She smiled at Lukas again. "Please, try the tea. It's not real, of course, but it is an accurate recreation of a favorite of mine. It's quite good. Any other questions? You say your world has no magic but don't think twice about the Fae, which require forces beyond the physical by nature. Please, do ask whatever comes to mind."

He faltered and cupped the teacup in his hands, “Y-yes... sorry. This is... a lot. My home world wasn’t a moon.”

“We have a lot of myths about fae and magic and dragons and stuff. No proof though,” he explained, then took a sip of the pleasant tea. It had the lemon-y tingle of a clear soda to it, but all over and in a relaxing way. Weird. “The closest I’d say to actual magic we have would be maybe like... voodoo? Pagan rituals? But again there’s no concrete proof of it even if people practice it.”

She just shook her head, seemingly surprised, "It's not uncommon in some other worlds for gods to be so hands off they never meet their followers, if they exist at all and aren't simply desperate imaginings, but... it's a strange notion here. Often gods will appear at great festivals dedicated to them, will appear with some regularity in places central to their worship, will perform weather miracles, and other such things very frequently. Artifacts of their power are undeniably real, and given to great champions of the faith. Though I can't say I'm surprised your world has tales of such creatures... as I said, we get far, far more Outsiders than other worlds, but it's not strange for all worlds to get at least a few in a thousand years. They're just so rare they're not oft taken seriously."

The high elf contemplated for a moment. "So, you say there is no magic in your home... What about psychic powers? Ki? Other such forces? Or purely physical energy and forces? How did you work around the idea of a soul with no magic to study it?"

“Not everyone believes a soul exists. We have no proof of it in science,” he mused, shrugging lightly, “I think we have myths about something called chi. I don’t know if that’s the same thing as ki though. As for psychics, that’s probably the most prevalent, but still not enough that it’s proven to exist. Some people claim to see the future or claim they can read minds or like... bend spoons with their mind? But no one can prove it with certainty. Most are just fakes using tricks to make it look amazing. All we have is science and technology.”

She nodded along, absorbing what he said. What the elf said was true; most Outsiders found their original home to be a sore spot until they had mostly forgotten about it. One thing in particular did get a look of curious surprise. “Spoons…? That’s oddly specific, isn’t it? Are they commonly difficult to do this to, so it’s a display of power…? Ah, either way. We definitely have charlatans and pretenders here as well. That aside… Admins never only bring one Outsider at a time. They always bring two to five in order to conserve energy. Would you happen to recall anything about another person? They’d be someone from your region, and likely were placed somewhere close to you. Probably someone else exceptional. Perhaps even someone of celebrity status. For instance, we once got someone named… Alvin Presler…? Elvis Presley. Went on to become a bard of great repute, if strange style, and a surprisingly adept warrior. I believe they’re still alive somewhere. They requested the Admins leave an artificial corpse in place, but we know little more about it than that. Something about not wanting strange rumors like having joined some organization or other to float around.”

Lukas stared at her for a long, hard moment. She was obviously telling the truth. There was no point in arguing the insanity of it. But…

She really just said Elvis.

He was beyond baffled, but just shook his head and decided not to even comment on it, instead focusing on her confusion with spoons, “No. No. It’s.. ah… I’m not sure. It’s more like… an easy party trick? It’s also easy to fake, though, so it’s a bar trick too.”

“If they brought anyone else, I wouldn’t know about it. I was knocked out,” he explained, clearing his throat softly as he squirmed nervously, “I… hope they brought my sister… She wouldn’t know what to do without me. I keep her safe. As for anyone else… ah… there are a few famous people in my town, but not many. I didn’t live in a big city. There were a few athletes I know of, so perhaps them? And I know they have a son who I think is pretty gifted too. I literally know nothing about them though. Would they have deposited us all in the same general area?”

She nodded, making a note of his information, “Usually, yes. At least, they tend to aim for the same nation or a nearby nation, and not the other side of the world. If your sister is here, then take some solace in knowing that you would have word of her within the first year more than likely. News of outsiders travels fast.”

“A year… God, that sounds long…”

“I assure you, it’s not to most here. We don’t get old, after all, something that I hear is common… basically everywhere else,” she said with a delicate shrug, “Everyone lives to their fullest, save for run-ins with monsters or dungeons or other mishaps. After all, not everyone dies of old age.”

She was rambling, but Lukas wasn’t really following anymore. He was nodding along, but was beyond overwhelmed. What more could he react? What more was there to say? He wasn’t one to scream or flail about, and at this point, it was too much. He had gone over the ledge and felt numb. On top of that, it could be a year or more before he saw his sister again… if he ever would.

How different was this world? It felt as though the differences would never end. Why did they want someone like him? He was smart but… no doubt there were better choices. He wasn’t some world-renowned scientist. He was no Stephen Hawking or Einstein. Compared to any big name, he was a tiny speck.

Overthinking it was useless. What could he do from here anyway? He had no access to the person who brought him here. So, while the woman rambled on, he gave her a smile. She was very much a noble. She knew immediately that he wanted her to stop.

“Apologies. I’ve gotten too excited,” she said, waving her hand as though to make her words disappear, “You have much on your plate, and there is no need to talk about everything at once. I or others would be more than happy to answer your questions as you come up with them.”

“Thank you,” he nodded, voice quiet, “I just… need a bit of time to process everything.”

She left, and with her, the scene did too. He was brought back to that oppressing darkness, the silence only filled with mumbles from outside and the sound of his own heartbeat.

He couldn’t even cry like he wanted to in this form, in this space. He felt it, though. His chest hurt with the force of his invisible tears. He was so scared.

It was inescapable, and he had no choice but to endure it. Lukas went back to counting. Counting elements, counting voices he could hear, counting anything he could think of. Next time he was prodded with telepathy, he asked if there was some way he could read to pass the time.

The teacher guy and the others came up with something after an hour or so of debate on the subject. A great way to pass the time would be to use it to learn the language. To read, write, and speak it.

Lukas had something to do now, at least…