The kingdom of Kanull part 1

When Emma and Luna left the room, Luke saw it as the perfect opportunity to unravel the mystery. Swiftly getting up from the bed, he surveyed his surroundings. The room had a wooden floor and was quite small, containing only a dresser, a side table, and a small bed. Adjacent to the bed, there was a tiny window.

"Alright, let's see if this is just a dream," Luke muttered to himself. He decided to test it by mustering a punch towards the wall, but to his surprise, it actually hurt, confirming that he was still awake.

"What's happening? Isn't this supposed to be a dream?" he wondered aloud. In an attempt to gain some clarity, he walked over to the window by his bed and peered outside. There, he was met with the sight of a street lined with wooden houses, and homeless people seated on the ground.

"Where the hell am I? What's going on?" Luke's confusion grew.

As he gazed outside for a while, he suddenly caught the sound of approaching footsteps near the door. Quickly, he headed back to his bed and took a seat.

The door opened slowly, revealing a boy in a brown shirt and black shorts, accompanied by a girl sporting a blue shirt with purple stripes and a blue skirt. The boy had brown eyes and black hair, while the girl had long black hair and brown eyes.

The sight of them triggered a flood of memories in Luke's mind, reminding him of what he had observed earlier upon waking up. He instantly recognized the girl as Ivy and the boy as Cleo. Ivy was known for her strong-willed nature, which could sometimes be a tad annoying, as Luke recalled from his new memories. On the other hand, Cleo was quiet and shy, which explained why Ivy liked to be around him, as he seemed susceptible to bullying.

Approaching Luke, Ivy playfully quipped, "Hey idiot, how are you feeling? I heard you took a tumble down the stairs." In a very soft tone, Cleo added, "Are you feeling any better?"

Hmm...Luke glanced over at the two individuals approaching. Ivy remained standing, while Cleo took a seat next to him.

"So, how are you feeling, Lucke ?" Cleo inquired.

"I'm good," Luke replied.

Cleo pressed further, "Are you sure? You know, you'll have to start following Emma's instructions. You can't keep running up and down the stairs like before. Otherwise, it might end worse next time."

Ivy chimed in, "I agree." After a brief pause, Cleo asked, "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" both Ivy and Luke questioned.

"I heard that one of the elves from the Council of the Elven Kingdom paid us a visit. Usually, it's only soldiers, but this time, it was an actual council member."

"Elves! That's one thing that stuck in Lucke's memories. The human kingdom, Kanull, was massive, housing over a billion humans who sadly suffered from dwindling resources and a lack of money. The dire circumstances led to a concerning number of homeless individuals scattered throughout the kingdom's streets. Surrounding this grand human kingdom stood an imposing wall that reached the clouds, its top hidden from sight.

The elven kingdom, blessed with abundant resources and a larger territory, used this wall to confine the humans within Kanull.

Not a single human could escape through the wall's gate, while the elves freely entered the kingdom at their leisure. Kanull, being known as a lawless realm, lacked a ruler. This absence of leadership allowed anyone to commit crimes without consequence, making it an extremely dangerous place to be."

Currently, he found himself in the western region of the vast Kanull kingdom. Unfortunately, the problems plaguing this kingdom extended beyond just a lack of funds and resources. The major issue was the contaminated water, which was disgustingly filthy due to pollution. Even the air was polluted, leading to frequent illnesses and deaths among the kingdom's people.

On a brighter note, there exist three splendid Elf kingdoms known as Namon, Luric, and Havis. These realms boast advanced technology, abundant food, resources, and most importantly, the incredible powers of magic and artifacts.

Artifacts, since the beginning of time, have been weapons intricately crafted by the gods themselves. Possessing these artifacts empowers individuals with godlike abilities. Magic, on the other hand, is a skill predominantly utilized by the elves, beast-men, dwarves, catless, and giants but not the humans.

Luke was taken aback by everything he had witnessed. Memories swirled in his mind, leaving him in awe. He couldn't help but wonder, "Wow, where am I? Magic exists, and so do elves, beastmen, dwarves, and giants! But what on earth are catless? Are they some kind of cat people?"

The elven kingdom's council comprised five esteemed individuals, each representing a different kingdom. Curiously, Luke inquired,

"Do you know which one of them paid us a visit?" Unfortunately, his recollection failed him, leaving him clueless about their identities, except that they numbered five.

Cleo chimed in with uncertainty, admitting, "Well... I'm not even sure if any of them actually came. Frankly, I wouldn't blame them. Who would want to leave a much better place to endure this awful stench of garbage and cigarettes or the disgustingly dirty water?"

Fully agreeing, Ivy added, "I find it hard to believe that any of them would bother visiting this place."

After mentioning that she could hear footsteps approaching the door, Emma entered the room holding a small square container. She walked towards Lucke and said, "Look, this is dinner. If you're not too hungry, I wouldn't recommend finishing it just yet." Then, she turned to face Ivy and added, "You and Cleo need to go downstairs. Luna is calling you for dinner."

"Okay," Ivy and Cleo replied. Cleo leaned over to Lucke and whispered, "Remember what I said." After that, he slowly got up and left the room with Ivy.

With a deep sigh, Emma handed the small food container to Lucke and started to leave. Just as she was about to exit the room, Lucke called out, "Wait, sorry. I'll try not to run up and down the stairs anymore."

Upon hearing that, Emma smiled and gently closed the door behind her.

As Lucke stared at the container of food, he realized it resembled mashed potatoes and there was a single slice of bread alongside a fork.

"What the hell is this? Are they really this broke?" he thought to himself.

Curiously, Lucke picked up the fork and cautiously scooped up a small portion of the mashed potato-like substance. Slowly, he raised the fork to his mouth, ready to give it a taste.

"All right, this could either be extremely terrible or surprisingly good," he mused. Although Luke had memories of Lucke, he couldn't recall the taste of the food he had consumed before. As soon as the food touched his tongue, he was taken aback by the flavor.

"Oh my goodness, I had a feeling it wouldn't be good, but this is absolutely dreadful!" said Luke, his face twisted in disgust as he observed the unappetizing mashed potato-like food. "Well, at least there's bread." After taking a bite of the bread, however, he immediately started coughing due to its dryness.

I can't stomach this nonsense!" However, as his hunger grew stronger, he found himself reluctantly devouring the unappetizing food Emma had offered.

Finally, he plopped down on the bed, rested his back against the wall, and gradually drifted off into a peaceful slumber.