As the blinding light faded, both Zayn and Xane registered the shift.
The sterile, almost luxurious scent of polished marble replaced the stench of death.
In an instant, the pain in his lungs subsided.
This also made Xane sigh in relief.
The surrounding sight sent a jolt through his soul once again, though this time it was for a good reason.
They were standing in a massive, luxurious hall.
The walls were covered in intricate stone carvings, with countless gems embedded in them.
The dome-shaped ceiling had a massive chandelier in the center, with hundreds of bright, multicolored lights illuminating the entire hall in dreamy colors.
One look at this and he knew it was not commonplace.
Zayn mumbled in confusion, [We are not in the public awakening chamber.]
Xane didn't know what this guy was yapping about, but from the surroundings, it looked like they were in some big noble household.
He noticed there were hundreds of people standing on the edges of multi-floor balconies. All of them were staring at him as if they were waiting for something.
Before he could make sense of it, he sensed movement around him, and in the next moment, ten warriors rushed toward him, placing their sharp weapons inches from his neck.
Xane asked in a barely audible whisper, "Where the hell did you take us?"
This development shocked Zayn. He was shaking internally, though with no control over the body, it wasn't visible on the outside.
Xane, however, did not seem as affected.
Not taking any chances, Zayn told Xane, [Don't say anything.]
While trying to understand what was happening, his biggest problem was that he had only read half of the first volume of the novel.
It started with the protagonist joining the cursed academy. There was no mention of the awakening ceremony. He was just as clueless as Xane.
Still, he looked at the warriors. They stood there with poker faces, as if they were waiting for something.
Then there were the reactions of those standing on the balcony. Some looked fearful, while most appeared curious and amused.
At that moment, the warrior in front of him shifted slightly, and then an old man with a thick red beard walked toward him with a cruel smile on his face.
Zayn's instincts were screaming that this old man was here for trouble. It seemed like Xane sensed it too, because the next thing Xane did was squeeze the wound, making it bleed more.
Zayn seethed in pain but dared not make a sound. He was unsure if others could hear him or not, and in this condition, he did not want to take any risks.
Though he understood Xane was acting to gain some sympathy, with how unbothered they looked, it didn't seem to work.
The old man asked him with a not-so-friendly smile, "State your name."
The moment the old man spoke, the warriors pressed their weapons closer to his skin.
A few even dug slightly into his neck.
Xane just stood there, waiting for Zayn.
Both of them realized that one wrong word, and they would meet their end.
[Wait,] Zayn continued, looking around, trying to remember, but with each passing second, he could feel the blades digging deeper into the body.
Now, even Xane started shaking, which increased the pain and pressure on him.
Zayn could see the old man's mouth about to move when, at that moment, he noticed the symbol of a crest on the old man's clothing.
From the bottom corner of his vision, he found a similar crest on his own chest, so he shouted, [Zenaris!]
But even when he shouted, those around them did not react.
It hit him that they could not hear him.
The good thing was that Xane caught on and said, almost shouting, "Zenaris!"
The moment those words came out of his mouth, the old man paused, and so did the surrounding warriors.
Zayn said in panic, [But that's just the family name. I don't know who we're supposed to be!]
The moment Xane heard this, he simply fell to the ground while clutching his arm, seething in pain.
It took a moment before Zayn joined in with his advice, [Roll a few times on the ground. Smear blood on the floor.]
Xane went beyond in his acting, and sure enough, it worked. The elder sighed, and the warriors backed down.
Just then, another wave of people rushed in.
This time, they looked like medical staff carrying bandages and other supplies.
In the background, Zayn heard the old man announcing something that caused many to murmur, but Xane had already closed his eyes, pretending to faint.
Now the medics were carrying him somewhere to patch him up.
Zayn was not too concerned about the injury; if this was that semi-advanced world from the novel, then he would heal in a day or two at max.
At that moment, he felt a sting on his neck, and then he blacked out.
…
Xane woke with a nasty headache.
The past few hours were a complete mess for him.
First, he remembered the shooting incident. The memory was not that clear, but his ears still rang with the loud sound of bullets.
Somebody had shot him in the head, and it was from behind.
Those bastards took a bribe and betrayed him. He did not know how to feel about that.
Everything should have been over after his death, but no, the next moment, he found himself in that tattered hall, which he mistakenly took as hell.
Then there was the second voice inside his head. It did not end there as he disappeared from hell to a luxurious mansion and encountered those warriors and that crazy red-bearded old man.
At this, he opened his eyes as if trying to wake up from a nightmare, but he found himself lying inside a luxurious room. "All of that was real," he sighed.
At that moment, he heard Zayn's voice. [Oh, good thing you regained your senses.]
Xane felt his skin crawl whenever he heard this voice inside his head.
It was like someone was speaking into his mind, which messed up his thought process.
Still, he acknowledged this guy knew much more about this world than he did. If not for Zayn, he would have bled to death in that hell.
Xane sat up on the bed. The first thing he did was check his hand, and to his shock, there was nothing left of his wound.
The massive hole that reached up to his bones was gone. Something that should have taken months to recover had disappeared like it were some kind of illusion from the start.
Zayn said in surprise, [Oh, looks like they used the Healing Hexis Art on us.]
Xane rubbed his eyes in confusion and asked, "Hexis Art? Is this some kind of magic?"
[It's not magic, but you could say it's more of a cursed practice. Forget about that. Xane, walk up to that mirror. I want to see who we are in.]
Xane raised an eyebrow, realizing he hadn't noticed the mirror in the room.
It seemed that even though they were sharing senses, both of them could focus on different things. Interesting.
The more he learned about their situation, the more he found it fascinating.
Not wasting any more time, he got up and walked to the mirror. He even wanted to see what kind of body he was in.
The light inside the room was dim, but bright enough for him to see his reflection. And oh boy, what he saw made him frown.
He was inside a 16- or 17-year-old boy with red hair and blue eyes.
A thin, almost malnourished body with pale, whitish, wheat-colored skin that looked like he was suffering from some terminal disease.
Zayn, on the other hand, was busy examining the body's features, trying to match them with the description of any known character.
It was difficult to identify who they were just based on a description, but then he spotted a massive family picture next to the mirror.
The moment he saw it, Zayn snapped. [We're screwed. Out of all the characters, why did it have to be this guy?]
Xane raised an eyebrow. "Dude, you're acting like we're about to die."
[Oh, how do you know this?]
"What!?"