After what felt like an eternity of standing frozen, Eric's voice snapped me back to reality. "Hey, you! What's wrong? Why did you zone out?" I wanted to tell him about the questions but decided against it for now. How could I explain it? I'd save it for later.

Feeling that our conversation wasn't over, Eric sat back down, trying to grasp the situation, and I did the same, keeping my revelations to myself for the time being.

Once Eric had comprehended his surroundings, I sensed he might know what this place was. "You said earlier, 'We are in the void.' Is this truly that place?" Eric remained silent, staring blankly into space—or more specifically, the ground. I pressed on, "So you knew about this world before being pulled into it?"

*Eric lifted his eyes to look at mine*, *still silent*. I continued with a serious tone, "I need you to tell me everything you know about this place."

*They look at each other.*

*Eric sighed deeply*. "This is a place of endless void, existing since time immemorial. Everything abnormal and supernatural is banished here. There are certain boundaries, and breaking them means getting transported here—people, animals, civilizations, monsters."

The word "breaking" echoed in my mind, triggering another, stronger hallucination. A scene of the moon appeared, with a familiar woman's voice, fraught with anxiety, saying, "Why did he do this?" The scene blurred and returned, this time with the moon beginning to fade, and the same woman said, "He broke it." The scene blurred again, transitioning to another memory from my perspective, walking in a small garden under a glass dome. Before reaching the end, a young boy's voice called out from behind, "What are you doing here, brother?" Before I could turn around, the hallucination ended.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the floor with Eric trying to wake me up. "What happened?" I asked.

"You started swaying suddenly, then you stood up and walked a bit, then lost your balance and fell."

"How long was I out?"

"About half an hour."

It was time to leave this place and delve deeper into this world to find answers. I began gathering my essential items. As I did, I passed by the bookshelf and the surrounding mess. I didn't want to leave it all behind, but I couldn't take everything with me. I had to choose carefully.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

*Eric approached and looked at the chaos*. "This reminds me of a place I used to visit. Anyway, what are you doing? Why are you suddenly so active?"

*Still puzzled by the books*. "I'm preparing to leave."

"Just like that?" *In surprise*.

*He looks at him as he carefully selects books*. "Are you going to leave all these books here?"

"I can't take them all."

*Eric picked one up from the floor* *and examined its unfamiliar decoration*. "Anyway, these books don't seem ordinary."

When I had chosen the books I wanted, I remembered the plant care book I had found earlier and decided to take it too. I placed all the items on the table to ensure I hadn't forgotten anything. From the other side, why is this person looking at me like that?

(Eric's internal thought) 'Is this guy stupid? How will all these things fit in this bag?'

Anyway

"Okay, everything is here." *put the items in the bag, and they shrink when they enter*.

*His eyes widened in shock* "What, what, what?" *He approached and examined the bag*. "What the... how... wait a moment, what!!?"

When he saw the items shrink as I put them in the bag. Eric started making strange movements and rushed to examine the bag, trying to understand how it worked. Now, I looked at Eric with the same puzzled expression, as if Eric had discovered fire.

"Put the items in the bag once you're done with your frenzy." *headed towards the storage room with a small glass capsule adorned with strange spiral engravings, about the size of my palm*. *approached the glowing orb, the home's power source, in the storage room*, *Eric watching from the doorway.*

*opened the capsule and brought the opening close to the orb*. It seems that Eric experienced post-traumatic stress from what had happened with the orb a few hours ago. *The orb entered the capsule and settled in its center*. I closed the capsule simply. Eric froze in place again with astonishment. I placed the orb in the bag too.

(Eric's internal thought) 'What level of advancement does the place he comes from have??!'

With everything ready, I headed towards the apartment's exit. "It was nice meeting you, Eric. Let's hope we meet again. You can use this place before you set off. Be careful—"

As I reached out to open the door, Eric stood in front of me and said, "Wait, are you going to leave me alone?!"

"You were the one who said you were tired of me."

"That was before I knew we were in the void."

I paused. His desperation was evident, but I couldn't afford to be delayed. "What makes you think I should take you with me?" I asked.

"Look," Eric began, clearly trying to compose himself. "I have knowledge—information about this place that you might need. And... I don't want to be alone here. We stand a better chance together."

I studied him for a moment, weighing his words. His fear was genuine, but so was his offer. "Alright," I said finally. "You can come. But you follow my lead, understood?"

Eric nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course. Thank you."

I had originally been thinking of taking him with me, but I wanted him to ask.

====

The scene shifts to a shadow watching from afar with glowing purple eyes, saying in a deep, malicious voice, "Finally, things are starting to move."