Pilot Chapter - New Identity

*bang* ''augh..''

He held his head in a cramped space and scrunched his eyes furrowing his brow as it felt he had hit something wooden above.

'Im not wearing a blindfold.. am I blind? No its super dark...where the hell..'

Feeling out the side there appears to be walls on all sides.

'is it a box?'

His hands feel around until he finds one edge of the wall, following along its surface until he manages to find another edge.

"oh god this is so fucking small!"

Laying down in frustration he lets out an annoyed sigh and lays back, closing his eyes for a moment.

The pressure that was once upon him has now disappeared, but he can hear some sort of creaking sound coming from somewhere close by. Hesitating for a brief second before slowly opening his eyes again, he sees nothing but darkness.

Closing his eyes again he tries to relax himself, letting out a long deep breath and letting his mind drift away, allowing himself to get used to the confined space. His ears start picking up sounds, muffled footsteps outside the confines of whatever it is hes in.

It sounded like someone was walking around while carrying something. Hes not sure how many steps were made, but after what feels like half an hour or so, he opens his eyes again. The room that he was in appeared to have gotten darker with time.

Hes getting anxious now, feeling trapped and unable to move. He starts to get worried, wondering if they're going to take him anywhere else. Hes already been taken to a new place in a strange location, and now hes being placed in a box.

What are they planning to do with me?

He wonders how long he will be kept in this thing, and whether he'll ever be able to escape.

There's no way to tell how much time has passed since he was put inside this space, but he doesn't think he'll last too long here.

He waited in anticipation, listening carefully for any signs that someone else was nearby. After a few moments he heard the footsteps approach, making their way over towards the side opposite from where the door had originally opened.

They seem to be moving really slowly, hes not sure if that means they're trying to be quiet, or if they're just clumsy.

It takes another minute before he feels two hands grab onto the front of the box, and he can hear them pull on it lightly. Hes still terrified, his heart racing wildly in his chest, and his breathing becoming heavier.

After a couple minutes I hear someone calling out, whoever pulled on the top of the box leaves the door and closes it again, leaving him alone in the dark.

"whew..."

He exhales loudly, letting out a sigh of relief. This is actually his lucky day. Even though he was scared out of his mind, it seems like he got through the ordeal alive.

It must be some form of kidnappers that attacked him, to capture him and either sell him off as a slave, or use him for themselves.

He wasn't sure where they took him.

With a smile he lifts the loose lid off of what he thought was a box and stands up and dusts himself off, feeling refreshed after having experienced such a terrifying experience. His eyes suddenly shrank as he looked at himself.

"what the heck..."

He looks down into the box and notices its not a box but a coffin, and he was wearing a white shirt and red tie, he also sees a pair of black pants and black shoes.

Looking closer, he realizes that there's a black jacket draped over the top of the box too.

He quickly pulls it off and puts it on, looking down at himself. It seems that the clothes fit perfectly.

These werent the clothes he was wearing before.

'...Did i die and these are my funeral clothes?' He thought to himself. 'I dont remember dying.'

He feels a little confused. Hes not sure if this is part of his memory loss or something else entirely. Either way, he doesnt like this idea at all.

Something seems off about the situation.

He feels something heating up from his jacket pocket and take a look. He takes out what appears to be a small red stone and holds it in his hand. Hes not sure why, but he sees that the stone glows brightly in his hand.

"This is weird..." He said aloud.

"Fuuah! I'm glad im finally freed." A high pitched voice came from his hand

He closes his eyes and opens them, looks down at the red stone..

'Am i halucinating now..'

He put the red stone down and was about to leave the room.

"Wait! WAIT!! don't leave me here!'' T-T the stone speaks again

As the man looks back he swears he could see a vision of the stone crying..

The man walks over and sits down next to the coffin.

"Let me ask you a question." He asks.

"What?" Gemini answers.

"Where am I supposed to be, right now?"

"Umm...you're in a basement." Gemini answered.

"Right, but where am I, really?"

"in the magic city of Irella.'' Gemini responds matter-of-factly.

"I need to wake up before this gets any worse." The man said to himself.

"Ok...so this is.. Irella, a place where magic exists, and you're a stone, right?"

"Yes, correct. My name is Gemini."

"Then...why can i talk to you, a rock?"

"Because you called me."

"I...did?" The man says in confusion.

"Yes, and because of that, I can speak to you, and I can hear you."

"So...im not crazy?"

Gemini nods and says "yes".

"I see, so if I call you again, will you stop being able to talk?"

"No, you can call me as many times as you want. As long as you are calling me ill talk!''

"Interesting, well, thanks for the help. I'll try to figure the rest out on my own." The man says, turning around to leave.

"Wait! Stop!" Gemini says.

The man turns back around.

"What?"

"Please, take me with you!"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass."

"Don't you feel bad about leaving me here? Im so scared..."

"Sorry, im not much of a people person. Let alone making friends with a sentient rock.'' He laughs, thinking this to be pretty funny.

The man thinks again.

'I dont know much about this place, it may be dangerous with so much unknown outside'

"Hey, do you know what the hell is going on around here, besides this place?" He asks.

Gemini looks at the man for a moment then responds "yes."

"Alright then ill take you with me.'' He said aloud.

''What do i call you?'' Gemini asked

''Kayden, my names Kayden.''

He stands up and takes Gemini into his pocket, walking up to the closed door. Turning the handle it was unlocked, He opens the door and walks through.

