My consciousness was slowly coming back to me, more challenging than even when I was blackout drunk which immediately told me something was wrong. But, of course, the powerful and frankly supernatural headache didn't help things, nor did the fact that aftershocks from that agony I experienced after going on the balcony send reassuring thoughts my way.

Wait, what happened before I blacked out? Did I not die?

I tried to open my eyes to confirm that I didn't die. Still, the lack of control over my eyelids and after some experimentation, my whole body sent a relatively solid confirmation that I may have died, but why did I feel some aftershocks from the agony I had before I died?

The aftershocks I mentioned didn't really feel painful, as they just felt weird and wrong, like when you do a test and you know you put the wrong answer, but multiplied by ten and over my whole body. On the one hand, at least I don't have to do the exams anymore, but on the other hand should death really be so underwhelming?

Somehow, my body works just enough for me to sigh loudly.

How am I supposed to complete my watch and coffee mug collection if I am dead? Wait! There better be tea where I am going, and a few good books to read or I swear I will do what I do best and write a strongly worded letter.

My body stubbornly refuses to work, but if I assume that I died and this is some sort of weird purgatory, it makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is that I still distinctly understand that I have a body, because my whole body feels weird. Another side note is that I can feel that my body is slowly starting to listen to me again.

Weird, did I not die or something? Whymst the hell is my body not listening to me then? I usually get along great with my body, we only have disagreements when drunk or that time I hit my elbow.

Well shit, if I didn't die, I am seriously concerned about what happened to me to cause all that pain from earlier, because it definitely was not normal. Renewing my efforts to move, I succeed in twitching my fingers and opening my eyes in the most pitiful squint you could imagine.

I immediately close my eyes, the glare from the sun making my massive headache even worse. This, of course raises a good question.

The sun?

I squint my eyes open again just a little to confirm what I saw.

No wait, two suns, even worse.

My mind races with possible explanations, but due to my rather pitiful drunken state, it is much harder to think, trying to think after spending an all-nighter, taking a hammer to the head, then attempting to solve the meaning of life as soon as you wake up.

So without questioning anything, I simply accept I must have somehow fallen from my balcony, I see two suns because I am concussed, and am currently in the process of waiting for the ambulance or death, whichever comes first at this rate.

Either is fine, I am a simple man, and am fine with the simple things in life and death, just silently wishing for the universe or whatever god is out there to hurry up and pick something.

...

After a while, and feeling some sensations return such as the heat from the sun, and the wind caressing my body while filling my feeble lungs I arrive as some news. The good news, I am not dead. The bad news is I am almost, very much in the process of dying a painful death.

But then, after hearing a gasp then a loud, deep groan like someone heard an unbearable pun, I conclude that, once again, something is not right.

Feeling like watching a bad sequel, it's just one 'somethings not right' after another.

With tremendous effort rivalling the best sit up professionals, I start moving my body in a rough sort of half laying down half sitting down position, and make a second attempt at the basic ability to see. As it turns out, once I open my eyes and even while shielding my eyes with what remains of my arms motor control, everything blurs and swirls in my vision while almost pulsing in my sight to match my pounding headache.

If I truly did fall from my balcony, I shouldn't be able to move, which crosses out one of my possible scenarios. I would say fuck Mondays, but it's a Tuesday, so I have successfully found a day worse than Monday.

Through what little I can actually see, I find something that makes me seriously consider that something, for the third time, is wrong.

As my vision slowly clears up, I see not my quaint though rather dull apartment but a vast landscape that would give most nature enthusiasts a heart attack.

Never have I seen a grassland with such a clear sky or general freshness; there is none of that feeling that it won't last nor the impression that humans have been here, judging from the lack of trash and the strange, surreal excitement of untamed wild.

Rolling hills and the slightly damp, morning dew grass covering the land and some of my arm, combined with patches of surprisingly sharp dark-grey jutting rock that sticks out of some hills and valleys that seem to be unable to escape the claim of nature, as quite a few have large amounts of a weird sort of blue-green moss which seems to glow an uncanny enchanting shine in the shadow of a few of the larger rocks.

