My first thought waking up was that this was not a ceiling that I recognized. Weird, I know, but this ceiling was so different from any other that it caused me to think that.

  My one-word description would be: lavish. It looked like I was staring at the ceiling of some mansion or castle. The next thing I noticed was the god-awful headache that I had. Actually, that was the first thing I noticed, my focus on the ceiling was me trying to focus on something else.

  In time, the headache subsided, and I was able to actually focus on my surroundings. I saw black and white moving blobs above what seemed to be walls surrounding me. My throat hurts, for some reason.

  I… don’t quite remember what happened, but for now, it would be best to get a grasp on my situation. That’s what they always say in the survival shows, right? I never really watched any of them.

  First, my vision. It seems to be cloudy for some reason. I’ve never needed glasses before, so it’s definitely not that. It seems like when you’ve just woken up and haven’t washed your face yet.

  I tried to rub my eyes only to find that they are tightly bound to my body. Looking down at myself, I see a blue cloth surrounding me. Ah, great. I’m trapped.

  Now, see, I have this condition called claustrophobia. I’m not a fan of tight spaces. Being honest, just staying calm despite the walls surrounding me was already a challenge. I was only fine since they seemed relatively small, and I was sure that I could escape whenever I wanted to.

  Of course, I hadn’t known about me being in what is essentially a straight jacket. Now, my panic levels were going off the charts, so much so that I hadn’t realized that my vision was improving. If I had, well, things probably wouldn’t have changed much.

  I’m not proud of it, but I screamed like a baby right then and there. I just wanted out. I believed that the movement was people, and so I was hoping they would let me free.

  And my wish was granted. Sort of.

  Large but slender arms came and lifted me out of my (surprisingly luxurious) prison, allowing me to see the rest of the room.

  There was a large chandelier on the ceiling, reflecting the soft, dawn sunlight coming in from the balcony. There were dressers and shelves made out of fine, dark wood. There was a large and currently open double door entrance that seemed to lead out to a long hallway. Another door was slightly ajar, revealing what I thought to be a walk-in closet.

  All of this, however, was suddenly replaced with something else. I’m not going to describe it, but well, it kind of shocked my brain into clicking the restart button. I realized a few things as a result.

  

  
1. I was a baby.


  
2. I was currently being breastfed. How did I know it was a breast? I am a healthy young boy, plus, I got an A in anatomy.


  
3. It seemed like me, and my whole class, had died.


  
4. Somehow, I seem to be in another world.


  

  The last one was the hardest to prove, but I figured it out due to the stars. Since it was only dawn, a lot of the stars were still visible, and there were no constellations I recognized. It was possible that this was just much, much later in time, but then, why would I be in a seemingly medieval castle?

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  I was surrounded by maids, and one of them seemed to be my wet nurse. I could see who I assumed to be my mother lying on the bed, asleep. The maids are hastily running in and out of the door, as if something big has happened.

  Multiple voices are talking, but none of them in a language I can recognize. However, they are all silenced by a single voice coming from an older-looking maid. She seemed to have noticed my quickly deteriorating calm and thought it to be because of the noise. She wasn’t entirely wrong, but she was nowhere near right.

  Luckily for me, it seemed like I was about to escape this situation. I was beginning to feel pretty drowsy. I closed my eyes, embracing the desired respite that was sleep.

  However, I soon found myself in a dream-like state. I was in my room, and my computer was on. The room was dark and slightly blurry, but the computer screen was a beacon, captivating me and drawing me closer. I sat down on my chair and looked at the screen. There was only a single program installed: Illentia Chat Room.

  I clicked on it and was met with this screen: