“Oh, you’re awake? Good, good. Don’t try moving just yet. And…you’re moving already..”

An old man’s voice woke me from what I was sure would be my eternal slumber.

I struggled to open my eyes…until I didn’t. My eyes, which I remember being practically swollen shut, opened completely normally, without any pain I had been expecting.

I sat up from where I laid on the ground, eyes and hands going over every place I was sure had been injured, checking for signs of damage. My body was pristine, or at least, restored to how it was before I encountered that macho asshole and his manipulative girlfriend. My injuries were non-existent, and everything felt normal. Even my perpetually constant headache was gone.

So why did I feel like something was wrong?

I turned to where I heard the old man’s voice come from, and I saw nothing, and nobody else except for myself. In fact, all I could see was that I was in a transparent dome of some kind…at the bottom of the ocean.

There were giant fish and sea creatures swimming past the clear upside-down bowl that surrounded me, but nothing was entering. The ground I was lying down on had clumps of seaweed scattered around, and even a few upturned crabs and lonely mollusks were visible. I could even spot a single pearl. The smell of saltwater and fish was less pungent than I thought it would be.

Somehow, there was even enough light to see, although common sense told me that the bottom of the sea should have been pitch-black. It was like I was in an aquarium, only aquariums didn’t have shrimp the size of a bus. Or jellyfish with multiple eyestalks.

What…. how…...

I couldn’t think properly. I was stunned into silence, and I’m fairly certain my brain stopped working for a second or two. I didn’t understand anything about…. anything.

If I had to guess, I would say…. I couldn’t make any sense of the situation.

What exactly happened? I remember buying stuff at the convenience store, that asshole couple, then nothing. And now I’m here.

I was brought out of my memory reconstruction session by the same voice, only now it was neutral. And bored. And…something else my mind couldn’t pick up on in my disoriented state.

“Well, you appear to be healthy enough to ignore me. Now, ask whatever questions you have. And do so quickly.” The voice was speaking without any urgency, but he told me to ask…quickly? The contradiction bothered me, but I had more pressing questions, and I wanted answers.

Whether or not his words were true or false was an issue for later. All I could do was hope I would have the chance to verify everything later.

“What’s going on? And where am I?” I asked quickly, just as the old man’s voice said to.

“So, getting the obvious issues out of the way first. Simply put, this is not your world.”

I heard the words, registered them in my brain, and after a few moments of a dial tone sounding out in my head, everything suddenly clicked.

I’m dead. I’m definitely dead, that asshole killed me and now I’m dead and in heaven. Or hell. The afterlife? Whatever it is, I’m definitely dead.

“Okay…you know what. That actually makes sense. So, am I in heaven or hell? Or purgatory? Do I qualify for reincarnation, maybe? Or is there some other afterlife possibility I’m not aware of? Wait, it can’t be reincarnation cause this is still my same body…” My voice was light and carefree, all of my worries melting away as I felt relief.

I lived a pretty decent life. I wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue, but I wasn’t some hardened killer either. My lifestyle, using the term generously, revolved around minimizing human contact and staying indoors as much as possible. My life was, for the most part, consumed by two things: trying to make money, and my downtime which consisted of consuming as much media as possible to try and create a spark of feeling something. That didn’t exactly leave a lot of time for going out and committing crimes, which sadly, also failed to induce any major emotion within me the one time I attempted to.

If I could get into purgatory, I would honestly count that as a win. Shame on me for not adhering to holy texts, but hey, I wasn’t exactly religious, and it’s not like there was a lot of evidence for it, so you couldn’t blame me for –

“It seems I should have been more specific. You didn’t die. Well, perhaps you technically did for the briefest of increments; after all, those were some rather nasty injuries I found on you. But no, you’re still alive. Healthy and safe as can be,” the voice stated. “Although, you’re going to have to work on your combat prowess if you wish to survive here.”

“Who are you, anyway? It’s a little annoying to keep referring to you in my head as ‘the old man’.” I asked him.

“Sigh, you may address me as Khime,” he said.

“Well, you can…wait. Did you say I didn’t die?” The incredulity in my voice was clear.

“Indeed,” he replied.

And just like that, all those worries I had let go of rushed back to me, leaving me more anxious than I would have thought.

I was confused. Confused, angry, tired, frustrated, afraid, and…hungry. Maintaining a polite facade as I usually did would be nothing new for me. When all these emotions were bubbling just beneath the surface? Then it became a bit too much for me.

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“Alright, just rip the band-aid off. Tell me everything. I don’t care anymore.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot. You must ask the questions that you deem necessary. Unsolicited information is prohibited,” the old man – Khime – said.

“Prohibited? By who?” I asked curiously.

I definitely focused on the wrong point there.

“I cannot say. Ask something else, or prepare to begin – “

“Okay, okay! Just wait a second!” I took a second to try and organize my thoughts. The situation was difficult enough without the added pressure of some arbitrary time limit, not to mention the tempest of emotions swirling within me.

I was alive…somehow. And on another world…which meant this Khime was somehow connected to my being here, whole and healthy. Well, healthy for me. And of course, there was the obvious issue.

