Within the darkness X floated unconscious. There was nothing there. If space itself was without the stars it would equal the void found here.

"Oh Child of the Sixth!" the thought reverberated through the empty space for what felt like an eternity. This caused X to open his eyes. All at once, the noise was gone, but in its place was a ripple across the void that could only be felt.

Suddenly, many voices converged in one. "The pathways have become connected, the gateway is open. The way forward will only be determined by you. The lineage of the sixth child has found its opportunity for redemption. When you awaken, the mantle will be yours and yours alone should you become a Lord."

"Huh?" But before X could fully express the thought his eyes grew heavy once more.

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'Why is it so dark,' X thought to himself. As his thoughts collected he could hear something.

"Where the hell are we?" Darius asked.

"Definitely not in the library," Zack responded simply.

"Real helpful bro, you think we couldn't tell that?" Darius says as he gives Zack a playful shove.

"Can't you two be just a bit more serious right now? We have no clue where we are, and the only person who knows anything about the book that did all of this still hasn't woken up yet!" Elana normally wasn't a stickler, but this was all she could do to keep from panicking right now.

Blotches of color slowly fade back into the world as X opens his eyes. "What happened?" The grogginess in his voice was apparent.

"I was hoping you would know," She responded with worry in her eyes. "It seemed like that book did something strange. There was a flash, then things got really dark, and then we woke up here."

"There seems to be a lot of people that got dragged away with us. Is this the start of one of those Isekai anime or something? Did we all ket killed and transported to a different world?" Darius asked.

"Bro she is gonna punch you, I don't think this is the time to make jokes like that," Zack responded.

Their back and forth received a glare from Elana.

"Oh look, it seems like everyone is gathering at the top of the hill we are on." Darius points to the gathering of people near the top of the hill where it flattens out.

From the slope of a hill, the treeline of a healthy forest could be seen. Thick trees and shrubs exist for what one could only guess would be miles. In the far off distance appears to be a singular tree towering above all the rest. The orange and red mesh of leaves makes it stand out against its forest and sky backdrop even more.

"I feel like it would be a good idea to go and check out what is going on in the main group." Zack motions for them to ascend the hill.

"Not a bad idea, I wonder if anyone else knows what's going on or where we are," Elana responds.

After reaching the top of the hill the group sees Adriana and Norman on the outside of the crowd. She motions for them to come over.

"I will give you guys a quick rundown of what we have discussed so far." Adriana pulls her long hair into a ponytail. "First the professor decided it would be good to get the layout of the land. He is going to split us up into teams. One team to map the surrounding area, and another to gather supplies." She sighs. "Muscles over here is leading the scouting team."

The group shot a quick glance behind her at Norman.

"Gross, who would make him a leader?" X asked somewhat loudly.

Elana shoots a hand out to cover his mouth.

"I personally want nothing to do with him, but I feel like keeping your enemy close is a good idea in times like these. I recommend you guys come with us. I know it would be good to have some people I know aren't going to try and push me off a cliff the first chance they get. I also admire that spunk you have there Chíca. Even though we have only interacted on Headspace I think it would be a good idea to stick together." She raises her knee to stretch. "Decide quickly tho. We will be heading out soon."

"I don't see a reason why not. You seem like you are really handy based on the work I see you post. I guess we better all get a good stretch in before this hike." She joins in on the stretching.

Darius leans over and whispers to Zack. "I think Elana is making far too many friends today. First mystery boy and now this spicy lady."

"She has definitely come out of her shell since orientation. I guess college really is for her. I do have to say though, I'm not stoked to be working with that asshole." Zack stares at Norman who is talking to a group of people around him.

Then a glare from the sun caught his eye.

"Hey, mystery guy let's have a little chat," Zack says.

"Who me?" X points to himself.

"No the invisible elephant next to you. Of course you, ya imbecile." Zack palms his face.

X walks over to chat with Zach and Darius. As introductions are happening X looks up to see a crow flying above them in the sky.

"And for some reason, it was in your school's library. It really makes no sense." X explains.

"None at all!" Zack exclaimed in return. "Librarians don't typically catalog books without authors. I was trying to find a book on the history of surgery once and."

"Scouting team fall in, we are heading to the tree line!" Norman barked out the command to his team. "We are going to scout out a mile around the hill in every direction. After that, we will return and help the resource teams."

It was easy to feel the group's nervous energy.

"Move it, move it, move it!!!" His football experience could be seen in how he chose to command the group.