- A wolf howl? This is something new. And where would we get a forest like this from? - Looking around to find an explanation for his confusion, Isaia was filled with more questions than answers to his initial curiosity.
Everywhere he turned his head there was an unfamiliar sight, which made him panic. He didn't know how to behave; this was happening to him for the first time.
Each new thought about the cause of what was happening was worse than the previous one and it was hard to believe in the reality of what was going on.
Even that not funny joke about parents, which was once voiced by Balentin, his former colleague, was not as hurtful as what was happening now. And it wasn't the fool's fault though that he didn't know about Isaia growing up in an orphanage.
Adding even more fuel to the fire of ignorance was the ever-continuing howl, clearly demonstrating the presence of more than one grey individual in this forest, so actively vocalizing their presence.
The dark dense forest, with strange species of trees, completely unfamiliar to the inhabitant of the concrete jungle of the twenty-first century, appeared in all its beauty, untouched by human nature.
The representatives of the plant world themselves were not the species with a soft, wide and rich green cover, so loudly verbalising the tropical climate of the local environment. No, not at all, it was more of a temperate and harsh climate. Cloudy weather, wind and a semblance of coolness gave off a languid vibe.
It was the appearance of coolness, for Isaia didn't feel the discomfort and bone-chilling cold of unfavourable weather conditions.
The wind, only by its constant touch and the nagging restlessness of the foliage around it, made itself known. The typical, so peculiar to the wind, irritating and biting cold effect was not felt for some unknown reason.
It was possible to infer an autumnal mood from the general estimates and signs here and there, though it was contrary to all the common sense Isaia could cite, for November had only just come into vigour.
The time of day was also leaning towards evening, according to the last rays of the sun on the horizon, hence the even greater sense of a heavy atmosphere.
Alas, at the moment there were too many choking questions, hence it seemed silly to go into the reasons for not feeling the evening chill, because it is not the most important and critical for a person who wakes up and sees a picture that is alien to him and the potential danger lurking around.
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Thoughts, tearing consciousness in different directions required too much attention, for not the most common phenomenon, to wake up in the middle of the unknown, having recently fallen asleep after a long and productive session of grind in an online game.
Even before going to the world of Morpheus Isaia was inclined to plan tomorrow's progress in the game, because it was a combination of desire and necessity. The first came from a long-standing love of online and fantasy worlds, the second became available with the emergence of cybersport, in which the lad was involuntarily good, respectively, accustomed to provide a living, engaged in business close to his soul. Yes, it became tiresome to switch on the gaming device not at the moment of desire to plunge headlong into the virtual world, but from the need to train, keep fit and be competitive at the same time.
The gaming industry is not without its difficulties and pitfalls, especially given the overly strong influx of young talent who are eager to get ahead, taking all the public's attention if an opponent steps away from the industry for a short period of time. Consequently, the need for constant macro-control, persistent maintenance of one's professional form, which allows one to be able to defend one's ‘territory’ and interests.
Finally getting to his feet, Isaia began to look around while also feeling the strangeness in his quintessence. It was difficult to explain the feeling that arose in his very being, as if something was constantly calling to him, attracting him, but at the same time it was distant and not ‘his’.
The young man could not find any reasonable and logical explanation for the new sensations, and the closest reference was the possibility of poor health due to spending an indefinite amount of time on the damp earth. But he realized that the feelings he felt were not illusory. He had a clear understanding of his own body, especially it's physical part. So, he was sure there was something wrong with him, that such sensations were new to him.
A person that has lived for twenty-six years without serious changes in physical condition, due to the absence of sporting and extreme activity, will immediately notice that something is wrong with him as soon as there's something about him that wasn't there before. Hence the belief that things were not as they had been until yesterday.
He tried his best to distract himself, for now was not the best time to try to find out about the causes of his condition. There were more pressing questions on his hands that needed answers. Feelings by their very nature were too ephemeral and difficult to comprehend, which meant they could take too much time to explore and understand, which he certainly didn't have.
- It's strange, why can't I remember anything closer to noon? - As he tried to recall the events of yesterday, Isaia unconsciously asked himself a disturbing question.
He found that all the events of the previous day were completely absent from his memory, except for the fact that he woke up in the morning, a little after nine o'clock, prepared his standard breakfast, a peculiar mixture of fruit and other ingredients, which allows him to stay awake for the day, and in case of forgetting to eat lunch or dinner, will not allow the body to experience a lack of useful substances.
Everything that happens closer to noon and all the rest of the day was absent. It would not leave indifferent any living soul, waking up not remembering some of the events of the previous day, from which bad premonitions began to rouse inside. But for a lack of other options, and realising the futility of this kind of thinking, Isaia decided to look around again.