The world rested in a suspended calm, as if holding its breath before Dawn.
On the horizon, the sun hesitated still, fumbling behind pale clouds, letting thin trails of light slip through to brush the sleeping earth like timid fingers.
But on this fragile morning, something brushed against the balance — a breath, a whisper, an infinitesimal tremor…
Just enough to disturb the silence and make the stillness of the world shiver.
He was somewhere.
A place he did not recognize.
Confused, Hawn tried to open his eyes… only to realize they were already open.
For how long? Long enough to sting, long enough to burn slightly, as if they had dried from staying open too long.
" …Huh? "
The word escaped him without him understanding why, a reflex born of confusion. His mind refused to make sense of what he was seeing.
He buried his face in his hands, trying to gather the scattered fragments of what had just happened.Only a few seconds…
And yet, those seconds were already slipping away from him like water between his fingers.Impossible to restore order within this inner chaos.
He inhaled slowly and let his hands fall, letting his gaze sweep across the room around him.
It seemed to breathe around him, gently, as if it welcomed him without truly knowing him.And yet, nothing in it resonated with him. Not a memory, not a familiar feeling.
The pale stone walls reflected the morning light, and this soft glow only amplified the strangeness of the place. A tightness formed in his chest — a blend of discomfort and incomprehension, almost suffocating.
The golden light filtering through the curtains slid across the floor with a tenderness almost maternal… but it brought him no comfort.
It simply washed over him, indifferent to his distress.
Behind him, the bed still carried the shape of his body. The sight sent a shiver down his spine.
Sleeping here… in a place he had never seen before.
As if his body had lived a routine his mind refused to accept.
On the desk, a few open books and scribbled notes revealed an organized life. A life that did not seem to be his.
He recognized neither the words, nor the handwriting, nor even the faint scent of fresh ink.
A weight settled in his throat.
A little farther, an open wardrobe revealed a neatly folded uniform — too neatly to be a coincidence.
The almost ceremonial care of it made his stomach twist. Who lived here? And why did this place seem convinced it belonged to him?
In one corner, a suspended crystal pulsed with a slow, steady glow, like a calm heart.
He hated the reassuring consistency of that light. It seemed stable, while everything in him trembled.
Every detail of the room whispered the same disturbing truth:
This place knows you, but you don't know it.
His breath caught.
He wavered between panic and fascination, between the urge to understand and the visceral fear of discovering something he was not ready to face.
He wrapped his arms around himself, searching for a warmth that would not come.
The room wasn't hostile or threatening, it was… Intimate in a way that unsettled him deeply.
Like a house where everything feels familiar — yet nothing is.
Then a thought crossed his mind.Subtle, but so cold it made his entire spine shiver.
Seized by a sharp flicker of fear, he looked at his hands, his body, then his face, brushing his skin as if to prove it was still real.
tap tap… tap.
A long breath escaped him, almost relieved.
" …Okay. It's just me. "
To be fully certain, he walked toward a mirror he had spotted earlier.
His reflection stared back.
Messy hair, faint dark circles beneath his eyes… It was him, without a doubt.
But the certainty of who he was gave him no answers.
He still didn't know where he was, nor why he was here.
The only obvious fact was the light rising behind the window: dawn.
Outside, birds were singing, giving the world a peaceful tone that clashed with the turmoil in his mind.
Drawn almost against his will, Hawn approached the room's only window.
Golden light formed a shimmering carpet beneath his feet, each step scattering faint glimmers.He took a deep breath and lifted his gaze.
The world unfolded before him.
" What the… holy shit… what is this… "
A massive city stretched out as far as his eyes could see. Vibrant, bright, alive.
A capital pulsing with a crowd that never seemed to stop.
Cobblestone streets branched like the veins of a living creature, markets burst with colors, tall towers caught the first rays of sunlight.
Hawn stood frozen.
He who had always lived apart, surrounded by the comforting silence of his home, had never imagined such a sight.
Each street felt overwhelming.
Each distant noise carried a weight of life he had never known.
He felt small — insignificant — before this tide of unfamiliar existence.
Stunned, he backed away, four steps, without taking his eyes off the window.
His heel hit the bed. His legs gave out, and he fell onto it heavily.
A torrent of thoughts exploded in his head.
Too numerous, too fast, too blurred. His heart pounded desperately, his breath grasping for a rhythm it couldn't find.
And then…
Amid the chaos, one thought rose to the surface.
Simple.
Terrifying.
Inevitable.
A thought he did not want to hear… But one he could not deny.
He swallowed hard.
His eyes drifted slowly around the unfamiliar room.
And despite himself, the words echoed in his mind:
" …I've been… transported to another world? "
The silence that followed was absolute.
Not the silence of the room, the silence of his mind.
Because everything — absolutely everything — confirmed this insane idea:
The unknown city.
The foreign room.
The unreal atmosphere.
And the sudden blackout that had overcome him on the rooftop.
No doubt remained.
The dream so many longed for — to reincarnate, to awaken in another world — had never been his.
And yet…
He was the one this world had taken.
He was the one torn from his life.
He was the one thrown here without warning, without a final moment.
No farewell.
No explanation.
Nothing.
Only this brutal, inescapable truth —
Hawn had been transported to another world.