That was just the ground view in front of me. To the right is a forest that seems slightly too big both in width and height to be on Earth, partly because some leaves are blue, some are gold, and some are white? It seems the white and gold trees are rarer than the normal-ish green trees and blue trees but it is easy to tell as the bark of the lighter trees also gets darker as if to contrast the lightly coloured leaves.

Ok, so either someone drugged some random historian-in-trainings coffee for shits 'n gigs, got put into the most realistic VR game of the year or someone broke the universe.

Looking up to the left and seeing the frankly massive blue crystal coming out the bottom of a floating island that is joined by numerous smaller crystals in a variety of bright colours covering the bottom and part of the forested top.

I squint my eyes with the slightest of frowns, staring to make sure it's real, then inspect my surroundings in more detail, the floating island that looked like a haunting mix of a chandelier and someone's pet rock, that someone put a forest atop for unknown reasons, high above are two suns, and what looks like a forest to my right that would have looked unusual in normal conditions, but has enough multicoloured, expensive, and ethereal looking trees to be slightly more unusual.

So it is most likely one of two options. Someone drugged and then put into the worlds most realistic VR, or someone with way too much free time designed the most fantasy-like world I have ever seen, and then promptly broke the universe, no in-between.

Deciding that I could gape at my surreal surroundings later, I do what feels like a whole workout routine just to right myself and stand properly, while only lightly losing my balance a few times in the process.

Turning around to check my surroundings, I am reminded that I did in fact hear someone groan as laid out before me to my left, right, and straight ahead is not just one person, but three other people in various levels of various ailments.

Concentrating on what was most obvious was the person groaning in pain on the ground to my left as they seem to be clutching their head in pain in the fetal position, what strikes me though is the fact their hair is a mix of red-orange that seems to behave more like a flickering flame more then actual hair.

They appear to be having a massive headache, like me, rather then being actually on fire so I am sure they'll be fine. For what their hair looks like, it appears to match their face and body quite well and the unfortunate fellow looks quite handsome despite their position.

Opposite them, is what appears to shock me the most.

"A... Cosplayer?" I mumble out of bafflement, surprising myself at my unnatural voice.

"What...?" I continue, testing out my voice a little before turning back to the young woman that has what looks like wolf ears on their head and a tail behind them. Hearing of the infamous cosplayers from my good neighbour Jacob, I wasn't too surprised at first when I saw the long, smooth, and silky white hair and ears, but when I looked closer my surprise dramatically increased.

Those things are real.

The reason I can confirm this is the fact the ears twitched when they heard my voice and the tail is definitely not some cheap fibre, too busy dealing with the consequences of people actually existing with animal characteristics and having a minor existential crisis I completely forget about the third person sitting up away from me.

"Huh?" The person groans out, grasping my attention as I turn back to them.

Meeting my eyes is what appears to be, luckily for my sanity, just another green-haired and brown-eyed with the only defining feature being that they are a good head or two smaller then everyone else here, unluckily though, I couldn't for the life of me tell if they were a girl or boy.

Oh god, If Jacob finds out about this I may just never see the light of day.

Another thing that quickly becomes apparent is the fact that they all seem much younger, like late teens or early twenties old. Not only this, but they have general otherworldly features such as the firey red hair of the lad still clutching his head in what I assume is an above-average headache or the person to my right who seems only now to be getting up off the ground, but also the fact that everyone has stupidly good looks for some reason.

I would be getting my hopes up that I am younger, and better looking too, before remembering I am not some dumb teenager, and don't care about my looks much.

The person in front of me who met my eyes appears to confirm my worst suspicions as they scan me top to bottom in a mix of wonder, concern, and awe.

Shit, I probably really do look different now. But how? Unless...

"Awe shit, somethings not right." I don't get far in my one-sided conversation as I am still surprised by my unnatural voice, I cough and rub my neck in agitation as now that I realise I may have a different body, I start feeling extremely weird and uncomfortable, combined with slight but noticeable pins and needles spreading throughout my body.

Just as my headache was going away too, now I am going through round two.

