What World is This?

By then I had filled the conversation with things from "my world", and he asked more and more about the terms I said.

I sounded like a tourist telling the curiosities of another country that I had visited before, but now it was my turn to try to understand.

The old man nodded his head and continued:

- Yes. As I said, we are in the Kingdom of Arkana. The largest population in the kingdom is made up of humans, but we have elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, neshigas... — he continued talking about all the races he had in the RPG, which I created or took from other references.

When he talked about the Krulls, I blurted out not just a smile, but an inside joke of my own making.

— I never thought of them as a race, in fact, the Eros are much more developed and are considered animals — I had said that with my arms crossed, saying something funny to myself, however, out of context it seemed kind of stupid, no?

"Do you know the Aeros?" I always thought...

- Oh sorry. Maybe I know a little about the Arkana, and because I bumped my head or something I forgot. Other information is coming clearer over time.

- Excellent. And are you remembering the last thing you did?

— Well, not yet, but when I'm better, I'm sure I'll remember — I could see his uneasiness by the lack of response, the very expression "happy" from just now had disappeared and I tried to reason in the short time I had on the break — By any chance it's very important? I mean, I'm not a monster, am I?

"Don't worry, it's nothing for you to be ashamed of, but let's hope you get better. So we've been talking here for hours and you must be tired...

"Tired, no. but, I'm hungry. It's rude, but is there anything to eat? - crap. It's like I just say things I shouldn't.

This would be the perfect chance to poison my food since I couldn't pass on any useful information to the old man about things I don't even remember.

- Oh yeah. I'll ask Alexia to bring something to eat.

"Alexia? [a-lê-q-cí-á] — a female name I think, would it be the girl from before?

"Oh, you saw her earlier, I think. It was she who called me.

"She was Alexia… well, I'll wait then.

- Yes. She's a pretty girl and she cooks really well. Tomorrow, if you're better, we can talk more about this world of yours you talk about. I got curious. And one more thing Wynan, I really wish you could recover your memories, after all, a man without direction is nothing - the old man then left suddenly.

What dark statement was that? And... girl? What a silly term that was. Even for him, wearing something so ancient... well, after all, if we're in the Arkana, we're in a medieval era.

I removed the blanket again to see my completely bandaged body.

I could feel it…different. I had more muscle, more meat. It wasn't "me" there, I guess.

I took a deep breath. I need to see something that reflects, a mirror or something else just to make sure this body is my own.

I lay back down, put my head on the pillow and look at the ceiling when the door opened again, just like the first time, creaking, but not too much.

The house must be old, or this side of the academy that old Arx spoke of was abandoned. Would I be dangerous to others?

"Errr, I brought your food." Master Arx asked me to help him eat — she was as red as a tomato, after all I had taken the cover off, and both she and I could see this body. She was shaking, as if holding her breath.

I didn't quite understand what was going on. It would be a bit of a cliché for her to be so embarrassed to see me, almost like an anime episode. Even so, she plucked up courage and walked over to hand me a tray with a plate of soup, pieces of bread and some fruit.

When she placed it under the bed, I nodded and thanked her:

"Thanks Alexia.

— Oh! —it was like a blow to her, hit straight in the chest. She waited a moment in disbelief for what had happened and it took me a while to understand.

— Oh! My name is Wynan. Err, well, Arx said her name, don't worry — did she think she'd figure out her name out of nowhere?

"So that was it. Phew—and she felt absurd relief after that. I mean, that was literally it, I'm not exaggerating.

I was sit. I couldn't do it before and in the following hours I could do it without any problems. It was absurd how my body was reacting and improving.

"Well, could you help me?" My movement isn't the best and this morning it looks like I broke a rib trying to get up.

- What?! By the Creator, you need to…" She got really worried and started examining me.

— Calm down, it was a joke — dammit. She's very literal, must temper the things I say, even now that I start saying shit without thinking.

She eased up again and I tried to calm her down too. I couldn't do much, the bands covered my entire torso and shoulders, making it difficult to move my arms, and I didn't want to miss such an opportunity.

She was feeding me spoons of some kind of chicken soup, and some pieces of bread.

When I finished eating, she placed her spoon on the empty plate and got ready to leave.

It was delicious and although filling, it wasn't really something to satisfy me. It was even surprising to arrive at this analysis since it was enough to eat a bag of potatoes and drink from a glass of soda to consider satisfied and spend hours awake in PANS.

PANS was the device I used to play the MMORPG games, basically a chair with a helmet and goggles.

I looked at the girl and seeing all the work she was going to, I had a sinking conscience.

"Alexia?

- Yes?

"Am I causing you trouble?"

- No. Why? It's just my job," she asked a little confused.

- I understood. It's because when you look at me I think you're afraid or something like that — the situation has changed a bit, because your expression was "okay", but your body was shaking with a real "I'm not fine at all".