The man looks around, not sure where he was he could hear voices and shuffling noises above. He notices a staircase to his right and walks over to it, opening the trapdoor at the top slightly to look through.

The room inside looked like an empty warehouse room, no sign of anyone.

Kayden opens the trap door more, climbing up to the first floor, coming out into a hall. He saw a large room at the end of the hallway that seems to be set up like a living room, the only furniture in it being two comfortable-looking couches, one on either side.

''This doesnt look like some kidnappers hideout.. it looks like an inn or hotel of sorts?'' Kayden wondered.

Looking at the door to the left, there was a staircase leading up to another floor, as well as a few doors along the hallway. There was also a small kitchen to his left, with a stove and sink, a fridge, and some cabinets with food items in them.

Walking down the hallway he noticed what appeared to be an office on his right, and another large room, which seemed to have barrels lined up. It was at this point Kayden could smell the scent of alcohol and the noises of people were getting louder.

*growl*

Kaydens stomach started grumbling.

'its been awhile since i last ate'

''Hey Gemini'' Kayden questions

''Yes Kayden!'' Gemini speaks

Kayden lifts Gemini from his pocket. ''Can you tell what building we are in right now, do you know if its safe?''

''It seems to be the Guild building in the west of the city. There shouldnt be any threats nearby.'' Gemini states

*growl*

Kayden rubbed his stomach. ''Well, if its safe dont mind if i take some food from the kitchen. Everyone seems to be concentrated further ahead.''

Making his way into the kitchen, looking into the reflection of the fridge right of him, notices how pale he looked not only that but he noticed his face is not the same.

Kayden knew he had a pretty mediocre face, one that can blend into the crowd with common features of brown hair and brown eyes. Although he took care of himself he never really cared too much since he didnt eat with his face, nor was he interested in finding a girlfriend. He was too focused on his career for anything else.

However, ever since entering this new world, all those worries have vanished. Looking back at his reflection his face seems to be more prominant than before but what really struck him was his eye colour was a bright golden colour, paired with the black hair the eyes really stood out.

Kayden walks up to the kitchen counter, opening the cupboard above the stove and talking out some bread.

*gulp*

Kayden takes some of the bread and bites off a piece.

Almost immidently he covered his mouth and retched.

His stomach cramping hard. The sound of vomit came from within the room.

'What the hell..'

He could feel the vomit coming back up.

Kayden could barely stand.

The feeling of something coming from inside of him made him lose control, falling on his back, clutching his stomach.

''No- no! What is happening?! I'm sick! Sick...'' He said as he began to vomit again.

He could not think straight at that moment. The feeling of vomiting was just too much for his body. He could not control it anymore and he lost control, throwing up all he could, the pain unbearable.

Kayden's mind went blank, his whole body convulsing.

Gemini slipped from his pocket onto the floor

''Are you alright?'' Gemini asked

'Does it look like im alright' Kayden thought

After awhile Kayden regained his calm. He looked at the bread on the side it looked and smelled fine.

'Was it poisoned?' He thought

''Gemini, you said this is Magic city.. assuming that this world has magic, does that mean you have it?''

''Of course!'' Gemini said proudly

He thought maybe this world worked like a fantasy game or novel.

''Then, Can you... appraise this bread?'' He asked

''Oh!..o-oh..I can..... its just bread.'' Gemini said

''...''

''Then why did it feel like I was dying after it?'' Kayden was puzzled.

''Hmm...maybe its your constitution?''

''What's my constitution...'' Kayden questioned

Gemini looked at him as though he was dumb. ''Well... You are a Vampire afterall so human food wouldnt sit well with you.''

''Wait! Im a Vampire? you mean i cant eat human food, allergic to sunlight kinda thing?'' Kayden said incredulously

''If you don't know this yourself then this is an issue, I don't know much about your race but you arent that different from a human, there is the blood drinking but I have no information about being allergic to sunlight.. in fact Vampires are pretty much a myth in the current world, they did exist long ago but because they had traits that seemed more of a monster they were hunted a lot.''

Kayden sat on the floor. ''But, if im a vampire how do I get food now? Wont i be hunted down?''

''You could could find a way to live off animal blood, which is easier than doing it with humans..although I dont know the different effects.'' Gemini suggested

''If you can tell Im a Vampire what about others, will they be able to tell?'' Kayden asked worryingly

''No unless the other person is quite old to have encounted their abilities before or have an appraisel skill which is pretty rare I think you will be alright'' Gemini said sighing

''So when you checked the bread, that was appraisel?''

''Indeed I am the holder of a rare skill!'' Gemini said proudly

''What other things can you do?'' He asked curiously

''Apart from Appraisel, I can polymorph and have detection,map abilities and telepathy'' Gemini was smug as she explained

''If you can polymorph, why stay as a rock?'' Kayden questioned

Gemini turned to him ''I can polymorph but only into things that have me as the gemstone''

''So its useless.'' Kayden concluded

''Can you turn yourself into a ring or necklace? I feel like as you are now I may just accidentally drop you somewhere.'' Kayden said as he stood up and stretched

Gemini felt like she was hit with 10 points of damage. ''....''

*poof*

Kayden looked down and picked up Gemini who now was in the form of a golden chained necklace with an ornate broach like edging to the red gemstone and placed it around his neck.

''Well now you can look around without being in the pocket of my jacket, how nice am I.'' Kayden said

***