"Waky Waky..."
A voice pierced through the haze of Ryder's mind, faint but persistent, dragging him back from the depths of unconsciousness.
His eyes opened slowly, only to be met with the harsh daylight flooding his vision. He blinked, the world a blurry smear of green and gold.
As his vision became clearer, shapes began to sharpen—a canopy of trees swaying gently above him, with rays of sunlight dappling through the leaves.
"Where… Where am I?" He whispered, his voice dry and hoarse.
He tried to sit up, only to be met with a sharp, burning pain in his abdomen.
"Uhm... you really shouldn't move too much."
The soft voice that woke him up earlier returned, drawing his attention to a figure crouched beside him. A young girl.
Her long black hair glowed in the sunlight, flowing with the gentle breeze like waves, and ripples on a dark river.
Her skin was warm-toned, shining softly under the morning sun. Her almond-shaped eyes—wide and curious—seemed to hold a strange combination of innocence and sharpness.
"At least you're awake." She exhaled, relief coloring her tone. "I was scared my first aid came too late and you were going to die... Phew"
Ryder flinched, clutching his abdomen as he experienced another wave of sharp pain. His fingers met a rough fabric tightly wrapped around him.
He glanced down to see a thin piece of torn cloth wrapped around his stomach, stained slightly with a dark red pigment.
"It still hurts a bit, sorry" the girl said, chuckling nervously. "Healing isn't exactly what I'm good at. The best I could do was patch you up a bit, but if you move too much, that wound's definitely reopening."
His breathing steadied as he stared at the makeshift bandage. "What…?" His mind raced, a whirlpool of confusion.
At this point, the words of the girl had barely reached him as he was still struggling to make sense of his new environment and the person speaking to him.
"Where… are we?" he asked, his voice low and barely above a whisper.
She straightened, dusting tiny specks of dirt off her tunic. "The outskirts of Metreona."
Ryder's eyes snapped to her face again, his heart skipping a beat. What was this name she just mentioned?
Despite being in a state of panic, for a moment, he stared, entranced by the calm confidence in her posture, the way the sunlight framed her figure.
Then, realizing he was staring, he leaned back abruptly, putting distance between them.
"Metri what? Who are you?" he demanded, his voice firmer now, though his body still trembling from the slight waves of pain he felt each time he moved.
The girl tilted her head, her lips quirking into a half-smile. "What the heck... I should be the one asking you that, silly."
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I was just taking a peaceful walk, and then, out of nowhere, this bleeding boy drops out of the sky."
"What?" Ryder blinked at her, his headache throbbing harder as he tried to make sense of her words.
"What do you mean what? I'm sure I didn't stutter," She sighed, crouching again to meet his gaze. "Falling from a distance that high. With your injury, you could've died, you know. Lucky for you, I caught you."
He stared at her, his face filled with confusion, and his mind in a state of disarray. "I'm dreaming right? This has to be a dream."
The girl frowned, her expression shifting to one of concern. "What are you mumbling about? You seriously still don't know where you are?"
"No." Ryder's voice cracked. His eyes darted around the forest. "None of this makes any sense right now."
She sighed, her eyes carrying a hint of disbelief. "You're on the outskirts of METREONA," she said again slowly, as though repeating the name might jog his memory.
However he kept staring at her, blinking slowly, his mind a blank slate. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds.
The girl leaned closer, her brows furrowing. "Wait…" She studied his face intently, her expression becoming alarming. "Wait, you're actually not joking. Did the fall make you lose your memories or something?"
"...I—I don't—" Ryder stammered.
"You know what? we'll handle that later," she interrupted, already making an attempt to help him stand. "For now you need proper treatment." She slid her arm under his and pulled him upright.
As Ryder stood, the pain in his abdomen flared, sharp and unforgiving. But at the moment, this was the least of his worries. What exactly was happening at the moment, he thought.
He was running, escaping with Alex and Maya. He lost them, and he'd just been shot—he was sure of it all. The pain made that impossible to deny.
Yet here he was, bandaged by a stranger in the middle of a forest that smelled too fresh and clean to belong to anywhere he knew. And what was this Metreona she kept mentioning to him
He managed to get his feet, his legs wobbling. Before he could think of what to say next, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere.
The daylight dimmed and the sky began to change, like it was warping. A shimmering barrier of light rippled into existence, spreading outward like spilled ink.
As it spread further, a deep and starless night sky replaced the blue sky above them.
