Like jumping out of a dream, her eyes open, but to an unfamiliar place, lips quivering as she quickly glances around. Her skin like a magnet attracts her attention forward, as her ears click to the sound of a fork sliding across a plate, to a man who hums, dressed like he's from the era of the medieval. Her eyes then avert to other sounds, now realizing her friends are also here. Toro, Ronnie, and Daunte, she calls in thought, in a place filled with rays of light swirling around the dim purple-coloured room. Confused and frightened, heads filled with questions for the presence they face, they are shaken by the unpleasant feeling inside.

"Kaia? Guys? The fuck is going on here???" Ronnie questions, startled by the change of location.

"There's an old man...r-right there," Kaia shakingly points her finger, to the silver-haired old man who eats by the table with them.

"Welcome, children of another world," He looks up, clapping once, jerking their hearts.

The kids look at each other with complete disarray, bodies kicked into fight or flight mode as they get up, with Daunte and Toro on their guards as they believe they must protect their friends, watching for any sudden movement to come from the countless doors around them.

"Why are we here?? Where are we?!" Toro questions.

"Guys...you need to see this," Ronnie tells them, being in awe of what he sees. "We shouldn't be feeling this cold in here, much less being alive! H...How is this even possible??"

In the room they stand in, they look to the wonder they face; the collection of stars that surround them, young stars and gasses that shine in many different colours of the cosmos, all their for their viewing like a painting behind the tinted glass.

"Your lack of imagination amuses me, young Ronnie," The old man laughs.

"H-How do you know my name?" Ronnie asks.

" C'mon man, tell us, why are we here??" Daunte shakingly asks.

"This isn't amusing at the very least," Toro tells him. "How are you doing this?!"

"Your questions will be answered at a later time, I must ask that you remain patient, young Toro...though this may look suspicious. I understand," The old man tells them, with Toro getting angry at his avoiding of the question.

"A-Alright Sir, can you at least please tell us what is happening right now?" Daunte asks.

"That is a question I can answer right now, young Daunte" The older man claps, freaking them out with his strange actions. "You may call me the overseer, the watcher of realities. It's a pleasure to meet you all"

"W-Wait...are you saying you are like....a god?" Ronnie questions, fixing his glasses with tension.

"I believe I am just a mortal being, gifted with the power of a god," He explains.

"A-And why have you brought us here? What's the reason for this?" Kaia asks.

"I have brought you all here for an invitation, madam Kaia. An invitation...to another world," He explains.

"H-Huh, wait," Ronnie gulps. "You're inviting us where and why??"

"Well another world, Ronnie" The Overseer laughs. "As for why? That is an answer you will seek for yourselves"

With a snap of his finger, like a rising flame inside their bodies, the kids notice something is different within, questioning what has occurred.

"You can feel that power alive in you, yes?" The Overseer asks.

"You gave us powers??" Kaia questions.

"I've simply helped you awaken those dormant abilities, to be correct," He explains, now clearing his throat. "Now comes your choices, young ones. I shall give you the opportunity to choose your beginning; On the right, you stay as a group, or on the left, you walk your own paths. What will it be?"

Daunte's question about the doors is cut off when the Overseer claps twice, bringing them to a different location of the chamber. They stand on a bridge with one door at both ends, moved to a bigger frame of the cosmos.

"Now, what will you choose, my visitors?" The Overseer asks.

They all look at each other, still distrustful of this man. They clan together as they discuss whether or not to trust any of this, ultimately coming to a decision with nods to each other.

"W-We'll stick together," Kaia says to him, confirming with the others.

"Very well! Now you'll begin on your journey," He tells them, as he shows them to the chosen door.

"Thank you," Kaia nods to him, walking along with the others.

"Only when you've found knowledge will you find the truth! No longer are you blinded by your world's 'normal'. Your eyes will be opened evermore. May your journey bring good fortune, children of another world," He bows to them, fueling their minds of imagination, and their hearts of fire. "And one more thing...your friend says to be safe.

Before any of them could react to his words, their eyes slip to another image, in front of a white mansion that lies before them. A fountain of flowers and butterflies catches their eyes being outside the gate.

"I knew it. We never had to go through those doors in the first place," Ronnie exhales. "Now we just need to know where we are now"

"Guys, these are some nice clothes," Kaia says as she checks out her blue dress.

The others look down on their clothing, realizing that their school uniforms have been switched with clothing of elegant attire. They turn to another old man who walks up from behind the gate, dressed like a butler. The man fixes his glasses as he examines the children, having them have to bear the awkward confrontation.