— No… I'm fine, I told you — and he finished cleaning up the crumbs of bread he'd spilled onto the bed.

- AND? And why are you shaking?

"..." She was silent.

"You know, I see you're helping me. The least I can say right now is that no matter what happened I plan on doing you no harm, Alexia or even old Arx. So if there's something that's bothering you, please let me know.

- Is that...

- "Is that..."?

"You're very different from what I've heard..." She closed her eyes when I chuckled, and opened only one of them to see if I would do something.

"A "Single Exemplary"? I asked, still laughing. How lame, because when I think about it, it's hard to believe in anything even though we're in an RPG world created by me.

- What?

- Nothing, forget it. How so different?

— I saw you, when you arrived here... — and changed his face at the same time. A mixture of fear and sadness. She could see the eyes glisten as if she wanted to cry.

That just piqued my curiosity even more and of course trying to understand where I was and YES I know I'm asking this same question countless times but it's not easy to believe that you're just going to wake up out of nowhere in a fantasy world created when you he was fourteen. Again, fourteen years!

At that moment, the two present on the scene had their own problems and doubts, but the answer had to come sooner or later. I became serious again and continued:

— "... arrived here..."

- No no. I can't talk about it, I'm sorry — she finished tidying up and bowed — I must get back to my duties... Wynan. Master Arx gave me this bell, if you need anything just ring it and I'll come — and she put it under the bed.

"Okay, okay…don't worry, but if Arx has forbidden you to say anything, I won't force you into anything.

- It's not like that.

- And what would it be? As long as this isn't hell...

"When I saw you... Wynan, you were dead!" she shouted, grabbing the tray tightly, like someone who wants to say something serious, extremely embarrassed or afraid. That didn't surprise me, at least not at the time.

He couldn't see what face or expression he'd made when she'd shouted those words, but that might have explained the bandages on her body and the miracle the old man had said.

- Don't worry. I'm not a living dead... - I tried to calm her down.

The mood had turned heavy and silly and even though I was a bit immovable on the subject, hearing those words made me think of different things that could have happened or were happening.

"I'm sorry..." She slammed the tray down on the bed and tried to run at a sprint.

With a quick move, on pure reflex, I caught her. She didn't push it or anything, but she narrowed her eyes as if she expected the worst.

"Calm down Alexia. I'm not going to kill you or cause any trouble, in my situation I'd just like you to help me like you did now... - and I looked at the tray with the water under the table and back at her - and every other time.

- And then?

"And then I'll try to understand what happened to me and how I got here.

"You were brought by the village guards…

"I didn't mean that, Alexia.

- What?

"How I came to be here…in the Arkana, and why.

- I didn't understand...

"Okay, I don't either… 'I don't understand anything until now.'

"Can you let go of me?"

Jeez. She was still holding the girl's hand.

I let go at the same time, already imagining that she would run screaming how crazy I was. but, she only adjusted the wrist. Had I hurt her? Maybe…no, she looked at the tray almost falling off the bed and caught it.

— I'm sorry about that — I helped her by picking up the spoon that had flown away and handing it to her hand — Dead... why and how? I said in a low voice.

"You don't remember anything?"

- No. but, other things are coming normally, so with time I can remember.

- I understood.

"Alexia, how many days have I been "out"?

"Oh, well... that...

"Is Arx not allowed to talk about it either?"

- Yes. He ordered me not to talk about it...

"Okay, I won't get you involved in this madness. Thanks again Alexia.

— ... — she probably thought she was acting the wrong way with me and made a sign with her hands — But, don't worry, he said he would talk to you personally about this matter, so, you just need to get better, right?

- Yes. I think. Also, what is this bell? I looked at the bell that was under the bed and went over to pick it up. It was like a little bell you put on a Christmas tree.

"It's magical, it's imbued with a signal magic… When I touch it I'll know you're calling me. To avoid having to leave the room.

"Interesting..." I thought for a moment. "Wait, is there a problem leaving the room?"

- No. I mean, there's not much to do, this academy building has been abandoned for a long time. Then the other halls and rooms are empty.

"Is there no one here?"

- No. Just you, me and Master Arx.

- Serious?

- Yes. Err... well...

"Okay, when I talk to old Arx I'll pay attention to the details this time. So if I play for you, will you help me? — I believe she felt a little ashamed, I felt it too minutes later.

What voice was that? She just nodded and left with the tray as red as #FF0000.

In fact, ever since I woke up in this strange world, I've been acting insanely, almost as if there were someone else, vying for control of this body, voice, and thoughts. Anyway, I still wasn't fully recovered and I could feel my body stiff, preventing my free movement.

I looked at the bell once more and, amused by the dwarfism of the object, I placed it under the table next to the tray with water and lay down again.