"What… what is this..." Ryder muttered, staring at the sky in awe.
The girl beside him had a less amusing expression. Her face was pale as she stared at the barrier.
"Of all the bad things..." Her eyes widened in urgency and without warning, she grabbed Ryder's arm and yelled, "Just endure it all and run!"
She yanked him forward, and Ryder stumbled, his injured body screaming in protest.
"What's wrong? What's happening to the sky?!" he shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the girl's panicked mindscape.
"Run faster!" she barked.
Ryder's legs moved on autopilot, though his mind rebelled. "I've lost it. I've lost my mind."
"Maybe I fell and hit my head when I got shot. Maybe I'm in a psychiatric hospital right now. I'm hallucinating, that's it!"
The girl kept dragging him, ignoring his current rant.
Around them, the shimmering barrier continued to expand, its edges descending rapidly toward the ground.
As Ryder squinted ahead, he could see where the sides of the barrier were meeting, forming a dome-like structure.
"Just a little bit more," she clenched her teeth in anticipation.
But they were a minute too slow. Before they could escape, the barrier touched the forest floor. They ran straight into it, an invisible wall stopping them cold.
The girl ran into barrier first, recoiling with a sharp gasp. "Ohhh no!" She slammed her head against the barrier. "No no no no no!"
"Is... Can you please explain what's going on?" Ryder demanded, gasping for air as he doubled over.
She let out a frustrated sigh, looking at him. "To put it simple, we're in a trap."
"Trap?" Ryder asked, his confusion deepening.
"Uhm it's called a... what's it called again?" She paused, searching for the word. "Yeah," she snapped her fingers."
"It's called a Dimensional Snare. It's a trap that creates another dimension and traps you inside."
Ryder stared at her, perplexed. "Another dimension? What is this, a fantasy novel?" He chuckled, mocking the girl's words.
She sighed again. This time her expression carried a mix of pity and exasperation. "An escape room... Have you ever heard of that?"
"Yeah sure," Ryder said slowly. "I've seen them in movies and books and stuff."
"Good, that saves me some stress. This thing," she waved her hand around gesturing towards their environment.
"This place is something like that… mixed with…" She paused again. "Ever heard of a dungeon? You know, with monster bosses and all?"
Ryder swallowed hard. "Uhm… yeah but... Wait, are you saying—"
He was still having a hard time accepting everything he had seen so far. But if the slim chance that it was all real existed, then he couldn't ignore their current plight.
"Yes, good, now you have an idea of the potential danger we're in." she cut in. "This is something like that. It's a trap that pulls you into a separate dimension, and the only way out is to kill a certain monster tagged as the 'boss.'"She gestured vaguely around.
"sometimes it's simple, sometimes it's complicated. You might have to solve riddles or fight monsters in a pattern before reaching the boss. It's just… a lot."
"We've only been taught in class, so this is my first time seeing one."
Her voice dropped, her gaze scanning the barrier. "But who would set a trap like this here? And why?"
Her eyes flicked to Ryder, suspicion creeping into her expression. "Or..."
Ryder, noticing her gaze, immediately raised his hands defensively. "N-No! I don't even know this place—or if any of this is real!"
His legs gave out, and he sank to the ground with a groan. "Jeez, what kind of day am I having? How do I know I'm not just some crazy guy imagining all of this?"
The girl watched him for a moment, her expression softening. Then he looked up at her, determination flickering behind the confusion in his eyes. "For now, I'll just go with it. You said we just have to find this boss, right? If we find it, can you kill it?"
She placed her hand against her chin, staring at the sky in contemplation. "I've kinda gotten a grasp of the barrier's size, and judging by what I can feel, this trap isn't complex. The boss should probably be around a D-rank level..."
"Oh, my name's Violet by the way. What's yours?" She asked.
Ryder sighed, pushing himself upright. "Ryder."
"Hmm... Ryder…" She repeated the name thoughtfully, then gave a small, amuse laughter. "Weird but has a nice ring to it."
Ryder forced himself to his feet, clutching his side. "So, what do we do now?"
"Well," Violet began, "since it's a basic trap, I doubt there'll be other monsters, so—"
Before she could finish, a loud impact sounded behind them, shaking the ground and sending up a cloud of dust.
Ryder turned just as Violet froze, her eyes locked on the clearing dust. A massive silhouette was rising to its feet, its form hulking and twisted.
"No…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "That's impossible."