"I see, you are the new masters and madam who will be taking residents in this house," He tells them. "I am Oliver Powell, the main butler of this residence. Nice to meet you"

"Y-you sure??" Daunte asks, refusing to believe this is reality.

"Yes master, you must be very tired," The old man says. "Come now, let's have you be fed and have you choose who gets the best room"

"Heh, This house is huge...are you sure this is ours??" Ronnie asks.

"Shhh," Kaia hushes Ronnie. "Stop asking before he changes his mind"

"It is, your guardian said that about four to five children will be staying here until further notice"

"So, he planned this very start then...tsk," Toro hisses.

They make their way inside, getting greetings from the servants of the house, entering into the hallways of the mansion, onto the red carpet with walls filled with paintings of creatures, landscapes, and people.

"Uhmm...I'm sorry...is this an elf??!" Ronnie stares, followed by the others.

"Indeed, this was the lady of the house until 5 years ago...Lady Mila. Her passing gave people great despair," He says, remembering her nostalgic cheerful presence in the house.

"How did she die? If that's alright with you, Sir?" Kaia asks.

"Her heart suddenly failed on her one night..." He explains, with a tone of sadness in his voice as he takes out a blue rag from his pockets, with puffy clouds sewed on them. "Come now children, If I have knowledge for your questions, then I shall answer them with honesty"

Prepared with questions of this other world, they take seats at the dining table, finally at ease with this man's gentle persona.

***

Far away, in another distant land, a boy stands upon a hill, overlooking a small town with sweat already running down his face.

"Is this the old west?" He whispers to himself, with faint excitement in his heart. "Wait...and what year is this?"

And so the boy steadily makes his way down into the town for a closer look. Busy adults, children playing, and teens in their circles, he glances at. With his eyes all over the place, he ends up tripping over a bucket of seeds as he was walking, cringing at already failing being in another world.

"God damn it!" A man shouts, stomping towards him. "Look where you walking, boy!"

"S-Sorry, sir," the boy softly answers, admitting to his blanked-out self as he bends down to take up the scattered seeds.

"Agh! Forget it," The man says, gently pushing the boy out of the way to take up his seeds. "Go rest up, you look like you hadn't slept in days"

"Huh? alright," The boy says, wheeling his tired shoulders to the comment.

"You see that hotel over there," The man points to it. "Do yourself a favour and go rent yourself a room there, they'll let you stay for a cheap price"

"Oh, okay...sorry for the trouble"

"Never mind that, now scram! before I get even more upset"

The boy hesitantly gets up from helping him. walking to the hotel as he thinks it will serve as a good base. He enters into the hotel themed as a saloon, greeted with the smell of alcohol flowing in the air, the laughter of people as they sit and share their stories.

"Welcome!" A girl appears in front of him. "Are you here to rest? you looking so tired"

"Yeah, how much would it be?" The boy asks as he takes out the wallet he was given by the overseer.

"You can go to pops for that," She tells him as she points. "Go on now"

She goes back to her serving of dishes, with her body moving to the 50s sound of music. The boy sits at the counter, waiting for her father to finish with what he's doing.

"110 jackals," the man suddenly says.

The boy takes a look into his wallet, seeing about 5000js inside. He hands the right amount over, sealing the deal for a three-day stay.

"Hey, sir" The boy calls. "Those right there, are those quests?"

"Mhm," The man nods. "I take it you're not from around here. Take it to the town hall and confirm you wanna do it, and the money will be yours for the taken if you complete the job"

His curiosity gets him up, looking through the many quests available; helping with animals and being bodyguards, and others are seen but one, in particular, catches his eyes, dealing with bandits. He takes the paper off the board, informed of strange men coming to their farm and harassing them for some two days now, stopped by one of the customers who catches him.

"Boy, you ever dealt with them bandits before??" the man asks him.

"...This will be my first time, Sir," The boy replies with slight confidence. "Where can I get some weapons and armour?"

"You sure you don't wanna just feed some cows," The man laughs, looking at his scrawny appearance. "Those outlaws are ruthless criminals, they'll take whatever they want and kill whoever gets in their way. Not tryna scare ya, but you be sure to not make one catch you and skin you alive"

"A-Ah," The boy nods to his advice, being slightly frightened to take on the job.

"How old are you, kid?" the man asks.

"Seventeen," the boy replies.