I go to one knee, gritting my teeth as I ride out the intense feeling of wrongness and unfamiliarity that my very being seems to scream out in indignation, amusing and distracting myself with the analogy that my soul went to sleep only to wake up in a whole different house and mortgage plan, while currently dealing with the worst pins and needles possible that somehow seem to also affect not only my body, but also something else on a much deeper level.

Why is my soul having pins and needles, what kind of sick joke is this, wait. WHO THE FUCK STOLE MY SOUL?!

Thankfully, the pins and needles seem to be mercifully short compared to what happened before I woke up, instead I feel an unnaturally cold and powerful shiver run through my spine all the way through my body, not even my toes were safe.

I wipe what I think is a tear from my face, giving a shuddering breath in the process. I doubt anyone can take such a world-shattering realisation or such a powerful whirlwind of both painful and uncomfortable experiences without having at least a little breakdown.

I give up on standing and ignore the people next to me who I think are having their own version of what I just experienced, instead I lay back down, spread my arms and legs out in resignation while closing my eyes.

Taking deep breaths, I attempt to stop the slight shake in my voice and laboured breathing, instead focusing completely on what to do now and how unnaturally good the air smells.

The air is fresher than the weird mints I bought when I was mildly drunk and stuck researching Napoleon like everyone ends up doing sooner or later. Still don't remember where I got the mints too, forgot to ask Val.

Wait, I don't know a Val? Who is Val?!

Ok, focusing on something else, I notice the sound of shuffling behind me and open my eyes to see the people surrounding me with visible concern.

Looking up at the rainbow-gone-wrong group of people surrounding me I almost chuckle in moot resignation but am cut off by the more red-then-head person suffering from a headache earlier.

"Hey, are you alive?" He says before widening his eyes and rubbing his neck in confusion.

That is what gets me as watching his unabashed confusion and the absurdity of the situation, I start chuckling as I bring my hand to my face before quickly switching from my depressed laughing to a long and drawn-out sigh.

Uncovering my eyes I look at the green-haired person looking at the girl with white hair and fox ears in a powerful mix of worry and concern as they share a look, before the latter turns to face me.

"Stop being stupid, we got to-" They start before also widening their eyes in shock and worry of their voice being different.

Using this as my moment, I start speaking to ease the tension.

"Yeah your voice is different now, you'd probably notice that something is very wrong at the moment." I say, still struggling to adjust to my own voice as it seems different in not just that it isn't my voice, but in another way that I can't really describe.

I get up slowly, dusting myself off as they digest my words.

"Right!" Starting abruptly, I continue, "Something has gone very wrong, I am fairly certain that this is not my body, and someone or something has done a tomfoolery and stole our souls."

I gauge the reactions of the people around me, before remember I forgot to introduce myself.

"Also my name is... Hold on, it's on the tip of my tongue... Huh..." I frown, "Do you guys remember your names or no, because this just got a whole lot more concerning if not."

In response, 2 out of the 3 people here gain a look of horror and dreaded realisation while the third, the guy with red flame-like hair, looks at me like an idiot, opening their mouth to retort before quickly noticing the looks of me and the two other people here and quickly shutting up again.

Squinting my eyes, I turn to them in sheer indignation.

"So...?" I say, hoping they get the point.

"I do remember my name, but if you guys don't remember something as simple as your name then I am afraid about there being stuff I can't remember either. My name is Hernon." He reports, worry and pity very much evident in their voice.

That's his name? I was hoping that in this situation at least someone would be somewhat normal.

Afterwards its up to the person in white, who now that I am standing can notice the delicate white and deep blue dress that doesn't seem quite right, being covered in what looks like rune-like patterns of crystal-like light blue glass that contrasts the deep blue and white of the dress, to speak out about the great injustice of soul theft.

"You all came from Earth right? Does this mean there are others? What the hell do we do now?!" She says, before coughing and shaking their head, "Damn, I can't get used to this."

I agree with their assessment, so I make that known.

"Agreed, but I think we have more pressing matters right now, like how I don't believe that dress is going to work for an outdoor excursion." I state, pointing at their dress.

