Daz sat sitting in bed, scrolling through social media, procrastinating all the work that had piled up from school due for the new term. It was his standard work routine; he wouldn't get any of it done, then stress over finishing everything just before school started up again.

"Just another year, then it'll all be over," he told himself while putting his phone down. It was the same line every time, with the only difference being the amount of years left.

He trudged himself over to the pitifully dusty desk where he had abandoned the work weeks before, only to never touch it until now. He grabbed the book at the top of the pile and recoiled in disgust; it was several pages of maths work.

Scrat Scrat Scrat

Before he started, a small brown feline announced itself by scratching at his leg and chair before jumping onto his lap and falling asleep near-instantly.

"It's times like this where I wish I was a cat, being cared for without having to work, being able to sleep whenever I wish. What a life that must be."

It was another twenty minutes before he started working.

However, during a random math question, his head began to sting something fierce, forcing him to close his eyes out of pain. When he opened them again, he no longer remained sat at his desk; instead, he was sat on the desolate ground of what seemed a post-apocalyptic world, with only a stone tower ascending into the skies visible for miles around.

His first thought was to call out for anyone else present, but being a horror connoisseur, he decided against it. It was never a good idea in the movies after all.

After that, he had no idea of what to do. There was nothing around to explore, no vegetation, no life, nothing, only the tower. And the stone tower gave him an ominous feeling akin to walking alone in pure darkness.

Luckily for him, he didn't need to choose, as a lanky-looking man of average height came flying from one of the open windows that showed only darkness, despite the light outside.

"Oh no no no, this won't do, you're almost late for the ceremony. Quick, come with me, and we might just make it."

Before he could give a word of protest, Daz was whisked away by an unseen force, barreling him through the entrance and further around the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the lefts and rights that made up the maze-like interior of the first floor.

"Oh, I do hope we're in time, both for your sake and mine. And please, tell me while we're on our way, why are you so late?"

Daz was reluctant to speak at such a speed, fearing for his tongue's safety.

"Don't be like that; I need your reason so that I may help you. These things don't happen without a cause."

It took mustering his courage for Daz to speak up.

"I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM."

"Now, now, we don't have to yell indoors; I can hear you perfectly fine. As for where you are, that's... a hard one."

The man's face shifted like a Rubix cube, eventually showing a face of perplexedness mixed with thoughtfulness.

"I'll inform you one on one after the ceremony is complete, but you really should have been told before coming here. After all, you've given up one life for another."

At the sound of that, Daz's heart plummeted. While he had his reservations about certain aspects of life, he was content with where he was.

"So you're saying that this is permanent? That I can't go back to my life?"

"That is most correct. After all, if one were to leave the tower with its gifts, untold damage could be wrought upon the very universe as we know it."

That can't be real. I don't want to live in whatever this place is. Daz tried fruitlessly to convince himself that he could find a way out. He had already thrown this being an illusion out because of the presence of feeling while flying.

"Ah, it seems we're here, and not too late. Hurry along, and we'll meet again after it's over."

He pushed Daz forward before whizzing away out of sight as quickly as they had both entered.

"And now to begin your ascent, we offer you both gifts and words of encouragement from your guiders and carers. Please, make your way up here after your name is called."

Daz's attention was immediately drawn to the well-dressed and much pudgier man standing at the end of the dungeon-like room with his back against stone that looked both old and new simultaneously.

As he watched in trepidation, he neglected to notice a figure as tall as him moving silently to his right.

"Hi."

"UWha- Jesus, you scared me."

The teen who snuck up on him wore glasses that covered his glossy brown eyes that sat just below the fringe of his blonde hair, which showed a great amount of care that couldn't be said about the rest of his appearance. He wore a tracksuit that had several smudges and stains showing on the dark green fabric, which looked worn-down and rugged.

"Sorry about that. I just noticed that you... um... ah... seemed alone." His voice died nearing the end of his sentence, reducing to little more than a whisper.

"Well, I did just get here, but if you could fill me in on what's going on, that'd be just great."

"Did you not read the pamphlet... ah, sorry for assuming!" The teen's face filled with worry as he bowed several times.

"There's no need for that. It's fine. You're right anyway; I didn't read the pamphlet, so please, inform me."

"Well, the tower's main purpose is-"

"Leon Manston, please come up and receive your items. Ms. Alice would also like a word."

A shiver went up Leon's spine before he began bowing once again.

"Really sorry, but I've got to go. I hope we can meet on the other side."

With that, he raced off, leaving Daz waving confusedly.

"Me too," he said to himself.

It was an eternity of waiting that proceeded for Daz as each person was called up individually to receive their items, whatever that meant, and to talk to a random person whose name shifted and changed both gender and culture.

Eventually, it was only Daz left in the now empty hall which had once been relatively abuzz with whispered murmurs but now was left with such quietude that the individual drops of water through the stones resonated into deafening crashes akin to the waves at a beach.

"Sorry, you over there, but it seems you aren't on the list. Could you please tell me your name so that I may inquire into your presence?"

Daz's mind had wandered off into La La Land and as such did not register the soft words being spoken across the hall.

"Ahem, you over there, could I get your name?"

Daz snapped back to reality, blinking a few times to see if that would magically propel him back to his room.

"Your name?"

"Daz."

"No last name?"

"Not one that matters, no."

"Very well, then please allow me a second while I speak to my superiors."

The man put a finger to his ear for a few seconds before returning to his previous posture robotically.

"It's that time is it?" he murmured under his breath. "Everything seems in order; please come up and receive your item."

He postured an arm toward a large door carved into the right side of the hall, the same door that Daz had seen all the others walk through, excluding a select few who went through different doors in the center and left.

Walking through it, a wintry cold swept through him as the door shut behind, locking him in, proceeded then by torches sequentially lighting themselves, illuminating the room with both light and warmth.

A stone pedestal was revealed in front of him which resembled a hand holding the globe, on top of which was a small wooden plank threaded with red string and engraved with runes spilling from the middle to the outer edges in a spiral pattern.

Do I just take this? he reached his hand out nervously, not sure if what he was doing was going to activate a trap or not.

After a minute of internal deliberation, he snatched the amulet from its resting place, consequences be damned, he thought.

As soon as the amulet left its slot and entered his hand, time started to slow toward a standstill, and the surrounding area changed from a medieval castle's walls to a wide expanse of land lit under a scarlet red sky that looked as though the very sky itself was bleeding.

"I KNEW IT WAS A TRAP, WHY DIDN'T I LISTEN TO MY GUT?"

Daz screamed toward the sky in frustration, its image setting alarm bells off inside his head.

"What a surprise, a visitor after all this time, and of all the kinds to visit, it's a human."