When Lorian Nyx awoke to the first rays of sunlight the day after his graduation, he had only one thing on his mind: Change. Everything felt different to him from the moment he set out that morning.
He had successfully graduated from university, but the emptiness inside him, the restless feeling that always followed him, was still there. Something was missing, but what? Was it a lost piece of his past?
For the past few years, Lorian had been haunted by dreams. They were not like a nightmare, not like a normal night's sleep. They whispered a truth.
They told of lost parts of a life, of an identity he had lost in the past. At first, he had thought of them as some kind of vague fantasy, but as time passed, they became more and more real and difficult to accept.
A kingdom, ancient buildings, distant lands, wars... Fragments of what once existed in another world, with another identity...
Everything changed from the moment he turned 18. From the day he started university, these dreams would haunt Lorian before he could sleep through the night.
Sometimes, no matter how hard he tried to sleep, the dream would settle in his mind so clearly that it would affect him deeply every time he opened his eyes in the first light of the morning.
Esensia... The word was whispered to him in an unconscious voice. "You were there once," it said. "And one day you must return."
As he tossed and turned restlessly in the bed where he had spent the night, Lorian had had a similarly profound dream tonight.
The scenes that flashed through his mind carried memories of a past life in another world. But one thing was different. This time a voice, like a deep echo from his subconscious, penetrated his soul:
When he opened his eyes, his surroundings were dark. His heart was beating fast, a kind of cold sweat shook his body.
When he woke up, the first rays of the morning began to enter his room through the window. At that moment, he took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.
For a moment... Something settled in his mind, but he still didn't know what it was.
Waking up at night with such dreams was becoming more and more oppressive. Until now, everything had been a dream. But now? Now there was something more. There was an identity... a past... and a world waiting for him.
Graduation day had been both a beginning and an end for Lorian. Graduation had not only given him an identity, it had also deepened the emptiness inside him. That evening, as he celebrated with his friends, the words of his best friend Max echoed in his ears:
"How do you feel, Lorian? You finally graduated. It's your day, you should celebrate."
Lorian smiled, but it couldn't hide his uneasiness. "Sometimes I feel like everything is happening so fast, but it doesn't feel real."
Max blinked, understanding: "Come on! Let's have some fun. It's not just your day, it's all of ours. Everything's fine."
It might have made Lorian forget the emptiness inside him for a while. But when he awoke after that night, haunted by the dreams again, the restlessness remained. His dreams of the world of Esensia echoed like whispers in his heart.
The next morning, Lorian felt ready to begin his first job as an apprentice detective. After graduating from university, he was taking a step toward a goal he had nurtured for years: Detective work. At a young age, he was already solving complex cases and unraveling mysteries.
When he entered the office, he was greeted by Mark Hamilton, a young detective. Although Mark was distant at first, he looked at Lorian from a different perspective. "Welcome," he said and held out his hand. "This is not an easy place, Lorian.
But it is a surprise to see you here. But remember this: Everything is not as it seems. We all live a kind of lie."
"I'm ready," Lorian said, taking a deep breath with the cool composure of his profession.
That night, Lorian's body began to awaken, feeling a change. He slowly opened his eyes, but as soon as he did, he was met with pain and his eyes began to burn. He couldn't breathe and his mouth was hoarse. His eyes suddenly went black.
As he tried to maintain consciousness, he began to realize what was happening, he was drowning! His arms were weak and he could not move his body.
Lorian's eyes glazed over and he could barely move his arm, but a tremendous pain echoed through his body. Lorian tried to scream, but only muffled sounds came from under the water. Lorian forced his arm to move again.
Again he felt an unusual pain in his body, but Lorian ignored it and forcibly moved his right arm and again an unusual pain enveloped his body.
Lorian moved his left and right arms and endured the unusual pain. Eventually he felt that his left arm was resting on something and he moved his left arm as well, unable to bear the pain that now enveloped his body.
The consciousness he had barely kept open began to close again. With one last effort, Lorian moved his body and managed to get above the water.
Once above the water, he looked around and threw himself onto the first piece of land he saw. As soon as he landed, he started beating his chest and vomiting water.
After vomiting all the water and finally being able to breathe, Lorian fell to his knees and held his throat. He tried to understand what was happening. He was lying in his bed and suddenly he was drowning in a stream.
