Considering the supposed sea of information available about anything, it was absurd how difficult it was to get. One would assume that knowing the song and artist's name would instantly provide some info on the matter. As Dallion found out after a few days, that was far from the case. His roommate had agreed, after some convincing, to help out using his own “connections” to find more, but that too was said to be slow and by no means guaranteed. In the meantime, all that Dallion could do was try to continue with college life. Sadly, that wasn't as easy as it sounded. Three things constantly occupied his mind: the artist using music skills, the awakened world, and Euryale.
“Am I boring you?” the professor interrupted his lecture to ask.
Dallion glanced at the man, then at the formulas on the whiteboard behind him. He had no idea what he had been thinking when he had chosen to minor in mathematics. Then again, the introduction to calculus was so rudimentary that he felt as if he were still in high-school.
“Sorry, I just know all this already,” Dallion said with a smile.
“So, I am boring you.” The sudden smile on the professor made it clear that the man wasn’t in the least upset. “There’s nothing fancy about the fundamentals, but they are fundamental. Don’t worry, in a few weeks, you’ll remember this day and miss it.”
If that was intended to be a joke, it was particularly bad. Still, polite laughter filled the room. There was only one chance to create a first impression and most of Dallion’s cohort didn’t want to make the same one he had.
The lecture continued without other altercations. At the end, Dallion and his group once again went to their usual place for pizza. The staff was different and so was the music. That didn’t prevent Dallion from browsing on his phone again.
“You’re really good at that stuff,” Jenna said.
“What?” Dallion looked up.
“Calculus. You know a lot without even trying.”
“It’s not that difficult.” Dal’s roommate joined in. “Most of it’s old stuff.”
“Yeah.” Dallion put his phone away. If only he was as good at finding things online as he was in class.
“You’re still using that thing?” another member of the group asked. “Change the screen or get a new one.”
It still works, Dallion thought. He had forgotten how easily objects were discarded back on Earth. He himself had constantly done it in the past. It seemed like the proper way to go at the time, though not now.
“Any new news?” he turned to his roommate.
“Dude, you keep asking me every five minutes!”
That wasn’t exactly true. There was no need to ask that often. Dallion could tell by how the other behaved whether he’d done anything on the matter or not. The questions had rather served as reminders for the guy to actually do something.
“A friend found some old patreon.”
The response came as a complete surprise. When Dallion had asked the question, it was in the hopes that the guy would shut up. Apparently, miracles were possible… although it had been over a week so far.
“The name’s different, but he swears it’s the same person,” the roommate continued. “The place is barely active, but it’s still there.”
“What’s the name?” Jenna took her own phone out. At times Dallion felt she had the curiosity of a ferret combined with the cunning of a cat. If she ever became a bit more cynical, she’d be like Aquilequia.
“It’s…” The guy took out his phone and stared. “It’s this.” He placed the device on the table so that everyone could see.
Elatia Gills, Dallion read. It remained unclear whether that was the artist’s real name, but it definitely didn’t contain any links to the awakened world. Based on the uncertainty written all over his roommate’s face, it wasn’t even certain that she was linked to the songs he’d heard. Still, it was better than nothing, so he decided it was worth a fiver to join the patreon and send her a message. As he attempted to do so, the glass covering his screen cracked some more.
“Ouch.” His roommate cringed at the sound. “Just tell your folks to buy you a new phone, dude. It’s painful watching this crumble in your hands.”
“Maybe I will,” Dallion muttered as he quickly typed in his message.
Hi!
Loved Summer Vines!
Am I wrong, or was Astreza one of your songs as well?
By no means the height of literary mastery, but it was short and to the point. If she had any connection to the awakened world, she’d get the reference. If not, Dall would simply come off as a wannabe fan who had mixed up online songs.
Barely had he done so when the screen of his phone flickered off completely. For several seconds, he stared at it, unable to believe what had happened. Then he tried to turn the phone off and on again. There was no denying it was rather old—ancient by modern standards—but he remained attached to it.
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“Told you!” his roommate said, almost with glee.
“Did you have anything important there?” Jenna asked, out of concern. “I once lost my phone and needed months to reconnect to all the places I’ve been to.”
“It’s fine,” Dallion lied. “Just a few photos. Everything else is pretty standard.”
“What kind of photos?” The roommate asked, getting the expected response of laughter and mock indignation from everyone.
“I can give you mine if you want to check stuff,” Jenna offered.
It wasn’t something that Dallion particularly did, but given the offer, it would be worse for him to refuse. So far, he and Jenna were nothing more than friends, but there were indications she wanted for things to develop into something more. He could feel that she was hesitant about it. In other circumstances, he would have gladly gone along with it. According to his father, that was one of the roles of college, after getting a decent education, of course. Yet, in his mind, Dallion remained married.
“Thanks.” He took out his sim card. There was a fine line between leading someone and just being friendly. After a few months in the Tamin capital, he had learned to thread the needle rather well.
