The disembodied voice speaks again; but this time bellowing like the crackles of thunder and fire.

An icy chill runs along my spine. My primal instinct shrieking and shouting, warning me of a danger so great.

I look up, cowering, my knees producing a rattling sound I never know I can make. And there it is!

The voice came from a gigantic figure that looms over me from high up in the air.

The shadow it casts provides not a shade from the sun, but evokes an eerie feeling that I am but an insignificant being in its presence, a mere prey.

I narrow my eyes, squinting, to make sense of the seemingly logic-defying being. But all I can see is a silhouette of an upright creature with two dangling arms on its side and four legs; for the bright backdrop blinds me from seeing any further.

It starts speaking again, and it is only then that I realize it is speaking in a language unknown to me. I feel miserably stupid, as reality once against whack me in the face. This is not Earth. Anything can happen.

I shrink, covering my eyes and ears instinctively as I wait for my impending demise. But it quickly becomes a needless anxiety.

“Hello there, human.” A bright modulated voice greets me. It’s near, and almost sounds like the young cashier in the convenience store I frequented. I can oddly feel myself staring at the water as I recall this memory. For somehow, this memory leads me to a train of more memories.

“Human? Hello?” I feel a light touch on my shoulders.

I jerk off from my cowering position. But the realization that I am still in danger freezes me again. I shield my eyes as I cry out in fear.

“Human… I will not hurt you. Please calm down. Open your eyes and you will see.” That somehow sounds familiar.

Wait, where the hell is Irina? I need her more than ever. I glance sideways searching for her, but to no avail.

I guess I am left with no choice.

After a moment of consideration, I slightly lower my shielding arm and peep.

A human that looks nearly my age stands before me. Yet peculiar that he wears the same clothing as I do, a polo shirt and tight jeans, except that they were colored differently, the polo shirt was designed with a zigzag pattern all over. But nevertheless, true to his words, he exudes no hint of malice, enough to let me drop my guard a bit.

“Human, can I ask a few questions?”

“W-who are you?” I ask, my voice shaking uncontrollably. “What do you need from me? A-and what… what is that monster on top of uh…us?”

“Monster? Rude. He is the ruler of this place, the Keeper Hettre. Know that it is customary for every living being here to lie down face flat on the ground in his presence. And having seen such behavior in his presence, the ruler is far from pleased. These Keepers of Hamae are quite proud, you see. So I suggest you do it now…. Lie… face… down.”

The sudden shift of his voice from sweet to stern catches me off guard, and I can’t help but oblige before another breath exits my mouth.

“As for me… you will soon know.”

I feel the man move closer. He prods my head with something, traces a line from my crown down to my nape, then a bit upwards again right somewhere in the middle.

Augh!!!

A stab went through my head. But before I can even cry out from the searing pain, everything darkens.

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“Human… Human, wake up.”

A sharp jab on my stomach jolts my eyes open. Why is this always happening to me? But this time, it’s void of the comfort from a good doze, just a painful wreck throughout my body.

“Human, can you hear me?”

It’s the man from earlier, and why does he keep calling me human.

“Where am I? How long have I been down?” I am lying inside an open pod which seems to be the same material as the magical orbs, springy and transparent.

What if I puncture this? And the room was made out of something wooden and not wooden? I don’t really know how to describe it. So I jot down a mental note, to sate my curiosity for now.

“You’re inside the Tree of Etrave, the 31th floor, section 7, the City of Re-Val to be precise.”

I squint over and over until my vision is clear, lift my upper body up, and hug my knees. I stare at the man sitting on a chair, an arm reach away. His mysterious cane resting on his lap.

“I assume you remember what happened?”

I nod obediently; I don't want to get stabbed in the head again. Oddly, I can recall every last detail before I blacked out.

“By the way, you’re speaking the local language right now. I have implanted an organic extension on your brain called the Memory Augmentation Drive… works on every carbon-based life form that has a high cognitive capacity and a complex brain. Use that, it’s a plethora of the general information you need to integrate yourself in here-”

“Wait, what?” I was about to freak out again, but a calming feeling washes over me…. So I can speak and understand every local language here? It actually sounds cool that my heart skips a beat. I never even realized that I am talking in the local language, it just came out… naturally.

“And of course… I can’t have you crying out everytime you see something ‘illogical’ and ‘mysterious’ so I have installed, together with the extension, a mechanism that quells every emotion that has your heart reaching 180 beats per minute, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Consider it as a welcome gift… and largely, as a preparation for the upcoming interrogation.” He points at my head with his cane.

“Interrogation?” I shift my buttocks while straightening my back.