I went back to sleep, and before falling asleep, I truly wondered if I wasn't in some kind of coma before I woke up.

How crazy, would he even be in the Arkana? Arkana from my fantasy world, created when I was very young just to roleplay with my school friends? Anyway, I need more information...

***

The next morning I woke up quickly. The birds were singing with all that terrifying joy and the sun was on my face. Why, now I felt the sun, perhaps because the only window was open today? Whatever.

I sat on the bed, imagining that I would have those pains from before, but nothing happened. The bands made it a little difficult to move and everything, but without pain.

How could I be dead? I tried to put my foot down. Did not hurt. I could feel the cold wooden floor touch my toes and then the sole of my foot. There was nothing wrong with them, they hadn't lost their movement or feeling, what a relief.

I looked at my arms and my legs, also my body. Every part of it. Every part that didn't have a track. On the first day I was surprised, but I couldn't deny it, it was me. My body from the original world, where I come from and know I exist, only stronger.

There was a tattoo on my right arm that went all the way from my shoulders to my wrists. Certain tribal art that exuded an aura of courage. Or that's what I thought as I stood there examining her for a while.

Well, let's see what might be here, so far I haven't gotten up and it doesn't seem to kill me. I walked to the window, watching the horizon a great abyss.

The room in this building overlooked a large canyon separated by that abyss. On this side, an area surrounded by stone walls, on the other side, far away, a forest. There was also a big waterfall, like a waterfall or something.

From the window you couldn't see more than that, it was clearly a world like no other. I took a deep breath and walked to the door.

Before he could open it, it creaked open.

The girl was carrying a tray with meat and something to drink that I had no idea. She did the same thing as before, somehow opened the door, and walked in backwards, pushing it with her body.

In that instant I froze, for whatever reason, and didn't move until she pulled me close. She gave a little jump and a squeal, and again my reflexes were faster than I could have imagined. She already had the tray in her hands to prevent it from falling, and at the same time she was holding the girl in my arms.

- What are you doing? she asked, trying to turn around at the same time her frozen body was.

- Well now? Holding the tray—not quite holding the tray, that much was obvious. but, he had nothing to say, for the scene itself was indeed shameful.

"Are you some kind of pervert?"

"No… I think so." I lifted the tray and allowed it to slip from my arms.

Geez, I think both she and I noticed how tall I was. Even now, standing up and hadn't even noticed before.

I gave a half-assed smile. She looked at me embarrassed, red as a tomato.

- Are you feeling better? Doesn't it hurt anymore? She looked up and down and then tried to look away in any direction.

- Yes. Before I couldn't move and now I'm standing. The bands get in the way a little, but there's no pain or anything like that.

"That's amazing." He looked back at me and smiled.

Well, if it was.

In a previous night the pain was unbearable that made me tremble just thinking, now nothing. I placed the tray on the bed, thanking him again.

She just bowed and left. Before crossing the door, she looked at me once more. Of course I hadn't taken her eyes off her for a second.

Seeing me staring at her, she left without saying anything.

I ate that piece of meat with great speed and not a crumb was left to tell the tale. Still, I was hungry. My stomach rumbled like a motorcycle. Despite that, I just sat on the bed again.

Surely the Arx would arrive, since Alexia had seen me walk, it only remained to know when. And it was minutes later that it happened.

The door creaked like a soft whisper, terrifying but less chaotic. It was the old man and the girl. Why, had they come together? Anyway, I stood up and bowed.

He approached, looking up at my state, almost the same as Alexia did, but for him it was different, he was analyzing his copy. The status of your "unique copy".

I was kind of unaware, after all the girl was there in the room, also with an expression of having the slightest idea. He started the conversation anyway.

- Our! That's amazing, you're already on your feet, and it looks like there's no wound — he took another walk and did holding his chin, or stroking his beard, who knows.

Still, I gave him a smile and replied:

— Yes, I feel better and I don't know how to thank you... but, can I remove these bandages? — didn't seem to need it anymore and they were just getting in the way.

- Not yet. Just in case, leave them there.

- All is well then.

"And your memory?" It returned?

Seriously, he wanted to know so much what happened? Yeah, me too, but wanting is not being able to. Right now I don't remember anything but the dream. Would it be wise to count it? And let the girl hear it too?

I looked back at her. She had her hands behind her back, leaning against the wall beside the door. She tried not to stare at me, and always looked around when I started to stare at her.

I took a deep breath. As I'd already guessed, holding back that dream when they're the only ones we can talk to is idiotic. Besides, if the old man has any information about the dream, it will help me a lot.

I put my hand on my head scratching my hair a little and after that, I looked at him seriously.

"I can't say whether it's a memory, a dream, or a nightmare..."

- Yes. You can go on." He crossed his arms and just waited.