Jenna’s phone was the same brand as his, just a much newer model. The moment he typed in the pin, several notifications popped up, indicating half a dozen missed calls.
That was strange. Dallion hadn’t received any since the party. The last one, from what he could see, had been less than an hour ago. More alarming, he recognized the number.
“Sorry,” he stood up. “Must make a call. I’ll be quick.”
He made his way outside and auto-dialed the number. The phone rang twice, after which it was quickly picked up.
“Dal?” a female voice said.
“Hi, Mom,” Dallion replied. Hearing her voice felt strange, like watching a movie about something that had happened ages ago.
“Are you alright? I’ve been trying—”
“My phone broke, Mom,” Dallion quickly interrupted. “A friend gave me hers so I can call you.”
“Oh.” There was a long pause, containing several questions. The detail Dallion had provided, though, proved enough to alleviate the woman’s immediate concern and replace it with another. “You’re being careful, right?” she asked.
“Yes, Mom. I’m being careful. How are you guys?”
There was another pause.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
Damn it! He had forgotten he didn’t behave this way before his awakening.
“If there’s anything you need, just—”
“It’s just a completely new experience. I miss home a bit.”
“My little Dal.” One could swear hearing the sound of a tear form in the woman’s eye. “It’ll pass soon. Of course, you’d feel a bit homesick. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also a good thing, though. And, yes, your father and I are always here to support you should you need it.”
“I know. So, how is he?”
“Your father? Working as usual. He promised he’ll try to take it slow now that you’re there, but you know him.”
“Yeah, I know him.” The truth was, Dallion barely had any idea. “Sorry, mom, but is there anything you needed from me? Class is starting soon.”
“No, no. Just wanted to make sure you’re alright. I know you don’t want to have your parents call you all the time. Do well in class.”
“I will.”
“And also, be careful. You know what I mean.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Dallion ended the call. At least in that aspect, nothing seemed to have changed. Weird that he hadn’t gotten the messages, though. Maybe his roommate was right, and it was time to buy a new phone. Nowadays, living without a phone was virtually impossible. Good thing he still had his laptop.
Going through his messages and calls to make sure there wasn’t anything else he missed, Dallion returned to his friends.
“Thanks.” He took out the sim card and gave the phone back to Jenna. “Had to call my parents.”
“What happened?” she asked. Everyone also stopped talking, focusing their interest on him.
“Nothing. She’s been calling for a while and my phone bounced the calls for some reason.”
There were a few comments on the topic, after which the conversation moved on to the trivialities of the day. While Dallion actively participated, his mind remained elsewhere. Talking to his mother made him think of his awakened world family. At this point—provided they still existed—they probably had no memory of him. Their entire world had changed, acquiring a new history and appearance… unless it never existed in the first place. That was precisely the reason he so much wanted to get in touch with “Red Atol” and the person behind the name. At least that way he might have confirmation that his entire awakened life wasn’t something he had dreamed up.
All the afternoon lectures were just as boring as the ones before noon. Some of the professors were better than others, but all of them were rehashing things that were commonly known to the point that Dallion considered just leaving. The only reason he made it to evening was because he spent the major part of the lectures on his laptop—most of the time refreshing his mail in the hopes he’d get an answer. The odds were against it, of course. Even if the patreon was active and its owner got the mail, she’d hardly drop everything just to respond to a random fan, who might well turn out to be completely mistaken.
Nonetheless, Dallion kept on with his searches of terms that only people from the other world would know. Unfortunately, as he had found out after his first day “back” , the endlessness of the internet contained a lot of letter combinations that were identical to many of the terms. Each of the seven Moons existed in some form or another as products, companies, or users in a variety of platforms. Most of the country and city names fared no differently.
Finding anything related seemed hopeless when Dallion got an email. Looking at the address, it was a response to his message containing nothing more than three words: Who are you?
Anyone’s immediate reaction would be joy. Dallion, however, had had his hopes dashed a few times already, so he approached it with curious optimism.
A friend of the Seven Moons. He went into his patreon profile and responded.
The reply didn’t delay.
The Seven Moons have no friends.
Now, there could be little doubt that she had gone through the same experience.
How did you find me?
If Dallion could have split into instances, he would have just to look around. Since that wasn’t an option, he discretely did it the old-fashioned way.
I heard your songs. You’re using music skills.
There was no immediate reply. Had he scared the person off? That would be the normal reaction. Maybe he should have been more subtle about it. Not that it mattered. As long as he had his confirmation, it was a matter of time before he tracked her down or found someone else.
A new message arrived, containing a map location. It was two states away—a bit far to reach at such a short notice and with the money he currently had.
Calmly, Dallion created a map link of his university and sent it as a reply. He considered whether to send a picture of himself, but decided against it. This wasn’t the awakened world, and information couldn’t be erased out of existence.
Another message arrived.
Keep listening to my spotify. I’ll come to you.