“Yes, the Keeper has seen another human with you. Human species are quite rare nowadays, you see… Last I saw one was 300 nights ago-”

“300 nights… that’s just nearly a year ago!”

“Oh. You silly….” the man laughs in pure mirth. “300 nights is a long long time for us here. You will soon know why. Oh… a good idea would be using that Memory Augmentation Drive as I have instructed you. Give it a short period of time, and every information in it will pop up in your brain naturally…. Anyways, continuing on, the upcoming interrogation will be about the recent spatial distortions detected, suspect is a portal device, several of them maybe, which causes spatial dissonances. These unwarranted dissonances are detected by the Etrave Defense System as it might be an invasion. The latest one is your case, luckily the Keeper was around this time. He had all dissonances straightened and found you. We suspect you might have a hand in this as well… But don’t panic, with all conditions regarding you carefully examined, the Keeper and I have reached a conclusion that you were merely brought into this… into something greater. Well, we plan to search your memories, and it is still being discussed by the High Seats of Etrave currently… There are ethical concerns regarding this matter, so they are torn. More importantly, they shall also interrogate you about your home planet. But it’s more like an assessment, really.”

He claps his hands. “So that is all there is to know, for now. Any questions?”

I stare at him for the longest time, judging whether it will be offensive to ask this.

“Go on,” he urges.

I breathe in. “A-are you a human being?”

“No. I am using this form as ordered by the keeper to account for your comfortability when it comes to communicating with me. It was quite spontaneous, I can vaguely recall the clothing the last human I’ve seen was wearing so I copied yours and put some changes here and there. Are you curious about my true form?”

“No, I’m just curious if you were a human being, that’s all,” I say. But honestly, I am quite curious, as a number of imaginary creatures flashes on my mind.

His eyebrows suddenly leap higher. “Oh my… I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me.”

I smile. His sprightly voice, reminiscent of a distant memory.

He clears his throat. “I am Endra, retainer of the great Keeper of Etrave. Nice to meet you….”

His eyebrows rise, compelling for a response.

“Jayr. Jayr… Jayr.” My last name, what was it?

“Jayrjayrjayr.”

I chuckle silently. “No… just Jayr.”

“Oh Jayr. What a good name. Hmm. Reminds me of a beautiful place I have visited with the Keeper once.”

“You really act like a human. Or if you would ever tell me that you are a human being, I would believe you. No questions asked.”

Endra smiles. “That last human I’ve seen, a frequent visitor of this place. He was quite powerful, wielding magic unseen and unheard of. But quite chatty. He approached me a couple of times, so I have a sort-”

“What was his name?!” Excited, I blurt out.

“Check the Library of Re-Val on section 1. Perhaps his name is mentioned in one of the literature there.”

“And magic?”

“Yes magic. He was-”

“No. I mean magic like controlling the fire, wind, earth, and all?”

“In some ways, yes.”

This is new. So Irina did fly because of magic. I rub my chin, gradually getting too comfortable with Endra.

“Magic is the natural ability to control matter, bend it to the user’s will, and convert it into energy. Wait… I thought humans are quite adept with it.”

Humans are? “Oh yes…” I laugh airily. “I know a party trick or-”

Beeeep!

“Oops…the Keeper is calling for me.” Endra turns the knob of a small circular device attached to the cane’s handle.

“Let us put a hold on this discussion for now. The next time that I will enter here will be the moment that I will lead you to the Council for interrogation,” Endra says while placing his chair at the corner of the room.

“Also, try to relax as the MAD introduces information to your brain, you might find it intrusive at first, but don’t try to fight it. Or it’ll be painful.” And after that, he leaves as the door opens itself, my eyes watching his every move.

I heave a sigh.

Now that I’m left alone, I stare at the ceiling, tracing the wood lines with my eyes while recollecting everything I’ve been through, organizing it. It was really an experience that cannot be transcribed into human words.

So from what I can make up of what Endra said earlier, I am currently on a new planet? I bet people on Earth will have their mind blown once they see aliens, much more live on another planet. I chuckle to myself.

Now, I touch the back of my head down to the nape as I wait for the information that Endra talked about. A faint tinge of pain jolts my hands off, but I did it again anyway, caressing the painful part, shooing the pain away.

So how will I tell mom and Tenri about all of this, if I ever come back to Earth? Are they even alive and okay? It took six years for me to come here, and I’m sure it’s also six years back. All in all that’s 12 years, that’s if I even manage to find the way home this year.

Sorry… Mom, Tenri. I won’t be home for a long long time.

My stomach churns.

I want to go home.

But the question remains… Who sent me here? Why?

For now, I will have to find this out, and maybe along the way I will find the way home.