Silas was stunned. Everything was happening too fast. Just an hour ago, he had been sound asleep in his bed. Now—he was on a new planet, in a strange world, inside a cave, with a dying man. Panic surged through him, his chest tightening as the world around him seemed to collapse.
"Ah, I can see it finally hit you. It's okay, Silas. You're okay," said T, his voice calm, almost reassuring.
Silas struggled to regain control of his breathing. What is going on? His thoughts were a jumbled mess, his heart still racing.
T spoke again, his tone soft but carrying a weight of experience. "The academy had calming magic built into its very stones to ease the transition. But now, since you're off-campus, it hit you all at once. Be thankful it happened now, though. Most students leave campus for the first time after a year or so, and it's a lot worse for them. It takes most of them a week to recover."
Silas breathed deeply, still trying to make sense of it all. "How do you know my name? And why am I here?"
T paused, his smile becoming more knowing. "I know your name because... well, I was able to pull you from the teleportation easily." His eyes flickered, but the moment passed quickly. "You see, I need a successor. You were the easiest choice—though, I wouldn't call it luck exactly. It's... a long story." He waved the thought away dismissively, like it was irrelevant.
Silas wasn't convinced. The more T spoke, the more his words felt like puzzles with missing pieces. Easiest? Is that the real reason?
T continued, unbothered by Silas's hesitation. "You're here because of a promise I made. And because I was betrayed—my enemies are still hunting me, even now. I can't be the one to protect my people anymore, but you can. I need someone strong, someone who understands the weight of a throne."
Silas blinked, trying to process everything. His heart was pounding, but now he had a new question—What did T mean by "betrayed"?
"You will become the king of my people," T said, his voice growing steadier, as if this part was the most important. "The protector of my realm. Do you accept that responsibility?"
Silas's mind raced. King? Me? He couldn't shake the disbelief from his chest. But the thought of returning to his previous life—aimless, broken—felt even more terrifying.
"Yeah," Silas said, forcing the words out. "I promise."
T's grin widened, but there was something unsettling about it, as though he was hiding something. "Promises have great power here, Silas. Be sure you understand that."
Before Silas could process the weight of his decision, the vertigo returned, spinning his world out of control. His stomach churned, his thoughts a blur, and his body felt as if it were being pulled apart. The last thing he heard was T's voice echoing in his head.
Second, because you were the easiest to pull out of teleportation. But there are other reasons, too, young one... reasons you'll learn in time.
When Silas opened his eyes again, everything had changed.
He found himself back in his dorm room, disoriented. The familiar surroundings did little to ease the confusion that still gripped him.
"You appeared awfully late," James said cheekily, lounging on one of the two beds in the room. His grin was as wide as ever, but Silas could see a hint of concern behind it.
"Yeah, I'm really getting sick of teleportation," Silas groaned, rubbing his temples. He recounted everything that had just happened, from the strange cave to the cryptic encounter with T. The words T had spoken felt like pieces of a puzzle he couldn't quite put together. "I don't know what to make of it. There's something strange about him."
James gave him a questioning look, but didn't press. "Well, sounds like you've got a lot to think about. Maybe magic class will help clear your head, huh?"
The mention of magic class was enough to pull Silas from his spiraling thoughts. The idea of learning actual magic in this new world sounded… surreal, to say the least.
The next morning, Silas and James were whisked away by a teacher to a large lecture hall. There, they were greeted by a towering woman—probably eight feet tall. Her long, flowing robes billowed around her, and her eyes sparkled with a strange, almost ethereal energy. She spoke in a commanding voice that filled the entire room.
"Alright, class," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument, "today we're learning about magic."