A few hours after the impact of the fragments on Primis, the chosen ones, unconscious, found themselves scattered. The boy chosen by the aerolite that had reached France lay in a field of sunflowers, on a hillside bathed in light. His eyelids opened with difficulty, revealing a sky of infinite blue, framed by the vibrant gold of the petals that protected him from the sun's rays.

Slowly, he sat up, his mind still reeling from the celestial journey he'd just been on, as the flowers gently swayed in the morning breeze, as if to greet him. The young man rose slowly to his feet, his eyes sweeping over the endless ocean of sunflowers. Everywhere he looked, there were only golden waves rippling in the wind, except for a perfectly flat circle of grass in the sea of flowers, as if something ancient had once rested there.

"What the...?" he murmured, his voice lost in the whisper of the petals. He pivoted on himself, and his breath caught. Below the hill, a sprawling city spread out, crowned by a colossal castle whose central tower split the morning sunlight in two. He stood still for a moment, amazed by the splendor of the scene.

"This view is magnificent, but where am I...? I've never seen a city like this."

A sense of wonder overcame him. Advancing cautiously through the sunflowers, he suddenly tripped over something hard. He looked down to discover a finely chiselled stone. Curiosity piqued, he picked it up, revealing a statue of a bird with carved feathers catching and playing with the sun's rays.

"A statue, where did you come from?" he said to the statuette, as if expecting it to respond. No sooner had he finished his sentence than the statuette began to glow with a bright light. An enveloping warmth surrounded him, and suddenly he saw nothing but vibrant colors and dazzling light. The bird on the statuette came to life before him, its white feathers edged in rainbow enveloping him in an ethereal embrace.

"Who... who are you?" he asked.

The bird didn't answer, but the boy sensed that it wasn't hostile, and it wrapped its huge, warm wings around him for a moment before the creature disappeared, leaving him alone once more in the middle of the sunflower field. The statuette had vanished, leaving no trace of its existence.

The young man sat pensively in the bare space where the sunflowers did not grow, letting his mind wander over the surreal events he had just experienced. Suddenly, a rustling among the flowers caught his attention. He jerked upright, ready to flee, but what emerged from the sunflowers was no threat. A man dressed in a monk's robe stepped towards him, hands raised in a sign of peace.

"Calm yourself, young chosen one of the Errant. I'm here to guide you," said the monk in a gentle voice.

"But before that, we must gather the others and lead you to the castle you must have glimpsed."

The young man, still in shock, stammered, "Where am I? Is this a dream? Paradise, perhaps? I need answers!"

"What you're experiencing is indeed reality, my child. Patience will bring you the answers you seek," replied the monk with a reassuring smile. Then, with a fluid gesture, he pulled from his sleeve a staff adorned with precious stones and much larger than the sleeve he'd just pulled from. Before the young man had time to wonder about this new strangeness, the monk traced a magic circle in the air.

In an instant, the world around them was transformed, and they found themselves standing on the shore of a peaceful lake, with the castle standing majestically on the horizon, offering a different and equally impressive perspective. The young man turned towards the lake and saw a figure sitting at the water's edge, her feet immersed in the tranquil lake. The girl had very dark, straight hair framing her mixed-race face. She turned toward them, a gleam of apprehension in her eyes.

"Who... who are you? And where am I?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry, you'll soon understand. Come, I'll take you to the castle, where the others await you," replied Gaspard.

"The others?" questioned the young man.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Yes, you're the only ones whose trajectory wasn't aimed directly at the castle. I lacked the power to guide four fragments of the aerolith."

The young man remained perplexed, not quite understanding what he had just said. They welcomed the young woman, who approached with palpable hesitation. She shared her experience with them, telling them that she had awoken in the heart of this shallow lake, where an angelic statuette holding a sun had lit up in her hands, just as the boy had experienced. She confided in them that she had witnessed the vision of this angel and described a stifling heat so intense that her clothes dried up in an instant, and then the statuette had vanished too.

