"Hey, you wanna bet how long he'll stay asleep?"

"I dunno, man. He might be dead."

"Nah, doesn’t seem dead to me."

The voices filtered through the darkness, but everything around me was pitch black, like I was outside of my own body. I could hear them, but they felt distant, like echoes bouncing off the void. I tried to focus, to make sense of it all, but I couldn’t see or move—just floating in nothingness, somehow aware but helpless.

"He's not dead. Look, he's still breathing," one voice said with a bit more certainty.

Breathing? I tried to focus on my own body, my breath, but there was... nothing. No rise and fall of my chest, no heartbeat in my ears. A sense of panic crept in. Was I even breathing? Did I have a body anymore?

"He better wake up soon. What if he's stuck like this?"

Their fear matched my own. Was I trapped here? Would I be lost in this nothingness forever? Desperation surged, and I struggled against the emptiness.

But then, something clicked in my mind, a distant memory bubbling up. This wasn’t my first time. I’d felt this before—the confusion, the disorientation before finding myself again. I just had to trust it would pass.

I focused on that thought, trying to calm down, and gradually, sensations started coming back. A faint tingle in my fingertips, the coolness of air against my skin. I was waking up, slowly, as if emerging from a long, dreamless sleep.

"Hey, he's moving!"

Relief washed over me as I regained control. I could feel solid ground beneath me, my fingers flexing, air filling my lungs. Slowly, I opened my eyes, squinting at the dim light filtering through my eyelids.

I was lying on a simple cot in a small, dimly lit room. Three young men stood over me, their faces filled with curiosity and concern.

"Welcome back," one of them said with a tentative smile.

I struggled to sit up, feeling weak and confused. "Where... where am I?" My voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar to my ears.

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"Chesapeake Village," another one replied, handing me a cup of water. "You collapsed during the ceremony. We were starting to think you wouldn’t wake up."

"Ceremony? What ceremony?"

He looked at me like I’d just asked if the sky was blue. "The Choosing Ceremony, of course."

"The Choosing Ceremony?"

He raised an eyebrow. "To choose which god you serve? You must’ve hit your head pretty hard."

I muttered, "Why does this keep happening?" but not loud enough for anyone to hear—or so I thought.

The same guy shot me a puzzled look. "Wait, what keeps happening? You faint a lot?"

How did he even hear that?

Shaking off the disorienting thoughts, I asked, "What are your names?"

The first one to speak was Demah Sleiman. The other, the one who kept questioning me, was Lienad Hashemi. Then there was the third guy, younger, who had been quiet the whole time.

I turned to him. "And you? What’s your name?"

He hesitated, like he hadn’t spoken to anyone in years, but before he could respond, Lienad jumped in, clapping him on the back. "Oh, him? That’s Niasuh Alawi. We picked him up from the store. He wanted to come along."

I tried my best to smile. "Nice to meet you all. So, you said I’m in Chesapeake Village... but where exactly is that?"

Demah answered, "In the southern part of the Nerzo Kingdom."

"And where is the Nerzo Kingdom?"

Lienad chimed in, "In the eastern part of the Veil Empire."

I nodded slowly, still struggling to piece it all together. "And this Veil Empire... where’s that?"

This time, Niasuh spoke softly, almost stammering. "It’s in... the world of Arandore."

A sigh escaped me. "Sounds like I’ve got a lot to learn about this world."

"You’ll catch up," Demah said with a reassuring smile. "We all have to start somewhere."

"So, the Choosing Ceremony... it decides which god you serve?"

Lienad perked up, eager to explain. "Yeah! It’s a big tradition here. Everyone picks a god to serve, based on what they believe in, what they want for their lives. It’s serious, but also a celebration."

Niasuh nodded, speaking timidly again. "It’s a big deal. Especially when someone passes out during it... We thought maybe the gods themselves had chosen you."

Their enthusiasm was contagious, and despite my confusion, a small part of me couldn’t help but be intrigued. "So, what now? Do I choose a god?"

Demah laughed. "Not right away. You just woke up. Take it easy. The ceremony will continue in a few days for those who couldn’t decide today."

I sank back into the cot, still trying to wrap my head around everything. "Thanks... for looking out for me."

Lienad grinned. "No problem! It’s not every day someone collapses dramatically during the ceremony."

Niasuh nodded quickly. "Yeah, you made it pretty exciting."

They started bantering, but I barely heard them, my mind drifting back to the fragments of memories swirling just out of reach. Who was I before this? Why did I keep coming back? The questions buzzed around, but for now, I just needed to understand this world.

Then, Demah suddenly stood up, his expression serious. "Wait... we need to tell your family."

I frowned. "My family?"