This appears to shock her for some reason, as immediately after she looks down and their eyes nearly bulge out of their head in what I assume is a mix of shock, indignity, and just sheer befuddlement. As they look over themself, this prompts everyone else to also take in their new appearance and what looks like extremely expensive clothing that you would only wear once and never again.

Fire boy appears to have the least gaudy clothes of us all, being a mix of leather armour covering the majority of their body, with what looks like real-life medieval steel plaiting covering their vitals such as their chest, neck, and some parts of their lower body. The leather dyes seem to be a mix of deep red, similar to maroon while being contrasted surprisingly nicely with oranges and yellows with the steel plaiting being fresh and polished with intricate rune-like markings covering it.

Seems a little much to me personally, but eh, it looks good enough on him, almost like it matches him perfectly.

The anonymous person with green hair that even now I can't tell if they are a girl or boy, appears dressed in another slightly shorter and more casual dress compared to the lady with white hair, having deep green vine-like decorations twisting into what looks like more fragile rune-like decorations imprinted perfectly on the light green fabric.

Finally, taking a closer look at myself I am dressed in a mix of a hoodie and a dress, wait no, I remember this was what all the mages in some games I played wore and it was like standard wizard garments, except this was much more extravagant. Even more rune-like patterns decorate my clothing, but this time in delicate looking and expensive silver while contrasting unassuming deep-blue, ocean-like fabric that looks fancy while also being extremely unsuited to outdoor excursions, but that feels wrong as the cloth, silk, the whatever of my clothes seem and are supernaturally strong and comfortable for unknown reasons.

At the cuffs of my sleeves and the edges of my hood is what appears to be centimetre thick band of a yellow material that I hope isn't gold with thin, precise, and yet more expensive rune-like carvings and decorations that are light blue, nearly white compared to the silver decorations on the fabric itself.

Even though it uses a lot of expensive-looking material and decorations, it seems subtle enough to not be too give me the impression of gaudy or excessive, is very fashionable, while still saying a lot about the wealth of the person if you look closer and I can't help but love it and how it suits me, complimenting my dark-silvery hair perfectly. In any case, the clothing of not just me, but the people here are definitely too expensive, and fits them too well in both looks and the more literal sense to be accidental and I have a hard time believing we all can somehow afford personal clothing with such high-quality material and craftsmanship while still somehow managing to keep the clothing across time and space.

Especially since I not only can't afford something like this, but absolutely didn't have it on before getting stolen.

Ignoring the fact that I didn't have greyish-silver hair before either, we all take a moment to gape and inspect our new clothing and to probably everyone here, new bodies.

This is hinted by the fact fire boy apparently didn't have red hair before this either.

"Oh god, No! I have red hair now!? Fuck! Now I owe that kid 50 bucks damn it!" They, now Hernon, shouts in defeat.

"There's a story behind that, I'm sure," I remark, before moving on, "We should get to know each other, and since we can't remember our names I propose we just call each other by hair colour or something, open to suggestions."

Again, at this Hernon frowns.

"Can't you guys see the blue screen either? It says your name on it and your traits, say 'system' or 'menu', or something, that's how it works in the novels and anime." He says simply, like educating a child.

Oh god, another Jacob.

"No, I see it too." I hear come from the green-haired small person that I can now relatively safely say is a girl, thanks to the dress and voice.

Well shoot, should have listened to Jacob more if I knew this would be how it turns out.

"So we all have different bodies, clothing, and voices, while half of us can see a 'blue screen'. Screw it, Menu!" The lady with white hair says, and judging by the glazed over look they immediately get, I assume it actually works.

Deciding under no circumstances shall I ever mutter those words like that, I try simply thinking the words with as much intention, belief, and will as I can.

My grin at the absurdity of the situation that seems to still be escalating is replaced by a slight frown as it actually works.

"You have to actually say it to work, I know it sounds bad but eventually you wont even notice." Hernon says, unloading their wisdom once more as they misunderstand my frown.

This time it is me who looks at him like an idiot.