welcome to the overworld (old)

There was something. Some kind of feeling, but he couldn’t name it. A feeling of emptiness- something being ripped away from his soul and dispersed into the air. Something inside of him was lost, and that became clear once he opened his eyes to a foggy gray sky and towering buildings.

Slowly, he turned his head to see himself lying on hard substance. Rock? No, something more modern. Concrete- as he recognized it from the human world. Wait, human world?

He shot up on an empty sidewalk beside a street. Whipping across his cheeks, he felt the mist send shivers down his spine. He lifted his hand before his vision, slowly turning it. It had flesh- human flesh. The gloves that once covered it had disappeared, somewhere. But what gloves? And from where?

He pushed himself up, and surprisingly, was able to walk normally. He knew something had happened to him... but couldn’t remember what.

Looking down at himself, he noticed he was dressed in a black sweater and khakis. This wasn’t his usual outfit. But what was his outfit anyway?

“What in the world...?”

As he walked down the street, the surroundings became familiar to him. He had visited here before, but when?

I’ll just call Sylvar, he thought, placing his finger to his temple. He repeatedly tapped his temple with no results before stopping to rationalize.

New clothes. New surroundings. An incomplete memory of what had happened to him.

He now understood- this was no longer the world he knew. Something had happened to him, but he couldn’t remember what. All that showed up in his mind was a face- the face of a man with an eyepatch and two horns.

He knew what type of person he was- he had always wanted to help and protect those around him. But he couldn’t remember who he was. His mind retained all memories of the friends he made and people he had saved, but every single bit of his own self had been erased.

He remembered every fighting move he had learned. Every person he had met. All the different places he had visited in the past. He remembered the laughter, the joy, and his adventures. But it felt... incomplete. Empty. Fractured. Something was missing.

He wanted to call Sylvar, but how would he contact him? This new world didn’t allow him to communicate through mind projection, so what was he to do?

The further he walked down the sidewalk, the stronger a magical pull grabbed onto him. He stopped and felt for it. Further forward... to his left... in the forest?

He took a step. Then another. Closer and closer, the pull on his chest grew stronger until he was no longer able to turn back, even if he wanted to. Past the trees and bushes, he followed the trickling sound ahead of him and reached a flowing river. Once he set foot on the river banks, he skidded to an abrupt stop.

On the edge of the river, what looked like a small blonde girl crouched over picking flowers along the banks. Something inside him pushed him forward to approach the girl.

The soft thudding of his boots on the grass must have alerted the girl, because she jumped up and turned to see what was behind her.

“Eek!” she exclaimed, turning to him. Somehow, her voice sounded more like a young boy instead of a girl. “Who are you?”

“No...nobody,” he responded, breaking eye contact. “I’m just a random person.”

That reminded him... who was he? He didn’t even know his name. Something... with an A?

“Ha... okay then.”

The girl takes a couple steps towards him before completely freezing up. Her face tensed up and her pupils shrunk, as if she had experienced a moment of overwhelming dread in just one second.

“H-hey miss, are you okay?” he exclaimed, rushing towards her.

Her face snapped out of the trance and her eyebrows scrunched up before she returned, “Miss? Who are you calling a girl?”

He froze.

“You... aren’t a girl?”

“No! My name is Nathaniel! Definitely not a girl!”

“Oh my lord, I am so sorry-“ he apologized, bowing down. “I couldn’t tell from afar. Apologies for assuming your gender.”

“No, it’s okay!” Nathaniel waved it off with a reassuring smile. “Lots of people mistake me for a girl. I guess it’s just the way I dress.”

Nathaniel’s eyes lit up and he turned back to him.

“Now that you know my name... what’s yours?”

“Well, you see,” he answered apologetically. “I... don’t really know?”

“Whaaaaat?” Nathaniel frowned, folding his arms. “How do you not know your name?”

“Well, all I remember about myself is that my name started with an A, or something...”

“Okay, then I’ll give you a name!” Nathaniel grinned, snapping his fingers. “How about Adrian? Or Addie for short?”

Intrigued, he considered the name and nodded.

“That’s a good name for now, I guess,” he concluded. “Thanks for helping me.”

“You’re welcome!” Nathaniel exclaimed, hopping up. “Also, do you have amnesia? I can help you around until you regain your memories again!”

“Ah, well, it’s not like that, but I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Okay then, Addie!” Nathaniel, now seemingly completely comfortable with a stranger, skipped to him- Adrian and grabbed onto his arm. “Come with me!”

Adrian figured he could trust this boy. Something about him just seemed... kind. Peaceful. He seemed like a helpful person, so why not? He let himself follow along the blonde boy.

Neither of them knew that this was the start of something special- precious even.