with glasses leaned in, carefully inspecting the glowing globe, "I would like take to one for myself if you don't mind."
"Oh! A Chosen interested in my craft? How wonderful," The Gleamweaver placed the globe carefully on the counter and stroked his chin, "Hm…I'd tell you what? I'm a little low on supplies, seeing as it is the Cromatix Festival, and the demand for these Gleamglobes has increased significantly. If you all be so kind, I would truly appreciate it if you were to gather Azurims for me." He tapped against the encased flower, "These common flowers, they glow when it's dark, so it would be easier for you all to gather them at night."
"Pass." Another Chosen crossed her arms, "I'm sorry but I didn't just wake up in a new world just to do someone else's labor for free."
"And who said anything about free?" The Gleamweaver placed his hands on his hips, "I don't just put anyone's labor for free and I'm more than capable in making sure you all have compensation for your work. That is you can accept it."
"Ooh! Like pretty coins? I'm in!"
"I'd also like to help."
"Better than doing nothing but wandering plus we are getting paid."
Soon all the Chosens nodded their head and murmured agreement. The Gleamweaver grinned, "Alrighty! I'm glad we come to an understanding now," The Gleamweaver then clapped his hands, "I think the request will arrive soon."
The Chosens glanced at each other, one shrugged while one turned to question, "What do you mean by th—"
Suddenly a bright screen flickered before their eyes, appearing with the captions,
[ Oｂｔａｉｎ ｆｉｖｅ ａｚｕｒｉｍｓ ]
[ Rｅｗａｒｄ: Ten Eｔｈｒｉｕｍｓ ｆｏｒ ｅａｃｈ ｐｅｒｓｏｎ]
[ Ａｃｃｅｐｔ ｏｒ Ｄｅｎｙ?]
"Uh..what is this?" Spencer turned to Orion.
"Ah, that is what you're seeing is a task request. Once you achieve the task if you choose to accept then the coins will be transported directly to your wallet."
"What wallet?"
Viviana looked at the screen carefully before she patted herself to the waist. Then felt it, something in her pocket, her hand dug into and soon enough she brought a small vibrant marble, its multicolored changed as she rotated it between her thumb and forefinger.
Then, a faint hum emanated from the marble, and before her eyes, the marble expanded, shifting and turning on its own until it morphed into a large translucent screen that hovered before her. Sections of the screen illuminated and in the upper right corner, she noticed a symbol resembling a coin, accompanied by a pitiful zero next to it.
The others gawked at the screen, "Woah! How exactly did you do that?" The Chosen exclaimed.
"Nothing, I did nothing." She shook her head, "Just look inside your pockets."
They listened and as they did as she said, more screens appeared with the same format.
"All empty.." A Chosen mumbles, "Quite a sight.."
"All the more reason to accept my request, eh?" The Gleamweaver nudged, "So what are you all waiting for? Will you accept my simple request?"
Without a second later the particular Chosen pressed accept, and the rest eventually followed. The screen flipped sides and it captions:
[ ＲＥＱＵＥＳＴ ＡＣＣＥＰＴＥＤ!]
Then it closed, vanishing out of thin air.
"Well, that's that." One Chosen cranked his head up, and saw the sky turning purple, "We should probably go search for them right now in fact. Didn't you say it was easier to find during the dark Mr…"
"You can just call me Aaron." He nodded, "They glow quite exceptionally at the Luminal Woods, just turned up ahead and I'm sure it will be of no trouble to you."
"Alrighty!" The Chosen clapped her hands, "The first one to finish the task gets two percent of everyone's money!" She begins to walk straight ahead.
"Hey, what?" One Chosen questioned, "No fair I need the cash!" She soon followed, then the rest but at a slower pace.
Viviana once again fell behind.