The monk, having listened to her story, raised his staff and drew a glowing circle over their heads. In a heartbeat, they were transported into a vast, enclosed room. Two young men, strangers like themselves, were seated around a table, apparently waiting for them for some time. The young man realized they were in the castle the monk had mentioned when they were among the sunflowers.

"Join them, my children. I'll be with you soon," said the monk in a voice that echoed through the room before he disappeared.

The former rose to greet them as he walked towards them, inviting them to sit with them, which they did. He gave the idea of introducing himself in turn and began. He was quite tall, had blond hair, a mid-length cut with a lock falling to one side, and his bright blue eyes were beautiful.

"My name is Klaus, I'm from Canada and I don't know what I'm doing here any more than you do. I landed in the garden of this castle and had with me a statuette of a weird warrior on a cloud. I didn't understand everything, but I imagine you experienced something similar, so I won't go into details."

The other boy rose to his feet. He looked like he came from Asian countries, with white skin and visually very soft. He had short black hair and green eyes. He looked to be the oldest of the group and wore elegant, traditional clothes.

"My name is Su-jin," he said. "I'm from South Korea. I didn't see it coming when I was hit. I was also in the garden, and my statuette looked like a snake. Just looking at it burned my eyes, it was so reflective, it looked like a diamond. Before I could understand anything, it appeared and disappeared immediately after coiling me up. What about you new guys?"

Salma, the young woman, stood up a little intimidated by the situation, trying to keep her composure before introducing herself.

"My name is Salma! I'm from Egypt and I had a statuette of an angel with a sun. Exactly the same thing happened to me as to you. I must confess I'm not at ease, and I don't know if all this is real or not..."

She sat down, a little embarrassed, as if she'd had a difficult interview. Then it was the young man's turn to stand up. All eyes turned to him. He had short, curly chestnut hair and gray eyes.

"I'm Armand from France," he said. "I don't really remember what was going on when I saw this big thing coming at me... except that it was raining and dark. I landed in a huge field of sunflowers above a hill overlooking the city, and I had a huge beautiful bird with feathers of all colors coming out of its statuette..."

Armand seemed to think for a moment, frowning after noticing something.

"How come we speak the same language if we come from such different places?"

Su-jin replied, "Now that you mention it... it must have something to do with this world."

Klaus added with a laugh, "I think it's funny myself!"

Gaspard, the monk, then reappeared in front of them, above the table. He then climbed down from it before facing them.

"I apologize for the wait. It seems you've already had the opportunity to make each other's acquaintance. My name is Gaspard, and I am your guide of sorts, enlightening you as to why you are here in these strange lands. As you may have noticed, you understand each other thanks to a spell I used on you when you first arrived here. You've no doubt also seen the four statuettes assigned to you by the aerolith itself. They contain powers once held by legendary beings of ancient times. Each of these beings was defeated and sealed by the Saint in order to transmit their strength to those capable of saving Primis in the future. Faced with the current critical situation, we've taken the decision to use the last four."

Su-jin asked, "Were there any others before?"

"Indeed," replied Gaspard, "but I don't know the exact number. My master, who certainly knew of them, sacrificed his life to offer his soul to the Star Wanderer who brought you here. However, I do know that 400 years ago, three heroes from your world risked their lives to defend Primis. So there must have been at least a dozen of them back then."

Klaus, intrigued, asked, "You said 'Primis' - that's the name of this world, I presume?"

"Please excuse me for this crucial oversight," said Gaspard. "You are currently in Primis, the point of origin of all worlds, directly linked to yours. The existence of one depends on the other, and it's our duty to watch over it. Primis is also a vast continent, bordered by an endless sea. A thousand years ago, the king of Primis, a tyrannical ruler, aspired to rival the gods themselves. His strength was so great that he challenged and defeated countless angels. After a bitter struggle lasting years, individuals like you, linked to the aeroliths, succeeded in defeating and sealing him. Six centuries later, he was about to awaken again, but was stopped thanks to the intervention of those three heroes I told you about earlier."

End of chapter 2.