Lorian looked around. He hadn't noticed it the first time because he had been thinking about drowning again, but this was different from the world he knew.
Near the stream where he had narrowly escaped drowning, there were houses that looked like ancient buildings.
As Lorian tried to take in more and more, his eyes began to glaze over, his consciousness began to shut down.
Eventually, his eyes went completely black and he could see nothing. He also lost consciousness completely. Lorian passed out by the stream where he had escaped drowning.
He had no idea how much time had passed. At one point he tried to open his eyes, but the weight around his head would not let him.
His eyelids were heavy as lead and every cell in his body burned with pain. Finally, his mind began to clear in a blur with the echo of a distant voice.
"Hey! There's someone here!"
A deep male voice was heard. Then a lighter, excited female voice: "Is he dead or alive?"
A pair of hands touched Lorian's shoulder. In a reflex, he tried to pull away, but his body would not obey. His muscles were as hard as stone, and even breathing was painful.
As he struggled to open his eyes, he saw two silhouettes appear before him. One was a young man and the other was a woman looking at him with a worried expression on her face.
"He... He's alive!" the young man said in surprise.
The woman leaned down slightly to get a closer look at Lorian's face. "But his clothes are so strange. I have never seen such clothing in any part of the kingdom."
Lorian blinked, trying to gather his thoughts. "I..." he murmured, but his voice was barely audible.
The young man immediately took his arm to support him. "Can you hear us? We can help you, but first you must get up."
Lorian tried to nod, but it was incredibly difficult to move. The pain stabbing through his body was still completely overwhelming him.
The woman smiled slightly and took out a canteen. "Drink some water first. You look like you're drowning."
Water...
Lorian's eyes widened slightly. Yes, he had woken up in water. He remembered being sucked in by the waves. He was drowning, then he came here. But how?
With water-soaked, trembling hands, he picked up the canteen and took a few sips. As the cold water burned his throat, his mind began to clear.
"I... How did I get here?" he asked.
The young man and woman looked at each other in confusion. "We found you unconscious by the stream. We don't know where you came from."
Lorian took a deep breath and shook his head. It was all too real. If this were a dream, would the pain he felt, the taste of the cold water, the stiffness in his muscles be so vivid?
This was no dream.
This place was real.
As Lorian tried to pull himself together, the young man took his arm and supported him. "You can get up, can't you?"
Lorian nodded slightly and stood shakily. But his legs were so weak that he almost collapsed. The young man immediately supported him and held him up.
"Take it easy. Take your time," he said. "One step at a time."
Lorian took a deep breath and tried to regain his balance. Looking around, he realized that he was in a completely different world. Beyond the stream, small wooden houses stood on stone foundations. The roofs were covered with straw, and pale yellow lights shone in some of the windows.
In the distance was an area that looked like a marketplace. People were trading fruit, cloth, and various materials. But the clothes here... Not like on his world.
Lorian looked down and saw himself. He was still wearing the clothes of the modern world. Jeans, a T-shirt and a jacket. But here everyone wore the clothes of the old times.
"How do things work here?" he muttered.
The woman tilted her head slightly to the side. "What do you mean?"
Lorian took a deep breath. If he didn't want to attract too much attention here, he shouldn't pretend to be someone from the past.
"I... My memory is fuzzy. It's like I can't remember things," he said, trying to lie.
The young man and woman looked at each other. Then the young man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then you should rest first. Come, we'll take you somewhere where you can stay."
Lorian had no choice.
For now... He had to watch and learn how this world worked.
When they arrived at a small hut, the young man opened the door for Lorian. Inside was a simple bed, some old wooden chairs and a table. The woman turned to Lorian and said, "My name is Elira. This is my brother Kael. We can put you up here, but you need to decide what you want to do in a few days."
Lorian nodded. "I understand, thank you for your help."
Kael smiled slightly and said, "Perhaps we can learn something from you in return. After all, you are... strange."
Lorian sighed slightly. He wanted to keep a low profile in this world, but they were already interested.
When night came, Lorian lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Esensia...
The word echoed in his head.
She shouldn't be here and yet she was.
And somehow he felt that he belonged here.
But the question was this:
How did he get here and how would he get back?