Luenstella had grown accustomed to the ebb and flow of consciousness, slipping in and out of awareness as though drifting on an endless tide. Known to friends and family as Lune, she had been ensnared in this liminal state for what felt like an eternity. If she were to tally only her moments of wakefulness, it would span well over a century. The darkness of her unconsciousness often felt preferable to the stark reality of her waking hours, but today—if it could truly be called a day—her thoughts were unusually clear.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Lune's senses sharpened, allowing her to perceive faint sounds: footsteps and fragmented snippets of speech. The silence had been so pervasive for so long that even the smallest hint of noise was startling. She had grown accustomed to this solitude, occasionally haunted by dreams where she could hear, or perhaps by illusions of sound. But today, the sounds were different—real and tangible, drawing closer.
Her mind, usually clouded in this state between slumber and wakefulness, became remarkably lucid. In this peculiar state—dream or otherwise—she decided to test her abilities. She attempted to open her eyes. Immediately after succeeding, she fell asleep once more. Lune was no stranger to falling asleep at inopportune moments was a frequent occurrence in her life, even before she found herself here.
Suddenly, she heard a shattering noise, followed by the sensation of falling. Alarmed blared, waking her up fully. Lune looked around; she was in a lab of some kind, surrounded by an elf, a jin, and a human. With the alarms ceasing to blare, Lune could hear that they spoke a language unfamiliar to her.
One of the figures in front of her—a female elf with beautiful silver hair and green eyes—rushed to help her sit up. The others, seconds too late to help Lune sit up, surrounded her and started rapidly asking her questions to which she couldn’t respond, their faces full of excitement.
The elf’s eyes are filled with concern and curiosity. “Are you alright? Can you understand us?”
Lune tries to speak, but her voice comes out as a mere whisper, hoarse and weak. “I… I’m unable to comprehend your words… Where am I?”
The elf looks relieved and turns to the others. “She’s awake! We need to figure out what happened. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to speak the same language”.
The jin, a serpentine figure with blue scales and bright red hair, slithers closer, his eyes reflecting a mix of fascination and skepticism. One of his four hands rests on his chin “She’s alive. How is that possible?”
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The human scholar, a man with a well-groomed beard and a serious expression, begins rummaging through the papers and strange constructs on the table. “We need to assess her condition. This was unexpected. How about we try other languages, what languages does anyone know?”
“I know Elvish, a little bit of Aetheris, and Common” the elven woman jumps in, still holding Lune upright.
“We all know Common, Sylvia!” the jin shouts exasperated, “that language is provided by the system after all. Other than that, I also know a little bit of Aetheris and am fluent in Isla”
“Well, all I know is some Hue” the human girl sighs, resigned, “I am just not as knowledgeable as you, Seraphis”.
“Don’t be so down, Elara,” Sylvia comforts her, “humans have much shorter lifespans and thus less time to dedicate to learning other languages”.
Lune struggles to focus her blurred vision on their faces. She sees Sylvia's earnest concern, Seraphis’s curiosity, and Elara’s look of resignation. Despite the previous state of chaos she woke up to, Lune feels a strange sense of security in their presence.
“Who are you?” Lune manages to ask, this time in Aetheris recognising the word they spoke, her voice growing slightly stronger. “What is this place?”
The elf gently supports her, helping her sit up more comfortably. “I’m Sylvia, from Naiadorn. We are part of a joint expedition. This place is—was—a remnant of ancient times.”
Lune tilts her head, finding their words strange. “Ancient times? How long ago do you mean? How long have I been here?”
Sylvia exchanges a troubled glance with the others. “It seems you’ve been in stasis for at least a century. We’re still trying to understand exactly how old these ruins are.”
Seraphis, who had been observing silently, speaks up. “What do you remember? Anything that might help us understand what happened here?”
Lune closes her eyes, trying to grasp at the fragmented memories that float through her mind. “I… I remember going to visit my best friend during school break, before everything went dark. I am aware that occasionally I fall asleep without cause, however I have no clue about how I wound up here.”
Elara, out of the loop sighs deeply, slightly peeved “could you please translate for me, unlike the two of you, I don’t speak Aetheris.”
Sylvia nods thoughtfully. “Either way, we should get you to the surface, can you stand?”
Lune attempts to stand, only to fail miserably. Giving up, she looks to Sylvia, “It seems that my body is far too weak as of right now to do anything of the sort, my soulforce and mana are also sluggish”.
“I can carry you,” Seraphis offers, with her four arms, is the strongest in the group. She lifts Lune into her arms with ease and they make their way out of the ruins
As the group prepares to leave the lab, Lune feels a mixture of apprehension and hope. In order to find her way back home, she is about to embark on a path that could change everything she knows about the world in which she resides.