"Still young, but I won't stop ya," He tells the boy. "Carry on"

The boy hesitantly walks on back over the counter, showing the quest he had picked off the board to the bartender.

"Hm, just don't get yourself killed," The bartender says, seeing the paper firmly being held in the boy's hand. "Your name?"

"Nahshon," The boy replies.

"Briggs," The bartender tells Nahshon, handing him some juice. "Drink this before you go, welcome to my hotel. Enjoy your stay. When you ready, head on over the town hall, confirm your quest there"

Nahshon gulps his drink, thanking the bartender. He makes his way to the hall by asking people around the town. Kind people, he realizes so far. Through a process, he confirms that he wants the quest in the hall, with a light of green that marks a strange symbol on his hand and the paper alike. The paper instructs that this issue lies west, at a farmhouse. Nahshon begins his journey, as he prepares his mind for what might happen. He arrives at the lane of the farm and he already hears shouting as a girl tries to break free of a man's grip, seeing that the bandits are already there. She bites his hand and rips the bandana from his face, getting bitten for payment of her actions.

"How dare you!" The old man of the farm shouts.

The old man loads his shotgun, aiming at the three bandits as he's fumed with anger. The bitten bandit quickly lifts the girl to be his body shield, shaking the old man's aim, having him fearing what will happen to his grand-daughter. With seeing all this, Nahshon's thoughts begin to work against him, eating away at his excitement little by little.

"Best you put the gun down, farmer," The bitten bandit smirks, tightly gripping the hair of the girl, making her groan in pain.

"Hey, this isn't funny at all," the worried bandit states. "Let's leave these people alone. We don't have any reasons to be doing this"

"Didn't you see what she did?" The bald bandit of the three asks. "She bit our friend's hand and didn't even apologize"

"Tch...shit!" The worried bandit replies, turning his back to the scene, not wanting to watch.

"N-No," Nahshon tells his negative thoughts. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it? I have power now...let's do this"

Through a burst of courage, a charge of lightning covers his body with one goal of helping these people in mind. Through a pause of breath, he lands a kick in the bitten bandit's face, knocking him out cold on to the ground. Nahshon clumsily rolls then catches his footing, observing and coordinating his next moves with the girl getting up and running to her grandpa's side.

"What in the world?" the worried of the bandits says.

"Leave, you shouldn't be doing this," Nahshon states, taking his fighting stance.

The one who didn't want any part of it catches his eyes. There's something odd about this bandit he observes; blue eyes almost covered by his hat and bandana, Nahshon still tries to figure it out.

"Ah, long and pointy ears," Nahshon says to himself as he finally figures it out, realizing some of those he spoke to at the town also had these features. "Looks like he's around my age as well"

"Shit...Alright kid, no need for violence now," The bald outlaw says.

"I said..leave now," Nahshon says, lighting crackling off him even more.

"You expect us to just leave...like nothing happened??" The bald outlaw says. "She owes us an apology"

Nahshon looks back at the girl with a clear sign of swelling on her cheek. And like having a sixth sense, he quickly turns around to the sound of a gun clicking from the bald one. Nahshon quickly decides to get him before he fires, fearing the residents will be caught in the crossfire. He rushes at him, ready to throw a punch, shocked by the sudden woozy feeling, still moving his body to stop his opponent, but only to hear explosive sounds that stun his effort, shot up in his leg and arm by the Elf. He trips heavily, getting back up on his knees, clenching his teeth to the first time of feeling agonizing pain from being shot with real bullets. Then suddenly to his comprehension, a quick blow to his head with the back of the bald bandit's rifle, sending his face to the ground to taste the saltiness of dirt getting in his mouth.

"Let's just take Henry and go man!" The elf says, being upset by the situation.

"Can't do that...They both saw his face. We're just gonna...rough them up a little to get a point across," The bald outlaw says. "You listen, old man. If you stay quiet for a while, then maybe your girl will come back. Do that for us, alright?"

The old man shakily drops his shotgun, giving the bald bandit the chance to grab it away from him. The old man begs for his granddaughter's life as she is being dragged away. He pushes her to the ground, kicking her up to have her stop resisting. The tight feeling of rope around Nahshon's body becomes more apparent. Thinking it's his last moment, he turns to face the sky, looking at the clear picture of the open world, the hot sun as it reaches its afternoon appointment. With the wind blowing, cows mooing, the horses neighing, then, darkness and silence to his dream come through, of being in another world.