For the most part, people are selfish. They act to further their own goal or cause. That meant Khime, for all his supposed apathy, wanted something from me. Something he couldn’t accomplish himself. After all, you don’t resurrect or near-resurrect someone and pull them through space unless you need them for something.

“Um, where am I? You said this isn’t my world? Then what world is it? And where in, or…under this world am I located right now?” I asked, trying to be specific.

For all intents and purposes, I was alone, in a strange situation, and lacking any type of context. I needed detailed information if I wanted to have any semblance of rational decision-making. So I pushed my emotions aside as best as I could, and tried to focus on gathering information.

Also, the quicker I could get through this game of twenty questions, the quicker I could, hopefully, eat.

“This world has no name, as such. You are approximately twelve kilometers, or seven miles deep beneath the surface of the ocean. This specific area is relatively close to the southern coast of this continent, which is referred to as the Western or Human continent by the natives of this world.” Khime replied.

“WAIT! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” I held my hands forward, waving them back and forth, trying to get this guy’s attention, disregarding that I couldn’t see him. “You said Human continent. Does that mean there are humans here? And other intelligent species besides humans?” I asked, reading between the lines.

“That is indeed so. There are five primary continents populated by major races in this world. As I’ve just stated, the Western continent is populated mostly by Humans. As a human yourself, you no doubt know what your own species is like. Oh, there may be minor biological and spiritual differences between you and the humans here, but as far as I can tell, nothing should prevent you from reproducing should you wish to.”

If this world’s women are even remotely similar to the ones back home, that is most certainly not the case.

“The Eastern Continent is home to the Elves, the race most attuned to nature and the least likely to welcome foreigners. The Elves are somewhat insular, preferring to limit their interactions with outsiders. Their population is also the lowest when it comes to pure numbers among the major races.”

“The Southern Continent, and the largest in terms of area, is the domain of the beastfolk, who possess a combination of animalistic and human traits. Well, just picture an animal head on a human body, and that’s what most of the beastfolk look like. The variety of their communities is endless: sharks, wolves, tigers, eagles. If you can think of an animal, there is probably a tribe of that species of beastfolk somewhere. The beastfolk place importance on physical strength and the cultivation of their bodies, which has led to a warrior ethos and the exaltation of fighting ability.”

“The Central continent is, as the name suggests, located centrally between the others. It hosts all the races previously mentioned, acting as a gathering spot for various activities. No native race lives there, being populated mostly by merchants and the like.”

“Finally, the Northern continent. This continent is where the base beings known as the voranders reside. Voranders can appear in many forms, shape and size be damned. But in every one of their monstrous forms, they are blacker than coal, than the night sky, than the most enduring shadow. They are entities who only seek to sate their urges as immediately as possible. Those urges are oftentimes met at the cost of the other races’ wellbeing. Their instincts drive them to eat, defile, and kill, just like plenty of other lifeforms, only they take enjoyment in witnessing their victims’ more visceral feelings: despair, rage, fear, grief.”

“The majority of the voranders are confined to the Northern Continent, after the other races sealed them away many ages ago. But various spawning grounds exist throughout the world where voranders hide in the shadows and multiply without end. Unlike the other races, and even the less intelligent beings such as animals and beasts, the voranders have the lowest capabilities in performing any applications based on essence, or any magic in general. In fact, I would go as far as to say that their –”

“STOP! HOLD UP! WAIT! JUST WAIT!” I loudly interrupted Khime’s monologue, too impatient to disregard what I just heard,

“You said magic is a thing here? Magic is real?! As in spells, and wands, and throwing fireballs and lightning from my fingertips? Is that how I got here?” I asked.

If magic were real, that was…colossal. It overshadowed the entirety of my being merely with its existence.

There was a long moment of silence after I spoke, and I got the impression that Khime wasn’t what most would call patient. Probably best if I reduce the interruptions from now on. Yet another rule to abide by.

“Boy, I will not tell you again. You may ask your questions, but otherwise, let…me….speak.”

Khime’s voice had no neutrality or laziness in it when he said those words. In fact, it brought to mind a point I had ignored thus far: I didn’t know who exactly he was, what he was capable of, or what his role was, if he had one, in me being here in a different world.

But, heeding his words, as it seemed very prudent to do, I simply made a mental note to ask those questions later on, if the opportunity arose.

“Now, then,” Khime resumed his speech. “The voranders are the common enemy of the other three races, which has led to various battles and skirmishes being fought at any given time. The Central continent is often used as a gathering point to hold discussions on the state of vorander activities and how best to reduce the threat they pose.”

“Now, you may ask your next questions, boy. Though I would advise doing so one by one.” Khime regained his apathetic tone, his earlier…dissatisfaction….completely gone.

I thought of everything I had just been told, and realized that, despite the lengthy monologue delivered to me, I still didn’t know enough to even know what I needed to ask.

But there was one question that was of immediate concern. It came to the forefront of my mind and escaped my mouth just when my stomach grumbled loudly, echoing in the underwater dome.

“Can I have something to eat? I swear I’m dying of hunger.”

“I’m afraid not. Hunger is a good incentive to keep you motivated and productive.” The apathy of his words was undercut by the amusement his words had.

He’s definitely doing it on purpose. Petty bastard.